WALNUT CREEK, Calif. _ Attention, patients: Doctors want you to play a more active role when you go for an office visit. It's all part of a massive federal effort to improve the quality of health care in the United States.

By Sala, Scott Place-Based Education: Connecting Classrooms and Communities, by David Sobel. 2004. Great Barrington, MA: The Orion Society. Paper. 116 pages. $8.00.

NEW YORK - A security breach of customer information at a credit card transaction company could expose to fraud up to 40 million cardholders of multiple brands, MasterCard International Inc. said Friday.