The Learning and Skills Network (LSN) has carried forward the initial work of the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) and the Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL) to develop a professional development framework for e-learning: This publication shares the experiences of staff and their good practice as they used LSN's Framework as…

Uses five unusual indifference curve exercises to show how changing the jail sentence and changing the reward for good behavior can influence the crime rate. Recommends eliminating minimum sentencing while raising sentencing and increasing the rewards for good behavior. Includes illustrative graphs for each exercise. (MJP)

Defines and illustrates basic concepts of dichotomous logistic regression (DLR) and presents strategies for teaching these concepts. Strategies include using analogies between ordinary least squares regression and logistic regression; illustrating concepts with contingency tables; and linking logistic regression concepts to interpretation of…

Examines two classes of production functions in which the long-run competitive equilibrium scale of the firm increases when the relative price of the dominant factor decreases. Compares these with a third class of production functions where the equilibrium scale is independent of the relative price of the dominant factor. (MJP)

Contends that recent developments in historical sociology emphasize the centrality of temporality to analysis and explanation. Illustrates how computer-assisted analysis of qualitative narrative can be used to develop generalizable causal interpretation of events. (CFR)

Describes a teaching activity that improves students' scientific reasoning by focusing attention on the causal, explanatory nature of psychological theories. Students learn and use an argument form called Inference to the Best Explanation (IBE). Includes examples of this technique and student responses to the course. (MJP)

Provides an exercise for introducing research methods to undergraduates. The students view a graph revealing that left-handed people are underrepresented in older age groups. Small group discussions attempt to explain this phenomenon. A follow-up class discussion focuses on the different approaches and methods available for interpreting the data.…

Criticizes the use of blame analysis rather than scientific analysis in sociological studies. Defines blame analysis as an approach to social science that (1) evaluates theories according to the extent that they blame protected groups; (2) equates cause with blame; (3) and rejects theoretical arguments that posit any causal role for the protected…

Describes an assignment where students chart the development of a film or literary character's racial identity according to theoretical models of identity development. Students found the exercise thought-provoking, intriguing, and informative. Includes outlines of the racial identity model and an examination of the issues raised during discussion.…

Illustrates how, using introductory-level microeconomic models, an instructor can show various economic theorists' explanations of short run employment and output fluctuations. Identifies the competing schools of thought as old Keynesian, new Keynesian, and new Classical (which includes real business cycle theorists). Includes illustrative graphs…

Rectifies the unsatisfactory textbook treatment of the finite-sample proprieties of estimators of regression models with a lagged dependent variable and autocorrelated disturbances. Maintains that the bias of the ordinary least squares estimator is determined by the dynamic and correlation effects. (MJP)