Evolution of technology and its tremendous use in education has changed the ways of educational services in higher education around the world. There is worldwide access to higher education through virtual learning environments. This is a new avenue for 21st century education and within a short time, it has been able to establish new culture of…

Purpose: This policy brief, the third in the AERI-NEPC eBrief series "Understanding validity issues around the world", discusses validity issues surrounding International Large Scale Assessment (ILSA) programs. ILSA programs, such as the well-known Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Trends in International…

Much of recent research in postsecondary developmental education leaves the distinct impression that most remedial courses in community colleges are unsuccessful in helping students and that they should be entirely overhauled. Legislators and administrators are now taking these recommendations very seriously and are ready to cut programs that are…

Provides update on what is currently known about neurobehavioral correlates of infection with human immunodeficiency virus-Type 1 (HIV-1), causative agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Discusses methodological and theoretical issues complicating interpretation of existing data and suggests strategies for future research in this area. (NB)

The claim that knowledge alone accounts for variance of memory and development (MAD) is critiqued. Topics include the movement toward a knowledge-based view of MAD and problems with this approach; data suggesting that domain-independent strategies influence MAD; and evidence for a domain-independent tool of developmental import. (SLD)

Individual marital therapy (IMT) is therapy in which one or both spouses are treated separately by different therapists who do not communicate with each other about treatment. Gurman and Kniskern (1978) reported an improvement rate of 48% and a deterioration rate of 11.6% for nonbehavioral IMT. These outcome data and the conclusions drawn from…

The use of messages as experimental stimuli brings with it problems regarding the interpretability and generalizability of findings. Some psychologists and communication researchers have argued that message stimuli must be treated as random effects. A review of the literature examined data regarding experimental designs used in recent…

The entire thesis of "The Bell Curve" disintegrates due to biased use of data, misrepresentations, and logical inconsistencies. Five basic flaws are: inferring causality from correlation, use of dubious racial categories, contradictory arguments concerning the immutability of cognitive ability and the relative contributions of heredity…

Comments on some methodological limitations of the research base of "The Bell Curve": blind use of the normal distribution (bell curve); avoidance of nonnormal statistical distributions, which are more appropriate for some social and economic characteristics; copious use of percentiles and quintiles, inappropriate with nonnormal…

The high incidence of reported posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among Vietnam veterans has prompted researchers to search for reliable assessment and treatment procedures for this disorder. Although some encouraging preliminary data on the use of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) have been obtained, it is uncertain if this…

Assesses techniques used by researchers to collect and analyze data on how people with visual impairments or blindness learn, understand, and think about geographic space. Recommendations are made for increasing the validity of studies, including the use of multiple, mutually supportive tests; larger samples; and real-world environments.…

Discusses family selection issues that should be considered in child care research, and evidence demonstrating why each should be considered. Issues include whether causal inferences can be made from observational studies and the impact on conclusions from regression analyses that include highly correlated measures of child care experiences,…

Huggins' report lacks serious data collection on college Black Studies Departments, omits the strongest ones, fails to record their history accurately, and does not assess the research achievements of its scholars. Huggins overlooks the importance of applying an Afro-centric perspective to phenomena related to people of African descent. (PS)

Criticizes data analysis and interpretation in "The Bell Curve:" Herrnstein and Murray do not actually study the "cognitive elite"; do not control for education when examining effects of cognitive ability on occupational outcomes, ignore, cultural diversity within broad ethnic groups (Asian Americans, Latinos), ignore gender…

Evaluating Chinese publications about rural education and needed reforms presents several problems: political limits on educational debate; paucity of statistical data and reference citations; and complex ideological statements. Examination of nine journal and newspaper articles reveals that they cautiously endorse rural education reforms within…