This dissertation has two areas of focus: learning and developmental disorders (LDDs) and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFCs). Epidemiological and exposure assessment methods are applied to each. The first paper used geographic location as a surrogate for exposure and broadly assesses the effect of the environment, both physical and social, on LDD…

In a college student sample (n = 4,467) chosen among the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) participants in 2006, group differences based on disability (i.e., no disability, single primary disability, multiple primary disabilities) were examined on five NSSE benchmarks of student engagement and institutional performance (i.e., academic…

This manuscript examines results from a national survey of teachers in Trinidad and Tobago. Data from this study were derived from a national survey conducted by the consulting firm Miske Witt and Associates for the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Education. The aim of the survey was to solicit broad-based perspectives on teachers' knowledge and…

Finland is probably the only country where sex education has been studied in two consecutive national surveys, in 1996 and 2006 directed at biology and health education teachers, and in 2000 and 2006 by measuring adolescents' sexual knowledge. In 2006, responses from teachers and students could be combined for 339 schools. The most important…

In the international policy debate, environmental education and education for sustainable development seem to be moving away from a focus on behavioural modifications to more pluralistic approaches. This article illuminates a Swedish example of a strategic interplay between evaluation, development and research that relates to this shift, involving…

We test the hypothesis that academic entrepreneurship, resisted in the past by some as being in conflict with the long-standing Mertonian norms of open science and free enquiry, has now become widely accepted within the academy, or "taken for granted", as an institutional shift. Using responses to a series of attitudinal questions about academic…

In England there is a national survey of all students just before they graduate from bachelor's programmes called the National Student Survey (NSS). This produces a very influential ranking of all universities and colleges in England in terms of how the education they provide is perceived by their students. Top of this ranking every year is the…

In 2007, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) initiated an annual survey of school library media programs. The development of this longitudinal survey project was mandated by the AASL Board and advocated by the division's Research and Statistics Committee and Independent Schools Section. The launch of the second year of the survey…

Punishment-based interventions are among the most controversial treatments in the applied behavior analysis literature. The controversy concerns both the efficacy and the ethics of punishment. Five hundred randomly selected members of the Association for Behavior Analysis were sent a survey concerning their views on the efficacy and ethics of…

Many states, and the United States as a whole, are doing a better job than they were two years ago of preparing students for college and expanding access to higher education, according to a national report card on higher education released last week. But the country continues to slip behind other nations on measures of enrollment and degree…

The purpose of this national survey was to determine whether pretenured counselor educators receive research mentorship, and if so, what instructional and relational factors occur within that relationship. Pretenured counselor educators in counselor education programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related…

The study uses 15 waves of the British Household Panel Survey and the General Health Questionnaire to investigate changes in mental distress over several years surrounding transitions both into and out of marital partnerships (marriages and cohabitations) using fixed effects models. Entering marital partnerships is associated with reduced distress…

This article presents findings on community-based nonwork (CBNW; activities that do not involve paid employment but take place in the community) from a 2001 survey of state intellectual disabilities/developmental disabilities agency directors. Survey responses indicated that CBNW is a considerable and growing part of the day services mix but that…

The "Second Annual National Survey on Assessments and Accommodations for Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing" investigated the types of testing accommodations used on 2004-2005 statewide standardized assessments as well as recommendations for best practices. A total of 444 participants who served over 9,000 students as teachers,…

Character education programs are school-based programs that have as one of their objectives promoting the character development of students. This report systematically examines the outcomes that were measured in evaluations of a delimited set of character education programs and the research tools used for measuring the targeted outcomes. The…