There is a long history of study and recognition of the critical role of interaction in supporting and even defining distance education. Interaction has been identified as key to the success of distance learning. It is key in fostering, supporting and engaging in the learning process. Moore (1989) posits that the physical distance that exists in…

This paper considers how online, distance students enact the space of "the university", in the context of the rise of distance education within a traditional, "elite" institution. Aiming to provide insight into how students translate into distance the space of a university which has traditionally had its basis in conventional…

Formal algebras are among the most powerful and general mechanisms for expressing quantitative relational statements; yet, even university engineering students, who are relatively proficient with algebraic manipulation, struggle with and often fail to correctly deploy basic aspects of algebraic notation (Clement, 1982). In the cognitive tradition,…

This study examined teaching assistant's immediacy in lecture/laboratory and self-contained classes. Two hundred fifty-six students responded to instruments measuring teachers' immediacy behavior frequency, perceptions of instruction quality, and cognitive learning. No significant difference was identified when comparing lecture/laboratory and…

This article explains how the sky would look from different locations, specifically from other locations within our solar system. Answers to the following questions are addressed: Do the constellation patterns we see from Earth look different from another planet in our solar system? What would the Sun look like from greater distances? (Contains 2…

In this paper we examine the role which distance, in a variety of forms, can play in the reproduction, intensification or reduction of educational inequality in different types of school systems in different countries. This is a very broad issue, and in the paper we examine the ways in which distance to school has emerged as an important factor in…

In this paper, we consider the relationship between the existence of private schools and public attitudes towards questions about educational provision. Data from the 2010 British Social Attitudes survey suggest that parents who choose to send children to private schools may become more entrenched in their support for more extensive forms of…

In a longitudinal case study of apprentices, the term proximal participation was coined to describe the entry process of young people, with unclear career destinations, into the trade of baking. This article unravels the significance of proximal participation in the decision-making processes of young people who enter a trade through initial…

Reinforcement learning (RL) models of decision-making cannot account for human decisions in the absence of prior reward or punishment. We propose a mechanism for choosing among available options based on goal-option association strengths, where association strengths between objects represent previously experienced object proximity. The proposed…

This dissertation consists of three essays. The first essay investigates the feasibility of moving high-performing teachers to low-performing schools using administrative micro data from Missouri. I define teacher labor markets concentrically and construct models to allow teachers' local labor markets, within teaching, to influence their mobility…

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, by the year 2016 an estimated 51 million jobs will require some postsecondary education but not a bachelor's degree (Liming & Wolf, 2008). This represents an increase in these types of jobs of almost 11% over that of 2006. As the demand for these types of workers continues to rise, community colleges…

Accessibility to gambling has been linked to gambling behaviour but remains poorly understood. This study used data from semi-structured focus groups and interviews with 38 participants (Median age 42 years) to explore wider aspects of accessibility. People preferred venues which were open long hours and located close to home, work or regular…

Educational diagnosticians in the state of Texas serve multiple roles across various districts (National Clearinghouse for Professions in Special Education [NCPSE], 2011). Due to the increased accountability requirements in the area of special education, much more time is required to complete the procedural requirements set forth by state and…

Research among adults has demonstrated concurrent and prospective negative associations between TV viewing and mental health, yet little research has examined these associations among African American and Latino youth or examined the role of children's involvement with TV and parental mediation of TV viewing via coviewing. The purpose of the…

This dissertation is comprised of three chapters. The first chapter examines the effects of private equity investment on the firms that receive this investment in India. While private equity (PE) is expanding rapidly in developing countries, there is little academic research on this subject. In this chapter I exploit two new data sources and…