The broad national research and development (R&D) enterprise is directly linked to graduate education in science and engineering. Graduate students are not only the future scientists of society, through research assistantships, they also provide valuable labor for the development of research and technology. Therefore, federal R&D policies…

Research in the early part of the 20th century focused on finding scientific proofs for justification of practice and drew on educational psychology for its methods. Critics charged the quantitative, experimental paradigm with being seriously flawed. By the end of the 20th century, a new paradigm emerged as a variety of methodologies drawn from…

Previous research and development with cognitive tools has been limited by an inadequate conceptualization of the complexity underlying their nature and affordances for supporting learning and performance. This paper provides a new perspective on cognitive tools through the lens of the theories of distributed cognition and expertise. The learner,…

Three papers consider the effect of divestiture on the research and development capacity of Bell Telephone. The first paper, "Forecasts of the Impact of Divestiture on Bell Telephone Laboratories: An Assessment" (David C. Mowery), discusses the operation of Bell Telephone Laboratories (BTL) prior to divestiture in 1984 and reviews…

Describes how new information technology, particularly microcomputer based, has been used for information provision and research and development activities by the Technical Research Center of Finland. Areas discussed include document delivery, publishing, database maintenance, consultancy and training services, conducting research and development…

The background essay introducing this special issue on leadership describes potential initiatives aimed at educational leadership research and development. The research supporting the invited journal articles was conducted at two national education leadership research centers. (MLF)

Discusses historical and current federal role in educational research and development; asserts need for improved quality and expanded scope of research from Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement. Describes shortcomings and desired changes; advocates creation of independent R&D agency and open competition for…

For the thirty-second year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. This volume includes papers presented at the national convention of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology held in Louisville, KY. This…

Standards-based education reform has a more than 20-year history. A standards-based vision was enacted in federal law under the Clinton administration with the 1994 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and carried forward under the Bush administration with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. In a recent…

If education is to make significant progress in the twenty-first century, it must embrace evidence-based reforms. Perhaps the most important requirement for evidence-based reform is the development of a substantial set of replicable programs and practices with strong evidence of effectiveness. Educators and policy makers must have a variety of…

Purpose: The paper's aim is to present a critical review of the current European process of co-operation in VET with a special view to the European Qualification Framework and its competence orientation. Design/methodology/approach: The approach reviews the official documentation and the consultation process and a contrastive analysis of the state…

Objective: It is essential for health care professionals to be prepared for a bioterrorist attack or other public health emergency. We sought to determine how well biodefense and emerging infectious disease research information was being disseminated to rural health care providers, first responders, and public health officials. Methods:…

Given a blank slate, what should the 21st century college classroom look like, and how should it be operated? Answering those questions is the idea behind setting up "incubator classrooms," spaces dedicated to trying out new technologies and new ways of teaching and learning. By incubating new ideas, faculty members and IT staff discover which…

The choice of grammatical framework in ICALL--the branch of CALL that applies artificial intelligence techniques--has important implications for both research and development. Matthews (1993) argued for one "that potentially meshes with SLA (second language acquisition)" (p. 5) and sketches three criteria that facilitate the crucial…

The child welfare system in Germany has been described as family service-oriented because families in need are entitled to request family support services. If there is any form of child maltreatment, there may be some kind of mandatory state intervention to protect the child. Using trends in the number of children affected by maltreatment, the…