In these days of the achievement gap, evidence-based practices, and accountability issues, Julie Allan's "Complicating, not explicating: Taking up philosophy in learning disability research" challenges everyone to think seriously about how well the field is meeting the mission of providing for the academic and social needs of students with…

This study attempts to clarify conceptual and operational inconsistencies in the literature around "Ghiselli's hobo syndrome." I propose that defining characteristics of hobo syndrome should include both the exhibition of frequent job movement behavior and positive attitudes about such behavior. This definition effectively differentiates…

Purpose: Implementation of a sustainability paradigm demands new choices and innovative ways of thinking. The main objective of this paper is to provide a meaningful sustainability assessment tool for make informed decisions, which is applied to higher education institutions (HEIs). Design/methodology/approach: The objective is achieved by…

According to the Academic Ranking of World Universities, the world's top 500 universities are located in only 38 countries, with the USA alone having 157 of them. This article investigates the socioeconomic determinants of the wide performance gap between countries, and whether the USA's dominance is largely due to its economic power. A large…

Evidence-based policies, decisions, and practices are highly valued and underachieved in the international mathematics and science education reforms. Many in the mathematics and science education research communities lament the lack of influence that research results have on the education profession, schools, and teaching. Academic research done…

This article is based on the premise that there is inadequate attention to the link between theory and applied research in social gerontology. The article contends that applied research studies do not often or effectively employ a theoretical framework and that theory-based articles, including theory-based research, are not often focused on…

In this paper we examine American inservice teachers' instructional methods in reading comprehension following professional development (PD), illustrating the prolonged and significant gap between research and practice in the field of reading comprehension. We explore this gap from a conceptual change perspective, positing that some level of…

The emerging research college or university is one of the most formidable resources a region has to reinvent and grow its economy. This paper is the first of two that outlines a process of building research universities that enhance regional technology development and facilitate flexible networks of collaboration and resource sharing. Although the…

The present paper proposes a theoretical model of institutional quality of a higher education institution (HEI) which, in addition to the internal dimensions of quality, incorporates also the external dimension, i.e. the outcomes dimension. This dimension has been neglected by the quality standards and models examined in our paper. Furthermore,…

This guide describes the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) approach to measuring impact using examples from its own case studies, as well as showing how to maximise the impact of applied social science research. Applied social science research needs to demonstrate that it is relevant and useful both to public policy and…

Self-directed learning has been lauded as a powerful learner-centered approach to involve students in every aspect of their learning. This article depicts a pilot project utilizing study plan as a vehicle to promote self-directed learning in an intensive and teacher-dominant college language program. This article seeks to identify both the…

Early identification and intervention for children with disabilities can significantly improve longer term outcomes, but in developing nations like many in the Pacific Rim, such programs and practices can be expensive and must compete against other needs. We argue that early identification and intervention by schools leads not only to life…

Purpose: This Special Issue is intended to heighten awareness of the importance of organizational learning in addressing the demands of organizational sustainability, and in particular triple bottom line (TBL) sustainability. A definition of TBL sustainability is provided, together with an exploration of the practical issues relevant to adopting…

This paper is a macro study on higher education R&D and its impact on productivity growth. I measure the social rate of return on higher education R&D in 17 high-income OECD countries using country level data on the percentage of gross expenditure on R&D performed by higher education, business, and government sectors over the period…

This Accountability Report shows the status and progression of the University of Central Florida (UCF) from one year to the next. The Executive Summary is divided into the following sections: (1) Dashboard; (2) Performance Funding Metrics; (3) Key Achievements; and (4) Narrative. Data tables on UCF's financial resources, personnel, enrollment,…