By the end of the 1990s, the topic of spirituality as distinguished from religion was being discussed in higher education conferences and publications. Using qualitative research methods, this study examines definitions of spirituality in higher education literature. The researcher argues that (1) the emerging discussion of spirituality can be…

The purpose of this study was to assess the degree to which behavioral intervention studies conducted with children diagnosed with autism operationally defined the independent variables (IVs) and evaluated treatment integrity (TI). The study replicated the criteria from Gresham, Gansle, and Noell (1993) and focused exclusively on research studies…

The educational enterprise is awash in standards, but little attention is paid to what the term really means. Without carefully crafted, widely accepted definitions of standards, standards projects are rife with problems and frequently fail. The absence of careful definitions typically leads to confusion, rejection of standards, and can actually…

Current literature indicates a discrepancy between school counselors' reported desires for clinical supervision and their actual participation. To bridge this gap, peer supervision has been suggested as a viable alternative. However, a lack of definitional clarity makes it difficult to distinguish this activity from both clinical supervision and…

With the reality that school districts and states are now being required to report high school graduation rates under the "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) Act, the accuracy of dropout data is becoming a major issue. For more than a decade, the official dropout figures came from a consensus definition used by the National Center for…

In the debate about whether the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is "fully funded," 6 different definitions are used. The purpose of this article is to explore the implications of using each of these very different definitions. The 1st definition is that the law is fully funded because of large percentage increases in the federal appropriation.…

This paper elaborates on components of a working definition of developmental dyslexia proposed in 1995 by G. R. Lyon. The 2003 revised definition, based on converging scientific evidence, was developed by a working group of the International Dyslexia Association. The new definition notes the condition's neurobiologic origin and typical presence of…

Today, there is increasing concern about the health of "basic research", yet considerable disagreement about its definition. This paper examines the way in which the term is used in everyday practice. Drawing upon interviews with British and American scientists and policy-makers, we identify six different definitions currently in use.…

Because "Roe v. Wade" left ill-defined or derivative just who could be a medical caregiver for pregnant women, courts struggled in the post-Roe medico-legal environment to decide just who could be a medical advisor in this newly recognized zone of privacy. The courts also were challenged to balance individual privacy rights, state…

In this article, the author talks about "honor" and describes how the word has been taken for granted in schools. He explains that "honor" traditionally, has had two meanings, and that the National Honor Society (NHS) reflects the most ancient of them. Like Aristotle, who described honor in his "Nicomachean Ethics" as "the prize of virtue and the…

Purpose: This study determines the relationship between a medical school applicant's rural background and the likelihood of rural practice using different definitions of rural background. Methods: Cohort study of 599 physicians who entered the University of Virginia School of Medicine in 1990-1995 and graduated in 1994-1999. The…

In this article, the author reflects on keywords in Statement Two of the Australian Association for the Teaching of English (AATE) "Statements of Belief". The second statement says, "We believe students come to understand themselves and their work through engagement with a range of cultures and the ways these cultures represent…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe fundamental concepts and theoretical challenges with regard to systems, and to build on these in proposing new theoretical frameworks relevant to learning, for example in so-called learning organizations. Design/methodology/approach: The paper focuses on some crucial fundamental aspects introduced…

The authors present a conversation among several leading social studies theorists, researchers, and practitioners on the social studies wars, or conflicts in the debate over the purposes, content, and practice of social studies in schools. Questions focus on addressing the plurality of definitions for the field, creating more effective dialogue…

This article presents the author's comments on Simon and Lichten's "Defining Mental Retardation: A Matter of Life and Death." Lichten and Simon (2007) argued for the use of a Total Quotient (TQ) that combines existing IQ and adaptive functioning scores into a single index. They proposed that the TQ index will improve the accuracy of mental…