This paper describes an exercise that frames the choices made in creating measures of knowledge as problematic--making clear that the difficulties in interpreting the survey response are not limited to opinion items but apply to questions about factual information as well. Ambiguities in question wording and response options can invite multiple…

Purpose: This conceptual paper aims to explain how "project management centres of excellence (CoEs)", a particular class of knowledge network, can be viewed as providing great potential for assisting project management (PM) teams to make wise decisions. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents a range of knowledge network types and…

This article presents an excerpt from the book "Reflections of Engagement." The book is a tribute to the thousands of individuals, who have participated in service learning programs, and a challenge to all individuals in making their communities a better place to live. This article presents the reflections of students and faculty on the…

All advocates of curriculum reform talk about an increased emphasis on conceptual understanding in mathematics. In this article, the authors use many examples to address the following issues: What does conceptual understanding mean, especially in introductory courses such as college algebra, precalculus, or calculus? How do we recognize its…

Previous research (e.g. "Cognition" 64 (1997) 73) suggests that the privileged level for inductive inference in a folk biological conceptual hierarchy does not correspond to the ''basic'' level (i.e. the level at which concepts are both informative and distinct). To further explore inductive inference within conceptual hierarchies, we examine…

This study examined group knowledge in three school boards, which we conceptualised as a phenomenon influenced by structural/political and social/relational elements and composed of affective, axiological, and cognitive dimensions. Several data collection techniques were used: surveys, conversation analysis, observation, and the Critical Decision…

In the last fifty years, the use of stories in education has included vignettes as an effective stimulus for discussion of real-life contexts and problems. However, vignettes have rarely been used as an assessment tool and there is no reported consensus on their definition and design. This article documents the use of vignettes as an effective…

Factors affecting performance on base-10 tasks were investigated in a series of four studies with a total of 453 children aged 5-7 years. Training in counting-on was found to enhance child performance on base-10 tasks (Studies 2, 3, and 4), while prior knowledge of counting-on (Study 1), trading (Studies 1 and 3), and partitioning (Studies 1 and…

Previous studies of community colleges have shown that instructors play a vital role in the plans and actions of students who transfer to 4-year colleges and universities (Britt & Hirt, 1999; Cejda & Kaylor, 2001; Cuseo, 1998; Gaskin, 1999; Tatum, 2001). The purpose of the current study was to obtain information from the faculty on the extent of…

In Study 1, English-speaking 3- and 4-year-olds heard a novel adjective used to label one of two objects and were asked for the referent of a different novel adjective. Children were more likely to select the unlabeled object if the two adjectives appeared prenominally (e.g., "a very DAXY dog") than as predicates (e.g., "a dog that is very DAXY").…

Language and vocabulary represent the very foundation of learning to read and write. Children who do not develop strong oral language skills and vocabulary in these early years will find it difficult to keep pace with their peers. Children use the natural medium of language for thinking. Those who acquire a substantial vocabulary are often able to…

Computer science provides with virtual laboratories, places where one can merge real experiments with the formalism of algorithms and mathematics and where, with the advent of multimedia, sounds and movies can also be added. In this paper we present a method, based on principles of formal ontology, allowing one to develop interactive educational…

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explore nurses' perceptions of their current skills and knowledge and training needs to identify cases of child abuse and their understanding of their roles and responsibilities in relation to child abuse. Nurses, including health visitors and midwives, have been recognised as having a key role in the…

The objective of the current study was to assess the effects of mandatory child abuse training on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward abused children and abusive parents among a sample of police recruits. An experimental pretest-posttest design was used in which 81 participants were randomly assigned to experimental conditions and 101 to…

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of a preintervention physical activity preparatory course on physical activity, and social, cognitive, and transtheoretical constructs. The sample included 82 low-income, multiethnic women (75% Latina) who completed an 8-week course designed to prepare them to become more active prior to…