Examines query-oriented versus document-oriented information retrieval and feedback learning. Highlights include a reunification of the two approaches for probabilistic document retrieval and for vector space model (VSM) retrieval; learning in VSM and in probabilistic models; multi-dimensional scaling; and ongoing field studies. (LRW)

Examines the economic and cultural construction of Latin America as an educational site for visitors, using analysis of brochures from 26 organizations advertising educational tours, fieldwork in an educational tour organization, and interviews with educational travelers. Educational travel to Latin America is construed as something quite…

Describes ethnographic field schools as successful strategies for improving methods training and contributing to the development of competent ethnographers and anthropologists. Introduces three essays that illustrate the value of field-school experience for undergraduates and graduate students. (SLD)

The essays in this section offer different possibilities and prospects for first-time fieldwork and make a strong case for directly supervised early fieldwork that includes peer collaboration and individual activity. (SLD)

Describes technical communicators' abilities to learn about software within organizational constraints and resources. Notes that these writers' tactics for learning software included using it themselves, talking to co-workers, studying program specifications, learning from comments on internal reviews, and studying old manuals. Evaluates each…

In this article, the author argues that there appears to be a thrust, at least from the federal government, to provide a rigid definition of what counts as "science": namely, randomized field trials. Code words for this method pervade the No Child Left Behind Act; the phrase "scientifically based research" occurs more than 100…

The present study is an attempt to examine the intricacies of the growth of Private School industry in the North-Eastern Indian State of Nagaland. The study was carried out in Kohima, the capital city of Nagaland State. Data were obtained from field studies as well as from published reports of the Government. The main objective of the study was to…

The intent of this action research study was to determine the effect peer coaching had on transfer of skills and content in the secondary arts classroom. Incorporating both qualitative and quantitative methods, the study took place in two public high schools, one a suburban high school and the other a first ring suburban high school (close to an…

Between 2004 and 2008, the Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy (CAAL) published four lengthy research reports on projects to examine the nature and effectiveness of Adult Education English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) programs at several community colleges. The research was conducted by field studies, interviews, and the review of a large…

This is a unique and groundbreaking collection of questions and answers coming from higher education institutions on diverse fields and across a wide spectrum of countries and cultures. It creates routes for further innovation, collaboration amidst the Sciences (both Natural and Social), the Humanities, and the private and public sectors of…

Researchers in information systems and technology-mediated learning have begun to examine how virtual world environments can be used in learning and how they enable learning processes and enhance learning outcomes. This research examined learning processes in a virtual world learning environment (VWLE). A research model of VWLE effects on learning…

This paper focuses on the educational opportunities available to rural migrant children in Beijing. On the basis of fieldwork conducted in migrant communities in 2004-2005, I conclude that administrative and financial barriers, as well as discrimination, prevent migrant children from entering state schools. I discuss the quality of education…

The aim of this paper is to identify and analyse the ways educational policy is understood, taught and practiced as a training discipline at postgraduate level in the European context. We have validated its epistemological solvency through a quantitative, comparative and ethnographic study of its main features as a discipline--such as ideological…

Background/Context: In the United States, the percentage of schoolchildren planning to become high-status professionals is grossly disproportionate to the percentage of such jobs comprising our division of labor. As in a game of musical chairs, it is not structurally possible for everyone to remain a contender. Focus of Study: Various adults who…

Although field studies in human geography have some advantages over restricted classroom and laboratory studies, special methodological and ethical concerns arise. For example, field studies are able to take into account the complexity of events in natural settings as opposed to the controlled setting of a laboratory, particularly when subjects…