Natural language processing (NLP) is a field of computer science and linguistics devoted to creating computer systems that use human (natural) language as input and/or output. The authors propose that NLP can also be used for game studies research. In this article, the authors provide an overview of NLP and describe some research possibilities…

The author finds Roland S. Persson's (2012a) paper to be timely, fascinating, important and powerful. At risk of mixing metaphors, it provides much food for thought and a penetrating lens through which all those vested in the optimal realisation of human potential would be prudent to review their own perceptions, boundaries of belief and…

Dr. Persson's (2012a) target article addresses a number of key points that will greatly impact the study of giftedness, gifted education, and talent development in the "flat" world of the 21st century and beyond. Research in these areas needs to continually reflect upon changes in the social world outside its narrow purview to validate its…

The author recognises the fact that knowledge of cultural diversity and its implications is growing in the field of giftedness research and practice. In some ways, the target article could therefore be considered "old news." The author contends that his effort to address culture variation and its problematic impact on research, however, is not to…

This introduction briefly summarizes the featured article and commentaries making up this commissioned set of papers on the topic of the Black-White achievement gap and, more specifically, risk and protective factors for young African American boys' school success. Each paper highlights important considerations for advancing scholarship, practice,…

Researchers, parents, counselors, and teachers share a common desire to ensure personal growth and academic development for children. At a very foundational level, they desire health and happiness for all children, as well as an education with quality schools and good teachers. They want all children to be in programs that appropriately address…

The primary aim of this review was to identify and evaluate the strength of associations of the key parental factors measured in studies examining early childhood physical activity (PA). A systematic review of the literature, using databases PsychINFO, Medline, Academic Search Complete, PSYCHinfo, and CINHAL, published between January 1986 and…

Millions of Muslim children around the world participate in Qur'anic schooling. For some, this is their only formal schooling experience; others attend both Qur'anic school and secular school. Qur'anic schooling emphasizes memorization and reproduction (recitation, reading, and transcription) of Qur'anic texts without comprehension of their…

A suspected decline in published counseling-related research in "The Counseling Psychologist" ("TCP") and the "Journal of Counseling Psychology" ("JCP") was investigated through content analyses of the two journals from 1979 to 2008. A marked decline in counseling-related research may signify a shift in emphasis away from counseling as the most…

From a perspective of patient-centered healthcare, exploring patients' (a) preconceptions, (b) treatment experiences, (c) quality of life, (d) satisfaction, (e) illness understandings, and (f) design are all critical components in improving primary health care and research. Utilizing qualitative approaches to discover patients' experiences can…

For some time now, school boards, Ministries of Education, and the popular media have been expressing concerns about failing boys and how best to meet their needs, framing these concerns in terms of a crisis in which boys are the "new disadvantaged". This perspective does not provide an accurate representation of the problem and, in fact, detracts…

U.S. childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions, with one third of children overweight or obese. Latino children have some of the highest obesity rates, a concern because they are part of the youngest and fastest-growing U.S. minority group. Unfortunately, scarce research data on Latinos hinders the development and implementation of…

This essay aims to provide a critical overview of the main themes to emerge from the Higher Education Close Up 5 conference held at Lancaster University in July 2010. The conference explored the relationship between theory and method in higher education (HE) research. This essay focuses upon four themes that developed from the proceedings. I begin…

The inaugural National Leadership Education Research Agenda was created to establish a foundation for scholarship that will guide the field of Leadership Education and develop it as a discipline. Its timely research priorities present a framework for scholarship and resulting applied and basic implications. This paper provides perspective about…

This article discusses literature pertaining to the settlement of African refugees in regional and rural Australia, particularly focusing on the specific challenges and opportunities faced by Sudanese young people of refugee background in education. Drawing on a pilot study of the out-of-school resources of regionally located young Sudanese…