Reasons for grade inflation include student demands, faculty lack of knowledge about evaluation methods, and faculty desire for positive evaluations from students. Although nurse educators are responsible for preparing competent, highly skilled nurses, there is little research on grade inflation and its impact in nursing education. (SK)

Argues that Internet Relay Chat (IRC) research needs to systematically address links between interaction structures, technological mediation and the instantiation and development of interpersonal relationships. Finds that openings that occur directly following user's entries into public IRC channels are often ambiguous, can disrupt relationship…

Describes two research frames, functionalist research and critical analyses, focusing on the different questions they raise about a study published in an earlier issue of this journal that investigated whether minimally-trained college students can effectively tutor children in reading. Suggests reading researchers must extend their tendency to…

Major research directions for vocational psychology include diversity, use of new technology, organizational career development, and work adjustment over the life span. Issues include the role of qualitative methods and the appropriate disciplinary focus--closer to or beyond psychology. A challenge is attracting new researchers to the topic of…

Situates the topic of immigration within globalization. Reviews research on new waves of immigrants and issues related to their schooling. Shows how some immigrant children thrive but others are economically and educationally disadvantaged by globalization. (Contains 19 references.) (SK)

Explains three worlds of instructional design: the world of knowledge, including knowledge structures and instructional strategies; the world of learning, including learning processes; and the world of work, focusing on real life task performance. Discusses implications for future research, stressing the promise of mental models as a theoretical…

A model for collecting and using stakeholder input on research priorities is a modification of Guba and Lincoln's model, involving preevaluation preparation, stakeholder identification, information gathering and analysis, interpretive filtering, and negotiation and consensus. A case study at Oklahoma State University illustrates its applicability…

Objective: To consider the research design requirements needed to provide a rigorous test of environmental mediation hypotheses and to summarize the main findings from research using such designs. Method: Selective review of empirical evidence dealing with psychopathology. Results: There is robust evidence of environmentally mediated risks for…

According to D. E. Broadbent's (1958) selective filter theory, people do not process unattended stimuli beyond the analysis of basic physical properties. This theory was later rejected on the basis of numerous findings that people identify irrelevant (and supposedly unattended) stimuli. A careful review of this evidence, however, reveals strong…

A review of the literature shows significant violence (both physical and verbal threats) in schools in the United States (U.S.). Almost all of the studies focus on violence by students and against students. There is very limited information about violence involving employees in the schools even though teachers are three times more likely to be…

Despite the fact that in some parts of the world private supplementary tutoring is a huge industry with far-reaching economic, social and educational implications, the topic has been neglected by educational researchers. This paper focuses on the nature and determinants of demand for private supplementary tutoring. It first draws on literature…

Cultural competency guidelines and policies are being widely established. Yet some critics have challenged the evidence for cultural competency and the lack of efficacy studies that demonstrate its outcomes. Various positions are examined that discuss cultural competency research. They include the need for more resources for research, scientific…

Critical exploration, as a research method, has two aspects: (1) developing a good project for children to work on; and (2) succeeding in inviting children to talk about their ideas: putting them at ease, being receptive to all answers; being neutral to the substance of the answer while being encouraging about the fact that they are thinking and…

The main purpose of this paper is to identify and rank the future research categories, priorities and needs for online learning. Based on the main purpose of this study and the concerns, the key research inquiries are: (1) What are the major research categories identified by the online workers for online learning over the next ten years?; (2) What…

The comprehensive reports released by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's (NIAAA's) Task Force on College Drinking turned a national spotlight on the problem of harmful drinking among college students. The central report, "A Call to Action: Changing the Culture of Drinking at U.S. Colleges," has proven influential in the…