Recent work suggests that offenders rate several alternatives as more severe than imprisonment. We build on this literature by comparing punishment exchange rates generated by criminal court judges with rates generated by offenders and their supervising officers. Findings reveal that none of the three groups rates prison as the most severe…

This study examined the efficacy of 4 different parceling methods for modeling categorical data with 2, 3, and 4 categories and with normal, moderately nonnormal, and severely nonnormal distributions. The parceling methods investigated were isolated parceling in which items were parceled with other items sharing the same source of variance, and…

This article explores the transnational regulation of temporary work. Analyzing the terms of the EU "Directive on Fixed-Term Work (1999), the ILO "Convention on Private Employment Agencies" (1997), the ILO "Recommendation on the Employment Relationship" (2006), and a draft EU Directive on "Temporary Agency Work"…

Background: Data for England from the national census can provide the socio-economic background of individual pupils and therefore the intake of schools. In many respects, this is more useful than the conventional measure of "free school meals", which has historically been used in the UK as a proxy measure for disadvantage. Prior to the…

The success of a virtual learning environment (VLE) depends to a considerable extent on student acceptance and use of such an e-learning system. After critically assessing models of technology adoption, including the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), TAM2, and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Usage of Technology (UTAUT), we build a conceptual…

Each year since 1997, the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics has published a report on the well-being of children and families. Pending data availability, the Forum updates all 41 indicators annually on its Web site (http://childstats.gov) and alternates publishing a detailed report, "America's Children: Key National…

This report has been prepared in direct response to the Action Plan on Adult Learning "It is always a good time to learn" (European Commission, 2007), and, more specifically, to its stated objective of increasing the opportunities for adults to achieve a qualification at least one level higher than they previously held. The document…

The research summary "Successful, Safe, and Healthy Students" presents the research background for the Obama administration's proposals for comprehensive, community-wide services in high-poverty neighborhoods, extended learning time, family engagement and safe schools. While these policies have broad and common-sense appeal, the research…

This report contains and analyzes statistical information about the financing of California postsecondary education from the 1965-66 fiscal year through 2010-11. CPEC (California Postsecondary Education Commission) compiles, analyzes, and disseminates this information to provide policymakers with comprehensive and comparable financial data that…

Over the past decade, Americans have become increasingly concerned about the high numbers--and costs--of high school dropouts. The time is now to build a similar consensus around this less-recognized but equally urgent fact: The pool from which employers, colleges, and the military draw is too small, and still shrinking, because millions of…

In this study, we investigated the changes in physical education programs from 2001 to 2006 based on an analysis of data reported in The Shape of the Nation Report: Status of Physical Education in the USA (National Association for Sport and Physical Education, 2006). Means and standard deviations for numeric variables in the reports were computed,…

The data in this report are drawn from the "University and College Academic Staff Survey" ("UCASS"). Conducted since 1946, "UCASS" presents a national picture of the socio-economic characteristics of full-time university teachers in degree-granting institutions. The information is conducted annually, with a reference…

Participatory decision making seems to be the new development paradigm in international cooperation. It is still a long way, however, to achieve the objectives that are formulated by the international development actors. Non-state actors are only limitedly involved in the policy decision-making. In this paper, we argue that when these actors take…

In this article, the author describes a simulation of a coevolutionary "arms race" and introduce a way of teaching it that lets students use the theory of natural selection to explain the outcomes of the simulation. The simulation uses the numerical cards from an UNO[R] playing card deck to represent the speeds of individuals in populations of…

While structural reform has certainly inspired change in Boston's public schools, its true value is best measured by examining the impact those changes have had on students. Seen through the lens of student performance over the past five years there is ample suggestion that these structural changes have been more than just window dressing--they…