The focus is on strategies used by 10 urban districts to reduce school dropouts. Thirty-eight strategies for dropout prevention were identified. Although the majority identified dropout prevention strategies, only two districts referred to "recovery programs." If district spokespersons mentioned their CEOs using a systems approach in…

Seventy-seven contemporary realistic fiction children's books portraying a dyslexic character were published in the United States between 1993 and 2003. This study examined the texts to determine what types of issues the reading difficulty posed for the character. Texts were analyzed to determine if there was a relationship between the gender of…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the literacy difficulties experienced by people with physical disabilities, and the factors that prevent them from improving their literacy skills. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 25 individuals with physical disabilities who defined themselves as having literacy difficulties. Four…

This technical report covers almost every aspect of the United States component of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement's (IEA) International Reading Literacy Study, from the inception of the project to the production of the reports. The report notes that since much has already been learned from studies such…

A study investigated the effects of mass media, interpersonal communication, and sociolinguistic background on adults' political, cultural, and economic attitudes and agendas. Data for the study came from two earlier research efforts: one conducted in Minnesota, involved 414 adults who were interviewed concerning their media use, interpersonal…

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the real internal rate of return to the old age insurance (OAI) portion of the old age, survivors, and disability insurance (OASDI) program for worker-only beneficiaries retiring between 1967 and 1970. Section I reviews the analytical background for this study. The issues concern alternative measures of…

Purposes and alternative forms of mass communications research are explored in this four-part presentation. Part One examines the origins of, and the differences between, two conflicting types of research: administrative research, in which the mass media are perceived as neutral tools, capable of serving a wide range of purposes; and critical…

Comparison of business serial subscription prices in 1975 and 1981 in three groups--U.S. and Canadian periodicals; periodicals from other countries; and reference services--examines the problem of rapid cost increase in serial renewals, its effects on library collections, and how to deal with resource allocation within the book budget. (EJS)

The eight chapters of this theme issue describe studies of learning environments conducted in a variety of conceptual and methodological perspectives by researchers in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands. Studies reflect perspectives on conceptualizations of learning environments that range from objectivist to more…

Meaning matters in the way people form social ties. Adopting an unconventional analytic technique--the Galois lattice analysis--I show how network researchers can uncover relational meanings using conventional research techniques (i.e., closed-ended network surveys). Galois lattice analysis also inspires new ways of conceptualizing relational…

The study examined the influences of reflection on the self-perception of empowerment in the workplace. The convenience sample consisted of non-management knowledge workers at a software company headquartered in the United States. A pretest, posttest control group design was used. The experimental group kept guided journals of their learning…

This article presents an excerpt of a declaration from the United States Department of Education's "Strategic Plan: 2002-2007." The declaration signifies in no uncertain terms that the battle waged by critics of alternative research methods continues, and is likely to intensify. The denigration of research methods which decline to adhere…

Presents the theoretical framework and research design of a project based on longitudinal data collected in the United Sates and the United Kingdom that investigated the processes of mediated information retrieval searching during human information-seeking processes. Topics include problem-solving; uncertainty; cognitive styles; and…

The design and use of performance indicators for documenting quality of higher education in North America and Europe is discussed, and the indicators and assessment initiatives are compared in terms of nine dimensions. Implications of the results for institutional researchers and for the higher education community are examined. (MSE)

In an analysis of two American and two British texts, ethnographic studies of teachers are compared. The comparison reveals how different the approaches are, although both sets of texts use ethnographic methods, and how the role of the teacher is understood in contrasting ways in the two bodies of research. (IAH)