This dissertation considers the effects of national rankings, specifically the 2010 National Research Council (NRC)'s Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs, on higher education institutions' behavior. National research studies of graduate education require significant resources and data, yet it is uncertain how universities make…

Throughout the Western world, there appears to be a consensus that schools have failed to prepare children for the challenges of the emerging information age. Many high schools that start out as innovative or "break-the-mold" lose their momentum and experience an "attrition of change." They end up becoming like any other…