The article investigates sustainable development from the holistic perspective, taking into account the complex nature of the world and the dynamism of the socio-economic systems. The study is interdisciplinary, as it addresses the issues of economics, mathematics and physics with the main focus on the modern perspective of sustainable development…

This literature review examines student retention in higher education institutions. Specifically, it looks at the background and history of student retention, three student retention theories, and current literature on student retention within the social system. The three theories are Spady's (1970, 1971) Undergraduate Dropout Process Model,…

Historically, the university was an alien establishment for Russia, reflecting the political ambition of its leadership, not the organic impetus of Russian society. In Soviet academia, the notion of university education was replaced by the concept of vocational-technical training. As a creation of the Soviet government, Soviet higher education…

This article presents a review of extant research on student dropout in Norway, originally undertaken as part of a systematic review. The article contextualizes the foundational principle of equality as championed by the welfare state and identifies the significance of dropout in upper secondary education in Norway. The article then assesses…

In the UK, the vocabulary of public services is becoming infused with the prefixes "inter"-, "multi-" and "co-". Public-sector agencies are being encouraged to adopt"'multi"- or "inter-agency" configurations; "workforce reform" seeks to dissolve once-impermeable professional boundaries;…

The author describes the model of social behavior in a social system first framed by Jacob Getzels, with the assistance of Egon Guba, in the middle 1950s. Significant changes in the conceptualization of organizational functioning have occurred in the years since then, though the methodological processes for studying that functioning have remained…

Little has been done to identify the communication needs of nurses. The development of a model to use in examining their communication behavior can be an important first step in identifying those needs. The proposed model identifies four members of the staff nurse's role-set: patients, doctors, family members, and other nursing personnel. Each…

This paper describes systems dynamics, reviews the literature of uses of systems concepts in distance education (DE), presents a preliminary model, and ends in a call to researchers to contribute to the building of a standard model of DE. (Contains 4 figures.)

Discussion of model shifts in diffusion research focuses on the growth in the use of sex determination techniques in India and their consequences relating to gender and power. Topics addressed include development, underdevelopment, and modernization; the adoption of innovations; and meanings of innovations within particular social systems.…

Research in organizational development and ecological psychology has demonstrated the importance of viewing organizations from a systems perspective. Organizational innovations are planned, designed, and implemented in increasingly complex and dynamic ecosystems. This paper presents a model of organizational change which was developed using a…

Social theorists arguing that economic development is a process of modernization claim that traditional societies will follow the patterns of transformation already followed by modern societies, and that literacy can help instill the necessary values. An alternative theory, developed primarily in Latin America, argues that the relationships of…

This paper explores radical critical theory, which questions the most fundamental assumptions of traditional family sociology by posing alternative ways of uncovering the realities of marriage. The first section provides a background in radical-critical theory, while the second section attempts to locate the radical-critical perspective within the…

This paper synthesizes research, theories, and practical knowledge from developmental psychology and sociology to provide a basis for understanding, planning, and implementing effective and supportive partnerships between human-services providers and families. A family-centered approach is a process for delivering services to families, a…