Explores the application of postmodern assumptions in the study and analysis of comparative higher education. Outlines tenets of postmodernism that provide a competing conception to modernism with regard to knowledge production, identity, and the role of the university. Offers suggestions about how postmodernism might reorient comparative higher…

Provides an overview of issues relating to practice and research regarding collaborative online learning in distance education. Topics include traditional problems of distance education; instructional design issues, including course preparation, social climate and sense of community, instructor's role, and the effective use of technology; and…

Discusses how to improve research and design more effective information retrieval systems. Topics include human-system interaction; knowledge integration; pluralistic research approaches; enhanced access to research data; more multidisciplinary integrative devices and conceptual mappings; establishing a greater mass of published research findings…

Reviews writing research that implicates writing-speaking relationships by constructing contrasting positions for organizing the research and understanding the relationships: (1) that writing differs from speaking; and (2) that writing is similar to speaking. Research issues regarding integrating these positions are raised, and a guideline is…

Describes a study that examined the use of electronic mail reference service in three library units at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Highlights include patron demographics, question classification, and use patterns; and recommendations for further research. (Author/LRW)

This paper calls for research on reducing the incidence and prevalence of antisocial behavior, focusing on testing such interventions as advocacy and community organizing within small communities. Availability of validated school and clinical behavior interventions can assist communities in increasing forms of youth supervision and social and…

As a response to recent public debate about the nature of intelligence, this article reviews the "state of the art" in the study of intelligence, exploring significant conceptualizations of intelligence, the use and interpretation of intelligence tests, racial or ethnic differences in intelligence, and major issues yet to be resolved.…

Examines a proposal for new directions in research related to the content literacy training given to college developmental educators. Includes specific suggestions for long-term, collaborative research related to class size, types of tracking and testing, determining the audience receiving training, and changing definitions of text and literacy.…

Noting the emerging global policyscape toward creating global information networks, this article analyzes policymaking across Europe, the United States, and East Asia. Employing a political-economy perspective, it compares seven countries' networks, highlighting the state's role and varying relationships among education, economy, and society, and…

Introduces the "person approach" to the study of adolescence, and discusses the consequences of the approach for theoretical thinking and research methodology. Reviews major types of pattern-based methods used for carrying out a person approach and discusses methodological challenges for adolescent research, including interindividual…

This article describes several features important in the success of using a behavioral model when treating individuals with autism and presents remaining issues to be addressed for improving treatment effectiveness. It urges future research to include strict empirical designs that allow for sound inferences regarding the parameters of treatment…

This article outlines five achievements of the last 20 years that have had or have the potential for a significant effect on the communication of individuals with autism, including greater understanding of the development of language and nonverbal communication in individuals with autism. Suggestions for future research are offered. (Contains…

This commentary discusses the wide acceptance of and the expenditure of limited resources on unproven behavioral therapies for individuals with autism. Considerations that need to be reviewed before adopting a behavioral treatment are outlined, including the need to establish whether direct effects can be attributed to a treatment. (Contains 11…

At the 10th International Congress for School Effectiveness and School Improvement, participants noted progress in effectiveness research regarding development of outcome measures, size effects, measures of educational processes, and variables contributing to effectiveness. School-improvement research has focused on schools' status changes,…

Reviews three books concerned with the relationship of education to social and economic development. Compares the books with regard to their definitions of development and their conclusions about the benefits of educational investment in developing countries, the success of international agencies in poor countries, and directions for future…