This paper provides a critical review of empirical and theoretical underpinnings of current research on declining rates of fertility in western countries, particularly Canada. Section 1 describes contributions of demographic analysis to the explanation of declining fertility in western industrialized countries and elaborates on the limits of pure…

Recent studies portray African education in a state of stress. Since it is widely believed that education is critical to development, proposals for addressing this crisis have been numerous and frequent. A knowledge base of research studies has to be created to advise the external agencies that support education in Africa. Many studies were,…

This report provides an overview of the phenomenon of early school leaving through presentation and discussion of relevant research issues, concerns, and retention strategies for potential leavers. It includes a brief review of the current literature with an emphasis on Canadian and Saskatchewan research. The extent of the early school leaving…

This paper analyzes the origins, growth, and present state of communication research in Latin America. Based on empirical data, the paper identifies: (1) the factors that determined the kinds of studies that emerged in the region; (2) the major research topics; (3) the most influential scholars; and (4) the main currents of theoretical influence…

Problems with using stepwise analytic methods are discussed, and better alternatives are illustrated. To make the illustrations concrete, an actual data set, involving responses of 91 medical school admissions directors to 30 variables, was used. The 30 variables involved perceptions of barriers to medical school with respect to characteristics of…

Five concepts are included in the title of this paper; they gravitate around the key words: problems, macrological, micrological, multilingual, and multicultural. In turn, these five sub-components of the study of multilingualism illustrate the fragmentation of research in this area. Problems are created by researchers who are unable to grasp the…

This paper discusses the utility of a general systems theory paradigm for psychology. The paradigm can be used for conceptualizing such complex phenomena as change over time in living systems, person-society interactions, and the epistemology of multiply determined changes. Consideration is also given to applications of the approach to…

In this context, ethics refers to a set of normative standards for resolving dilemmas that policy analysts or evaluators often face with regard to what they should do in performing their roles in the interests of societal desirability. The dilemmas relate to: (1) prediction versus prediction plus prescription; (2) evaluation versus evaluation plus…

Using findings on the unstability of previously stable physical activity levels of young children as a kind of case study to aid thought about the trait-dimensional approach to developmental continuity and discontinuity, this discussion explores the applicability of a dual theory of concept formation to the problem of personal stability and…

The central failure of conventional, or positivistic inquiry has been the inability to handle deception in research and the violation of societal ethics, moral and legal caused by such deception. Moral dimensions include tests for whether the research would be approved by reasonable persons, whether it might pass the test of publicity, and whether…

Egon G. Guba and Yvonna S. Lincoln were among the first to develop a set of extensive criteria for establishing naturalistic inquiry as a disciplined research methodology. The naturalistic paradigm--also called post-positivist, ethnographic, phenomenological, and qualitative--has gained acceptance as a legitimate alternative to the previously…

The family is an obvious group for whom problem solving effectiveness holds importance. Problem solving interaction refers to the manner in which the behavior of family members is organized to resolve situations in which there is an unachieved but attainable goal, and the means to overcoming the barriers to achieving the goal are not apparent, but…

The Government Accounting Office (GAO) reviewed 71 actuarial, behavioral, and economic models that are used for retirement forecasting, focusing on models of federal retirement program costs, civilian retirement decisions, and retirement income. GAO wished to determine to what extent the models have been documented, to what extent the models are…

This paper focuses on critically analyzing both the potential and the problems of practitioner action research as a means of genuine professional development for classroom teachers today. Action research is a process of systematic inquiry and of knowledge, skill, and attitude growth in which classroom teachers on either an individual or…

This study expands an annual survey conducted by George Worth from 1967 to 1982 for the Association of Departments of English Bulletin of average salaries in 92 English departments listed in the 1970 Roose-Anderson "ACE Rating of Graduate Programs." The present study includes the 106 English departments listed in "An Assessment of…