Throughout the 20th century, grade-school teachers were trained in schools of education where progressive theories largely held sway and were licensed by state bureaucracies philosophically compatible with the education schools. Vested education interests now seek to make the monopoly even more controlling by requiring that all teachers be products of education schools accredited by a single national agency dedicated to progressive ideals.

Holland proposes an alternative vision compatible with the emerging 21st-century paradigm of a competitive education industry: Lower unnecessary barriers to teaching so that bright persons of diverse background and disposition can become teachers. Set up an alternative track--as in New Jersey--so that bright liberal arts graduates or persons with valuable real-world experience can be hired as teachers and put under the supervision of experienced mentors. Apply value-added assessment--as in Tennessee--to these new teachers, and to veteran teachers as well, so that principals can see how much each teacher has helped each child progress academically--or not--from school year to school year. Holland's plan to break up the teacher-prep monopoly is bound to be controversial, and, as such, should be of great interest to all--from parents and administrators to teachers and policy makers--concerned with improving the state of American education.

Becoming Metric-Wise: A Bibliometric Guide for Researchers aims to inform researchers about metrics so that they become aware of the evaluative techniques being applied to their scientific output. Understanding these concepts will help them during their funding initiatives, and in hiring and tenure. The book not only describes what indicators do (or are designed to do, which is not always the same thing), but also gives precise mathematical formulae so that indicators can be properly understood and evaluated. Metrics have become a critical issue in science, with widespread international discussion taking place on the subject across scientific journals and organizations. As researchers should know the publication-citation context, the mathematical formulae of indicators being used by evaluating committees and their consequences, and how such indicators might be misused, this book provides an ideal tome on the topic.

Longitudinal surveys are surveys that involve collecting data from multiple subjects on multiple occasions. They are typically used for collecting data relating to social, economic, educational and health-related issues and they serve as an important tool for economists, sociologists, and other researchers.

Focusing on the design, implementation and analysis of longitudinal surveys, "Methodology of Longitudinal Surveys" discusses the current state of the art in carrying out these surveys. The book also covers issues that arise in surveys that collect longitudinal data via retrospective methods. Aimed at researchers and practitioners analyzing data from statistical surveys the book will also be suitable as supplementary reading for graduate students of survey statistics.

This book: Covers all the main stages in the design, implementation and analysis of longitudinal surveys. Reviews recent developments in the field, including the use of dependent interviewing and mixed mode data collection. Discusses the state of the art in sampling, weighting and non response adjustment. Features worked examples throughout using real data. Addresses issues arising from the collection of data via retrospective methods, as well as ethical issues, confidentiality and non-response bias. Is written by an international team of contributors consisting of some of the most respected Survey Methodology experts in the field.

This, the seventeenth volume of the Index to International Public Opinion provides data from opinion surveys conducted in 69 countries. Approximately 97 countries and geographical areas are referenced in these studies. The data were contributed by 154 research firms. As has been the case with previous volumes, all tables contain total sample results and many include breakdowns by various population subgroups such as gender, political party affiliation, age, and level of formal education. As in the past, poll questions deal with a broad mix of social, political, and economic issues of both contemporary and historical interest. Volume 17 includes data from polls conducted for the most part during the period Spring 1994 through Spring 1995. In addition, for trend analysis purposes, included are a number of time series tables covering a decade or more. There is also a section entitled Changing Opinions: A 50-Year Retrospective. This part of the Index presents polling data gathered approximately a half century ago from a number of different countries. This volume and the overall series provides the most comprehensive source for public opinion data available. As such the volumes are of unusual importance for journalists, professional scholars, government officials, and business leaders.

An exploration of evaluator role and identity. The areas addressed include: evaluation in an organizational world; evaluation as responsibility, conscience and conviction; the evaluator's role in the transformative context; hidden images of self; and evaluation in dystopian times.

This book focuses on 'research on research methodologies' - an area rarely addressed in social entrepreneurship. Methodological debates are integral to the quest for knowledge and to advancing theories and practices in any field, and, as a multi-disciplinary and emerging field, social entrepreneurship cannot avoid such debates. Providing a fresh perspective on social entrepreneurship research, the book includes contributions from diverse disciplinary settings, e.g. sociology, psychology, social work, anthropology, public policy, economics and management, and discusses the 'methodological challenges' of practice as well as social entrepreneurship research. Rather than favouring any particular method or methodological approach, it acknowledges the diversity of methodological approaches needed to reveal the nuances of social entrepreneurship and promote new knowledge and practices in this promising field.

"I think your work is a necessary and valuable exposure of this religious phenomenon and the appallingly cynical exploitation of the religious and cultural beliefs of the poor and the vulnerable."

Suzanne WiltonHuddersfield, UK

"The book is particularly apt at this period of Christianity in Nigeria because it

addresses the 'money syndrome' that has crept into Christianity in Nigeria and the faking of the call of God.... The book addresses the yearning of many Christians who are worried by this menace but may not know how to discuss it."

Reverend Kenneth NwaubaniAbia, Nigeria

"I am particularly impressed by the depth of research that has gone into this book. It will generate intellectual discourse, challenge our spiritual guardians and mentors and it may well put some of them on the defensive."

Hon. Kazeem AdioOsun, Nigeria

"This book provides an interesting insight into the plight of religion in Nigeria and into the facet of the human condition that allows for the exploitation of the faithful and vulnerable individuals."

Will ColbridgePenistone, UK

"Very few publications, if any, capture through the religious prism the mechanical nature of developing Nigerian society in the way that this publication does. ..."

Casmir OkoliLondon, UK

"The book will, I believe, open the door for many who are still in the dark regarding the subject matter."

Rev Fr Nicholas NwagwuNew York, USA

For courses in Research Methods in Education."Understanding and Evaluating Research," third edition, is a supplemental textbook appropriate for all courses in educational research. A reader, this text contains quantitative "and" qualitative educational research articles from a variety of professional journals. With each article is a sample article analysis and exercises that help students become better consumers of research. The third edition is greatly enhanced by the inclusion of a new chapter on "Mixed Method Designs" and two mixed-method studies, revised and expanded discussion of qualitative methods, more emphasis given to randomized designs, revision of research typology, and features eight new articles.

This introductory book enables researchers and students of all backgrounds to compute interrater agreements for nominal data. It presents an overview of available indices, requirements, and steps to be taken in a research project with regard to reliability, preceded by agreement. The book explains the importance of computing the interrater agreement and how to calculate the corresponding indices. Furthermore, it discusses current views on chance expected agreement and problems related to different research situations, so as to help the reader consider what must be taken into account in order to achieve a proper use of the indices. The book offers a practical guide for researchers, Ph.D. and master students, including those without any previous training in statistics (such as in sociology, psychology or medicine), as well as policymakers who have to make decisions based on research outcomes in which these types of indices are used.

This unique and well-researched study takes a systematic look at the incredible rise in the life expectancy of the population of Albania, one of the world's poorest countries. Through a careful analysis of newly available archive documents and statistics, Gjon^D,ca examines the social, economic, and political factors behind the success of improving life expectancy at birth from 51 to 71 years in a relatively short period of time and despite extreme poverty and strict isolationist governmental policies. The research, based on data obtained primarily from the Albanian State Archives, which opened in 1994, attempts to explain why the Albanian pattern of mortality, with very high infant and child mortality and very low adult mortality, is so different from that of other East European countries with similar social and economic conditions. Using many tables, figures, and other data to illustrate the trends, the author concludes that lifestyle factors, and to a lesser extent government policies directed at health care, are the most likely determinants of Albania's successful mortality transition. In his attempt to shed new light on the phenomena of Albania's remarkable success in shifting patterns of mortality, the author compares the changes with those experienced by other similar countries in an effort to determine whether the Albanian success was part of an overall improvement among countries that have good health at low cost or if the Albanian way is a novel route to low mortality in developing countries. To support his conclusion that Albania's success largely depended on lifestyle, he carefully examines the changes in disease and infection, dietary patterns and lifestyle, education and urbanization, fertility levels, and regional differences. By providing a brief but detailed background of the country itself, and its policies and programs to promote lower mortality, Gjon^D,ca offers readers an interesting portrait of the transitions that have taken place in this poorest of countries.

This book introduces statistical techniques for the particular needs of historians. The approach is practical and applied; alternative ways of resolving methodological problems are worked through. The emphasis is on applying the fundamentals of statistical theory to the specific research interests of historians and available historical sources. A special feature of the book is a discussion of the historical evolution of statistical techniques as a means of understanding their current applications and interpretations.

School districts today face increasing calls for accountability during a time when budgets are stretched and students' needs have become increasingly complex. The teacher's responsibility is to educate younger people, but now more than ever, teachers face demands on a variety of fronts. In addition to teaching academic content, schools are responsible for students' performance on state-wide tests. They are also asked to play an increasingly larger role in children's well-being, including their nutritional needs and social and emotional welfare. Teachers have shown themselves to be more than capable of taking up such challenges, but what price is paid for the increasing demands we are placing on our schools? Understanding Teacher Stress in an Age of Accountability is about the nature of teachers stress and the resources they can employ to cope with it. Accountability is a two-way street and the authors in this volume suggest remedies for reducing teacher stress and in all likelihood increasing student learning-greater administrative support, more and better instructional materials, specialized resources targeted at demanding children, parental support, and professional recognition. Readers will discover that lack of funding, low pay, concerns about academic performance and student misbehavior, and increased public and governmental scrutiny are not exclusive to the United States. In this volume, the third in a series on Research on Stress and Coping in Education, authors from Australia, Turkey, Malaysia, and the Netherlands sound the same alarms, post the same warnings, and draw similarly disturbing conclusions.

A volume in the Chinese American Educational Research and Development Association Book Series Series Editor Jinfa Cai, University of Delaware The book is linked to the annual theme of the 2008 CAERDA International Conference with contributing authors serving as keynote speakers, invited panelists, paper presenters, as well as specialists and educators in the field. The book provides a most comprehensive description of and a theoretically wellinformed and a scholarly cogent account of teaching and learning Chinese in general and in the United States in particular. It examines a wide range of important issues in Chinese teaching and learning: current state in teaching Chinese as a Second Language (TCSL) in the United States, US national standards for learning foreign languages K-12, policy making about how to meet the growing demand for Chinese language and cultural education with regard to a national coordination of efforts, professional teacher training in terms of the quantity and quality of Chinese language teachers at all levels, promotion of early language learning, characteristics of Chinese pedagogy, aspects of Chinese linguistics, methods and methodology in teaching TCSL, techniques and technology in Chinese language education, curriculum and instruction in TCSL, cultural aspects of teaching Chinese as a Second Language, issues in Chinese pedagogy, development of Chinese as a Heritage Language (HL) and the issue of cultural identity for bilingual/multilingual learners (particularly bilingual/multilingual children), testing and evaluation in TCSL, Chinese literacy and reading, approaches to instruction and program design, etc.

This book explores ways in which creative research practice can be explicitly and mindfully geared to make a difference to the quality of social and ecological existence. It offers a range of examples of how different research methods can be employed (and re-tuned) with this intention. The book suggests that what Romm names "active" research involves using the research space responsibly to open up new avenues for thinking and acting on the part of those involved in the inquiry and wider stakeholders. The book includes a discussion of a range of epistemological, ontological, methodological and axiological positions (or paradigms) that can be embraced by inquirers implicitly or explicitly. It details the contours of an epistemology where knowing is recognized to be grounded in social relations, as a matter of ethics. While focusing on discussing the "transformative paradigm" and attendant view of research ethics, it considers to what extent the borders between paradigms can be treated as being permeable in creative and active inquiries. Apart from considering options for enhancing responsible research practice during the process of inquiry (and reconsidering mixed-research designs) the book also considers options for responsible theorizing that is inspirational for pursuing goals of social and ecological justice.

This book presents a broad range of statistical techniques to address emerging needs in the field of repeated measures. It also provides a comprehensive overview of extensions of generalized linear models for the bivariate exponential family of distributions, which represent a new development in analysing repeated measures data. The demand for statistical models for correlated outcomes has grown rapidly recently, mainly due to presence of two types of underlying associations: associations between outcomes, and associations between explanatory variables and outcomes. The book systematically addresses key problems arising in the modelling of repeated measures data, bearing in mind those factors that play a major role in estimating the underlying relationships between covariates and outcome variables for correlated outcome data. In addition, it presents new approaches to addressing current challenges in the field of repeated measures and models based on conditional and joint probabilities. Markov models of first and higher orders are used for conditional models in addition to conditional probabilities as a function of covariates. Similarly, joint models are developed using both marginal-conditional probabilities as well as joint probabilities as a function of covariates. In addition to generalized linear models for bivariate outcomes, it highlights extended semi-parametric models for continuous failure time data and their applications in order to include models for a broader range of outcome variables that researchers encounter in various fields. The book further discusses the problem of analysing repeated measures data for failure time in the competing risk framework, which is now taking on an increasingly important role in the field of survival analysis, reliability and actuarial science. Details on how to perform the analyses are included in each chapter and supplemented with newly developed R packages and functions along with SAS codes and macro/IML. It is a valuable resource for researchers, graduate students and other users of statistical techniques for analysing repeated measures data.

This volume traces the socialization process, professional development, career paths, and theory and research of contemporary pioneers in education and psychology. This volume contains interviews with leading scholars who are at the vanguard of teaching and learning. They shared how their childhood development influenced their theoretical paths and research endeavors and revealed their thoughts, beliefs, and experiences that made them who they are today. These scholars responded to questions pertaining to their childhood, initial interest in education and psychology, role models, research interests and major findings, future directions of their research, educational implications derived from their research, and perception of their legacy. They are real people who have had experiences like anybody else, but found homes and teachers who supported them. While in college, they found educators who mentored them. Readers will find that this volume offers them an opportunity to learn the background of contemporary pioneers in education and psychology, provides valuable sources where they can learn about how major theories developed and where they are moving, and reveals the personal anecdotes that influenced the conceptualization of contemporary theories and research. Educators and students will find that this book provides hope and a rejuvenated enthusiasm about the status of education and psychology and that they too can be leaders in their own ways.

The question of how cooperation and social order can evolve from a Hobbesian state of nature of a "war of all against all" has always been at the core of social scientific inquiry. Social dilemmas are the main analytical paradigm used by social scientists to explain competition, cooperation, and conflict in human groups. The formal analysis of social dilemmas allows for identifying the conditions under which cooperation evolves or unravels. This knowledge informs the design of institutions that promote cooperative behavior. Yet to gain practical relevance in policymaking and institutional design, predictions derived from the analysis of social dilemmas must be put to an empirical test. The collection of articles in this book gives an overview of state-of-the-art research on social dilemmas, institutions, and the evolution of cooperation. It covers theoretical contributions and offers a broad range of examples on how theoretical insights can be empirically verified and applied to cooperation problems in everyday life. By bringing together a group of distinguished scholars, the book fills an important gap in sociological scholarship and addresses some of the most interesting questions of human sociality.

Volume 20 of "Research in Social Stratification and Mobility" continues to remain at the forefront of the diverse group of social scientists who study social inequality and is now the official publication of the Social Stratification Research Group of the International Sociological Association (RC-28). This issue features a comprehensive retrospective on the 40 years of contributions to social stratification research made by the late William Sewell and the Wisconsin Longitudinal Survey, including an all-inclusive bibliography of publications. Other contributions address the growing differences between workers with full-time jobs and various categories of the underemployed (in Israel, the United States and Germany), social mobility in Korea and Sweden, subjective responses to social inequality and the social consequences of status inconsistency, and analyses of class consciousness and growing wealth inequality in the OECD.

This book explores the ontologies, epistemologies, methodologies, and methods that inform tourism qualitative research conducted either by Asian scholars or non-Asian scholars focusing on Asia. In addition to providing a platform for researchers to publish their qualitative journeys, it aims to encourage further Asian qualitative tourism research production. The book not only includes chapters from Asian scholars but also non-Asian tourism researchers with a focus on Asia, as their chapters are crucial to represent the multiplicity of realities constituting 'Asia'. It is of interest to the whole tourism academic community as it provides novel methodological insights from a non-Western perspective, which at the moment are often silenced by dominant (Western) voices.

As a result of the AIDS epidemic, many nations around the world have faced the demands of caring for a particularly vulnerable population of children, the orphans of parents who have died of AIDS or whose caregivers are terminally ill from the disease. Overcoming AIDS: Lessons Learned from Uganda offers an in-depth exploration of this global issue and provides a broad focus on evolving a constructive response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This collaborative resource is the fourth in the Research in Global Child Advocacy book series, and it offers readers a glimpse into the experience of HIV/AIDS infected and affected people from the perspective of researchers, policy makers, and professionals who diligently work toward crafting a framework for action that is integrated across disciplines. Despite the enormity and intensity of the problem, chapter authors share a commitment to advocate for a better world in which social and economic disparities do not preclude children from experiencing a future that is bright with potential opportunities and hope.

New Public Management has held a central position within public administration over the past few decades, complemented by various models promoting post-bureaucratic organization. But 'traditional' bureaucracy has not disappeared, and bureaucracy is in transition in the West and the rest of the world. Bureaucracies still fill crucial positions in modern societies, despite growing criticism of assumed inefficiencies and unlimited growth. This volume examines a range of issues related to bureaucracies in transition across Europe, with a particular focus on the Nordic region. Chapters examine a range of topics including a reinterpretation of Weber's conception of bureaucracy; the historical development of institutions and organizational structures in Sweden and Greece; the myth of bureaucratic neutrality and the concept of 'competent neutrality'; performance management systems; the anti-bureaucratic identities of senior civil servants; the role of experts and expertise in bureaucratic organizations; the impact of reform on public sector executives; the curbing of corruption in Scandinavian states; an interrogation of the Nordic administrative model; Supreme Audit Institutions; 'street-level' bureaucracy; and the establishment of an 'ethics of office' amongst Danish civil servants.

The book covers all important topics in the area of Survival Analysis. Each topic has been covered by one or more chapters written by internationally renowned experts. Each chapter provides a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the topic. Several new illustrative examples have been used to demonstrate the methodologies developed. The book also includes an exhaustive list of important references in the area of Survival Analysis.
.Includes up-to-date reviews on many important topics.
.Chapters written by many internationally renowned experts.
.Some Chapters provide completely new methodologies and analyses.
.Includes some new data and methods of analyzing them.

This is the first international study of maternal care and maternal mortality. Over the last two hundred years, different countries developed quite different systems of maternal care. Death in Childbirth is a meticulously researched analysis, firmly grounded in the available statistics, of the evolution of those systems between 1800 and 1950 in Britain, the USA, Australia and New Zealand, and on the continent of Europe. Irvine Loudon examines the effectiveness of various forms of maternal care by means of the measurement of maternal mortality - the number of women who died as a result of childbirth. His scholarly and comprehensive study sets out to answer a number of important questions. What was the relative risk of a home or hospital delivery, or a delivery by a midwife as opposed to a doctor? What was the safest country in which to have a baby, and what were the factors which accounted for enormous international differences? Why, against all expectations, did maternal mortality fail to decline significantly until the late 1930s? Death in Childbirth makes an invaluable contribution to medical and social history.