Aligning information technology and business strategy with a dynamic capabilities perspective: A longitudinal study of a Taiwanese Semiconductor Company

Strategic alignment involves the development and reconfiguration of information technology (IT) to support business strategies. This paper applies the dynamic capabilities perspective to analyze the strategic information system alignment process. The paper further argues the approach is constructive in understanding and overcoming difficulties in achieving and sustaining alignment. From a longitudinal case study of a semiconductor company in Taiwan, the results show an unaligned strategic information system (with an implemented IT strategy that varies from the intended IT strategy) impedes the development of IT. Path dependence, or the implications of prior IT decisions, is another barrier for alignment. A broader view of intended alignment, focusing on IT combined with clear business vision, can be beneficial for adding future IT resources. In addition, dynamic capabilities, which are critical for the creation and strength of IT resources, positively influence the alignment process and its future implementation success.     

Response to intervention as a vehicle for distinguishing between children with and without reading disabilities: Evidence for the role of kindergarten and first-grade interventions

Children at risk for early reading difficulties were identified on entry into kindergarten, and half of these children received small-group intervention two to three times a week during their kindergarten year. The other half received whatever remedial assistance was offered by their home schools. These children were again assessed at the beginning of first grade, and those who continued to have difficulties in reading received either one-to-one daily tutoring offered by project teachers from the beginning to the end of first grade or whatever remedial assistance was offered by their home schools over the same time period. All target children were periodically assessed through the end of third grade. Results suggest that either kindergarten intervention alone or kindergarten intervention combined with first-grade intervention are both useful vehicles for preventing early and long-term reading difficulties in most at-risk children.     

Effects of student-facilitated learning on instructional facilitators

We investigated perceptions about learning strategy use and instructional roles among a sample of high needs adolescents (n = 230) who acted as near-peer instructional facilitators. The sample was drawn from science and mathematics classes in nonselective public secondary schools in New York City. Students participated in an inschool intervention that draws on social constructivism, theory and research on metacognition and learning strategies, role theory, and empirical findings from the peer-to-peer learning literature to promote advanced achievement among students who act as facilitators. Using a pre- and post-test single group design, we surveyed student instructional facilitators before and after program participation and related their perceptions about learning strategy use and perceptions about teaching roles to data about academic achievement. We found no survey gains in student perceptions about learning strategies or instructional roles between pre-survey (fall) and post-survey (spring). We found small but significant effects of individual perceptions about learning strategies and teaching roles on academic gains among instructional facilitators. The study also suggests that an in-school near-peer facilitated learning program can be an effective means to raise achievement in urban high schools. The study provides partial support for theories that hold that metacognition and role perceptions are involved in the academic gains of instructional facilitators, as gains in these dimensions were small compared to achievement gains.     

Comparing State and District Test Results to National Norms: The Validity of Claims That "Everyone Is Above Average"

Are all states and nearly all districts claiming that their students are above the national average? If so, are the test results “inflated and misleading?” What are the factors that contribute to the abundance of “above average” scores?     

顺应全球化:发展中国家高等教育的变迁与改革

随着全球化经济就业模式的变化及对技能的需求 ,高等教育的内涵出现了变化。旨在满足国家优先发展战略的自上而下的高等教育投资政策已难以满足大众的迫切需求 ,基于个人和社会需求的自下而上的决策观更能满足人才、职业全球流动性日益增加的社会现实。根植于学术研究的知识生产模式难以在新形势下发挥作用 ,而与自下而上的政策建构相适应的知识生产模式 ,将有利于发展中国家在国际高等教育市场中保持竞争力     

STEM education: A tale of two paradigms

Higher education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines has been in a turbulent period for several decades. Pressures for reform include declining STEM student enrollments, high attrition rates from STEM curricula, and the rise of powerful alternative teaching strategies shown by cognitive science and educational research to promote learning and curricular retention better than traditional teaching methods do. In addition, research has shown that online and face‐to‐face courses on average produce comparable learning outcomes, and hybrid courses that combine the best features of both are more effective than either face‐to‐face or online courses by themselves. Motivated by these and other pressures, many faculty members have adopted the new teaching methods, and distance education had become widespread well before the 2020 coronavirus pandemic forced most educators at all levels to teach online. As might be expected, however, many faculty members and administrators have resisted change, arguing that the traditional approach has always worked well and needs no major revision. Before the pandemic, most STEM courses were still being taught using the traditional methods, and many course instructors are eager to return to them. These different responses to calls for education reform have led to heated debates among university instructors and administrators regarding how STEM curricula and courses should be designed, delivered, and assessed, and the role technology should play in all three functions. This essay outlines two competing paradigms on each of these issues—the traditional paradigm, which has long dominated STEM education, and the emerging paradigm, which has become increasingly common in the last 30 years but is still not predominant at most universities and colleges. The essay concludes with speculation about the eventual outcome of the competition.     

Reporting Quality of Single-Case Research Published in Learning Disabilities Journals

Single-case research designs are useful for learning disability researchers interested in refining novel interventions (e.g., new mathematics intervention) before scaling, small n populations (e.g., students with comorbid learning and emotional and behavioral disabilities), and testing unique conditions (e.g., remote locales). Much attention has been devoted to developing research quality standards, which is essential for replication and implementation fidelity; however, little is known about the reporting quality of single-case design studies. To gain insight into the quality of learning disability single-case research design study reporting, we analyzed 72 articles published between 2010 and 2021 in six learning disability-focused journals using the Single-Case Reporting Guideline In BEhavioral interventions (SCRIBE) standards. Findings suggest that reporting quality has remained stagnant, and none of the studies reviewed met all of the reporting standards. Alignment with standards ranged from 33% to 77%. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.     

Evaluation of the benefits of laboratory research and information services

The authors examine the problems of ex-post evaluation of the benefits deriving from services provided by Government Laboratories. They concentrate on the difficulties of conducting meaningful ex-post studies since they feel that too many claims are made on the basis of inadequate, incomplete economic assessments using data that would not be substantiated if probed deeply. Their views are based on a review of nine years' practical evaluation experience.The paper defines three ways in which services/information sources can link up with intended recipients, and discusses the practical problems associated with assessing the impact of services in each case. These problems range from sampling errors and sample bias in questionnaire approaches, to limited respondent knowledge and perspective. Critical probing can overcome these difficulties in some, though not all, instances, since there are issues of principle that prohibit unique attribution of benefits to specific initiatives in many ex-post analyses. The use of cost recovery as a proxy measure of worth is reviewed.The authors point out that ex-ante appraisal of profits is not subject to the same constraints and avoids many of the pitfalls of ex-post evaluation.