Publisher and author partnerships: a changing landscape

This article discusses the changing relationships of authors and publishers, the current trends and challenges they face, and the direction of these relationships in the future. As the STM publishing industry finds itself in the midst of significant technological and economic changes, this article provides background to these changes and looks at the key elements, including open access business development, institutional repository trends, and emerging public financing policies in the future.     

What Assessment and Research Say About the Condition of Education

Do students today know less than their parents or grandparents did as students? Are they being academically outclassed by students of other nations? Or have ideologically driven policy makers painted an unnecessarily negative picture of student achievement?     

CONCERN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT: A CROSS-NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Data from the International Social Survey Program indicate considerablevariation in the desire of respondents for increased spendingon the environment in Australia, Austria, Great Britain, theUnited States, and West Germany. This paper explores this variationwith the following objectives: (1) to determine the extent towhich the social bases of environmental concern are consistentacross nations; (2) to determine how the issue of the environmenthas been politicized in the five industrialized nations, focusingon the association of Old Leftist concerns and environmentalconcern; and (3) to determine the extent to which the socialbases of environmental concern can explain the cross-nationalvariation. The study usesa regression analysis, testing variablesrepresenting the social bases of environmental concern frompast research in the United States, a scale representing commitmentto the platform of the Old Left, and dummy variables for eachcountry. The results show that the social bases of environmentalconcern are the same in the five countries studied, includinga consistent positive association of Old Leftism with environmentalconcern. However, substantial variation between countries inthe overall level of concern remains. Potential sources of theremaining variation are examined.     

Accommodations for Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing in Large-Scale, Standardized Assessments: Surveying the Landscape and Charting a New Direction

Students who are deaf or hard of hearing (SDHH) often use test accommodations when they participate in large-scale, standardized assessments. The purpose of this article is to present findings from the Third Annual Survey of Assessment and Accommodations for Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. The "big five" accommodations were reported by at least two-thirds of the 389 participants: extended time, small group/individual administration, test directions interpreted, test items read aloud, and test items interpreted. In a regression analysis, language used in instruction showed the most significant effects on accommodations use. The article considers these findings in light of a more proactive role for the National Survey in providing evidence for the effectiveness of accommodations with SDHH.