The ex ante assessment of knowledge spillovers: Government R&D policy, economic incentives and private firm behavior

This paper investigates the role of government R&D subsidy programs in stimulating knowledge spillovers. R&D subsidies are an effective public policy instrument when knowledge spillovers exist yet ex ante it is difficult to identify projects that have the greatest potential to increase innovation and economic growth. This paper derives a set of project and firm attributes that the literature finds generate knowledge spillovers and uses data on project proposals to estimate the degree to which a government R&D program conforms. We find that projects that were awarded R&D subsidies were more likely to have attributes such as participation in new research joint ventures and connections to universities and other firms. Following the post-award activities of firm, we find that receipt of a government R&D subsidy increased the funding from other sources when compared to firms that were not awarded funding.     

Autism spectrum disorder assessment and evaluation research in 10 school psychology journals from 2007 to 2017

School psychologists are increasingly engaged in service provisions for students eligible for special education services under the eligibility category of autism, including conducting school‐based assessments and evaluations. Evaluations occur for a variety of reasons such as special education eligibility decision‐making, treatment and intervention planning, and progress monitoring. Publications in school psychology journals emphasizing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) assessment and evaluation are vital to quality training and practitioner utilization of quality practices. In the current study, researchers conducted a systematic review of publicaftions in 10 school psychology journals from 2007 to 2017 to assess the current state of ASD assessment and evaluation research in the field of school psychology. Implications for researchers, trainers, and practitioners are discussed.     

Negotiating Identity: A Look at the Educational Experiences of Black Undergraduates in STEM Disciplines

The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate the mathematics educational experiences of Black undergraduate students majoring in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines at the University of Virginia. Using Murrell's (2009) situated-mediated identity theory as the theoretical framework, this study examines factors that influence the construction of mathematics identities of these students. Findings indicate that race significantly influenced the educational experiences of these students and, consequently, the construction of their identities as mathematics learners and doers.     

Social contexts of development in natural outdoor environments: children’s motor activities,personal challenges and peer interactions at the river and the creek

This study examined the influence of spending time outdoors on young children’s physical and socioemotional development. We observed preschoolers’ activities in two naturally provisioned outdoor environments over the course of one year. Eleven preschoolers were videotaped continuously for 16 days at a local river and 9 days at a creek adjacent to the school. In addition to the quantitative analyses of children’s behaviors, a case study of three children’s experiences over the course of the year was conducted. Both the river and the creek settings encouraged a multitude of physical and play behaviors with similar types of affordances, including flat surfaces for running, rocks for climbing and jumping off, and water for exploration and play, but the wilder environment (river) afforded more risk and personal challenges. Observations of children’s motor activities, play and responses to challenging environmental features supported the importance of accumulated experience and social context for the development of confidence in the face of risk, individual exploration and positive social support and engagement with peers.     

Understanding How Families Use Magnifiers During Nature Center Walks

This analysis uses a sociocultural learning theory and parent–child interaction framework to understand families’ interactions with one type of scientific tool, the magnifier, during nature walks offered by a nature center. Families were video recorded to observe how they organized their activities where they used magnifiers to explore in the outdoors. Findings include that families used magnifiers for scientific inquiry as well as for playful exploration. Using the concept of guided facilitation where families develop roles to support their joint endeavor, three roles to support family thinking were found to be: (a) tool suggester, (b) teacher, and (c) exploration ender. Some families struggled to use magnifiers and often, parents and older siblings provided support for younger children in using magnifying lenses. Implications to informal science learning theory are drawn and suggestions for future family learning research are offered: (a) inclusion of sociocultural and situated perspectives as theories to study informal learning in outdoor spaces, (b) further study on the role of siblings in family interactions, (c) design-based research is needed to encourage family role-taking when engaging in science practices, and (d) new conceptualizations on how to design informal programs that support science learning while leaving space for visitors’ personal agendas and interests that can guide the families’ activities.     

Guest Editor's Introduction: Analyzing Tools: Perspectives on the Role of Designed Artifacts in Mathematics Learning

Concentrating the attention on one aspect makes it leap into the foreground and occupy the square, just as, with certain drawings, you have only to close your eyes and when you open them the perspective has changed. (Calvino, 1983, p. 7)     

Using Movies to Illustrate Ethical Dilemmas in Undergraduate Criminal Justice Classes

Ethics education in criminal justice programs has increased in popularity, but instructors sometimes struggle to teach ethics in such a way that students retain what they have learned and apply ethical principles in the criminal justice field upon graduation. The current research highlights that there are several benefits of presenting ethical dilemmas to students through popular movies such as Mississippi Burning and Road to Perdition. Compared to the control group (Section A) that was taught in a traditional lecture format, students who were required to identify ethical dilemmas in movies (Section B) were more likely to understand the complexities of such situations, to rate unethical behavior properly, and to see how ethical principles could be applied to their everyday lives.