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Thinking of Implementing a Decision-Making Framework? Read This First
Ah, the life of a PM. Endless meetings. Never-ending slack threads. Customer research to complete. Designs to review.
Oh, and somewhere in there, you also have to manage the roadmap.
It's no wonder that decision-making frameworks have taken off in the product management world. Any tool or framework that can help to manage the chaos is worth a try, amirite?
Sanity through prioritization
If you ask experienced PMs what their key to success is, more than one of them will say "ruthless prioritization".
That's essentially what decision-making frameworks & prioritization processes help you do.
But with a lot more style and a wee bit more math.
Ruthless? That sounds so…harsh
The concept of ruthless prioritization is an uncomfortable one for many new PMs. Saying no to someone with more clout than you? Unthinkable. Won't they fire me?!
However, stay in the game for more than a couple of years and you'll quickly realize just how vital prioritization is to yours and your team's success.
Common Approaches To Prioritization for PMs
As you may already know, prioritization is the process of deciding what's important.
There's short-term task prioritization for the day to day and strategic prioritization for the long-term vision. We'll primarily talk about strategic prioritization from here on out.
The most common use for strategic prioritization in the product management world is to decide which feature requests, ideas, bugs fixes, improvements, and so on and so forth make it onto the product roadmap.
Three common approaches to making these decisions are…
- Off-the-shelf frameworks
- A custom framework
- ¯ \ (ツ)/¯. Who needs a decision-making framework?? lulz
Deciding which approach to take (so meta)
Each of these three approaches have their pros and cons. Some are easier to start with than others (off the shelf), some get you better results but take more thought (custom frameworks), and some, well…some just kinda fall into place and are never questioned (whatever goes).
Prioritization process? Psssh. I don't need one of those.
Without a process, choosing what goes on the roadmap can be a combination of…
- gut feel
- whatever your loudest stakeholders are demanding
- customer requests
- codebase improvements
- urgent bugs
- and any other number of things
We'll admit, this approach has it's place. It can work when you're just starting out and you're not yet sure what's important.
But this approach sure as heck doesn't scale.
After a few good feature flops and wasted engineering time you'll start wondering if there is a better way.
Thankfully there is.
So, if you're through with winging it, let's figure out how to choose a prioritization process/decision-making framework that works for you.
Step one: Figure out what's important
Remember the definition of prioritization? It's the process of deciding what's important.
Therefore, the first, most logical step of starting to prioritize is to figure out what's important.
Let's start with developing a list of values. 4-8 of them is a good starting point.
These values exist all around you. They may be explicitly stated in your company values or implied through your company culture.
If you're not sure what yours are, here are some places to find them:
- Company vision/mission/values statements
- Your OKRs, company OKRs
- Your market
- Your customers
- Other stakeholders
- Your engineering team
- Which department is "driving" the organization. For example, a marketing driven organization will have different priorities than a product driven organization
Can't find any or feel stuck?
Hopefully you already have some values on your list. If you can't think of anything, you can analyze what feels most urgent in your current situation.
Urgency is an imperfect but quick way of assessing what's important. After all, what is urgency but importance with a time constraint?
- If you're feeling urgency to build fast to get an MVP out the door that can be iterated on, speed is likely very valuable to you
- If you're feeling urgency to build integrations that will allow your users to easily switch to you from a competitor, then perhaps reducing switching costs is an important value
- If adding new interactions, animations, and improving loading/empty states are always pushed through first, then customer delight may be a value
- If you're a sales-driven organization and the sales team has promised that by adding this snazzy new feature, you'll gain at least 20 new high-value accounts (and they always get their way), then new customer potential may be a value
Remember, just because someone is breathing down your neck about something doesn't always mean its urgent. It's up to you to distinguish between real urgency and people who are just being pushy.
Great, you now have a list of a handful of values that are important to you.
Next up, matching them up with a decision-making framework.
Step Two: Find a decision-making framework that matches your values
There are all sorts of decision-making frameworks out there. Your next task is to comb through these and figure out if and how you may be able to use one of them in your own projects.
Describing each of them is a post for another day, but some common ones include:
Popular off-the-shelf frameworks
- Kano
- Opportunity scoring
- Value vs. risk / value vs. cost
- Scorecard
- Feature buckets
- Story mapping
- Moscow
- Product tree
- Cost of delay
Let's just assume that in between the time it took you to read the above list and this line, you got all caught up on each of the different frameworks and kow which ones may or may not measure what's important to you. ::insert clapping soudtrack here
If you found one that is a good fit for what's important to you, you can skip the next step and just follow your chosen framework.
But before you move on…some quick words of wisdom…
Don't pick a decision-making framework just become some cool silicon valley unicorn is using it. What's important to them may not be what's important to you. Small startups and enterprises are not the same. Neither should the way they make decisions.
If none of the off-the-shelf frameworks seem to match what's important to you, there's another option.
Create your own prioritization process
If you don't find a framework that fits what's important to you, then it is super simple to create your own.
You'll just take your list of things that are important to you and use them to score your items.
The simplest way to do this is as follows:
- score each thing you want to prioritize against your list of values
- multiply each item's scores together to come up with a composite score
- sort your list on this score to find your "top" items
As you grow and mature your prioritization process, you may find that some things need more emphasis than others. One way to account for this is to add weights or create your own formulas. You can do this in a spreadsheet or in Speckled.
As your organization and objectives grow and change, it'll be much easier to readjust priorities. Just swap out an old one or add a new one.
OK, I have a decision-making framework. What now?
Now it's time to go through and prioritize! Some logical first places to start are your backlog, your long list of ideas, that board of bug fixes you've been meaning to get around to, or anything else that could use a good pruning.
Use your framework. Find the best stuff. Add them to your roadmap. And get to work!
Then, whenever you have a new strategic decision to make, bust out your prioritization framework.
What's that feeling? Oh, that's the feeling of PM superstardom as your product constantly exceeds expectations. Boom.
Come back next week for more articles on product management or subscribe to the blog to get the latest in your inbox.


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Clemson starting defensive end Xavier Thomas out against South Carolina
COLUMBIA -- Clemson was without starting defensive end Xavier Thomas for Saturday night's regular-season finale, a 30-0 win against South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Thomas was unavailable because of a hamstring injury that happened the previous week against Wake Forest. He had played in every game this season, nine starts, with 3.5 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss among his 26 total tackles.
Live updates: Clemson football faces rival South Carolina in Palmetto Bowl
"He tried," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. "But on Wednesday night, he said he wasn't going to be able to go. We'll get him well (for a bowl game in December)."
Thomas is a graduate student who played in only seven games last year after struggling with COVID and complications early in the season. He is a former All-ACC player from Florence, South Carolina, and transferred from Wilson High School to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
"It was unfortunate that we didn't have XT tonight," Swinney said. "But I think he's given us great leadership all year. Really proud of him."
Meanwhile, Clemson wide receiver E.J. Williams (knee) also was listed as out for this game. He missed the home finale last week against Wake Forest. For the season, he has nine catches for 66 yards in eight games. The Tigers are already missing top receivers Justyn Ross, Joseph Ngata and Frank Ladson Jr. because of injuries.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson starting defensive end Xavier Thomas out vs. South Carolina


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It is always a real pleasure when this week's guest stops by to visit and Novels Alive and Be My Bard. Please extend a warm and fuzzy welcome to USA Today Bestselling Author…the "Fantabulous" Renee Bernard!
Thank you for joining us for this 4th edition of "10 Questions With…"! Since this new edition begins/began in February it's only fitting to ask first…When it comes to traditional Valentine's day gifts would you rather have a big bouquet of flowers or a heart-shaped box of chocolates?
I wish I could say flowers….but there is just something about dark chocolate that whispers to my soul.
You have won an all expenses paid vacation to visit a place you have written about in one of your stories (real or fictional), which one would you choose and why?
I'm heading to ENGLAND! Brace yourself, Brits! Though I'll be off the beaten path and soaking it in with total abandon! Do I need a reason? I mean, the why is that I think nothing inspires a writer more than touching those doorways, breathing in the air and walking those paths… Nothing.
The cover of one of your books features the hero and heroine, but instead of models they are the actual people who inspired the character. Who would they be?
I think my characters are their own people. I really don't push people in my real world over into their shoes too much. (You should see the cutting look I just got from a certain hero of mine…. Oh, my!)
What was the best advice anyone ever gave you about writing? The worst?
The best advice was to ignore all advice about writing and trust your own methods, your own imagination and your own process. It's a journey and writing isn't selling real estate. This isn't a system. It's art. And Art is messy. I think that covers it. The worst advice was from an author who said that readers were stupid and to just pick one year to research for your historical romances and then set all your stories in the same year so you don't have to research. She is not a voice I turn to in a crisis…LOL
Some of the most epic love stories ever told concluded with an unhappy ending. Have you ever considered giving your couple a tragic ending versus a triumphant one? Why or Why not?
I was going to kill a heroine in childbirth…but my hero put a big old squash on that notion. It was a secondary book but he wasn't having it. It was a hard lesson in where I can push and where it costs me more than the literary thrill of murder.
Always tempting to add that incredible drama and tension—but romance readers can be VERY unforgiving on that point.
You have been asked to re-write a classic romance novel in which you take the characters and move them to another time and place. Which story would you choose and where would it take place?
Romances are relatively new, aren't they? Tragic love stories with moral underpinnings less so…but our "classics" are a fun slice! I think I'd be drawn to something completely outside the box like taking classic romance themes and pushing them into alternative futures and steampunk-like worlds of my own making. I think I'm happier if I'm reinventing rather than just moving things around…because I'm crazy that way.
When you have finally written the last page in a new book are you more likely to indulge in a celebratory toast, simply sigh of relief that the project is finished or do you dive right back in to start on the next project?
It's a quiet dance around my office, a quick text to my husband and friends, and then a big sigh of relief…before I catch my breath to get ready for the next phase of work, of edits and marketing and promotion and the next book. There is Always the next book. I think I need to try to learn to celebrate more but as this is my building phase and I haven't seen the top of the mountain yet, maybe that's coming.
Many authors get asked the question about what three books would they want with them if they were ever stranded on a deserted island. BUT, if given the choice of WHERE in this scenario you were stranded, would you rather be stuck in an isolated mountain cabin, a haunted castle in Europe, an abandoned ghost town in the desert or would you stick with the tropical island?
Not a fan of mosquitos and bugs. I'd lean hard to the haunted castle in Europe. Even if I froze to death or starved, I'd do it in style! (and I'd have great phantasmic muses to keep me company!)
If you had your choice of anyone (past, present or even fictional) to be stranded with you…who would it be?
I'd want to be stranded with my best friend and twin sister, Lisa Watson. Because together, we could make any survival scenario fun. But on a loftier, philosophical note, I would probably say that for my stranded poker table I would insist on Edward DeVere, Earl of Oxford, Stan Lee, Joseph Campbell and Elizabeth Gaskell. We would talk about writing and character constructs and the workings of myth and superheroes until we passed out in a very happy pile.
Please tell us a little bit about your latest book and what you will be working on next?
I'm finishing DEVIL MAY CARE, the follow up to DEVIL TO PAY in The Eternity Gambit Series. The book centers on a Temptress employed by H.E.LLc and her Take Down Mission in which she is unbeknownst to her, assigned to tempt a righteous man. For readers who love Good Guys, Lillith has one in the crosshairs—but since she's never seen one, she's not going easy on him. It's a romantic chase with tons of comic demonic twists and let's just say, Jackson Kent will have to be on his best behavior to tame this bad girl!
Next up is my new series, The Duchess Club. So I think it's THE WILD DUCHESS to kick things off! I'm back to my historical romance roots and I've decided to just have fun with it!
When you are a Take Down Agent in the Temptations Department in H.E.LLc, the good news is that you get out of the office every once in a while. The bad news is that there isn't a human being targeted and "served" who is smiling after you're done, so customer appreciation isn't one of the perks.
Lillith is the best demon Temptress in the business and has a sexy scorched earth policy that leaves nothing standing in her wake. So when her next assignment looks like 'low-hanging fruit' as a former professional football player and sugar sweet do-gooder, she's prepared for a quick record-setting Take Down. Unfortunately, no one has let her in on the twist.
Her target is actually a Good Guy, something Lilly has never seen. So this is going to be one for the books as Lilly faces the unthinkable: She's the one in danger of falling in love!


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Weaving Fate by Aidan Wachter
Weaving Fate by Aidan Wachter
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Weaving Fate presents tools to help restore our connection to the Field, the Others, and our own intrinsic natures. These practices can help us to re-imagine the possibilities available to us and to shift our lives into more beneficial forms.
The Black Book is a journaled form of hypersigil, a long-form written approach to magic that allows us to write the life we desire into being.
The Corridor is an imaginal tool used to visit other times and places. Through it we can shift unhelpful influences from past events in positive directions and connect with our future selves to help manifest the lives we desire.
The Fever Stone is a magical process for releasing energy trapped in traumatic events and ancestral pain-states. We can then transmute this energy into raw power for use in creating the internal and external changes we seek.
Weaving Fate is for those willing get their hands dirty in the guts of the thoughts, memories, internal, and external forces that shape our lives. It is for those who understand that our fates are mutable and that we have great power to influence them.
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Before the Fray
The Kara Sample Sale Makes a Strong Case for Buying a Spring Backpack
Especially at these prices.
The Milly Sample Sale Has New, Lower Prices for Its Final Days (Update)
Lamé, mesh, neon — it's all there.
Prices at the Ohne Titel Sample Sale Are Ridiculously Good This Time
Spoiler: All apparel is $30.
The Brightly-Colored Asics Sample Sale Just Got Some Price Cuts (Update)
Prices start at $4.99.
This Indie Sample Sale Has Lots of Gorgeous Basics, Lingerie
Ace + Jig, Baserange, Curriculum Vitae, and more.
J. Mendel's Sample Sale Is Lavish, With a Ton of Fur and a Few Manolo Blahniks
It's reminiscent of old Hollywood glamour.
The Sachin + Babi Sample Sale Is a Maze of Embroidered Goodness
It's your chance to grab ready-to-wear that's no longer available online.
Roberta Roller Rabbit Sample Sale Prices Are an Extra 30% Off for the Weekend (Update)
Prints on prints, baby.
The Garment District Sample Sale That's Made for This Weird, Transitioning Weather
Layer a cashmere sweater over a tank top and a pair of jeans.
The Elie Tahari Sample Sale Has Lots of Elegant Work Clothes (Update)
And a purple raincoat and a faux fur vest, too.
The Opening Ceremony Sample Sale Is a Must-Shop (for Fans of the House Line)
That and lots of Kenzo for up to 90% off.
What You Would Have Found at the Diptyque Sample Sale
And how much it all costs.
Patrik Ervell Scouts Out His Own Sample Sale
See what you'll find at the menswear sale (hint: a small section of womenswear)
The Bogner Sample Sale Is Here to Outfit Your Swiss Alps Vacation
If your wardrobe budget is as big as your travel budget, that is.
Unsurprisingly, Canada Goose Went Fast at the Story Sample Sale
But there's still a lot of other (and cheaper) good stuff to check out.
Rodarte's One-Day Only Sale Is Beautiful, But Expensive
Remember, looking is free.
DKNY's Sample Sale Just Got a Whole Lot Cheaper (Update)
Does a $2,895 cocktail dress for $125 sound like a good deal to you?
The Bonobos Sample Sale Gets Price Cuts Going Into the Weekend (Update)
So many shirts, so little time.
The French Garment Cleaners Sample Has Lots of Rachel Comey and Sea
Don't overlook the men's section.
Theory and Helmut Lang Sample Sale Prices Start At $50 (Update)
So it's worth venturing into the cold.
Jumelle's Pop-Up Sample Sale Has Pretty, Locally-Made Ceramics
And discounted indie apparel and shoes, too.
The Swords-Smith Sample Sale Is a Discounted Indie Haven
Expect up to 90% off retail prices on the likes of Samantha Pleet, Upstate, and more.
The Ports 1961 Sample Sale Has Everything From Workwear to Gowns
Prices are up to 90% off.
Freemans Sporting Club's Super Bowl Sample Sale Is for Fancy Gentlemen
So many suiting options.
See the Anthom Sample Sale's Exclusive Designer Pieces
Unique and minimalist pieces are available at serious discounts.
Theory's Latest Sample Sale Is Better Than Expected
Expect tons of restocking and further discounts as the sale goes on.
United Nude Sample Sale Shoes Start at $50
There are literally thousands of pairs to browse.
At the Creatures of Comfort Sample Sale, Go for the Shoes First
Shoes and clothes are up to 90% off.
3.1 Phillip Lim, Opening Ceremony, and More from Otte's Warehouse Sale
See what we spotted for at least half-off.
Fivestory's End-of-Season Sale Is Full of Fancy Fashion Brands at 80% Off
Giambattista Valli, Maiyet, Narsico Rodriguez, and so many more.
Dannijo's Killer Sample Sale Accessories Start at $10, Vintage Starts at $40
You've only got until 8pm to shop.


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OTTAWA, June 23, 2020 – C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. (TSXV: CMI), the world's leading designer and manufacturer of commercial grade, auto-acquire mobile satellite antenna systems, announced today that it has completed integration of the Comtech EF Data branded Heights™ Networking Platform with the Company's iNetVu® antenna controllers. The latest Comtech VSAT networking platform, which encompasses several new modems, notably the H-Plus Remote Gateway, is now fully compatible with all C-COM Flyaway and Driveaway antenna systems.
Using the Comtech EF Data H-Plus Remote Gateway and testing over the SES-3 (103W) satellite, C-COM's 98cm Ku-band flyaway and driveaway antenna systems configured with the iNetVu® 7710 controller, were able to seamlessly acquire satellite in under 2 minutes, and connect to the network.
C-COM's 'Best in Class' antenna controllers offer interoperability with 14 different modem manufacturers and with more than 35 different models.
"We are happy to add Comtech EF Data's highly advanced networking platform to our list of approved and integrated RF equipment," said Leslie Klein, President & CEO of C-COM Satellite Systems, Inc. "C-COM and Comtech EF Data have been collaborating for many years. Our iNetVu products are already integrated with 7 unique
Comtech EF Data modems, and it's nice to see the innovation continue with the Heights product line," Klein continued.
"The interoperability of our Heights Networking Platform with the C-COM flyaway and driveaway antenna systems will enable users to leverage high performance, efficient and reliable connectivity solutions for demanding mobility applications," commented Louis Dubin, Senior Vice President, Product Management and Marketing of Comtech EF Data.
The Heights Networking Platform combines Comtech EF Data's most efficient waveforms, header and payload compression engines, WAN optimization, proven dynamic bandwidth and power management along with bi-directional ACM capability to provide the highest user throughput, highest availability, and most optimal resource utilization available in the industry.
C-COM mobile antennas with iNetVu® controllers, compatible with the Heights Networking Platform, are available for immediate delivery.
About C-COM Satellite Systems Inc.
C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. is a pioneer and world leader in the design, development, and manufacture of transportable and mobile satellite-based antenna systems. The Company has developed proprietary, auto-acquisition controller technology for rapid antenna pointing to a satellite with just the press of a button, enabling Broadband Internet via Satellite across a wide range of market applications worldwide, including regions unserved or underserved by terrestrial access technologies.
C-COM has sold more than 8,500 antenna systems, in over 100 countries, through a dedicated dealer network that provides service to a wide range of vertical markets such as Oil & Gas Exploration, Military Communications, Disaster Management, SNG, Emergency Communications, Cellular Backhaul, Telemedicine, Mobile Education, Government Services, Mobile Banking, and others. The Company's iNetVu® brand is synonymous with high quality, reliability, and cost-effectiveness.
C-COM is in late stage development of a potentially revolutionary Ka-band, electronically steerable, modular, conformal, flat panel phased array antenna. In cooperation with the University of Waterloo, C-COM is engaged in the design of this unique antenna with the intent of providing low-cost, high-throughput mobility applications over satellite for land, airborne and maritime verticals. For additional information please visit www.c-comsat.com
iNetVu® is a registered trademark of C-COM Satellite Systems Inc.
The Company is publicly traded on the Canadian Venture Exchange (TSXV: CMI) and on the US OTC Exchange (OTC: CYSNF).
About Comtech EF Data Corp.
Comtech EF Data Corp., a subsidiary of Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (NASDAQ: CMTL), is a leading supplier of communications equipment with a focus on satellite bandwidth efficiency and link optimization. The high-performance satellite communications ground equipment is deployed globally to support mission-critical and demanding applications for government, mobile backhaul, premium enterprise and mobility. Service providers, satellite operators, governments and commercial users wanting to optimize communications, increase throughput and delight customers, are leveraging the performance and flexibility of the Comtech brand. The solutions are facilitating fixed and mobile networks in 160+ countries and across every ocean. For more information, visit www.comtechefdata.com.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.


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The One Thing to Do for Jewelry Fashion
Essentially, jewelry is intended to adhere to the body with a clip or, sometimes, with a particular sort of magnet. Yes, silver jewelry represents what's new in the expanding jewelry fashion business and it comes relatively inexpensive. Given the selection of affordability, as a collector, buying jewelry made out of silver offers you the capability to own multiple silver pieces for the purchase price of a single gold piece.
The 5-Minute Rule for Jewelry Fashion
You may always upgrade the group of jewelry. Fashion jewelry may also be obtained at many on-line stores and is therefore accessible to everyone. It has been around for thousands of years now. It is also known as costume jewelry. It has come a long way since you likely remember. It is intended to be worn for a short duration of time with a specific outfit and it gets outdated very soon with the changing trend. Fashion jewelry, also thought of as costume jewelry, is an enjoyable and cheap way to express your personal style.
Finally, a tasteful choice of jewelry will help to produce the man. Therefore, if you're searching to buy beautiful jewelry for an inexpensive price then fashion jewelry is the thing to do. If you're making acrylic beads jewelry to sell, you're likely trying to bring your production costs down, and that means that you may make an extremely very good profit from the business.
Jewelry is a significant accent on your wedding day, but be certain it doesn't become center stage. For those who have fashion jewelry already you may want to know some easy strategies on the best way to look after it. If you are not able to choose the type of fashion jewelry you should wear, just comply with the celebrities or another fashion icon you are considering. If you are purchasing fashion jewelry only because it has the number 925 on it, you might be wasting your money. Well, fashion jewelry is definitely the thing to do. Wire-wrap fashion jewelry could be simple to make.
What the In-Crowd Won't Tell You About Jewelry Fashion
Don't hesitate to ask family members and friends to borrow a bit of jewelry you adore. It's wonderful in order to wear wedding jewelry which fits not only your esthetics, but in addition your ethics. Wedding jewelry is a rather personal option, and however much the wedding couple love each other, it does not need to mean choosing matchy-matchy sets of bands. Silver jewelry is not as expensive as a result of substantial rise in the variety of wholesalers. Sterling Silver Jewelry is extremely versatile and can help you collect a style statement where other kinds of jewelry may not.
The Argument About Jewelry Fashion
Jewelry is among the absolute most in-demand gifts for both women and men. So, the jewelry can be found in bright colours and youthful designs. If you attempt to look out for charm jewelry in jewelry stores or on the internet, it is going to be possible to find an extremely wide selection of choices basing on several ages.
Life, Death, and Jewelry Fashion
Fashion is one particular area where they contributed much in making a good deal of difference. It is not something that exists in dresses only. You'd be surprised to be aware that the yester year fashion of gold coin jewelry has arrived into vogue again.


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Sounds yummy. I cant wait for my raspberries to come out in summer :)
Your cottage sounds like a wonderful place.
Marie.. this reminds me of an thicker bavarian apple torte we love..I know this would be a hit w/ us..Thank you!ReplyDelete
Yum yum yum,
Yum yum yum.
Yum yum yum yum
Yum yum yum
(my mother told me not to speak with my mouth full!)
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SMCP reconfigures its international leadership and its brand leadership in Paris
The group SMCP has reconfigured its international leadership, as a logical continuation of recent developments. The internal appointments have naturally led to a game of musical chairs, with new appointments at the top of its brands Sandro and Claudie Pierlot in Paris, among others.
And so the group, owned by the American investment firm KKR since June 2013, has appointed two executives to lead its two major subsidiaries. At the beginning of the summer, Dinah Emsalem was appointed chief operating officer of SMCP's North American division in New York. She has been in charge of the brand Claudie Pierlot since February 2012 and will now be replaced at that position by Isabelle Allouch, the former head of L'Occitane en Provence for France.
The leadership of the group's other international subsidiary, based in Hong Kong, and naturally geared toward Asia, has been handed over to Stéphane Ledru. Previously brand general manager at Sandro, he will coordinate the development of the group's three brands in Asia beginning in September.
Jean-Philippe Hecquet will fill the vacancy that Ledru has left behind. Most recently, Hecquet was responsible for worldwide retail operations at the watchmaker Tag Heuer, having also previously worked for Louis Vuitton in the United States and Canada.
In May, Sylvie Colin took over as general manager of Maje. It's a complete reconfiguration at the head of the brands owned by the group, which itself is presided over by Daniel Lalonde, CEO of SMCP since April.
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Explore all our coloring activities, from giant posters and maps to coloring rolls and books.


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In most companies, up to 30 percent of all calls go unanswered. It is either engaged or nobody picks up.
Important clients and business partners do not like being "parked" in a queue. There is a risk of losing clients and therefore money. Not to mention the loss of reputation.
This begs the question:
The easiest way to sustainably increase availability is a targeted evaluation of the telephone data.
With Q-Board One Telephone Analytics, you can see peak demands, loss rates and waiting times on clear dashboards, allowing you to optimally plan your employee allocation.
You don't know?
Then you can't do anything about it.
The continuous and long-term analysis of successful, lost and engaged calls provides a meaningful overview of the entire company's telephone behaviour as well as that of
individual departments.
... get hold of the facts. With Q-Board One Telephone Analytics you can evaluate the telephone data of your company, your department and your team.
Within seconds and at the push of a button. All data is prepared and displayed on user-friendly dashboards.
Q-Board One guarantees sustainable success, as the results of the measures introduced can be instantly viewed in the updated service quality.
Standard key figures:


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Keeping your hands clean is the number one way to prevent the spread of infection. However, not many people wash their hands as often as they should, but IHA is trying to change that. Remember to wash your hands before eating, while preparing food, after using the restroom, after coughing, sneezing or caring for someone who is ill, after taking out the garbage, after petting animals, before or after touching your contacts and before taking care of a cut for yourself or another. Practice the best hand washing techniques by following these tips:
From December 4 – 10, 2016, both National Influenza Vaccination Week and Hand Hygiene Awareness Week, IHA partnered with AHA on their
United Against the Flu Campaign and to promote
Hand Hygiene Awareness Week. We gave out
fact sheets and social media messaging for members to distribute to the communities they serve.
According to the CDC, approximately 970,000 Americans were hospitalized due to the flu in 2014, and more than 40 million were affected by flu-related illnesses. Many of them could have prevented the spread of the flu by practicing proper hand hygiene.
We hope to continue our partnership with the AHA in the future to prevent the spread of the flu and promote the spread of hand hygiene.
In addition to our work with AHA, IHA partnered with the Indiana Chapter of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) to develop a hand hygiene measurement toolkit for use in Indiana health care facilities. The toolkit was created to help hospitals promote consistency in the methods used for hand hygiene observation and tracking. Download the hand hygiene toolkit.
500 N Meridian Street, Suite 250, Indianapolis, IN 46204 \\ 317-633-4870
© Indiana Hospital Association


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Firefighting Gloves
There are lots of heat protective fire gloves on the market. All of the gloves give different stages of protection. If the question is heat resistant gloves, it is a must that the materials differ greatly.
Some manufacturers use woven fabric or carbon. Some use Kevlar or another use mix of few materials to get the best result.
Choosing the best type of gloves to depend on whether the heat is dry or moist. Some gloves are made to compete with fire directly.
We must detect dexterity tests and direct mission grip and ask firefighter athletes' help. Research has used laboratory base tests, but we do not consider they are mission direct.
As we are talking about firefighters, we are sure that the gloves must be examined dry and soaked completely.
One says that he has seen grip issues at first with wet gloves at the time of fire repair.
- Grip strength –We are searching something that nearly mimics the normal demands of the fire athlete. It is carrying a great piece of the instrument to handle a wet from the fire. We know it well that we have to measure both wet and dry grip strength.
- Dexterity –We know it's that sometimes firefighters remove gloves from the hand to work on dexterity issues. The most common 3 issues are as follows:
- (a) Starting chainsaws
- (b) Manipulating a radio
- (c) Handling hydraulic rescue couplings
- When we like to test dexterity we must test that nearly resembles these demands, but normally universal and repeatable.
11 Top Fire Fighting Gloves
- Dakine Men's Titan Gloves
- Shelby Firefighters Gloves, L, Pigskin, PR, Beige/Black
- Lightning X Heavy-Duty Firefighter Turnout Gear Glove Strap
- Extreme Heat Resistant Cooking Gloves
- Grill Heat Aid, Heat Resistant Gloves, 932°F EN407 Certified
- Dragon Fire Alpha X NFPA Firefighting Glove Large
- Tan Firefighter Heavy Duty Work Gloves NFPA Rated
- Premium Cooking Gloves, Heat Resistant, Oven, BBQ
- Whitebergs Heat Resistant Gloves
- Grill Armor Extreme Heat Resistant Oven Gloves – EN407
- KIM YUAN Extreme Heat/Fire Resistant Gloves
Types Of Gloves
Low heatproof gloves give minimal safety against abrasion and heat. They are long lasting gloves indeed.
They normally come with the reinforced thumb. They are accurate insulators. Normally speaking, this type of glove may withstand temperatures up to four hundred degrees F.
Heat protective gloves can withstand up to 600 degrees F or above. They confirm efficient grip and ensure the topmost hand protection. On the other hand fire, resistant gloves are made from top notch materials.
They are made to withstand open flames or sparks without melting. These types of gloves have more material layers of increasing safety.
They are resistant to cuts and abrasions also. This type of fire glove is long lasting and durable. Therefore, in conclusion, we can say it is great for handling sharp and rough objects.
The defensive heat gloves ensure more safety. They are great to handle sharp and rough items.
Most of the gloves withstand direct flame. They permit the worker to get in direct contact with the extremely hot surface except melting.
In spite of their weight and thickness, they have multi-layer protections. They come with custom or standard formats.
These gloves also give high dexterity. The insulation covers are very simple to remove. They are made of high temperature resistant cloths.
While making this glove, manufacturers use a combination of cotton layers and carbon thread or Kevlar to the outside of the gloves.
The knuckles and fingertips are normally reinforced and are the cuffs of a secure fit. The palms are also saved from extreme heat.
These gloves are non-flammable. They are made to save a hand from direct or convective heat.
Moreover, these gloves are mostly resistant to tearing. They are appropriate for mechanical and thermal hazards. This kind of glove is very comfortable and great for maintenance and heavy duty application as well.
Normally saying, the heat protective gloves come in various sizes. It is fit for bigger and even for smaller hands. Some gloves come with only universal sizes. This glove easily adjusts with the hands.
Best Fire Gloves Reviews
The following reviews are made for the Fire Globes that are chosen as the best in the market:
Dakine Men's Titan Gloves
The Dakine Men's Titan Gloves satisfies the demand of the firefighters who are craving for grip, flexibility, dexterity, fit and comfort.
You are on an engine, or truck does not matter. Dakine Men's Titan Gloves may skillfully handle any fire ground task and basic motor vehicle extrication.
When I take the gloves out of the package, I found it is very tight. I desire to get such type of glove for a long time. I am happy with the use of the glove. It is much better than Dragon fire gloves.
- 100% Nomex¨ inner liner
- Highly developed multi-layer devise reinforces susceptible areas and features restricted knuckle protector
- Stretchy finger sidewalls of Kevlar¨, as well as Nomex¨, maximize dexterity
- NFPA 1971 acquiescent fire-retardant moisture as well as blood borne pathogen barrier
- Completely lined along with Kevlar¨ to add cut resistance
Firefighters Gloves, L, Pigskin
The design of the gloves allows for natural thumb's movement as well as better dexterity.
Seams are sewn with Kevlar thread. Besides, they are lock stitched. It is very difficult to enter at the time of keeping on your ppe.
The wrist sections of the gloves are very long. When you wear a turnout jacket, it is not a must.
Check Firefighters Gloves Brand Now!
- Manufactured in the USA
- Fulfills NFPA 1977 and 2011 edition
- Four inch Nomex wristlet
- Machine washable
- Black and popcorn color pigskin
Lightning X Heavy-Duty Firefighter Turnout Gear Glove Strap w/ Reflective
Turnout gear, gloves are made from heavy duty ballistic nylon webbing. The other features of the gloves are a super tough snap hook; lime silver triples trim reflective tape sewn on both sides.
It has looped and hooked closure too tight fire gloves. This type of strap gloves is made for bulky and thick gloves like welding, firefighting and cold weather.
Velcro expands four inches down every webbing strap. This strap permits accurate adjustment of various styles and sizes of gloves. You can use LXFGC-HD Heavy Duty Glove Clip for gardening, mechanics and standard works. It is best fire gloves.
The gloves have the similar belt loop attachment but have cuffs along with alligator clip to secure the gloves.
Check Lightning X Heavy-Duty Brand Now!
- Heavy duty metal hook w/swivel adds with the belt loop, D-ring, mic loop, tool belt or anything else you may get.
- Velcro closure fits of all types of extrication and firefighter gloves.
- Black nylon webbing beneath florescent lime-yellow webbing with hi-vi's 3m Scotchlite reflective silver tape sewn on top
- Wide ballistic nylon webbing made with stronger stitching as well as bar-tacks. It ensures guarantee and security for your gloves- another wonderful product from lighting X
Extreme Heat Resistant Cooking Gloves
This fire glove can endure temperature up to 932°F/500°C. They are made from Aramid fibers. This fiber is famous for aerospace, firefighting, and military applications. It is super for FIRE PITS.
The glove saves those knuckles while approaching the fire. They are wonderful for baking, BBQ, making crock pot meals. Gloves may double as pot holder slide them on to alter a hot light bulb.
Cooking gloves are made with tightly woven premium threads and a tight, thick cuffed seam. Therefore, one can hold very hot items easily and feels no problem. It does not sacrifice mobility or comfort.
The glove is carefully designed to ensure maximum protection. These are machine washable. Except that the black on the black design maintains a clean appearance for a long time.
Check Heat Resistant Gloves Brand Now!
- Versatile
- Tremendous protection
- Extraordinary comfort
- Long-lasting
- Modern style
- Best fire gloves
Grill Heat Aid, Heat Resistant Gloves, 932°F EN407 Certified
These are good quality fire protective gloves, no doubt. But they cannot withstand for a long time with the direct contact with fire.
Therefore, it is better not to hold your hand over an open flame. At the time of manning the grill, they are good for keeping your hand from burning.
Its 100% cotton lining is both lightweight and airy to preserve your hand dry and comfortable.
There is no cause to be worried about sweaty or wet hands. Moreover, they are hundred percent machine washable and problem free to rinse.
Check Head Resistant Gloves Brand Now!
- Accurate size
- Hundred percent free from the risk of purchase
- Mentionable comfort
- Dexterity
- Ultimate protection
Dragon Fire Alpha X NFPA Firefighting Glove Large
Dragon Fire Alpha X NFPA Firefighting Glove is a wonderful glove. After using many times, the hand remains wet.
Besides, the sweaty liners remain intact. It ensures critical palm. The back of the hand has a top, obtainable certification TPP rating that is greater than sixty, all configurations and sizes in stock.
Every delivery is packaged in a versatile, reusable bag as well as Velcro glove strap. One can easily enter and remove the hands from the gloves.
- Wonderful gloves
- Adjust well with your fingers
- Attractive to look at
Size Medium – Tan Firefighter Heavy Duty Work Gloves NFPA Rated
What you order, your seller is ready to give you the brand new product. If you have a short one, ask for a bigger one if they fit snug as a glove perfect.
You have to break them, but you must get the perfect one. The sellers are ready to deliver the product within 24 hours, though I have got it after three days.
- NFPA 1971-2000 Rated
- Hipora Waterproof or Windproof as well as Breathable Insert
- Fireproof firefighter Gloves
- Leather-Suede Shell
- Constructed from Thermoregulating Material * Untested Knuckle Joints for Dexterity and Comfort
Premium Cooking Gloves, Heat Resistant, Oven, BBQ Mitts by Kitchen Ready
The gloves come with 100% cotton interior lining. It has very soft inside. The universal design fits for both men and women's hands.
There is silicone stripe in the outer part of the glove. Therefore, there is no possibility of falling or slipping from the hands. You can use detergent to wash it, or you may wash it in a machine.
Do not need to apply bleach. It is forbidden not to use near heat emitting steam. This glove does not save hands from hot fluids. It fails to protect permanently from heat or fire.
We know that a big deal Kitchen can provide you the finest product. They also can render great customer service for BBQ gloves. The mitts of the gloves are very versatile.
The glove is a very necessary accessory for handling extremely hot items. With this, you can replace potholders as well as oven mitts.
They are made from flame and heat resistant materials. This glove is greatly used in firefighting clothing, military, and police body armor. It ensures excellent strength, thermal protection, and durability.
- Problem free of maintenance
- Five finger flexibility and comfortable design
- Upgraded heat resistant materials
Whitebergs Heat Resistant Gloves
Whitebergs heat resistant gloves may shield and protect your hands from extreme temperature.
The glove can endure temperature up to 663 degrees F. One can use it for hot pots, barbecue, stove, microwave, ovens, hot irons and hot light bulbs. He also uses it for campfire, fireplace and very hot pans.
The inner layers of the fire gloves are made of 100% percent cotton. They give you topmost comfort from irritation or itching.
The manufacturers made the glove with great attention to ensure maximum coverage and accurate non-slip grip.
Now the glove is available at a special launch rate for a short time. Just buy the gloves and saves your hands.
- Well feeling with hundred percent cotton lining
- 2 sets of gloves
- Design and flexibility
- Machine washable and multi uses
- Developed heat protection
In conclusion, we can say that heat protection gloves are used widely in high temperature or direct contact with extremely hot items.
Some people use heat protective gloves in household chores or industrial application. They do so to remain safe from the heat.
Nonetheless, the gloves used for household chores normally withstand 350 degrees F. They give only limited protection against high temperature. These gloves are very useful for handling hot utensils, opening oven doors.
Besides, you can use it for cooking trays, building a bonfire and changing light bulbs and so on.
On the contrary, heat protective gloves are very useful in industrial fields like spot welding, distribution of natural gas.
Besides, one can use it for utilities, building turbine engines, refineries, working with heat reflectors and welding blankets.
Moreover, these glasses are the perfect preference for those who work in the waste industry, the recycling field, the glass industry.
In such places, they like to get supreme safety against heat punctures, abrasions, and cut.
Care and maintenance
Rough use of the gloves can damage its durability. All the components of the firefighting are added all together.
Proper cleaning and care aid you more to protect the gloves for a long time. Attentive maintenance of the glove saves the thermal properties of the glove and extends the life of them.
Manufacturers apply lots of efforts to make and design the gloves. They also use the same type of effort in testing- I boldly say systematic abuse.
They suggest well to take care of the gloves and cleaning it. They know well what type of action would be better to maintain the integrity of the gloves.
To keep the gloves in a good condition, one has to follow the suggestions of cleaning and care very attentively.
The manufacturers give them to ensure proper care. Here you will get some general guidelines to protect your firefighter gloves.
When the gloves have been exposed petroleum products, corrosive and toxic chemical, segregate them from other gears. They may be decontaminated.
When the gloves are stained with blood or other bodily fluids, segregate them from other gear. You need to follow and consult department's infection control policy regarding distillation of equipment.
Use a stiff brush having plastic bristles such as a tire brush to remove any debris. It is wise to remove as much debris from the gloves before washing.
Rub the covering of the globe by using a mild soap solution and the stiff brush. Saddle soap is made to clean leather well.
You will get them in all shoe stores. The saddle soap aids to keep the natural oils in the glove leather. This is an important component for expanding the life of the gloves.
Do not use industrial cleaning agents and harsh soap since they give the opposite result. They may affect the lasting capacity of the gloves.
Do not use such cleaning agents who use oxygenated cleaners or bleach. In such types of cleaning agents, there is sodium carbonate or sodium percarbonate like OxyClean. These agents degrade the aramid fiber likely kernel, Kovenex, and Kevlar.
Dry or air dry the gloves by applying low temperature dryer such as a commercial hose dryer to escape shrinkage.
Final Verdict
Heat protective gloves are made with great attention. The materials used here have high quality.
These gloves are chemically treated to ensure a fine finish and to expand the lifespan. It can easily fulfill the demand of the clients. Heat protective gloves are very useful to ensure protection from heat.
People use these gloves in some critical conditions like manufacturing industries, in the welding industry and so on. These gloves are must in various fields as they save hand from severe burns.
The glove also keeps the hands comfortable and cool. Before buying a glove, one must be sure of the type of heat whether it is dry or moist, whether the exposure is atmospheric or thermal.
When there is a spark, or open flame one have to consider which type of glove will be perfect for use.


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The Meiho VS 320 bits box is the ideal small "flip-open" bits box for storing your swivels, clips, micro jig heads and hooks in. With 8 compartments on each side it will take a carolina weedless hook up to a size 1, so this really is for small items and LRF/micro components. Each compartment has its own locking lid and the whole box has a locking latch to keep everything secure.
Diamensions: 12cm x 10.5cm x 3.5cm
Made in Japan, the Meiho range of lure trays are the best on the market.
Additional Info


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Pedro De Bruyckere is a Flemish educational scientist at Arteveldehogeschool in Gent (Belgium) and Leiden University (Netherlands).
Scientist: Rose Luckin
A scientist's opinion : Interview with Prof. Rose Luckin about digital education
Rose Luckin is a professor at University College London. She is also the director of EDUCATE, a London based hub for educational technology start-ups, researchers and educators. What is your own favourite tool in digital education? Rose Luckin: It's not so much a tool as a way of thinking. It's helping people to understand how ...
Digital education in times of lockdown – A massive real-life experiment
Worldwide lockdowns forced education to move online all of a sudden. Despite the great potential of digital education, the everyday practice proved to be unruly. While existing inequalities continued to grow, on the positive side students, teachers and parents became more confident in using digital tools.


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MP3 Audio Sample
Short Synopsis
In the fifth book of New York Times bestselling author Shannon McKenna's McClouds and Friends series, good girl Becca and sexy Nick meet up and sparks . . . and bullets . . . fly.
Full Synopsis
Skinny-dipping in a stranger's pool—it's as close to reckless as good girl Becca Cattrell has ever been. But the house Becca picked for her midnight swim just changed owners. And her harmless escapade has landed her at the mercy of a brutal, terrifying organization who'll make sure she doesn't live to tell a soul.
The most gorgeous woman Nick Ward has ever laid eyes on is also the worst luck he's ever had. Becca's presence at this top-secret meeting place won't just destroy the undercover operation he's been working on, it's liable to get them both killed. But to his surprise, Becca isn't running away—from the danger or from him . . .
Author Shannon McKenna
Narrated by Nelson Hobbs
Publication date Aug 11, 2015
Running time 18 hrs
Available Formats
audio download


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Born of egalitarian instincts, the grand experiment of U.S. public education began over 200 years ago. The scope and complexity of its agenda is apparent:
to teach the fundamental skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic; to nurture critical thinking; to convey a general fund of knowledge; to develop creativity and aesthetic perception; to assist students in choosing and preparing for vocations in a highly complex economy; to inculcate ethical character and good citizenship; to develop physical and emotional well-being; and to nurture the ability, the intelligence, and the will to continue on with education as far as any particular individual wants to go (Cremin, 1990, p. 42).
The educational system is no less complex. Today the United States sends more than 45 million children to schools that are governed by 15,000 independent school districts in the 50 states (and territories); it boasts thousands of colleges and universities and myriad adult and informal learning centers. The nation takes pride in reaffirming the constitutional limitations on the federal role in education, yet recently has tentatively embraced the idea of national standards. The system is one of dualities: a national ethos with local control; commitment to excellence and aspiration to equality; and faith in tradition and appetite for innovation.
The context in which this system operates is also changing. The United States is no longer a manufacturing society in which people with little
formal education can find moderate- to high-paying jobs. It is now a service- and knowledge-driven economy in which high levels of literacy and numeracy are required of almost everyone to achieve a good standard of living (National Research Council, 1999a; Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills, 1991; Murnane and Levy, 1996; Judy and D'Amico, 1997; Packer, 1997). Moreover, to address the challenges of, for example, low-performing schools, the "achievement gap," and language diversity, educators today require new knowledge to reengineer schools in effective ways.
To meet these new demands, rigorous, sustained, scientific research in education is needed. In today's rapidly changing economic and technological environment, schooling cannot be improved by relying on folk wisdom about how students learn and how schools should be organized. No one would think of designing a rocket to the moon or wiping out a widespread disease by relying on untested hunches; likewise, one cannot expect to improve education without research.
Knowledge is needed on many topics, including: how to motivate children to succeed; how effective schools and classrooms are organized to foster learning; the roots of teenage alienation and violence; how human and economic resources can be used to support effective instruction; effective strategies for preparing teachers and school administrators; the interaction among what children learn in the context of their families, schools, colleges, and the media; the relationship between educational policy and the economic development of society; and the ways that the effects of schooling are moderated by culture and language. In order that society can learn how to improve its efforts to mount effective programs, rigorous evaluations of innovations must also be conducted. The education research community has produced important insights on many of these topics (we trace some of them in Chapter 2). However, in contrast to physics and other older sciences, many areas of education are relatively new domains for scientific study, and there is much work yet to do.
Everyone has opinions about schooling, because they were all once in school. But in this ever more complex world, in which educational problems tend to be portrayed with the urgency of national survival, there is (again) an understandable attraction to the rationality and disciplined style of science. Simply put, for some problems citizens, educators, administrators,
policy makers, and other concerned individuals want to hear about hard evidence, they want impartiality, and they want decisions to rest on reasonable, rigorous, and scientific deliberation. And how can the quality of science be judged? This is our topic.
To set the stage for this discussion, this chapter provides historical and philosophical background and describes how the current undertaking fits into that broader context.
Education research in the United States is barely 100 years old, and its history is not a simple tale of progress. The study of education drew heavily on the emerging social sciences, which had found a place in research universities at the beginning of the twentieth century. That foothold was often tenuous, however, with intense debates about the essential character of these "sciences." Many in academic circles sought to model the social sciences on the physical sciences, while others—regarding this as "physics envy"—insisted that broader accounts of the nature of science had to be adopted in order to encompass adequately the range of phenomena in these newer domains (Lagemann, 2000).
Education research began as a branch of psychology at a time when psychology was still a part of philosophy. In the first decade of the twentieth century, psychology was emerging as a distinct field, as were the budding fields of educational psychology, history of education, and educational administration. By the 1930s, subfields of work that centered on different subjects of the school curriculum—notably reading, mathematics, and social studies—had also emerged. As education research continued to develop new methods and questions and in response to developments in the social and behavioral sciences, research fields proliferated (Lagemann, 2000; Cronbach and Suppes, 1969).
From the beginning, the field has been plagued by skepticism concerning the value and validity of developing a "science of education." This attitude was evident as long ago as the late nineteenth century, when universities began to establish departments and schools of education. A chorus of complaints arose from faculty in the arts and sciences concerning the inclusion of scholars intending to systematically study the organizational
and pedagogical aspects of schooling. Ellwood Patterson Cubberley, a school superintendent in San Diego who just before the end of the nineteenth century was appointed chair of the department of education (later the School of Education) at Stanford University, arrived on campus ready and eager to help improve education by generating studies of the history and current administration of the nation's public schools. Despite his enthusiasm and extraordinary productivity, his colleagues refused to acknowledge that "the study of education could be validly considered either an art or a science." On the opposite side of the country Paul Hanus, Harvard's first scholar of education, faced similar skepticism. George Herbert Palmer liked to quip that when "Professor Hanus came to Cambridge, he bore the onus of his subject." (quoted in Lagemann, 2000, p. 72). Indeed, a set of attitudes toward education research that one might call "anti-educationism" has been a constant to the present day.
Despite this skepticism, the enterprise grew apace. For example, by the end of the twentieth century, the American Educational Research Association (AERA) had well over 20,000 members (roughly 5,500 of whom report research as their primary professional responsibility), organized into 12 divisions (e.g., administration, curriculum, learning and instruction, teacher education), some with a number of subsections, and about 140 special interest groups (American Educational Research Association, 2000). This growth in the number of scholars has been notable because it occurred in the absence of a proportional increase in federal funding. And as a percentage of the total amount spent on public elementary and secondary education, the nation as a whole invested less than 0.1 percent in research (President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology, 1997).
There are several reasons for the lack of public support for education research. Problems include research quality (Lagemann, 2000; Kaestle, 1993; Sroufe, 1997; Levin and O'Donnell, 1999), fragmentation of the effort (National Research Council, 1992), and oversimplified expectations about the role of research in education reform (National Research Council, 2001d). Another key problem has been the sharp divide between education research and scholarship and the practice of education in schools and other settings. This disconnect has several historic roots: researchers and practitioners have typically worked in different settings; most researchers
have been men, while most teachers have been women; and teacher education has typically relied on practical experience rather than research. Operating in different worlds, researchers and practitioners did not develop the kinds of cross fertilization that are necessary in fields where research and practice should develop reciprocally—medicine and agriculture faced similar problems in their early development (Lagemann, 2000; Mitchell and Haro, 1999).
The epistemology of education research—that is, understanding about its core nature as a scientific endeavor—has also evolved significantly since its early days (see Dewey [1929] for an insightful early treatment). Five dimensions are particularly relevant to this report: the emergence of refined models of human nature; progress in understanding how scientific knowledge accumulates; recognition that education is a contested field of study; new developments in research designs and methods; and increased understanding of the nature of scientific rigor or quality. We comment briefly on each below and expand on several of them in the remaining chapters.
Models of Human Nature
In the decades when scientific research in education was gathering momentum, the most prevalent "models of man" and of human social life were derived from the mechanistic, positivistic sciences and philosophy of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The most famous example—the focus of numerous theoretical and methodological battles—was B.F. Skinner's behaviorism (Skinner, 1953/1965, 1972). Following the work of the logical positivist philosophers, who believed that talking about entities that were not available for direct inspection (such as thoughts, values, ideals, and beliefs) was literally meaningless, Skinner's research assumed that human behavior could be explained completely in terms of observable causes— for example, through schedules of reinforcement and punishment. Although Skinner's work laid the foundation for modern theories of behavior (see National Research Council, 2001b), the behaviorist paradigm excluded important phenomena from inquiry at the outset of the study. Today, it is recognized that many phenomena of interest across the domains of the social sciences and education research result from voluntary human actions (or from the unintended or aggregate consequences of such actions) even
though direct measurement of such phenomena is typically not possible.1 Thus, research on human action must take into account individuals' understandings, intentions, and values as well as their observable behavior (Phillips and Burbules, 2000; Phillips, 2000.)
The development of alternative perspectives on the nature of humans that are more inclusive than the once-dominant behaviorist perspective should be regarded as both highly promising and something of a cautionary tale for education research. The moral of the rise and at least partial fall of behaviorism warns the scientific community to resist the tendency to take a single model (whether behavioral, cognitive, or interpretive), derived in relation to a limited range of phenomena, and extrapolate it as appropriate across all the social and behavioral sciences. There is room in the mansion of science for more than one model, and also for the creative tension produced when rival models are deployed (see, for an example, Greeno et al., 1996).
Progress in Science
If appreciation for multiple perspectives on the nature of humans has enhanced efforts to develop scientific research, so has a better, more sophisticated awareness of what "progress" in science means and how it is achieved. Linear models of progress have been put aside in favor of more jagged ones. Mistakes are made as science moves forward. The process is not infallible (see Lakatos and Musgrave, 1970); science advances through professional criticism and self-correction. Indeed, we show in Chapter 2 that this jagged progression of scientific progress is typical across the range of physical and social sciences as well as education research.
A long history of the philosophy of science also teaches that there is no algorithm for scientific progress (and, consequently, we certainly do not attempt to offer one in this report). Despite its optimistic-sounding title, even Sir Karl Popper's (1959) classic work, The Logic of Scientific Discovery, makes the point strongly that there is no logical process by which researchers
can make discoveries in the first place. Popper also argues that knowledge always remains conjectural and potentially revisable. Over time, erroneous theories and inaccurate findings are detected and eliminated, largely by the process of testing (seeking refutations) that Popper himself described (Popper, 1965; Newton-Smith, 1981).
Education—A Highly Contested Field
While knowledge in the physical and social sciences and education has accumulated over time, the highly contested nature of education has had an effect on the progress of scientific research (Lagemann, 1996). One reason education is highly contested is because values play a central role: people's hopes and expectations for educating the nation's young are integrally tied to their hopes and expectations about the direction of society and its development (Hirst and Peters, 1970; Dewey, 1916). Obviously, different people see these matters differently. As in other fields that have such a public character, social ideals inevitably influence the research that is done, the way it is framed and conducted, and the policies and practices that are based on research findings. And decisions about education are sometimes instituted with no scientific basis at all, but rather are derived directly from ideology or deeply held beliefs about social justice or the good of society in general.
A second reason that education is contested is that rarely, if ever, does an education intervention—one important focus of study in the broader domain of education research—have only one main effect. Both positive and negative unintended consequences are often important (Cronbach et al., 1980). Education interventions have costs—in money, time, and effort: making a judgment on the effectiveness of a treatment is complex and requires taking account of myriad factors.
In short, education research will inevitably reflect and have to face many different values, and it will as a consequence produce complex findings. Ultimately, policy makers and practicing educators will have to formulate specific policies and practices on the basis of values and practical wisdom as well as education research. Science-based education research will affect, but typically not solely determine, these policies and practices.
Research Design and Method
Research in education has been enhanced by the recent invention of methods: new observational techniques, new experimental designs, new methods of data gathering and analysis, and new software packages for managing and analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data. Rapid advances in computer technologies have also dramatically increased the capacity to store and analyze large data sets. As new methods are developed, they lead to the identification of new questions, and the investigation of these, in turn, can demand that new methods be devised. We illustrate this dynamic relationship between methods, theories, empirical findings, and problems in Chapter 2 and describe common designs and methods employed to address classes of research questions in Chapter 5.
Scientific Evidence and Rigor
In thinking about the ways that a research conjecture or hypothesis may be supported by evidence, many philosophers of science have found it fruitful to adopt a term that was featured in John Dewey's (1938) treatise, Logic: The Theory of Inquiry (see, e.g., Phillips and Burbules, 2000). Dewey wrote of warrants for making assertions or knowledge claims. In science, measurements and experimental results, observational or interview data, and mathematical and logical analysis all can be part of the warrant—or case—that supports a theory, hypothesis, or judgment. However, warrants are always revocable depending on the findings of subsequent inquiry. Beliefs that are strongly warranted or supported at one time (e.g., the geocentric model of the solar system) may later need to be abandoned (for a heliocentric model). Evidence that is regarded as authoritative at one time (e.g., ice ages are caused by the eccentricity of the Earth's orbit) can be shown later to be faulty (see Chapter 3). Science progresses both by advancing new theories or hypotheses and by eliminating theories, hypotheses, or previously accepted facts that have been refuted by newly acquired evidence judged to be definitive.
To make progress possible, then, theories, hypotheses, or conjectures must be stated in clear, unambiguous, and empirically testable terms. Evidence must be linked to them through a clear chain of reasoning. Moreover, the community of inquirers must be, in Karl Popper's expres-
sion, "open societies" that encourage the free flow of critical comment. Researchers have an obligation to avoid seeking only such evidence that apparently supports their favored hypotheses; they also must seek evidence that is incompatible with these hypotheses even if such evidence, when found, would refute their ideas. Thus, it is the scientific community that enables scientific progress, not, as Nobel Prize-winning physicist Polykarp Kusch once declared, adherence to any one scientific method (Mills, 2000 [emphasis added]). We emphasize this notion of community in the scientific enterprise throughout this report.
These points about the nature of evidence constitute the essence of our account of rigor in inquiry; these ideas are fleshed out in the rest of this report. Importantly, our vision of scientific quality and rigor applies to the two forms of education research that have traditionally been labeled "quantitative" and "qualitative," as well as to two forms of research that have been labeled "basic" and "applied." These dichotomies have historically formed fault lines within and outside academia. As our brief discussion of the emergence of schools of education suggests, the perceived hierarchy of basic or "pure" science versus its messier cousin—applied research—has isolated the field of education research from other sciences. Similarly, sharp distinctions between quantitative and qualitative inquiry have divided the field. In particular, the current trend of schools of education to favor qualitative methods, often at the expense of quantitative methods, has invited criticism. Real problems stem from these "either/or" kinds of preferences, and we believe that both categorizations are neither well defined nor constructive. Thus, beyond a brief discussion that follows, we do not dwell on them in the report.
It is common to see quantitative and qualitative methods described as being fundamentally different modes of inquiry—even as being different paradigms embodying quite different epistemologies (Howe, 1988; Phillips, 1987). We regard this view as mistaken. Because we see quantitative and qualitative scientific inquiry as being epistemologically quite similar (King, Keohane, and Verba, 1994; Howe and Eisenhart, 1990), and as we recognize that both can be pursued rigorously, we do not distinguish between them as being different forms of inquiry. We believe the distinction is outmoded, and it does not map neatly in a one-to-one fashion onto any group or groupings of disciplines.
We also believe the distinction between basic and applied science has outlived its usefulness. This distinction often served to denigrate applied work (into which category education research was usually placed). But as Stokes (1997) in Pasteur's Quadrant made clear, great scientific work has often been inspired by the desire to solve a pressing practical problem— much of the cutting-edge work of the scientist who inspired the book's title had this origin. What makes research scientific is not the motive for carrying it out, but the manner in which it is carried out.
Finally, it is important to note that the question of what constitutes scientific rigor and quality has been the topic of much debate within the education research community itself since the nineteenth century. Two extreme views in the field's complex history are worthy of brief elaboration. First, some extreme "postmodernists" have questioned whether there is any value in scientific evidence in education whatsoever (see the discussion of these issues in Gross, Levitt, and Lewis, 1997). At the other end of the spectrum, there are those who would define scientific research in education quite narrowly, suggesting that it is only quantitative measures and tight controls that unambiguously define science (see, e.g., Finn, 2001). We do not believe that either view is constructive, and in our estimation they have both compounded the "awful reputation" (Kaestle, 1993) of education research and diminished its promise.
While federal funding for education research has waxed and (mostly) waned, the federal government has been clear and consistent in its call for scientific research into education. The Cooperative Research Act of 1954 first authorized the then Office of Education to fund education research (National Research Council, 1992). The National Institute of Education (NIE) was created in 1971 to provide "leadership in the conduct and support of scientific inquiry into education" (General Education Provisions Act, Sec. 405; cited in National Research Council, 1992). Likewise, as NIE was incorporated into the U.S. Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), the quest for the scientific conduct of education research was front and center (Department of Education Organization Act, 1979; see National Research Council, 1992).
The federal government has not been alone in calling for scientific research into education. This call has been echoed in a series of reports and recommendations from the National Academies' research arm, the National Research Council (NRC). In 1958, the NRC's report, A Proposed Organization for Research in Education, recommended establishing a research organization for the advancement and improvement of education. A 1977 report, Fundamental Research and the Process of Education, called for fundamental research about educational processes. A 1986 report, Creating a Center for Education Statistics: A Time for Action, led to what many regard as the successful overhaul of the federal education statistical agency. And in the 1992 report, Research and Education Reform: Roles for the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, the NRC called for a complete overhaul of the federal research agency, criticizing its focus on "quick solutions to poorly understood problems" (National Research Council, 1992, p. viii). The report recommended creating an infrastructure that would support and foster scientific research into learning and cognitive processes underlying education, curriculum, teaching, and education reform.
What, then, warrants another NRC report on scientific research in education? First, as we argue above, the nation's commitment to improve the education of all children requires continuing efforts to improve its research capacity. Questions concerning how to do this are currently being debated as Congress considers ways to organize a federal education research agency. Indeed, H.R. 4875—the so-called "Castle bill" to reauthorize OERI—has provided us with an opportunity to revisit historic questions about the "science of education" in a modern policy context. This bill includes definitions—crafted in the political milieu—of scientific concepts to be applied to education research, reflecting yet again a skepticism about the quality of current scholarship. (We discuss these definitions briefly in Chapter 6.) Our report is specifically intended to provide an articulation of the core nature of scientific inquiry in education from the research community.
The rapid growth of the education research community in recent years has resulted in the production of many studies, articles, journal publications, books and opinion pieces associated with academics, but that are not necessarily scientific in character. Moreover, the field of education researchers is itself a diverse mix of professionals with varying levels and types of research training, and they often bring quite different orientations
to their work. These multiple perspectives are in many ways indicative of the health of the enterprise, but they also render the development of a cohesive community with self-regulating norms difficult (Lagemann, 2000). In this spirit, we intend this report to provide a balanced account of scientific quality and rigor that sparks self-reflection within the research community about its roles and responsibilities for promoting scientific quality and advancing scientific understanding.
Finally, perhaps more than ever before, citizens, business leaders, politicians, and educators want credible information on which to evaluate and guide today's reform and tomorrow's education for all students. Driven by the performance goals inherent in standards-based reforms, they seek a working consensus on the challenges confronting education, on what works in what contexts and what doesn't, and on why what works does work. Simply put, they seek trustworthy, scientific evidence on which to base decisions about education.
The committee was assembled in the fall of 2000 and was asked to complete its report by the fall of 2001. The charge from the committee's sponsor, the National Educational Policy and Priorities Board of the U.S. Department of Education, was as follows:
This study will review and synthesize recent literature on the science and practice of scientific education research and consider how to support high quality science in a federal education research agency.
To organize its deliberations, the committee translated this mandate into three framing questions:
What are the principles of scientific quality in education research?
To address this question, the committee considered how the purposes, norms, methods, and traditions of scientific inquiry translated in the study of education. The committee also considered what scientific quality meant, both in individual research projects and in programs of research, to better
understand how knowledge could be organized, synthesized, and generalized. Furthermore, we sought to understand how scientific education research is similar to, and different from, other scientific endeavors.
In approaching this question, we recognize that existing education research has suffered from uneven quality. This statement is not very startling, because the same could be said about virtually every area of scientific research. Although it is clear that the reputation of education research is quite poor (Kaestle, 1993; Sroufe, 1997; H.R. 4875), we do not believe it is productive to attempt to catalogue "bad research." Instead, we have found it useful to focus on constructive questions: How much good research has been produced? Why isn't there more good research? How could more good research be generated? We address these kinds of questions in the report.
How can a federal research agency promote and protect scientific quality in the education research it supports?
The committee did not conduct an evaluation of OERI. Rather, the committee approached the general question of the federal role from the perspective of scientific quality and rigor. We sought to identify the key design principles for a federal agency charged with fostering the scientific integrity of the research it funds and with promoting the accumulation of science-based knowledge over time. Among the issues the committee explored were how research quality is affected by internal infrastructure mechanisms, such as peer review, as well as external forces, such as political influence and fiscal support, and how the federal role can build the capacity of the field to do high-quality scientific work.
Here again, our approach is constructive and forward looking. We attempt to strike a balance between understanding the realities of the federal bureaucracy and the history of an education research agency within it while avoiding the detailed prescriptions of previous and current proposals to reform the existing federal role. We hope to make a unique contribution by focusing on "first principles" that form the core of scientific education research at the federal level and providing guidance about how these principles might be implemented in practice. Some of our suggestions are already in place; some are not. Some will be easy to implement; others will
be more difficult. Our intent is to provide a set of principles that can serve as a guidepost for improvement over time.
How can research-based knowledge in education accumulate?
The committee believes that rigor in individual scientific investigations and a strong federal infrastructure for supporting such work are required for research in education to generate and nurture a robust knowledge base. Thus, in addressing this question, we focused on mechanisms that support the accumulation of knowledge from science-based education research—the organization and synthesis of knowledge generated from multiple investigations. The committee considered the roles of the professional research community, the practitioner communities, and the federal government. Since we view the accumulation of scientific knowledge as the ultimate goal of research, this issue weaves throughout the report.
Taking our cue from much of the historical and philosophical context we describe in this chapter, we make five core assumptions in approaching our work.
First, although science is often perceived as embodying a concise, unified view of research, the history of scientific inquiry attests to the fact there is no one method or process that unambiguously defines science. The committee has therefore taken an inclusive view of "the science of education" or "the educational sciences" in its work. This broad view, however, should not be misinterpreted to suggest "anything goes." Indeed, the primary purpose of this report is to provide guidance for what constitutes rigorous scientific research in education. Thus, we identify a set of principles that apply to physical and social science research and to science-based education research (Chapter 3). In conjunction with a set of features that characterize education (Chapter 4), these principles help define the domain of scientific research in education, roughly delineating what is in the domain and what is not. We argue that education research, like research in the social, biological, and physical realms, faces—as a final "court of appeal"— the test of conceptual and empirical adequacy over time. An educational
hypothesis or conjecture must be judged in the light of the best array of relevant qualitative or quantitative data that can be garnered. If a hypothesis is insulated from such testing, then it cannot be considered as falling within the ambit of science.
A second assumption is that many scientific studies in education and other fields will not pan out. Research is like oil exploration—there are, on average, many dry holes for every successful well. This is not because initial decisions on where to dig were necessarily misguided. Competent oil explorers, like competent scientists, presumably used the best information available to conduct their work. Dry holes are found because there is considerable uncertainty in exploration of any kind. Sometimes exploration companies gain sufficient knowledge from a series of dry holes in an area to close it down. And in many cases, failure to find wells can shed light on why apparently productive holes turned out to be dry; in other words, the process of failing to make a grand discovery can itself be very instructive. Other times they doggedly pursue an area because the science suggests there is still a reasonable chance of success. Scientific progress advances in much the same way, as we describe in Chapter 2.
Third, we assume that it is possible to describe the physical and social world scientifically so that, for example, multiple observers can agree on what they see. Consequently, we reject the postmodernist school of thought when it posits that social science research can never generate objective or trustworthy knowledge.2 However, we simultaneously reject research that relies solely on the narrow tenets of behaviorism/positivism (see above) (National Research Council, 2001b) because we believe its view of human nature is too simplistic.
Fourth, the committee's focus on the scientific underpinnings of research in education does not reflect a simplistic notion that scientific quality alone will improve the use of such research in school improvement efforts. Scientific quality and rigor are necessary, but not sufficient, conditions for improving the overall value of education research. There are major issues related to, for example, how the research enterprise should be
organized at the federal and local levels, how it should and can be connected to policy and practice (National Research Council, 1999d), and the nature of scientific knowledge in education (Weiss, 1999; Murnane and Nelson, 1984). Throughout this report, we treat these complementary issues with varying degrees of depth depending on their proximity to our focus on the scientific nature of the field. Indeed, over the course of our deliberations, we have become aware of several complementary efforts focused on improving education research (e.g., NRC's Strategic Education Research Partnership, RAND panels, Education Quality Institute, Interagency Education Research Initiative, and National Academy of Education-Social Science Research Council Committee on Education Research).
Finally, and critically, the committee believes that scientific research in education is a form of scholarship that can uniquely contribute to understanding and improving education, especially when integrated with other approaches to studying human endeavors. For example, historical, philosophical, and literary scholarship can and should inform important questions of purpose and direction in education. Education is influenced by human ideals, ideologies, and judgments of value, and these things need to be subjected to rigorous—scientific and otherwise—examination.
Structure of Report
The remainder of this report moves from the general to the specific. We begin by describing the commonalities shared across all scientific endeavors, including education research. We then take up some of the specifics of education research by characterizing the nature of education and of studying it scientifically; describing a sampling of trusted research designs used to address key questions; and providing guidance on how a federal education research agency could best support high quality science. A description of the specific contents of each chapter follows.
In Chapter 2 we address the global question of whether scientific inquiry in education has generated useful insights for policy and practice. We describe and analyze several lines of work, both inside and outside of education, to compare the accumulation of knowledge in education to that of other fields. In doing so, we provide "existence proofs" of the
accumulation of knowledge in education and show that its progression is similar in many ways to other fields.
In Chapter 3 we provide a set of guiding principles that undergird all scientific endeavors. We argue that at its core, scientific inquiry in education is the same as in all other scientific disciplines and fields and provide examples from a range of fields to illustrate this common set of principles.
In Chapter 4 we describe how the unique set of features that characterize education shape the guiding principles of science in education research. We argue that it is this interaction between the principles of science and the features of education that makes scientific research in education specialized. We also describe some aspects of education research as a profession to further illuminate its character.
In Chapter 5, integrating our principles of science (Chapter 3) and the features of education (Chapter 4), we then take up the topic of the design of scientific education research. Recognizing that design must go hand in hand with the problem investigated, we examine education research design (and provide several examples) across three common types of research questions: What is happening? Is there a systematic effect? and How or why is it happening?
Finally, in Chapter 6 we offer a set of design principles for a federal education research agency charged with supporting the kind of scientific research in education we describe in this report. We argue that developing a strong scientific culture is the key to a successful agency and that all education stakeholders have a role to play in it.


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BYOD and a Movie:The Public
Thursday, August 29th at 6:00pm
Registration begins August 1st
In "The Public" an unusually bitter Arctic blast has made its way to downtown Cincinnati and the front doors of the public library where the action of the film takes place. At odds with library officials over how to handle the extreme weather event, some homeless patrons turn the building into a shelter for the night by staging an "Occupy" sit in. What begins as an act of civil disobedience becomes a stand-off with police and a rush-to-judgment media constantly speculating about what's really happening. This David versus Goliath story tackles some of our nation's most challenging issues, homelessness and mental illness and sets the drama inside one of the last bastions of democracy-in-action: your public library. 122 Minutes/PG 13
We will have tables and chairs set-up just like an old fashioned dinner theater! We will also have popcorn and beverages available! You can bring anything from a sandwich, to sushi, to a take-out meal from your favorite restaurant!
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Proxy advisor ISS joins Sandon's bid to block Besix takeover of Watpac
Opposition to Belgian construction giant Besix's proportional takeover of ASX-listed builder Watpac is growing with influential proxy advisor ISS recommending shareholders vote against the deal.
Shareholders will vote next week on whether to accept Besix's 92¢-a-share proposal to lift its stake in the struggling construction and mining services company to 64 per cent from a current 28 per cent.This will be done via a scheme of arrangement that would see Besix acquire half the shares it does not already own.
Besix has all but ruled out making a better offer – Watpac shares closed at 82¢ on Wednesday – and the Belgians may sell out entirely if shareholders reject their offer.
Activist investor Sandon Capital, which represents funds holding about 3 per cent of the Watpac register, is strongly opposed to the deal arguing it opportunistic and undervalues the company and will vote no at the June 7 meeting. Proxy firm CGI Glass Lewis has recommended the bid, according to a media report.
In its recommendation against the Besix deal, ISS said the proportional acquisition meant shareholders were being asked to cede control and the majority of the benefits to Besix. It added that Besix may also have the ability to "exercise control over the company and to pass ordinary resolutions without regarding for the minority interests".
Its other concerns were that Besix's intentions for Watpac may change in the future, "which may be inconsistent with minority interests" and "there may be a potential reduction in liquidity in trading of Watpac shares, which may have an adverse effect on the price which could be achieved by minority interests seeking to sell any shares in the future".
ISS also warned that the implied control premium paid by Besix was "lower than premiums generally paid in other takeovers" whilst delivering a financial incentive to Watpac directors, who have backed the deal.
"It is also observed that 50 per cent of the 2015 long-term incentives awards associated with the total shareholder return hurdle will be accelerated and vest automatically without testing, whereas the 50 per cent associated with the EPS hurdle will be terminated and lapse, given that the company's performance has been weak over the period," ISS said.
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