Impact Analysis of Research Collaborations

Advisory Committee

In addition to investigations involving academic patenting, the Center for Knowledge Diffusion is concerned about the implications of commercialization for the ethos of the university.  As market forces become more centrally involved with the conduct of science, the means of research production and dissemination are also affected.  The extent to which the administration of universities and the norms of science are reoriented to align with market forces is a focus of the Center’s research initiatives. At the same time, the Center for Knowledge Diffusion recognizes the pivotal role that the industrial sector plays in the ultimate application of federally funded basic research. As such, the Center for Knowledge Diffusion exists to both examine and promote research collaborations.  The Center is a conduit by which students, mentors, and researchers can meaningfully enhance their creative and scientific pursuits.

Led by:

• Margaret Clements
• John Thelin
• Mark Long
• John Kennedy

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Patenting and Licensing Activities

Advisory Committee

Over the last three years, Dr. Clements has been funded by a prestigious grant by the STS and the SoSP directorates of the National Science Foundation. Through this project, she has undertaken a comprehensive three-year study of international processes of knowledge diffusion. This NSF program is under the auspices of the Office of Science and Technology Policy of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Her longitudinal study, Mapping the International Evolution of Collaboration Networks on Patents Granted to Universities Around the World, is a data driven analysis of globalization. The findings of this study are providing substantive information that may be of use to organizations and science and technology policymakers in designing and implementing policies for knowledge diffusion and innovation.

Led by:

• Margaret Clements
• Mark Long
• Karen White

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Mentoring and Talent Development

Advisory Committee

The Center for Knowledge Diffusion believes that mentoring and coaching are critical components to the development and fulfillment of possibility. To this end, the Center for Knowledge Diffusion and its Board of Directors are actively involved in student development pursuits. Below is an overview of the main areas of research within this domain.

Mentoring and the Doctorate. As part of the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate, certain members of the advisory committee have been involved in examinations of doctoral programs in education.  These studies were part of a national initiative to lend transparency to the opaque process of obtaining a doctorate across many disciplines.  The results of these studies revealed practices and experiences that both hinder and promote doctoral degree completion at research universities.  Furthermore, the analyses revealed gender, cultural and programmatic differences in access to, and satisfaction with, mentoring relationships between doctoral students and faculty. 

Led by:

• Jerry Horner
• Margaret Clements
• Frank Lester
• John Kennedy

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Master Teachers and World Class Talent.   All members of the Board of Directors have been committed to mentoring and talent development at a world-class level.  For example, Mr. Horner coaches chamber music ensembles to bring their playing to the highest possible level.  He has recently returned from Romania, Hungary, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom where he was invited to conduct master classes at conservatories, academies, and festivals. In addition, the Center and its Executive Board members actively conduct research in this area. The Center’s Director Dr. Clements, was co-principal investigator of a longitudinal research project that examined internationally renowned master teachers and coaches in several fields of endeavor such as the performing arts, athletics, chess and mathematics.  In concert with this research on the development of world-class talent, this research focused on a sample of public school teachers who have been distinguished for their excellence in teaching.  A major premise of this study was that world-class performance and achievement in the arts, athletics and other fields is most commonly the outcome of extended, deliberate development directed by master teachers and coaches toward protégés during critical periods of development.

School Policy Research

Advisory Committee

The Center for Knowledge Diffusion works to improve the schooling for the nation’s children.  We do that by working with teacher education programs, future teachers, school districts, teachers, and policy makers. We are involved in making the curriculum more approachable so students can learn. Below is an overview of the main areas of research within this domain.

Early Literacy Development.  Dr. Clements was a founding research team member of a research study that examined the Indiana Early Literacy Intervention Grant Program--a program that funded a total of 133 projects and served 9,685 students in its first year.  This research resulted in several government reports that analyzed the efficacy and efficiency of the program relative to its goals.    

Led by:

• Frank Lester
• Margaret Clements
• Jerry Horner
• John Kennedy

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Public Opinions and Political Contexts of Education. This research examined the interrelationship between public opinion and policy contexts for educational improvement and reform.  It reviewed trends in public opinions about education policy issues and compared them to educators’ opinions about similar issues; it examined how the context for education policy decisions has changed over the past two decades; and, it considered different ways of viewing the interrelationship between public opinion and policy decisions within school districts and school buildings.  This research had important implications for public relations in schools with regard to current political conditions. 

Higher Education Finance

Advisory Committee

Student Loans and Grants. The Center for Knowledge Diffusion will continue to examine higher education policies that focus on the effects of prices, loans and grants and their relationship to higher education opportunity.  Currently, Professor John Thelin is finalizing a book on the rising costs of college and the economics of higher education.  The book will be published in 2012.  Members of its Board of Directors have utilized models quantitative logistic models developed by Edward P. St. John and Patricia Somers to examine within-year persistence in four different academic years.  These studies assessed the effects of student aid on persistence. Examining the student loan industry from both domestic and international perspectives is also a focal interest of the Center.

Led by:

• John Thelin
• Margaret Clements

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