THIS FEATURE ADDRESSES THE DIFFERENT FACTORS THAT AFFECT CRASHES (BY TYPE OF COLLISION) AT SIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONS AND THE EFFECT THAT INCOMPLETE DATA HAVE ON THE FINAL RESULTS. DIFFERENT FACTORS WERE FOUND TO CAUSE DIFFERENT COLLISION TYPES AND INCOMPLETE DATA CAUSED CHANGES IN FACTOR IMPORTANCE. THE RESULTS ARE PROMISING FOR ENHANCING UNDERSTANDING OF THE SAFETY OF SIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONS.

Traffic crashes affect everyone. According to Cafiso, Lamm and La Cava, in the millions of crashes occurring worldwide each year, more than 500,000 people are killed and more than 15 million are injured.1 This corresponds to one crash-related death every minute. Although crashes can be attributed mostly to human error, it is suggested that the design of a roadway also can be responsible for causing crashes.

For example, 243,409 crashes were recorded in tJie Florida crash database during 1999. Of these, 98,756 crashes occurred at or were influenced by a signalized intersection. To describe the seriousness of these numbers, 98,756 crashes corresponds to one crash every 5.5 minutes.

Likewise, Bhesania found that, out of several thousand crashes in Kansas City, MO, USA, signalized intersections experience the largest number of incidents.2 More specifically, 9.6 crashes occur at signalized intersections per year compared to two per year where STOP or YIELD signs control traffic. This further validates the point that roadway inter sections are a common place for crashes, which may be due to several conflicting movements as well as a myriad of different intersection design characteristics.

The factors affecting crashes are not well defined. This lack of knowledge may be the source of additional crashes. There is a need to classify intersections and to quantify the effects that certain geometric aspects have on the number of crashes at a specific intersection.

Furthermore, when a crash occurs and the local police department is notified, the responding officer will determine whether to fill out a long-form or short-form crash report. For instance, if a crash involves an injury or a felony (such as a hit and run), the crash must be filed on a long form. If a crash involves only property damage (a minor crash), it usually is up to the officer to report it on a long or a short form.

Crash forms then are forwarded to their respective counties, which choose whether to file crashes reported on short forms. Only the crashes reported on long forms are forwarded to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV), which maintain records based only on crashes reported on long forms. Many states have similar practices, which are based mostly on the towaway threshold.3

Because most crashes involve only property damage and not a serious injury or a felony, it can be argued that the FDOT and DHSMV crash databases under-represent minor crashes as well as certain types of crashes that frequently involve property damage only. Moreover, by keeping track of long forms only, these agencies exaggerate the fraction of crashes that involve a serious injury, which makes roadways appear less safe.

Therefore, by excluding minor crashes, any models developed will under-represent the true number of crashes that occurred at a location and may cause a difference in the significance of the crashrelated variables.

The rationale behind conducting this research is that vehicle crashes are common occurrences at signalized intersections. This study explores the hypothesis that different types of collisions are affected by different independent factors. Furthermore, the authors investigate the significant differences in the important crash-related factors between models based solely on crashes reported on long forms and models based on crashes reported on both long and short forms (models based on restricted and complete datasets).

Additionally, several databases were cross-checked to ensure completeness of data. The chief intention was to create statistically significant analyses for two datasets-one for the restricted dataset and one for the complete dataset-and to compare the results. The authors anticipate that these results will contribute significantly to the area of safety at signalized intersections and will consider the possible consequences of analyzing restricted datasets.

DATA COLLECTION

The data collection for this effort was extensive in that it required information on all crashes, including minor crashes. Only jurisdictions that maintained records for crashes reported on both long and short forms were contacted for cooperation. The ones used in this study were Brevard County, Seminole County, the City of Orlando and Hillsborough County. These provinces compose a significant portion of central Florida.

Each district provided hundreds of intersection drawings, which were sorted one by one. Intersection geometry was recorded into a database. The next step was to retrieve crashes from the intersections with geometric information available. The first source of crash records was the jurisdiction itself. The next two sources were the FDOT and DHSMV databases. Each source was cross-checked against the other two to ensure that all crashes were accounted for from the individual jurisdiction.

Sage Creek in south-central Wyoming is listed as impaired by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) due to its sediment contribution to the North Platte River. Despite the magnitude of sediment impacts on streams, little research has been conducted to characterize patterns of sediment transport or to model suspended sediment concentration in many arid western U.S. streams. This study examined the relationship between stream discharge and suspended sediment concentration near the Sage Creek and North Platte River confluence from 1998 through 2003. The objectives were to determine patterns of stream discharge and suspended sediment concentration, produce a sediment prediction model, and compare sediment concentrations for the six-year period. Stream discharge and suspended sediment transport responded rapidly to convective storms and spring runoff events. During the study period, events exceeding 0.23 m^sup 3^/s accounted for 92 percent of the sediment load, which is believed to originate from erodible headwater uplands. Further analysis of these data indicates that time series modeling is superior to simple linear regression in predicting sediment concentration. Significant increases in suspended sediment concentration occurred in all years except 2003. This analysis suggests that a six-year monitoring record was insufficient to factor out impacts from climate, geology, and historical sediment storage.

Sediment supply, transport, and deposition may be altered by riparian zone vegetation, which has been shown to reduce suspended sediment in overland flow by more than 90 percent (Pearce et al., 1998a). Coarse grain sediment (63 to 2,000 microns) may be deposited in a foothill riparian zone within the first 10 m from the point of detachment, while smaller material can be suspended longer (Pearce et al., 1998b). Deposited sediment also may be stabilized by vegetation (Clary et al., 1996; Pearce et al., 1997). Because riparian vegetation may cause sediment to be deposited, maintaining a vegetation buffer strip for filtering sediment is important. A riparian zone's continued sediment filtering and stabilization modifies channel bank and floodplain characteristics into sequential and recognizable patterns, or channel succession states (Skinner, 1998). United States Federal land management agencies use channel and floodplain succession states to evaluate riparian zone condition. According to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (USBLM, 1998), a riparian wetland area is considered to be in proper functioning condition (PFC) when adequate vegetation, landform, or large woody debris is present to: dissipate stream energy associated with 5-year, 10-year, and 20-year events, thereby reducing erosion and improving water quality; filter sediment, capture bedload, and aid floodplain development; improve floodwater retention and ground water recharge; develop root masses that stabilize streambanks against cutting action; develop diverse ponding and channel characteristics to provide the habitat and the water depth, duration, and temperature necessary for fish production, waterfowl breeding, and other uses; and support greater biodiversity. Proper functioning condition is similar to Heede's (1980) description of a stream channel in dynamic equilibrium with a basin's sediment load and flow regime.

Proper functioning condition assessments are qualitative evaluations that determine riparian wetland area condition. During the PFC assessment, trained personnel complete vegetation, soils, and hydrologie condition checklists to evaluate a riparian area's ability to withstand large flow events. The assessments are meant to be used as a communication tool and an appropriate starting point for determining and prioritizing the type and location of needed quantitative inventory or monitoring (USBLM, 1998). Because PFC assessments do not determine water quality, it is possible for a stream to be rated as properly functioning and also be a significant contributor of nonpoint source pollutants; basically PFC assessments only rate a riparian area's resiliency to withstand high flow events based on favorable physical and biological characteristics.

A stream that is in PFC therefore should be capable of transporting the total of its suspended sediment load downstream under its long term flow regime without a noticeable alteration in channel conditions. A stream channel configuration that is in dynamic equilibrium with its flow regime and sediment load, or PFC, should have limited sediment storage, resulting in an increased ability to transport nonpoint source pollution (Skinner, 2003). Riparian zone importance and function along stream corridors is well documented (Kauffman and Krueger, 1984; Gregory et al., 1991; Dillaha and Inamdar, 1997; Naiman and Decamps, 1997), and sediment is a significant nonpoint source pollutant associated with streamflow (USEPA, 1989, 1995). Initiating best management practices (BMPs) for reducing sediment in streams has been encouraged by the USEPA and state regulatory agencies.

For nearly two decades, STG has demonstrated proven abilities to meet the Army's ever-changing operational tempo and its information dominance requirements. A $170 million provider of performance-based IT. homeland security, engineering and scientific services for government and industry. STG operates in more than 250 locations worldwide.

Network performance directly affects the path of critical information and the Army's ability to deliver timely knowledge to key decision makers. In recognition of this fact STG provides a comprehensive range of adaptive network engineering and management services to ensure that the network infrastructure is optimally functioning in support of user and application demands. STG helps the Army assess its operational and technology environment, evaluate potential risks and identify opportunities where technology can be effectively applied to meet specific mission objectives.

STG's systems engineering and integration services combine superior engineering skills with state-of-the art automated tools to design, develop and deploy complex computer and communications systems for the Army. STG has extensive background and expertise m electronics, communications, computer, satellite and mechanical engineering: modeling and simulation; logistics; operations and maintenance; and test and evaluation. Applying a performance-based. ISO-certified approach. STG surveys the requirements, designs, then develops system and subsystem specifications, and then tests those specifications and procedures on a wide variety of communications systems before final integration.

STG's worldwide command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (CM) mission organization supports, manages, sustains and defends the Army's secure mfostructure at the enterprise level. STG ensures that critical information is rapidly communicated to military decision makers by encompassing the right people, processes and tools, as well as the integration of complex tasks. STG has proven experience selecting and maintaining a highly qualified workforce with the required clearances and technical qualifications in all facets of C'l infrastructure, technical and functional requirements.

STG engineers are responsible for the rapid prototyping, engineering, installation and testing of the Army's analysis control team enclave, a mobile battle command center mounted on a Humvee. that is the nexus of intelligence operations. This communications solution integrates intelligence and information into a single, mobile unit that is self-contained, deployable, fully integrated and capable of information processing, networking and communications.

STG continues leading the way m supporting the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) with performance-based operations, enhancement and support for test and evaluation of networks and telecommunications, meeting 99 percent of service availability requirements for users in three dispersed locations. To effectively support ARL customers, STG is guided by its ITIL® certified management staff. Nathan Boyer. ARL contracting officer's technical representative, comments. "STG has worked in partnership with ARL to ensure that we are able to achieve the high levels of support we require within oftentimes constrained funding resources."

STG supports the mission of the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command by providing a range of performance-based, enterprise-wide network management, architecture and portal services for critical IT, network hardware and systems, as well as software for design, implementation and maintenance. STG maintains 98 percent service availability and continually exceeds performance metrics for call response and closure rate.

STG's support to PEO Ammunition. PEO Ground Combat Systems and PEO Soldier encompasses a wide variety of engineering and manufacturing services, engineering infrastructure support and platforms. STG has successfully partnered with supporting agencies that assist PEOs m rapid prototyping and fielding of mission critical soldier systems for use in the global war on terrorism operations.

STG is considered an industry leader among federal and defense contractors specializing in performance-based contracting (PBC)-a significant goal of the Army in 2006. Currently, 88 percent of STG's revenue is derived from 15 indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity and government-wide acquisition contracts. More than 75 percent of that revenue is from performance-based task orders.

Making sure taxpayers are getting their money's worth from publicly funded conservation measures is the goal of the Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP). Most of the public funds for agricultural conservation come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, through the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act, informally known as the "Farm Bill."

Congress enacts a farm bill every 5 years, and although the bill funded mostly crop-subsidy and other related commodity programs, legislators shifted emphasis in the 2002 bill by increasing conservation funding by 80 percent, compared to the 1996 bill.

That increase intensified demands to ensure that conservation funding is used effectively. USDA decided the time was right to undertake a cost-benefit analysis of the conservation practices funded over the past 50 years and report the results to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)--the federal budget overseer--Congress, farmers, ranchers, and environmental policymakers. CEAP is the result, with a goal of putting dollars and cents on the practices' farm and environmental benefits.

First CEAP is tackling cost-effectiveness of cropland practices aimed at improving soil and water quality, along with fish and wildlife habitat and wetlands. Later it will include air quality and more grazinglands.

Standard & Poor's announced the appointment of Brian Ginsberg as a director in its corporate value consulting real estate practice.

Ginsberg will be based at the company's New York headquarters. He will be responsible for real estate consulting as it relates to underwriting due diligence, litigation support, acquisition/ disposition transaction support advisory services, purchase price allocations, appraisal, tax certiorari, site location studies and market feasibility studies.

"We are pleased to announce the appointment of Brian Ginsberg as director. His 18-plus years of experience are a tremendous asset to our company," stated Standard & Poor's managing director Warren Hirschhorn.

Previously, Ginsberg served as senior manager with Arthur Anderson's real estate business and tax transaction advisory services.

During his tenure there, he managed numerous portfolio valuation engagements for acquisitions, dispositions and bankruptcy on behalf of domestic and international financial institutions, individual investors and corporate real estate owners.

During his career, with Arthur Anderson, Ginsberg covered more than 2,000 properties valued in excess of $20 billion.

Ginsberg also served as vice president of Grubb & Ellis, providing advisory and consulting services for institutional clients.

In addition, he provided feasibility consulting services to clients for development, expansion and conversion scenarios.

Ginsberg also served as director of acqusitions on behalf of H. Asset Management. His responsibilities included all U.S. acquisitions and dispositions, underwriting, due diligence, financing, tax structuring, modeling and negotiation for all projects.

Ginsberg holds a B.S. in business administration with degrees in both finance and real estate construction management from the University of Denver.

He is a member of the Appraisal Institute, a licensed real estate broker and teacher/lecturer at New York University's Real Estate Institute.

Ginsberg has testified as an expert witness in bankruptcy court, criminal court and for the American Arbitration Association. Ginsberg has also served on the board of directors for the Sutton Gardens Co-operative as president, treasurer and secretary.

On the whole, 2005 was good to the tie market, with demand high in spite of a lagging supply. Both Class 1 and shortline railroads increased maintenance and tie manufacturers stepped up efforts to meet the railroads' requirements.

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RTA

Jim Gauntt, executive director of the Railway Tie Association, notes that 2005 was a good year overall, but provided its share of head-scratching moments.

"This year was somewhat of an enigma for the crosstie industry. On the one hand, demand was strong from all sectors, as we have been forecasting. Class 1 railroads continued to grow their traffic and their maintenance needs in the ways that the RTA models predicted and the shortlines are increasing their demand due to the tax credit legislation now in place.

"On the other hand, weather and then softness in some areas of the country for low-grade hardwood lumber (a by-product of cutting ties) have worked together to limit production of ties. In other words, even though demand is heavy, factors not in anyone's control have limited tie producers' ability to completely satisfy the market," said Gauntt.

"Another thing that had some producers perplexed is the strong demand that paper companies placed on the market for pulp in 2005. We saw some situations where large hardwood tie logs have been chipped for paper mill use, rather than go to a log deck to await sawing into ties.

"One thing is for certain from our vantage point--the U.S. economy is in very good shape," said Gauntt.

Gauntt noted that the key issue tie producers face is how to balance the situations mentioned above with customer needs.

"I predicted early in 2005 that we would likely face the same kind of ramp-up problems that have been experienced in past healthy markets. In the past, when markets have given us similar conditions, it has taken several months for equilibrium to be reached between supply and demand. We have quantified this to some degree to the extent that we see the situation being with us through mid-year 2006, at the very least," said Gauntt.

RTA's econometric modeling predicted that the 2005 demand for all the markets its members serve would be 18.5 to 19 million wood ties. Gauntt says that prediction appears to be right on the money.

"Interestingly, even though we experienced some lag in supply on a calendar year basis, production was also about five percent above the five-year average. This means that tie producers over the long term are meeting the needs of their customers and that the impacts on supply, what we are experiencing now, are only short-term issues," said Gauntt.

Wood continues to dominate the market. According to the RTA, Class 1 railroads' wood tie overall market share for maintenance ties grew from 94.9 percent in 2003 to 95.5 percent in 2004 and new construction wood's market share grew by 4.5 percent in 2004.

Research and new products

Much of the long-term research the RTA has reported on over the past few years has come to a conclusion, with the exception of the FRA research project into optimizing tie maintenance methodologies. In conjunction with the RTA's research contractor, ZETA-TECH Associates, Inc., and CSX Transportation, RTA has been working for the FRA on trying to quantify the economics of various tie replacement practices for high-speed passenger rail applications. The project remains in the data-collection phase and the RTA hopes to complete all the analytical data by Fall 2006.

"Also, through our research and development committee, we hope to embark on new long-term tests for comparing not only various preservative technologies, but also species performance in high-decay and Formosan termite areas. With what we now know about how the use of borate compounds dual treated with creosote can allow wood to perform for decades in even the worst-case decay and insect areas, it is time to begin to fine tune preservative and species application," said Gauntt.

"At least two Class 1 railroads, Norfolk Southern and Canadian National, are investing in dual-treated ties for wet locations. The research proved that borate technology combined with creosote dual treatments can go a long way to eliminate decay as a primary failure mechanism in high-decay/insect areas. Now, literally, thousands of dual ties are being installed in track, with more to come in the ensuing years," said Gauntt.

Earlier in 2005, American Wood Preservers' Association added copper naphthenate (CuN8) to the approved preservative list for hardwood ties.

"This change in the standards is new and adds one more option for railroads. The other thing that it does is allow those wood treaters that already manufacture CuN8 wood products, such as utility poles, to find a niche in the railroad markets, as well," said Gauntt.

Gauntt points out that RTA continues to look at other wood-preservation technologies, including enhancements to creosote, and other technologies, such as soy-based and sulfur-based preservatives.

My pedagogical efforts over the years have focused on two key challenges I have faced in mentoring undergraduates:

1. How do I help undergraduates discover the thrill and value of social scientific research?

2. How do I help undergraduates connect meaningfully with their communities and become active and responsible citizens?

Community-based research (CBR) has become the means I employ to overcome these challenges.

How do I connect research methods instruction with real questions that captivate students' interests? Novices often feel overwhelmed by details of methodological mechanics and miss the point that methods are just tools for exploring fascinating questions. Instructors in social scientific research methods courses typically try to overcome this challenge by encouraging students to define research questions and hypotheses relating to students' experiences. While some of these studies are entertaining, to students they still often feel similar to the typical "canned" learning experiences that go no further than the professor and, after receiving a grade, are relegated to the "circular file."

The undergraduate research movement has heeded this call for more meaningful engagement of undergraduates in the research process. Working with close faculty mentoring, students engage in real research projects, sometimes of their own design and other times as an apprentice in the faculty mentor's research. Students working in such rich undergraduate research programs benefit as much from involvement in real research as from close faculty mentoring and disciplinary socialization.

But at the same time, I am increasingly concerned about contemporary undergraduate students' civic apathy and disconnection from the "outside" world. Undergraduate students' struggles with finding meaning in the research process seem to be symptomatic of a bigger disconnect between personal action and understanding how action can make a difference. Moreover, many youths who are privileged to attend college are dissociated from individuals whose opportunities have been overtly limited by social injustices. This dissociation is often further reinforced by the rigid boundaries of time (e.g., an eighty-minute class period, a fourteenweek semester) and space (e.g., rows of chairs in a classroom, the protected walls separating a college or university from area neighborhoods) that structure learning in higher education. Undergraduate education needs to focus as much on providing exposure to and fostering civic awareness as on helping students learn knowledge and skills that will allow them to make a difference.

Certainly, the burgeoning service-learning movement in higher education has been an answer to this call for facilitating students' connection with the real world. Students have been sent to community locations nationwide to provide direct service and extend a helping hand. But students are infrequently given opportunities to use new higher-order academic skills in these experiences, and because they are typically unaccompanied by faculty, they miss the benefit of direct faculty role-modeling and engagement.

How can the best of the undergraduate research and service-learning movements be united so that their respective strengths compensate for their weaknesses? Community-based research answers this challenge by engaging undergraduate students in a collaborative partnership to work on real research that will make a difference lor local communities. Students are socialized as public acholan, learning actively about the research process and about how empirical inquiry can be applied to real social issues.

Community-Based Research

Community-based research is collaborative inquiry that is dedicated primarily to serving the research or information needs o( community organizations. The CBR coininiiuitycampus partnership includes representatives of the community organi/ation. students, and faculty. These partners work together to address a community organization's need to study itself (e.g., to evaluate a program), or to gather information necessary for organizational or program development (e.g., a community needs/assets assessment).

CBR is public scholarship-rigorous research as a form of service to the public good. Community organizations aim to provide services for target populations. To ensure that limited resources are used as effectively as possible and to compete for increasingly limited funding resources, community organizations must study the needs and assets of their target population and the effectiveness of their programs and services. Yet community practitioners typicullv lack training in research, and therefore are at a disadvantage as they seek to sustain their organization.

The expectation in CBH is that all partners will bring some skills and expertise to the partnership and all partners will learn from the collaborative experience-all partners are both teachers and learners. Community partners are professionals who are experts in working with the target community and with the issues at the heart of their agency's mission. They are experts in nonprofit management, fundraising, and navigating the political terrain. Campus partners bring knowledge of research design and methodology, time and energy for studv implementation, and skill in data analvsis and presentation. Thev may also bring connections with relevant theory and basic and applied research. By the conclusion of the partnership, community partners have developed research acumen that will be of continued benefit to organi/ational development. Campus partners have developed deeper understanding of social justice, of the nonprofit sector, of the applied value of research, and often of the social policy implications of their work.

I set out to critically examine experiential education (EE) research to determine the type of research being published in the Journal of Experiential Education (JEE). I chose this task because of my interest in several challenges that have been set forth by leaders in the field in past years at this symposium and other conferences. These challenges have asked researchers to employ more quantitative methods, address process variables, and to employ more rigorous research designs. In examining research done in the past year, I am essentially testing to see if research in EE has undertaken these challenges. To do this, I identified refereed articles published in 2004 and 2005 that I then categorized as to: a) research approach; b) whether primary data collection was evident in the manuscript; c) methods employed; d) the research topic and subjects; and e) findings generated from the studies. Also of interest were the occupational backgrounds and academic departmental affiliations of the authors. Finally, using "experiential education" as a keyword, two specific databases were searched (Educational Resource Information Center (ERIC) and PsycINFO) to explore the breadth of EE research in broader psychology and education journals. Implications and subsequent questions generated from this exercise are offered as conclusions for continued discussion.

I chose to take a current "snapshot" of refereed articles published in the JEE in 2004 and 2005. I identified a total of 14 refereed articles in volumes 27(1), 27(2), and 28(1) that I reason represent current interest areas and research approaches. It was interesting to note the trends, diversity, and breadth of research being conducted under what is loosely defined as experiential education. Numerous definitions of EE exist in the literature, and it is not the point of this paper to review these. To frame the discussion I will utilize the Association for Experiential Education's (AEE) definition, which is: "Experiential education is a philosophy and methodology in which educators purposefully engage with learners in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills and clarify values" (AEE, 2005). Therefore, the intent of the JEE would be to publish research in this area, and specifically "to present scientific and conceptual inquiries into the study and practice of experiential education and its various subfields" (AEE, 2005). The purpose of this exercise was to explore the previously mentioned challenges, and to also ask those associated with the Symposium on Experiential Education Research (seeR) what are the current scientific and conceptual inquiries in EE, what are we learning from them and how do they relate to practice, and what academic and other backgrounds are represented by the researchers? A limitation and disclaimer to this discussion is that I am not trying to conclude that three issues of a journal define a research paradigm and strategy for a field. Also of note is that the studies will be described in general and not directly cited, as I choose to examine a body of research rather than review each individual article for its merit or findings.

Research Approaches and Methods

In the 14 articles reviewed, qualitative approaches were used in 10 of the 14 articles. Three studies were described as quantitative and one was a mixed design. Digging a little deeper, the methods used in these 14 studies were classified as: a) journal content or qualitative analysis; b) survey assessment; c) literature reviews; and d) recorded transcriptions of group discussions. The predominantly qualitative approach employed by researchers suggests that the exploration of learners in "direct experience and focused reflection," as our definition clarifies for us, deems qualitative methodology more appropriate for this inquiry. Social constructions like experience and reflection situated within complex social and environmental milieus are difficult to define, measure, and interpret. In the qualitative articles reviewed, authors were examining phenomena from a critical theory perspective, inducing meaning from how specific groups were experiencing a variety of environments, and what outcomes were likely to occur from these experiences. Included in this qualitative classification were articles that were in essence literature reviews that referenced no primary data collection (7 of 14 manuscripts). These articles examined deeply held beliefs and assumptions about facilitation, risk, and challenge courses in experiential education. The authors were directly critiquing these beliefs and assumptions, and offering various challenges to practitioners and researchers, asking them to critically examine their own practice.

Qualitative research is becoming more accepted within academic institutions, with annual international conferences (e.g., International Institute for Qualitative Methodology), and several journals in education and mental health fields solely dedicated to qualitative research (e.g., Qualitative Health Research). Though much slower to act, federal agencies are also re-examining the funding of qualitative research, given that complex community and school contexts are not appropriate for randomized controlled studies often required for funding. Researchers in EE may be uniquely situated to begin accessing some of these funding sources. These research approaches also reflect the original intent of the AEE's founding members who are now considered pioneers in their field. That intent was based on a widespread dissatisfaction with the status quo in education and other social services, and a growing awareness of the value of programs like Outward Bound. The goal was to question and ultimately change existing paradigms in how we teach and learn. It seems that our field has firmly trained that critical eye inward, and that researchers are continuing to embrace qualitative paradigms of research.