Educational Imaginations

Bellylaughs Amid Technical Complexity

HTML5 and SVG may open new opportunities for deeper understanding of complex policy issues.

Commentary, Query Tools, Research | Gary Lewis, December 24, 2009 12:31 pm | Comments Off

Final XQuery Use Case

With the conclusion of this project, I no longer feel the need to equivocate about xquery. I will definitely use it.

Query Tools, Research | Gary Lewis, December 9, 2009 7:04 pm | Comments Off

In July 2008 I posted the first installment of what I hoped would become an annual report. It was an attempt to consolidate my learning over the previous year and to reflect on possible directions for future projects. July 2009 came and went without a new annual report, but I still think the exercise is important. Evidently annual is too restrictive, so here is my latest Status Report.

Tags: status report

Business Models, Commentary, Research | Gary Lewis, September 22, 2009 8:05 am | Comments Off

Another XQuery Use Case: Is Higher Education Countercyclical?

In this XQuery use case, I consider whether higher education in the U.S. is countercyclical to recessions.

Tags: web queries, xquery

Query Tools, Research | Gary Lewis, August 10, 2009 1:52 pm | Comments Off

Making a Dent in a Steep Learning Curve

In a continued search for a worthy web query tool, I spent a fair amount of time playing with Zorba’s XQuery and the 20,000 time series from the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) database. I continue to be impressed. Read more.

Tags: web queries

Query Tools, Research | Gary Lewis, June 8, 2009 4:14 pm | Comments Off

What I Think I Know Now

It’s been almost exactly a year since I started blogging on Educational Imaginations. To consolidate my thinking and to chronicle a year of learning, I tried to explain to myself what I think I know now that I didn’t know a year ago. I encourage and welcome comments.
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Tags: annual report, status report

Business Models, Commentary, Research | Gary Lewis, July 8, 2008 11:23 am | Comments Off

Business Models of U.S. Institutions of Higher Education

What are the revenue and expense models in use by colleges and universities? And are there combinations of revenue and expense models that indicate some institutions are following uniquely different business strategies compared to their competitors? A study of 1,144 private not-for-profit institutions in the United States suggests some answers.
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Tags: higher education business models

Business Models, Research | Gary Lewis, June 11, 2008 1:39 pm | Comments (1)

Institutional Change and Learning

“The most fundamental long run source of change is learning by individuals and entrepreneurs of organizations.” So said Douglass C. North in his 1993 Nobel Prize lecture. Here I create and discuss a concept map of North’s model of economic and institutional change.
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Tags: Douglass C. North, economic growth, learning

Research | Gary Lewis, April 28, 2008 8:57 am | Comments Off

Looking Under Light Poles

In the U.S. currently, many colleges and universities have priced themselves precariously, making low-cost competitors the likely source of disruptive efforts to redefine higher education. Here I try to locate colleges and universities with innovative business models that include a low-cost strategy.
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Tags: higher education business models, higher education costs, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)

Research | Gary Lewis, April 25, 2008 11:09 am | Comments Off

College Pricing and Harvard

Harvard recently flexed its $35 billion endowment and announced revised financial aid policies designed to make the university more affordable for middle- and upper-middle-income families. Could Harvard afford to offer all its students a free education? I decided to find out by analyzing Harvard’s current Financial Report.
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Tags: Harvard University, higher education costs

Research | Gary Lewis, April 24, 2008 9:50 am | Comments Off