This book examines the origins of the rise of international rankings, assessing their impact on global governance, and exploring how governments react to being ranked.

International literacy assessments have provided ample data for ranking nations, charting growth, and casting blame. Summarizing the findings of these assessments, which afford a useful vantage from which to view world literacy as it evolves, this book examines literate behavior worldwide, in terms of both the ability of populations from a wide variety of nations to read and the practice of literate behavior in those nations. Drawing on The World’s Most Literate Nations, author Jack Miller’s internationally released study, emerging trends in world literacy and their relationships to political, economic, and social factors are explored. Literacy, and in particular the practice of literate behaviors, is used as a lens through which to view countries’ economic development, gender equality, resource utilization, and ethnic discrimination. Above all, this book is about trajectories. It begins with historical contexts, described in terms of support for literate cultures. Based on a variety of data sources, these trends are traced to the present and then projected ahead. The literate futures of nations are discussed and how these relate to their economic and sociocultural development. This book is unique in providing a broader perspective on an intractable problem, a vantage point that offers useful insights to inform policy, and in bringing together an array of relevant data sources not typically associated with literacy status.

Ranking of people, schools, products, countries, and just about everything else is part of our daily lives. But we are in a paradoxical relationship with ranking: we believe that ranking is good because it is informative and objective; and we believe ranking is bad because it is biased and subjective, and occasionally, even manipulated. Ranking: The Unwritten Rules of the Social Game We All Play combines the application of scientific theories to everyday experience with entertaining personal stories.

Some colleges will do anything to improve their national ranking. That can be bad for their students—and for higher education. Since U.S. News & World Report first published a college ranking in 1983, the rankings industry has become a self-appointed judge, declaring winners and losers among America's colleges and universities. In this revealing account, Colin Diver shows how popular rankings have induced college applicants to focus solely on pedigree and prestige, while tempting educators to sacrifice academic integrity for short-term competitive advantage. By forcing colleges into standardized "best-college" hierarchies, he argues, rankings have threatened the institutional diversity, intellectual rigor, and social mobility that is the genius of American higher education. As a former university administrator who refused to play the game, Diver leads his readers on an engaging journey through the mysteries of college rankings, admissions, financial aid, spending policies, and academic practices. He explains how most dominant college rankings perpetuate views of higher education as a purely consumer good susceptible to unidimensional measures of brand value and prestige. Many rankings, he asserts, also undermine the moral authority of higher education by encouraging various forms of distorted behavior, misrepresentation, and outright cheating by ranked institutions. The recent Varsity Blues admissions scandal, for example, happened in part because affluent parents wanted to get their children into elite schools by any means necessary. Explaining what is most useful and important in evaluating colleges, Diver offers both college applicants and educators a guide to pursuing their highest academic goals, freed from the siren song of the "best-college" illusion. Ultimately, he reveals how to break ranks with a rankings industry that misleads its consumers, undermines academic values, and perpetuates social inequality.

National and International Rank of the United States & The World's Best Practitioners of Divinatory Arts. Based upon the results of the New York 6th International Vote. Published by Times Square Press New York. From the contents: A quick guide to recommended lightworkers's charges. This is how much some of the best practitioners charge. Charge for 1 hour. Charge for 45 minutes. Charge for 30 minutes. Charge for 20 minutes. Charge for 15 minutes. Charge for 10 minutes. Flat Charge per question. United States best and most recommended mediums and psychics: Rank, profile, services, contact.

Within higher education, world-class universities are commonly regarded as elite research universities and play a critical role in developing a nation’s competitiveness in the global knowledge economy. An increasing number of countries, regions and higher education institutions in different parts of the world have joined the same battle for academic excellence. While emerging countries and their universities make every effort to enhance their capacity and boost their research performance, the academic superpowers endeavour to maintain - if not further improve- their global positions. “Building World-Class Universities: Different Approaches to a Shared Goal” intends to provide an in-depth picture of different approaches in pursuit of the shared goal of developing academic excellence, and to reflect the current trends in this field. Divided into three parts, the book covers: • building world-class universities from a national/regional perspective, • managing world-class universities from an institutional perspective, and • measuring world-class universities from a ranking/indicator perspective. This book not only represents a contribution to the ongoing discussion on the topic of building world-class universities, but can be seen as a continuation of the previous three volumes on this topic - “World-Class Universities and Ranking: Aiming beyond Status”, “The World-Class University as Part of a New Higher Education Paradigm: From Institutional Qualities to Systemic Excellence”, and “Paths to a World-Class University: Lessons from Practices and Experiences”. All four books will be useful readings for students and academics in higher education generally, in addition to policy makers and informed practioners.d practitioners

National & International Rank of the World's Best Lightworkers; a massive book of 652 pages published by Times Square Press in New York, and which is based upon the results of the 4th national & international election/vote of the United States and the world's best mediums, psychics, healers, astrologers and lightworkers 2014-2015, also called New York International Vote. This is the Mega Size Edition of three volumes in one; the book is also available in 3 separate volumes (250 pages each). People from around the world voted for 50 different categories of lightworkers and the occult's professions. In fact this book contains everything you need to know about the quality, service, status, rank and importance of your psychic, medium, or astrologer, etc. nationally and internationally. The book includes thousands of psychics and mediums from 83 countries. Before you call any psychic and medium, find out first if his/her name is on the lists of the New York international vote! It's your money. Avoid scammers!