Education Commons^™

The Changing Distributions Of New Ph.D. Economists And Their Employment: Implications For The Future, Ronald Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] Academic careers are no longer the be-all and end-all for economics Ph.D. students, and the findings and background provided by Siegfried and Stock help to explain why this is so. The median age at which individuals receive economics Ph.D.'s in the Siegfried and Stock sample is 32. While they are somewhat surprised at this finding, it parallels the experiences of many other fields. Increasingly, students are working before proceeding to doctoral studies. Often Ph.D. students in economics enter their programs after having spent several years working for government agencies or research consulting companies—work that has whetted their appetites for …

Do Economics Departments With Lower Tenure Probabilities Pay Higher Faculty Salaries?, Ronald Ehrenberg, Paul Pieper, Rachel Willis

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

The simplest competitive labor market model asserts that if tenure is a desirable job characteristic for professors, they should be willing to pay for it by accepting lower salaries. Conversely, if an institution unilaterally reduces the probability that its assistant professors receive tenure, it will have to pay higher salaries to attract new faculty. Our paper tests this theory using data on salary offers accepted by new assistant professors at economics departments in the United States during the 1974-75 to 1980-81 period, along with data on the proportion of new Ph.D.s hired by each department between 1970 and 1980 that …

How Would Universities Respond To Increased Federal Support For Graduate Students?, Ronald Ehrenberg, Daniel Rees, Dominic Brewer

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] This paper has demonstrated that doctorate-producing universities respond to changes in the number of FTSEG students supported on external funds by altering the number of FTSEG students that they support on institutional funds. While institutional adjustment to changes in external support levels appears to be quite rapid, in the aggregate the magnitude of these responses is quite small. A increase of 100 in the number of FTSEG students supported by external funds is estimated to reduce the number supported on institutional funds by 22 to 23. Since some of the institutional funds that are "saved" may be redirected to …

Institutional Responses To Increased External Support For Graduate Students, Ronald Ehrenberg, Daniel Rees, Dominic Brewer

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

This paper uses institutionally based data to estimate how universities would respond to increased federal support for graduate students. It demonstrates that doctorate-producing universities do respond to changes in the number of full-time science and engineering students supported on external funds by altering the number of students that they support on institutional funds. Institutional adjustment to changes in external support levels appears to be quite rapid. However, in the aggregate, the magnitude of these responses is quite small.

What The Joint Admission Medical Program (Jamp) Can Do For Texas Physicians; What Texas Physicians Can Do For Jamp - See More At: Http://Www.Texmed.Org/Aug12journal/#Sthash.M6pv8cjh.Dpuf, Alan Podawiltz, James Richardson, Wallace Gleason, Kathleen Fallon, David Jones, Elizabeth Peck, Jeffrey Rabek, Manuel Schydlower, William Thomson, Russell Warne, Budge Mabry, Paul Hermesmeyer, Quentin Smith

Russell T Warne

Texas faces health challenges requiring a physician workforce with understanding of a broad range of issues – including the role of culture, income level, and health beliefs – that affect the health of individuals and communities. Building on previous successful physician workforce "pipeline" efforts, Texas established the Joint Admission Medical Program (JAMP), a first-of-its-kind program to encourage access to medical education by Texans who are economically disadvantaged. The program benefits those from racial and ethnic minority groups and involves all 31 public and 34 private Texas undergraduate colleges and universities offering life science degrees, as well as all 9 medical …

A Survey Of International Practice In University Admissions Testing, Daniel Edwards, Hamish Coates, Tim Friedman

Dr Tim Friedman

This paper explores how admissions tests are used in different higher education systems around the world. This is a relatively new area of research, despite the fact that admissions processes are a key component of university practices and given the ever-increasing globalisation of higher education. This paper shows that aptitude and achievement tests, for example, are used in many developed countries. In some of them, a specific test is nationally instituted and generalised; consequently, the function of the test is well embedded in the education landscape of the country. Elsewhere, tests exist but are administered in an ad hoc fashion …

Industry, Employment, And Population Profile: Supporting Analysis: Gippsland Tertiary Education Plan, Daniel Edwards, Paul Weldon, Tim Friedman

Dr Tim Friedman

There is considerable interest in the provision and access to tertiary education within the Victoria by the State Government. In 2010, a Tertiary Education Plan was released by the Government, detailing various targets and policy objectives in this sector. Despite a change of Government, the broad objectives in the plan continue to be pursued. As such, a number of more specific plans, based on geographic locations within Victoria are being constructed. One such plan is being constructed for Gippsland. An Expert Panel has been formed to create the plan for Gippsland, chaired by Professor Kwong Lee Dow. This document provides …

Foreword, Sherry Penney

Sherry Penney

The author of the foreword speaks about how this issue touches on the subjects of women's rights and how their struggle to break through the glass ceiling has given them more empowerment than ever. The article also speaks about the works within the issue and how each one talks about the struggle, the progress, and success of women in today's working and educational world.

Do We Really Need Cultural Diversity In The Library And Information Science Curriculum, William Welburn

William C Welburn

No abstract provided.

Moving Beyond Cliche: Cultural Diversity And The Curriculum In Library And Information Studies, William Welburn

William C Welburn

There are four basic issues to be resolved in any consideration of cultural diversity and library/information science education. An effective response to curriculum reform mandates the development of specific responses to each of these.

Multicultural Curriculum And Higher Education, William Welburn

William C Welburn

The persistence of cultural wars in academic disciplines and among populations within college and university campuses appears to he counterintuitive to the tradition of responsiveness to societal needs that is the hallmark of collegiate curriculum reform, especially throughout the twentieth century. Important issues in higher education's conversation over multiculturalism and the curriculum, ranging from reform of basic curricular requirements to the persistence of ethnic and gender studies programs, are discussed with an eye toward opportunities for effecting change in academic libraries.

Statistical Methods Used In Gifted Education Journals, 2006-2010, Russell Warne, Maria Lazo, Tami Ramos, Nicola Ritter

Russell T Warne

This article describes the statistical methods used in quantitative and mixed methods articles between 2006 and 2010 in five gifted education research journals. Results indicate that the most commonly used statistical methods are means (85.9% of articles), standard deviations (77.8%), Pearson’s r (47.8%), χ2 (32.2%), ANOVA (30.7%), t tests (30.0%), and MANOVA (23.0%). Approximately half (53.3%) of the articles included reliability reports for the data at hand; Cronbach’s alpha was the most commonly reported measure of reliability (41.5%). Some discussions of best statistical practice and implications for the field of gifted education are included.

Where Are The Academics Of Tomorrow?, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

No abstract provided.

Pre-Teen Alcohol Use As A Risk Factor For Victimization And Perpetration Of Bullying Among Middle And High School Students In Georgia, Monica Swahn, Volkan Topalli, Bina Ali, Sheryl Strasser, Jeffrey Ashby, Joel Meyers

Monica H. Swahn

Objective: We examined the association between pre-teen alcohol use initiation and the victimization and perpetration of bullying among middle and high school students in Georgia.

Methods: We computed analyses using data from the 2006 Georgia Student Health Survey (N=175,311) of students in grades 6, 8, 10 and 12. The current analyses were limited to students in grades 8, 10 and 12 (n=122,434). We used multilogistic regression analyses to determine the associations between early alcohol use and reports of both victimization and perpetration of bullying, perpetration only, victimization only, and neither victimization or perpetration, while controlling for demographic characteristics, other substance …

Confronting The Juggernaut: Establishing Pro-Diversity Initiatives At Institutions Of Higher Learning, Norman Powell

Norman W. Powell

As general and student populations become increasingly multicultural, institutions of higher learning have taken steps to implement diversity initiatives and programs. Regional and national accrediting bodies and councils have included requirements calling for the implementation of diversity initiatives at universities and colleges. In response, these institutions have established offices, created high-level administrative positions, and have developed campus centers that focus on diversity and intercultural issues. Based on previous and current experience, the author describes several diversity programs and strategies that have been implemented at post-secondary institutions. Much of the impetus for these institutions to develop diversity programs comes from the …

Designing For Problem Based Learning: A Comparative Study Of Technology Professional Development, Andrew Walker, Mimi Recker, Brooke Robertshaw, Jeffrey Olsen, Linda Sellers, Heather Leary, Yu-Chun Kuo, Lei Ye

Heather Leary, Ph.D.

No abstract provided.

Patterns Of Service Utilization, Thomas Kochanek, Stephen Buka

Thomas T Kochanek

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between service utilization patterns in early intervention programs and specific child, maternal, and service provider characteristics. Service utilization data for 133 infants and toddlers were gathered for 1 week out of every month for a 4 month duration. For each service encounter, the duration, location, type of service, and academic discipline of service provider was recorded. Findings revealed that families received an average of 1.7 hours per week of services (unduplicated hours). Older children (toddlers) and mothers with higher levels of education received significantly more service. Thirty-four percent of all services …

Influential Factors In The Utilization Of Early Intervention Services, Thomas Kochanek, Stephen Buka

Thomas T Kochanek

The purpose of this study was to examine utilization rates of scheduled early intervention services. Service utilization data reported for 1 week out of every month over a 4-month period were analyzed for a cohort of 146 infants and toddlers. Major findings included: (a) 69% of the families used the majority of their services; (b) child and maternal characteristics were not significantly related to service utilization; (c) providers who were younger and close in age to mothers evidenced significantly higher utilization rates; (d) families in which therapists served as the primary service provider had the lowest utilization rates; and (e) …

Fulfilling The Promise Of Early Intervention, Thomas Kochanek

Thomas T Kochanek

The purpose of this study was to examine utilization rates of infant-toddler services and to identify factors that significantly influenced the extent to which children and their families actually used planned services. This is an important policy implementation question for which there is scant information, and the authors of the study are to be commended for not only addressing the questions, but also using an existing, state-managed data base to probe for answers.

Using A Student Centred Learning Approach In A Large Class Context, Dawn Darlaston-Jones, Lynne Cohen

Dawn Darlaston-Jones

Teaching in large classes traditionally involves a formal lecture setting following a 'sage on stage' format. This is often dissatisfying for staff and students alike and results in surface rather than deep learning. Recent developments in teaching has seen a shift away from this traditional approach with lecturers adopting a more flexible style of teaching that incorporates multimedia and discussion as part of the learning experience. However, adopting this practice in large classes is often problematic. In second semester 2002 I coordinated a first year psychology unit. The unit is designed and taught by the School of Psychology for Bachelor …

Striving For Excellence: Challenges And Tensions Of Teaching Behavioural Science To A Large Class Of Diverse Disciplines, Dawn Darlaston-Jones

Dawn Darlaston-Jones

Teaching a large class is challenging in any situation, but the complexity is increased exponentially when trying to make the content relevant to students from a diverse range of disciplines. Up to 480 students enrol in a Behavioural Science unit (PS100 Developmental Psychology) in first semester. Students are enrolled in a diverse range of disciplines including nursing, education, counselling, physiotherapy and biomedicine. Each of these discipline areas require a broad understanding of human development to be an integral component of their degree structure but the application of this knowledge post-graduation might take many different forms. Managing a cohort of this …

Introduction; Becoming A Literary Trust Agent, Lisa Russell

Lisa M Russell

Social Media in Context: Writers Explore the Marketplace brings the world of social media to a practical level, exploring it through the experiences of resourceful entrepreneurs and established corporations, novice users, and expert consultants. Addressing and going far beyond the use of Facebook and Twitter to reach consumers and build professional relationships, Social Media in Context illustrates how marketers and public relations professionals can: • meet and engage potential audiences through interactive location-based marketing • boost employee productivity by injecting corporate intranets with social media in order to streamline communication • help transform society by creating and participating in niche …

A Survey Of International Practice In University Admissions Testing, Daniel Edwards, Hamish Coates, Tim Friedman

Dr Daniel Edwards

This paper explores how admissions tests are used in different higher education systems around the world. This is a relatively new area of research, despite the fact that admissions processes are a key component of university practices and given the ever-increasing globalisation of higher education. This paper shows that aptitude and achievement tests, for example, are used in many developed countries. In some of them, a specific test is nationally instituted and generalised; consequently, the function of the test is well embedded in the education landscape of the country. Elsewhere, tests exist but are administered in an ad hoc fashion …

The Learning Commons As A Locus For Information Literacy, Sharon Weiner, Tomalee Doan, Hal Kirkwood

Hal P Kirkwood Jr

Many institutions of higher education are designing spaces to facilitate learning. Libraries have created information or learning commons to support this activity. This article draws from the literature and best practices to explore this new direction. Academic libraries have focused on student learning and the teaching of skills and strategies that develop information literacy competency. Although there is an assumption that learning commons facilitate student learning, there is a need to more closely connect this new environment with information literacy and pedagogy and to demonstrate its merits in enhancing learning. A basic premise is that each learning commons that is …

Beyond Research: Opencourseware In The Institutional Repository, Heather Leary, Brett Shelton, Marion Jensen

Heather Leary, Ph.D.

Presentation given at the 2009 LITA National Forum in Salt Lake City, Utah on archiving OpenCourseWare in the Institutional Repository. The main function of OpenCourseWare is to provide open access to collections of educational materials used in formal courses. The main function of an Institutional Repository is to collect, preserve, and disseminate intellectual output of an institution. Since OCW is a significant portion of the intellectual output of a university, archiving OCW in an institutions repository seems a perfect marriage of means and opportunity.

Latino Students In Lawrence: An Educational Profile, Lorna Rivera

Lorna Rivera

With financial support from the National Council of La Raza, the Gastón Institute is developing "Educational Profiles" for the sixteen Massachusetts public school districts with the highest Latino student enrollments: Boston, Springfield, Lawrence, Worcester, Holyoke, Lowell, Lynn, Chelsea, New Bedford, Brockton, Fitchburg, Salem, Chicopee, Framingham, Haverhill, and Somerville. The profiles present basic data provided by the Massachusetts Department of Education including information on student enrollment, MCAS results, dropout rates, and student aspirations. We hope this information will be used by Latino students, parents, educators, and policy-makers to make informed decisions and improve public education for Latino students in Massachusetts.

Balancing Yin And Yang, Roger Clark, Angela Lang

Roger D. Clark

The first three-quarters of the semester flew by. We learned about quantitative data analysis and I loved it. I really enjoyed the numerical manipulations and seeing how it all related to people. Everything was there in front of me. Not too much imagination on my part was really needed. Then it all ended. Professor Clark introduced qualitative methods and the anxiety began. I soon realized I had to reinvent my creative side, which is something that as an undergraduate I am not required to do very often. I was nervous that I would discover that I was not creative at …

Economic Dependency And Gender Differences In Labor Force Sectoral Change In Non-Core Nations, Roger Clark

Roger D. Clark

This study examines two versions of how economic dependency has affected relative gender positioning in non-core nations' labor forces since the 1960s. A "new dependency" version asserts that multinational corporate investment in manufacturing has transformed the labor forces of such nations, permitting women unusual access to relatively high-paying, if ephemeral, light manufacturing positions. A "traditional trade dependency" version suggests that, despite the aforementioned transformation in some non-core nations, the dominant form of dependency in most remains traditional: they export primary goods in return for manufactured imports. This version claims that some structures not only deter women's entry into the labor …

The Face Of Society, Roger Clark, Alex Nunes

Roger D. Clark

We have updated Ferree and Hall's (1990) study of the way gender and race are constructed through pictures in introductory sociology textbooks. Ferree and Hall looked at 33 textbooks published between 1982 and 1988. We replicated their study by examining 3,085 illustrations in a sample of 27 textbooks, most of which were published between 2002 and 2006. We found important areas of progress in the presentation of both gender and race as well as significant areas of stasis. The face of society we found depicted in contemporary textbooks was distinctly less likely to be that of a white man, very …

Contrasting Perspectives On Women's Access To Prestigious Occupations, Roger Clark

Roger D. Clark

This paper identifies three theoretical perspectives on women's relative access to relatively prestigious, influential occupations: a modernization perspective, an economic discrimination perspective, and a dependency/world system perspective. It draws a set of contrasting hypotheses from these perspectives and tests them, through panel regression, with data from 57 nations. The empirical evidence offers support for the dependency/world system and the modernization views, but contradicts the economic discrimination perspective.