Reactions of professors to retirement: A comparison of retired faculty from three types of institutions

Dorfman et al. (1982) compared the professional activities of retired professors from liberal arts colleges, a comprehensive university, and a major research university. This companion piece based on the same survey compares the professors' reactions to retirement. Results show that a majority of faculty from all types of institutions plan for retirement, are positive about retirement, and give suggestions for institutional retirement policy. The retired professors recommend the following: (1) help in planning, (2) more information about retirement, (3) support for continued work, (4) gradual retirement. Major differences among institutions are the following: (1) comprehensive university faculty plan for retirement more than do faculty from the other institutions, (2) faculty from both universities begin financial planning at a younger age than do faculty from the liberal arts colleges, (3) research university faculty miss work and like having time to spend on professional activities more than do faculty from the other institutions.     

新时期公务员“三严三实”践行途径探析

"三严三实"这一论断,是习近平总书记提出来的,各级党员领导干部谋事、创业、做人的新标准。践行"三严三实",有利于加强和改善党的作风建设,营造良好的政治环境,改善基层公务员的工作作风,提高个人素质修养,端正党风和社会风气。因此,新时期公务员践行"三严三实",践行社会主义核心价值观,带着真心实意为群众服务,对于营造风清气正的社会风气具有重要意义。     

Evaluation of retirement planning programs: A qualitative analysis of methodologies and efficacy

ABSTRACT

The objective of this integrative literature review was to evaluate the quality of retirement planning programs described in the extant literature. This was accomplished through a qualitative analysis of methodological and efficacy criteria as described by Flay et al. (2005), Kazdin (2010, 2011 and Murta (2005). Several databases were consulted in searching for retirement program articles including: Academic Search Premier, Medline, PsycInfo, and Web of Science, among others. Retirement planning intervention articles published in English, Portuguese, and Spanish were considered, with a focus on their evaluation methods and results. Eleven studies were identified that described the procedures for both program implementation and intervention evaluation. Results revealed methodological shortcomings in the papers reviewed, with concerns being related to a lack of experimental or quasiexperimental approaches, a failure to use previously validated measurement instruments and longitudinal assessments, and insufficiently robust data analysis procedures. That said, however, there was evidence from multiple investigations that the intervention programs examined led to increases in knowledge, positive changes in attitudes linked to retirement, and an increase in retirement-linked planning and preparation behaviors. Identification of strengths and weaknesses in the methods used and efficacy of these interventions could facilitate the construction of a research agenda aimed at promoting more favorable research designs. Use of more rigorous designs would stand to improve the internal validity of these retirement programs and, consequently, progress in this field.     

Evaluating the olympic education program: A qualitative approach

This study was conducted to provide further information regarding factors associated with educational evaluation, using a qualitative approach. Fifty-five interviews were carried out with school principals. The results of the present study supported the notion that the qualitative methods could provide information that quantitative procedures could not. Additionally, the findings also provided useful information for solving problems in OEP implementation and enhanced decision-making by indicating points of the program that should be improved.     

Project-based learning in an internship program: A qualitative study of related roles and their motivational attributes

The roles of task, learner, and mentor in a successful project-based instructional technology (IT) internship program were studied in light of contemporary motivation theories. Interns in four different locations were asked to apply their academic experiences in constructing real projects at work under the supervision of their site mentors and academic advisor. Data included tape-recorded intern interviews, status-review notes, e-portfolios, mentor interviews, and mentor evaluations. Data were collected over 6 semesters, from 18 different cases, 4 of which are highlighted here. The study considered the roles of task, learner, and mentors as they are needed to make the most of project-based internship programs. Implications for the design and development of internship and capstone programs, and specifically successful student performance in internship programs, are considered.     

Retired professors and professional activity: A comparative study of three types of institutions

This study compares the professional activities of retired professors from liberal arts colleges, a comprehensive university, and a major research university. Results show that a large majority of faculty continue to perform professional roles and that strength of ties to colleagues and professional organizations outside the institution are correlated with professional activity at all types of institutions. Major differences among institutions are: (1) liberal arts college and research university faculty show consistency between pre- and postretirement professional activity levels, whereas comprehensive university faculty do not; (2) university faculty show higher levels of participation in a number of professional activities than do liberal arts college faculty; (3) rated importance of research or other creative work is related to professional activity for comprehensive university faculty and rated importance of consulting and university service are related to professional activity for research university faculty.     

Implementing an integrated pest management (IPM) program in child care centers: A qualitative study

Pesticide use in and around child care centers is a potential health threat to children and staff. The implementation of integrated pest management (IPM) can reduce these risks yet child care providers receive minimal, if any, education concerning pest management. The objectives of this qualitative study are to: (a) develop a model to describe the process of implementing an IPM program in child care centers, (b) identify the facilitators and barriers to implementing an IPM program in child care centers, and (c) examine congruence between IPM practices identified on an IPM checklist with practices reported in qualitative interviews with child care managers. Interviews and IPM checklist observations were conducted with nine child care center managers in California before and after the introduction of a pilot IPM education intervention program. The qualitative analysis of the interviews revealed a four-stage IPM implementation process, from awareness of IPM, recognizing the importance of IPM and learning how to practice it, motivation and the decision to adopt IPM, to the implementation of IPM. A wide range of facilitators and barriers were identified. There was general congruence between the manager interviews and IPM checklist findings on IPM policies, practices, and management. Understanding the process of how an IPM program was implemented in these child care centers and the facilitators and barriers involved in the process can inform planning efforts for future health interventions in child care.     

Perceptions of innovativeness and communication about innovations: A study of three types of service organizations

It was hypothesized that the three types of service organizations identified by Mills and Margulies (1980) would exhibit differences with respect to perceived “innovation communication” (communication about innovations that may precede and/or accompany diffusion‐adoption processes) as well as differences in perceived individual innovativeness and perceived organizational innovativeness. Three questionnaire instruments were completed by 131 employees from nine organizations: one bank, six advertising firms and three schools. These organizations represented the Mills‐Margulies types of maintenance‐interactive, task‐interactive and personal‐interactive, respectively. While most directional hypotheses received partial or no support, differences emerged across organization types for both perceived innovation communication activity and perceived organizational innovativeness.     

Effects of a specific numeracy educational program in kindergarten children: A pilot study

The present study compared the relative effects of 2 educational programs on kindergarten children. The experimental group took part in a numeracy-specific program, which focused on conceptual knowledge. Children were taught basic numerical skills such as understanding and handling numbers and their relations as well as counting principles. The control group participated in a more general program which involved training in procedural skills.

Results revealed significant learning effects in the children who participated in the numeracy program particularly for counting sequences and mental calculation. Since neither group was explicitly trained in mental calculation, our findings suggest that a learning transfer took place in the experimental group.     

A qualitative investigation of a mindfulness-based yoga program for educators: How program attendance relates to outcomes

Contemplative professional development interventions seek to help educators manage stress and improve emotion regulation, yet the mechanisms of action revealing how they result in positive psychological and physical outcomes remain unclear. Using focus groups based on levels of attendance, this qualitative study examined how educators with different levels of attendance perceived their experiences in Community Approach to Learning Mindfully (CALM), a mindfulness-based yoga program. Using theory-driven and data-driven codes, two researchers adopted a thematic analytical approach to independently code interviews. Results suggest that individuals across all groups indicated participation in CALM stimulated awareness of some kind—somatic, emotional, or awareness of thought patterns. However, participants who attended more frequently were more likely to practice mindfulness informally during routine activities. This increased skill integration was associated with improved outcomes. Program acceptability was high across attendance groups although those with low attendance felt stressed making time to attend the program. Collegiality emerged as an important benefit and catalyst for reinforcing practices. Implications for professional development are discussed, including the role of collegiality and the importance of program readiness.     

试析南京国民政府时期基层公务人员的名与实——以浙江省为中心

南京国民政府为了强化对基层的控制与管理,强化基层行政机构的建设及基层行政制度的改革,将公务员制度逐渐引入基层行政机构.由于南京国民政府对基层控制力的薄弱,对基层行政机构与政权缺乏有效的管理,因而南京国民政府在基层推行公务人员制度时不断进行调适,对其名称不断进行变更,以适应基层的需要.公务人员称谓在基层的变更,反映了民国时期国家政权下延渗透的历史规迹.     

论网络时代国家公职人员信息公开与隐私权保护的平衡

习近平同志提出要加强对权力运行的制约和监督,把权力关进制度的笼子里,而国家公职人员涉及公共利益的相关信息公开就是把权力关进笼子里的有效手段之一.在网络时代,网络曝光部分国家公职人员的违法违纪信息促进了执政行为监督和对公权力约束,但国家公职人员也拥有保护个人隐私权的正当权力,而国家公职人员的合法隐私权保护却被混淆和忽视.我国应借鉴其他国家的经验,规范国家公职人员网络隐私的管理,兼顾保护国家公职人员属于私人领域的隐私和涉及公共利益的信息公开,使公权力在阳光下得到监督.     

Blended teacher professional development: A synthesis of three program evaluations

This study synthesized the findings of three program evaluations of teacher blended professional development programs from the perspective of situated design and implementation, development of community, changes in teacher practice, and impact on students. We found that the blended programs were effective in providing teachers with an opportunity for learning on the job and collaborating with other teachers, and they influenced teacher classroom practice moderately and affected student learning to a limited extent. Our study supports the contention that blended learning is a viable model for teacher professional development.     

Literacy learning in secondary school science classrooms: A cross-case analysis of three qualitative studies

The purpose of this cross-case analysis is to illustrate how and why literacy was incorporated into science teaching and learning in three secondary classrooms. Research questions guiding the analysis include: (a) How were literacy events shaped by the teachers' philosophies about teaching science content and teaching students? and (b) How was literacy (reading, writing, and oral language) structured by the teachers and manifested in science lessons? The methodology of ethnography and the theoretical framework of symbolic interactionism were employed in the three studies on which the cross-case analysis was based. The researchers assumed the role of participant observers, collecting data over the period of 1 year in each of the three classrooms. Data, in the form of fieldnotes, interviews, and artifacts, were collected. In each study, data were analyzed using the constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) to determine patterns in the teachers' beliefs about learning and how these influenced their choice of literacy activities. The cross-case analysis was conducted to determine patterns across the three teachers and their classrooms. The findings from this analysis are used to compare how the teachers' philosophies of teaching science and their beliefs about how students learn influenced their use of literacy practices during lessons. Specifically, each teacher's use of literacy activities varied based on his or her beliefs about teaching science concepts. Furthermore, reading, writing, and oral language were important vehicles to learning science concepts within daily classroom activities in the three classrooms.     

Capturing change and stability in longitudinal qualitative research: insights from a study about aging and life transitions in Israeli continuing care retirement communities

ABSTRACT

The present paper considers the use of longitudinal qualitative research (LQR) as a means to capture both change and stability in people’s lives. We use an LQR study conducted in continuing care retirement communities to demonstrate three dimensions that should be taken into consideration when addressing change vs. stability. Three waves of interviews with older adults and their family members as well as memos and reflections concerning interview data are used. The first dimension concerns the question of: “who defines change?” A second dimension raises the question of, “what has changed?” Finally, a third dimension concerns the timeframe of change. We argue that LQR provides a tremendous richness of time dimensions and perspectives. Discrepancies between dimensions, perspectives and timeframes can be particularly enriching. Moreover, LQR allows also for the opportunity to examine stability.