Does becoming a Member of the Football Bowl Subdivision Increase Institutional Attractiveness to Potential Students

In recent years, a number of colleges and universities have made the decision to pursue membership in the NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) with the idea that participating in higher profile intercollegiate football can help attract students to their institution. This belief, however, has not been empirically examined. Using difference-in-differences estimation, this study examined freshmen application trends at three colleges and universities (Florida Atlantic University, Florida International University, and Western Kentucky University) which moved from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) to the FBS in the mid-2000s relative to similar FCS institutions which did not move to the FBS. Findings showed that moving to the FBS had a positive, statistically significant correlation with freshmen applications at the two institutions located in Florida but not at Western Kentucky University.     

‘You Never Know,Things Might Have Once Existed’: Young Readers Engaging with Postmodern Texts that Blur the Boundaries between Fact and Fiction

This article considers children’s engagement with the Ologies, a series of postmodern texts that blur the boundaries between fact and fiction. It follows on from a text-based analysis of the series published in this journal (22(3) 2015). Data collected from 9–12 year olds demonstrate how actual readers took up the invitation offered by the text and were able to identify the tension between realism and fantasy, oscillate between different genres, stop to play games and use the tactile to make meaning. In addition, they willingly brought their own knowledge of the world to the text and were able to tease out meanings through dialogic interaction. We argue that the meaningful discussion that ensued is due to the multi-layered nature of the books which offers agency to the pupils with little adult interference.     

Lamotrigine poisoning presenting as seizures: a case of deliberate poisoning

Features of Lamotrigine poisoning are not clearly described in children. We report a child who presented with seizures and bizarre neurological symptoms, later attributed to lamotrigine poisoning.     

Undergraduate students' ability to revise text effectively: relationships with topic knowledge and working memory

In order to communicate understanding, students are often required to produce texts which present an explicit, coherent argument. This study examined the extent to which individual differences in undergraduates' topic knowledge and working memory skills were related to their ability to revise texts to better fulfil these goals. Forty-seven students revised texts containing three types of error: language, structure and argument. Topic knowledge was indexed by multiple choice test performance. Verbal short-term and working memory were measured using forward and backward digit recall and reading span. Rates of identification, diagnosis and correction of errors were generally poor. Contrary to expectations neither topic knowledge nor verbal working memory was associated with text revision although significant associations were identified with verbal short-term memory. When revising texts students may focus on the surface features of the text rather than addressing issues of structure and argument. Possible accounts of this tendency are considered.     

Bridging the Normative Gap in Graduate Criminal Justice Curricula: Teaching Theories of Justice

Feminist criminology is a vital and growing area of scholarship, but it is not making its way into the classroom. This paper assesses the reasons why such material is not used frequently, makes a case for why it should be used, particularly in a liberal arts curriculum, and offers suggestions for how it can be used.