Vitamin therapy and children with Down syndrome: a review of research

The claim that large doses of vitamin-mineral supplements benefit mentally retarded children has captured the attention of the general public and the medical profession. A study by Harrell, Capp, Davis, Pearless, and Ravitz (1981) reported increases in IQ and improvements in behavior among mentally retarded subjects (one third of whom were children with Down syndrome) receiving nutritional supplementation. However, subsequent studies, focusing exclusively on children with Down syndrome and using less flawed research designs, have demonstrated that vitamin therapy is not useful for members of this population.     

Doctoral study attrition in psychology

Academic careers of the 123 students admitted to a doctoral program in psychology between 1963–1967 were reviewed. The attrition rate was 35%, while 29% completed a Ph.D. within four years. While there was no evidence that women were discriminated against in acceptance, attrition was significantly higher among them than among men. Fifteen traditional predictors including GRE scores, undergraduate GPA, letters of recommendation, and prior graduate work were correlated with 13 criteria such as first and later years' graduate GPA, first-year faculty evaluation, withdrawal from program, and completion of Ph.D. Correlations of predictors with the four most important criteria of graduate success revealed that undergraduate GPA, letters of recommendation, major, and quality of undergraduate department were correlated positively with first-year performance but not with eventual success. The best predictors of the ultimate criterion, the Ph.D., were having a master's degree at entrance, age and marital status (the latter two highly correlated with the first), and first-year faculty evaluation. Inasmuch as the last was the best single predictor of the long-term criteria of years of successful study and obtaining the Ph.D., it is suggested that more attention be given by departments to the systematic development and use of early faculty evaluations of the performance of selected students rather than continuing to be concerned with perfecting selection.Carol Lillie (Rater 1) and Virginia de Wolf (Rater 2) assisted in data collection and development of letter rating schemes referred to. These may be requested from the Bureau of Testing, University of Washington, Seattle 98195.     

Development of an Instrument to Measure Undergraduates’ Nanotechnology Awareness, Exposure, Motivation, and Knowledge

There are many educational interventions being implemented to address workforce issues in the field of nanotechnology. However, there is no instrument to assess the impact of these interventions on student awareness of, exposure to, and motivation for nanotechnology. To address this need, the Nanotechnology Awareness Instrument was conceptualized. This paper is a progress report of the instrument development process. Version 1 of the instrument was administered to 335 first-year students majoring in food and agriculture fields in a pre–post fashion relative to a brief exposure to nanotechnology in the classroom. Following item analysis of Version 1 responses, a revision of the instrument was completed. Version 2 was administered to 1,426 first-year engineering students for the purpose of conducting item and factor analyses. Results indicate that the Nanotechnology Awareness Instrument shows potential to provide valid information about student awareness of, exposure to, and motivation for nanotechnology. The instrument is not a valid measure of nano-knowledge and this subscale was dropped from the final version of the instrument. Implications include the use of the instrument to evaluate programs, interventions, or courses that attempt to increase student awareness of nanotechnology. Further study is necessary to determine how the Nanotechnology Awareness Instrument functions as a pre–post measure.     

AWARDING CREDIT FOR NONCOLLEGIATE LEARNING IN ILLINOIS COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

A survey of all Illinois community and senior institutions was conducted to determine which noncollegiate learning experiences are awarded credit. The survey showed that most institutions credit some kinds of noncollegiate learning, although the extent varied by validation modes. Public community colleges appear to be most receptive to crediting noncollegiate experiences, but overall, the awarding of credit appears to be related to the ease of using the validation mode and the length of time the system has been in use.     

University Faculty Attitudes Toward Guns on Campus

A number of states are currently reviewing legislation expanding handgun legislation, and studies examining the public's attitudes toward gun control legislation are abundant. This article examines attitudes of university faculty toward expanding the places where concealed handguns may be carried to include college campuses and churches. An opinion survey was administered to 287 faculty/administrators. Bivariate relationships are discussed, as well as three regression models examining the effects of six independent variables on support for current gun legislation, support for expanding concealed carry on college campuses, and support for expanding concealed carry in places of worship. Results showed that a substantial majority of faculty opposes such legislation, but support or opposition is significantly determined by political party and gun ownership.     

Are There Gender Differences in How Students Write Their Essays? An Analysis of Writing Processes

This study compared gender groups on the processes used in writing essays in an online assessment. Middle‐school students from four grades responded to essays in two persuasive subgenres, argumentation and policy recommendation. Writing processes were inferred from four indicators extracted from students’ keystroke logs. In comparison to males, on average females not only obtained higher essay scores but differed from males in their writing processes. Females entered text more fluently, engaged in more macro and local editing, and showed less need to pause at locations associated with planning (e.g., between bursts of text, at sentence boundaries). That these differences were detected after controlling for essay scores suggests that they cannot be attributed solely to disparities in group writing skill.