Computer-supported aids to making sense of scientific articles: cognitive, motivational, and attitudinal effects

High school students can access original scientific research articles on the Internet, but may have trouble understanding them. To address this problem of online literacy, the authors developed a computer-based prototype for guiding students’ comprehension of scientific articles. High school students were asked to read an original scientific research article about the effects of drug or alcohol abuse, which was presented on a computer screen either with computer-based comprehension aids or without aids. The aids provided background text and animations including answers given by the article authors. Across two experiments involving different schools and different research articles, the comprehension aids group performed better than the control group on a comprehension test concerning the article (d = +0.79 in Experiment 1 and d = +0.82 in Experiment 2) and rated the content of article as less difficult to read (d = +0.96 in Experiment 1 and d = +0.69 in Experiment 2). In addition, the comprehension aids group reported more positive motivational beliefs than the control group concerning understanding what scientists do (d = +0.51 in Experiment 1 and d = +0.56 in Experiment 2), appraising the article as worthwhile (d = +0.80 for Experiment 1 and d = +0.70 for Experiment 2), and being interested in reading another research article (d = +0.19 in Experiment 1 and d = +0.58 in Experiment 2). The groups did not differ on their attitudes concerning a career as a scientist or about alcohol and drug abuse. Overall, computer-based comprehension aids can help guide students’ comprehension processes for an original scientific research article, which in turn can improve their appreciation of what scientists do.

Shadowboxing with data: A framework for informing the critical analysis of performance and performance measures

The practice of performance improvement requires measuring before and after conditions to determine if changes have occurred as a result of an intervention. Understanding how to take, make, interpret, and use measurements can go a long way toward improving performance improvement work and improving conditions for clients. The risk of not adequately analyzing measures leads to shadowboxing with data, where performance measures may not be equated with authentic performance issues.     

Optimizing Web-Based Instruction: A Case Study Using Poultry Processing Unit Operations

ABSTRACT:  Food companies and supporting industries need inexpensive, revisable training methods for large numbers of hourly employees due to continuing improvements in Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) programs, new processing equipment, and high employee turnover. HACCP-based food safety programs have demonstrated their value by reducing the number and frequency of multimillion-dollar food recalls. The focus for the future must be proactive training of plant personnel to ensure continuous improvements in plant food safety and quality. In response to this need, we developed training modules focused on applying HACCP principles, quality aspects, and production information to individual poultry unit operations. Learning objectives were evaluated using discount usability testing techniques to optimize the delivery system and to ensure a satisfactory e-learning experience. Discount usability testing of this virtual orientation was successful in obtaining vast amounts of feedback. Usability issues with the training materials were identified. Expected completion times were not met by most participants, indicating that a change in the format of the course might be necessary, perhaps segmenting the modules into smaller sections to be reviewed independently of one another. Another suggestion by the evaluators was to include narration for the sections, which might in turn speed up the completion times. A navigation error was discovered by these users, as well as other critical errors in design. Other errors, such as font inconsistencies and page design changes, were also discovered by the participants.     

Variations in article seeking and reading patterns of academics: What makes a difference?

Although scholarly articles play an important role in the work life of academics, specific patterns of seeking and reading scholarly articles vary. Subject discipline of the reader influences many patterns, including amount of reading, format of reading, and average time spent per reading. Faculty members in different disciplines exhibit quite distinct patterns of reading. Medical/health faculty read more than others and mainly for current awareness purposes, while engineering faculty spend more time on average per article reading, and they also read more for research. Other factors that influence some reading patterns include work responsibilities (weighted towards more teaching or more research), age (young faculty are more likely to read on-screen from the open Web) and productivity of the reader, and purpose of the reading (readings for research and writing are more likely to be from a library collection). The ability to predict scholarly article seeking and reading patterns will assist journal editors, publishers, and librarians design better, more targeted journal systems and services.     

How should organizational leaders use employee engagement survey data?

This evaluation study explores how a nonprofit health insurance provider responds to the results of its annual employee engagement survey. The study answers two questions: (a) What do organizational leaders do with the data collected? and (b) How do leaders perceive the usefulness of the survey? It provides study results, discussions, and recommendations relevant to human performance technology practitioners, to help maximize the value of an organizational survey by increasing its usefulness as a catalyst for change.     

Do university mergers create academic synergy? Evidence from China and the Nordic Countries

Since the late 1990s, mergers have been pursued by a large number of national university systems. The mergers have been justified as a way of increasing research performance. This paper examines the impact of mergers on one vital measure of university research performance, the production of publications, for 29 Chinese university mergers and 8 Nordic university mergers. Using Web of Science counts of research articles before and after a merger while controlling for the university inputs of R&D funding and research personnel, it was found that Chinese universities exhibited a small but significant increase in the rate of growth of articles following a merger. The Nordic performance was less clear cut. Our findings support the belief that mergers of similarly sized institutions usually have little impact on research performance. In contrast, mergers between a large comprehensive university and much smaller universities have a positive impact on overall publications. We also show that cases in which the merger was between a comprehensive university and a medical school resulted in significantly improved performance in terms of scholarly publications. We attribute the improvement to synergies between the basic biological research in the comprehensive university and the more practical research undertaken in medical schools. We conclude with suggestions for policy-makers aiming to create synergies through mergers.     

An Investigation of High-Achieving African-American Students Attending Community Colleges: A Mixed Methods Research Study

While much more research has been conducted about African-American college students in recent decades, there still exists a need for further explorations concerning factors related to student success and retention. For example, articles often explore the experiences of African-American students at four-year institutions and often use deficit frameworks instead of focusing on the experiences of successful students. To add to what is known, this article summarizes the findings of a multi-institutional mixed methods research study that explored the experiences of high-achieving African-American students attending community colleges. Specifically, the researchers explored noncognitive factors that influenced high academic achievement—defined as grade point average (GPA) higher than 3.00, why students considered leaving an institution, and why students decided to remain enrolled. Findings suggested that studying alone promoted a high cumulative GPA and increased the likelihood students never seriously considered leaving their institution. Studying alone, family relationships, hours spent studying with family, engaged and supportive faculty, financial aid, and the strive to succeed also promoted persistence. Relating to sex differences, student organizational involvement appeared to be more important for male persistence than female persistence at a significant level. The article closes with implications for future research and practice.