Student Veterans’ Outcomes by Higher Education Sector: Evidence from Three Cohorts of the Baccalaureate and Beyond

We use nationally representative survey data from three cohorts of bachelor’s degree recipients to examine military veterans’ student loan debt at graduation and their employment and earnings 1, 4, and 10 years after graduation, relative to observably similar graduates. We also examine whether the effects of veteran status depend on college sector. Using propensity score weights with covariate adjustment, we find employment and earnings premiums for veterans 1 and 4 years after graduation, and an employment penalty but earnings premium (conditional on employment) 10 years after graduation. We find no clear evidence of a for-profit employment or earnings penalty among bachelor’s degree recipients, including veterans. We do find that veterans are as likely as similar non-veterans to graduate with debt, and that graduating from a for-profit institution yields markedly higher debt amounts, especially for veterans, despite the availability of Montgomery GI Bill benefits for these cohorts.     

A fluorescence based method for the quantification of surface functional groups in closed micro- and nanofluidic channels

Surface analysis is critical for the validation of microfluidic surface modifications for biology, chemistry, and physics applications. However, until now quantitative analytical methods have mostly been focused on open surfaces. Here, we present a new fluorescence imaging method to directly measure the surface coverage of functional groups inside assembled microchannels over a wide dynamic range. A key advance of our work is the elimination of self-quenching to obtain a linear signal even with a high density of functional groups. This method is applied to image the density and monitor the stability of vapor deposited silane layers in bonded silicon/glass micro- and nanochannels.     

Response strategies after overtraining in the jumping stand

Rats were trained to criterion (CT) and overtrained (OT) on a horizontal against vertical stripes discrimination in the jumping stand. A change in response strategy, from inspecting both stimuli to inspecting just the S?, was observed during overtraining. Replacing the S? with a novel stimulus disrupted performance in the OT Ss, but replacing the S+ did not. Performance in the CT Ss was disrupted, but not very severely, both when the S+ was replaced and when the S? was replaced. These results suggest that OT Ss in the jumping stand come to rely especially upon the S?. The overtraining effects found here are compared with those found in other types of apparatus.     

Learning Through Literature: Historical Fiction, Autobiography, and the Holocaust

Holocaust education in England and Wales received a major boost in 1990 when, as part of the National Curriculum, it became a mandatory subject of study for all secondary aged students in the maintained sector. Many schools in the United States have also been teaching the Holocaust for some time (usually to students in grades 8 to 10), but in contrast to the United Kingdom the way the subject is taught has aroused considerable opposition. Among the more censorious of the critics was the historian, Lucy Dawidowicz, who examined a range of Holocaust curricula in 24 states and in New York City. Reporting her findings in Commentary in 1990 she castigated the majority of the curricula for their inadequate coverage of the history of anti-Semitism prior to Hitler (particularly its integral link with Christianity), role-play exercises likely to produce trauma, and the drawing of inappropriate parallels with other genocides. She said nothing, however, about the value of literature as a vehicle for learning about the Holocaust—a surprising omission in view of the prominent coverage it receives in the best known of the curricula Facing History and Ourselves. Due to the paucity of research in this area, the editors would welcome letters from teachers who have used Holocaust literature in the classroom.     

Using developmental evaluation as a design thinking tool for curriculum innovation in professional higher education

This paper argues for the use of ‘developmental’ evaluation as a design-based research tool for sustainable curriculum innovation in professional higher education. Professional education is multi-faceted and complex with diverse views from researchers, professional practitioners, employers and the world of politics leaving little consensus about the nature of educational ‘problems’, let alone educational ‘solutions’. Developmental evaluation is an emerging approach to evaluating innovations and/or organisations that are in a continuous state of change; it asks the evaluators to not simply appraise a final design, but to work with designers through processes of rapid reconnaissance, mapping the territory and emergent modelling. This paper provides an account of how the adoption of the dispositions and approaches of developmental evaluation increased the trustworthiness of decision-making in the design of a new post-graduate teacher education degree in Australia. The principles of developmental evaluation as a design thinking approach have application in other complex curriculum settings.     

The role of habituation of the response to LiCl in the US-preexposure effect

In two experiments, rats received preexposure consisting of six intraperitoneal injections of lithium chloride (LiCl). This treatment reduced the magnitude of the unconditioned response (UR; suppressed consumption of a novel flavor) evoked by an additional injection (Experiment 1) or by oral consumption (Experiment 2) of LiCl. In both experiments, preexposure also attenuated the acquisition of a conditioned aversion with an LiCl injection as the unconditioned stimulus (US) but had no effect on the aversion produced when the US was oral consumption of LiCl (Experiment 2). These results are consistent with the view that the reduced ability of the preexposed US to serve as a reinforcer depends on blocking by injection-related cues and is independent of habituation of the UR recorded in the present study. Possible interpretations of this dissociation are discussed.     

Break the rules,save the records: human rights archives and the search for justice in East Timor

How do distinctive historical experiences and political regimes shape human rights archives? How do those archives and those experiences in turn influence the way painful pasts are remembered or forgotten? And what can historical accounts tell us about the wisdom of prevailing norms and practices regarding the management and control of human rights records? This paper explores these questions through a close analysis of the history and politics of the principal archive documenting human rights abuse in East Timor. It underscores the work of archival studies scholars who argue that human rights archives are always in some degree shaped by the historical and political context in which they emerge and that conflicts over matters of content, mandate, and rules of access are virtually inevitable. Noting that such conflicts typically pit political authorities against victims and their advocates, it argues that successful human rights archival programs hinge critically on sensitive historical and political analysis and that, under certain conditions, human rights archivists should play a more active role in facilitating the pursuit of justice for victims of human rights abuse. It also makes the case for a move away from large, state-controlled archives toward multiple, smaller archives with varied mandates. Finally, it proposes the adoption of a new hierarchy of interest in the management of archives; away from the long-accepted principles of national sovereignty and inalienability, and in the direction of access to the survivors of human rights violations and their advocates.     

“It’s All Shiny and There’s No Pollution”: Barbapapa’s Ark,Environmental Influences

The environmental picture book Barbapapa’s Ark was published in 1974. I was keeping a parent-observer record of my two children at the time. The book had a strong influence on them from ages three to six, moving them to query pollution and hunting, in book and environment, and as adults, becoming committed activists for the environment. Young children are routinely underestimated. Learning about the environment and conservation can begin well before formal education.     

Studying School Architecture: some reflections

Abstract

This article reports on the findings of an investigation in which 30 secondary schools rated the priority being given to and the likely impact on teaching and learning of a selection of 23 issues currently on the agenda for school improvement. Results are considered for the whole sample, and according to the role of respondents and school context. Schools are giving high priority to the implementation of national policies and school‐generated initiatives directed at improved classroom practice. However, the perceived impact of externally generated change is less than that of change for which school staff feel a sense of ownership. Policies directed at a consideration of resource issues, professional development and salary changes are accorded low priority and are not considered to have a marked impact on teaching and learning. There is a potential for frustration and loss of morale when policies that are thought to be of limited value within schools require time and sometimes extensive consideration. The article's conclusions for policy‐makers are directed at minimising this risk.