STEM Doctoral Completion of Underrepresented Minority Students: Challenges and Opportunities for Improving Participation in the Doctoral Workforce

This article is a result of the analysis of student-level enrollment records from twenty-one research universities in the United States, and it contributes to a more robust understanding of timely completion of STEM doctorates by underrepresented minority students. Using multivariate logit regression models, findings indicated that Hispanic/Latino and students from other underrepresented groups complete at higher rates than do their Black/African American counterparts. Findings also indicated that prior master’s degrees and institutional participation in doctoral completion programs positively correlate with STEM doctoral completion. We conclude by offering insights and recommendations for graduate schools about how to increase the STEM doctoral attainment rate of students from underrepresented groups.     

To Boldly Go Where Few Have Gone Before: Global E-Resource Management in the Cloud

This session focused on migrating from a traditional electronic resource management system to OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc.’s cloud-based WorldShare Management System, where e-resource data is created and maintained in a global environment. The session highlighted how implementing a unified, global system allowed the University of Nebraska Omaha Library to streamline e-resource management.     

An extensible and successful method of identifying collaborators for National Library of Medicine informationist projects

Question/Purpose

The New York University (NYU) Health Sciences Library used a new method to arrange in-depth discussions with basic science researchers. The objective was to identify collaborators for a new National Library of Medicine administrative supplement.

Setting

The research took place at the NYU Health Sciences Library.

Methods

Using the National Institutes of Health (NIH) RePORTER, forty-four researchers were identified and later contacted through individualized emails.

Results

Nine researchers responded to the email followed by six in-person or phone discussions. At the conclusion of this process, two researchers submitted applications for supplemental funding, and both of these applications were successful.

Conclusions

This method confirmed these users could benefit from the skills and knowledge of health sciences librarians, but they are largely unaware of this.     

Measuring Success in the “Congo Gorilla Forest” Conservation Exhibition

Abstract Most zoo visitors are primarily motivated by the joys of watching animals, which may preclude attention to major ecological issues that are the focus of research in biodiversity, habitats, and other matters pertaining to the survival of wild animals. The Wildlife Conservation Society exhibition Congo Gorilla Forest is a popular animal‐watching experience, but it also communicates considerable educational content, stimulating visitors' interest in and awareness of ecological relationships. This article reviews the phases of an evaluation process that assisted WCS staff in making decisions about exhibition design and interpretation; it discusses measurement challenges in assessing outcomes; and it uses key findings from the evaluation process to define and explain the interpretive success of the project. Success for this conservation exhibition is described in terms of achieving three educational goals while recognizing the diversity among audiences. The exhibition's effectiveness is attributed to understanding visitors' expectations and interests, creating an array of exhibit formats to engage people, and communicating conservation messages visually and experientially.     

Rapid training system self‐assessment

A systematic self‐assessment mirrors quality system and certification models, thus making a strong argument for high‐quality design, control, and management of the training function. Accomplished for the ongoing betterment of the function, not as a summative judgment of conformance, it discovers strengths and weaknesses and results in a common understanding of performance expectations, distribution of best practices, and the performance calibration and development of a strong training team.     

Neuropsychological screening with school-age children: Rationale and conceptualization

School psychologists have become increasingly interested in neuropsychological assessment of children with learning and behavioral problems. In large part, this interest can be traced to the recognition that many learning disorders found in school-age children are directly attributable to neurological factors. Recently endorsed definitions of learning disabilities presume that the disability is due to central nervous system dysfunction. To identify those children who should receive a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation, an effective and flexible approach to neuropsychological screening is needed. This article provides a rationale and conceptual framework necessary for the development of neuropsychological screening procedures with school-age children.     

The geography of music preferences

Considerable attention has been paid to America’s political and economic divides. These divides revolve around class and location, with more affluent, more educated and denser places leaning more open-minded and liberal and less affluent, less educated and less dense places leaning more conservative. We contend that such divides are also reflected and reinforced by preferences, attitudes and predispositions for culture. More specifically we argue that Americans’ preferences for music will reflect dimensions of these political and economic divides. To test this proposition, our research examines the geographic variation of five key categories of music preferences across 95 of the largest US metropolitan areas. We use factor analysis to identify and map geographic variation of musical preferences, and we use both bivariate correlation analyses and regression analysis to examine the associations between metro-level musical preferences and key economic, demographic, political, and psychological variables. We find that musical preferences generally reflect and reinforce America’s broader economic and political divides.