CRP: Collaborative Research Project (A Mathematical Research Experience for Undergraduates)

Abstract

The Collaborative Research Project (CRP)—a mathematics research experience for undergraduates—offers a large-scale collaborative experience in research for undergraduate students. CRP seeks to widen the audience of students who participate in undergraduate research in mathematics. In 2015, the inaugural CRP had 100 undergraduate participants from across the United States; they collaborated on a month-long research effort applying tropical geometry to phylogenetics. CRP is envisioned as an annual event, one that scales to accommodate large numbers of interested students. This article describes the motivation for CRP, its structure, and the results of its inaugural iteration, and closes by assessing its future.     

The university president as pragmatist: An investigation of priorities

Presidents of leading American universities were surveyed to determine the priority they place upon university programs of research, instruction, and service. The study examines the priorities they place upon methods of delivering university service programs to various constituent groups and the varying priority that the presidents place upon business and professional groups; general public groups; state or local government officials; federal government officials; labor groups; and agriculture groups. The study also compares the priorities of private, public non-land-grant, and public land grant university presidents on these items. Highest priority was given to research, followed by instruction and service. The rating for research was six times higher than for service. The service priority was further analyzed to reveal a client orientation by presidents linked to the basis of university support.     

Community education in Kansas,a challenge to community colleges

This article discusses an educational outreach project conducted during 1974 and 1975 by University for Man (UFM), a free university based in Manhattan, Kansas, that offers educational programs not only to the KSU/Manhattan community but to other areas of the state as well. The major objective of the project, supported by the Kansas Committee for the Humanities, was to serve adult educational needs with programs examining public issues through a humanistic perspective. Programs were organized in series of weekly town hall meetings that featured several speakers on a particular issue, including an academic humanist. The mechanics of organizing such a program are reviewed, the program's results are briefly summarized, and the implications of such programs are considered. Major implications include (1) the offering of new perspectives on public policy issues to the adult public, (2) the design of new roles for professional humanists, (3) the rejuventation of participatory democracy, and (4) the movement toward permanent programs of community education in small rural communities.They directed the UFM project reported here, which was supported by the Kansas Committee for the Humanities project grant FY-73-74-36. The contents of this article do not necessarily reflect the views of that committee.     

Exposure to childhood sexual and physical abuse and adjustment in early adulthood

OBJECTIVE: This research examined linkages between exposure to childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and childhood physical punishment/abuse (CPA) and mental health issues in early adulthood. METHOD: The investigation analyzed data from a birth cohort of over 1,000 New Zealand young adults studied to the age of 25. RESULTS: Exposure to CSA and CPA was associated with increased risks of later mental disorders including depression, anxiety disorder, conduct/anti-social personality disorder, substance dependence, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts at ages 16-25. Control for social, family, and individual factors reduced the associations between CPA and mental health outcomes to the point of statistical non-significance. However, there was a consistent finding for CSA to remain associated with increased risks of later mental health problems. After adjustment, those exposed to CSA including attempted or completed sexual penetration had rates of disorder that were 2.4 times higher than those not exposed to CSA. Those exposed to harsh or abusive physical punishment had rates of disorder that were 1.5 times higher than those exposed to no or occasional physical punishment. It was estimated that exposure to CSA accounted for approximately 13% of the mental health problems experienced by the cohort. Findings showed that exposure to CPA had only weak effects on later mental health. It was estimated that exposure to CPA accounted for approximately 5% of the mental health problems experienced by the cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to CSA was associated with consistent increases in risks of later mental health problems. Exposure to CPA had weaker and less consistent effects on later mental health. These findings suggest that much of the association between CPA and later mental health reflects the general family context in which CPA occurs, whereas this is less the case for CSA.     

The importance of supporting technological knowledge in post-primary education: a cohort study

Background: Substantial research highlights the differences between scientific and technological knowledge. Considering that learning is heavily focused on the acquisition of knowledge, it is important to examine the individual and systematic implications of these types of knowledge.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact on overall educational performance as a result of engaging with technology subjects at post-primary level.

Sample: A five year cohort study was designed to gather longitudinal data from a total sample of 1761 pupils’ grades from the Irish Leaving Certificate examination. The sample was distributed across four schools.

Design and methods: Grades from the Irish Leaving Certificate were selected because the examination is considered high stakes as it serves as the country’s primary mechanism for matriculation into third-level education. Individual examinations are designed externally to schools by a government body ensuring the validity of each examination in capturing the holistic interpretation subject syllabi. Finally, a points system is used to score each examination facilitating comparisons between subjects.

Results: The results show that pupils who study the technology subjects are statistically significantly less likely to perform well overall in comparison to pupils who study science and mathematics subjects. They also show that for pupils who study the technology subjects, those subjects are statistically significantly likely to be their best performing subjects.

Conclusions: Due to the array of variables impacting subject selection, a definitive causal explanation cannot be deduced from the data for these results. However, it is possible to infer that the variance in knowledge types between the science and technology subjects has an impact on the results. A case is made that a compulsory technological component should be incorporated into educational curricula to provide a comprehensive and general education and to facilitate the holistic development of pupils.     

Preventing teen Pregnancy and Academic Failure: Experimental Evaluation of a Developmentally Based Approach

A true experimental evaluation was conducted of a national volunteer service program, Teen Outreach, that was designed to prevent adolescent problem behaviors by enhancing normative processes of social development in high school students. This evaluation addressed 2 problem behaviors in adolescence—teenage pregnancy and school failure—for which experimental evidence about successful preventive programs has been largely lacking. High school students (N=695) in 25 sites nationwide were randomly assigned to either a Teen Outreach or Control group and were assessed at both program entry and at program exit 9 months later. Rates of pregnancy, school failure, and academic suspension at exit were substantially lower in the Teen Outreach group, even after accounting for student sociodemographic characteristics and entry differences between groups. Results are interpreted as suggesting the potential value both of the Teen Outreach Program specifically and also more generally of interventions that seek to prevent problem behaviors by addressing broad developmental tasks of adolescence rather than by focusing upon individual problem behaviors or micro skills.     

Formative research on an early stage of the systemic change process in a small school district

This study utilised a qualitative research methodology known as formative research to improve the process guidelines that are described in the Guidance System for Transforming Education (GSTE). This study took place in a small (5447 students), partly urban and partly rural school district in Indiana. The researchers, also serving as change facilitators, investigated an early stage of the systemic change process as outlined in the GSTE. Specifically, the research focused on field‐testing and improving the process for assessing the district's readiness for change. It was found that this process could have been improved if the facilitators had had more guidance to help them develop the interview protocols.     

Morphological awareness and reading in second and fifth grade: evidence from Hebrew

Research suggests that morphological awareness facilitates word decoding, improves lexical knowledge, and helps reading comprehension (Carlisle, 2010; Nagy et al., 2014; Verhoeven & Perfetti, 2011). The present study examined the relationship among morphological awareness, word recognition and reading comprehension in 153 second- and fifth-grade Hebrew speakers at an elementary school in Israel. Students were given morphological awareness tests and tests for word recognition and reading comprehension. Three types of morphological awareness were analyzed: inflection, derivation and construct formation. Overall, students with low morphological awareness in derivation and construct formation showed relatively poor achievement in word recognition and comprehension. All three types were found to correlate with reading comprehension in readers with high morphological awareness. These readers also exhibited good reading skills. The results are discussed with regard to the special characteristics of Hebrew morphology and reading process, which aid morphological decomposition.     

Reasons for Utilizing Mental Health Services as Predictors of College Students’ Alcohol Risk

The authors examined college student drinkers’ (n = 153) reasons for seeking counseling services and risk for alcohol problems. Students seeking help for impulse‐ or anger‐related issues and depression were at heightened risk for alcohol problems. Only 10% of students sought alcohol‐related help despite high rates of hazardous alcohol use (80%) and dependence (39%). Targeted screening and intervention in college counseling centers may enable providers to effectively identify and treat students in need of alcohol treatment.     

Sociodemographic and Environmental Correlates of Racial Socialization by Black Parents

The present study focused on the content and practice of racial socialization by black parents. Sociodemographic correlates of patterns of racial socialization were examined using data from a national probability sample of 2,107 respondents (National Study of Black Americans). Multivariate analysis revealed that gender, age, marital status, region, and racial composition of neighborhood predicted whether or not black parents imparted racial socialization messages to their children. Black parents envision racial socialization as involving several components, including messages regarding their experience as minority group members, themes emphasizing individual character and goals, and information related to black cultural heritage. The findings highlighted the critical importance of sociodemographic and environmental influences on the socialization process. Implications for future research on racial socialization are discussed.