Research note: Some corrections and suggestions for working with the national faculty survey databases

Our ability to understand the faculty work environment has been greatly enhanced by the availability of largescale national surveys of the professoriate since the 1950s. This technical note identifies ways to improve data comparability among the national faculty surveys. It begins by identifying the national surveys and some of their attributes. The study then estimates faculty sizes and calculates weights for faculty in selected disciplines and institution types. The weights are designed specifically for four surveys conducted in 1969, 1975, 1980, and 1988.     

The Role of the School District in Student Discipline: Building Consensus in Cincinnati

The problem of student discipline disproportionately affects urban schools with large numbers of low income and ethnic minority students. Research over the past 35 years however has consistently shown that discipline policies that are understood and accepted by teachers, students, and parents and consistently enforced by school officials, correlate with lower levels of student disruption. The important role that urban school districts can play in building consensus in support of student discipline policies has not been well documented. But increased levels of student mobility in large urban areas, and increased diversity among the families served by urban districts, highlight the need for district-wide codes of behavior that provide schools with a range of discipline programs that serve the needs of their particular communities. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how the process of developing and implementing a district-wide code of student behavior in Cincinnati played an important role in reducing disruptive behaviors leading to student suspension and expulsion. By involving all stakeholders in the development of its policies, and by responding to the concerns of all stakeholders in the range of programs it offered, the Cincinnati Public Schools was able to build consensus across socioeconomic and ethnic lines and make its code of behavior effective. On the basis of the evidence presented, it is argued that urban school districts can play a more active role in the area of student discipline. By developing and implementing district-wide codes of behavior that are understood and accepted by teachers, students, and parents, and consistently enforced by school officials, urban districts can lay the foundation on which schools can build healthy learning communities. Dr. Lionel H. Brown holds Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral degrees from the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Brown is retired from the Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) where he served as a teacher, vice-principal, principal, and Deputy Superintendent. His responsibilities in the role of CPS Deputy Superintendent included the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, the Office of Student Discipline, and the Office of Student Affairs. Dr. Brown is currently an Assistant Professor in the Division of Educational Studies, College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio. His research and teaching interests include urban education, alternative education, and programs for Black males.Dr. Kelvin S. Beckett holds Bachelors and Masters degrees from the University of British Columbia, Canada and a Doctoral degree from the University of London, United Kingdom. He is an Adjunct Lecturer in the Division of Educational Studies, College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio. His teaching and research interests include urban education and alternative education.     

Consistently inconsistent: An examination of the variability in the identification of emotional disturbance

The federal definition of emotional disturbance (ED) has been heavily criticized as vaguely defined and poorly operationalized yet there has not been a formal analysis of the reliability of the ED criteria. This study examined the reliability of the federal criteria for a special education designation of ED. A total of 179 school psychologists reviewed a mock special education report, made an eligibility determination, and provided information about their eligibility decision. In all, 56 participants found the student met ED eligibility criteria using 16 different combinations of the five criteria. Krippendorff’s α, a statistic preferred for content analysis, was calculated as a measure of criterion reliability. Results indicated extremely poor reliability (α = 0.2011). These findings demonstrate the importance of redefining the existing criteria.     

Microfluidic fabrication of polymeric core-shell microspheres for controlled release applications

We report a facile and robust microfluidic method to fabricate polymeric core-shell microspheres as delivery vehicles for biomedical applications. The characteristics of core-shell microspheres can be precisely and easily tuned by manipulating the microfluidic double emulsion templates. The addition of a shell can significantly improve the versatility as well as functionality of these microspheres as delivery vehicles. We demonstrate that the nature of the shell material plays an important role in the properties of the core-shell delivery vehicles. The release kinetics is significantly influenced by the material of the shell and other characteristics such as the thickness. For example, by adding a poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) shell to an alginate core, the encapsulation efficiency is enhanced and undesired leakage of hydrophilic actives is prevented. By contrast, adding an alginate shell to PLGA core can lead to a reduction of the initial release rate, thus extending the release period of hydrophobic actives. Microfluidic fabrication enables the generation of precisely controlled core-shell microspheres with a narrow size distribution, which enables the investigation of the relationship between the release kinetics of these microspheres and their characteristics. The approach of using core-shell particles as delivery vehicles creates new opportunities to customize the release kinetics of active ingredients.     

The Rise of Athletic Masculinity at the Carlisle Indian School, 1904–1913

Following the dismissal of Captain Richard Pratt from the position of superintendent in 1904, the Carlisle Indian School entered a new era. The school became more focused on vocational education and moved away from offering immediate civilisation to the students. The school even promoted Indian arts and crafts. This move was also reflected in sport at Carlisle. The school became determined to construct a successful athletic programme. This resulted in the rise of masculine gamesmanship among the athletes. This, combined with racial pride, formed the basis of the athletes' manhood in the post-Pratt era. Yet, despite the demonstration of superior masculinity through victories, the school still positioned the students as subordinate to white men. The players were portrayed as comparatively unintelligent; they were apparently incapable of actually coaching the team.     

Changes in academic research performance over time: A study of institutional accumulative advantage

This study examines changes in institutional research performance over time by analyzing data from four national surveys of the American professoriate conducted between 1969 and 1988. To assess whether groups of institutions may be accumulating advantage relative to others, research activities are compared across five Carnegie institution types. Weights are created to adjust for sampling differences and research output measures are standardized to adjust for variation by discipline. Findings show an overall strengthening of research emphasis reflected by a stronger orientation toward research (more faculty holding Ph.D.'s and having a primary interest in research) and higher research output (grant and publication performance). While Research-I universities have retained their initial (1969) advantage, they have not accumulated more. Meanwhile, Doctoral-Granting-I universities have gained strength relative to Research-II institutions. Research at Comprehensive-I was also up, but at a slower rate than the other Carnegie groups.     

Learning through discussions

Students studying a third‐year e‐commerce subject experienced face‐to‐face and online discussions as an important part of their learning experience. The quality of the students' experiences of learning through those discussions is investigated in this study. This study uses qualitative approaches to investigate the variation in the students' understanding of what they were learning through discussions, and how they went about engaging in them. Quantitative analyses are used to investigate how the students' experience related to their performance. Key outcomes of the study include that the quality of the students' experience of learning through discussions is positively related to their performance and that face‐to‐face and online discussions have qualitatively different benefits for learning.     

Yoga asanas as an effective form of experiential learning when teaching musculoskeletal anatomy of the lower limb

Physical movement as a conduit for experiential learning within the academic context of anatomy is a strategy currently used in university dance education. This same approach can be applied to other movement‐based practices, for example, yoga. The primary purpose of this study was to pilot a novel teaching curriculum to yoga practitioners, based on Bruner's Theory of Instruction, which incorporated the four adaptive modes of Kolb's Theory of Experiential Learning. The secondary purpose was to assess the applicability of anatomical knowledge within the participants' yoga practice. Following the development of a curriculum appropriate for a spectrum of academic backgrounds, participants were recruited to attend a 2‐hour learning session within the Department of Anatomy at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The learning session guided participants through the bones and muscles of the lower limb pertaining to five specific yoga poses. Based on participant feedback, the sessions were positively received and consistent. In addition, learning session participants were able to apply the anatomical information they were taught to their yoga practice 1‐month later. Bruner and Kolb's independent theories on curriculum design and effective learning practice were successfully incorporated to create a 2‐hour learning session. The potential use of experiential learning to compliment and/or enhance traditional didactic teaching in the academic context of anatomy should be further explored. Anat Sci Educ. © 2012 American Association of Anatomists.     

Measuring Successful Aging in Southern Black Older Adults

With the growing size of the population of aging Black individuals, it is important to understand successful aging in this group. This study, therefore, piloted the Successful Aging Inventory (SAI) with a convenience sample of Black older adults. Participants completed a demographic form, the SAI, Purpose in Life Test, Life Satisfaction Inventory-A, Mastery Scale, and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Internal reliability and convergent and discriminant validity were acceptable. The SAI appears suitable for examining successful aging in Black older adults.