Comparison of Community College Students’ Sexual Health Dimensions

ABSTRACT

Sexually active college students in the United States have alarming rates of unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Varying degrees of sexual health knowledge and attitudes among college students are an outcome of sexuality education in the K-12 school systems with abstinence-only or comprehensive focus. Community college students (n = 737) aged 18–24 years, 57% from a college in an abstinence-only sex education state and 43% from a college in a comprehensive sex education state, both in the Mid-Atlantic region, took the Sexual Health Survey in October 2016, which measures sexual health knowledge and attitudes. Gender and ethnicity differences, as well as other sources of sexuality information were evaluated. Students from the comprehensive sex education state, New Jersey had higher sexual health knowledge and attitude scores than the students from the abstinence-only sex education state, Pennsylvania. Male students in New Jersey scored significantly higher in sexual health knowledge compared to male students in Pennsylvania, while female students in New Jersey had higher sexual health knowledge scores compared to the male students. Analysis of ethnicity revealed the New Jersey college sample had healthier sexual attitudes as compared to the Pennsylvania college sample, with notable distinction among Black students. The Internet, friends, and personal experiences were chosen by 75% of all students across both colleges as the top reported sources of sexuality information. In addition to advocating for comprehensive sex education, recommendations are made for sexual health initiatives in community colleges to provide sexual health instruction and support.     

ADMINISTRATIVE REORGANIZATION IN THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Reorganization within the administrative structure of community colleges is an activity that has been much indulged in but little written about during recent years. This study was undertaken to determine perceptions of the roles that community college presidents play when reorganization within the administrative structure takes place. Colleges used for collection of data were two Texas metroplitan community college districts. Collection of data was limited to administrative changes from the division level through the president's level at each college. No attempt was made to study the district level or the department or curriculum levels.     

Data-Generating Mechanisms Versus Constructively Defined Latent Variables in Multitrait–Multimethod Analysis: A Comment on Castro-Schilo,Widaman, and Grimm (2013)

In a recent article, Castro-Schilo, Widaman, and Grimm (2013) compared different approaches for relating multitrait–multimethod (MTMM) data to external variables. Castro-Schilo et al. reported that estimated associations with external variables were in part biased when either the correlated traits–correlated uniqueness (CT-CU) or correlated traits–correlated (methods–1) [CT-C(M–1)] models were fit to data generated from the correlated traits–correlated methods (CT-CM) model, whereas the data-generating CT-CM model accurately reproduced these associations. Castro-Schilo et al. argued that the CT-CM model adequately represents the data-generating mechanism in MTMM studies, whereas the CT-CU and CT-C(M–1) models do not fully represent the MTMM structure. In this comment, we question whether the CT-CM model is more plausible as a data-generating model for MTMM data than the CT-C(M–1) model. We show that the CT-C(M–1) model can be formulated as a reparameterization of a basic MTMM true score model that leads to a meaningful and parsimonious representation of MTMM data. We advocate the use confirmatory factor analysis MTMM models in which latent trait, method, and error variables are explicitly and constructively defined based on psychometric theory.     

Levers of Management in University-Industry Collaborations: How project management affects value creation at different life-cycle stages of a collaboration

This paper reports a longitudinal multi-case research project encompassing 38 semi-structured interviews conducted in 2011 and 2012 with four students, 12 researchers and 22 companies relating to a total of 25 university–industry collaborations. The interviews covered the collaboration type, the initiation of the collaboration and details concerning the planning of the collaboration. In addition, the interviews focused on the relationships between the people involved in the collaboration and the effects of project management. We distinguish between project management success and project success, and identify potential good practice. The paper concludes that, whereas project management success was not found to be causally related to project success, there seems to be a clearer link between project management success and ensuring effective use of resources in both companies and universities. There is also evidence that it is problematic when corporate managers think they can run research projects like lean production companies.     

Serious games for learning: games-based child sexual abuse prevention in schools

In spite of research demonstrating conceptual weakness in many child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention programmes and outdated modes of delivery, students continue to participate in a diversity of initiatives. Referring to the development of a games-based approach to CSA prevention in Australia, this paper examines empirically based attributes of effective CSA prevention programmes for schools including contemporary pedagogies for learning. The paper draws on findings to inform the conceptual development phase of Orbit, an online, free and equal-access, games-based educational approach to CSA prevention for children aged 8–10 years. First, the paper provides a review of CSA prevention in schools and games-based approaches to key learnings in prevention. Second, an overview of Orbit (the Feeling Safe sexual abuse prevention project) is provided. Finally, implications for the development of games-based prevention programmes are offered and an argument is made for the advancement of games-based prevention resources.     

Computerization in Nigerian libraries: a state of the art review

Computerization of library services is intended to modernize the entire library system in Nigeria as in the industrialized countries, and to ensure accuracy, efficiency, effective information management, reliable user services, enhanced interlibrary co-operation and library prestige. By 1985, only the library of the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, had succeeded in automating its library services. Other libraries are mostly at the trial stage. University and research libraries and the National Library of Nigeria are leading the race to computerize their services. Lack of co-operation between libraries is an obstacle to library automation in Nigeria. Some librarians are not sure whether computerized library services would thrive owing to problems of poor funding, inadequate physical and environmental facilities such as low grade buildings, unreliable power supply and the scanty amount of information holdings in most of our libraries. Staff computer training, standby power generating plants, competent personnel, computer technicians and support for computer acquisition and hardware maintenance are major factors to consider before any Nigerian library decides to automate its services. In future, use of natural language by computers will make computers more user friendly. Installation of mini- or microcomputers, with powerful information storage capacity, rather than main frames are recommended for small Nigerian libraries with fewer than 20000 book titles, but which wish to automate their services.     

Einfluss unterschiedlicher Motive auf den zeitlichen Umfang ehrenamtlichen Engagements in Sportvereinen

In the social science literature, various motives for volunteering are discussed. However, so far little is known about the specific relationship between these motives and the time invested in voluntary work. Hypotheses derived from consumer goods theory concerning this association were examined. The results show (1) that altruistic motives increase the amount of engagement, and (2) that selfishly motivated volunteerism is an experience good.     

Investigating the determinants of contribution value in Wikipedia

The recent prevalence of wiki applications has demonstrated that wikis have high potential in facilitating knowledge creation, sharing, integration, and utilization. As wikis are increasingly adopted in contexts like business, education, research, government, and the public, how to improve user contribution becomes an important concern for researchers and practitioners. In this research, we focus on the quality aspect of user contribution: contribution value. Building upon the critical mass theory and research on editing activities in wikis, this study investigates whether user interests and resources can increase contribution value for different types of users. We develop our research model and empirically test it using survey method and content analysis method in Wikipedia. The results demonstrate that (1) for users who emphasize substantive edits, depth of interests and depth of resources play more influential roles in affecting contribution value; and (2) for users who focus on non-substantive edits, breadth of interests and breadth of resources are more important in increasing contribution value. The findings suggest that contribution value develops in different patterns for two types of users. Implications for both theory and practice are discussed.     

University libraries as a model for the determination of the need for information specialists in knowledge industries? An exploratory analysis of the information sector in Austria

In our paper we present an experimental study which investigated the possibility to project the need for information specialists serving knowledge workers in knowledge industries on the basis of an average university library serving their counterparts at a university. Information management functions, i.e. functions and processes related to information evaluation, acquisition, metadata creation, etc., performed in an average university library are the starting point of this investigation. The fundamental assumption is that these functions do not only occur in libraries but also in other contexts like, for instance, in knowledge industries. As a consequence, we try to estimate the need for information professionals in knowledge industries by means of quantitative methods from library and information science (Library Planning Model) and economics (input output analysis, occupational analysis). Our study confirms the validity of our assumption. Accordingly, the number of information specialists projected on the basis of university libraries is consistent with their actual number reported in national statistics. However, in order to attain a close fit, we had to revise the original research model by dismissing the split-up of information specialists into reader services and technical services staff.