Grade Inflation Marches On: Grade Increases from the 1990s to 2000s

Grade inflation threatens the integrity of college grades as indicators of academic achievement. In this study, we contribute to the literature on grade inflation by providing the first estimate of the size of grade increases at the student level between the mid‐1990s and mid‐2000s. By controlling for student characteristics and course‐taking patterns, we are able to eliminate alternative explanations for grade increases. Our results suggest that grade inflation has occurred across decades, at a small yet non‐negligible rate. Suggestions for future research are discussed.     

A Victorian hope for aerial navigation: Argyll as a theorist of flight and the first president of the Aëronautical Society of Great Britain

In 1866 the Aëronautical Society of Great Britain was founded with George Douglas Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll (1823–1900) as first president, and patron. The purpose of the society was to further the study of aerial navigation as well as to make aeronautics a respectable science, and today the society--now the Royal Aeronautical Society--serves as a professional body dedicated to aerospace research. There were two fundamental areas of scientific knowledge key to the society in its initial decades: 1) a detailed understanding of the principles of bird flight, and 2) the practical application of that knowledge in the construction of flying machines. Argyll firmly belonged to the former being a well-seasoned ornithologist and theorist of flight, and, with the publication of his best-selling book The Reign of Law (1867), was one of the first to popularise the theoretical principles of bird flight. In this paper, I examine the relationship between bird and mechanical flight through Argyll's ornithological studies, with a focus on the various factors early in Argyll's life that led to his eventual position as president of the Aëronautical Society. By analysing the influence of his family relations, home environment and religious convictions, I show how Argyll’s scientific undertakings existed as part of a wider network of theistic Victorian aristocrats who contributed to the creation and professionalization of scientific disciplines in a way that contrasted markedly with the methods of many of the scientific naturalists.     

“The Effort of Reason,and the Adventure of Beauty”: The Aesthetic Rhetoric of Randolph Bourne

We are still coming to terms with the legacy of Randolph Bourne. Although he died at the age of 32 just as the United States was cheerfully entering the First World War under the banner of “democracy,” the words he penned in an unfinished essay still resonate in the American social conscience: “War is the Health of the State.” This maxim, once thought the exclusive property of leftist radicals, now can be heard echoing from every political corner of the blogosphere as progressives and libertarians alike find cause to question the motives of governmental power. Yet despite his reappearance as a symbol, Bourne in many ways remains as forgotten as ever—perhaps even more so as his once provocative claim has been transformed into a talking point. This essay endeavors to recapture the voice of Bourne in all its complexity, seeking to place him at the forefront of the contemporary American intellectual tradition as one of its most piercing critics, most visionary poets, and most eloquent rhetors. Specifically, we show how Bourne's critique of the “State” foresaw the rise of the technological society organized by ideological propaganda, how his vision of the Beloved Community anticipated our modern ideals of global transnationalism, and how his literary essays practiced a form of aesthetic rhetoric which employed dramatistic methods to bring about a new state of expanded social consciousness.     

Remembering the AIDS Quilt

FUNDAMENTALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING. By Donald C. Bryant and Karl R. Wallace. (Second edition). New York: Appleton‐Century‐Crofts, Inc., 1953; pp. xiv+493. $4.00.

BASIC TRAINING IN SPEECH. By Lester Thonssen and Howard Gilkinson. (Second edition). Boston: D. C. Heath and Co., 1953; pp. 494. $4.00.

AN INFORMAL GUIDE TO PUBLIC SPEAKING. By William Freeman. Edited by Quincy Howe. (Revised edition). New York: Simon and Schuster, 1953; pp. xiv+141. $2.95.

NOTEBOOK FOR VOICE AND DICTION. By Lyle V. Mayer. Dubuque, Iowa: Win. C. Brown Co., 1953; pp. vii+168. $2.50.

COMMON ERRORS IN ENGLISH AND HOW TO AVOID THEM. By Alexander M. Wither‐spoon. (Everyday Handbook Series. #240). New York: Barnes and Noble, Inc., 1952; pp. 344. $1.25.

AMERICAN PROBLEMS TODAY. By Robert Rienow. Boston: D. C. Heath and Co., 1953: pp. xv+704. $4.00.

THE WRITER IN AMERICA. By Van Wyck Brooks. New York: E. P. Dutton and Co., Inc., 1953; pp. 203. $3.00.

PEOPLE, PLACES, AND BOOKS. By Gilbert Highet. New York: Oxford University Press, 1953; pp. x+277. $3.50.

ALWAYS THE YOUNG STRANGERS. By Carl Sandburg. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1953; pp. 445. $5.00.

THE CULTIVATION OF COMMUNITY LEADERS. By William W. Biddle. New York: Harper &; Brothers, 1953; pp. 203. $3.00.

SPEECHREADING—JENA METHOD. By Anna M. Bunger. (Revised edition). Danville, Illinois: Interstate Printers and Publishers, 1952; pp. 109. $2.50.

NOTES ON SCENE PAINTING. By Bradford Ashworth. New Haven, Connecticut: Whit‐lock's, Inc., 1952; pp. 45. $2.00.

LIVING THEATRE. Edited by Alice Venezky Griffin. Foreword by Helen Hayes. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1953; pp. 510. $4.50.

THE THEATER DICTIONARY: BRITISH AND AMERICAN TERMS IN THE DRAMA, OPERA, AND BALLET. By Wilfred Granville. New York: Philosophical Library, 1952; pp. xii+227. $5.00.

ENGLISH COMPOSITION. By A. F. Scott. London: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1953; Book III, pp. 107. Book IV, pp. 74. Each $1.00

BRITISH AUTHORS BEFORE 1800. Edited by Stanley J. Kunitz and Howard Haycraft. New York: H. W. Wilson Co., 1952; pp. vi+ 584. $6.00.     

On the Origins of Violence and Language

Better Everyday English. By H. G. Paul, University of Illinois. Lyons and Carnahan, Chicago, 1924. pp. 279.

Selected Orations. Compiled by Albert Mason Harris. Cokes‐bury Press, Nashville, Tenn., 1924. Pp. 439.

Gentlemen of the Jury. By Francis L. Wellman. The Macmillan Company. 1924. Pp. 298.

Costuming A Play. By Elizabeth B. Grimbal and Rhea Wells. New York. The Century Co. 1925. 135 pages.

Abraham Lincoln: Master of Words. By Daniel K. Dodge. D. Appleton, New York. 1924. Pp.178.     

Anarchist education and the paradox of pedagogical authority

This article interrogates a key feature of anarchist education; focusing on a problem with implications not only for anarchist conceptions of education, but for anarchist philosophy and practice more broadly. The problem is this: if anarchism consists in the principled opposition to all forms of coercive authority, then how is this to be reconciled with situations where justice demands the use of coercion in order to protect some particular good? It seems that anarchist educators are forced to deny coercive authority in principle, whilst at the same time affirming it in practice. This is the paradox of pedagogical authority in anarchist education. Coercive authority is simultaneously impossible and indispensable. Exploring this paradox through a reading of Jacques Derrida’s later work, and, in particular, his conception of justice as requiring openness to the singular situation, I argue that in exercising their authority anarchist educators encounter the aporetic moment in anarchism, experiencing what Derrida calls ‘the ordeal of the undecidable’. Understood this way, the paradox becomes less an indication of anarchism’s limitations than it does its value. For it is here that the problem of pedagogical authority is treated with the gravity that all questions of justice deserve.     

Hazing in Public Schools: A Liability Challenge for School Leaders

Hazing in public schools is a significant problem that may result in serious physical or emotional harm to students who are victims. According to experts in the field, each year more than 1,500,000 American students become new hazing victims. Hazing also results in legal challenges for school personnel. The courts consider public schools to be safe places where teaching and learning occur in a peaceful environment. Thus, school personnel have a leading responsibility to protect the safety of students under the functional custody of their schools. Hazing activities, if not checked, pose a threat to the health and safety of students. Hazing by its very nature is a private act. Consequently, a significant number of hazing acts goes unreported. Hazing has become so prevalent that it has prompted 44 states to pass legislation banning it. Despite anti-hazing laws, hazing continues to occur among athletes, peer groups, gangs, and other schools clubs and organizations. Hazing creates stress, anxiety, intimidation, and often results in physical and emotional harm to victims. Well-defined policies prohibiting hazing and proper procedures for reporting hazing coupled with vigilance by school personnel in monitoring student activities may greatly reduce hazing incidents and minimize potential liability claims for school personnel.     

Learning and Teaching Programming: A Review and Discussion

In this paper we review the literature relating to the psychological/educational study of programming. We identify general trends comparing novice and expert programmers, programming knowledge and strategies, program generation and comprehension, and object-oriented versus procedural programming. (We do not cover research relating specifically to other programming styles.) The main focus of the review is on novice programming and topics relating to novice teaching and learning. Various problems experienced by novices are identified, including issues relating to basic program design, to algorithmic complexity in certain language features, to the “fragility” of novice knowledge, and so on. We summarise this material and suggest some practical implications for teachers. We suggest that a key issue that emerges is the distinction between effective and ineffective novices. What characterises effective novices? Is it possible to identify the specific deficits of ineffective novices and help them to become effective learners of programming?     

Social Understanding in Young Israeli-Jewish,Israeli-Palestinian,Palestinian, and Jordanian Children: Moral Judgments and Stereotypes

Research Findings: An empirical investigation was conducted to test young Palestinian, Jordanian, Israeli-Palestinian, and Israeli-Jewish children's (N = 433; M = 5.7 years of age) cultural stereotypes and their evaluations of peer intergroup exclusion based upon a number of different factors, including being from a different country and speaking a different language. Children in this study lived in a geographical region that has a history of cultural and religious tension, violence, and extreme intergroup conflict. Our findings reveal that the negative consequences of living with intergroup tension are related to the use of stereotypes. At the same time, the results for moral judgments and evaluations about excluding peers provide positive results about the young children's inclusive views regarding peer interactions. Practice: These findings indicate that practitioners working with young children should focus on inclusion in peer contexts. Curricula, media, and social intervention programs must begin in early childhood before children begin to use stereotypes in peer situations, particularly when children from other cultural and ethnic backgrounds play together.