Organizational culture and effectiveness in two-year colleges

The central purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which the effectiveness of a nationally representative sample of two-year colleges differs in terms of their dominant type of organizational culture. The findings demonstrate wide differences in the effectiveness of two-year colleges that exhibit the traits of clan, adhocracy, hierarchy, and market cultures, and the differences are consistent with their conceptual rationale. The research, policy, and practical implications of the findings in terms of our efforts to understand and improve the management and institutional performance of two-year colleges are discussed.Presented at the Association for Institutional Research Annual Forum, Atlanta, Georgia, May 10–13, 1992.     

Symmetrical and asymmetrical sources of variance in temporal generalization

Ten rats were trained in a temporal generalization task (the peak procedure) with variations in the time of reinforcement, the intertrial interval, and the mean and variance of the duration of nonfood trials. There were three types of asymmetry in the temporal generalization gradients: positive skew, secondary rise, and positive asymptote. Asymmetrical gradients can occur as a result of asymmetrical sources of variance, multiplicative combinations of symmetrical sources of variance, and effects of anticipation of the end of a trial and the conditions of the next trial. Ten additional rats were trained with a single time of reinforcement, a limited time of reinforcement availability, long and fixed durations of nonfood trials, and a nonresponse requirement for ending a trial. These conditions markedly reduced all asymmetrical sources of variance and led to very symmetrical gradients. These results demonstrate that none of the asymmetrical sources of variance necessarily has a substantial influence on observed temporal generalization gradients.     

‘Is it because I’m a woman?’ Gender-based attributional ambiguity in higher education administration

This study examines gender-based attributional ambiguity among higher education administrators in the US, specifically academic deans. Attributional ambiguity involves situations in which members of underrepresented groups cannot determine whether interactions both negative and positive have occurred because of their minority status or for some unrelated yet plausible reason. A conceptual model of attributional ambiguity in higher education administration is presented highlighting the types of situations that produce this ambiguity, two variants of attributional ambiguity (i.e. cognitive and social), and the psychological and organizational consequences of such ambiguity. Reasons that attributional ambiguity is inherent to higher education administration are examined including the fluidity of gender roles, the culture of academia, and leaders’ minimization of discriminatory experiences. Implications for professional practice are also presented such as the need for curricula, trainings, mentoring, and coaching that addresses attributional ambiguity and greater publicity related to women’s underrepresentation in leadership roles in higher education.     

‘Wading through children’s tears’: the emotional experiences of elementary school inspections, 1839–1911

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the emotional experiences of elementary school inspections, from the appointment of the first State school inspectors in 1839 to 1911 when Edward Holmes, the retiring chief inspector, signposted the prospects of a new era in elementary education. The paper is arranged in two parts: the first provides an outline of the origins and development of elementary school inspection, while the second discusses the potential contribution of emotions scholarship to inform our understanding of elementary schooling seen through the lens of inspection. Whereas previous studies have concentrated on the inspectorate’s administrative history in relation to school development, this paper’s contribution is to highlight what inspection sources reveal about elementary schools as sites of emotional expression and experience. While acknowledging the challenges a history of emotions framework presents, the paper concludes that such an approach offers a fresh perspective on inspection and school regimes in the past.     

Learning at the nanoscale: The impact of students' use of remote microscopy on concepts of viruses,scale, and microscopy

The rapid pace of development is bringing advanced technologies to the World Wide Web (WWW), and, as a result, schools have access to new tools for science investigations. In this exploratory study, we investigated how an educational experience organized around students' use of a WWW‐controllable atomic force microscope (AFM) influenced students' understandings of viruses. The context for the study was a weeklong unit on viruses for two high school biology classes which incorporated student use of the WWW controllable AFM. We also investigated how the haptic (involving kinesthetics and touch) experiences afforded by this tool might influence students' knowledge of viruses, microscopy, and nanometer scale. Fifty students from two high school biology classes participated in a series of instructional activities and pre‐ and postassessments (knowledge test, opinion questionnaire, and interviews). Results showed that students' understandings of microscale, virus morphology, and dimensionality changed as a result of the experiences. Students' conceptions moved from a two‐dimensional textbook‐like image of a virus to a three‐dimensional image of an adenovirus. The results of this preliminary study suggest that the use of the technology as a tool for learning about morphology of materials too small to see may be beneficial. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 303–322, 2003     

Racial Identity and Psychological Symptoms Among African Americans Attending a Historically Black University

Previous research found racial identity predictive of psychological distress among African American students at predominantly White colleges. This study examined these relationships among 154 African American undergraduates attending a historically Black university. Racial identity was independent of psychological distress, suggesting that African American students' racial identity predicts psychological distress only in settings in which they are the minority.