Effects of Academic Discipline and Teaching Goals in Predicting Grading Beliefs Among Undergraduate Teaching Faculty

Prior research reveals that differential grading patterns exist among the academic disciplines. One explanation may lie in discipline-related differences in teaching goals and beliefs about the meaning grades should convey. This study examined the effects of academic discipline and teaching goals on grading beliefs. A national sample (n = 442) of undergraduate teaching faculty provided responded to a survey measuring the importance of various teaching goals and orientations toward norm-referenced or criterion-referenced grading (Frame of Reference), and beliefs about using grades to sort and select students on the basis of achievement (Gatekeeping). Both teaching goals and academic discipline were significantly related to gatekeeping beliefs, but not to beliefs about frames of reference for grading. Higher gatekeeping scores were associated with faculty in the paradigmatic fields and those who emphasized analytic skills and time management. Lower gatekeeping scores were associated with the preparadigmatic disciplines and teaching goals of synthesis and integration and developing respect for others. Faculty who identified their primary teaching role as subject matter oriented were more gatekeeping than those who identified themselves primarily as being student/personal development oriented.     

Onset,development, and prevention of drinking and driving among adolescents

An etiological study was designed to investigate the onset and development of drinking and driving among adolescents who recently received their driver’s license. A theoretical framework, derived from Problem Behavior Theory, was applied in order to identify environmental, personality and behavioral factors associated with drinking and driving. Among students who reported that they had driven a motor vehicle in the past three months (N=1416), 33 percent of the males and 22 percent of the females (who averaged 16.7 years) reported “drinking at least two drinks on a single occasion prior to driving” at least once in the previous three months. Personality factors (including perceived ability to drive after drinking, tolerance of drinking and driving, and lack of self-confidence in avoiding drinking and driving situations), perceived environmental factors (perceived car availability and friends modelling of drinking and driving) and behavioral factors (riding with a drinking driver and marijuana use) accounted for a large proportion (49%) of the variance in reported drinking and driving. It is recommended that school-based, peer-led educational programs be designed which target young adolescents prior to the age at which legal driver license is obtained. The programs should be broad-based and consider drinking and driving within the larger context of drinking and driving related behaviors and traffic safety in general.     

Spontaneity and planning in arts attendance: insights from qualitative interviews and the Audience Finder database

ABSTRACT

Arts managers frequently use customer relationship management systems to identify early and late ticket bookers, but to date there has been no comparable investigation of spontaneity and planning through qualitative academic audience research. This paper combines two radically different datasets to draw new insights into booking patterns of audiences for contemporary arts events. Quantitative data from Audience Finder has been analysed to look for trends in early and late booking amongst audiences for contemporary art forms. Qualitative data has been drawn from the Understanding Audiences for the Contemporary Arts study, which used in-depth individual interviews to investigate the contemporary arts attendance of audience members in four UK cities. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was then used to draw out insights about where the purchasing point sits within the longer decision to attend. Following a review of marketing and audience research literature on the decision to attend, we present the findings from each of these analyses, looking at moments where they confirm, supplement, contradict, or say something completely outside the remit of the other dataset. We show how the timescale of the decision to attend is influenced by (1) art form conventions and price, (2) geographical region and availability of the arts, (3) attending arts events with companions, and (4) personal preference for planning or spontaneously choosing activities. We end by suggesting a new three-part model for understanding booking patterns, and considering how these insights might be acted upon by arts organisations.