A glass half full or half empty?: A comparison of diversity statements among Russell group UK vs US Research universities

The term diversity is ubiquitous in university mission statements, strategic plans, recruitment brochures, and university websites. This paper argues aims to compare university diversity statements from US Research Tier 1 universities with those from the elite UK Russell group universities In order to compare the language of diversity, we have used the techniques of corpus linguistics. A corpus is an electronic collection of sample texts which can then be processed by software, in this case the Oxford Wordsmith Tools (Scott 1996) package. This enables a corpus to be searched for frequent words, concordances (the linguistic environment of target words), and collocations (the company that those words keep). The resulting analysis suggests that there are differences between US and UK diversity statements, significant enough that they cannot be said to conform to the same 'genre'. There is overall similarity in terms ofvocabulary choice and of grammatical structures used (nominalizations, modalities etc), however, the UK Russell group diversity statements display a modality position of certainty, which resonates with the noun commitment. In contrast, US Research university diversity statements are formulated more as aspirations, and focus on benefit to the community, but claim a less certain outcome. Diversity is seen as 'a good thing' and signified by multiple linguistic markers of appreciation. The word frequency analysis of the diversity statements suggests that they are largely made up ofsemantically vague lexical items - Strategically Deployable Shifters - which contribute little to the overall meanings of the statements. These words, e.g. excellence, diversity, respect, even equality are multi-functional, polysemic abstractions which invoke fair play. Discursively embracing diversity commits institutions to recognizing little difference, and certainly not to institutional or structural change, rather diversity is seen as the property of individuals, and is congruent with the project of the neoliberal university

“Dangerous Work”: Improving Conditions for Faculty of Color in the Community College

This qualitative investigation of the experiences of faculty of color at community colleges identifies current conditions for this population and suggests potentials for ameliorating conditions that inhibit their job satisfaction. We argue that the current conditions for faculty of color, based upon their expressed experiences at the community colleges, are deleterious to their professional performance, to their positive self-image, and to their contributions to their institutions. Alterations to these current conditions are unlikely without systemic institutional change. Indeed, without improvement to these conditions, the job satisfaction of faculty of color is not likely to change

The Role and Relevance of Rankings in Higher Education Policymaking

Explores the rise of college rankings, similarities and differences from postsecondary assessment efforts, and factors behind their limited relevance to policy such as their effect on institutional behaviors. Recommends ways to enhance policy relevance

The Campus Diversity Initiative: Current Status, Anticipating the Future

Provides an overview of Irvine's 2000-2005 initiative to assist 28 independent California colleges and universities to increase the success of historically underrepresented students on their campuses. Includes lessons learned, and future plans

Publishing patterns within the UK accounting and finance academic community

This study reports on publishing patterns in the UK and Irish accounting and finance academic community for the 2-year period 1998-1999 using the data contained in the BAR Research Register. It is found that the community has been growing modestly since 1991, with a doubling in the number of PhD-qualified staff (to 30%) and a reduction in the number with a professional qualification (from 81 to 58%). Nearly half of all outputs appear in other than academic journals. The mean number of publications is 1.76 per capita, with significantly more staff active in publishing than in 1991 (44% compared to 35%). However, only 17% publish in a subset of 60 'top' journals. Just over half of all articles are published in the core discipline journals, the rest appearing mainly in management, economics, sociology, education and IT journals. This may indicate a growing maturity in the disciplines, whereby applied research findings are flowing back into related foundation and business disciplines. Nearly two-thirds of academic articles are co-authored, with 25% of contributions coming from outside the community, indicating an openness to interdisciplinary collaboration, collaboration with overseas academics and collaboration with individuals in practice. The findings of this study will be of assistance to those making career decisions (either their own career or decisions involving other people's careers). They also raise awareness of the way in which the accounting and finance disciplines are developing

The American Myth of White Supremacy: A Review of \u3ci\u3eMyths America Lives By\u3c/i\u3e

(excerpt) In 1989 a young white woman running through New York’s Central Park was seized, brutally beaten, raped, and dumped in a ravine. Miraculously, she survived, despite extensive injuries and a complete loss of memory. Five black and brown teenagers from Harlem, labeled the Central Park Five, were quickly apprehended and, after twenty-four hours of questioning without legal counsel, confessed to the crime. Although they were all minors, some as young as fourteen, the New York Police Department publicly released their names. Angry demands for punishment filled the local and national media. In subsequent trials, all five were found guilty and swallowed up by the New York prison system. However, they were innocent

Integrating Students into Interdisciplinary Health and Health Disparities Research Teams

Major initiatives by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as well as the World Health Organization have produced a large and compelling body of evidence on how to reduce health disparities, which entails having a clear understanding of how social factors shape health and healthcare outcomes. Specifically, there is a need for healthcare professionals to understand social determinants of health (e.g., low socioeconomic status, lack of health insurance, and poor education) and how these lead to disparities in health for people of minority racial and ethnic groups. Little is known about how students are developed as health disparities researchers or how their research experiences impact their views about addressing social determinants of health as a career goal. The purpose of this paper is to describe how health and human sciences students were integrated into three minority HIV prevention and testing projects using the lifelong learning for health professionals (LLHP) principles and activities framework, which entails a focus on: (a) education, (b) community, and (c) organization in the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of interdisciplinary research

Moving from Walkability? Evaluation Traditional and Merging Data Sources for Evaluating Changes in Campus-Generated Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Universities are increasingly committing to reduce campus-generated greenhouse gas emissions, whether voluntarily or in response to a legal mandate. As an initial step to keeping these commitments, universities need an accounting of baseline greenhouse gas emissions levels and means of monitoring changes in campus-generated greenhouse gas emissions over time. Commute-generated greenhouse gas emissions from travel to and from campus by students and employees are among the most difficult to quantify. This report examines some of the challenges associated with estimating campus-generated greenhouse gas emissions and evaluates ways to address those challenges. The purpose of this study is to identify changes in campus-generated travel behavior at California Polytechnic State University based on the results of three successive campus-wide travel surveys; to evaluate alternative data sources that have the potential to supplement or replace campus travel surveys as a source of data for campus-generated greenhouse gas emissions; and to evaluate alternate methods to estimating greenhouse gas emissions from campus-generated vehicle miles traveled, depending on the presence of campus-specific information about vehicle fleet characteristics. The results of successive travel surveys suggest that the campus population has become more car-dependent over time. Comparison of survey results with data collected from automating traffic counting devices and mobile device data suggest that surveys that are limited to members of the campus community are likely to undercount campus-generated vehicle miles traveled by excluding infrequent, but potentially long, trips by campus visitors. Finally, we find that using campus-specific information on the model years of vehicles used to commute to campus yields higher estimates of campus-generated greenhouse gas emissions, relative to average regional emissions rates