Male access and success in higher education

The gendered landscape of higher education (hereafter HE) has changed significantly over the past two decades. As has long been the case, men are more likely to secure graduatelevel employment after their degree, although the advantage over women in this respect is now marginal. Men still form the majority of faculty and HE managers. Since the early 1990s, however, women are now more likely to start an undergraduate course than men, to successfully complete it and to achieve a ‘good degree’. Although the gender gap is less significant beyond undergraduate study, women are also more likely to undertake post-graduate courses. The speed and scale of the change in undergraduate participation patterns makes it a social phenomenon meriting further attention

Retention

Employee retention in the 21th century reflects how companies keep their employees motivated and well prepared for the challenges in the workplace. In this paper, I apply the concepts of motivation and how employers keep their employees. I also emphasize the costly effects of a employee leaving the organization, both as a dollar and emotional standpoint

Retention of Undergraduate Minority Students in Institutions of Higher Education

This article is concerned with the retention of minority undergraduate students, offering recommendations which contribute to a higher rate of student retention in postsecondary institutions. The first section provides a brief introduction to the state-of-the-art concerning attrition and retention. The development of a retention program for minority students comprises the second, more comprehensive section. It provides a listing of resources concerned with the problem. Concluding recommendations are presented which can contribute to the successful retention of minority students

Investigating lupus retention in care to inform interventions for disparities reduction: an observational cohort study.

BACKGROUND:Systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) disproportionately impacts patients of color and socioeconomically disadvantaged patients. Similar disparities in HIV were reduced through a World Health Organization-endorsed Care Continuum strategy targeting "retention in care," defined as having at least two annual visits or viral load lab tests. Using similar definitions, this study aimed to examine predictors of lupus retention in care, to develop an SLE Care Continuum and inform interventions to reduce disparities. We hypothesized that Black patients and those residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods would have lower retention in care. METHODS:Abstractors manually validated 545 potential adult cases with SLE codes in 2013-2014 using 1997 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) or 2012 Systemic Lupus Erythematosus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC) criteria. We identified 397 SLE patients who met ACR or SLICC criteria for definite lupus, had at least one baseline rheumatology visit, and were alive through 2015. Retention in care was defined as having two ambulatory rheumatology visits or SLE labs (e.g., complement tests) during the outcome year 2015, analogous to HIV retention definitions. Explanatory variables included age, sex, race, ethnicity, smoking status, neighborhood area deprivation index (ADI), number of SLE criteria, and nephritis. We used multivariable logistic regression to test our hypothesis and model predictors of SLE retention in care. RESULTS:Among 397 SLE patients, 91% were female, 56% White, 39% Black, and 5% Hispanic. Notably, 51% of Black versus 5% of White SLE patients resided in the most disadvantaged ADI neighborhood quartile. Overall, 60% met visit-defined retention and 27% met complement lab-defined retention in 2015. Retention was 59% lower for patients in the most disadvantaged neighborhood quartile (adjusted OR 0.41, CI 0.18, 0.93). No statistical difference was seen based on age, sex, race, or ethnicity. More SLE criteria and non-smoking predicted greater retention. CONCLUSIONS:Disadvantaged neighborhood residence was the strongest factor predicting poor SLE retention in care. Future interventions could geo-target disadvantaged neighborhoods and design retention programs with vulnerable populations to improve retention in care and reduce SLE outcome disparities

Libraries and Student Retention

Mick Williams presented the workshop “Libraries and Student Retention” at the June 2015 Association of Christian Librarians Conference. This article of the same name encapsulates key points that were shared during the workshop’s PowerPoint presentation on how academic librarians can actively promote student retention at their own institutions of higher learning

Effect of Retention Aids on AKD Size Response and Permanence

Poor size response and size reversion have been major concerns with the use of an alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) sizing system. Poor retention of calcium carbonate fillers and fiber fines are believed to be the cause of poor size response. A number of materials, including carbonate fillers, promoters and retention aids are believed to contribute to size reversion. The focus of this study was to determine the effectiveness of retention aids in obtaining good size response. Size permanence was also studied The performance of the retention aides were studied by preparing handsheets at five different zeta potentials. It was determined that when no retention aid was added to the system, size response was not dependent on zeta potential. It was dependent on the amount of polyethyleneimine (PEI) present in the system. Low sizing levels in the absence of PEI indicate poor retention of the size molecules. When cationic polymers were added to the stock, sizing levels showed a dramatic increase. This increase was do to superior retention of the fiber fines. As zeta potential was increased to highly cationic, size levels dropped due to poor retention of the sizing chemical. Cationic polymer was not observed to contribute to size reversion. Size response with the addition of an anionic polymer was highly dependent on the presence of a cationic fixative. When no PEI was present in the stock, the anionic polymer was ineffective. Small amounts of PEI provided cationic sites for the anionic polymer to bridge the fibers. Contrary to previous literature studies, the anionic polymer did not contribute to size reversion. When PEI was added to the system, large increases in sizing levels were observed PEI promotes excellent retention of the fiber fines. Good fines retention will increase sizing levels. Not only did PEI promote the reaction between AKD and cellulose, no size reversion was observed when it was used

Employment Retention Essentials

Employment retention is one of the critical challenges facing the workforce field today. For any organization that seeks to improve retention services, "Employment Retention Essentials" is an invaluable resource. User-friendly and filled with practical ideas, this guide offers concrete tools for keeping people working, including tips on how to involve employers, build relationships and stay in contact with participants