An Analysis of Academic Reputation as Perceived by Consumers of Higher Education

A college\u27s academic reputation (AR) plays a significant role in positioning the institution. Survey responses of college-bound high school seniors suggest that a majority of respondents view successful postgraduate careers as very important to the perception of AR and very likely to be attributed to a college with very good AR. A principle components factor analysis revealed three factors that describe the perception of AR (i.e., Academic Concerns, Campus Ethos, Practical Value). In a similar analysis three factors were found likely to be associated with very good AR (i.e., Curricular Concerns, Exclusivity, Career Preparation)

An Analysis of Academic Reputation as Perceived by Consumers of Higher Education

A college\u27s academic reputation (AR) plays a significant role in positioning the institution. Survey responses of college-bound high school seniors suggest that a majority of respondents view successful postgraduate careers as very important to the perception of AR and very likely to be attributed to a college with very good AR. A principle components factor analysis revealed three factors that describe the perception of AR (i.e., Academic Concerns, Campus Ethos, Practical Value). In a similar analysis three factors were found likely to be associated with very good AR (i.e., Curricular Concerns, Exclusivity, Career Preparation)

Desegregation\u27s Effect on Job Opportunities for Negro Teachers

The 1954 Supreme Court decision declaring segregated public education to be in violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment broke the job monopoly of Negro teachers. While integrated student bodies were becoming commonplace, the integration of faculties lagged. Faced with the new job market that discriminates against him rather than for him, the Negro teacher, in many states, found himself forced out of teaching jobs in direct proportion to the rate and extent of integration. In the absence of integration, Negro teachers would be hired in proportion to the number of students of their race. The number of Negro students, therefore, establishes an a priori standard for hiring Negro teachers. For this reason, the comparison of job opportunities, over time, is feasible. If a substantial number of Negro students attend integrated schools and are taught by white teachers, the need for Negro teachers declines. The difference between the a priori standard and the actual number of Negro teachers yields an aggregate job disadvantage. Several states show a high correlation between increases in aggregate job disadvantage for Negro teachers and the extent of integration. Seventeen southern and border states are classified according to this criterion. Although federal legislation will undoubtedly invalidate the results of this study over time, it is apparent that the short run effect of school integration has been to relegate the Negro teacher into a disadvantaged employment position

Conscientiousness is Key: Incentives for Attendance Make Little Difference.

This study examined differences in class attendance at different levels of conscientiousness and incentives (3.5% vs. 6% of course points). Results of a 2 × 2 (Level of Incentives × Level of Conscientiousness) ANOVA indicated a significant main effect for conscientiousness. Conscientiousness accounted for 14% of the variance in attendance, compared to 1% for incentives. Attendance appears to be influenced more by conscientiousness than by incentives

Self-Efficacy Matters More Than Interruptions in a Sequential Multitasking Experiment

Interruptions and multitasking have received a great deal of attention from researchers. The present study is the first to examine task self-efficacy along with interruptions in an experimental multitasking framework. Perceptions of resumption lag times and task rehearsal were also examined. Participants (N= 110) completed a primary task (puzzle) with some being interrupted to pursue a secondary task (a word search) either once or four times. Uninterrupted participants completed the puzzle 26% faster than those interrupted once and 30% faster than those interrupted four times. However, self-efficacy predicted performance much more strongly than did interruptions, and therefore should receive more attention in future studies. Participants generally disagreed that they experienced resumption lags or task rehearsal. Practically, the results indicate that training to the point of high self-efficacy on tasks will do more to enhance performance than would eliminating interruptions. In reality, such training is likely easier to accomplish

Measurements of Wood Fiber

Many of the properties of wood depend upon the character and arrangement of the fiber cells which enter into its composition. This is especially true of those properties which determine its strength, hardness and adaptability for the manufacture of paper pulp. With a view to throwing light on these properties, we have made measurements of the length and diameter of the fibers in forty-one species of trees. No attempt was made to segregate the various types of fiber that occur in different species. We have taken any of the slender, fusiform, non-septate, thick walled members of the xylem. The maximum and minimum figures indicate that this lack of discrimination has not introduced any serious error. Were very critical discrimination attempted, the comparison of species would prove unduly complex, if not impossible

Care Experiences of Women Who Used Opioids and Experienced Fetal or Infant Loss

Objective To explore care experiences of women who used prescription or illicit opioids and experienced fetal or infant loss. Design A qualitative, descriptive design with secondary data analysis. Setting The Fetal and Infant Mortality Review program in an urban Midwestern county in the United States. Participants Eleven women with histories of prescription or illicit opioid use who experienced fetal or infant loss participated in the semistructured telephone or in-person interview portion of the mortality case review. Methods We used thematic analysis to analyze interview data. Results Five themes were identified related to the care experiences of participants throughout pregnancy and fetal/infant loss: Frustration and anger related to not being heard, feeling minimalized; Being overwhelmed with attempts to process and understand medical complications and outcomes; Profound sense of grief and coping with loss; Need to understand why and make difficult decisions; and Placing blame and guilt over death. Conclusion Our findings suggest that women who use opioids and experience fetal or infant loss have complex care, educational, and emotional needs. In the development of interventions for these women, it is important to address their unique and complex circumstances

The Solar Neighborhood. XXXIX. Parallax Results from the CTIOPI and NOFS Programs: 50 New Members of the 25 Parsec White Dwarf Sample

We present 114 trigonometric parallaxes for 107 nearby white dwarf (WD) systems from both the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory Parallax Investigation (CTIOPI) and the U. S. Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station (NOFS) parallax programs. Of these, 76 parallaxes for 69 systems were measured by the CTIOPI program and 38 parallaxes for as many systems were measured by the NOFS program. A total of 50 systems are confirmed to be within the 25 pc horizon of interest. Coupled with a spectroscopic confirmation of a common proper motion companion to a Hipparcos star within 25 pc as well as confirmation parallax determinations for two WD systems included in the recently released Tycho Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS) catalog, we add 53 new systems to the 25 pc WD sample $-$ a 42% increase. Our sample presented here includes four strong candidate halo systems, a new metal-rich DAZ WD, a confirmation of a recently discovered nearby short-period (P = 2.85 hr) double degenerate, a WD with a new astrometric pertubation (long period, unconstrained with our data), and a new triple system where the WD companion main-sequence star has an astrometric perturbation (P $\sim$ 1.6 yr).Comment: 32 pages, 12 figures. Figure 4 in the manuscript is a representative set of plots - plots for all WDs presented here are available (allfits_photo.pdf, allfits_photo_DQ.pdf, and allfits_photo_DZ.pdf). Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journa