ISU ADVANCE Collaborative Transformation Project: Rounds 1 and 2 - Focal Department Synthesis Report

This report summarizes research from the Iowa State University ADVANCE Collaborative Transformation (CT) Project. The results discussed here are based on intensive research conducted within six Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) departments at ISU during 2006-2009. The report also reviews some of the activities within the departments aimed at enhancing workplace climate and improving recruitment, retention and promotion of diverse faculty that have been inspired and informed by the CT Project. These activities are funded by a 5 year grant from the National Science Foundation’s ADVANCE Institutional Transformation program, which is designed to create an infrastructure for transforming structures, cultures, and practices in ways that enable and support recruitment, retention and promotion of women faculty in STEM fields. This report represents one step in an overall multistage process. The CT Project will eventually include three additional focal ISU STEM departments, a further synthesis of findings from all departments over a 5-year period, and the development and refinement of assessment tools aimed at identifying and reducing barriers to faculty scholarly success— including issues that hinder the recruitment, retention and promotion of women faculty

ISU ADVANCE Collaborative Transformation Project: Final Focal Department Synthesis Report

This report summarizes research from the Iowa State University ADVANCE Collaborative Transformation (CT) project, which is one of many components of ISU‟s ADVANCE program. ISU ADVANCE is funded by a 5 year “Institutional Transformation” grant from the National Science Foundation. The National Science Foundation awards ADVANCE Institutional Transformation grants to universities and colleges for the purpose of transforming institutional structures, cultures, and practices in ways that enhance the recruitment, retention, and promotion of women faculty, and when possible, underrepresented faculty of color in STEM disciplines. ISU‟s ADVANCE program goals include “top-down” initiatives, such as the creation of college-level “Equity Advisors” (in 3 colleges presently) and the development, implementation and support of university-wide policies for enhancing faculty members‟ work-life balance. ISU ADVANCE goals also include “bottom-up” initiatives, such as the Collaborative Transformation project. The CT project focuses explicitly on creating departmental structures, cultures and practices that enhance faculty members‟ satisfaction with their careers at ISU; their productivity as scholars; and their contributions to departmental efforts to recruit, retain and promote other excellent faculty members of diverse backgrounds

The Use of the Blueprinting Process on Fiber

This thesis is a summary of what one student has done with the process of blueprinting as applied to fiber. Persons interested in the dyeing or painting of warps for weaving may benefit in reading this paper as it introduces another facet of warp application. The blueprinting process used is the same technique engineers use to reproduce plans and drawings. It is a nonsilver photographic technique that makes use of ferric salts which, when mixed with certain other chemicals and exposed to ultraviolet light, form a colored byproduct. The research was begun with the study of the application of the chemicals to fabric. Later work was done to achieve a satisfactory process for applying the chemicals to a warp and exposing the warp in preparation for weaving. This was the main goal in working with the blueprinting process. Included in the thesis are photographs of the process and the finished experiments

Predicting Science Achievement in India: Role of Gender, Selfefficacy, Interests, and Effort

We examined the role of self-reported effort in predicting chemistry and physics achievement after controlling for prior achievement, gender, and mathematics/science self-efficacy and interest. The data were collected from two Asian Indian high school samples. Self-reported effort was hypothesized to be the most salient predictor of achievement, given its important role in the Asian Indian culture. Based on prior findings, it was also hypothesized that gender would moderate the effect of interest on achievement. Both hypotheses were supported. After other key variables were controlled (prior achievement, gender, and mathematics/science self-efficacy and interest), self-reported effort was a significant predictor of both chemistry achievement and physics achievement. Moreover, gender did moderate the relation of interest and achievement. Boys who were more interested in physics and chemistry achieved higher scores, but girls’ level of interest did not correlate with their achievement

Distinguishing Beginning Premed Students from their Science Peers: The Salience of Proximal Variables

The purpose of the study was to better understand how students at the beginning of a premed curriculum are different from their science peers on career-related variables. A total of 165 undergraduates were classified into three groups; these were premed students, students with the intent to pursue a graduate degree, and students with the intent to pursue a bachelor’s degree. Both distal (e.g., prior achievement) and proximal (e.g., mathematics and science self-efficacy and interest) social cognitive constructs were measured. Based on social cognitive career theory (SCCT), the authors predicted that the three groups would not differ on the distal variables. In contrast, the authors expected systematic group differences on the proximal variables. The hypothesis was supported; no significant group differences were found for the distal variables, but the premed group scored significantly higher than the bachelor’s degree group on almost all proximal SCCT variables. Implications for career counseling are discussed

Predicting Graduation: The Role of Mathematics/Science Self-Efficacy

Self-efficacy in the mathematics/science domain is conceptualized as partially determining whether science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students would persist toward reaching important milestones like graduating with a bachelor’s degree. The authors conducted a longitudinal study to examine if mathematics/science self-efficacy would significantly predict graduation status 4 to 8 years later after high school academic performance and mathematics aptitude were controlled in a university sample of introductory science students. Moreover, they looked at whether mathematics/science self-efficacy would significantly predict graduation status 4 to 8 years later after first semester grade point average (GPA) was controlled in addition to prior performance and aptitude. The sample consisted of 211 university students who graduated with a bachelor’s degree and 69 university students who did not graduate with a bachelor’s degree. The authors reported that mathematics/science self-efficacy significantly predicted graduation status 4 to 8 years later after controlling for prior performance and aptitude. The addition of mathematics/science self-efficacy improved the accuracy of identifying which participants dropped out before graduation by 4.4% in this sample. When first semester GPA was included in the control variables, the incremental contribution of mathematics/science self-efficacy to the prediction of retention status was null as expected. Findings are related to theory and prior research

The role of personality in the selection of a major: With and without vocational self-efficacy and interests

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of personality traits measured by the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ; Tellegen, 2000 and Tellegen and Waller, 2008) in selecting educational majors. Personality traits were examined alone, and with the combination of Holland’s hexagonal confidence domains, as measured by the general confidence themes (GCT) of the Skills Confidence Inventory (SCI; Betz, Borgen, & Harmon, 2005), and Holland’s interest domains, as measured by the general occupational themes (GOTs) of the 2005 Strong Interest Inventory (SII; Donnay, Morris, Schaubhut, & Thompson, 2005). Personality traits significantly contributed to the discrimination of nine educational major families in a sample of 368 undergraduate decided students. When the set of confidence and interest scales was added to the personality traits, the conservative jack knife hit rate was almost doubled

PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF BACCALAUREATE NURSING PROGRAM LEADERS RELATED TO NURSING INFORMATICS

Nursing program leadership for integrating nursing informatics (NI) into curricula is essential. NI is a specialty that combines nursing science, computer science, and information science to manage health information and improve patient health outcomes (American Nurses Association, 2008). Approximately 98,000 patient deaths per year occur due to medical errors (Institute of Medicine, 1998). Management of patient health information using technology was identified as essential to minimizing errors and promoting patient safety, transforming the healthcare delivery system (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, 2015b). NI skills are necessary for all practicing nurses. Graduating nursing students, however, may not enter practice with sufficient NI skills to meet the demands of a technology-rich and information-saturated healthcare field (Choi & De Martinis, 2013). Nursing faculty have even been reported to be a barrier to students acquiring necessary NI skills (Curran, 2008). This study assists in identifying the current state of NI in baccalaureate nursing education in one Midwestern state. Limited information addressing NI programming supports the need for further research. The purpose of this research was to examine baccalaureate nursing program leaders’ perceptions and experiences related to NI in the nursing education setting. This qualitative descriptive study was conducted using focus groups with semi-structured interviews and written surveys. The sample included nine baccalaureate nursing program leaders in the state of Kansas, representing 53% of Kansas baccalaureate nursing programs. Research questions explored nursing program leaders’ understanding and description of NI, its impact on curriculum, and associated challenges and success strategies with curricular integration. Results of this study included two major categories addressing the research questions: challenges with curricular integration and success strategies for integrating NI into the curriculum. Participants identified challenges such as agreeing on a definition of NI, gaining resources, developing faculty, and encountering legal and ethical issues. Success strategies identified included determining NI needs for the curriculum and leadership roles and responsibilities. The written survey responses supported the two identified focus group categories. Findings show that NI is an important part of the curriculum. Implications for nursing program leaders include guiding faculty in re-evaluating the curriculum according to current standards, accessing resources, and addressing confidentiality and social media issues. Further research is needed including gaining perspectives of nursing faculty and students