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Large Public University (large + public_university)
Selected AbstractsA Hidden Curriculum in Language Textbooks: Are Beginning Learners of French at U.S. Universities Taught About Canada?MODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 2 2009CAROL A. CHAPELLE This study investigated a hidden curriculum in published language teaching materials by tabulating the number of instances that Canada was mentioned in 9 French textbooks and their accompanying workbooks and CD,ROMs. The materials were used at large public universities in the northern United States. For the present study, 2 raters, a Québécois student and an American student of French, found that, on average, 15.3% of the analyzed sections of the textbooks, 6.5% of the workbook sections, and 29.9% of the sections in the CD,ROMs contained Canadian content. Based on a transnational view of culture, which suggests that cultural content in language materials should be chosen in view of local issues (Risager, 2007), I argue that Canada should play a larger role in French teaching materials used in the northern United States. In particular, increased Canadian content might help to create needs for and interest in French, foster learning about the nonneutrality of language, and stimulate discovery of local historical linguistic and cultural diversity. [source] Getting started in student affairs developmentNEW DIRECTIONS FOR STUDENT SERVICES, Issue 130 2010Myra F. Morgan This chapter examines the challenges that are associated with initiating a fundraising effort in a student affairs division, particularly for administrators at large public universities. [source] Sexual orientation and substance use trajectories in emerging adulthoodADDICTION, Issue 7 2010Amelia E. Talley ABSTRACT Aims The current study examined developmental changes in substance use behaviors (SUBS) based upon sexual orientation. The analyses also attempted to address a number of methodological limitations in the extant longitudinal literature (i.e. distinct operationalizations of sexual orientation, timing of sexual orientation assessment with respect to reports of SUBs, non-linear growth). Participants Data were drawn from a longitudinal study of incoming first-time college students at a large public university (n = 3720). Design After a paper-and-pencil assessment just prior to matriculation, participants completed a web-based survey every fall and spring for 4 years (sub-sample n = 2854). Findings Latent growth models revealed that sexual minorities demonstrated significant heterogeneity with regard to substance use trajectories. Initial levels and trajectories of the frequency of substance use for sexual minority individuals were distinct, generally, from their exclusively heterosexual peers. Methodologically, the timing of the assessment of sexual orientation influenced the results, and modeling non-linear components indicated that sexual minorities are at risk for exponential increases in their frequency of certain SUBs over time (i.e. drunkenness; cannabis use). Conclusions Sexual minority and majority individuals exhibited differences in SUBs during emerging adulthood, especially when using self-identification to define sexual orientation. Individuals who endorsed a sexual minority self-identification at the onset of emerging adulthood, as opposed to 4 years later, evidenced exponential increases in rates of drunkenness and cannabis use. These results support that the timing of assessment is important and that some trajectories of sexual minority SUBs are non-linear during this developmental period. [source] Trajectories of smoking among freshmen college students with prior smoking history and risk for future smoking: data from the University Project Tobacco Etiology Research Network (UpTERN) studyADDICTION, Issue 9 2008Craig R. Colder ABSTRACT Aims Little is known about smoking during the transition to college. The current study examined trajectories of smoking among college freshmen, how trajectories predicted later smoking and the social context of smoking. Design Weekly assessments of daily smoking were collected via the web during the first year of college for a large cohort with a previous history of smoking. Participants and setting A total of 193 college freshmen from a large public university with a previous history of smoking who smoked frequently enough to be included in trajectory analysis. Measurements Measures included weekly reports of daily smoking, family smoking, perceived peer attitudes and smoking, social norms and social smoking environment. Findings Seven trajectories were identified: one of low-level sporadic smoking, one of low-level smoking with a small increase during the year, two classes with a substantial decrease during the year, two classes with relatively small decreases and one class with a substantial increase in smoking. Trajectories of smoking in the freshman year predicted levels of sophomore year smoking, and some social context variables tended to change as smoking increased or decreased for a given trajectory class. Conclusions The transition into college is marked by changes in smoking, with smoking escalating for some students and continuing into the sophomore year. Shifts in social context that support smoking were associated with trajectories of smoking. Despite the focus of developmental models on smoking in early adolescence, the transition into college warrants further investigation as a dynamic period for smoking. [source] Constructing a Universal Scale of High School Course DifficultyJOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT, Issue 2 2003Dina Bassiri This study examined the usefulness of applying the Rasch rating scale model (Andrich, 1978) to high school grade data. ACT Assessment test scores (English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science Reasoning) were used as "common items" to adjust for different grading standards in individual high school courses both within and across schools. This scaling approach yielded an ACT Assessment-adjusted high school grade point average (AA-HSGPA) on a common scale across high schools and cohorts within a large public university. AA-HSGPA was a better predictor of first-year college grade point average (CGPA) than the regular high school grade point average. The best model for predicting CGPA included both the ACT composite score and AA-HSGPA. [source] How and why do college students use Wikipedia?JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 11 2009Sook Lim The purposes of this study were to explore college students' perceptions, uses of, and motivations for using Wikipedia, and to understand their information behavior concerning Wikipedia based on social cognitive theory (SCT). A Web survey was used to collect data in the spring of 2008. The study sample consisted of students from an introductory undergraduate course at a large public university in the midwestern United States. A total of 134 students participated in the study, resulting in a 32.8% response rate. The major findings of the study include the following: Approximately one-third of the students reported using Wikipedia for academic purposes. The students tended to use Wikipedia for quickly checking facts and finding background information. They had positive past experiences with Wikipedia; however, interestingly, their perceptions of its information quality were not correspondingly high. The level of their confidence in evaluating Wikipedia's information quality was, at most, moderate. Respondents' past experience with Wikipedia, their positive emotional state, their disposition to believe information in Wikipedia, and information utility were positively related to their outcome expectations of Wikipedia. However, among the factors affecting outcome expectations, only information utility and respondents' positive emotions toward Wikipedia were related to their use of it. Further, when all of the independent variables, including the mediator, outcome expectations, were considered, only the variable information utility was related to Wikipedia use, which may imply a limited applicability of SCT to understanding Wikipedia use. However, more empirical evidence is needed to determine the applicability of this theory to Wikipedia use. Finally, this study supports the knowledge value of Wikipedia (Fallis, 2008), despite students' cautious attitudes toward Wikipedia. The study suggests that educators and librarians need to provide better guidelines for using Wikipedia, rather than prohibiting Wikipedia use altogether. [source] Formative Evaluation of Computer-Based Training For a University Financial SystemPERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2002Kathryn M. Fischer ABSTRACT This article describes a formative evaluation of a one-day introductory computer-based training (CBT) course for a new on-line financial and purchasing system at a large public university. The purposes of the evaluation were to evaluate the effectiveness of the training and to identify appropriate revisions and incorporate them into the training program. Participants were 78 university employees who were likely future users of the financial and purchasing system. The mean score on an on-line performance posttest that simulated real-work tasks was 94%, and the mean on a 40-item knowledge posttest covering the CBT content was 74%. Learner attitudes toward the course were positive, averaging 4.4 on a 5-point scale. Formative evaluation of the program resulted in revisions that had the potential to improve its effectiveness and provided evidence of the value of ongoing formative evaluation of workplace training. [source] The Good, the Poor and the Wealthy: who Responds Most to College Financial Aid?BULLETIN OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH, Issue 4 2002Larry D. Singell Jnr. Financial aid programmes for students in the United States focus increasingly on academic merit, rather than financial need. There is little empirical evidence, however, on the distributional effects of merit,based aid , who benefits or responds most. We develop a bivariate probit model of the enrolment process estimated using data for a large public university over several years. Results show that merit,based aid increases enrolment for all students, but that financially,able students respond disproportionately, even with academic merit held constant. Thus, increased emphasis on merit in financial aid may exacerbate the trend toward greater income inequality in the US, even among students of equal academic merit. [source] | |||||||||||||