Search

Self-report assessments are used frequently in higher education to assess a variety of constructs, including attitudes, opinions, knowledge, and competence. Systems thinking is an example of one competence often measured using self-report assessments where individuals answer several questions about their perceptions of their own skills, habits, or daily decisions. In this study, we define systems thinking as the ability to see the world as a complex interconnected system where different parts can influence each other, and the interrelationships determine system outcomes. An alternative, less-common, assessment approach is to measure skills directly by providing a scenario about an unstructured problem and evaluating respondents' judgment or analysis of the scenario (scenario-based assessment). This study explored the relationships between engineering students' performance on self-report assessments and scenario-based assessments of systems thinking, finding that there were no significant relationships between the two assessment techniques. These results suggest that there may be limitations to using self-report assessments as a method to assess systems thinking and other competencies in educational research and evaluation, which could be addressed by incorporating alternative formats for assessing competence. Future work should explore these findings further and support the development of alternative assessment approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an increasing emphasis on assessing student learning outcomes from study abroad experiences, but this assessment often focuses on a limited range of outcomes and assessment methods. We argue for shifting to assessing student learning processes in study abroad and present the critical incident technique as one approach to achieve this goal. We demonstrate this approach in interviews with 79 students across a range of global engineering programs, through which we identified 173 incidents which were analyzed to identify common themes. This analysis revealed that students described a wide range of experiences and outcomes from their time abroad. Students' experiences were messy and complex, making them challenging to understand through typical assessment approaches. Our findings emphasize the importance of using a range of assessment approaches and suggest that exploring students' learning processes in addition to learning outcomes could provide new insights to inform the design of study abroad programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although advising relationships are key for doctoral student success, little research has addressed how they form. Understanding the formation of advising relationships can help contextualize their later development and ultimately support a student's decision to persist in the doctorate. To understand relationship formation, the purpose of this qualitative study is to identify and describe the types of advisor–advisee selection processes that exist in engineering, science, and math doctoral programs and examine patterns across disciplines within those fields. We conducted interviews with doctoral program directors and engaged in document analysis of graduate student handbooks from 55 doctoral programs in the aforementioned fields in high research institutions across the United States. Using principal–agent theory as a theoretical lens, our findings showed that engineering programs tend to decentralize the advisor selection process by funding students across different funding sources upon enrollment. Contrariwise, science and math programs tended to fund all students in a cohort from a common funding source, which allowed students to have more time to gather information, meet, and select an advisor. These findings also show important nuances when comparing graduate education in these programs that directly impact the doctoral student experience and reiterates the necessity to study these fields separately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Numerous efforts worldwide have been made to increase diversity in engineering and computer science (ECS), fields that pay well and promote upward mobility. However, in the United States (U.S.), females and students from underrepresented racial/ethnic minority groups (URM) still pursue ECS training far less than do their peers. The current study explored sex and racial/ethnic differences in ECS college enrollment as a function of math and verbal SAT score patterns (balanced or imbalanced) using an intersectional approach within a U.S. context. Data represented a census of students who took the SAT, graduated from all Virginia public high schools between 2006 and 2015, and enrolled in a 4-year college (N = 344,803). Results: Our findings show, within each sex, URM students were at least as likely as their non-URM peers to enroll in ECS programs when they scored within similar SAT score ranges. Students were more likely to enroll in ECS programs if their SAT profile favored math, compared to students with similar math and verbal SAT scores (balanced profile). This overall pattern is notably less pronounced for URM female students; their propensity to major in ECS appeared to be largely independent of verbal scores. Conclusions: Our findings inform strategies to diversify ECS enrollment. If programs continue to emphasize SAT scores during admission decisions or if more systemic issues of resource allocation in secondary schools are not addressed, other efforts to broaden participation in ECS programs may fall short of goals. Our findings also highlight the importance of considering the intersection of sex and race/ethnicity for recruitment or other educational promotions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chamber and symphony orchestras are considered from four scales of generalization. The macro scale outlines the origins and dispersals of the institution, from ancient times to the present. The meso scale identifies locations for performance, principally halls and their space needs, but also outdoor locations. The mini scale identifies contrasting orchestral spatial organizations, interactions among the musicians, between players and conductor, and issues of gender and race. The micro scale explores the individual musician's use of space, which becomes a personal place. The interplay between these scales is complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Radiology is an essential part of neonatal intensive care. Interpretation of chest radiographs frequently contributes to respiratory management of neonates, but there has been little assessment of the consistency of this interpretation. Objective. To assess the inter- and intra-observer variability for the reporting of atelectasis and/or consolidation in neonatal chest radiographs. Materials and methods. A total of 585 chest radiographs from the 220 babies ventilated in our nursery over a 2-year period were coded by two radiologists for generalised, lobar and segmental atelectasis and/or consolidation. Two months later one of the radiologists re-coded a random sample of these films ( n = 117, 20 %). Agreement was assessed by the kappa statistic and by proportions of agreement for normality and abnormality. Results. The reported incidence of focal atelectasis was low (5–6 %). Focal changes of any nature were found in 21–26 % of films. Inter-observer agreement was fair to moderate (kappa = 0.25–0.44). Intra-observer agreement was mostly moderate to good (kappa = 0.38–0.66). Conclusion. The poor inter-observer agreement for the diagnosis of pulmonary parenchymal abnormalities on chest radiographs of neonates receiving intensive care suggests that abnormalities should be described rather than diagnoses given or that a list of differential diagnoses be offered. When research involves radiographic interpretation, the potential lack of consistency in reporting abnormalities must be borne in mind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on S.D. Brunn and E. Yanarella's article about humanistic political geography. Definition of humanistic geography; Political decision-making; Separation of political and territorial independence.