An Investigation of Participants’ Perspectives About a Learning Assistant Program and Their Thinking about Becoming a Mathematics Teacher

A Learning Assistant program that recruits strong STEM undergraduates to become mathematics teachers was explored through a qualitative study. Three program participants were purposely selected and interviewed. The program reaffirmed one participant’s choice to become a teacher and clarified for one that it might be a career for him.

Classroom Simulation is Computer Based

The authors review and evaluate the use of a business simulation, specifically he Hotel Operational Training Simulation (HOTS), in the fourth year of a hospitality undergraduate program. Four dimensions were explored: learning experience, alternative method of instruction, critical and analytical thinking ability and delivery time frame, in addition to the student overall satisfaction with the learning experience.

An evaluation of exchange rate policy and economic adjustment in Nicaragua, 1993--1995

Since the late 1970's, but particularly since the mid-1980s, the economy of Nicaragua has had persistent and large macroeconomic imbalances, while GDP per-capita has declined to 1950s' levels. By the second half of the 1990s, huge fiscal deficits and a reduction of foreign financing resulted in record hyperinflation. The Sandinista government's (1979–1990) harsh stabilization program in 1988–89 had only modest and short-lived success. It was doomed by their inability to lower the public sector deficit due to the war, plus diminishing financial support from abroad. Hyperinflation stopped only after their 1990 electoral defeat ended the war and massive aid began to flow in. Five years later, macroeconomic stability is still very fragile. A sluggish recovery of export agriculture plus import liberalization, have impeded a reduction of huge trade and current account deficits. Facing the prospects of diminished aid flows, the government's strategy has hinged on the achievement of a real devaluation through a crawling-peg adjustment of the nominal rate. However, at the end of 1995 the situation of the external accounts was still critical, and the modest progress achieved was attributable to cyclical terms-of-trade improvement and changes in the political outlook of agricultural producers. Using a Computable General Equilibrium Model and a Social Accounting Matrix constructed for this dissertation, the importance of structural rigidities in production and demand in explaining such outcome is shown. It is shown that under the plausible structural assumptions incorporated in the model, the role of devaluation in the adjustment process is restricted by structural rigidities. Moreover, contrary to the premise of the orthodox economic thinking behind the economic program, it is the contractionary effect of devaluation more than its expenditure-switching effects that provide the basis for is use in solving the external sector's problems. A fixed nominal exchange rate is found to lead to adverse results. The broader conclusion that emerges from the study is that a new social compact and a rapid increase in infrastructure spending plus fiscal support for the traditional agro-export activities is at the center of a successful adjustment towards external viability in Nicaragua. ^

Professional Ethics and Welfare Reform: The Importance of Ethical Competence

This paper explores the professional ethics of welfare reform providers and its influence in the achievement of welfare reform goals. Four themes address the professional ethics and ethical competence of welfare reform providers.

Analysis and comparison of the moral development of students required to graduate with an ethics course

Accounting students become practitioners facing ethical decision-making challenges that can be subject to various interpretations; hence, the profession is concerned with the appropriateness of their decisions. Moral development of these students has implications for a profession under legal challenges, negative publicity, and government scrutiny. Accounting students' moral development has been studied by examining their responses to moral questions in Rest's Defining Issues Test (DIT), their professional attitudes on Hall's Professionalism Scale Dimensions, and their ethical orientation-based professional commitment and ethical sensitivity. This study extended research in accounting ethics and moral development by examining students in a college where an ethics course is a requirement for graduation. ^ Knowledge of differences in the moral development of accounting students may alert practitioners and educators to potential problems resulting from a lack of ethical understanding as measured by moral development levels. If student moral development levels differ by major, and accounting majors have lower levels than other students, the conclusion may be that this difference is a causative factor for the alleged acts of malfeasance in the profession that may result in malpractice suits. ^ The current study compared 205 accounting, business, and nonbusiness students from a private university. In addition to academic major and completion of an ethics course, the other independent variable was academic level. Gender and age were tested as control variables and Rest's DIT score was the dependent variable. The primary analysis was a 2 x 3 x 3 ANOVA with post hoc tests for results with significant p-value of less than 0.05. ^ The results of this study reveal that students who take an ethics course appear to have a higher level of moral development (p = 0.013), as measured by the (DIT), than students at the same academic level who have not taken an ethics course. In addition, a statistically significant difference (p = 0.034) exists between freshmen who took an ethics class and juniors who did not take an ethics class. For every analysis except one, the lower class year with an ethics class had a higher level of moral development than the higher class year without an ethics class. These results appear to show that ethics education in particular has a greater effect on the level of moral development than education in general. Findings based on the gender specific analyses appear to show that males and females respond differently to the effects of taking an ethics class. The male students do not appear to increase their moral development level after taking an ethics course (p = 0.693) but male levels of moral development differ significantly (p = 0.003) by major. Female levels of moral development appear to increase after taking an ethics course (p = 0.002). However, they do not differ according to major (p = 0.097). ^ These findings indicate that accounting students should be required to have a class in ethics as part of their college curriculum. Students with an ethics class have a significantly higher level of moral development. The challenges facing the profession at the current time indicate that public confidence in the reports of client corporations has eroded and one way to restore this confidence could be to require ethics training of future accountants. ^

Human resource development professionals' perceptions about the Academy of Human Resource Development Standards on Ethics and Integrity

Professional standards of ethics proclaim the core values of a profession, describe expected professional duties and responsibilities, and provide a framework for ethical practice and ethical decision-making. The purpose of this mixed, quantitative and qualitative, survey study was to examine HRD professionals' perceptions about the AHRD Standards on Ethics and Integrity, how HRD professionals used the Standards for research and decision-making, and the extent to which the Standards provided guidance for ethical decision-making. Through an on-line survey instrument, 182 members of AHRD were surveyed. The open-ended questions were analyzed using thematic analysis to expand on, inform, and support the quantitative findings. The close-ended questions were analyzed with frequency distributions, descriptive statistics, cross tabulations, and Spearman rank correlations. The results showed a significant relationship between (a) years of AHRD membership and level of familiarity with the Standards, (b) years of AHRD membership and use of the Standards for research, and (c) level of familiarity with the Standards and use of the Standards for research. There were no significant differences among scholars, scholar practitioners, practitioners, and students regarding their perceptions about the Standards. The results showed that the Standards were not well known or widely used. Nevertheless, the results indicated overall positive perceptions about the Standards. Seventy percent agreed that the Standards provided an appropriate set of ethical principles and reflected respondents' own standards of conduct. Seventy-eight percent believed that the Standards were important for defining HRD as a profession and 54% believed they were important for developing a sense of belonging to the HRD profession. Fifty-one percent believed the Standards should be enforceable and 61% agreed members should sign the membership application form showing willingness to adhere to the Standards. Seventy-seven percent based work-related ethical decisions on personal beliefs of right and wrong and 56% on established professional values and rules of right and wrong. The findings imply that if the professional standards of ethics are to influence the profession, they should be widely publicized and discussed among members, they should have some binding power, and their use should be encouraged.

Buried voices: Genres and types of female authorship during the Spanish American colonial period (sixteenth to eighteenth centuries)

This dissertation analyzes various types of non-canonical texts authorized by women from a wide spectrum of classes and races in the Spanish colonies. The female voice, generally absent from official colonial documents of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteen centuries, left a gap in the complex subject of women's history and social participation. Through the study of personal letters, autobiographies, journals, court documents, inquisitorial transcripts, wills and testaments, edicts, orders, proclamations and posters, that voice is recovered. Thus, the Indigenous, Spaniards and African women and their descendants who lived during this period left their written legacy and proof of participation. Beginning with a thorough history of the native woman's interest in writing, this study focuses on how women of all social levels utilized the few means of writing available at their disposal to display a testimonial, critical and sometimes fictional narrative of their surroundings. ^ This investigation concludes that it is necessary to change the traditional image of the passive women of the colonies, subjected to a patriarchal authority and unable to speak or grow on their own. The documents under study, introduced women who were able to self represent themselves as followers of the tradition while at the same time their writings were denying that very same statement. They passed from the private arena to the public one with discourses that confessed their innermost feelings and concerns, challenged the authority of the Inquisitor or the Governor, exposed their sexual freedom and transvestite narratives, successfully developed stratagems that challenged the official ideology of the oppressive religious environment and established their own authority reaching at last the freedom of their souls. ^

Characterization, sources, and transformations of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in Florida coastal Everglades (FCE)

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is one of the largest carbon reservoirs on this planet and is present in aquatic environments as a highly complex mixture of organic compounds. The Florida coastal Everglades (FCE) is one of the largest wetlands in the world. DOM in this system is an important biogeochemical component as most of the nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) are in organic forms. Achieving a better understanding of DOM dynamics in large coastal wetlands is critical, and a particularly important issue in the context of Everglades restoration. In this work, the environmental dynamics of surface water DOM on spatial and temporal scales was investigated. In addition, photo- and bio-reactivity of this DOM was determined, surface-to-groundwater exchange of DOM was investigated, and the size distribution of freshwater DOM in Everglades was assessed. The data show that DOM dynamics in this ecosystem are controlled by both hydrological and ecological drivers and are clearly different on spatial scales and variable seasonally. The DOM reactivity data, modeled with a multi-pool first order degradation kinetics model, found that fluorescent DOM in FCE is generally photo-reactive and bio-refractory. Yet the sequential degradation proved a “priming effect” of sunlight on the bacterial uptake and reworking of this subtropical wetland DOM. Interestingly, specific PARAFAC components were found to have different photo- and bio-degradation rates, suggesting a highly heterogeneous nature of fluorophores associated with the DOM. Surface-to-groundwater exchange of DOM was observed in different regions of the system, and compositional differences were associated with source and photo-reactivity. Lastly, the high degree of heterogeneity of DOM associated fluorophores suggested based on the degradation studies was confirmed through the EEM-PARAFAC analysis of DOM along a molecular size continuum, suggesting that the fluorescence characteristics of DOM are highly controlled by different size fractions and as such can exhibit significant differences in reactivity.

The Development of an Ethical Strategy for Managers of International Hotels in Third World Countries

This article discusses some of the dilemmas of conscience that greet the international hotel manager in the Third World. It offers realistic and ethical guidelines for decision-making and problem-solving. Some of these guidelines require only common sense and good will to implement; others require a great deal of creativity, sensitivity, effort, and care; and a few will demand the courage to stand up for what is right in the face of competitive pressure.

Digital Literacy: A Demand for Nonlinear Thinking Styles

This paper makes a case for a direct relationship between digital literacy and nonlinear thinking styles, articulates a demand for nonlinear thinking styles in education and the workplace, and states implications for a connection between nonlinear thinking styles visual literacy, and intuitive artistic practice.

The relationship between the teacher's experience, the teacher's college major, and the teacher's level of education in predicting classroom attitudes in high school science students

A review of the literature reveals few research has attempted to demonstrate if a relationship exists between the type of teacher training a science teacher has received and the perceived attitudes of his/her students. Considering that a great deal of time and energy has been devoted by university colleges, school districts, and educators towards refining the teacher education process, it would be more efficient for all parties involved, if research were available that could discern if certain pathways in achieving that education, would promote the tendency towards certain teacher behaviors occurring in the classroom, while other pathways would lead towards different behaviors. Some of the teacher preparation factors examined in this study include the college major chosen by the science teacher, the highest degree earned, the number of years of teaching experience, the type of science course taught, and the grade level taught by the teacher. This study examined how the various factors mentioned, could influence the behaviors which are characteristic of the teacher, and how these behaviors could be reflective in the classroom environment experienced by the students. The instrument used in the study was the Classroom Environment Scale (CES), Real Form. The measured classroom environment was broken down into three separate dimensions, with three components within each dimension in the CES. Multiple Regression statistical analyses examined how components of the teachers' education influenced the perceived dimensions of the classroom environment from the students. The study occurred in Miami-Dade County Florida, with a predominantly urban high school student population. There were 40 secondary science teachers involved, each with an average of 30 students. The total number of students sampled in the study was 1200. The teachers who participated in the study taught the entire range of secondary science courses offered at this large school district. All teachers were selected by the researcher so that a balance would occur in the sample between teachers who were education major versus science major. Additionally, the researcher selected teachers so that a balance occurred in regards to the different levels of college degrees earned among those involved in the study. Several research questions sought to determine if there was significant difference between the type of the educational background obtained by secondary science teachers and the students' perception of the classroom environment. Other research questions sought to determine if there were significant differences in the students' perceptions of the classroom environment for secondary science teachers who taught biological content, or non-biological content sciences. An additional research question sought to evaluate if the grade level taught would affect the students' perception of the classroom environment. Analysis of the multiple regression were run for each of four scores from the CES, Real Form. For score 1, involvement of students, the results showed that teachers with the highest number of years of experience, with masters or masters plus degrees, who were education majors, and who taught twelfth grade students, had greater amounts of students being attentive and interested in class activities, participating in discussions, and doing additional work on their own, as compared with teachers who had lower experience, a bachelors degree, were science majors, and who taught a grade lower than twelfth. For score 2, task orientation, which emphasized completing the required activities and staying on-task, the results showed that teachers with the highest and intermediate experience, a science major, and with the highest college degree, showed higher scores as compared with the teachers indicating lower experiences, education major and a bachelors degree. For Score 3, competition, which indicated how difficult it was to achieve high grades in the class, the results showed that teachers who taught non-biology content subjects had the greatest effect on the regression. Teachers with a masters degree, low levels of experience, and who taught twelfth grade students were also factored into the regression equation. For Score 4, innovation, which indicated the extent in which the teachers used new and innovative techniques to encourage diverse and creative thinking included teachers with an education major as the first entry into the regression equation. Teachers with the least experience (0 to 3 years), and teachers who taught twelfth and eleventh grade students were also included into the regression equation.

Analysis and comparison of the moral development of students required to graduate with an ethics course

Accounting students become practitioners facing ethical decision-making challenges that can be subject to various interpretations; hence, the profession is concerned with the appropriateness of their decisions. Moral development of these students has implications for a profession under legal challenges, negative publicity, and government scrutiny. Accounting students moral development has been studied by examining their responses to moral questions in Rest's Defining Issues Test (DIT), their professional attitudes on Hall's Professionalism Scale Dimensions, and their ethical orientation-based professional commitment and ethical sensitivity. This study extended research in accounting ethics and moral development by examining students in a college where an ethics course is a requirement for graduation. Knowledge of differences in the moral development of accounting students may alert practitioners and educators to potential problems resulting from a lack of ethical understanding as measured by moral development levels. If student moral development levels differ by major, and accounting majors have lower levels than other students, the conclusion may be that this difference is a causative factor for the alleged acts of malfeasance in the profession that may result in malpractice suits. The current study compared 205 accounting, business, and nonbusiness students from a private university. In addition to academic major and completion of an ethics course, the other independent variable was academic level. Gender and age were tested as control variables and Rest's DIT score was the dependent variable. The primary analysis was a 2x3x3 ANOVA with post hoc tests for results with significant p-value of less than 0.05. The results of this study reveal that students who take an ethics course appear to have a higher level of moral development (p=0.013), as measured by the (DIT), than students at the same academic level who have not taken an ethics course. In addition, a statistically significant difference (p=0.034) exists between freshmen who took an ethics class and juniors who did not take an ethics class. For every analysis except one, the lower class year with an ethics class had a higher level of moral development than the higher class year without an ethics class. These results appear to show that ethics education in particular has a greater effect on the level of moral development than education in general. Findings based on the gender specific analyses appear to show that males and females respond differently to the effects of taking an ethics class. The male students do not appear to increase their moral development level after taking an ethics course (p=0.693) but male levels of moral development differ significantly (p=0.003) by major. Female levels of moral development appear to increase after taking an ethics course (p=0.002). However, they do not differ according to major (p=0.0 97). These findings indicate that accounting students should be required to have a class in ethics as part of their college curriculum. Students with an ethics class have a significantly higher level of moral development. The challenges facing the profession at the current time indicate that public confidence in the reports of client corporations has eroded and one way to restore this confidence could be to require ethics training of future accountants.