Academic Transcript Research Articles

A network website - The RENORBIO experience

A network website - The RENORBIO experience

A study of time use and academic achievement among secondary-school students in the state of Kelantan, Malaysia

The preliminary report of the Malaysian Education Blueprint – 2013–2025 (Malaysia Ministry of Education, 2012. Preliminary education blueprint (2013–2025). Retrieved June 11, 2012 from http://www.moe.gov.my/userfiles/file/PPP/Preliminary-Blueprint-Eng.pdf) highlights the importance, in a globalised world, of producing future intellectual, social and human capital for Malaysia. It is paramount to note that adolescents are the future human capital of Malaysia. Literature indicates adolescents are confronted with an environment that is rapidly changing and the time spent on non-school-related activities has negatively impacted academic performance. This research investigated the contribution of time use among students to academic achievement. The sample of secondary school students was stratified to ensure balance of gender, school type and grade level. Correlation analyses were conducted to determine the associations among the variables identified in the study. Participants completed the Daily Record of How I Use My Time each day for seven consecutive days. Cooperating schools provided copies of the academic transcript of each participant. This information was used to establish the overall secondary school academic achievement of each participant. The data collected were subjected to bivariate comparison of means and t-test comparisons of means to yield correlations among the target variables. The findings of this research support those of some previous studies and contradict those of other studies, many conducted with non-Malaysian populations. In sum, this study may help to develop a conceptual framework for guiding efforts to improve academic performance, as it relates to time use, as a contribution to accomplishing the national agenda of Malaysia.

Admissions File Review

Although multiple independent sampling (MIS) has been adapted for admissions interviews, its application for assessing written materials in the admissions file has been limited. Currently, admissions file review at the University of Toronto medical school involves one rater per file to enable holistic assessment, which may introduce a halo effect-that is, impressions of one component influencing the evaluation of other components. The authors examined whether MIS file review, through which multiple raters evaluate specific file components independently, may reduce this effect. The authors selected a stratified random sample of 300 applicant files from the 2010-2011 admissions cycle for rescoring by MIS. They divided each of the 300 applicant files into their four components (academic transcript, autobiographical sketch, personal statement, reference letters) and rebundled them into packages of 38 same-component items (purposely creating some overlap among packages to assess inter-rater reliability). The authors distributed each package to 1 of 36 raters; thus, each rater evaluated only one of four components across many applicants. The authors compared the inter-component reliability and factor analysis of MIS with that of holistic scoring. Ratings were returned for all applicants. Inter-component reliability (Cronbach alpha) was 0.69 for holistic scoring and 0.29 for MIS. Factor analysis showed all components loading heavily onto one factor in the holistic approach and onto three factors in the MIS method. Using MIS to assess the admissions file may reduce the halo effect and should be considered when evaluating applicants' written submissions.

Communicating about others: Motivations and consequences of race-based impressions

We examined how written communications about other people are affected by racial stereotypes and the race-relevant motivations communicators bring to the situation. Following exposure to a Black or White student's academic transcript, White communicators who were low (but not high) in the internal motivation to respond without prejudice (IMS) offered more favorable evaluations of Black than White students. Thus, those least concerned about expressing prejudice offered the most pro-Black communications, presumably because they use racial stereotypes and evaluated Blacks relative to lower standards. At the same time, they mis-remembered Black students as having lower GPAs than White students. Additionally, racial prejudice increased from pre- to post-test among those who communicated a positive impression of the Black student, compared to those who communicated a positive impression of a White student. Surface positivity of communications about Black students may paradoxically strengthen negative stereotypes and racial prejudice.

“Asians are Good at Math. What an Awful Stereotype” The Model Minority Stereotype's Impact on Asian American Engineering Students

BackgroundThe Model Minority Stereotype (MMS) describes Asians and Asian Americans (As/AsAm) as the epitome of assimilation into U.S. society using hard work, intelligence, high educational attainment, and economic success to overcome the challenges of discrimination and recent immigration. Certain facets of the MMS intersect with qualities often perceived as desirable in engineering education.Purpose (Hypothesis)Our research questions are: To what degree do academic data support the assertion that AsAm engineering students conform to the MMS? How do AsAm engineering students express the impact of the facets of the MMS on their lived experiences? What facets of the MMS are more often reported than others among AsAm engineering students? How do AsAm engineering students perceive their fellow racial/ethnic peers fit within the MMS?Design/MethodThe research uses a mixed methods approach including analysis of academic transcript data, surveys and semi‐structured interviews.ResultsThe academic record of AsAm participants was not significantly different from participants in other racial/ethnic groups. Although the AsAm participants were not found to conform to the MMS academically, they discussed their perceptions of many facets of the MMS including: being hardworking, uncomplaining and extremely intelligent, and seeking both economic attainment and educational prestige. Interestingly, many students who denied that the stereotype applied to them projected this stereotype on other AsAms.ConclusionsDocumentation of the existence of the MMS on our campus shows that, although AsAm students are not underrepresented, they face stereotyping and discrimination. We present specific recommendations for institutions to address equity and parity challenges.

Movies as a Supporting Tool for Assessing Student’s Performance Test

The use of questionnaires and interviews, student’s portfolio, academic transcript were not sufficient to know the background of students and their previous knowledge. The objective of the research is to use movies as supporting criteria to know students prior knowledge, and also other useful information to improve student’s performance. The survey method was undertaken in 20 third year product design students and 9 fourth year multimedia students, University Malaysia Kelantan, Malaysia. Three questions were used after showing Monalisa Smile’s movie; (1) What is your impression of this movie? (2) How the story is told? (3) What is the element and principal designs which are used in this movie? Most students in the first and third year student can answer the first and second questions but they could not answer the third questions. Art history and art criticism are not included in UMK curricula. Students were seldom criticized movies: therefore, most of their answers could not find the main objective of the movie. Regarding students answer, these movie tests will help lecturer to access student performance which cannot be revealed in the questionnaires and interviews. Keywords - movie, student performance, assessment

Family Instability, School Context, and the Academic Careers of Adolescents

An emerging literature suggests that the increasingly complex family histories of American children are linked with multiple domains of adolescent development. Much of this scholarship focuses on associations at the individual level. Here, the authors consider whether key dimensions of the school context, specifically the aggregate level of family instability and the academic press within schools, moderate the link between family instability and young people’s course-taking patterns in mathematics in high school. Using the school-based design and the retrospective reports of family structure in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and the linked academic transcript data in the Adolescent Health and Achievement Study ( n = 6,545), the authors find that students from unstable families do more poorly when they attend schools with a high proportion of academically oriented students. The prevalence of family instability in a school does not moderate the individual experience of family instability in predicting course-taking patterns.

The University with a Soul - University of Vlora and the Reforms that Revolutionized Standards of Student Enrollment, Training, and Advancement in Albanian Higher Education

The companies that survive longest are the ones that work out what they uniquely can give to the world, not just growth or money but their excellence, their respect for others, or their ability to make people happy. Some call those things a soul.” Charles Handy.With the world moving rapidly into digital media and information, the role of higher education is becoming increasingly important. Starting in January 2008, the University of Vlora is applying a modernization agenda through setting higher standards of scholarship, accompanied by curricular and governance reforms, causing changes to happen that are shaping themselves into an era of progress and rapid development, and planting a pioneer flag in the historical timeline of Albanian higher education. Differently from all other higher education institutions in Albania, and for the first time in decades of fictitious recognition of competency, the University of Vlora is striving to detach itself from the traditional old-system teaching mentality and methodology, managing through many struggles to be the first public university that is uninfluenced by the pressure of corruption and nepotism, and headed towards internationalization based on western standards. In its July 2010 edition, the Ranking Web of World Universities ranks University of Vlora number one among all public and private universities in Albania, a title that is well deserved and earned through genuine, untiring and unbiased efforts to reach out and aspire to be what the rankings call the best university in Albania.University of Vlora students are now studying in a university that offers updated curricula, flexible learning paths, and a fully functional automated online academic transcript system, a very productive application that combines online and batch processing to generate student transcripts, as well as to facilitate student-faculty and administration-faculty communication via a university email system. This paper explores the achievements as well as the challenges that students and professors are facing in this completely new way of learning and teaching at an institution of higher education in a post-Communist country. Data was collected using interviews, as well as open-ended and yes/no questions in a questionnaire. 100 students and 40 staff (faculty and administration) members of the University of Vlora participated in the survey.

Additional Suggestions for Management to Respond to Ethical Issues Raised by Technological Change

IntroductionThe accelerating rate and complexity of technological developments create a variety of and challenges for managers, including ethical (Velasquez, 1992; Beauchamp and Bowie, 1993; Dean, 1993; Quan, 2003). Managers have several responsibilities related to technological developments. They must foster and incorporate technological change into their organizations' daily operations, while simultaneously staying alert to the potential effects of technological change on their workers, their customers, and society. The pace of technological change creates unique and ever-increasing burdens on managers' decision-making. This paper discusses six technology-related ethical and suggests methods to increase managers' effectiveness in confronting them. The paper updates an earlier work (Cordeiro, 1 997) by addressing several emerging related to personal privacy.Ethical Issues and TechnologyWork, especially work performed by employees of organizations, often raises ethical issues. Discussions of ethical usually focus on utilitarian analyses of organizational assets, both tangible and intangible (e.g., image and reputation):* The organization's right to secure and protect its assets,* The employee's duty to preserve, protect and enhance the value of the organization's assets,* The organization's right to use its assets for its benefit.Early ethical principles acknowledge powerful rights of organizations, often ignoring employees' rights. Ethical analysis applies cost/benefit analysis, with a goal of increased economic efficiency (Bentham, 1 789; Samuelson, 1947; Sidgwick, 1962). In the last 40 years, organizations' property rights have been questioned, attacked, and qualified. The unadulterated applications of utilitarian cost/benefit analyses have been severely criticized (Glover, 1977; MacIntyre, 1977). Especially in the USA, society now expects organizations to recognize the rights of individuals and of outside organizations and many stakeholders (Rawls, 1971; Tuck, 1979; Stoijar, 1984). Society expects organizations to employ their assets in socially responsible ways by adhering to ethical principles concerning their competitors, suppliers, customers, employees, and general society (French, 1979; Evan and Freeman, 1993).The development of technology raises an array of ethical related to work. Many of these are old, surfacing under new guises (Argandona, 2003; Wilder and Soat, 2001). Technology has not changed the issues, but technol- ogy may make the issues' analysis and application more complex. Consultant David Gebler notes that technology raises issues that may have existed before, but not in such stark reality (Wilder and Soat, 2001). Some examples of old ethical problems made more complex by modern technology are the sale of safe consumer products, the psychological effects of advertising, the use of security systems to protect property, and the protection of the natural environment.In other areas, technology raises new ethical concerns for organizations and employees: these include computer crime, an over-reliance on computer controlled systems, bio-technical developments, degradation of workplace quality-of-life, new categories of work-related injuries, and personal privacy of customers/clients and employees (Biggs, 2000). Each area leads to a series of technology-related ethical challenges for managers:Computer CrimeComputer technology, often termed Information Technology (IT), generates many ethical and dilemmas. Most involve the proper use of IT by organizations, by their employees, or by outsiders. Some examples of IT are software theft or bootleg copying, intellectual property rights (e.g., software that allows the downloading and trading of music and video contents), software design and touch/feel concepts, hacking or the invasion of systems by outsiders, disabling computers through viruses and the illegal use of computers for transaction fraud, airline ticket fraud, and academic transcript fraud. …

(Official) Sworn Translation and Its Functions

In this study, we wish to examine official translation (termed sworn translation in Spain) from the point of view of the function and the communicative intent of documents which are the subject of this type of translation. The theoretical basis for an unusual approach to official translation is discussed;its aim is to render communication more effective. The theoretical foundations of this study lie in the functional theory of translation as formulated by Christiane Nord as well as a number of concepts from pragmatics deemed compatible with the above model. Judicial and administrative practices are also drawn upon in the discussion. Considering the process of official translation as a sequence of speech acts, as outlined by Alesandro Ferrara, this study describes the various functions within the sequence which are performed by the examples of documents examined (a British birth certificate, a U.S. birth certificate and an academic transcript from the U.S.). In applying the above approach the components of the document are analysed in relation to the addressee. Official translation fulfils a function and adapts itself to a number of conditions all different from those of the original text. The end result is that a considerable part of the information contained in the original document goes unnoticed in the translated document and even makes its understanding difficult, but the application of a strategy of omission of those elements runs counter to the perspective of the addressee (and quite often also that of the customer) and may affect its acceptability and validity.

Anterior cruciate ligament injury and reconstruction among university students.

The consequences of athletic injuries extend beyond the musculoskeletal system. Depression, anger, and tension have been observed in athletes with athletic injuries. It was hypothesized that among student athletes, the psychologic impact of injury may be seen as a drop in academic performance. Thirty-eight students who had an anterior cruciate ligament injury and subsequent reconstruction were evaluated retrospectively by academic transcript and questionnaire to measure their academic performance before their injury, in the semester of their injury, and in the semester after their surgery. The patients were compared with randomly selected undergraduate control subjects. To evaluate any effect of the timing of the surgery on academic performance, the patients were separated into two groups, according to the timing of their reconstruction: those who had surgery during the academic semester, and those who elected to wait for a school break. There was a significant drop in grade point average of 0.3 grade points during the semester of injury among all injured students. Compared with those who had surgery during a break, the students who had surgery during the semester received more frequently the grade of failure (6% versus 0%) or incomplete (33% versus 9%). These students also missed more school days (10.5 days versus 1.5 days) and examinations (2.2 examinations versus 0.1 examinations). Only 47% of students who had surgery during the semester were satisfied with their decision for surgical timing, compared with 96% satisfied with the timing during an academic break. Acute anterior cruciate ligament rupture, and surgical reconstruction during an academic semester, have a significant academic effect in university students.

A new approach to standardizing the dean's letter.

Eighty-one residency program directors were surveyed to determine whether a standardized "dean's evaluation" form submitted by deans of student affairs on behalf of senior medical students would suffice in conveying information desired for the residency selection process. Program directors were asked to rate each subpart of this suggested form and to state whether the overall document was sufficiently comprehensive to serve in lieu of the deans' letters now being provided by U.S. medical schools. An overwhelming majority (83%) felt that this alternative form would be sufficient when combined with an academic transcript.