Institutional Compliance Research Articles

Software piracy: Is it related to level of moral judgment?

The possible relationship between widespread unauthorized copying of microcomputer software (also known as software piracy) and level of moral judgment is examined through analysis of over 350 survey questionnaires that included the Defining Issues Test as a measure of moral development. It is hypothesized that the higher one's level of moral judgment, the less likely that one will approve of or engage in unauthorized copying. Analysis of the data indicate a high level of tolerance toward unauthorized copying and limited support for the hypothesis. The most plausible explanation for these findings is that software copying is perceived as an issue of low moral intensity. This study calls into question the software industry's strategy of concentrating exclusively on institutional compliance with copyright rules, rather than working to raise the perceived moral intensity about software piracy at the individual level. As long as the issue remains low in moral intensity, the industry cannot expect significant shifts in copying behaviors. Individuals must become more aware of and concerned about the nature and magnitude of harm to society and to the rightful copyright owners from unauthorized copying before their attitudes and behaviors come to reflect higher levels of moral judgment.

Research animal well-being

This volume contains the published proceedings of a conference held in late 1991 on institutional compliance with USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) regulations for the well-being of canines and non-human primates in research. The regulations have been criticized and were the subject of legal proceedings even before they were implemented. In February 1993, Judge Richey ruled that the sections concerning dogs and non-human primates were unlawful. So this is a publication that is, not only specific to the United States legal requirements but also, has to some extent been overtaken by events. Some of the papers review the available literature to support their theses, while others are reports of management practices at various institutions. After each paper there are transcripts of question and answer sessions which often suffer from a lack of structure and style. The first half of the book considers dogs, and in this section the emphasis is on the USDA requirements for space and exercise. These are important matters, particularly when the legislation only requires that the cage should be the square of the dog's length plus six inches! Having said that, in the introductory paper Wolfie points out, quite correctly, that far more is known about the social needs of dogs, and that these seem to be more important than small differences in cage or pen size.

Book Review: Implementation Strategies for Research Animal Well-Being (Institutional Compliance with Regulations)

Book Review: Implementation Strategies for Research Animal Well-Being (Institutional Compliance with Regulations)

Book Review: Implementation Strategies for Research Animal Well-Being: Institutional Compliance with Regulations

Book Review: Implementation Strategies for Research Animal Well-Being: Institutional Compliance with Regulations

Librarians' Satisfaction With Faculty Status

In 1982 and 1989, librarians with academic faculty status in eight institutions of a large state university system responded to a questionnaire that probed their opinions on faculty status for librarians. A majority of the respondents in both surveys expressed satisfaction with and support for faculty status. The evidence suggests that librarians' satisfaction with faculty status correlates with institutional compliance with the ACRL Standards for Faculty Status for College and University Librarians.

The measurement of outcomes in the assessment of educational program effectiveness

Postsecondary accrediting agencies recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation, including the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), are required to evaluate educational program effectiveness by determining that institutions and programs document the achievement of their students and graduates in verifiable and consistent ways, indicating that institutional and program purposes are met. For the assessment of medical education programs this represents a departure from the traditional method of inferring quality from institutional compliance with standards for program organization and function. In the new assessment calculus, success is measured as the integrated product of the outcomes, the indicators of achievement that medical schools already are collecting from many sources, for instance, data on premedical achievement and attributes, medical school performance, graduate education ratings and test results, specialty certification, licensure, and practice. Although a recent LCME enquiry showed that 80% of U.S. medical schools were collecting outcome data on students and graduates, there was a lack of coherence and system, little integrated analysis, rare longitudinal study, and limited use of the information to evaluate and revise the curriculum or to validate admissions, promotion, and graduation criteria. The longitudinal study of the quantified results of educational programs need not resurrect old controversies about the linkage between learning in medical school and the quality of doctors' later practice. The purpose of examining outcomes is to gain sharper focus on the achievement of distinctive institutional goals, to facilitate program improvement and renewal, and to better assure the competence of graduates within the boundaries of achievement that schools have drawn as their educational objectives.

Survey examines liability coverage for residents

In July 1986, the AMA Council on Medical Education — after an extensive review of issues and implications involved — submitted and saw adopted Report H A-86 dealing with professional liability insurance coverage for residents and fellows. The report called for adequate coverage both during the training period and for any claims arising from events taking place during that period but filed at a later date. It also called for seeking modifications of the Essentials of Accreditated Residencies to include a requirement for institutional compliance with the afore-mentioned insurance protection as well as a requirement that each institution adequately inform all current residents and fellows and all future applicants of the full details of the institution9s professional liability coverage.

The Principal as Staff Developer

The author argues that the individual school site is a promising context for promoting teacher growth and that the school principal has a unique opportunity to influence conditions under which not only students but adults learn and grow. The author examines his own experience as an elementary school principal dedicated to staff development and offers several personal conclusions: attempts at staff development should be differentiated; formal teacher evaluation has only modest influence upon the professional growth of teachers-, there is an important distinction between promoting institutional compliance and promoting professional development; teachers learn most when they work under conditions of mutual visibility; the principal can have, a powerful effect upon the professional growth of teachers through the fulfillment of regular school responsibilities. Finally the author argues for the professional development of principals so that they may become more effective adult educators.