Major Research University Research Articles

Questionnaire surveys to discover academic staff and library staff perceptions of a National Union catalogue

During the feasibility study into a National Union catalogue for the UK (UKNUC), a questionnaire survey was undertaken of the needs of both academic staff in higher education and library staff. A response rate of 40‐50 per cent was achieved, 846 questionnaires being returned for academics and 724 for librarians. The analysis suggests that a UKNUC would be highly valued and heavily used by all categories. Academics felt it would have a positive effect on their information searching, and wished to include the holdings of the British Library, and libraries of both the major research universities and the “traditional” universities. They wanted it to be comprehensive and easy to use, to include locations of both books and journals, and to facilitate subject collection searching. Library staff have similar priorities to academics, although there are more variations by sector and a recognition of a UKNUC’s value as a potential source of bibliographic records.

Doing "True Science": The Early History of the Institutum Divi Thomae, 1935-1951

... the Church, which is at home in all times and all places, and adapts itself to all; which blesses and fosters all healthy initiative, and has no fear of the progress, even the most daring progress of science, if only it he true science.1 Science, which consists in true recognition of fact, is never opposed to the truths of the Christian faith; in fact-as everyone who examines and meditates on the history of science is bound to admit-the Pontiffs, together with the Church, have never at any time failed to encourage the research work of learned men, also in the sphere of experimental science; this research work has, in turn, made a valid contribution to the defense of the treasure of heavenly truth entrusted to the Church.2 To date, scholars have examined precious little of the relationship between Catholicism and science in America.3 Those few researchers who have explored this field have limited their activity largely to studies of the controversy over evolution, Catholic women and health care, apologetics demonstrating how the Church has fostered rather than hindered science, or angry works on the history of sexuality, employing Catholicism as a slow-moving target.4 Indeed, the story of American Catholics and science, or the absence of a story, can be quickly characterized in a few pages, as Daniel Kevles did more than twenty years ago in his widely read The Physicists. Yet, reading Kevles leads to little satisfaction for one interested in going beyond superficialities, and in particular in placing science within a complex and dynamic social and cultural context.5 This essay focuses on the origins and early history of the Institutum Divi Thomae [hereafter referred to as the IDT or Institutum], thus describing one particularly rich episode illustrating the relationship between American Catholicism and science during the middle of the twentieth century. The IDT was established by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 1935; its faculty and students, while working in the area of cancer research, published hundreds of scientific and technical papers, developed a number of commercial products, and received considerable publicity in both the religious and secular press during the first two decades of its existence. However, with its gradual decline beginning in the 1950's and the closing of its doors by the 1980's, the IDT vanished without a trace from historians' radar screens. Yet if we are to understand more fully the IDT's accomplishments, the place of science within Catholic culture in twentieth-century America, and the science-- religion relationship in an operational institutional setting, this story becomes an important one. In the cultural context, the Institutum was an American Catholic response to both the modernist theological controversy and scientific materialism. Additionally on a more practical level, it served the need to train Catholic scientists in fundamental research. The aim of the IDT was to gain prestige at a time when American Catholics were being characterized as lacking in intellectual and scientific accomplishments. During the late 1920's and early 1930's, statistical studies indicated Catholicism's woeful lack of working scientists when compared to Protestant denominations and to perceptions of a decline in faith and an increase in moral decay.6 While the IDT met several specific needs of the Church, it also developed a distinctive humanitarian purpose reflective of its Christian origins-that of improving public health, most particularly in searching for a cure for cancer at a time prior to the involvement of big government and major research universities in scientific medicine. The IDT's struggle for self-definition, financial resources, and recognition resulted in new and useful products, newly trained scientists, and a number of unanswered historical questions. In June of 1935, the Archbishop of Cincinnati, the Most Reverend John T. McNicholas, O.P, played the leading role in creating the IDT As its founder, McNicholas left a significant imprint on the IDT's early mission and research strategies. …

A multidisciplinary core corriculum

AbstractA major research university makes a commitment to give students not majoring in science or engineering a solid foundation in scientific and quantitative thinking through an integrated large‐scale, multidisciplinary three‐course sequence.

The Differential Effects of On- and Off-Campus Living Arrangements on Students' Openness to Diversity*

The effects of on- and off-campus living arrangements on students’ openness to diversity were examined using data from 502 first-time-college students at a major research university in the Midwest. Results indicated that living on campus was directly associated with significantly higher levels of openness to diversity than was living off campus. Living in a Freshman Interest Group was indirectly related to greater openness to diversity through students’ relationships with their peers. No significant indirect effects were found for living in a traditional residence hall or a sponsored learning community.

Australian University-Industry Research Links: Researcher Involvement, Outputs, Personal Benefits and 'Withholding' Behaviour

Using data from two surveys of science and technology academics in major Australian research universities, an assessment is made of researcher involvement in industry-research partnerships, the outputs and personal benefits that result, and the occurrence of delaying publications and withholding data and materials from colleagues. An estimated 40% of academics currently have industry research funding, with many also having other sources of funding. Some 60% of respondents with industry funding have attracted individually, or within a research group, funding of more than $250,000 over the past three years. About 35% of principal investigators with industry funding have total annual research budgets of over $101,000. While about 20% of academics have produced research results of commercial value, most of these have been less successful in increasing their personal incomes through research commercialisation and consulting, and equity in companies. Almost 40% with industry funding report having conducted research where the results are the property of a sponsor and cannot be published for a period without consent. Almost 20% of academics in 1997 and just over 20% in 2000 admitted having delayed publications for more than six months. However, safeguarding the researcher's self-interest appears to be as common a motive for delaying publication or failing to share research results or materials with scientific colleagues as protecting the property of a sponsor.

Journal characteristics, rankings and social acculturation in operations management

Over the past 15 yr , there have been several attempts in operations management to rate journals, authors and schools based on their research productivity and quality. While many of these have been very helpful in generating a relative ranking of productivity and prestige, these analyses seem incomplete in many ways. Most notably, they neglected the fact that these rankings are loaded with value judgments acquired in the process of academic acculturation on one hand and that they did not provide basic information about the journals on the other. This paper argues that the rankings reflect the milieu in which they were conceived and calls for “usage-based” measures as more appropriate ways of measuring a publication's impact through influencing and changing the thinking and actions of researchers, students and practitioners. Specifically, this article has three objectives. First, it fills an information gap by giving the characteristics of 28 journals in the broadly-defined field of operations management. Second, the article summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of the approaches taken to rank journals. Third, this article shows some factors of social acculturation (acquired either through education or working in different environments) in the journal evaluation process. The empirical part of the paper is based on analyzing referencing practices of these journals, surveying senior editors, analyzing reading lists of doctoral programs at major research universities, and contacting university and corporate libraries, and consulting companies.

STAYERS AND LEAVERS: PROFESSORS IN AN ERA OF NO MANDATORY RETIREMENT

This interview study uses both quantitative and qualitative data to: (1) compare personal and professional characteristics of professors who continue to work in their career jobs after age 70 with professors of the same age who retire; (2) explore reasons professors give for continuing to work or to retire; and (3) compare satisfaction levels of the employed and retired groups. Respondents were 17 employed (response rate 94%)and 54 retired (response rate 83%) professors aged 70-74 from a major research university, the type of institution most likely to be impacted by the end of mandatory retirement (Hammond & Morgan, 1991). Results indicated that employed professors were (1) less likely to be married or to have children and grandchildren and (2) were more strongly oriented to the professional role and professional ties outside the university than were their retired counterparts. Employed professors said they continued to work mainly because they enjoyed it, whereas retired professors said they retired because they wanted to do other things, felt it was time to retire, or had workplace concerns. Both faculty groups showed high levels of life satisfaction.

Women of Color in Academe: Living with Multiple Marginality

Introduction I recall a personal example of how multiple social identities may shape one's opportunities in higher education. As a woman of color from a no collar class (I come from a farm labor background), when first exploring graduate school options I was discouraged from applying to a master's level program in business by an admissions officer. The admissions officer stated that I would not fit. I was a woman, a minority, a single parent, I had a background in the public sector, and I had some but not enough math background. This would make it nearly impossible for me to succeed as others in the program fit another and opposite profile. Although all of this may be true, it did not occur to the admissions officer that this might not be an appropriate state of affairs for student enrollment in the program. It was merely accepted as the way things are and should remain. I remember being struck by the many ways I could be as not fitting and, therefore, not encouraged and, more than likely, not admitted. I was so easily defined out rather than defined in. I am now a faculty member at a major research university. My current work focuses on the experiences of faculty of color in higher education. While pursuing this work, I have had many opportunities to interview, converse with, and read about the lives of other faculty women of color. Many continue to speak, although in different ways, about the experience of multiple marginality and being out. The following quotations from the literature give insight into the lives of faculty women of color, including my own. Lived Contradiction I am struck by my lived contradiction: To be a professor is to be an anglo; to be a latina is not to be an anglo. So how can I be both a Latina and a professor? To be a Latina professor, I conclude, means to be unlike and like me. Que locura! What madness!... As Latina professors, we are newcomers to a world and controlled by discourses that do not address our realities, that do not affirm our intellectual contributions, that do not seriously examine our worlds. Can I be both Latina and professor without compromise? (Ana M. Martinez Aleman in Padilla & Chavez, 1995, pp. 74-75) Ambiguous Empowerment Readers who have listened to any group of professional women talk about their work experiences will likely find these stories familiar. Like other successful women who work in male and white-dominated professions, women superintendents have much to say about the way they managed to get into such positions despite the anomaly of their gender or race, how they developed confidence in their competence and authority, and what they have accomplished by exercising their professional power. They also talk about various forms of gender and race inequality that structure the profession and how they respond to discriminatory treatment...I study these familiar stories in order to understand how professional women make sense of their-their empowerment--in the context of contemporary American culture. (Chase, 1995, p. x) The narrative data presented here portray the lives of faculty women of color as filled with lived contradictions and empowerment. Chase's (1995) ambiguous empowerment based on the lives of women school superintendents also applies to the experiences of faculty women of color. Although faculty women of color have obtained academic positions, even when tenured they often confront situations that limit their authority and, as they address these situations, drain their energy. For example, in an interview (1) a woman of color who is a full professor and chair of her department observes: I'm the department chair,... and I meet with a lot of people who don't know me--you know, prospective students and their parents. And I know that their first reaction to me is that I'm an Asian American woman, not that I'm a scientist or that I'm competent. …

The Differential Effects of On- and Off-Campus Living Arrangements on Students' Openness to Diversity*

The effects of on- and off-campus living arrangements on students’ openness to diversity were examined using data from 502 first-time-college students at a major research university in the Midwest. Results indicated that living on campus was directly associated with significantly higher levels of openness to diversity than was living off campus. Living in a Freshman Interest Group was indirectly related to greater openness to diversity through students’ relationships with their peers. No significant indirect effects were found for living in a traditional residence hall or a sponsored learning community.

True Confessions of Student Teaching Supervisors

The biggest obstacle to recruiting tenured faculty members to supervise student teachers is that the task is - there's no tactful way to put it - boring, Ms. Power and Ms. Perry confess. They propose a better way. WE CAN BEST capture the dilemmas education faculty members face when they work with student teachers by presenting one hour in our lives as supervisors of student teachers. It's a chilly February morning in 1999, and Brenda is in a third-grade classroom at a local school, a professional development school site for the University of Maine. She sits in the back of the room while a student teacher stands at an overhead projector, slapping on page after plastic page of detailed maps of Germany. The student teacher is lecturing about the climate, the terrain, the language. The children sit glassy-eyed, silently listening to her. Finally, one child tentatively raises his hand and asks, Are we ever going to get to writing workshop? Why are we doing this instead? In a few minutes, the student teacher replies. My professor from the university is visiting, and I want her to see me teach. A couple of the children turn to the back of the room and glare at Brenda. Meanwhile, at a large consolidated high school 20 miles away, Connie is sitting in the back of a sophomore Spanish class. The student teacher is leading the class through a lesson in how to conjugate verbs. The class is taught primarily in Spanish. Since Connie doesn't actually speak any Spanish, it's a little hard to follow what is going on. But she dutifully takes some notes about who is responding to questions, noting the mix of males and females being called upon, and she reminds herself to consult with the cooperating teacher about the intern's language expertise. Connie also has a scrap of paper under her notepad, on which she surreptitiously writes a list of groceries she will purchase after finishing her observations that day. We are members of a rare breed - tenured professors at a major research university who volunteer to supervise student teachers as a regular part of our teaching load. The question of how major universities might involve more tenured faculty members in on-site preservice education in local schools is one of the critical issues facing many research institutions today. The research literature on professional development schools is not encouraging. There are many barriers to involving university faculty members in supervision, including lack of time, lack of support within the promotion and tenure structure, and lack of a fit with professors' scholarly agendas.1 We think these arguments all overlook the biggest obstacle to recruiting tenured faculty members to supervise student teachers. Supervising student teachers is - there's no tactful way to put it - boring. And we're talking mind-numbin', spirit-crushin' dull. We say this from personal experience, having spent too many hours in the last few years watching young teachers deliver stand-up lectures in lieu of their normal instructional routines - in hopes of impressing us with their ability to manage a classroom. We like schools. We genuinely enjoy watching teachers practice their craft, and we never fail to be amazed at the wonder of children learning. That's why we were shocked at how quickly we came to despise our new roles as supervisors of student teaching. We realize it's not the university's job to give us professional responsibilities that are always entertaining and intellectually stimulating. And it's certainly not the responsibility of our student teachers to keep us engaged or of school staff members to see that we are comfortable on their turf. But our work over the past few years has also shown us that these issues aren't just personal ones. There are inherent problems in the traditional model of university faculty oversight of student teachers. Until we have a little more honesty about what's wrong with the system, we cannot make it right. …

DOES HIGH SCHOOL MATTER? An Analysis of Three Methods of Predicting First- Year Grades

This research evaluated the usefulness of 3 approaches for predicting college grades: (a) traditional regression models, (b) high-school-effects models, and (c) hierarchical linear models. Results of an analysis of the records of 8,764 freshmen at a major research university revealed that both the high-school-effects model and the hierarchical linear model were more accurate predictors of freshman GPA than was the traditional model, particularly for lower ability students. Counter to expectations, the hierarchical linear model was not more accurate than the high school effects model.

Influences on the ethical beliefs of graduate students concerning research

Development of and influence on ethical beliefs were surveyed at a major research university campus. Courses were ranked by faculty and students as most important. Mentors were ranked eighth in a list of nine factors. Of the 1,152 returned student questionnaires, 97 (8.4%) made the effort to write comments, and of the 610 faculty questionnaires returned, 64 (10%) wrote comments. These comments were rich in detail and description.

Thesis and dissertation writing: an examination of published advice and actual practice

This article explores the extent to which published advice on the organisation and structure of theses and dissertations concurs with what happens in actual practice. The study examines guides and handbooks which focus on thesis and dissertation writing and postgraduate research. The sample texts examined were master's and doctoral theses written in a number of different study areas at a major research university. The study found that only a few of the books examined devoted a substantial amount of space to this topic. It also found a wider range of thesis types than the guides and handbooks would suggest occurs. The study identified four main kinds of thesis: ‘traditional: simple’, ‘traditional: complex’, ‘topic-based’ and ‘compilations of research articles’. The article argues for teaching materials which show students the range of thesis options they might have, highlight the kind of variation that occurs in actual texts, and consider the rationale for the various choices they might make.

ICSI results with and without Y chromosomal deletions in men with severe oligospermia and azoospermia.

Objective: 13% of azoospermic and 7% of severely oligospermic (<2 × 106) infertile men in our IVF program have Y chromosomal deletions. It has been suggested that these patients might experience poorer results with ICSI than similarly infertile men without Y deletions (van Golde et al., 2001). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of Y deletions in such men and the results of ICSI in Y-deleted men compared to similar men who are not Y-deleted. Design: Retrospective collaborative study in a community hospital and major teaching and research university setting. Materials/Methods: 28 azoospermic or severely oligospermic men with Y chromosomal microdeletions and 205 similar men without Y chromosomal deletions underwent TESE-ICSI (or ICSI) with their wives. Fertilization rate, cleavage rate, pregnancy rate and deliveries were compared. Results: For couples with less than 2 × 106 sperm undergoing ICSI or TESE-ICSI, 2PN fertilization was 57% for Y-deleted and 56% for non Y-deleted men. The pregnancy rate was 38% for Y-deleted and 36% for non Y-deleted men. The delivered pregnancy rate was 29% for Y-deleted and 26% for non Y-deleted men. There were 18 babies from Y-deleted men (10 boys and 8 girls) and 99 babies from non Y-deleted men (43 boys and 56 girls). Our data does not support any difference in ICSI outcome in Y-deleted men from non Y-deleted men with equivalent spermatogenic deficiency. A comparison to previous publications suggests that small numbers are responsible for the contrary impression. Conclusions: 1) Azoospermia or severe oligospermia associated with a discernible Y chromosomal defect did not influence fertilization, or pregnancy rates with ICSI or TESE-ICSI, so long as sperm was present. 2) However, Y chromosomal defects beyond the AZFc region were associated with failure to find sperm, and Y chromosomal deletions limited to AZFc were associated with a good prognosis for finding sperm. 3) There were roughly equivalent numbers of boys and girls delivered from ICSI in both Y-deleted and non Y-deleted groups.

The Effects of Wireless Computing in Collaborative Learning Environments

Eighty-four students distributed between two different courses at a major research university (one a communication course, the other a computer science course) were given laptop computers with wireless network access during the course of a semester. A wide variety of data (from questionnaires, e-mail logs, proxy server logs, and diaries) regarding students' use of the laptops for electronic communication, Web browsing, and local application use (e.g., word processing) was collected and analyzed. The influences of course, network (wireless-wired), student population, and the passage of time were investigated in relation to the prevalence and nature of social computing (e.g., e-mail, instant messaging, chat, discussion boards, online annotations) in students' laptop usage. The relative prevalence of social computing increased and became more exclusive for students in the communication course, especially on the wireless network. Social computing and use of the wireless network were less prominent and influential for students in the computer science course.

University-Industry Partnership

U niversities and private industry in the United States currently enjoy a partnership in biomedical research whose extent and variety would have been difficult to imagine 30 years ago. The partnership has so far enjoyed the confidence of the public, to whom it has brought substantial benefit. That confidence may be in jeopardy, however, unless academia and industry can define acceptable terms for the partnership, both with respect to the institutions and to the individual scientists involved. Until the 1980s universities pursued basic biological research, with little interest in its commercial import, while industry developed drugs, using mostly chemistry and classical pharmacology. The advent of the biotechnology industry, arising from university research in molecular genetics and biology, changed the landscape, leading to an active interchange of ideas and personnel. Much of the innovation in the pharmaceutical industry now occurs in biotechnology companies, often based directly or indirectly on ideas generated by university scientists. The relationship was further fostered by the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, which encouraged universities to license discoveries made with federal funds to private industry. Today, all major research universities have a technology transfer office; many actively participate in incubators and/or venture funds to help faculty members convert their discoveries into companies; some even take equity in these companies. In a separate development, current health care economics, along with the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, have pushed hard-pressed clinical departments to seek funds for research through closer relations with industry. Several academic medical centers have now set up clinical trial organizations specifically designed to carry out clinical research contracts for private companies. Without doubt, the new partnership between academia and the private sector has been good for Americans. In 1999, technology transfer from universities to industry contributed $38 billion to the economy, creating over 300,000 jobs and forming hundreds of new companies. Clinical trials sponsored by industry now drive much of evidence-based medicine, with academic scientists setting important standards for excellence and objectivity. Companies benefit from the collaborative discoveries and expertise of those in academia; universities benefit from financial support from industry and from the technology and knowledge generated by focused, highly capitalized industrial research. In spite of its undoubted benefit, industry-sponsored research presents several significant problems for universities. For example, it is not the cash cow that many suppose. In general, companies pay for research that benefits them and their shareholders, not for the undirected curiosity-driven research that is at the heart of the academic enterprise. Furthermore, for the relationship between universities and industry to succeed, each must recognize their fundamentally different cultures and core values. For universities, the free and open communication of research results is essential to the goal of expanding knowledge. For companies, the protection of proprietary information is necessary to the ultimate goal of financial return. Much of the pressure of this cultural disparity is focused on university scientists, whose obligations and responsibilities are often unclear and vary widely between institutions. We suggest that this question needs national attention by both academia and industry, with the goal of defining broad standards of best practice. The standards should be clear, easily understood and easily explained to the general public. Several recent cases of apparent conflicts of interest have been widely publicized, raising serious questions in the mind of the public about the proper relationship of university scientists to industry. A national consensus conference, with all interested parties represented, could clarify the issues and set normative bounds. Failing this, we run the risk of unwelcome legislation, or much more seriously, the loss of confidence by the public in the integrity and objectivity of academic research. Nothing could be more disastrous for universities and, ultimately, for industry as well.

Organizational Structure as a Determinant of Academic Patent and Licensing Behavior: An Exploratory Study of Duke, Johns Hopkins, and Pennsylvania State Universities

This paper examines the influences of university organizational structure on technology transfer performance. The analysis treats the organizational structure of the technology-transfer office as an independent variable that accounts, in part, for measured differences in inter-institutional patenting, licensing, and sponsored research activities. We derive and investigate three hypotheses that link attributes of organizational form – information processing capacity, coordination capability and incentive alignment – to technology transfer outcomes. A detailed analysis of three major research universities – Johns Hopkins University, Pennsylvania State University, and Duke University – provides evidence of the existence of alternative organizational structures. The data also suggest that these organizational capabilities result in differences in technology transfer activity.

Expected Proficiencies for Undergraduate Economics Majors

The case for adopting a proficiencies approach to instruction and learning in the economics major is reiterated. This approach focuses on what graduating majors should be able to do with the knowledge and skills they acquire in the major, that is, their ability to demonstrate their learning in practical ways. The author's list of five proficiencies, advanced in the mid-1980s, is reviewed and revised; one additional proficiency is added and several others are refined. The author discusses the emphasis given to these proficiencies with top economics undergraduates at two major research universities, the author's experience with incorporating these proficiencies into his instruction, and the challenge of assessing the ability of economics majors to demonstrate these proficiencies.

Getting personal: Writing-stories

Halloween, 1972. My face was broken, the cheekbones, the jaw. My head had gone through the windshield of the Volkswagen bug and then my leg, as the seat broke backwards, and then my face again, and my pelvis and my ribs hitting things, or being hit, ricocheting. I have a body memory of my right eye out of its socket, lying in wetness on my cheek. And then there was blackness, unconsciousness, coma. Once the kind-faced doctor tried cheering me. ‘‘You’ve only lost about 10‐15% of your I.Q.,’’ he said. ‘‘There’s plenty left.’’ Did he not know that his patient who could not do her times tables was a professor of sociology who taught advanced statistics at a major research university? She had not the slightest idea now what ‘‘10‐15%’’ meant, but she could hear, feel the word, lost. What had I lost? Much more than I.Q. points. I had lost access to my brain. I had lost language: my sword and my shield.My habitual routes for naming things weretorn up, blocked o¶ ; paths to words and formulae were gone. I could not locate where anything was stored in my brain. I could feel my mind searching ‐ this way, no, that way, up here, try there ‐ searching, searching in my brain, as if it were a computer, searching for words, thoughts, connections, searching for memory, endless searches. Sometimes I could sense the place where a word was ‘‘hiding,’’ but I couldn’t make it come out, be recognized, be spoken. When I could e nd the word’s e rst letter, I felt grateful. I still do.

STILL WORKING AFTER AGE 70: OLDER PROFESSORS IN ACADEME

The purpose of this interview study was to examine the perceptions and experiences of tenured university professors who continue to work in their career jobs after age 70. The study utilized the case study method to let professors describe in their own voices the personal, professional, and institutional factors in their decision to keep working beyond the conventional retirement age and their plans for the future. The population under investigation was all tenured professors aged 70-74 at a major public research university, the institutions most likely to be impacted by the end of mandatory retirement (Hammond & Morgan, 1991). Content analysis of the interview tapes revealed the following themes: most professors continued to work because they enjoyed it, or felt that it was important to continue their work, perceived the overall atmosphere in their department and the university as positive, felt little institutional pressure to retire, and had no plans to retire. Economic factors played a relatively small role in continuing to work.