Scholarship Support Research Articles

In Regards to Higher Education Strategy, Assessment of Educational Activities in Public Universities: The Case of Turkey

Problem Statement : With the increasing importance of information and research, the importance of education and training has also increased. Especially in higher education institutions, educators have started to instruct students in accordance with the requirements of the modern era, and universities have influenced the international and national competitive powers in the educational domain. Nowadays, universities in developed countries are not only the organizations that execute education and training services, but they are also the institutions that produce more academic studies to enhance their environments, contribute to society through their projects, and integrate with business and industry organizations. In connection with these goals the higher education sector can improve the performances of many universities and reconstruct them by changing and improving conditions. These changes can only be possible with appropriate strategies. Purpose of the Study : This study reveals the present situation regarding education in public universities and aims to determine strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Within the framework of Turkey’s higher-education strategy, the current state of the universities is discussed and certain suggestions were made. Method: Considering that the main field of activity in universities is “training and education”, the public universities in Turkey have been evaluated in this study via a content analysis of the strategic plans of “training and education activities”. In total, the plans of 90 out of 103 state universities were analyzed according to a qualitative analysis. The dataset obtained was converted into numbers by means of the SPSS 15.0 program using frequency analysis. Results and Findings: Assessing the dataset obtained, one third of the universities stated that “maintaining a diversity of programs, enhancing social activities, achieving a close interaction between the students and academicians, and increasing quality and accreditation” were among their strengths. As for their weaknesses, “inadequacy of interaction with graduates; inadequacy of social fields; inadequacy of health, culture, and sport facilities; inadequacy of foreign language education; inadequacy of library opportunities; scarcity of graduate programs; inadequacy of psychological counseling and guidance services; inadequacy of scholarship support; scarcity of application-oriented studies; and inadequacy of educational material” were listed. Nearly half of the universities regard “exchange programs” as opportunities, and they focus on the “Bologna Process and Exchange”. On the other hand, “increasing the number of public and private universities” is seen as a threat. Conclusions and recommendations: As a result of the study, the categories for strengths in the higher education strategy include “education field, social activity, life culture, and communication”. The weaknesses mentioned by the universities, as stated in the higher-education plan, can be strengthened with the strategies involving “physical opportunities, communication, social activities, life culture, scholarship and part-time work opportunities, student satisfaction, and educational implementations”. For the eradication of the threats, one of which is the increasing number of public and private universities, educational strategies can be implemented at the correct times within the framework of the Bologna Process”. Key Words: Instruction, Organization, Strategic Planning, University SWOT Analysis

Factors Associated with Student Pharmacist Philanthropy to the College Before and After Graduation

Objective. To examine the early stages of a student giving program, to evaluate the program's influence on college donations, and to evaluate other factors that may affect student and year-one postgraduation giving at a college or school of pharmacy. Methods. A review of student records for graduates of 2013 and 2014 was conducted. Data included student characteristics, scholarship support, international program participation, senior class gift participation, and postgraduation giving. Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, Wilcoxon signed-rank, and Chi-square analyses were performed. Results. Of 273 graduates, the majority were female (57.1%) and white (74%). Class of 2014 contributed a higher amount to the class gift than the prior class. In 2014, those who received scholarships gave higher amounts to the class gift. For the combined classes, there was an association between the number of students who gave pregraduation and the number who gave postgraduation. In the 2013 class, individuals gave greater amounts postgraduation compared to pregraduation, and a higher percentage of alumni (8%) gave postgraduation compared to alumni from the previous class (<1%). Conclusion. Participation in year-one postgraduation giving increased after implementation of the senior class gift program. Receiving scholarships influenced giving to the class gift but was not associated with postgraduation giving. Future studies are needed to develop a more comprehensive understanding of student and alumni philanthropy.

Improving of the operation efficiency of the vehicle due to using of the neodymium magnets inside the vibration isolation devices

In this paper the isolation suspension with stiffness compensator based on neodymium magnets is suggested. It was found that the passive vibration isolators not completely sufficient of modern requirement of the vibration isolation. It was determined that the neodymium magnets with the same initial parameters are most effective in comparison with DC current electromagnets. The mathematical model of the vibration isolation suspension has been developed. In this research the traction characteristics for given magnets are presented. Also the design of the vibration isolation suspension with compensator of the stiffness based on neodymium magnets has been developed. This research has been performed under support of the President scholarship for young scientists under the order of Russian Federation Ministry of the education and science No 184 from 10th of March 2015.

WE‐G‐BRD‐09: Novel MRI Compatible Electron Accelerator for MRI‐Linac Radiotherapy

Purpose:MRI guided radiotherapy is a rapidly growing field; however current linacs are not designed to operate in MRI fringe fields. As such, current MRI‐ Linac systems require magnetic shielding, impairing MR image quality and system flexibility. Here, we present a bespoke electron accelerator concept with robust operation in in‐line magnetic fields.Methods:For in‐line MRI‐Linac systems, electron gun performance is the major constraint on accelerator performance. To overcome this, we propose placing a cathode directly within the first accelerating cavity. Such a configuration is used extensively in high energy particle physics, but not previously for radiotherapy. Benchmarked computational modelling (CST, Darmstadt, Germany) was employed to design and assess a 5.5 cell side coupled accelerator with a temperature limited thermionic cathode in the first accelerating cell. This simulation was coupled to magnetic fields from a 1T MRI model to assess robustness in magnetic fields for Source to Isocenter Distance between 1 and 2 meters. Performance was compared to a conventional electron gun based system in the same magnetic field.Results:A temperature limited cathode (work function 1.8eV, temperature 1245K, emission constant 60A/K/cm2) will emit a mean current density of 24mA/mm2 (Richardson's Law). We modeled a circular cathode with radius 2mm and mean current 300mA. Capture efficiency of the device was 43%, resulting in target current of 130 mA. The electron beam had a FWHM of 0.2mm, and mean energy of 5.9MeV (interquartile spread of 0.1MeV). Such an electron beam is suitable for radiotherapy, comparing favourably to conventional systems. This model was robust to operation the MRI fringe field, with a maximum current loss of 6% compared to 85% for the conventional system.Conclusion:The bespoke electron accelerator is robust to operation in in‐line magnetic fields. This will enable MRI‐Linacs with no accelerator magnetic shielding, and minimise painstaking optimisation of the MRI fringe field.This work was supported by US (NIH) and Australian (NHMRC &amp; Cancer Institute NSW) government research funding. In addition, I would like to thank cancer institute NSW and the Ingham Institute for scholarship support.

Social Matter and Research in Nigeria: Why Theories Often Falter in Predicting Local Data

The study examines the relevance of genuine social data in the verification of social theories under the scientific study of social matter. It is premised in social research methodology drawing instances from varied social science matter as they are presently disposed in Nigeria. It adopts a historical research methodology to carefully analyze the performance of some selected social theories namely: the relative-deprivation, frustration-aggression, religious-fundamentalism and ethnic theories using local experiences and data for evaluating them. The study observes that these theories have performed poorly due to the nature of local social research data applied in verifying them. The study believes that these data have become biased due inter alia to the low level of confidence in their sourcing individuals or institution and the fact that some of these data have been poorly extracted initially. It recommends among other things, a growing of the confidence in the nation’s research efforts and institutions and a patronage of local researches through not only provision of funding support for research and scholarship but also in the implementation of existing social research outcomes and recommendations. These the study believes would promote the furtherance and use of more genuine data in social researches in Nigeria.

Visual Nanosensor for the Detection of Heavy Metals in Water

Introduction It has been known for decades that metals with a thin oxide coating can exhibit interference colours by a Fabry-Perot interference phenomenon.1 The colour produced by constructive interference of light reflecting from the air/oxide and oxide/metal interfaces is directly related to the oxide film thickness, and this property has been used as a convenient way to determine oxide film thickness by the unaided eye. Recently, interference colours of nanostructured metal oxides formed at Al, Ti, and Si have been reported. The observed colour of these nanostructured oxide films is dependent on film thickness, surface modification, and porosity of the nanostructures. These parameters have been investigated for potential applications in sensing and displays.2,3 In this study, the interference colours of Ta oxide nanotubular films have been used to create a sensor that allows for the visual detection of heavy metals in water (ppm to ppb levels). Methods and Results We have previously reported that thin films of highly ordered Ta2O5 nanotubes (NTs) can be formed by the anodization of Ta foil.4 The Ta2O5 NTs were prepared by anodization of Ta in a solution containing HF, H2SO­4 and H2O in a two-electrode cell configuration. Ta2O5 NT diameter was controlled by the applied voltage, and NT length was varied by controlling the anodization time and HF concentration,5 as shown in Figure 1 (a-d). The colour of the NT film changes with NT length, progressing through brown, deep purple, deep blue, yellow, orange, purple, and blue as NT length increases from 20-500 nm. Beyond a length of ~500 nm, teal and pink colours dominate the visible appearance of the oxide films. The peaks and valleys present in the diffuse reflectance spectrum vary with oxide film thickness, and with the refractive index of the nanotubular film. This was seen to change upon NT infiltration with different analytes (as shown in Figure 1e), allowing for visual sensing applications. Due to the conductive Ta metal NT support, heavy metals, such as Cu, Cd, and Pb, can be electrodeposited inside the NT film, resulting in refractive index change, and thus, a visible colour change. This results in a rapid visual sensor that does not require costly or bulky instrumentation, making it ideal for detecting heavy metals in water in remote locations. Acknowledgements We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and scholarship support from NSERC and Alberta Innovates Technology Futures for CH. We also thank Drs. Dimitre Karpuzov and Shihong Xu (Alberta Centre for Surface Engineering and Science, Edmonton, Alberta) for assistance with the FE-SEM imaging. References (1) Charlesby, A.; Polling, J. J. Proc. R. Soc. A Math. Phys. Eng. Sci. 1955, 227, 434–447. (2) Zhao, B. X.; Meng, G.; Xu, Q.; Han, F. Adv. Mater. 2010, 22, 2637–2641. (3) Lezec, H. J.; McMahon, J. J.; Nalamasu, O.; Ajayan, P. M. Nano Lett. 2007, 7, 329–333. (4) El-Sayed, H.; Singh, S.; Greiner, M. T.; Kruse, P. Nano Lett. 2006, 6, 2995–2999. (5) Horwood, C.; El-Sayed, H.; Birss, V. Electrochim. Acta 2014, 132, 91–97. Figure 1

Advancing integrative “one-health” approaches to global health through multidisciplinary, faculty-led global health field courses

Abstract Background Since 2003, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Global Health Institute, together with collaborating campus and in-country partners, has offered immersive, multidisciplinary, faculty-led, global health field courses in Ecuador and Thailand. These courses aim to help students to develop a working understanding of integrative one-health approaches and acquire the skills to work effectively across disciplines. That is, we aim to foster an appreciation of the role of culture in perceptions of health, disease, and health care; the complex interactions of animal-human-ecosystem health and disease; and the value of integrating cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural perspectives and skills to solve complex public health problems. Methods Students from various University of Wisconsin-Madison health faculties travelled, lived (accommodation included homestays in indigenous or rural communities), learnt, and engaged in community-health assessments or service-learning projects as a multidisciplinary team. We recruited students through annual presentations in each University of Wisconsin school or college and through recommendations from past participants. We recorded student reflections during the course, at course completion, and after graduation. Findings Between 2003 and 2014: 215 students from the University of Wisconsin have taken part in the global health field courses. Students came from the fields of human medicine (53 [25%]), veterinary medicine (35 [16%]), nursing (40 [19%]), pharmacy (41 [19%]), and other degree programs (46 [21%]). Results of the in-course and post course assessments consistently show strong student satisfaction with many aspects of the programme, including safety, faculty mentorship, the value of the multidisciplinary approach, depth of learning, and programme cost. Former participants also report use of cross-cultural skills in their professional practice, work with populations from cultures other than their own, positive effects on their decisions for career activities, and the belief that immersive cross-cultural experiences should be a required part of professional training for all health professional students. Finally, the courses undergo independent programme evaluations (including in-country observation and interviews with participants and stakeholders) approximately every 5 years. Interpretation Programme directors continue to seek improvements related to: sustainable faculty engagement from various disciplines; development of increasingly specific course group learning objectives, competencies, and assessment tools; sustainability of impacts on community-level health and wellbeing; continuity between University of Wisconsin-Madison and in-country university and community partners; and scholarship support and other approaches so that cost does not exclude interested students from participating. Funding The GHI is supported through a combination of university, grants, and philanthropic funding; these field courses do not have specific, separate funding. Students self-fund participation in the courses.

An integrated palaeomagnetic, palaeointensity and 40Ar/39Ar investigation on a Miocene polarity transition recorded in a lava sequence in la Gomera, Canary Islands

This work was funded by project CGL2012-32149 (Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Spain), projects CGL2011-23755 and CGL2010-14869 (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion, Spain) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). AC acknowledges the support of CONACYT scholarship no. 257639 (Mexico). Technical and human support provided by SGIker (UPV/EHU, MINECO, GV/EJ, ERDF and ESF) is gratefully acknowledged.

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation: outcomes of support for Australian science and scholarship

Some of the funding opportunities through the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvHF), which are available to international researchers within any field of scholarship to enable them to pursue their research at any one of many German universities and other research institutes, are reviewed. Recent statistical data for research funding by the AvHF, with a particular focus on funding for Australian researchers, are outlined. These data clearly demonstrate the considerable success that has been afforded to Australian science and scholarship as a result of AvHF funding, by comparison with that from other research funding schemes. Some specific personal examples are discussed in order to illustrate the significant influence that funding from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation has had on Australian science and scholarship and the careers of many Australian researchers.

Microplasma pen designs for surface chemical pattern fabrication

Introduction: Surface engineering approaches have been investigated to control cell responses in vitro . Surface chemistry impacts greatly on cell responses. Amines mimic the natural biological environment and are therefore widely used for these investigations. Chemical patterning allows the presentation of defined surface regions controlling cell attachment and morphology. Designer interactions can be fabricated between discrete cell populations. This is increasingly important within the field of regenerative medicine as researchers are striving to mimic complex cellular architectures. Current surface chemical patterning methods are, however, limited in this capacity because of multistep and time-consuming methodologies. Objectives: Here we present the use of plasma pens for direct-writing defined chemical regions. Cell response to these areas has been assessed, showing a capacity to control cell attachment and directional morphology. Materials and methods: A fluoropolymer was etched via helium radio frequency plasma (9W; 13.56MHz); allylamine was also polymerized in the plasma. Surfaces were characterized by water contact angles (WCA) and Raman microscopy. HEK293 cells were cultured over the chemically modified surfaces at 37°C in media containing 10% fetal calf serum, 1% Glu and 1% penicillin/streptomycin. Results: Helium plasma-treated regions were hydrophilic compared with the surrounding hydrophobic areas, having WCAs of ≈ 15° and ≈ 112°, respectively. Defined patterns were visualized by wettability maps and Raman microscopy. Plasma-treated regions were devoid of polymeric groups, also apparent in surrounding fluorocarbon regions, indicating plasma etching had taken place. Edges of the chemical pattern showed a higher proportion of carbonyl component, indicating localized oxidization. Cells were found to attach well to plasma-treated regions, elongating along the length of the pattern edge. Conclusions: Surface chemical patterning can be achieved by direct-write using a plasma pen. These regions can be tuned to control cell attachment and elongation. Acknowledgements: We thank the College of Medicine, Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University for student scholarship support to carry out this project at Keele University.

Supporting the Transition from Medical Researcher to Medical Educator

Within forward-thinking medical schools in the USA, there exists a growing divergence away from the “traditional”medical school faculty member. The idea of the educator-scholar as well as recent advancements in educational pedagogy and scholarship has led to the accelerated evolution of the distribution of effort applied to the three-pillars of the medical school academician: service, scholarship, and teaching. A 2011 report by Coleman and Richard, in which 76 % (n= 98) of US medical schools responded (79 of those had clearly defined career tracks), indicated that 34 of the schools (43 %) offered an education track and 41 % of those were tenure tracks [1]. This is a recognition of the need for individuals dedicated to teaching to keep up with social media, asynchronous communication, and presentation technologies; individuals that exhibit little or no need for extramural support for scholarship, it is also driven by the continued increasing reliance on clinical revenue to fund school operations [2]. Overall, this trend has been advantageous, in that, it frees up more traditional (research-oriented) faculty members to pursue increasingly limited funding while also providing the best teaching for students. It can be concluded that trained, inspired, and dedicated education-scholars should be doing the bulk of a university’s teaching, freeing highly specialized bench researchers to pursue their interests conducting science and seeking extramural funds. A growing population of faculty members from traditional, research-focused faculty positions is beginning to gravitate towards more education-oriented careers. Causes for this are varied, going beyond the common scenario regarding the depletion of grant funding, although this issue remains a serious one. Budget cuts that affect the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other extramural funders have been devastating to the careers of many. It is well-reported that the NIH’s diminished budget for the 2013 fiscal year will halt many research efforts. The loss of $1.7 billion, mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011, came on top of several years of flat funding for the NIH. Data from the NIH, compiled by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology [3], demonstrate the full effect of these cuts:

English

The growth of electronic repositories (e-repositories) has been found remarkable in facilitating global open access to legal scholarship. Legal repositories are evolved as reference tool by the law schools to manage legal scholarship, working paper series, peer reviewed articles and other kinds of learning objects. These kinds of services; developed over a decade, improve the visibility and sustainability of scholarly produced literature, and help in winding information gaps between information rich and information poor researchers. The article traces the initiatives in support of open access to scholarly literature and examines how e-repositories improve communication access and bridges channels for legal scholarship. The article finds that certain primary crucial points like policy and standards, perceivable formats, accessibility and management of rights for digital materials, economic facts should be considered before implementing e-repositories. The study concludes that internationally there are number of initiatives supporting institutional and disciplinary repositories in support of legal scholarship, but lack in developing countries like India where no single law institution has approached the repository route of open access publishing. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.14429/djlit.34.6.6265

Five freshman women are among 173 students receiving record $590,000 in SEG scholarship support

When Shannon Castro was a child, the rocks and minerals around her were more than playthings. They were objects for her to discover and explore. Unlike many fads in her preteen years, the desire to collect and study rocks remained at the forefront of her passions. By the time she entered high school in Texas, she was itching to try her hand at the science that had fascinated her for so long.

Global Studies—The Handmaiden of Neoliberalism?

The field of global studies has gained momentum over the past 20 years and today occupies a significant presence within many universities. As a result, there is now a burgeoning array of institutional support for global studies scholarship. Perhaps not surprisingly, concurrent to such institution-building there has been a spate of essays engaged with the question ‘what is global studies?’ that have promoted lively debate and commentary. In this essay, I ask a rather different question which is ‘who gets to define global studies, and what is at stake in these kinds of delineating efforts?’ I argue that debate about global studies demands the inclusion of multiple voices and perspectives from around the world. I conclude by urging global studies scholars to be deliberately conscious of their taken-for-granted assumptions with respect to power and the related capacity to speak for others from the global south and east who are largely still absent in defining this new field of inquiry.

Government Factors Influencing an Expansion of Study Abroad in the Middle East/North Africa

Since the late 1950s, both the U.S. government and the general population have acknowledged an immediate need for a deepening of U.S. American knowledge of the people, languages, and culture of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Particularly in the fallout of the events of September 11, 2001, one means for U.S. undergraduates have expanded their understanding of this region has been through participation in Study Abroad (study abroad) programs. Despite the large amount of research on outcomes and educational approaches used in study abroad in general, there is little literature which addresses the relationship between national security concerns and study abroad in the MENA region. The purpose of this study is to examine the ways in which federal legislation has connected higher education to national security interests through provisions of federal funding for Area Studies and study abroad in less common destinations, and to discuss the influence of factors such as career motivations, scholarship support, and concern for U.S. national security on the decision to study abroad in the MENA region

Power and the 18th-Century Nobility

Ol'ga Glagoleva and Ingrid Shirle [Schierle], eds., Dvorianstvo, vlast' i obshchestvo v provintsial 'noi Rossii XVIII veka (Nobility, Power, and Society in 18th-Century Provincial Russia). 656 pp., indices. Moscow: Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie, 2012. ISBN-13 978-5867939748. N. N. Petrukhintsev and Lorents [Lorenz] Erren, eds., Praviashchie elity i dvorianstvo Rossii vo vremia i posle petrovskikh reform (1682-1750) (Ruling Elites and the Nobility in Russia during and after the Reforms of Peter the Great [1682-1750]). 455 pp., indices. Moscow: Rosspen, 2013. ISBN-13 978-5824317176. Although from the perspective of readers (and reviewers) single-author books always are easier to assimilate, evaluate, and critique, in post-Soviet Russia the production of monographic essay collections has become a mainstay of historical scholarship. These volumes can be difficult to digest--filled as they are with thematically broad and empirically narrow essays that often seem too brief or too long--but in this era of Russian intellectual ferment, they serve an important purpose. Essay collections make possible rapid dissemination of the voluminous research that is going on in Russia today, and they introduce to Russian and foreign publics the labors of scholars working in cities and towns across the Russian Federation. Time-consuming as it can be to work through hundreds of pages of disparate microstudies, there is simply no better way to become acquainted with the breadth of research and the explosion of information currently becoming available. Although such collections cry out for review by scholars who specialize in the specific areas covered, rather than by someone such as this reviewer who is broadly familiar with the period and issues at hand, there simply are not enough reviewers outside Russia to do justice to the massive amount of research being produced. Turning to the books under review, it also appears that the end of communist-era disdain for the governing classes of imperial Russia has led to a revival of interest in the history of elites, who now can be viewed through a more objective, nonideological lens formed out of the historian's natural empathy for his or her chosen subject. The collections discussed below represent stunning examples of the possibilities at hand, and both belong to a growing list of monographs sponsored by the German Historical Institute (DHI) in Moscow, which has set as its mission sustained support for Russian scholarship and for collaboration between Russian and foreign scholars. Praviashchie elity i dvorianstvo Rossii vo vremia i posle petrovskikh reform (1682-1750), edited by N. N. Petrukhintsev and Lorenz Erren, consists of 18 articles by 18 authors, including one of the editors. The articles are grouped into four sections devoted to (1) the nobility and the exercise of power (four contributions), (2) individual personalities within the elite (six contributions), (3) questions of collective soslovie consciousness (four contributions, among them my favorites), and (4) the relationship between local elites and the state (four contributions). All the articles address the broad subject of how the Russian elite should be defined--how its organization, power, and patterns of development should be understood, with special attention to the impact of the Petrine reforms. (1) Unfortunately, although the individual articles provide much fuel for thought and much information on sources, there is no general concluding essay that explains what it all means or how the different themes that have been covered interrelate. The individual essays are left to stand on their own legs, which they do quite well, but it is hard to know what the general scholar-reader should take away from the deluge of encyclopedic information. The articles in the first section, dealing with the structure of the nobility and its relationship to the monarchy and/or state power, cover a variety of traditional issues that need to be addressed in any discussion of the nobility as a ruling elite. …

The Effects of Scholarship Amount on Yield and Success for Master's Students in Education

The amount of merit-based scholarship support for graduate students in the United States has increased dramatically. Given this increased investment, does increasing the size of scholarships awarded to the most academically able admitted students substantially increase their probability of enrollment? We found no support for a positive answer to the question. Our study is unique in the literature in two important ways. First, the design randomly assigned admitted students to size of scholarship. Second, the size of scholarship varied from substantial ($10,000) to substantially larger ($18,500). The applicants in the study were the most academically able applicants to master's programs in a graduate school of education at an elite university. It may be that the difference between no scholarship support and some scholarship support (e.g., $10,000) might have a positive effect on yield. Natural variation data from the same site supported this conclusion. It may be that dramatically larger amounts of scholarship support would have a positive effect on yield as well (e.g., the full cost of tuition).

Literature as a Network: Creative-Writing Scholarship in Literary Magazines

With the increase in undergraduate and graduate programs for creative writing at institutions of higher education in North America, literary journals and magazines now serve as leading scholarly publishing outlets and research resources for creative-writing faculty and students. This study analyzes ten years of citations from nineteen leading print and digital literary journals to examine the publication frequencies of academically affiliated writers and the representative strength of such writers in various literary genres. Through the citation analysis, the study proposes that library support of scholarship for the discipline of creative writing in literary magazines can be achieved by promoting broader discovery and user access to literary magazines in library collections and revised collection development strategies to strengthen the representation of literary journals in academic library collections.

A model for orientation and mentoring of online adjunct faculty in nursing.

Nursing education programs frequently employ individuals with exten- sive expertise in their nursing specialty, but little or no teaching expe- rience, particularly in online instruction (Blodgett, 2008). The effective use of adjuncts provides universities with flexibility to staff courses according to variations in student enrollment, but to ensure quality of instruction, it is incumbent upon universities to provide adjuncts with a well-organized and reliable infrastructure, clearly identified performance expectations, consistent assessment methods, and effec- tive communication, support, and training (Adams & Dority, 2005). Faculty development, through formalized orientation and mentoring, is a means to ensure that adjunct faculty are held to the same standards as their full-time counterparts. Mentoring also has the potential to increase feelings of connectedness between faculty and the university.The development of models and programs to prepare and men- tor online adjunct faculty has not kept pace with the demand for this resource (Adams & Dority, 2005; Blodgett, 2008). This article provides a theoretical foundation for a model that can be used to orient and mentor online adjunct faculty.RoLe of adJunct facuLtY In hIGheR educatIonAdjunct faculty are instructional personnel contracted on a temporary basis to teach one course or more. Some adjuncts teach according to a semester-by-semester contract; some have their primary employment responsibilities tied to another employer; and some string multiple adjunct or temporary positions together to provide full-time teaching employment (Louziotis, 2000; Peters & Boylston, 2006).Adjunct employment can be very attractive to qualified individuals. Feldman and Turnley (2001) found that many adjuncts seek part-time teaching positions because of flexible scheduling and a desire to work with seasoned faculty. Adjunct faculty who are in late career stages tend to have a realistic grasp of the advantages of part-time employ- ment, are more satisfied with their part-time jobs, and are more willing to voluntarily engage in university service.There are concerns about teaching quality when adjuncts are employed (Liouziotis, 2000). Because adjunct faculty frequently have little advance notice about their assigned course(s), they may be inade- quately prepared to teach the content (Thompson, 2003). Students are short-changed if adjunct faculty are not prepared to convey the theo- retical foundations for practice.Townsend (2003) proposes that when adjunct faculty encounter low salaries and conflicts with their full-time employment responsibilities, they risk becoming less attentive to their teaching responsibilities. Further, their commitment to students and the university can be dimin- ished by lack of job security, advancement opportunities, professional educational development, or adequate support for teaching, scholarship, and service (Feldman & Turnley, 2001; Thompson, 2003; Townsend).The onLIne adJunct facuLtY mentoRInG modeL (oafmm)This model involves a comprehensive orientation followed by pairing experienced full-time faculty mentors with adjunct faculty who have similar course assignments. An online adjunct faculty coordinator (AFC) directs each step of the process, conducting an initial three- week orientation and working with assigned mentors. The model is supported by Bandura's social cognitive theory (1997), which is pred- icated on the concept of self-efficacy, or the belief in one's ability to engage in a particular behavior. Unless people believe they can pro- duce desired effects by their actions, they have little incentive to act.Role DefinitionA clear definition of job responsibilities and expectations is the first step toward mastery for adjunct faculty. Role clarity leads to increased productivity and satisfaction as well as enhanced professional relation- ships within the organization (Feldman & Turnley, 2001). …

Review: Giovan Antonio Dosio da San Gimignano: Architetto e scultor fiorentino tra Roma, Firenze e Napoli, by Emanuele Barletti, ed.

Emanuele Barletti, ed. Giovan Antonio Dosio da San Gimignano: Architetto e scultor fiorentino tra Roma, Firenze e Napoli Florence: Edifir, 2011, 850 pp., 356 b/w and 256 color illus. €98, ISBN 9788879703505 Scholars of sixteenth-century Italian art tend to associate Giovanni Antonio Dosio above all with his drawings, from the celebrated vedute published in Bernardo Gamucci’s 1565 guidebook Le antichita di Roma to the collections at the Uffizi published by Franco Borsi in 1976. Yet early modern accounts indicate that Dosio was also involved in a variety of design ventures. Gamucci, praising him for the extraordinary archaeological discovery of the Forma Urbis Romae in 1562, described him as a “virtuous youth, an architect, and an antiquarian of great promise” (“giovane virtuoso, architetto e antiquario di non poca espettatione”). In 1584 Dosio’s first biographer, Raffaello Borghini, attributed numerous sculptures to him, along with the restoration of antiquities, the execution of stucco decorations, and the design of “many buildings.” The impressive volume under consideration here, published to coincide with the newly documented anniversary of Dosio’s death at Caserta in 1611, surveys the full scope of his ambitious undertakings across a broad range of media. The ongoing support of scholarship on the history of art and architecture by Italian financial institutions explains the appearance of this lavish tome at a time when many publishers have been compelled to cut back. If the promotion of Dosio as a self-styled “scultor fiorentino” by the Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze suggests a certain campanilismo , the resulting publication is nonetheless noteworthy as much for its academic rigor as for its opulence. This monograph, which unites the latest scholarship with the comprehensive documentation of known works and images of unprecedented professional quality, will be sure to expand our understanding of Dosio’s interests and abilities. Perhaps the most immediate impression the book conveys—beginning with the radiant interior of the Niccolini chapel at Santa Croce that decorates the front cover of the dust jacket—is that Dosio delighted in polychromy. Many …