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Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Impact of non-academic factors on students' persistence in community colleges: Nuturing an academic resiliency perspective
No full textCommunity colleges continue to support the mission of open access by offering open enrollment to nearly half of all undergraduates in the United States (American Association of Community Colleges, 2013). In addition to ensuring open access for our country’s undergraduates, community college leaders are challenged with retaining students to completion. The National Center for Education Statistics (2012) reported only a 40% average retention rate for first-time, full-time undergraduates in two-year institutions (entry years 2008-2011).
In response to President Obama’s Completion Agenda, directed to educate an additional five million students with degrees, certificates, or other credentials by 2020 (AACC, 2012), community college leaders are seeking ways to increase retention rates and remediate the problem of lack of students’ persistence. Persistence is referred to as continuation and reflects the length of time a student remains enrolled in a higher-education program over a period of time (Brown, Tramayne, Hoxha, Telander, Fan, & Lent, 2008). Persistence is a student characteristic that has not been extensively studied in community colleges.
The focus for this research was to examine and analyze the problem of students’ lack of persistence through the lens of academic resiliency. Academic resiliency is defined as a student's capacity to overcome acute or chronic adversities that serve as barriers to the educational process (Martin & Marsh, 2009, p. 353). Breaking down the barriers to completion involves supporting both academic and non-academic student preparedness.
Despite the fact that community college leaders mandate placement tests to assess academic abilities of incoming students and provide developmental courses to academically prepare students for college-level coursework, community college leaders currently lack the expertise to address students’ non-academic preparedness. This research was dedicated to identifying: 1) significant non-academic factors that have been proven to positively impact community college students’ persistence; 2) appropriate inventories for assessing non-academic factors; and 3) effective support service strategies to improve students’ persistence and nurture students’ academic resiliency.
A systematic review of the literature examined the nature of the problem of students’ lack of persistence in academic institutions in the U.S. and abroad. An evidenced-based analysis of the literature identified the following significant non-academic factors positively contributing to students’ persistence: self-efficacy, social competency, emotional competency, achievement motivation, and leadership development. Additionally, these non-academic factors further served as critical measurement variables for selecting appropriate academic resiliency inventories. Based on the results of academic resiliency assessments, effective personnel behaviors, classroom and learning strategies, advisement protocols, and leadership support necessary to positively impact community college students’ persistence were also revealed through the analysis of the literature.
The Theory of Identity Development (Chickering,1969) served as the theoretical construct for this research and provided meaningful perspectives on student development and student characteristics that be influenced by an institution. This research contributed to a new understanding of academic resiliency characteristics that have been proven to positively impact students’ persistence and success. Furthermore, a management model was developed for implementing an institutional process for assessing, supporting, and nurturing an academic resiliency perspective in community colleges.IMPACT OF NON-ACADEMIC FACTORS ON STUDENTS’ PERSISTENCE
IMPACT OF NON-ACADEMIC FACTORS ON STUDENTS’ PERSISTENCE IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES:
NUTURING AN ACADEMIC RESILIENCY PERSPECTIVE
Marcia T. Bermel
A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty
of
University of Maryland University College
in Partial Fulfillment of
The Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Management
Jing Luan, Ph.D.
Patricia Keir, Ph.D.
August 21, 2014IMPACT OF NON-ACADEMIC FACTORS ON STUDENTS’ PERSISTENCE i
Abstract
Community colleges continue to support the mission of open access by offering open enrollment to nearly half of all undergraduates in the United States (American Association of Community Colleges, 2013). In addition to ensuring open access for our country’s undergraduates, community college leaders are challenged with retaining students to completion. The National Center for Education Statistics (2012) reported only a 40% average retention rate for first-time, full-time undergraduates in two-year institutions (entry years 2008-2011).
In response to President Obama’s Completion Agenda, directed to educate an additional five million students with degrees, certificates, or other credentials by 2020 (AACC, 2012), community college leaders are seeking ways to increase retention rates and remediate the problem of lack of students’ persistence. Persistence is referred to as continuation and reflects the length of time a student remains enrolled in a higher-education program over a period of time (Brown, Tramayne, Hoxha, Telander, Fan, & Lent, 2008). Persistence is a student characteristic that has not been extensively studied in community colleges.
The focus for this research was to examine and analyze the problem of students’ lack of persistence through the lens of academic resiliency. Academic resiliency is defined as a student's capacity to overcome acute or chronic adversities that serve as barriers to the educational process (Martin & Marsh, 2009, p. 353). Breaking down the barriers to completion involves supporting both academic and non-academic student preparedness.
Despite the fact that community college leaders mandate placement tests to assess academic abilities of incoming students and provide developmental courses to academically prepare students for college-level coursework, community college leaders currently lack the expertise to address students’ non-academic preparedness. This research was dedicated to identifying: 1) significant non-academic factors that have been proven to positively impact IMPACT OF NON-ACADEMIC FACTORS ON STUDENTS’ PERSISTENCE ii
community college students’ persistence; 2) appropriate inventories for assessing non-academic factors; and 3) effective support service strategies to improve students’ persistence and nurture students’ academic resiliency.
A systematic review of the literature examined the nature of the problem of students’ lack of persistence in academic institutions in the U.S. and abroad. An evidenced-based analysis of the literature identified the following significant non-academic factors positively contributing to students’ persistence: self-efficacy, social competency, emotional competency, achievement motivation, and leadership development. Additionally, these non-academic factors further served as critical measurement variables for selecting appropriate academic resiliency inventories. Based on the results of academic resiliency assessments, effective personnel behaviors, classroom and learning strategies, advisement protocols, and leadership support necessary to positively impact community college students’ persistence were also revealed through the analysis of the literature.
The Theory of Identity Development (Chickering,1969) served as the theoretical construct for this research and provided meaningful perspectives on student development and student characteristics that be influenced by an institution. This research contributed to a new understanding of academic resiliency characteristics that have been proven to positively impact students’ persistence and success. Furthermore, a management model was developed for implementing an institutional process for assessing, supporting, and nurturing an academic resiliency perspective in community colleges.
Key words: academic resiliency, persistence, community college students, non-academic factors, assessment, intervention.
IMPACT OF NON-ACADEMIC FACTORS ON STUDENTS’ PERSISTENCE iii
Dedication
This research is dedicated to my loving husband Brian who demonstrated countless endearing ways of support during my doctoral work. His support began from the moment I decided that I was passionate about the Community College Policy and Administration Doctorate of Management Program until the last key stroke of this dissertation. In essence, Brian was my cornerstone of support upon which this research was completed.
This dissertation is also dedicated to my two amazing sons, Philip (age 26) and Russell (age 28). In 2010, just two weeks after completing his first marathon, Philip taught our family the real meaning of persistence and perseverance as he recovered from injuries after being hit by a car while riding his bicycle. His persistence to gain his life back again and enjoy the gifts of recovery empowered each of us in our family to reach for our highest stars and to retain perspectives in all things big and small in our individual lives. Philip’s “can do” spirit coupled with his genuine concern for my research progress served as an essential support mechanism for achieving significant mile-markers during my doctoral journey.
Philip’s older brother, Russell, is the stronghold of our family in times of crisis. At the time of Philip’s accident, Russell was at Philip’s side making critical medical decisions for his brother when distance and time prevented Brian and me from being with Philip. Russell’s critical thinking and resolve served to model the types of attributes needed to complete my doctoral journey.
In order to understand the significance of my doctoral journey, I must reflect upon where I began. Therefore, I would like to also dedicate this research, in loving memory, to my parents Albert J. Rosso M.D. and Joan D. Rosso Ph.D. During my childhood, I was privileged to receive the love and support necessary to render all dreams as possible and attainable. My parents lived IMPACT OF NON-ACADEMIC FACTORS ON STUDENTS’ PERSISTENCE iv
their lives in pursuit of sharing their love for family as well as their love for learning. After raising eight children, at age 58, my mother’s love for learning culminated in her completion of a Ph.D. degree.
In addition to sharing the importance of family and learning, my mother shared words of wisdom with each of her six daughters as we approached our teenage years: “always keep a center of self.” Unsure of what exactly that meant at such a young age, I certainly have discovered its meaning in my adult life. My “center of self” is grounded by my faith in God and service to others. This research has been an extension of my service to community college students by identifying the necessary skills, assessments, and support services to positively impact students’ persistence and success. I do believe that God brought me to this doctoral journey and that my faith guided the passage to completion.
IMPACT OF NON-ACADEMIC FACTORS ON STUDENTS’ PERSISTENCE v
Acknowledgments
I would like to acknowledge Dr. Patricia Keir for her outstanding leadership of the Doctorate of Management Community College Policy and Administration (DMCCPA) Program at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC). Dr. Keir’s passion for life-long learning and enthusiasm for student success, at all academic levels, has been a compelling attribute of this program. She has supported me in her varied roles as program advisor, mentor, and professor.
Special recognition is in order for Dr. Jing Luan who has served as my primary dissertation advisor. Dr. Luan recognized and believed that I most wholeheartedly lived my passion for supporting community college students’ persistence through my own personal sustained efforts and perseverance to complete this research. Additionally, I would also like to recognize all DMCCPA faculty members for their dedication to the unique mission of the Doctorate of Management program. Finally, recognition must be given to Susan M. McMaster, D.M. whose contagious smile and willingness to guide the final revisions of this dissertation culminated in a type of “angelic” support at a critical momentum point near the end of my dissertation journey.
IMPACT OF NON-ACADEMIC FACTORS ON STUDENTS’ PERSISTENCE vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………….1 Background..…………….……………………………………………….……………..1
Problem Statement..…………………………...………………………..........................6
Significance of the Problem...………………………………………………..................6
Statement of Purpose...…………………………………………………………............8
Theoretical Context……...……………………………………………………………...9
Research Questions…………………………………………………….……................11
Definitions of Terms.…………………………………………………………..............12
Summary.………………………………………………………………………............14
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY...…………………………………………………………. 16
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….16
Systematic Review Methodology………….…………………….…………………….17
Distinct Features of the Systematic Review.………………..………………………...18
Data Retrieval Process..… ……………………………………………………19
Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria………………………………………………......31
Critical Appraisal...…………………………………………………………....32
Synthesis of Findings……………………………………………………..........33
Expert Panel……………………………………………………………………………………34
IMPACT OF NON-ACADEMIC FACTORS ON STUDENTS’ PERSISTENCE vii
CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL MODEL……………......39 Introduction.....………………………………………………………………………...39
Systematic Review of Relevant Literature………….…….………………………….41
Conceptual Model………………………………………………………………….......56
Limitations in the Literature………………………………………………………….58
Summary of Key Findings…………………………………………………………….60
CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS………………………………………………..63 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………63
Critical Analysis of the Literature Review..…………….…………………………....65
Feedback from Expert Panel..………………………………………………………...95
Discussion of Findings.……………….………………………………………………103
Discussion of Unanticipated Findings.………………………………………………120
Discussion of Limitations of the Research..…………………………………………121
Summary of Key Findings..…………………………………………………………..121
CHAPTER 5: IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE..……………………………….............123
Introduction..………………………………………………………………………….123
Implications of Findings...….…………………………………………………………124
Identification of Gaps in the Research……….………………………………………131
Significance of the Study...……………………………………………………………132
Conclusion..…………………………………………………………………………....133
References……………………………………………………………………………...136
IMPACT OF NON-ACADEMIC FACTORS ON STUDENTS’ PERSISTENCE viii
List of Tables
TABLES
Data Retrieval Process
2.1 Preliminary Search of the Topic Academic Success and Higher Education……21
2.2 Academic Resiliency and Emotional Intelligence Related to Academic Achievement………………………………………………………………...…..22
2.3 Investigation of Theoretical Frameworks for Supporting Student Success....…..23 2.4 Student Adversity and Resiliency…………….………………………………….25
2.5 Identification of Academic Resiliency Factors Contributing to Students’ Academic Persistence……………………………………………………………26
2.6 Prominent Contributions to the Field of Academic Resiliency and Emotional Intelligence Related to Academic Success………………………………………27
2.7 Academic Resiliency and Emotional Intelligence Metrics/Inventories.…………28
2.8 Management and Student Success……………………………………………....29
2.9 Updated Peer-Reviewed Literature Search (2008 through 2014)……………….30
Expert Panelists
2.10 Panel of Subject-Experts.………………………………………………………..34
Systematic Review of the Literature
3.1 Significant Non-Academic Factors Affecting Students’ Academic Resiliency....47
3.2 Summary of Inventories and Measurement Variables...…………………………49
3.3 Summary of Support Service Strategies to Enhance Students’ Academic Resiliency…………………………………………………………………52
Theoretical Context
3.4 Seven Vectors of Identity Development (Chickering, 1969):
Academic Resiliency Framework.……………………………………………….61
IMPACT OF NON-ACADEMIC FACTORS ON STUDENTS’ PERSISTENCE ix
Critical Analysis of the Literature Review
4.1 Identification of Non-Academic Factors Positively Impacting Students’ Persistence...……………………………………………………………………...65
4.2 Inventories for Assessing Academic Resiliency...……………………………….78
4.3 Support Service Strategies to Improve Students’ Persistence …………………..87
Expert Panelists Feedback
4.4 Summary of Subject-Expert Feedback …………………………………………97
Findings
4.5 Alignment of the Challenges Students’ Encounter in the Community College Experience, Significant Non-Academic Factors, and Characteristics of Academic Resilient Students...…………………………………………………104
4.6 A Comparison of Measurement Variables and the Quality of Methodology......106
4.7 Summary of Selected Inventories:
Measurement of Psycho-Social Variables.....…………………………………..108
4.8 Summary of Selected Inventories: Measurement of Socio-Emotional Variables…………………………………...109
4.9 Summary of Selected Inventories:
Measurement of Motivational Variables……………………………………….109
4.10 Comparison of Inventories for the Assessment of Academic Resiliency….…..112
IMPACT OF NON-ACADEMIC FACTORS ON STUDENTS’ PERSISTENCE x
List of Figures
FIGURE
1 Conceptual Model………………………………………………………………..57
2 Suggested agendas for each team serving on an Academic Resiliency
Assessment Task Force...………………………………………………………125
3 Suggested agendas for each team serving on a Professional Development Task Force………………………………………………………………………128
4 Suggested agendas for each team serving on the Task Force for Nurturing Students’ Academic Resiliency………………………………………………...129
IMPACT OF NON-ACADEMIC FACTORS ON STUDENTS’ PERSISTENCE 1
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
Community colleges attract nearly half of all United States undergraduates by offering open enrollment, low cost tuition, and occupational and transfer programs that demand knowledge and skills training (American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), 2013). As reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2012) employment occupations that generally require an associate degree will grow by more than 17% between 2012 and 2022. Community colleges must meet the growing occupational demands for community college graduates.
A report from the 21st Century Commission on the Future of Community Colleges entitled “Reclaiming the American Dream: Community Colleges and the Nation’s Future” identifies the framework promoting the critical shift in focus from merely student access to both student access and student success (AACC, 2012). Shifting the community college mission from a promise of “open access” to a promise of “open access and success” will require providing the support necessary for student success; “open access without student support is an empty promise” (p. ix).
Ensuring student success is an overarching goal that requires a fundamental understanding of “who” community colleges are serving and “how” they can predict and promote students’ persistence to completion. As of fall 2011, the average community college student was 28 years old and 60% of community college students across the United States were over the age of 21 (AACC, 2013). Compared to previous generations, community college students today are not only older but the majority of students are employed. According to Perna IMPACT OF NON-ACADEMIC FACTORS ON STUDENTS’ PERSISTENCE 2
(2010, p.44), “Working students comprise 80% of the community college student population.” These students newly identified with the distinction “adult workers as undergraduates take longer to gain a degree. Twenty-percent of first-time, full-time undergraduate students, who began their pursuit of a two-year associate’s degree in fall 2008 took three years to complete their degrees (U.S. Department of Education, 2013a). Struggling to balance personal responsibilities, such as “having dependents as well as a spouse, and finding financial support for college more problematic” (O’Donell, 2007, p. 29), with academic demands a greater percentage of undergraduates (25 years and older) at two- year institutions enroll part-time, lengthening their time to completion. In 2011, 48% of undergraduates at 2 year institutions (25 years or older) were enrolled part-time as compared to 39% (25 years or older) enrolled full-time (U.S Department of Education, 2014).
Furthermore, future trends for students attending college part-time are predicted to increase faster than undergraduate full-time enrollment trends. “Between 2011 and 2021, part-time undergraduate enrollment is projected to increase by 15%; from 6.7 to 7.7 million students, whereas full-time undergraduate enrollment is projected to increase by only 11%; an increase from 11.4 to 12.6 million students.” (U.S. Department of Education, 2011, p. 2) Community college leaders are charged with increasing students’ persistence to completion in light of the reality that students will take longer to complete. Now that we understand who community colleges are serving, understanding how community colleges can predict and promote students’ persistence is critical.
College Outcome Predictors
Predicting college outcomes at the outset of a student’s college career is one way to proactively identify, assess, and provide needed support for students. Research involving IMPACT OF NON-ACADEMIC FACTORS ON STUDENTS’ PERSISTENCE 3
predictors of college outcomes reveals new insight into the differences between traditional and non-traditional predictors of college outcomes (Allen, Robbins, & Sawyer, 2010). Traditional predictors of college outcomes such as demographic and academic entry characteristics including age, ethnicity, gender, first-generation status, high school GPA, ACT scores, and financial-aid eligibility lack evidence for impacting student continuation (Heaney & Fisher, 2011; Koma
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
Author Under Sail The Imagination of Jack London, 1893-1902
No full textIn Author Under Sail, Jay Williams offers the first complete literary biography of Jack London as a professional writer engaged in the labor of writing. It examines the authorial imagination in London's work, the use of imagination in both his fiction and nonfiction, and the ways he defined imagination in the creative process in his business dealings with his publishers, editors, and agents. In this first volume of a two-volume biography, Williams traverses the years 1893 to 1902, from London's "Story of a Typhoon" to The People of the Abyss. The Jack London who emerges in the pages of Author Under Sail is a writer whose partnership with publishers, most notably his productive alliance with George Brett of Macmillan, was one of the most formative in American literary history. London pioneered many author models during the heyday of realism and naturalism, blurring the boundaries of these popular genres by focusing on absorption and theatricality and the representation of the seen and unseen. London created an impassioned, sincere, and extremely personal realism unlike that of other American writers of the time. Author Under Sail is a literary tour de force that reveals the full range of London as writer, creative citizen, and entrepreneur at the same time it sheds light on the maverick side of machine-age literature.Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Spirit Truth -- 2. From Absorption to Theatricality and Back Again -- 3. "I Will Build a New Present" -- 4. Sons as Authors -- 5. Fathers as Publishers -- 6. The Daughter as Author -- 7. Lovers as Authors -- 8. At Sea with the Family -- 9. Yellow News, Yellow Stories -- 10. The Return Home -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- About Jay WilliamsIn Author Under Sail, Jay Williams offers the first complete literary biography of Jack London as a professional writer engaged in the labor of writing. It examines the authorial imagination in London's work, the use of imagination in both his fiction and nonfiction, and the ways he defined imagination in the creative process in his business dealings with his publishers, editors, and agents. In this first volume of a two-volume biography, Williams traverses the years 1893 to 1902, from London's "Story of a Typhoon" to The People of the Abyss. The Jack London who emerges in the pages of Author Under Sail is a writer whose partnership with publishers, most notably his productive alliance with George Brett of Macmillan, was one of the most formative in American literary history. London pioneered many author models during the heyday of realism and naturalism, blurring the boundaries of these popular genres by focusing on absorption and theatricality and the representation of the seen and unseen. London created an impassioned, sincere, and extremely personal realism unlike that of other American writers of the time. Author Under Sail is a literary tour de force that reveals the full range of London as writer, creative citizen, and entrepreneur at the same time it sheds light on the maverick side of machine-age literature.Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, YYYY. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries
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