1,720,996 research outputs found
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
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
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Novice Principals’ Views of Instructional Leadership and Organizational Improvement: Two Case Studies
Get PDFRecently, researchers and policymakers have been calling on principal preparation programs to equip prospective leaders with education and training in effective instructional leadership practices as well as in school improvement strategies (Grossman, 2011; Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, & Wahlstrom, 2004; The Wallace Foundation, 2009). Kellar and Slayton’s (2013) and Martinez-Kellar’s (2012) review of the historical progression of school leadership studies identified a transition from a concern with leadership effects on schools (often examined through a quantitative framework) to a concern with the psychological and organizational dimensions of leading people in an organizational context. Martinez-Kellar’s (2012) case study of two high school principals indicated that high leader self-efficacy interacted with mental models to foster conditions to promote organizational improvement. The purpose of the current study was to explore two new elementary principals’ views of instructional leadership (including possible tensions between evaluation and supervision) as well as views of their roles to facilitate organizational improvement in low-performing schools. Principal interviews were semi-structured, and following the lead of earlier research (Kellar & Slayton, 2013), focused on the conditions/ability new principals believed were important for organizational improvement. Data collection also included two teacher interviews from each site, district and site documentation, and site walkthroughs with each principal. Case descriptions were constructed examining the organizational setting and principal perspectives on instructional leadership and organizational improvement using the conceptual framework guiding the study
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An Exploratory Study of the Perspectives of Teachers on the Unionization of One Charter Management Organization
Get PDFThis dissertation was an exploratory study of the perspectives of teachers who were knowledgeable about the effort to unionize one charter management organization (CMO) within the larger Chicago metropolitan area. Current trends in charter schools indicate high turnover amongst teachers, with contributing factors including workload (longer school days and school years), as well as a fast-paced culture of high expectations within the schools. An increasing number of charter schools nationally have unions. Organizing efforts have occurred in major U.S. cities, such as Chicago, Philadelphia, and Sacramento (Loewus, 2017). The primary source of data for this study were interviews conducted with six teachers who had been teaching for more than seven years and were knowledgeable about, and active in, the effort to organize teachers within a three-school charter management organization (CMO). All of the teachers had spent the majority of their careers in primarily Black, majority low-income schools. The interviews were conducted in Summer 2017, at the close of the academic year following a vote for union representation (2014-2015). Secondary sources of data included state collected school performance data and the documents related to collective bargaining were examined. The findings of this study reveal similarities in teachers' views with respect to reasons for unionization. The results were discussed in light of previous research and implications for practice, including a focus on the tension between structure and flexibility
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Social Learning Theory and the Use of Instructional Videos in Three Alternative High Schools
Get PDFABSTRACTSocial Learning Theory and the Use of Instructional Videos in Three Alternative High Schoolsby Stephen G. RotondoThis study aimed to discover teacher views and opinions regarding the use of instructional videos in alternative high schools. The literature traces Social Learning Theory from Vygotsky and Piaget to Bandura and then discusses self-efficacy. The study highlights three building blocks of Social Learning Theory: collaboration, modeling, and observation.The study used purposeful sampling to identify eight teachers from primarily three different alternative high schools as the participants. The first high school used a military cohort model where male and female students are separated, students live on the premises, and there is limited external contact with family and friends. The other two high schools were based on a traditional school format, were coed, students did not live on the premises, and, outside of the classroom, students were allowed external contact with family and friends.The study collected data from pre-interview questionnaires, open-ended interviews, quantitative analysis of the transcripts using key words and acceptable alternatives, and four classroom observations.Teachers viewed their use of instructional videos as promoting learning in a few different ways. Instructional videos served to complement existing lessons, enhance and act as an aid to serve more visual learners and support group collaboration and group projects.Teachers viewed instructional video as facilitating learning by providing a link to real-time events and current life experiences. Instructional video addressed multiple dimensions of learning and is a familiar source of information for today's young generation.Teachers viewed affordances to their use of instructional videos as including district support for equipment, teacher training and access to data. Constraints reported included lack of equipment, inadequate online digital information access and differences in perceived teaching philosophies. An important factor in affordances and constraints was the academic climate of the individual school settings.Teachers viewed the use of instructional videos for encouraging construction of knowledge by providing a readily accessible foundation for collaboration and application of critical thinking skills. Interactive learning activities including online video-based exercises and student-generated video productions are examples
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An Exploration of Teachers Views of Evaluation in a Choice Based System
Get PDFABSTRACTAn Exploration of Teachers' Views of Evaluation in a Choice-Based SystembyLaura Wellington The educational landscape is changing and along with the changes is the reform and accountability system of teacher evaluations. As of late, teachers have come under scrutiny for their practice and professionalism in the classroom and many believe we need to hold teachers to higher standards. To that end, recent reforms have been put in place to allow for greater focus and accountability such as the development of new professional standards for teachers. Professional teaching standards developed in California are designed to provide teachers with guiding principles for improved practice and provisions, as well as drive criteria for teacher evaluations. Along with a standards-based evaluation system, many local California districts are offering teachers on cycle and in good standing a choice-based method of evaluation. It is unclear what teachers' reactions to these systems have been, in particular, whether they feel the choice-based evaluation system allows for more meaningful feedback and insight into their strengths and areas of development as a professional educator. With the permission of the superintendent and a district assistant superintendent, five teachers were interviewed in a medium-sized suburban unified school district in California in order to gain a greater perspective into their opinions of the choice-based system of evaluation. With regards to types of evaluation experienced, two teachers emphasized three evaluation choices (peer, portfolio, and administrator) in their interviews; three others generally emphasized evaluation by an administrator. A district assistant superintendent was also interviewed, providing background about the choice-based teacher evaluation system in the district, as well as insight into the overarching practice and protocol of the choice-based system in this particular district. Findings highlighted similarities and differences across the cases. For example, teachers tended to agree that it was best to maintain a choice-based system versus the traditional administrative model. In addition, teachers understood and had a clear vision of the choice-based teacher evaluation process. At times, among teachers who did not select the peer or portfolio option themselves, they nonetheless stressed the advantages of those options. Teachers had varied ideas of what might be helpful in making teacher evaluations in general more effective
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Expanding the Known World: Routines that Influence International Student Integration
Get PDFThis dissertation presents three related studies examining institutional routines and their impact on international students at a large public university. The studies consider factors which can influence international students’ ability to overcome acculturative stress and integrate with a sense of belonging and safety.The case study in Chapter Two focuses on an international student services office within the large public university. The ways in which organizational routines have changed are interpreted here in response to a surging international student population and changing Federal policies regarding immigration. Feldman’s generative model of organizational routines encourages the examination of routines as areas of growth. The chapter examines routinized actions used by the international office (OISS), specifically focusing on Feldman’s performative model. In addition to routinized action theory, this chapter proposes applying anxiety/uncertainty management theory (AUM) to the evaluation of organizational routines. Examination of routines is placed in the context of a conceptual overview based on literature about routines as sources of stability and change. Reducing uncertainty, expanding networks, and communicating expectations may lay the groundwork for an integrated student body, reduced acculturative stress for international students, and increased social capital.Chapter Three explores the question: How do international students in the U.S. use social network sites (SNS)? Connections made through home-country SNS lessen student stress by maintaining establish social supports. At the same time, anxiety/uncertainty management theory (AUM) suggests reliance on familiar home-country SNS reduces motivation to integrate in the host country. This conceptual overview draws upon several recent studies to consider the ways college students use social media, how international students adapt to host-country networks (or not), and the potential for SNSs to be an effective communication channel for the host institution, with special consideration for its potential and limitations for emergency communications. A proposal to develop a SNS-based structured arrival program is included.Chapter Four addresses institutional communications and international student response at the large public university during a natural disaster. Literature on disaster preparedness and emergency communications on college campuses rarely considers the needs of the international student population. How can the campus better support international students during a large-scale emergency? A post-incident survey examines student perceptions of the event and the institutional response to the disaster.The final chapter considers issues raised by within these studies, limitations, and possibilities for future research. Because these chapters examine routines and processes initiated in part to comply with Federal immigration policy, using rapidly changing technologies that are also subject to constraint by governmental policies, the future offers ample opportunities for further exploration
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A Middle School Newcomer Program: Teachers' Experiences
Get PDFABSTRACTTeachers’ Perceptions of a Newcomer ProgrambyMaria Cristina Saucedo The United States is a nation of immigrants and it continues to receive an influx of families, including school age children. Many school districts have developed programs to meet the language, academic, and social needs of these students and capitalize on students' rich and cultural resources. Research is accumulating on school practices that facilitate opportunities to learn and/or receive English language acquisition, literacy, content mastery, cultural adjustments and social emotional support (Hersi & Watkins, 2012). This study utilized a qualitative case study approach to explore teachers' views of (a) their experiences in a newcomer program and (b) supports and professional development they have received in one southern California urban district with a sizable influx of immigrant families. An effort was made to understand teachers' experiences of the Program particularly in relation to programmatic change. Following a 2017 pilot study, four teachers who were active in the Newcomer Program were interviewed in 2018. In addition, the researcher served as participant observer in the Program for several years. Case studies were developed for each teacher, and themes were highlighted across cases. Similarities were revealed among the teachers with regards to background, perceptions of program facilitators, perceptions of school's response to diversity, and professional development. Implications are discussed
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