ALBERT

Notes: Summary Imagination can be seen 1) as a mental faculty common to all people to some degree and 2) as an important principle in literary theory. We must think of imagination not as a simple power but a complex series of processes, involving the impression-idea-relationship and memory. The data derived thus are still bound to their epistemological context, and only imagination provides the possibility to transcend the space-time-determination and the cause-effect-relationship, so that it allows a freer display of the sense-data. This structural and functional analysis of imagination tries to show its immense importance in everyday-life as well as in literary production and reception.

Notes: Zusammenfassung Es werden die Veränderungen der Wissenschaftssprache der Physik untersucht, die durch den Übergang von der klassisch-relativistischen Physik zur Quantenphysik erfolgt sind. Die neuen und prinzipiellen Beschränkungen der Möglichkeiten der Überprüfung wissenschaftlicher Aussagen führen zu Reduktionen der hypothetischen Annahmen, die der Sprache der klassischen Physik zu Grunde liegen. Diese Reduktionen haben ihrerseits Abschwächungen der syntaktischen Strukturen zur Folge, die besonders in der formalen Logik und der Modallogik deutlich werden. Diese auf (gegenüber der klassisch-physikalischen Sprache) schwächeren Prämissen basierenden Strukturen sind die Quanten-Logik und die Quanten-Modallogik, die damit auch einen weiteren Geltungsbereich besitzen als die entsprechenden klassischen formalen Systeme.

Notes: Summary As a logical consequence of recent developments in the philosophy of science the concept of rationality has lost much of its impact. It seems that the rationality of methodological decisions in science can be defined no longer in an absolute sense but only in relation to a given context and in hindsight. This failure of methodology in assessing once and for all the rights and wrongs of scientific decisions is taken as a clue for reanalyzing the strategical intervention-points of methodological norms. It is shown that relativism and irrationalism are to be avoided by not cutting the process of scientific investigation into intrinsically different portions: context of justification and context of discovery. This dichotomy opens a logical and psychological gap between different stages of scientific evolution that the idea of comparing factual contents or degrees of justification is no longer able to bridge. In two case studies, the development of modern science in the 16th and 17th centuries and the development of special and general realtivity it is shown that the dichotomy is inherently implausibel. But if it is possible to analyze the context of justification (criticism) and the context of discovery in same terms, the logical (and psychological) chain of reasoning is closed. This problem-shift defies both irrationalism and relativism and leads to a different view of scientific progress as an increase of information-processing capacity that can be measured by a certain set of indicators radically different from the received one.

Notes: Zusammenfassung In Sachen Funktionalanalyse befaßte man sich in der allgemeinen Wissenschaftstheorie anfänglich überwiegend mit der Logik funktionaler Erklärungen. Diese bedarf einer Ergänzung durch eine Semantik der Funktionalanalyse. Nach einer einleitenden Erörterung einiger Schwachpunkte und Grenzen der klassischen Literatur zur Logik der Funktionalanalyse wird eine Wortfeldanalyse von ‘Funktion’ und ‘System’ sowie eine phänomenologische Beschreibung der Wirkungsweise von Motiven angeboten. Im Unterschied zu Zielen, die man nur Entitäten zuschreibt, die als selbständig angesehen werden, spricht man (in nichtmetaphorischer Weise) Funktionen nur Entitäten zu, die als nichtselbständig angesehen werden, die jedoch mit ihrer Funktion bezogen sind auf eine solche zielorientierte selbständige Entität.

Notes: Summary Attempts to justify statements or norms lead into the well-known trilemma infinite regress, circular reasoning, dogmatism. Apel's transformed transcendental philosophy is to avoid this problem. A recent version of it is examined. It admits fallibilism to be valid with empirical hypotheses but claims it to be contradictory if applied to philosophical theses on conditions of the possibility of knowledge and argumentation. This claim is refuted. The proposed “final justification” is to start not with what is certain but with doubt. Reflection on the conditions of the possibility of meaningful doubting is to show a borderline beyond which undoubtable certainties are to be found. Such certainties are the rules of argumentation. Whoever utters “The rules of argumentation are not valid in my case” is said to make a necessarily false statement. This line of argument is even carried over to the justification of absolutely binding metanorms of a normative ethics of communication. The whole procedure of “final justification” is shown to be faulty.

Notes: Summary A successor relation between theories T und T1 expresses that T1, the successor of T, has justifiably superseded T. In physics, for instance, Newton's theory of gravitation has superseded Kepler's laws and, in turn, Einstein's theory has become the successor of Newton's. By now there is no agreement on how a general concept of successor relation would have to be construed. In the present paper attention is drawn to two types of such relations, one deductive the other confirmatory. It seems that what most people are looking for is the deductive type of relation. However, a deductive successor relation has to be justified by showing that if it holds then another, confirmatory relation holds, saying roughly that the actual empirical success of the deducing theory is at least as good as the corresponding success of the deduced theory. Under certain restrictions such a justification is given in the paper.

Notes: Summary This article proceeds on two main assumptions. (1) The ‘understanding’ of universes of discourse and human practice can no longer be based on the rules developed by older systems of hermeneutics. (2) Modern hermeneutics has not tried to compensate this loss of methodological efficiency by working out new frameworks. It is rather exclusively occupied with (metatheoretical) efforts to provide ‘foundations’. Thus we get ontological, dialectical, transcendental etc. systems. These may serve as general possibilities for looking at history. They do not, however, advance the solution of the manifold methodological difficulties of concrete research. A functional analysis of fundamentalist hermeneutics can demonstrate more precisely that this type of theory has largely proved fruitless. Certainly we cannot do without fundamentalist concepts like historicity, tradition, consciousness or, for that matter, emancipation. It is equally clear, however, that these concepts cannot merely be defined along the lines prescribed by philosophies of science. The present article therefore pleads for an anthropological extension and specification of ‘hermeneutic’ (?) frameworks which should allow us to analyse historical life forms, ways of experience, strategies of meaning formation in a more precise and differentiated manner.

Notes: Summary Our examination of the controversy surrounding the intentionalist conception of textual interpretation shows that the critics of this approach to questions of meaning and interpretation have so far failed to prove their case. The standard objections to intentionalism, on grounds of logical or empirical fallacy, cannot be maintained. We reconstruct the objections which have been raised in the literature against the intentional conception and discuss them as criticism of a conception hold to be inadequate with respect to the problem of literary interpretation. In our evaluation of the intentional conception we conclude that it represents a perfectly ‘normal’ conception of meaning and interpretation, of a kind by no means inferior to other approaches adopted by the various disciplines concerned with interpreting texts.

Notes: Summary The first aim of this article is to show the necessity of approaching differently the question of the origin of the hypothesis as pertaining to a purely deductive science or to an experimental one, such as biology. The paper also analyzes the rôle played by the hypothesis in: 1) the formation of definitions; 2) the establishment of laws; 3) explanations. It shows that in 1) and 2) the hypothetical character is relevant both to the amplifying induction and to the still incomplete state of our biological knowledge. Finally, it distinguishes between the two different processes used in the hypothetico-deduction depending on the possibility — or impossiblity — to link the phenomena to be explained to some known principles.

Notes: Summary The formulae advanced by Popper to calculate the degree of corroboration C(h, e) of a scientific hypothesis are unsatisfactory in that the probability values required in the computation are often not available. An attempt is made to define a quantitative measure B* in the place of C(h, e) in which only countable empirical values would be used. This condition is fulfilled in two basic formulae (eq. (5) and eq. (17)), which could be applied to calculate the (logical) degree of corroboration. When m successful falsifications of the hypothesis h appear after a sequence of n unsuccessful ones, the pragmatic degree of corroboration B* results from the difference between B(h, e) and the analogue value of the falsification F*(h, ej) (eq. (12) and eq. (20)). In the event that the hypothesis can be „rescued“ through a correction, increased experimental effort must be made with the revision. This would be taken into account through the correction equation (eq. (14)). When the hypothesis cannot be corrected, however, it can no longer exceed the value of 1-F*(h, ej), even after numerous verification experiments. In the process of deciding whether a hypothesis is „adequately“ verified or falsified, a lower threshold Bu und Bo must be selected. These values have to be chosen on an intuitive subjective basis. The same applies to thestrength of unsuccessful falsifications („strong“, „less strong“). This evaluation is expressed by a multiplicative constanta (eq. (6)) or an additive constant ka in eq. (18). Despite the subjectivity of the valuesa, ka necessary for the calculation of B*, and of the values Bu, Bo for the decision to discontiue the examination of the hypothesis, I feel that amongst the scientists within a particular field of research, a consensus for these values should be possible. Through a quantitative determination of B* the procedure for testing a hypothesis,considered to be a closed loop process, becomes clearer. To estimate the values of B* could not only have an influence upon the decisions of the respective researchers or research groups examining a hypothesis, but also be of assistance in decisions regarding research grants when financial resources are limited.

Notes: Summary This essay ist based on Heinrich Rombach's conception of structural phenomenology, a conception not yet widely known in philosophy and not at all known in sociology. The implications for the social sciences of this conception are explicated, related to the well-known positions of Max Weber, Alfred Schütz, Thomas S. Kuhn, and then linked to the current methodological discussion in the field of sociology in West Germany. The resulting promising new possibilities for basic questions of theory construction in the social sciences, but especially in sociology, are detailed and clarified with respect to the possibility and necessity of the various movements and conceptions of plurality, perspectivity and consciousness of cognition levels.

Notes: Zusammenfassung Das provokative und vielgelobte Buch Rorty's, des inzwischen international bekannten Ordinarius aus Princeton, stellt das gesamte Unternehmen der abendländischen Philosophie in Frage. Zentrales Thema vonPhilosophy and the Mirror of Nature sind Krise und Niedergang der analytischen Philosophy, wie wir sie seit Descartes, Locke und Kant kennen. Während Descartes und Locke die Seele (mind) als Auge modellierten, das die äußere Welt als inneres Bild wahrnimmt und vermittelt, verfeinerte Kant diese okulare Metapher durch Einführung des transzendentalen Subjekts. Gleichzeitig gab Kant der professionalen Philosophie die Aufgabe, über die Legitimität intellektueller Anstrengungen zurichten. Legitimität aber kann nur gegründet sein in objektiven Kriterien und Regeln darüber, welche Repräsentationen der Welt als die wahren anzuerkennen sind. Nach Rorty führt dieser Ansatz die Philosophie unabdingbar auf den verhängnisvollen Weg der Reduktion auf Epistemologie. Die damit auftretenden erkenntnistheoretischen Probleme gilt es jedoch nicht zulösen, sondernaufzulösen, zum Verschwinden zu bringen. Eine Besserung für die Sache der Philosophie sei zu erhoffen nur von einer historischen Kehrtwende zur Geschichte als Therapie. An dieser Stelle werden Wittgenstein, Heidegger und Dewey als Neuerer einer hermeneutisch orientierten philosophischen Pragmatik vorgestellt. Das Buch endet mit einer Skizze, wie das Unternehmen Philosophie in Zukunft menschlicher, dilettantischer, sozialer und damit insgesamt relevanter gestaltet werden kann. — Nicht so sehr Rorty's Verdikt über die Fruchtlosigkeit der analytischen Tradition — daß weite Teile der analytischen Philosophy in Sophisterei und Langeweile ausgeartet sind, ist bekannt — als vielmehr Rorty's Methode soll hier untersucht werden, sein Stil, seine professionellen Argumente als Beispiel einer ebenso zeitlosen wie vielgesichtigen Vorgehensweise in der abendländischen Philosophie, die Rorty neu orientieren will: Philosophie, der der Atem ausgeht über der Arbeit am Begriff, hat die Tendenz, eine Atempause in der Historie zu suchen oder das Philosophieren durch metaphilosophische Prolegomena zu einer zukünftigen neuen Metaphysik zu ersetzen. Rorty liefert beides: Kritik der Tradition und Versprechen einer besseren Zukunft. Allerdings sind seine de-konstruktiven Partien der professionellen Auseinandersetzung mit der analytischen Nachfolge Kants ungleich brillanter als sein Plädoyer für eine Symbiose von Gedanken des humanistischen neunzehnten Jahrhunderts mit Sokratischer Polypragmatik und Wittgensteinschen Therapien. Rosina: You are always insulting our poor century. Dr. Bartolo: I beg your pardon! But what has it produced that it should be praised? Stupidities of all sorts: Liberty of Thought, Sexual Attraction, Electricity, Magnetism, Tolerance, Vaccination, Quinine, Epistemology ...1 (The Barber of Seville, by P. de Beaumarchais, 1732–99)

Notes: Summary The author takes the interdisciplinary seminar on Evolutionary Epistemology at the 7th International Wittgenstein Symposium as the occasion to discuss the question of the status, achievements and limits of Evolutionary Epistemology. She comes to the conclusion that neither its critique of thequid juris question in traditional epistemology nor its own philosophical pretensions can be justified. But it is a new science which is relevant and a challenge to traditional epistemology and philosophy of science in that it opens up a horizon of new questions which they will have to take seriously. Sie sind den Kindern ähnlich, die, wenn sie in einen Spiegel geguckt, ihn sogleich umwenden, um zu sehen, was auf der anderen Seite ist. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Es gab Ewigkeiten, in denen (der menschliche Intellekt) nicht war; ... nur sein Besitzer und Erzeuger nimmt ihn so pathetisch, als ob die Angeln der Welt sich in ihm drehten. Könnten wir uns aber mit der Mücke verständigen, so würden wir vernehmen, daß auch sie mit diesem Pathos durch die Luft schwimmt und in sich das fliegende Zentrum dieser Welt fühlt. Es ist nichts so verwerflich und gering in der Natur, was nicht durch einen kleinen Anhauch jener Kraft des Erkennens sofort wie ein Schlauch aufgeschwellt würde; und wie jeder Lastträger seinen Bewunderer haben will, so meint gar der stolzeste Mensch, der Philosoph, von allen Seiten die Augen des Weltalls teleskopisch auf sein Handeln und Denken gerichtet zu sehen. Friedrich Nietzsche

Notes: Summary Inspite of the great success in many disciplines the program of reductionism has failed its genuine purpose. Systemtheory however has yielded a new concept of reductionism which we call reductionism by correspondence and which may imply a new understanding of the mind-body problem. The crucial operations of reductionism by correspondence are called idealization, interpretation and classification. They are used to optimize the description of a system. Nevertheless they lead to certain deficiencies which cannot be avoided in principle. We are therefore driven to the assumption that natural systems can only be described as probabilistic systems. From this point of view nothing is said about the direction of the reduction.

Notes: Summary I argue that the reasonable quest of looking for, and the desirable end of having better explanation of particular events are not allowed for by the deductive account of explanation except by total replacement of one theory by another. The article is also a trivialization of the deductive conception of complete explanation.

Notes: Summary In a paper published in this Journal, Hans Radder argues that a detailed analysis of the degenerating phase of Bohr's programme reveals the basic incorrectness of Lakatos' own reconstruction of this period. Furthermore the corrected version shows the impossibility to account for the development in Lakatosian concepts. In this reply I try to point out that a slight modification of Lakatos' reconstruction is sufficient for reconciling the theory with the historical data. It is not Lakatos's theory itself that causes the problems, but Radder's way of its application.

Notes: Summary In the course of a study of elementary particles, an analysis is given of a fundamental presupposition of many research programs, namely the belief in the ultimate unity of physics. It is argued tht this unity-idea is incorrect. By classicial physics, relativity theory and quantum theory three distinct structures of nature are revealed. Next, the essential aspect of measurement, that a measurement always results in a record, is analysed. Recording implies irreversibility and entropy production. In modern elementary particle physics the record itself is all important, and therefore the entropy production due to measurement is essential. It is argued that this aspect of measurement will play a central role in a distinct theory concerning fundamental characteristics of elementary particles, revealing a fourth structure of physical reality. Some basic notions of this new theory are proposed. Finally the meaning of irreversibility on the micro-level of elementary particles is discussed, in connection with the concept of time.

Notes: Zusammenfassung Am Beispiel eines neueren einschlägigen Themenbeitrages werden einige der Gründe dafür herausgestellt, daß die Bemühungen um eine Theorie der Literaturwissenschaft bisher kaum zu überzeugenden Ergebnissen geführt haben. Es handelt sich hierbei insonderheit um die Verwechslung von Methodenlehre und praktizierter Methode, die Nichtunterscheidung normativer und deskriptiver Aspekte sowie die unzulässige Ineinssetzung von philologischer Arbeit und großzügig verfahrender Textauslegung. In diesem Zusammenhang wird an die alexandrinischen Anfänge der Literaturwissenschaft erinnert, in denen die Interpretation als abschließende Überhöhung verbindlicher und empirisch ausgewiesener Kleinarbeit begriffen wurde.

Notes: Abstract In recent years salary equity has been the focus of studies dealing with equity. This paper extends the concept of equity to include faculty instructional activities or work load. In an effort to determine to what extent instructional efforts differed between men and women at a large land-grant university, the following variables were investigated: number of weighted student credit hours, number of sections taught, number of different courses taught, and didactic hours by level of course. Because the faculty members varied in their full-time-equivalent instructional effort, it was necessary to normalize the data. When men and women were compared for equity of instructional activity (MANOVA) taking their college into consideration, there was no significant difference by sex or from the interaction of college with sex. When a balancing technique was used to review men and women by departments, again no significant differences were found in the pattern of instructional activity within the group of departments being compared.

Notes: Abstract Evaluations of widely used computer simulators identify a number of technical and organizational factors that are related to the simulator's success. But investigations have ignored two unobtrusive aspects of organizational behavior — myth and ritual. Myths are commonly held beliefs that maintain social solidarity and reduce ambiguity. Rituals serve a similar function, but they involve actions in addition to words. This paper uses examples of common myths and rituals to illustrate the concepts. A brief review of widely used cost simulation models and a discussion of their evaluation follows. The discussion demonstrates the importance of myth and ritual in understanding the use of computer simulators in higher education.

Notes: Abstract This study examined the relationships of (1) perceived participation in decision making, (2) communication with supervisor, (3) employee characteristics, and (4) employee job satisfaction. Classified employees in three administrative units at a comprehensive eastern university in the United States served as subjects. Results of canonical correlation andt-ratio tests demonstrated that job satisfaction was most strongly and positively related to communication satisfaction with supervisor and supervisor's receptivity to information. Implications are discussed in reference to personnel decisions and training, employee productivity, and the possible adverse effects of initiating a participative program of decision making for nonprofessional university employees.

Notes: Abstract A review of relevant research shows that many studies have found the academic rank, age, and extent of instructional experience of college teachers to be unrelated to their students' global evaluation of them. Yet many other studies have found these indicators of the teacher's seniority and instructional experience to be related to the overall evaluation of teachers, and with a consistent pattern. In this latter group of studies, the teacher's academic rank is positively associated with the overall evaluation of the teacher, whereas both the teacher's age and extent of instructional experience are inversely associated with overall evaluation. Although these associations are generally weak in strength, they are robust enough to hold under a variety of controls (including the size of course enrollment and the gender of the teacher). Also, at least for extent of instructional experience, the number and strength of the associations may be underestimated by considering the relationship in question as linear when in fact it may be curvilinear. Just as the teachers' age and extent of instructional experience in general have been either not related or inversely related to the global evaluation of teachers, so they have been for more specific evaluations of teachers. When academic rank has been found to be related to specific evaluations, the relationships tend to be positive for only certain specific rating dimensions while being inverse for others. This being so, it is puzzling that the associations that have been found between academic rank and global evaluations have generally been positive only. A possible explanation for this is offered and supportive evidence marshaled. Finally, several reasons why associations between any of the indicators of seniority or instructional experience and either specific or overall evaluations may be inverse, positive, or curvilinear in the first place are advanced. These hinge on such factors as the teacher's motivation and career circumstances, the pedagogical training and abilities of different cohorts of teachers, as well as the criteria and practices of colleges in their recruitment of teachers, the extent of an age (or generation) gap between students and teachers, and students' expectations and perceptions of teachers and pedagogical characteristics attributed to them. Those reasons having the greater support empirically as well as those that seem the most plausible are noted.

Notes: Abstract Teaching load formulas to provide for differential program productivity ratios are in wide use. However, the various sets of differential weights on student credit hours (SCH) in use tend to be the result of historical accident, negotiation, or limited cost studies. To bring a unity into these formulas, a new statistical methodology applied to three years of teaching load data from 21 major public universities has yielded an objective, broadly applicable set of SCH weight factors. Those weights give promise of providing comparison of instructional productivity via unobtrusive measures. A table of optimum weighting factors for upper division and graduate SCH (relative to lower division) is presented by NCES Code discipline division. The weights derived from analysis are then compared with those developed by more traditional means.

Notes: Abstract The Biglan model is a three dimensional classification scheme wherein 35 academic subject areas are categorized into one of eight categories: soft-nonlife-pure; soft-life-pure; soft-nonlife-applied; soft-life-applied; hard-life-applied; hard-life-pure; hard-nonlife-pure; or hard-nonlife-applied. A basic assumption of the Biglan model research is that the types of faculty productivity differ in accord with academic subject areas. Though research studies report the importance of recognizing performance differences among faculty in different disciplines and subject areas during the faculty evaluation process, they do not present means by which this knowledge can be applied. This study discusses the practical implications of Biglan model research and the importance of university-level administrators recognizing differences in faculty productivity whenever faculty credentials are reviewed for advancement. This study also examines Biglan's original research and his model, as well as the major studies conducted to test the model. Also, the model is presented and explained as a conceptual framework for assisting administrators in the faculty evaluation process. Lastly, the reasons for employing subject area standards, as opposed to university-wide or single discipline standards, are argued.

Notes: Abstract To be most useful in the resource acquisition and resource allocation processes, cost studies require the collection of detailed information from “comparable” institutions. This investigation reports the rationale, procedures, and outcomes of an attempt to identify institutions that were comparable to specific universities operating under the Kansas Board of Regents. The three-phase study involved (1) selecting states that were similar to Kansas on several key variables, (2) using information about breadth of academic programs and locale to identify public universities in those states that resembled a given Kansas institution on these features, and (3) using detailed information about enrollment, expenditure pattern, and academic emphases to measure the similarity of universities in each pool to a given Regents university. The system produced results that proved to be credible by three different tests and responded effectively to some issues involving the Kansas formula funding process. It is sufficiently flexible that it could be adapted to other states or universities whose rationale or assumptions differed from those employed in Kansas.

Notes: Abstract This paper proposes a novel evaluation approach for the selection of candidates for promotion and/or tenure. The decision problem is conceptualized as a hierarchy of factors and a mathematical procedure known as the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used for successively “weighting” or prioritizing factors at each level of the hierarchy, in order to arrive at a final composite set of weights for each potential candidate, listed as alternatives at the final level of the hierarchy. The procedure and its mathematical basis are explained and illustrated using hypothetical data. It is argued that the AHP can aid university decision makers in arriving at objective and consistent decisions on faculty tenure, which at present appear to be largely subjective and informal.

Notes: Abstract Most of the earlier attempts to develop faculty salary models have been based on data from a single institution or from an undifferentiated group of institutions, without a data base adequate to support the design. The overall objective of this paper is to report on the development, characteristics, statistical findings, and utility of a faculty salary model employed over the period 1978–79 to 1980–81 for a higher education system containing 16 institutions ranging from a comprehensive university to a small rural community college in complexity and mission. The need for the model grew out of requirements for the governing board to: (1) deal with litigation and the issues of equity for minorities and females; (2) make interinstitutional salary comparisons as these relate to size, complexity, and mission; and (3) better understand the factors which “determine” faculty salaries.

Notes: Abstract Revising tuition charges upward has become a regular annual exercise for many colleges and universities due to cost inflation. These occasions provide opportunities for modifying the structure of charges. One component of structure is the balance between per credit hour and per student types of charges. Another component is the differentiation of charges by program, or other student grouping. A linear programming approach is used here to suggest optimal increases under some broad policy constraints and certain necessary constraints dealing with consistency of the rates.

Notes: Abstract This study investigated the relationship between research productivity and teaching effectiveness to shed light on the long-debated question of whether performance in one area enhances performance in the other. The academic field and the stage of a faculty member's career were both considered in the analyses. Two samples — one of 2,973 and the other of 1,623 faculty members from a variety of institutions — were studied. In considering results of both analyses, teachers of social science courses were the only group for which there were consistent though modest relationships between the number of published articles and student ratings of instructor effectiveness. Thus spillover effects, or a general ability factor, or other reasons for a possible link between research and teaching performance are not totally supported. The relationship between performance in the two areas is either nonexistent or, where it appears, too modest to conclude that one necessarily enhances the other.

Notes: Abstract In the last decade institutions of higher education have received increasing pressure to reduce and/or eliminate any discriminatory actions. Affirmative action programs have been used by these institutions to comply with the letter of the law. Research shows, however, that these programs have not been highly successful in eliminating discrimination. This study was designed to assess the judgment policies of personnel and affirmative action officers in institutions of higher learning regarding the criteria necessary for effective affirmative action programs. The research identified 13 separate potential criteria. The results suggest attitudes and procedures were the most important criteria for effectiveness. Institution type (public versus private) and size (number of students) have no moderating effects.

Notes: Abstract This study investigated the appropriateness of the academic departmental level of analysis. Homogeneity of faculty members' responses to measures of organizational structure, environmental uncertainty, and task routineness was examined to determine the legitimacy of aggregating those responses to create departmental level variables. Analysis of variance suggested that the structure and environmental uncertainty subscales were measuring departmental level phenomena, but that the task routineness scales were not. Results demonstrate the importance of empirically testing, rather than assuming, levels of analysis in studies of academic departments.

Notes: Abstract An interindustry model is used to estimate the impact of federal expenditures for academic R&D on the economy of New York State. Resulting economic activity through the multiplier process is estimated to be 3.7 times the level of the original federal spending. This impact on the state economy generates national and state tax revenues sufficient to offset the original outlay of taxpayers' money by the federal government, thereby supporting the case for continued support of higher education in periods of fiscal crisis.

Notes: Abstract This study compares the patterns of degree selection among women in the years 1970–71 and 1978–79. The selection pattern for women is compared with that of men; the rate at which the representation of women in a field of study changes is judged by an index of rate of change; and the redistribution of women among fields of study is analyzed. The changes in patterns of degree selection are described from several explanatory perspectives.

Notes: Abstract This study assesses the impact of college on knowledge of vocabulary and mathematics. Unlike many previous studies, this one is able to control for precollege abilities in these academic areas, which presumably tend to select people into or out of college. The results indicate that college attendance has a strong impact on improved performance on these tests, and that these effects are similar for whites and blacks.

Notes: Abstract Previous research that tested the relationships between faculty performance in research, teaching, and service and faculty rewards has been inconclusive for several reasons. This case study of a large department at a midwestern research university examines these relationships. In this department, teaching quality was found to be a significant determinant of salary, though teaching quantity was not. While research, as measured by publications and presentations, had a significant effect on one year's salary increment, it did not affect salaries over several years. Administrative service was found to be significantly related to salary, as was public service. Implications of the study for research and practical applications of the methodology are examined.

Notes: Abstract Kuhn's concept of paradigm development and organizational contingency theories served as theoretical guidelines to examine the structures of 35 West German university departments. The results provide convincing evidence about different organizational structures used in scientific fields of varying technological development. Physical science departments are less differentiated with regard to different academic subspecialities than social science departments, and their role structure reflects their proximity to mechanized hardware technologies. In addition, variable maps, obtained through smallest space analysis, suggest that physical science departments apply coordination techniques more consistently than departments in less developed fields as differentiation increases. Bureaucratic coordination techniques, other than influences through external authorities, are not of great importance in academic departments. Organizational size, just like the level of paradigm development, has an impact on all aspects of structure investigated. The implications of these findings are discussed and elaborated.

Notes: Abstract The relationships between the field-dependence-independence level (GEFT score) of university home economics majors and their area of concentration, academic ability and performance, and career choices were investigated. The sample was 143 undergraduate and 53 graduate women university students. A significant difference in GEFT was found when students were grouped according to the five areas of concentration or by the analytical-interpersonal nature of their chosen career positions. Significant correlations were found between GEFT and all ACT scores, undergraduate and graduate GPA, and graduate student career commitment. There was no significant relationship for GEFT with any GRE score, undergraduate career commitment, or ease of career choice. Little evidence of a differential effect of GEFT on achievement in analytical or social content courses was found.

Notes: Abstract This study examines the relationship between characteristics of academic areas and students' evaluation of instruction. Based on Biglan's model of subject matter and relevant studies of the role of instruction, a weak partial order model for classifying academic fields and predicting their relative ranking on instructional evaluation was tested. The findings of the study support the weak partial order model for all three criteria of instructional evaluation that are used in this research. Moreover, the major discriminant facet in this study is the knowledge base of the academic program (i.e., hard versus soft sciences). Based on the results of this research, an adapted model for understanding the role of academic areas in predicting instructional evaluation is proposed. The implications of this study are discussed and elaborated.

Notes: Abstract Nonresponse bias in medical students' ratings of basic science instructors was studied by comparing the responses of initial respondents with those obtained through follow-up procedures. Three discriminant analyses were used to compare two groups of students' ratings using the six items on the instructor rating form as variables. It was concluded that these medical students' assessments of basic science instruction showed no significant bias from failure to obtain responses from all students. The results provide some evidence for allowing basic science instructors to have more confidence in the representativeness of student feedback on instruction provided by respondents. Studies to generalize these findings to other higher education populations are suggested.

Notes: Abstract Names of journals falling in the areas of anthropology, economics, geography, history, philosophy, political science, and sociology were mailed to department chairpersons in these disciplines in U.S. and Canadian universities. Chairpersons were asked to assign numerical ratings using a 1–5 point scale in order to represent the quality of those journals they were familiar with. They were also asked to add journals which they thought should have been included in the original list. The resulting data provide (1) a basis for classifying journals into categories representing their visibility relative to other journals within a particular discipline, and (2) provide average rankings of quality for individual journals. The paper also reviews options generally available in assessing journal quality and describes possible use of such data in the context of the university, particularly in respect to personnel decisions.

Notes: Abstract In this study of college student retention and progression, significant differences were found between black and white student cohorts in terms of their attrition rates, overall progression rates (defined as length of time to graduate), and tendency to follow the prescribed progression pattern (sophomore in the second year, junior in the third year, senior in the fourth year, and graduate after the fourth year). However, multiple regression analyses show that racial differences disappear when the effects of other student and institutional characteristics are statistically controlled. Therefore, colleges and universities would do well to rethink special retention and counseling programs designed especially to serve minority group students.

Notes: Abstract This study investigates the nature of student college choice sets. Data on 599 students from several different communities in one suburban Philadelphia county are examined by a mode, cluster analytic procedure. The results indicate that students can be grouped according to their similarity in types of institutions to which they send their test scores. Specifically, there appear to be no more than eight stable choice sets, dominated primarily by larger institutions of moderate quality and cost approximately 150 miles from the students' homes

Notes: Abstract The report illustrates the informational and analytical basis on which one high-cost institution—Yale University—sets its annual tuition levels and long-term pricing policies. The rising cost of private higher education in general, and of a Yale education in particular, is examined in a context that takes into account historical trends, economic data (price and income inflation), the financial condition of the institution, comparative cost data from other schools, and studies of the impact of cost on enrollment. The results suggest that current educational costs, despite their recent rapid increases, are not significantly above historical levels (after adjusting for inflation), are not unfair to students, are affordable to most families, and are in line with the costs of other private institutions. No serious impact on the quality or diversity of the student body was discovered.

Notes: Abstract Prestige hierarchies, common to all organizations, are considered for positions at a university. Davis and Moore (1945) have called such stratification in any social system a universal necessity. Using procedures developed to measure prestige of occupations in national surveys, the attribution of prestige attached to university positions was determined. One hundred and eight positions were scaled, and the scale's validity and underlying scaling criteria were evaluated. It appears that university prestige is a microcosm of national prestige, and seems to have a similar socioeconomic base.

Notes: Abstract The take home test was compared with the conventional closed and open book tests at the college level. It was found that scores on knowledge items were significantly higher with the take home test, and that additional time spent looking up answers was important. An additional factor was the level of anxiety, perceived by students to be less with the take home test. Rampant cheating does not appear to be a problem with take home tests.

Notes: Abstract Using data published by the U.S. Office of Education, shift-share analysis is used to examine changes in the number and proportion of bachelor's degrees awarded in seven curriculum areas in the historically black and the historically white land grant colleges in the South between 1967 and 1977. Our guiding hypothesis suggested that recent pressure brought by the federal government to enhance programs at black land grant colleges coupled with the opening-up of a wide spectrum of traditionally white occupations would result in a broadening of the areas of study pursued by students at the black land grant colleges. Results show that, in general, students are pursuing a wider range of curriculums in the black land grant schools than in the past. Especially notable are increases in business, engineering, and the social sciences, while the number of education degrees has declined dramatically.

Notes: Abstract The implications of an across-the-board salary increase for selected outcomes are assessed. While such an approach to employee compensation is easily administered, the results of this analysis suggest that such an approach has some long-run costs. Those perceiving themselves as high performers and as putting forth greater effort felt undercompensated. Those with feelings of being undercompensated, relative to those feeling equitably compensated, anticipated a reduction in their job performance during the coming year, and perceived a deterioration in the association between performance and compensation. Differences in intentions to search for alternative employment are statistically significant.

Notes: Abstract This study investigated the validity of Tinto's (1975) model of college withdrawal in four different types of institutions: residential universities, liberal arts colleges, two-year commuter institutions, and four-year commuter institutions. Analyses were conducted on a sample of 2,326 freshmen from 11 postsecondary institutions. The results generally supported the predictive validity of the model but suggested: (1) that the main-effects influence on persistence of measures of social and academic integration is modest, and (2) that the magnitude of the influence of particular aspects of social and academic integration depended to a significant degree on the characteristics of those students being considered. The theoretical and policy implications of the findings are discussed.

Notes: Abstract Geographic and demographic characteristics of the 120 Kentucky counties were utilized to group counties with similar characteristics. Factor analysis and then cluster analysis were used to establish four county groupings. ACT test results and demographic data, and enrollment data for 1977, 1978, 1979, and 1980 for those 1977 high school graduates enrolled in Kentucky state-supported colleges and universities, fall semester 1977, were analyzed to determine whether geographic origin influenced college attendance. Four hypotheses tested enrollment, persistence, and transfer activities; college-going rates; and academic achievement of students. Test results revealed significant differences and the null hypotheses were rejected.

Notes: Abstract The objective of this study was to examine systematically the variance in earned credit rates (percent of students earning A, B, C, or D) in an urban community college system. An ANOVA design was employed to estimate the independent effects of four independent variables: college, department, course, and teacher (nested within college by department). The results of the analysis indicate significant effects on earned credit rates due to college, department, and teacher. Differences between colleges and between teachers within departments in colleges account for the preponderance of the variance. This paper contains a discussion of departmental staff development tactics.

Notes: Abstract Citation rates have been shown to be positively related to the scholarly stature of individuals, academic departments, and scientific journals in a number of academic disciplines. The results of this study show a much weaker relationship between the citation rates and perceived quality of education journals than reported in studies of other disciplines. However, this overall finding masks wide variation in the relationship for specific education specialty areas and between “core” and “allied” education journals. The implications of these findings for subsequent research on the complex process of knowledge diffusion and utilization are discussed.

Notes: Abstract All teacher evaluation forms completed in the arts and sciences division of a large community college were analyzed at three levels: division-wide (N=9,080), in class groups (31 groups), and class averages (548 classes). Multiple regression was used to predict teacher rating from the other nine items on the form. At all levels, expected grade, with minor exceptions, was the least important predictor. Certain items relating to teacher characteristics as perceived by the students had a consistent impact on rating. They included the following: “tries to help students understand,” which was most important, “sincerely interested in students,” and “uses class time effectively.”