The Collegiate Learning Assessment: facts and fantasies

The Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) is a computer administered, open-ended (as opposed to multiple-choice) test of analytic reasoning, critical thinking, problem solving, and written communication skills. Because the CLA has been endorsed by several national higher education commissions, it has come under intense scrutiny by faculty members, college administrators, testing experts, legislators, and others. This article describes the CLA's measures and what they do and do not assess, how dependably they measure what they claim to measure, and how CLA scores differ from those on other direct and indirect measures of college student learning. For instance, analyses are conducted at the school rather than the student level and results are adjusted for input to assess whether the progress students are making at their school is better or worse than what would be expected given the progress of "similarly situated" students (in terms of incoming ability) at other colleges.     

From "Male Bonding Rituals" to "Suicide Tuesday": A qualitative study of issues faced by gay male ecstasy (MDMA) users

Use of MDMA and other club drugs has increased among gay men, but questions remain concerning the use, context, and popularity of these drugs; and views of their side effects. We interviewed in-depth 12 gay MDMA users in New York. MDMA had specific appeals to gay men, who often described isolation and stigmatization. Users underwent a period of initiation and social networks often became comprised of greater numbers of other users. Club environments fostered drug use and vice versa. Awareness of potential adverse effects varied and was minimized. Appropriate educational and prevention programs are needed to address these issues, and must take into account the specific contexts of these gay men's lives.     

Reassessing racial and socioeconomic disparities in environmental justice research

The number of studies examining racial and socioeconomic disparities in the geographic distribution of environmental hazards and locally unwanted land uses has grown considerably over the past decade. Most studies have found statistically significant racial and socioeconomic disparities associated with hazardous sites. However there is considerable variation in the magnitude of racial and socioeconomic disparities found; indeed, some studies have found none. Uncertainties also exist about the underlying causes of the disparities. Many of these uncertainties can be attributed to the failure of the most widely used method for assessing environmental disparities to adequately account for proximity between the hazard under investigation and nearby residential populations. In this article, we identify the reasons for and consequences of this failure and demonstrate ways of overcoming these shortcomings by using alternate, distance-based methods. Through the application of such methods, we show how assessments about the magnitude and causes of racial and socioeconomic disparities in the distribution of hazardous sites are changed. In addition to research on environmental inequality, we discuss how distance-based methods can be usefully applied to other areas of demographic research that explore the effects of neighborhood context on a range of social outcomes.     

公司文化:美国高等教育的新威胁

为民主而斗争是一项政治任务,也是一项教育任务.要促进充满活力的民主文化的产生,最根本的就是要认识到,教育必须被作为公共利益来看待.使高等教育沦为公司文化的附庸违反了教育支持和发展包含民主在内的公共空间的重要社会规则.从汤姆斯·杰佛逊到约翰·杜威,再到C.赖特·米尔斯,赞颂教育对于民主公共生活的根本的重要性成为一个悠久的传统.     

西方学者眼中的马克思主义法社会学

在关于马克思主义法的理论的诸观点中,有一位杰出的保守批评家认为,“在过去10年中,欧洲大陆、英国、南美和澳大利亚理智的马克思主义正在复兴”。那么,人们不禁要问,这一“明显复兴”的起因是什么呢?贝尔尼和昆内伊两位学者介绍了马克思主义者近来有代表性的法学著作,其目的是力图从这些著作中寻找问题的答案。两位学者认为,当代理智的马克思主义法的起源主要存在于刑法     

我为什么要出版电子版学术专著?

在电子版的文献中 ,电子期刊看来发展最快 ,这可能是由于印刷版的学术刊物涨价太快的缘故。所以 ,电子期刊问题特别引起人们的关注。但是 ,对电子版学术专著的重要性也不该低估。从学术专著出版情况看 ,以英国为例 ,在过去 1 0年内(1 985～ 1 995 ) ,学术著作总量从 2 5 0 0 0种增长到45 0 0 0种 (含新版本 )。但目前关于电子版专著的情况在文献中尚未有所反映 ,为此笔者着重对英国学术著作电子版出版情况进行了调查 ,并且与北美进行了比较。在对 80种学术专著和教科书出版社的调查中 ,有 2 3家 (占总数 2 8.75 % )出版了电子版学术专著 ,5 …     

细胞培养-Taqman PCR分析法——评估小隐孢子虫消毒

小隐孢子虫(Cryptosporidium parvum)污染是对水工程的一个挑战也威胁到公众健康。在此项研究中,我们开发了一种细胞培养-定量PCR分析法来评估消毒后小隐孢子虫的活性。我们用这种方法对水工程中多种消毒法包括低压紫外光(LP-UV),臭氧,混合氧化剂(MIOX),氯气进行评估。证实该检测方法是可信和敏感的,最低能检测到一个感染卵囊。有效的卵囊消毒(灭活率>2 log10 units)是采用LP-UV(20 mJ/cm2)或2 mg臭氧/公升(10分钟)。MIOX和氯气消毒卵囊效果最差(灭活率<0.1 log10 unit)。这些结果证实了MIOX对小隐孢子虫消毒的无效性。该检测方法是对饮用水和循环水消毒系统有效的评估方法。     

阿加—布里亚特地区的曼巴扎仓（赤塔州）

自18世纪以降,源于传统的藏医学的布里亚特医学,在外贝加尔地区逐渐兴盛。布里亚特医疗传统秉承了两个主要的医学传统：一是布里亚特民间医学;另一个是本文探讨的主要内容,即精深的藏医学传统。藏医学是借助蒙古医药文化传播到布里亚特地区的。藏蒙医学传统,特别是药理学知识最终被布里亚特人接受和采纳,期间经历了较长时间的本土化过程。同时,布里亚特也为藏蒙医学文化的传播和发展做出了重要贡献。     

根据差异量热比色法测定支链淀粉链的缔合

直链淀粉和类脂化合物是通过采用差异量热比色法（DSC），在过量的水中把玉蜀黍淀粉、豌豆、玉米、小麦、马铃薯、蜡质种玉米从20℃加热到180℃，然后冷却到4℃，最后再加热至180℃除去淀粉而形成的。直链淀粉和软化淀粉的冷却曲线显示了放热期（＜70℃）是由直链淀物链组成的原理．覆盖范围0～95％的直链淀粉和支链淀粉混合物类似于被加热和被冷却．直链糖链淀物链的缔合被支链淀粉所限制．     

施工图中梁钢筋的自动读取与统计研究

施工图中梁钢筋的读取和统计是提高预算工作效率和施工准备的关键。对计算机自动读取DXF文件格式的结构施工图进行了深入分析，并在此基础上对钢筋统计的总体设计和几个主要模块的功能和实现方法进行了探讨。