Christopher S. Collins

Emotional Intelligence and the Qualitative Researcher

In this conceptual article, we explore the idea of refining the role of the researcher. Using emotional intelligence as a framework, we synthesize methodological writing about the role of the researcher and ways to enhance the connection between humans in qualitative research. Emotional intelligence can strengthen the ability to connect with participants, skillfully listen during the interview process, and more clearly understand the lifeworlds participants articulate.

College student racial and ethnic stereotype-based humor as a cultural domain

This study explored college student perceptions of racial and ethnic stereotype-based humor in Hawai’i where humor is salient to the local culture. It has been suggested elsewhere that perceptions may be understood through eliciting a cultural domain or mental category including a set of items that are perceived to belong in the same category. For the present study, 72 students participated in interviews or focus groups to explore characterizations of racial and ethnic stereotype-based humor among university students in Hawai’i. The interviews consisted of generating free lists, rank orders and pile sorts, and were analyzed using ANTHROPAC software to convert textual data into matrices and cluster analyses to interpret the cultural domain. The findings indicated that students’ understanding of local stereotypes and humor aligned with the conceptualization of a social stratification in Hawai’i, because they acknowledged more derogatory stereotypes for certain racial and ethnic populations. As colleges continue to work towards diverse learning environments, humor is likely to be one of the more complex areas to address. Future research may involve a content analysis that examines campus fliers, events and media to understand better the role of the institution in developing and perpetuating existing stereotypes.

Greek Environments: An Update on the Effects of Fraternities and Sororities on Health-Related Behaviors

Abstract The authors investigate whether Greek affiliation and living in Greek housing significantly influence college students’ health-related behaviors. In addition, based on the findings, this study provides some important implications about the current practice of Greek society in higher education. The authors empirically tested a path model using three waves of nationwide large-scale data sets. Consistent across the three samples, Greek affiliation among college students was positively associated with violent behavior; substance abuse that includes cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana; and infection with sexually transmitted diseases. In addition to the negative effects associated with Greek membership, students living in Greek houses are more likely to be involved in physical fights and use alcohol and marijuana. These findings and the history of studies on Greek environments indicate that a more robust response to altering these environments may be necessary to curb the negative effects.

The Central Role of Theory in Qualitative Research

The use of theory in science is an ongoing debate in the production of knowledge. Related to qualitative research methods, a variety of approaches have been set forth in the literature using the terms conceptual framework, theoretical framework, paradigm, and epistemology. While these approaches are helpful in their own context, we summarize and distill them in order to build upon the case that a balanced and centered use of the theoretical framework can bolster the qualitative approach. Our project builds on the arguments that epistemology and methodological rigor are essential by adding the notion that the influence of theory permeates almost every aspect of the study—even if the author does not recognize this influence. Compilers of methodological approaches have referred to the use of theory as analogous to a coat closet in which different items can be housed or a lens through which the literature and data in the study are viewed. In this article, we offer an evaluative quadrant for determining the appropriate use of theory in qualitative research and a diagram of the qualitative project that points to the central role of a theoretical framework. We also caution against the overreliance on theory in the event that it begins to limit the ability to see emergent findings in the data.

Individual and institutional factors that contribute to student learning among Latina and Latino undergraduate students

ABSTRACT This study examined student learning via the composite measure of intellectual abilities among 1,210 Latina/o undergraduates at 4-year institutions. Longitudinal pre and post surveys were used to examine the impact of interrelated variables on Latina/o’ senior year cognitive gains. This study applied Becker’s (1993) human capital theory and Astin’s (2012) Input-Environment-Output model to organize and analyze the data. Through structural equation modeling, the findings revealed the pathways that promote and hinder student learning.

The value of higher education for individuals and society in the Asia-Pacific region

Central to this study is an exploration of the degree to which higher education is perceived as an individual and/or a collective value. Seminal literature supports the notion that colleges and universities are Western institutions. Throughout the Asia Pacific, higher education is expanding in a hybrid form in collectivist societies. This qualitative phenomenological study was guided by two questions: How is economic value shaped by cultural values and Western and Asian constructs? How is the value of higher education constructed as an individual and/or collective good by colleges and universities in the Asia-Pacific region? Using notion of disjunctures, scapes, and flows as a framework of analysis, we interviewed 25 participants in higher education across the Asia-Pacific region. The findings yielded themes of Western dominance, Asian distinctions, and the complicated perceptions of higher education as an individual or collective benefit. The theoretical framework of scapes and flows provided a lens to examine new layers of hybridization and complexity in a rapidly evolving region.

Higher Education Access in the Asia Pacific

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Introduction: Higher Education as a Human Right

price are net prices, subject to local VAT. Prices indicated with * include VAT for books; the €(D) includes 7% for Germany, the €(A) includes 10% for Austria. Prices indicated with ** include VAT for electronic products; 19% for Germany, 20% for Austria. All prices exclusive of carriage charges. Prices and other details are subject to change without notice. All errors and omissions excepted. C.S. Collins, P. Buasuwan (Eds.) Higher Education Access in the Asia Pacific

Academic Public Good

The concept of human rights has a lengthy and theoretically diverse history as both a philosophy and a corresponding system of laws and protections. Fundamental and collective values are translated into a set of laws to protect individuals in a way that will benefit society. Societal philosophies have ranged from broad and equal protections to unequal protections that were justified as good for broader society. In relation to education, the seventeenth-century philosopher and theologian Comenius is credited with focusing on education as a universal right without respect to class, sex, race, or any other category.

Public Good in Asian Higher Education

Public good is generally defined as a benefit to or the well-being of society. However, articulating the centrality of the public good mission proves to be an easier task than understanding the degree to which the mission is being fulfilled. Higher education institutions typically identify a mission to articulate a purpose and a guiding framework for existence. There is an ongoing need to describe the aspects of what is public and to communicate the macro historical impact of higher education that has eluded a clear definition. This chapter creates a clear framework for understanding academic public good and positions each chapter as one perspective on the impact of university–community engagement. The seven chapters include education for elderly citizens, digital cultural preservation, creative tourism, the role of industry, transnational higher education, and social philosophy.