Elizabeth L. Davison

How do we rate? An evaluation of online student evaluations

This paper analyses the popular RateMyProfessors (RMP) website where students evaluate instructors in higher education. A study was designed to measure (1) the awareness and utilisation of the RMP website, (2) the internal and external validity of the RMP ratings in measuring teaching effectiveness, and (3) variation in the above across disciplines. It is concluded that the category of ratings, created by the website, establishes an anti‐intellectual tone that manifests itself in comments about instructors’ personality, easiness of workload and entertainment value rather than knowledge attained.

INFORMING COMMUNITY POLICING INITIATIVES WITH GIS ASSISTED MULTI-SOURCE DATA AND MICRO-LEVEL ANALYSIS

ABSTRACT Although criminal justice scholarship has pointed the way toward the integration of knowledge derived from the mapping of crimes and the allocation of police resources, insufficient attention has been paid to how the independent variables used in the prediction of common crime types might guide specific, local community policing action. Our research shows how local agency data can be used to help inform the type of community policing responses advocated by Goldstein (1990) and Skogan (1999). This study uses available data from the police department, tax assessors office and census bureau to identify and analyze problem areas throughout a small mid-size southern city. In so doing, we avoid many of the analytical problems associated with traditional units of analysis by using face blocks (the two sides of a block that face the street segment between intersections) to study the distribution and diffusion of street robberies and residential burglaries incidents. Findings from the analysis offer specific community policing recommendations to reduce street robbery and residential burglary.

Gradations of Disappearing Digital Divides Among Racially Diverse Middle School Students

Abstract Purpose In the first decades of ICT adoption, Whites traditionally had higher levels of Internet access and usage. We examine whether race remains a factor in Internet usage, among a group presumed to be digital natives – middle school students. Methodology A survey was administered to a racially/ethnically diverse sample of students in a mid-Atlantic school district including White, Hispanic, African American, and Asian/Pacific Islander. The survey sought to measure time spent engaged in varying Internet activities and related sociodemographic factors. Findings The analyses indicate that Whites do not have higher levels of Internet usage, and in many cases racial minority youth are more engaged in Internet activities than Whites. This holds true when accounting for a number of sociodemographic and background factors that are known to affect Internet usage. Research implications This chapter adds to the evidence that within the United States the digital divide has become more about the “other dimensions” such as how the Internet is used, rather than merely access or ownership (e.g., first level digital divide issues) at the middle school level. Originality This chapter will be beneficial to researchers who study the digital divide and those who seek to understand the myriad uses of computers among youth. It will also be beneficial for those who seek to integrate computer interventions in schools. This study includes one of the most diverse samples of middle school students in the United States. The results suggest that there are multiple dimensions to the digital divide and that patterns of use are changing among middle school youth.

Establishing documentary production support for 21st century campuses

As a response to the growing trend of academic assignments that involve some type of video production, this paper advocates that campuses need to provide instructional as well as technical support for such projects. Universities invest in writing centers to help cultivate writing skills because they understand that providing the latest word processing programs doesn’t ensure students become better writers. Similarly, students with flip/cell video cameras and editing software are not likely to produce quality projects without guidance and thus need a similar network of support for these 21st century forms of communication. This paper presents a model for offering documentary services to entire campus communities - including technology, technique, and pedagogical considerations that lead to educational film productions with strong academic content and integrity.