Addresses some of the practicalities in doing a senior paper on sexual geographies (gay neighborhoods, heterosexual clubs, women's work areas), from choosing a topic to selecting a relevant methodological framework. Considers ethical issues inherent in the independent research including confidentiality and objectivity. Briefly reviews recent…

A study investigated whether college students' experiences with three good practices in undergraduate education (faculty-student contact, cooperation among students, active learning) increased from 1990 to 1994. Subjects were 5,962 students in 17 baccalaureate and 22 doctoral-granting institutions. Results indicated increased faculty-student…

Study investigated the effects of a service-learning component in an undergraduate occupational therapy course. Comparisons were made between students involved in service-learning and those not involved of how they perceived institutionalized older adults' perspectives on disease and aging. Also evaluated were weekly journal entries of the…

Discussion of the growing use of practicums and field experience in college programs as a means of preparing students for the world of work looks at ways in which the practicum is conceptualized, implemented, and evaluated. Shortcomings are identified, research into the role of supervision is recommended, appropriate learning objectives are…

Investigates the negative and hostile public opinion towards the oil industry, in general, and Standard Oil, in particular. Discovers that those most responsible for criticizing Standard Oil had an economic interest in doing so. Defends the company's record and refutes its critics' charges. (MJP)

Presents a lesson plan designed to sharpen students' research and analytical skills while giving them a better understanding of how the rise of large bureaucratic institutions redefined both the process and meaning of economic and social mobility. Students conduct research contrasting early U.S. apprenticeships with modern business people. (MJP)

Results of a National Association of College and University Business Officers survey concerning tuition discounting policies found that one-third of higher education's stated revenue stream consists of phantom dollars, with less than 10% of students paying published tuition. Data on freshman and other discounting rates, financial aid strategies,…

Discusses the entrenched nature of standardized testing in the educational system, the anti-testing movement and its supporting evidence, shifts in policy since 1980, current trends, the investment of publishers and test-makers in standardized testing, the true costs of standardized testing, and specifically "American" characteristics of…

Briefly reviews and criticizes recent research into declining undergraduate economics enrollment. Argues that this research fails to consider an integral variable, the student's perspective. Recommends a 1981 student survey profile as a model to follow for future research. (MJP)

Maintains that high enrollment figures for undergraduate economics majors in the 1980s reflected social and economic trends more than any substantive interest in the subject. Argues that the discipline is better off without a preponderance of students whose only interest is business applications. (MJP)

In a study designed to identify international business competencies required for all baccalaureate graduates of business schools, 2 panels composed of 31 business school administrators and 30 international business teachers validated and ranked 50 international business topics in 10 competency areas. They also suggested a level of competency for…

Content analysis of 441 electronic mail (e-mail) messages used by 31 Finnish undergraduate students investigated the use of the medium for practicing argumentation (grounding of stated claims) in two teaching modes: a tutor-led seminar and self-directed student discussion. Results indicated argumentation improved during the experiment, especially…

Presents a student response to an undergraduate psychology assignment where students constructed a dialog from the discipline's history. The playlet consists of two actors in the roles of William James and Hugo Munsterberg. While they expound on their contradictory positions, two actors standing behind them examine the subtext. (MJP)

Suggests college students preparing for medical school should be informed about how changes in the health care system, expansion of biomedical knowledge, and new technologies are affecting medical practice, medical curricula, medical school admission criteria and tests, and the shape of undergraduate preparation for medical education. Discusses…

Analyzes 10 editions of an introductory college psychology textbook to determine changes in the content. Reveals that coverage of consciousness, personality, abnormal (disorders), therapies, and social psychology increased, while coverage of introductory material, learning, methods, intelligence, developmental psychology, and applied psychology…