Is an Early Start the Best Start?: Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Political Science Summer Bridge Program

Summer bridge programs are supposed to connect a graduating high school senior’s summer to their first semester in college, easing the transition away from home and into a university setting. Although research is plentiful on the programs, assessments regarding the overall effectiveness of such programs have been mixed (e.g., Cabrera, Miner, and Milem 2013 Cabrera, Nolan, Danielle Miner, and Jeffrey Milem. 2013. “Can A Summer Bridge Program Impact First-Year Persistence And Performance?: A Case Study Of The New Start Summer Program.” Research in Higher Education 54(5): 481–498.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Douglas and Attewell 2014 Douglas, Daniel, and Paul Attewell. 2014. “The Bridge and the Troll Underneath: Summer Bridge Programs and Degree Completion.” American Journal of Education 121(1): 87–109.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Grayson 2003 Grayson, J. Paul. 2003. “The Consequences of Early Adjustment to University.” Higher Education 46(4): 411–429.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). As Cabrera, Miner, and Milem (2013 Cabrera, Nolan, Danielle Miner, and Jeffrey Milem. 2013. “Can A Summer Bridge Program Impact First-Year Persistence And Performance?: A Case Study Of The New Start Summer Program.” Research in Higher Education 54(5): 481–498.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) note, many of the studies collect data from participants in a one-time satisfaction survey and/or do not have an equivalent group of students who did not participate in the program from which to compare effectiveness. Our proposed study mitigates these flaws by employing a nonequivalent-groups quasi-experiment (NEG). Our bridge program—called Early Start (ES)— tapped into social, emotional, and academic engagement, as we sought to integrate the students into the university and school communities while holding high expectations and actively involving them in their own learning (Tinto 2004 Tinto, Vincent. 2004. Student Retention and Graduation-Facing the Truth, Living with the Consequences. Washington, DC: The Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education. [Google Scholar]). Results suggest that not only were students enrolled in our program better socially and emotionally integrated into the university during their first year but they also scored better on content-based political science questions at the end of the fall semester, compared to their non-Early Start peers. Finally, aggregated data indicate an increase in retention for Early Start participants.     

Satisfaction with and Success of Employee Training from a Public Service Motivation Perspective

New public management requires modernization processes, including modern human resource practices, to enhance public sector performance. According to human capital theory, well-qualified and highly motivated public sector employees improve institutional performance; this study investigates the extent to which employee training as human resource practice can enhance one component of employees’ public service motivation (PSM), namely public interest, and their competencies as employee outcome. We examine public interest as a mediator or a moderator of the relationship between satisfaction with employee training and the resulting competence gain. The findings indicate a positive direct effect of satisfaction with employee training on competence gains and a mediating effect of public interest.     

死刑废除论的误区

死刑废除论已经成为中国当代刑法学界的主流意识.流行的观点不一定就是颠扑不破的真理.死刑废除论这座炫目的大厦竟然矗立在薄冰之上,其理论基础存在许多误区.     

国有企业职工经济犯罪现象探析

在社会主义市场经济快速发展的今天，作为国家经济发展主力的国有企业，由于其内部经济体制的改革、职工利益分配调整所产生的不平衡性，使得企业职工经济犯罪也日益突出，呈现出逐年上升的趋势，致使国有财产遭受极大的损失。分析目前国企职工经济犯罪的特点、原因，提出解决途径，以引起企业的高度重视。     

雇凶杀人犯罪研究

雇凶杀人犯罪是指行为人为达到某种目的 ,以钱财、利益等为条件 ,雇请他人谋杀与行为人有着某种特殊关系的人的一种犯罪行为。雇主的心理动因主要源于自我保护和借刀杀人的需要 ,雇凶的心理动因主要源于强烈的侥幸心理和贪图钱财或某种利益的欲望。对雇凶杀人犯罪可从四个方面进行分类。雇凶杀人犯罪具有犯罪行为的预谋性、暴力性和内隐性等四个方面的特点。     

对嫖宿幼女罪存废的法理思考——以维护幼女合法权益为视角

随着习水8·15案件的发生。对“嫖宿幼女罪”罪名存废的争议再次引起社会的关注，从维护幼女合法权益的视角．应将保护幼女身心健康作为选择嫖宿幼女罪存废的最高价值目标，并基于此价值导向废止嫖宿幼女罪的罪名，而统一归入《刑法》第236条所规定的强奸罪。     

英国警务信息复查、保留与清理制度及其借鉴意义

随着我国公安信息化建设的不断深入,公安机关收集了海量的警务信息,不但产生了大容量信息的存储困难,同时也造成储存管理的复杂化和成本不断上升。英国警方建立了比较完善的警务信息复查、保留与清理制度,明确了这一制度的法律依据,确立了必须、足够、准确和最新、不过度原则等四项原则,详细规定了信息复查的形式、流程及审计监督等制度。借鉴英国警务信息复查、保留与清理制度,对我国稳步推进公安信息化建设十分有益。     

Data retention in the UK: Pragmatic and proportionate,or a step too far?

On 6 April 2009 new legislation came into force, for the first time putting Internet service providers' duty to retain significant amounts of data (relating to customers' email and Internet usage) on a compulsory, as opposed to a voluntary footing. It is a topic which has provoked intense protest from the privacy lobby and fuelled months of “Big Brother” headlines in the press. For the industry it raises operational challenges – how to facilitate storage and retrieval of colossal amounts of data. In this article we consider the policy background to the regime, the detail of the UK implementation and the practical implications for communications service providers. We weigh up the privacy and human rights concerns against the business case put forward by the Government. We also examine the Government's proposals – announced at the end of April – to significantly extend and “future proof” this regime in the form of its Intercept Modernisation Programme.     

A Multi-Level Conceptual Model to Examine Child Welfare Worker Turnover and Retention Decisions

There is little disagreement about the importance of a healthy stable workforce in promoting effective provision of child welfare services. This review proposes a multi-level conceptual model of child welfare workforce turnover combining traditional individual and organizational impacts with factors associated with community context. Identified gaps in the literature along with a related research agenda are reviewed. Also presented is an overview of the Florida Study of Professionals for Safe Families, a longitudinal study of new hires into the child welfare workforce across Florida, providing opportunities to address gaps and test model characteristics regarding turnover decisions and related outcomes.     

What’s in an MSW? Graduate education for public child welfare workers,intention, engagement,and work environment

ABSTRACT

This study employs a mixed methods analysis of exit survey data gathered from public child welfare employees at their completion of a Title IV-E funded MSW program, distinct because it was initiated during a period of major reform and permitted students to continue employment during their studies. Findings suggest that opportunities for growth and manageable levels of stress were associated with intentions to stay and engagement with the work, reflected in respondents’ positive perceptions of their roles in the work environment and their retrospective assessments of the impact of their social work education.