Data Analysis and Data Visualization as Active Learning in Political Science

While data analysis and the related skills of data management and data visualization are important skills for undergraduates in the field of political science, the process of learning these skills can also be used to develop critical thinking, encourage active and collaborative learning, and to apply knowledge gained in the classroom. Drawing on our experiences using data work in upper-level courses in International Relations and American Politics, we discuss how data work and quantitative analysis can be incorporated into subject-based (i.e., nonmethods specific) courses, and how it can also enhance critical reasoning skills. An evaluation of this approach using direct and indirect assessment is included.     

Public health and human rights

The editorial introduces the special issue of the journal that incorporates papers originally presented at the "Public Health and Human Rights" conference held at the Monash Prato Centre, Italy, in June 2007. It identifies the intersection between public health and human rights; access to health care services, particularly for marginalised groups such as indigenous peoples and persons with mental illnesses; and the role of international instruments in encouraging states parties to implement and monitor compliance with these rights.     

Cutback budgeting: The long-term consequences

This study asks whether short-term cutbacks made during a fiscal crisis become permanent once fiscal conditions improve. Hypotheses are developed to establish a framework for analyzing a time-series data set. These hypotheses address trade-offs between less essential versus more essential services, salaries versus positions, and capital versus operating expenditures. Then long-term consequences are assessed with a longitudinal, comparative case study of the effects of New York City's mid-1970s fiscal crisis on education services in the city. Education services were cut dramatically in 1976 and 1977. The trends in those services, defined in various ways, are compared over time and in relationship to the rest of New York State. We find that less essential services, teacher positions, and capital and maintenance expenditures suffered, relative to more essential services, operating expenditures, and teacher salaries.     

Better than Raw: A Guide to Measuring Organizational Performance with Adjusted Performance Measures

Like oysters on the half shell, some things are better when they're raw. In evaluating the performance of organizations and providing guidance for improving performance, however, raw performance measures, such as test scores or success rates, are often inferior to performance measures adjusted for client and environmental characteristics, or adjusted performance measures (APMs). Using examples from a variety of public services and data on public schools in Georgia, we compare the performance data generated by raw scores and by APMs. We conclude with guidance for constructing and using adjusted performance measures.     

Disentangling the racial test score gap: Probing the evidence in a large urban school district

We examine the size and distribution of the gap in test scores across races within New York City public schools and the factors that explain these gaps. While gaps are partially explained by differences in student characteristics, such as poverty, differences in schools attended are also important. At the same time, substantial within‐school gaps remain and are only partly explained by differences in academic preparation across students from different race groups. Controlling for differences in classrooms attended explains little of the remaining gap, suggesting little role for within‐school inequities in resources. There is some evidence that school characteristics matter. Race gaps are negatively correlated with school size—implying small schools may be helpful. In addition, the trade‐off between the size and experience of the teaching staff in urban schools may carry unintended consequences for within‐school race gaps. © 2006 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

TOWARDS WORLD-BEST PRACTICE IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION

Abstract: As Australia struggles to become technologically competitive and to raise its productivity to international standards, several reports have suggested that such productivity depends critically on the existence of an appropriately structured and trained engineering workforce. As a result, engineering education at all levels has come under close scrutiny and rapid change in the period 1987–92. The scrutiny has come from governments, industry and from the engineering profession itself. Some of the changes are consequent to wider administrative changes in education; others are inspired by industry training needs; still others have been brought about by the engineering education community in order to attract more high-quality students. The binary system of higher education has given way to a unified system. The state-controlled TAFE colleges are being brought under national standards. In engineering education a new three-year BTech degree is being promoted to fill the gap between two-year associate diplomas from TAFE colleges and four-year professional degrees from the universities, because of a serious shortage of para-professional engineers in Australian industry. Recent reviews and reports on engineering education have called for rapid expansion at all levels and a greater variety of courses. The use of competency standards is spreading from the trade levels into the professions, including engineering, threatening some traditional concepts of university education. The government has funded three Advanced Engineering Centres, modelled on institutes in other countries. Quality in higher education is under discussion, bringing the concepts of total quality management and world-best practice to teaching in the universities. Continuing professional education is being rapidly expanded by the Institution of Engineers, Australia. Many more women are now entering the engineering profession, attracted by the humanisation of engineering courses. Environmental engineering and combined degree courses are proving very popular. The level of technological awareness is being improved by bringing engineering students to assist in classes in primary and secondary schools. Cooperative education programs between universities and industry are proving attractive and effective.     

The equity effects of state school finance reforms: A methodological critique and new evidence

Since 1970, over half the states have reformed their school finance systems with improvement in equity of revenue and resource distributions as one of the stated goals. While numerous studies evaluating the equity effects of these often expensive reforms have been undertaken, there remains much disagreement about how to assess the reforms' impacts. In this article, we address the problems of measuring equity effects with an emphasis on the need for multiple definitions and an understanding of the value judgments inherent in all measures of equity. Next, three methodologies that have been used to assess the equity impacts of school finance reform are critiqued. Finally, in an effort to correct shortcomings of each, a fourth methodology is developed and new empirical evidence on the effects of reform based on that methodology are presented. The article concludes with observations about the importance of the choice of a methodology with which to evaluate complex policy changes that involve value judgments about what is fair, just, and equitable.The authors contributed equally to this article, but for reasons of equity, the names are not listed alphabetically. The research was supported by funds from the Ford Foundation. We would like to thank James Knickman, Richard Schramm and two anonymous referees for comments provided on an earlier draft of the article, Chris Hakusa for computer assistance, and Karen Gruhn for research and secretarial assistance.     

Medico-legal knowledge of general practitioners: disjunctions,errors and uncertainties

This article discusses a survey of Victorian general practitioners which investigated doctors' legal knowledge, the impact of law on clinical practice, doctors' current medico-legal information sources and their legal education needs and preferences. Knowledge of legal standards was investigated in relation to three areas: disclosure of risk; ownership of, and access to, medical records; and proxy decision-making. Additionally, the impact of statutory reform in relation to proxy decision-making was explored. Further, doctors' past experience of medico-legal education, current sources of medico-legal information and preferences concerning future medico-legal information were explored. Results indicated that overall, respondents had a very inadequate understanding of relevant law and that relevant statutory standards have had little impact on clinical practice. Professional bulletins and journals were identified as major current legal information sources, whilst printed materials, seminars and conferences were preferred sources of legal information. The authors conclude that there is a significant disjunction between legal standards and doctors' awareness of those standards, thereby creating a significant source of liability for doctors. Results highlight an urgent need to develop legal education programs for general practitioners based on doctors' identified needs and preferences.     

Using Adjusted Performance Measures for Evaluating Resource Use

Public service organizations are looking for ways to improve the evaluation of performance and resource allocation. One of the approaches is to use adjusted performance measures, which attempt to capture factors that affect the organizational performance but are outside of the organization's control. This article illustrates the construction and use of adjusted performance measures to assess the performance of public schools, and reports findings from a study of school-based budgeting in Chicago that relates adjusted performance measures and patterns of budget allocations.