Should Faculty Members be Exempt From a Mandate to Receive Instructional Design Training Because of Their Rights Under Academic Freedom?

The quality of the educational experience for students may be at risk if they are not taught in ways that are effective and pertinent. While educational institutions (administrators, faculty senates or a combination) may try to compel faculty members to gain knowledge of and utilize up-to-date learning and instructional design strategies, these faculty members may baulk at this mandate, citing academic freedom as their right to design their courses in any way they see fit. Following is a discussion exploring the issue, suggesting that regardless of how academic freedom is interpreted, faculty members have an ethical obligation to deliver instruction in ways that do not violate students' rights to learn. Consequently, institutions have a right as well as a duty to compel their faculty members to follow through with this obligation.     

Ensuring PhD Development of Responsible Conduct of Research Behaviors: Who’s Responsible?

The importance of public confidence in scientific findings and trust in scientists cannot be overstated. Thus, it becomes critical for the scientific community to focus on enhancing the strategies used to educate future scientists on ethical research behaviors. What we are lacking is knowledge on how faculty members shape and develop ethical research standards with their students. We are presenting the results of a survey with 3,500 research faculty members. We believe this is the first report on how faculty work with and educate their PhD students on basic research standards. Specifically, we wanted to determine whether individual faculty members, who are advisors or mentors, differ in how they implemented components of responsible conduct of research (RCR) with their PhD students. Mentors were more likely than advisors or supervisors to report working with all of their PhDs, who graduated in the last 5 years, on the 17 recognized critical components of RCR training and research skill development. We also found about half of the faculty members believe RCR is an institutional responsibility versus a faculty responsibility. Less than a quarter have had opportunities to participate in faculty training to be a better mentor, advisor, or research teacher, and about one third of faculty did not or could not remember whether they had guidelines related to their responsibilities to PhD students. We discuss the implications of our findings and focus on ways that PhD research mentoring can be enhanced.     

Sex-Based Salary Disparity and the Uses of Multiple Regression for Definition and Remediation

Although sex differences in salaries are widely condemned, some organizations tolerate these disparities. When organizations are found to discriminate against women in salaries for the same jobs as men, a number of remedies can be pursued. This study illustrates how a state university responded to demonstrated sex-based salary disparities identified in a class-action lawsuit. In particular, a regression analysis was conducted for male and female faculty members that also included seven other predictors. Statistical differences between male and female faculty members were found. As part of the remediation, the salaries of 39 women faculty members were increased. Subsequent regression analysis indicated that the effect for faculty member sex no longer reached traditional levels of statistical significance. The court-order remediation was deemed to have removed the sex-based salary disparity. Yet, it is not clear that the post-remediation salaries of the women faculty were perceived as fair. This case demonstrates how concepts from regression can be (mis)used in legal cases of salary fairness and disparity.     

Challenge me! Communicating in multicultural classrooms

The current study investigated the value of Socratic classroom communication (e.g., critical debate and challenging each other on content matters) among students from various cultures (clustered into Western Europeans, Eastern Europeans and Non-Europeans) and from members of faculty at an international university in Germany. Students from Western cultures where Socratic communication had been valued in the school systems reported a greater ease of engaging in the respective communication style than did Eastern European and Non-European students. Furthermore, we assessed how strongly the faculty valued the respective kinds of behavior. The results show that overall students underestimated the extent to which Socratic communication behavior was esteemed by members of faculty. In addition, faculty members perceived themselves to be more explicit about their pedagogical principles than they were perceived by students. Finally, the easier it was for students to show Socratic classroom communication, the more academically satisfied they were and the better their grades. The results are discussed with regard to practical implications and the internationalization of universities.     

Conducting industrial and organizational psychological research: institutional review of research in work organizations

Although informed consent is a primary mechanism for ensuring the ethical treatment of human participants in research, both federal guidelines and American Psychological Association ethical standards recognize that exceptions to it are reasonable under certain conditions. However, agreement about what constitutes a reasonable exception to informed consent is sometimes lacking. We presented the same protocols to samples of respondents drawn from 4 populations: Institutional review board (IRB) members, managers, employees, and university faculty who were not members of IRBs. Differences in perceptions of IRB members from the other samples with respect to the risks of the protocols without informed consent and on the feasibility of conducting the research in employment organizations are discussed in terms of implications for industrial and organizational psychology research.     

How Academic Community and an Ethic of Care Can Shape Adjunct Work Environments: A Case Study of a Community College

This article presents a qualitative case study that explores how faculty and administrators at one community college conceptualized and experienced academic community within their institution and how that conceptualization helped shape the part-time faculty work environment. Using a combined framework of academic community and care ethics, this study utilizes data from 55 interviews with full-time and part-time faculty and administrative leaders from a large community college. Findings from this study indicate that defining membership, a sense of belonging, and shared mission and goals are key components to their understanding of academic community. From these three components, the study found that when participants included adjunct faculty as members of their academic community, they also reported a sense of responsibility or obligation to supporting them.

     

Conducting Industrial and Organizational Psychological Research: Institutional Review of Research in Work Organizations

Although informed consent is a primary mechanism for ensuring the ethical treatment of human participants in research, both federal guidelines and American Psychological Association ethical standards recognize that exceptions to it are reasonable under certain conditions. However, agreement about what constitutes a reasonable exception to informed consent is sometimes lacking. We presented the same protocols to samples of respondents drawn from 4 populations: Institutional review board (IRB) members, managers, employees, and university faculty who were not members of IRBs. Differences in perceptions of IRB members from the other samples with respect to the risks of the protocols without informed consent and on the feasibility of conducting the research in employment organizations are discussed in terms of implications for industrial and organizational psychology research.     

Reflecting on – traditions,ceremony, and the formation of bachelor-prepared nurses

In this article, we explore the ways that the traditional nursing oath ceremony might serve as a reflective transformative moment for first-year students as they take their first tentative steps in a developmental journey of being and becoming registered nurses. Traditions in professional programs act as a rite of passage and hold the promise of an invitation and a new sense of belonging. This discussion explores the possibilities that exist within reflective transformative learning moments. The discussion unfolds through our eyes as nursing faculty teaching in an undergraduate nursing program. We recall our experience of practicing with first-year nursing students, and discuss the age-old debate: is the focus of teaching delivering content, or the formation of practitioners?     

‘So Help Me God’? Does oath swearing in courtroom scenarios impact trial outcomes?

In countries such as Britain and the US, court witnesses must declare they will provide truthful evidence and are often compelled to publicly choose between religious (“oath”) and secular (“affirmation”) versions of this declaration. Might defendants who opt to swear an oath enjoy more favourable outcomes than those who choose to affirm? Two preliminary, pre-registered survey studies using minimal vignettes (Study 1, N = 443; Study 2, N = 913) indicated that people associate choice of the oath with credible testimony; and that participants, especially religious participants, discriminate against defendants who affirm. In a third, Registered Report study (Study 3, N = 1821), we used a more elaborate audiovisual mock trial paradigm to better estimate the real-world influence of declaration choice. Participants were asked to render a verdict for a defendant who either swore or affirmed, and were themselves required to swear or affirm that they would try the defendant in good faith. Overall, the defendant was not considered guiltier when affirming rather than swearing, nor did mock-juror belief in God moderate this effect. However, jurors who themselves swore an oath did discriminate against the affirming defendant. Exploratory analyses suggest this effect may be driven by authoritarianism, perhaps because high-authoritarian jurors consider the oath the traditional (and therefore correct) declaration to choose. We discuss the real-world implications of these findings and conclude the religious oath is an antiquated legal ritual that needs reform.     

Faculty Perceptions of Student Self Plagiarism: An Exploratory Multi-university Study

The purpose of this research study was to evaluate faculty perceptions regarding student self-plagiarism or recycling of student papers. Although there is a plethora of information on plagiarism and faculty who self-plagiarize in publications, there is very little research on how faculty members perceive students re-using all or part of a previously completed assignment in a second assignment. With the wide use of plagiarism detection software, this issue becomes even more crucial. A population of 340 faculty members from two private universities at three different sites was surveyed in Fall 2012 semester regarding their perceptions of student self-plagiarism. A total of 89 faculty responded for a return rate of 26.2 %. Overall, institutional policies on self-plagiarism did not exist and faculty did not clearly understand the concept and believed their students did not either. Although faculty agreed students need to be educated on self-plagiarism, faculty assumed students had previously been educated on plagiarism as well as self-plagiarism; only 13 % ensured students understood this concept.     

Brief Report: The Sexual Harassment of Faculty Members by Students

We investigated sexual harassment by college students toward faculty members using modified versions of the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ) developed by Fitzgerald and colleagues. The SEQ measures three major constructs of sexual harassment: gender harassment, sexual coercion (bribery), and unwanted sexual attention. The student version of the SEQ was completed by 359 college students (85% White); 102 faculty members (92% White) completed the faculty version. Although we did not ask about their social class, they are typically middle class. Female faculty reported experiencing significantly more unwanted sexual attention from students and were more bothered by it than male faculty. While the frequency of gender harassment did not differ significantly between male and female faculty, the latter were significantly more bothered by it than the former. Concerning students' responses to the SEQ, there were no significant gender differences. Sexual harassment as both a tool and a result of male dominance in society is discussed.     

Counselling psychologists in academia: Life satisfaction and work and family role commitments

We examined the life satisfaction of men and women counselling psychology faculty who were Division 17 (Society of Counseling Psychology) members of APA (American Psychological Association). Self-efficacy for multiple role management, coping style, and work-family role orientation were considered as predictors of life satisfaction. Results indicated that men scored significantly higher on employee role and self role self-efficacy as compared to women, and that women as compared to men scored higher on seeking social support coping. No significant sex difference was found for role orientation or life satisfaction. Findings revealed that spouse/partner self-efficacy and problem-solving coping emerged as significant predictors of men and women's life satisfaction and accounted for 31% of the total variance.     

Impact of Perceived Authentic Leadership and Psychological Capital on Burnout: Mediating Role of Psychological Ownership

The present study is an empirical endeavor of exploring the role of promotive and preventative psychological ownership in the relationship of authentic leadership and psychological capital with burnout. A cross-sectional survey study was conducted among 500 faculty members of various public sector universities of Pakistan (209 male and 291 female teachers). PsyCap Questionnaire, Authentic Leadership Questionnaire, Psychological Ownership Questionnaire, and Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educator Survey were used to measure the focal constructs of the present study. Structured equation modeling reveals that promotive psychological ownership had a negative, whereas preventative psychological ownership had a positive relationship with burnout. Psychological capital and perceived authentic leadership had a negative influence on burnout. Promotive psychological ownership mediated the relationship of psychological capital and authentic leadership with burnout, whereas preventative psychological ownership mediated between perceived authentic leadership and burnout. Implications of the research along with its limitation and suggestions for further research were reflected upon.     

Factors Predicting the Inclusion of Lesbian,Gay, and Bisexual Affirmative Content Taught in Couple and Family Therapy Courses

Abstract

This study explored the relationship between Couple and Family Therapy (CFT) faculty members’ Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) clinical competence and the level of LGB affirmative therapy content they teach in their courses. Hierarchical regression analyses of 117 faculty in accredited CFT programs suggest that faculty members’ own reported competence to work with LGB clients predicted their inclusion of LGB affirmative course content in the courses they teach. Important gender effects also emerged suggesting that women faculty are more likely than men to teach LGB affirmative course material. Results suggest important implications for CFT faculty, training programs, and accreditation standards.     

Integrating Spirituality into Family Therapy Training: An Exploration of Faculty Members’ Beliefs

The purpose of this study was to explore the beliefs and attitudes of marriage and family therapy (MFT) faculty as they relate to the appropriateness of addressing spirituality in the context of therapy and training of future MFTs. Ninety-three MFT faculty members at masters and doctoral level programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Marriage and Family Therapy Education completed the electronic survey for this study. The results indicate that the majority of MFT faculty members believe that spirituality is important in their personal lives, in their clinical work, and in MFT training. The findings of the current study are similar to previous studies of clinical and student members of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.     

Turning a Blind Eye: Faculty Who Ignore Student Cheating

In this study, 40.3% of faculty members admitted to ignoring student cheating on one or more occasions. The quality of past experience in dealing with academic integrity violations was examined. Faculty members with previous bad experiences were more likely to prefer dealing with cheating by ignoring it. The data were further analysed to determine beliefs and attitudes that distinguish between faculty who have never ignored an instance of cheating and those who indicated that they have ignored one or more instances in the past. The stated reasons for ignoring cheating included insufficient evidence, triviality of the offense, and insufficient time; however, it was demonstrated that faculty who ignored academic integrity violations felt more stressed when speaking to students about cheating, preferred to avoid emotionally charged situations, and indicated that if a student were likely to become emotional, they were less likely to speak to him or her.     

Who Should Do Faculty Development and What Should It Be?

In the face of widespread public dissatisfaction with higher education, faculty development programs—especially semester- and year-long leaves—have become more important than ever before as a means of helping faculty broaden their scholarship and enhance their teaching. Department chairs should play an important hand in decisions on faculty development assignments. Given that they also have other important responsibilities, however, ways must be found to entice department chairs to become as involved in faculty development as they are in promotion and tenure, curriculum review, and decisions on merit salary increments. The particular value of faculty development programs for women and members of minority groups must also be recognized. These two groups of faculty may experience special problems in adjusting to faculty life, which make faculty development opportunities even more valuable to them than to others.     

Pantagruelism: A Rabelaisian inspiration for Understanding Poisoning,Euthanasia and Abortion in The Hippocratic Oath and in Contemporary Clinical Practice

Contrary to the common view, this paper suggests that the Hippocratic oath does not directly refer to the controversial subjects of euthanasia and abortion. We interpret the oath in the context of establishing trust in medicine through departure from Pantagruelism. Pantagruelism is coined after Rabelais' classic novel Gargantua and Pantagruel. His satire about a wonder herb, Pantagruelion, is actually a sophisticated model of anti-medicine in which absence of independent moral values and of properly conducted research fashion a flagrant over-medicalization of human problems. Ultimately this undermines the therapeutic core of medicine itself. We contend that PAS is a case of such over-medicalization and that its institution creates medicophobia. This article does not express an opinion about euthanasia in general. Rather, we claim that physicians should learn from the oath and from Rabelais that they should keep their practice to medical care and not to exploit their expertise and social privileges for the sake of ulterior motives, even when their patients desire those goals.