Many people talk about academic excellence — but who or what really defines this elusive quality?
Michèle Lamont, Robert I. Goldman Professor of European Studies and professor of sociology and of African and African American studies, analyzes the system of peer review in her new book “How Professors Think: Inside the Curious World of Academic Judgment” (Harvard University Press, 2009). By examining the process of scholarly evaluation, she also addresses larger questions about academia.
“In some ways studying peer evaluation and review is a point of entry into a much broader issue, which is the issue of meritocracy in American higher education,” says Lamont.
To research the book, Lamont interviewed panelists from research councils and societies of fellows who were evaluating proposals for research funding in the social sciences and the humanities.
Lamont explains that academics must constantly make evaluations, whether of scientific findings or of graduate students. Expertise, personal taste, and the perspective of the evaluator play into the decision-making process, she writes.
“A lot of what the book does is to look at what criteria people use to judge and what meaning they give to these criteria,” says Lamont. “So for instance, what do they mean by ‘significance’ and what do they mean by ‘originality’? How does the definition of ‘originality’ and ‘significance’ vary between philosophy and economics? How strong is the consensus between fields?
Answer:
b. when restraining forces are removed, driving forces will produce change
Explanation:
Force field analysis is a theory of Kurt Lewin in his contribution to change management.
This model suggests how change agents may diagnose the forces that drive and restrain proposed organizational change. It draws from this that change agents can only cause change to happen if they eliminate forces restraining order resisting this change.
Lewin list four forces in his research: change forces, driving forces, restraining forces and resisting forces, suggesting that in order for a change to happen the driving forces have to be more than the restraining forces and an equilibrium means no change.
Answer:
Explanation:
The youth in crisis law permits the Juvenile Court to assume jurisdiction over 16- and 17-year olds who are beyond their parents' control, run away from home, or are truant.
Answer: False
It is unclear what the effect of the environment is on a child's IQ. While some scholars argue that IQ is innate, some others believe that a child's IQ is dependent on his context. Regardless of whether this is the case or not, a child raised in substandard conditions will either see a decrease in his IQ, or will experience no change. He will not experience an increase in IQ.
Diversity is about difference
