Victoria Molfese - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Victoria Molfese
Journal of Research Administration, Oct 1, 2007
Journal of Research Administration, Sep 22, 2008
Voice of Experience advances the Journal's tradition of academic and professional excellence ... more Voice of Experience advances the Journal's tradition of academic and professional excellence by considering contemporary issues and horizons in research administration. VOE is a celebrated feature column in each edition of the Journal. It is under the corporate authorship of some of the most distinguished and seasoned members of SRA International who lead research administration efforts around the globe. In this issue, VOE offers an interview with Mr. Philip V. Spina, MA, CRA, who in October completed his leadership as the first President of the Society elected for a two-year term. Introduction Changes in leadership always create moments of reflection. This is as true for organizations or local small local communities as it is for nations and governments. This year, the American people experienced a significant moment of leadership-change that has created a time of critical reflection upon the foundations of American life. More than any political platform, this past election year has been a moment to re-discover the core values and the core meaning of what it means to be a unique people with a unique way of life who are part of a global community. The Society of Research Administrators International has undergone its own change of leadership this year. It is a unique time of reflection and re-discovery. This reflection and re-discovery are not centered upon what it means to be a member of SRA. Rather it is a moment when the women and men of the Society are moved to reflect critically upon the meaning of the profession of research administration itself, and its mission for the act of research within our respective institutions and communities. In this edition of VOE, Philip Spina offers his reflections upon these very issues as he completes his two-year term as SRA International President. An Interview with Philip V. Spina, MA, CRA: Reflections on The Way Forward VOE: This October, you came to the end of your term as SRA President. This Fall you also begin your thirtieth year in the profession of research administration. What do you believe are the most significant changes you have seen in research administration over the past 30 years? PS: There are three major changes in the past thirty years that strike me as particularly important. The first is the definition, or perhaps I should say the emergence of a definition of research administration as a profession. Historically, a profession emerges from an occupation as the members define their profession in terms of education and professional training. The establishment of linkages between our professional organization and various accreditation organizations, certification programs and traditional educational organizations are first steps in a process of establishing and maintaining standards of excellence and expectations that govern our professional affairs. As a profession, we have defined the theoretical knowledge necessary to be a professional research administrator as outlined in the Body of Knowledge. The development and expansion of our professional expertise now requires us to work towards establishing and obtaining degrees and professional certifications as well as regular updating of skills through certified continuing education. The second is the expansion of the profession. We are all aware of the continuing growth of the number of members in the Society of Research Administrators and other professional organizations dedicated to professionals serving the research community. We have added approximately five hundred new members to SRA in just the last two years alone. The expansion and diversification of our profession is actually far more complex than the growth in the numbers of individuals who recognize their participation in our field. In the time that I have been a member of SRA, we have seen expansion of the interest of the membership from proposal submission and award management to include the spectrum of integrity and ethical issues in research, intellectual property and technology transfer issues, safety issues, faculty and institutional development and even facilities operations and management. …
Journal of Research Administration, Mar 22, 2008
Introduction It is likely that most, if not all, universities and colleges, hospitals and medical... more Introduction It is likely that most, if not all, universities and colleges, hospitals and medical centers, and other for profit, nonprofit, and government organizations have engaged in strategic planning. Indeed, many organizations have their strategic plans readily accessible on their websites. The importance of strategic plans to organizations is their definitional qualities--basically the organization's purpose, goals, and plans for achieving those goals. Research administrators play a prominent role in the strategic planning process of any organization that includes "research" in its strategic plan's purpose and goals. The purpose of this article is to describe the strategic planning process as it relates to research and research administrators and managers. Examples of strategic planning to achieve research goals are described for emerging research universities in Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and China. In contrast to the better known aspects of strategic planning at research universities, examples of strategic planning to achieve research goals and plans at predominantly undergraduate institutions also are described. By contrasting types of institutions, the commonalities and differences in the application of strategic planning to achieve research goals become clearer. Question: What is Strategic Planning? The strategic planning process provides an opportunity for all partners to invest in a common goal and to work through the necessary steps for achieving that goal. Research and its administration and management are ideal environments for applying strategic and other planning processes. Both day to day and hour to hour, research administration may feel like a completely reactive profession. However, it is our responsibility, in concert with the leadership of our organizations, to set direction and proactive implementation processes. Research administration or research management must always add value to a research enterprise. As research administrators, we must demonstrate that the costs of our effort produce benefits that outweigh those costs. Benefits might include increased external revenue for research and increased research productivity measured by numbers of publications, numbers of active projects, and even numbers of proposals submitted, an especially effective measure if coupled with increased funding rates. Benefits can also include subjective measures such as customer satisfaction and increased motivation to seek external support. A good strategic planning effort will focus on establishing the value-added contribution of research administration and establish both objective and subjective measures of benefit by which the effort can be evaluated in the future. Question: Is there value to Strategic Planning? The three examples cited--Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and China--represent very different histories, cultures and economic environments. The common elements among the three are the political will and strategic decisions to forge a culture of innovation and exploration in their countries. Nigeria relies heavily on the philanthropy of foundations, such as Gates, MacArthur and Carnegie; Saudi Arabia on the wealth of natural resources; and China on political determination. The universities in these countries had the new charge to figure out how to reinvent themselves and to become what we in the western world deem "research universities." Absolutely critical, then, is a long-term planning process that will establish strategic goals and direction and a roadmap for how to achieve them. In Nigeria and other African nations, donors such as the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation require that the institutions they support develop and follow a strategic plan for the growth of their research programs. Saudi Arabian and Chinese universities are engaging in similar processes. All have promise for amazing results. Question: What do we do with the Strategic Plan once we have one? …
Journal of Research Administration, Apr 1, 2006
Journal of Research Administration, 2001
Abstract The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) solicited responses from a variety of... more Abstract The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) solicited responses from a variety of stakeholders to identify ways in which federal policy could be reformed to enhance innovation. The Society of Research Administrators International (SRA) responded to this initiative and identified the following specific priority areas for reform: the peer review process, finding for graduate research, evaluation of federally funded research, support for the research infrastructure, federal partnerships programs, mechanisms for addressing complex (multi-discipline and/or cross-sector) innovations, and accounting principles for RD academia; non-profits; and state, local and federal governments. Several potential areas for reform were identified and respondents were asked to identify specific priority areas, the types of reform that should be implemented and a timeframe for implementation. The following paper describes SRA's specific recommendations to the CT along with the Society's justification for each area of reform. Nature of the Peer Review Process Numerous agencies have reviewed their own peer review process and the General Accounting Office (GAO) spent many months reviewing the entire federal review process. Although the current system is still considered the best for evaluating funding proposals, it is not perfect. SRA noted the following real or perceived problems in the existing peer review system: * The review process is unduly influenced by biases for and against certain theoretical frameworks, methodologies, investigators and institutions. * Innovative theories and novel approaches and models are more often ranked lower than conservative and familiar options. * Reviewers have the unfair advantage of seeing new advances and may give lower scores to competitors. * The peer review process is too lengthy, generally taking from several months to a year before funding is approved. * In general, only incremental advances are funded and even the "cutting edge" projects tend to be extremely conservative. To eliminate such problems, federal agencies need to adopt the philosophy that innovation is a critical factor in the peer review process and include innovation as one of the review criteria for determining a proposal's success. Moreover, the term "innovation" needs to be redefined as something that is truly cutting edge, not merely an incremental advance in the status quo. The difficulty with innovation is that novel ideas tend to be associated with a high rate of failure, something our legislative bodies and the general public seldom tolerate. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has a program, called Small Grants for Exploratory Research, that bypasses the peer review process and has a very short turn around time. This program should be looked at as a basic model for encouraging innovation. However, if a peer review component is needed, it is critical to keep the time, from submission to funding, short to retain the innovative nature of the program. …
Journal of Research Administration, Sep 22, 2009
Journal of Research Administration, Mar 22, 2007
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 13611267 2011 597119, Aug 1, 2011
In this study, researchers examined whether tutoring implemented by volunteer tutors impacted str... more In this study, researchers examined whether tutoring implemented by volunteer tutors impacted struggling elementary readers’ reading skills, their attitudes toward reading, and their self-confidence. The study involved two elementary schools and 30 students who were participating in the community based tutoring program and who were randomly assigned to reading-only or reading/writing tutoring conditions. Findings suggested that students could improve their
Environ Health Perspect, 2006
Merrill Palmer Quarterly, 2010
Contemporary Educational Psychology, Apr 1, 2010
Academic and social success in school has been linked to children's self-reg... more Academic and social success in school has been linked to children's self-regulation. This study investigated the assessment of the executive function (EF) component of self-regulation using a low-cost, easily administered measure to determine whether scores obtained from the ...
Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 1987
ABSTRACT
Mentoring and Tutoring, 2011
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 87565640802418647, Feb 1, 2008
Journal of Education For Students Placed at Risk, 2008
Few studies investigating the impacts of teacher characteristics and beliefs about the importance... more Few studies investigating the impacts of teacher characteristics and beliefs about the importance of early skill learning have included measures of children's learning outcomes. This study investigated how teachers' educational attainment, experience, and beliefs impact the development of ...
Society For Research on Educational Effectiveness, 2009
Journal of Reproductive Medicine, 1985
This study evaluated five risk-screening scales containing antepartum and intrapartum subscales. ... more This study evaluated five risk-screening scales containing antepartum and intrapartum subscales. Two issues were addressed: (1) whether one scale is as good as another in screening obstetric patients for perinatal risk, and (2) whether intrapartum scores are more important predictors of perinatal outcome than are antepartum scores. Four of the five scales produced fairly similar total scores, but the overall value of these scores in predicting perinatal outcome was not as good as that shown by scores derived from the least similar scale. The major differences between scales were due to the specific antepartum items they contained. In general, the antepartum scores were found to influence the prediction of infant outcome more strongly, and intrapartum scores were more predictive of maternal outcome.
Learning and Individual Differences
ABSTRACT
Journal of Research Administration, Oct 1, 2007
Journal of Research Administration, Sep 22, 2008
Voice of Experience advances the Journal's tradition of academic and professional excellence ... more Voice of Experience advances the Journal's tradition of academic and professional excellence by considering contemporary issues and horizons in research administration. VOE is a celebrated feature column in each edition of the Journal. It is under the corporate authorship of some of the most distinguished and seasoned members of SRA International who lead research administration efforts around the globe. In this issue, VOE offers an interview with Mr. Philip V. Spina, MA, CRA, who in October completed his leadership as the first President of the Society elected for a two-year term. Introduction Changes in leadership always create moments of reflection. This is as true for organizations or local small local communities as it is for nations and governments. This year, the American people experienced a significant moment of leadership-change that has created a time of critical reflection upon the foundations of American life. More than any political platform, this past election year has been a moment to re-discover the core values and the core meaning of what it means to be a unique people with a unique way of life who are part of a global community. The Society of Research Administrators International has undergone its own change of leadership this year. It is a unique time of reflection and re-discovery. This reflection and re-discovery are not centered upon what it means to be a member of SRA. Rather it is a moment when the women and men of the Society are moved to reflect critically upon the meaning of the profession of research administration itself, and its mission for the act of research within our respective institutions and communities. In this edition of VOE, Philip Spina offers his reflections upon these very issues as he completes his two-year term as SRA International President. An Interview with Philip V. Spina, MA, CRA: Reflections on The Way Forward VOE: This October, you came to the end of your term as SRA President. This Fall you also begin your thirtieth year in the profession of research administration. What do you believe are the most significant changes you have seen in research administration over the past 30 years? PS: There are three major changes in the past thirty years that strike me as particularly important. The first is the definition, or perhaps I should say the emergence of a definition of research administration as a profession. Historically, a profession emerges from an occupation as the members define their profession in terms of education and professional training. The establishment of linkages between our professional organization and various accreditation organizations, certification programs and traditional educational organizations are first steps in a process of establishing and maintaining standards of excellence and expectations that govern our professional affairs. As a profession, we have defined the theoretical knowledge necessary to be a professional research administrator as outlined in the Body of Knowledge. The development and expansion of our professional expertise now requires us to work towards establishing and obtaining degrees and professional certifications as well as regular updating of skills through certified continuing education. The second is the expansion of the profession. We are all aware of the continuing growth of the number of members in the Society of Research Administrators and other professional organizations dedicated to professionals serving the research community. We have added approximately five hundred new members to SRA in just the last two years alone. The expansion and diversification of our profession is actually far more complex than the growth in the numbers of individuals who recognize their participation in our field. In the time that I have been a member of SRA, we have seen expansion of the interest of the membership from proposal submission and award management to include the spectrum of integrity and ethical issues in research, intellectual property and technology transfer issues, safety issues, faculty and institutional development and even facilities operations and management. …
Journal of Research Administration, Mar 22, 2008
Introduction It is likely that most, if not all, universities and colleges, hospitals and medical... more Introduction It is likely that most, if not all, universities and colleges, hospitals and medical centers, and other for profit, nonprofit, and government organizations have engaged in strategic planning. Indeed, many organizations have their strategic plans readily accessible on their websites. The importance of strategic plans to organizations is their definitional qualities--basically the organization's purpose, goals, and plans for achieving those goals. Research administrators play a prominent role in the strategic planning process of any organization that includes "research" in its strategic plan's purpose and goals. The purpose of this article is to describe the strategic planning process as it relates to research and research administrators and managers. Examples of strategic planning to achieve research goals are described for emerging research universities in Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and China. In contrast to the better known aspects of strategic planning at research universities, examples of strategic planning to achieve research goals and plans at predominantly undergraduate institutions also are described. By contrasting types of institutions, the commonalities and differences in the application of strategic planning to achieve research goals become clearer. Question: What is Strategic Planning? The strategic planning process provides an opportunity for all partners to invest in a common goal and to work through the necessary steps for achieving that goal. Research and its administration and management are ideal environments for applying strategic and other planning processes. Both day to day and hour to hour, research administration may feel like a completely reactive profession. However, it is our responsibility, in concert with the leadership of our organizations, to set direction and proactive implementation processes. Research administration or research management must always add value to a research enterprise. As research administrators, we must demonstrate that the costs of our effort produce benefits that outweigh those costs. Benefits might include increased external revenue for research and increased research productivity measured by numbers of publications, numbers of active projects, and even numbers of proposals submitted, an especially effective measure if coupled with increased funding rates. Benefits can also include subjective measures such as customer satisfaction and increased motivation to seek external support. A good strategic planning effort will focus on establishing the value-added contribution of research administration and establish both objective and subjective measures of benefit by which the effort can be evaluated in the future. Question: Is there value to Strategic Planning? The three examples cited--Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and China--represent very different histories, cultures and economic environments. The common elements among the three are the political will and strategic decisions to forge a culture of innovation and exploration in their countries. Nigeria relies heavily on the philanthropy of foundations, such as Gates, MacArthur and Carnegie; Saudi Arabia on the wealth of natural resources; and China on political determination. The universities in these countries had the new charge to figure out how to reinvent themselves and to become what we in the western world deem "research universities." Absolutely critical, then, is a long-term planning process that will establish strategic goals and direction and a roadmap for how to achieve them. In Nigeria and other African nations, donors such as the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation require that the institutions they support develop and follow a strategic plan for the growth of their research programs. Saudi Arabian and Chinese universities are engaging in similar processes. All have promise for amazing results. Question: What do we do with the Strategic Plan once we have one? …
Journal of Research Administration, Apr 1, 2006
Journal of Research Administration, 2001
Abstract The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) solicited responses from a variety of... more Abstract The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) solicited responses from a variety of stakeholders to identify ways in which federal policy could be reformed to enhance innovation. The Society of Research Administrators International (SRA) responded to this initiative and identified the following specific priority areas for reform: the peer review process, finding for graduate research, evaluation of federally funded research, support for the research infrastructure, federal partnerships programs, mechanisms for addressing complex (multi-discipline and/or cross-sector) innovations, and accounting principles for RD academia; non-profits; and state, local and federal governments. Several potential areas for reform were identified and respondents were asked to identify specific priority areas, the types of reform that should be implemented and a timeframe for implementation. The following paper describes SRA's specific recommendations to the CT along with the Society's justification for each area of reform. Nature of the Peer Review Process Numerous agencies have reviewed their own peer review process and the General Accounting Office (GAO) spent many months reviewing the entire federal review process. Although the current system is still considered the best for evaluating funding proposals, it is not perfect. SRA noted the following real or perceived problems in the existing peer review system: * The review process is unduly influenced by biases for and against certain theoretical frameworks, methodologies, investigators and institutions. * Innovative theories and novel approaches and models are more often ranked lower than conservative and familiar options. * Reviewers have the unfair advantage of seeing new advances and may give lower scores to competitors. * The peer review process is too lengthy, generally taking from several months to a year before funding is approved. * In general, only incremental advances are funded and even the "cutting edge" projects tend to be extremely conservative. To eliminate such problems, federal agencies need to adopt the philosophy that innovation is a critical factor in the peer review process and include innovation as one of the review criteria for determining a proposal's success. Moreover, the term "innovation" needs to be redefined as something that is truly cutting edge, not merely an incremental advance in the status quo. The difficulty with innovation is that novel ideas tend to be associated with a high rate of failure, something our legislative bodies and the general public seldom tolerate. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has a program, called Small Grants for Exploratory Research, that bypasses the peer review process and has a very short turn around time. This program should be looked at as a basic model for encouraging innovation. However, if a peer review component is needed, it is critical to keep the time, from submission to funding, short to retain the innovative nature of the program. …
Journal of Research Administration, Sep 22, 2009
Journal of Research Administration, Mar 22, 2007
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 13611267 2011 597119, Aug 1, 2011
In this study, researchers examined whether tutoring implemented by volunteer tutors impacted str... more In this study, researchers examined whether tutoring implemented by volunteer tutors impacted struggling elementary readers’ reading skills, their attitudes toward reading, and their self-confidence. The study involved two elementary schools and 30 students who were participating in the community based tutoring program and who were randomly assigned to reading-only or reading/writing tutoring conditions. Findings suggested that students could improve their
Environ Health Perspect, 2006
Merrill Palmer Quarterly, 2010
Contemporary Educational Psychology, Apr 1, 2010
Academic and social success in school has been linked to children's self-reg... more Academic and social success in school has been linked to children's self-regulation. This study investigated the assessment of the executive function (EF) component of self-regulation using a low-cost, easily administered measure to determine whether scores obtained from the ...
Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 1987
ABSTRACT
Mentoring and Tutoring, 2011
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 87565640802418647, Feb 1, 2008
Journal of Education For Students Placed at Risk, 2008
Few studies investigating the impacts of teacher characteristics and beliefs about the importance... more Few studies investigating the impacts of teacher characteristics and beliefs about the importance of early skill learning have included measures of children's learning outcomes. This study investigated how teachers' educational attainment, experience, and beliefs impact the development of ...
Society For Research on Educational Effectiveness, 2009
Journal of Reproductive Medicine, 1985
This study evaluated five risk-screening scales containing antepartum and intrapartum subscales. ... more This study evaluated five risk-screening scales containing antepartum and intrapartum subscales. Two issues were addressed: (1) whether one scale is as good as another in screening obstetric patients for perinatal risk, and (2) whether intrapartum scores are more important predictors of perinatal outcome than are antepartum scores. Four of the five scales produced fairly similar total scores, but the overall value of these scores in predicting perinatal outcome was not as good as that shown by scores derived from the least similar scale. The major differences between scales were due to the specific antepartum items they contained. In general, the antepartum scores were found to influence the prediction of infant outcome more strongly, and intrapartum scores were more predictive of maternal outcome.
Learning and Individual Differences
ABSTRACT