Gender Diversity in Computer Science at a Large Public R1 Research University: Reporting on a Self-study

With the number of jobs in computer occupations on the rise, there is a greater need for computer science (CS) graduates than ever. At the same time, most CS departments across the country are only seeing 25–30% of women students in their classes, meaning that we are failing to draw interest from a large portion of the population. In this work, we explore the gender gap in CS at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, a large public R1 research university, using three data sets that span thousands of students across six academic years. Specifically, we combine these data sets to study the gender gaps in four core CS courses and explore the correlation of several factors with retention and the impact of these factors on changes to the gender gap as students proceed through the CS courses toward completing the CS major. For example, we find that a significant percentage of women students taking the introductory CS1 course for majors do not intend to major in CS, which may be a contributing factor to a large increase in the gender gap immediately after CS1. This finding implies that part of the retention task is attracting these women students to further explore the major. Results from our study include both novel findings and findings that are consistent with known challenges for increasing gender diversity in CS. In both cases, we provide extensive quantitative data in support of the findings.

Applying Design Concepts for the Cultivation of Cross-University Partnerships

Representing distinct parts of Rutgers University—academic innovation and experiential learning, organizational leadership and strategy, and the university library—the authors approach this discussion of agility and cross-university partnerships from three distinct vantage points. Despite different administrative portfolios and scholarly and professional interests, the authors collectively view this moment as one of profound opportunity for our institution and for higher education more broadly. Purposeful collaborations have contributed to new and innovative partnerships that will be discussed in this chapter, including a new learning community for interested members of the New Brunswick Libraries—The Hatchery, a dedicated design thinking and ideation studio centrally located in the Archibald S. Alexander Library—and varying points of convergence with the Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship Academy (IDEA) that integrates design and entrepreneurial thinking and leadership development into the Rutgers student experience.

Recap of the 28th Annual Conference on Pacific Basin Finance, Economics, Accounting, and Management & the 14th NCTU International Finance Conference

The 28th Annual Conference on Pacific Basin Finance, Economics, Accounting, and Management was held at National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan on January 7 and 8, 2021. The first conference was held at Rutgers University in 1993. Since then, the conference has been held in Hong Kong (1994, 1998), Taipei (1995, 1999. 2003, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2019), Bangkok (2000, 2004, 2009), Rutgers (1996, 2001, 2005, 2012, 2018), Singapore (1997, 2002, 2017), Vietnam (2007, 2015), Australia (2008, 2013), China (2010), and Japan (2014). The program co-directors of the conference were Cheng-Few Lee, Rutgers University, USA, and Woan-lih Liang, National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan.

The response of majority employee-owned firms during the pandemic compared to other firms

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to understand how majority employee-owned firms responded to the pandemic compared to firms that were not majority employee-owned. The Employee Ownership Foundation partnered with Rutgers University and the SSRS survey firm to survey ESOP and non-ESOP firms about their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. A key purpose of the survey was to estimate firm-level changes in employment from mid-January to August (current employment figures were adjusted to August 5 using BLS industry employment trends). The survey also looked at other forms of adjustment and responses to the pandemic as reviewed below. The focus in this study is on the differences between firms that are majority owned by ESOPs and those that are not.Design/methodology/approachThe survey included 247 executives from ESOP Association member companies and 500 executives from an SSRS business panel constructed to be representative of US companies with 50 or more employees. The survey started on August 5 and ended on September 23, 2020.Findings(1) Majority ESOP firms had employment declines from January to August that were on average only one-fourth as large as for other firms. The difference is maintained when controlling for industry membership. (2) Majority ESOP firms were more likely to be declared “essential,” but the lower employment cutbacks among majority ESOP firms remain among essential and non-essential businesses. As essential businesses, majority ESOP firms were more likely receive Paycheck Protection Program or other government pandemic assistance, but both assistance recipients and non-recipients had lower employment cutbacks among majority ESOP firms. (3) The extent of employment cutbacks was higher for non-managers than for managers, but the manager/non-manager gap was higher among other firms than among majority ESOP firms.Research limitations/implicationsThis study supports empirical findings done previously.Practical implicationsThis study suggests to non-EO firms what they can do.Social implicationsThis study suggests strengths of EO firms.Originality/valueA very original and one-of-a-kind dataset.

Nutrient Content of Micro/Baby-Green and Field-Grown Mature Foliage of Tropical Spinach (Amaranthus sp.) and Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.)

Micro/baby-greens are gaining popularity in human diets as functional foods that deliver superior nutritional values and health benefits to consumers. This study conducted multiple times between 2017 and 2019 under greenhouse conditions and in the field at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA, showed that micro/baby-greens from tropical spinach (Amaranthus sp.) and roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) are rich in digestible carbohydrates, digestible protein, and dietary fiber. On dry weight basis, both vegetables have high relative percentages of P, K, and Mg; and relatively high ppm Fe, Mn, and Zn. Foliage tissues of both species are relatively low in total fat, Ca, and Cu. Between 10 and 20 days after sowing (DAS), percent digestible carbohydrates in fresh foliar tissue increased 100% in tropical spinach and 50% in roselle, while digestible protein dropped 21% in tropical spinach and 50% in roselle. Compared to field grown mature foliage, greenhouse-grown micro/baby-greens were lower in digestible carbohydrates and Ca but higher in digestible protein, P, K, Mg, Fe, Mn, and Zn.