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Recent educational initiatives by the Obama Administration have highlighted the need for more racial and ethnic diversity in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields (The White House, 2011). While African Americans are underrepresented in faculty positions nationally, accounting for only 5.2% of all academic faculty across all disciplines (Harvey, W. B., & Anderson, E. L. (2005). Minorities in higher education: Twenty-first annual status report. Washington, DC: American Council on Education), the underrepresentation of African Americans in STEM fields such as computing science is even more severe. According to a recent Computing Research Association (CRA) Taulbee Survey, African Americans represent just 1.3% of all computing sciences faculty (CRA, 2006).

This paper examines the benefits of one program that specifically seeks to fulfill the Obama Administration’s initiatives by addressing this disparity in higher education.

The program helps prepare doctoral students for the academic job search process in an effort to increase the ranks of African American faculty in computing sciences.

The Computing Research Association (CRA) was formed in 1972 as the Computer Science Board (CSB), which provided a forum for the chairs of Ph.D.-granting computer science departments to discuss issues and share information (CRA, 2009). Since 1989, women have never accounted for more than 24% of the computer science faculty at any given rank (e.g., assistant, associate, or full professor). Currently, women represent 21.7%, 15.4%, and 11.7% of computer science faculty at the assistant, associate, and full professor ranks, respectively. Women have been as much as 24% of the Ph.D. graduates in computing in a single year. Since 1998, African Americans have never accounted for more than 2.0%, 1.4%, and 0.7% of the assistant, associate, and full professors, respectively, in computer science. Furthermore, African Americans have never accounted for more than 2% of the Ph.D. graduates in computer science in a single year over that same time period. It appears women and African Americans overall are underrepresented among the ranks of computer science faculty, but to what extent?

The purpose of this paper is two‐fold: to investigate virtual agent representational characteristics (modality, interaction style, animation, realism, embodiment, and gender) employed by agent software providers in developing commercial and non‐commercial web sites; and to examine older consumers' preferences in these agent characteristics.

Study 1 involves a content analysis of 64 sample web sites of agent providers, and study 2 consists of four focus group interviews conducted with 25 older consumers in the age group of 65‐82 years.

Findings from both studies reveal some important disconnects between agent characteristics (modality, realism, animation, and gender) offered by virtual agent software providers and those preferred by older consumers. As a result, important recommendations are provided for the development of virtual agents for e‐commerce applications to enhance accessibility for older users.

No previous studies have investigated which agent characteristics enhance web accessibility and are most preferred by older users in the context of e‐commerce applications.

“The Computing Research Association (CRA) is an association of more than 200 North American academic departments of computer science, computer engineering, and related fields; laboratories and centers in industry, government, and academia engaging in basic computing research; and affiliated professional societies” (CRA, 2010a). Each year the CRA publishes its Taulbee Survey. “The Taulbee Survey is the principal source of information on the enrollment, production, and employment of Ph.D.s in computer science and computer engineering (CS & CE) and in providing salary and demographic data for faculty in CS & CE in North America. Statistics given include gender and ethnicity breakdowns” (Computer Research Association, CRA, 2010a).

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the visual presence of a virtual agent on a retail Web site reveals positive outcomes for older users with respect to enhancing perceived interactivity, social support, trust and patronage intentions and alleviating user anxiety.

A between-subjects laboratory experiment was conducted with 50 older users, which included an interaction experience of 30 minutes followed by a paper-based questionnaire. The visual presence of the agent was manipulated in a mock retail Web site through the presence or absence of a virtual agent image, while maintaining the same agent functionality.

The contrasts of senior users’ shopping experiences between two agent-mediated Web sites (with or without agent image) support the direct “persona” effects of a virtual agent’s visual presence on enhancing perceived interactivity, social support, trust and patronage intentions in the retail Web site, while alleviating user anxiety. Further, anxiety alleviation is fully explained by increased perceptions of interactivity. Perceived social support fully mediates trust in the benevolence of the online retailer. Trust ability emerges as a salient factor mediating the relationship between agent persona and patronage intentions.

This work is the first to identify the value of human visual embodiment for older users’ online shopping experiences, which has implications for other low-experience/expertise users of a medium.

This research study focuses on fifth-grade African American students who attend an all-Black charter school whose administration and teachers are committed to providing Black history instruction throughout the year. To fulfill the school's mission, the teachers integrate additional resources into the curriculum that includes lessons and activities about Black history. Therefore, the study sought to answer the following question: How does learning Black history throughout the school year impact African American fifth-grade students' self-esteem and positive self-image? The authors examined student work, conducted observations and listened as the participants engaged in critical discussions about race and racism.

Way to Go (WTG) is a K-12 public charter school located in an urban mid-size city in Florida, with a 100% Black student population; all WTG students receive scholarships and free lunch. The 15 participants in this study self-identified as African American fifth-grade students. The authors conducted a qualitative research study that included 13 observations, an analysis of five student work samples and a focus group interview with seven students. They used interpretative phenomenology to gather African American fifth-grade students' experiences and their interpretations of these experiences (Moustakas, 1994) while acquiring information about Black history.

The themes that emerged are it's time to go, unsung heroes and Black history is exciting. In the first theme, they learned why Blacks migrated from the South to northern cities and understood why it was time for them to go. Next, they explored the history of unsung Blacks who inspired them to think about a variety of careers to pursue. Finally, they were excited to learn Black history because they understood the importance of learning this history in order to grapple with current events, and they recognized that knowledge of this history would improve their self-worth and life choices.

WTG charter school exemplifies what schools should attain for regarding the teaching of Black history. Since elementary school provides the foundation for learning, it is the best time to teach African American students about self-esteem and what it means to be proud of their Blackness. The fifth-graders in this study exemplified how African American students take pride in their history and have a positive sense of self-worth when taught Black history. Black history lessons and activities such as the ones utilized in WTG school will benefit African American students and contribute to their success as students.