Study Finds That Second Year Law Students Pay Less Attention Than Their First and Third Year Counterparts

Student use of laptop computers to surf the web during law school classes has been a much debated “problem” in legal education for more than a decade.

A recent study conducted at St. Louis University suggests that the practice is wide-spread, and that second year law students are most likely to use their laptops for “off-task” purposes. According to research conducted in 2010 by Kim Morse, the associate director of writing support at SLU Law School and a doctoral candidate in education, second year law students spent 42% of their in class time involved in “off-class” Internet activities. In comparison, the figures for first year and third year students were 35% and 25%, respectively.

The study also showed that there was no apparent correlation between laptop misuse and poor grades and that students with high LSAT scores were more likely to be surfing the Internet than their lower-scoring counterparts. In addition, classes taught by the Socratic method featured higher levels of laptop misuse than those taught by other methods.

Morse’s survey included just five classes during one semester at one law school. Students in the surveyed classes were told that they were being observed for class participation, but were not told that the way in which they used their laptops was specifically monitored. Given the admittedly small sample size, generalizations based on the study should be made with caution.

Moreover, in a world where multi-tasking has become the norm, one cannot necessarily assume that a student who is looking at unrelated websites is not also paying attention to the class.

 

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Falk: Walker’s Values Are Not Wisconsin’s Values

The almost-certain upcoming recall election for governor will be a chance for Wisconsinites to re-assert what their values are when it comes to government, Democratic candidate Kathleen Falk said Wednesday at Marquette University Law School.

That, in her view, means the election will lead to the defeat of Gov. Scott Walker, the Republican who “has so torn this state apart and exercised such an extreme far right agenda.” The values that underlie Walker’s actions since he became “aren’t our values,” Falk told Mike Gousha during an “On the Issues” session at Eckstein Hall. The event can be viewed by clicking here.

The recall election could be coming quickly, depending on how soon the state’s Government Accountability Board acts, and the Democratic field has not yet fully taken shape. But Falk has drawn the most support so far of those Democrats who say they intend to run.

The most highly publicized part of Falk’s campaign has been her pledge to veto any state budget bill that does not restore the collective bargaining powers of public employee unions that were taken away last year in action spurred by Walker. Her pledge earned her endorsements from major unions but criticism on the editorial pages of some state newspapers.

Falk told Gousha and the audience that it wouldn’t be effective to introduce a bill to reverse last year’s action that stripped public unions of almost their powers. Calling a special session of the Legislature wouldn’t work either. Republicans are very likely to remain in control of at least the Assembly and they would block any action by those routes.

That makes taking a firm stand to veto the budget unless it restores union powers the only realistic path she could take as governor, she said.

“The only bill that has to pass every two years – there is only one – is the budget bill,” Falk said. “That is why Gov. Walker eliminated collective bargaining by the budget bill. That’s how you have to restore it. And if you are not willing to go to the mat and say truthfully how you will do it . . . then you are not honoring the million people who signed that petition (to recall Walker) and it isn’t being open and honest. I thought campaigns were about telling people what you’re going to do and how you’re going to do it.”

Gousha asked her whether such a stand could be bring deadlock over the budget. “Those Assembly Republicans will see that the vision they had has been rejected by Wisconsin citizens, and I believe they will be in a more compromising mood, and that is what a budget bill is about,” Falk said.

Falk said she was successful as Dane County executive in running a government that was frugal with money and willing to change as financial circumstances changed. She said she worked well with people of all political views and was able to get unions representing Dane County workers to make concessions by convincing of them of the need for “shared sacrifice.”

She emphasized her personal story, including her childhood living in Milwaukee and Waukesha County, and referred to herself several times as “the granddaughter of a bus driver from Milwaukee.”

Gousha said at the end of the conversation that the Law School policy is not to take political sides and major candidates for major offices from both parties have been invited to “On the Issues” sessions. He said Walker has had an open invitation but has not accepted the offer since taking office 14 months ago.

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Major League Baseball Demands that the Houston Astros Rewrite Their Past

The 2012 season will mark the 50th anniversary of Houston’s National League team.  (Somewhat ironically, this happens just before the team is shifted to the American League.)  To commemorate this milestone, the Astros have scheduled a number of “throwback” games during the 2012 season.  In honor of the team’s entry into major league baseball as an expansion team in 1962, players on the team will wear uniforms from that inaugural season.

As many baseball fans know, the Astros was not the team’s original name.  That name was adopted only in 1965 when the team moved into its new park, the Houston Astrodome, then billed as the 8th Wonder of the World.  Prior to that, the team was known as the Houston Colt .45s, a name that made reference to the famous handgun associated with the “winning” of the American west.

Logically, in the “turn back the clock” games scheduled to honor the original Colts (as they were usually called), the current Astros will be wearing facsimiles of the original uniforms that featured the word “Colts” and a drawing of the famous handgun on the front of the jersey.  (See the accompanying photo.)

However, Major League Baseball has apparently refused to authorize the use of the original uniform design unless the Astros agree to remove the picture of the pistol from the jersey.  Under current operating rules, MLB apparently has the power to veto uniform modifications, and the Astros have indicated that they plan to comply with the request.

For the past several decades, the people who run MLB have claimed to have a deep respect for the game’s history.  This is certainly an odd way to show respect, and one has to wonder what will be next.   Perhaps ballpark walls will soon feature doctored photographs showing black players participating in major league games in the 1920’s and 1930’s.

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