Publication Services at the University Library Graz: A New Venture,a New Role

ABSTRACT

Establishing Publication Services in the library at the University of Graz did more than broaden the service portfolio of the library. A convergence of expertise at the library, needs of researchers at the university, and ongoing changes in scholarly communication also contributed to the evolution of the library's role and profile. The new services offer first-level support for matters pertaining to scholarly publishing and communications. Furthermore, Publication Services has developed into a knowledge sharing platform, extending beyond the library to other administrative departments and creating a community of practice.     

A New Student Learning Focus for the Academic Library: From Geographical Proximity of the Learning Commons to Organizational Proximity within the Library

In 2015, student learning programs at the University of Saskatchewan moved organizationally to the university library. While these services resided physically in the library as part of the Learning Commons partnership, this recent change presents the library with a new focus and responsibility for broader student learning support and academic skill development. Highlighting examples of organizational integration of student learning support, this article uses a proximity perspective, suggesting that geographical proximity of services in the learning commons does not go far enough to achieve the deeper collaboration and integration necessary for holistic and integrated learning, and that organizational proximity is needed.     

Better safe than sorry? Risk and educational research

This paper presents the argument that education and the teaching profession have been saturated by a new form of risk consciousness and risk consideration. The aim is to shed light on this issue and present a number of empirical examples and questions of interest in educational research. Furthermore, the paper presents some of the central theories regarding risk and an attempt is made to relate these theories to an epistemological framework. The article also emphasizes the problems and issues that arise from the way teachers think, experience and manage risk in their daily work, and examines how this affects their didactic intentions and, in the long run, also the pupils’ learning potential. It is the intention of the authors, in the scientific as well as in the professional discussion, to reintroduce the positive connections between teaching and risk zones, as well as between professional development and risk taking.     

Creating Connections: Using a Narrative Approach in Career Group Counseling With College Students From Diverse Cultural Backgrounds

Changes in the world of work as well as demographic shifts toward a more diverse college population and workforce require changes in the way career counseling is provided on college campuses. The authors propose using a narrative group counseling approach to serve college and university students from various cultural backgrounds. Through this approach, students develop their own career/life stories, incorporating their cultural values, family and community considerations, and life roles.     

13‐year‐olds’ perception of bullying: definitions,reasons for victimisation and experience of adults’ response

This study formed the second wave of a longitudinal research project examining bullying from the students’ perspective. A sample of 877 Swedish 13‐year‐olds filled out a questionnaire regarding the definition of bullying, reasons for why some students are bullied and the experience of adults’ response to bullying. In their definitions, girls were more likely than boys to include the victims’ experience of bullying, whereas boys were more likely than girls to mention bullying as an imbalance of power and a set of repeated actions. Assigning responsibility for the bullying to the bully was more common among girls and bullied adolescents than among boys and non‐bullied adolescents. Furthermore, among bullied adolescents, 23% had not told anyone about the bullying and 35% had not received any help.     

A framework and checklists for evaluating online learning in higher education

A case is made in this paper for using checklists and context‐bound evaluations of online learning materials in higher education. Context‐bound evaluations complement traditional forms of evaluation of educational courseware, such as checklists. Context‐bound approaches are useful for indicating the pedagogical quality of online learning materials that may be productively used in conjunction with checklists to evaluate online learning. Edith Cowan University has developed a framework and checklists for assessing aspects of online pedagogical learning materials in higher education. These checklists, which are intended to be useful indicators of the areas where online learning materials are strong and to identify areas that may be deficient, and are a valuable screening and information gathering device to use when undertaking a context‐bound evaluation of learning materials. As such, the quality of the instructional design remains an important consideration in evaluating courseware, and such information needs to be presented in a form that is accessible and useful for educational developers and researchers. Comment and dissent is invited on the value of contextual evaluations to reinvigorate the debate over appropriate ways of evaluating online learning materials in higher education.     

No Difference in the Neural Underpinnings of Number and Letter Copying in Children: Bayesian Analysis of Functional Near‐Infrared Spectroscopy Data

It is under debate whether the neural representation of numbers and letters might rely on distinct neural correlates, or on a mostly shared neural network. In the present study, a total of 47 children in fifth grade (Experiment 1) and sixth grade (Experiment 2) simply copied numbers and letters on a touch screen while brain activation changes were recorded by means of functional near‐infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). fNIRS data of both experiments and a joint analysis revealed that a shared neural network, particularly in the left hemisphere, was activated in response to both number and letter copying. Interestingly, no difference was observed in brain activation patterns between these two stimuli, as revealed by Bayesian analysis. Our findings indicate that both number and letter copying lead to similar brain activation in children. We further suggest methodological and applied applications of these findings in the frame of educational neuroscience.     

Measure the Place Before You Measure the People: new alternatives for quality assessment

Enthusiasm for interventions designed to improve organizational quality has far outpaced interest in assessing their effects. This article describes two procedures for systematic quality assessment. First, distributional assessment provides a way to monitor individual, group or unit performance by establishing real and maximum‐feasible parameters. Second, a cost assessment system based on utility analysis provides a way to assign dollar values and benefits to quality interventions targeted at specific jobs and job functions. Both procedures are described and illustrated. They resolve a long‐standing problem with quality assessment, arising from the difficulty of accounting for situational influences which can constrain the effects of interventions designed to improve organizational performance, product or service delivery, and customer satisfaction.