Experiences of instructors in online learning environments: Identifying and regulating emotions

In an effort to expand existing research on the barriers of instructors experience in online learning environments (OLEs), a qualitative study was conducted at a large mid-Atlantic university. Six instructors teaching in different OLE formats (e.g., asynchronous, hybrid, and synchronous via videoconferencing) participated in two focus groups in order to explore their emotional experiences and ways to regulate the emotions when teaching in OLEs. The overarching themes included emotions of feeling (a) restricted, (b) stressed, (c) devalued, (d) validated, and (e) rejuvenated. The article also provides practical strategies on how participating instructors attempted to manage the challenging emotions. A consensus among all participants is that continuous dialog in a community of practice about strategies to enhance OLEs is imperative.     

Building a sustainable project management capacity in Cyprus

The performance‐driven project management program examined in this article was funded to support a variety of technical assistance efforts designed to strengthen the performance of small and medium enterprises in the Turkish Cypriot community in Cyprus. The customized program combined progressive workshops with hands‐on and distance coaching by local consultants, with participants expected to apply a performance‐driven project management approach and tool set. The Performance Driven Project Management: Journal of Performance (KNO Worldwide, 2010) documents that 12 of the 14 projects met the rigorous program requirements.     

Growth or steady state? A bibliometric focus on international comparative higher education research

The study combines a bibliometric approach with a content analysis of abstracts of articles to explore the patterns of international comparative higher education research in leading international journals. The overall data set covers 4,095 publications from the Web of Science for the period 1992–2012 and the amount of international comparative articles in this data set is analyzed utilizing a geographical coding. Contrary to a general proliferation of international and global trends in higher education, the results of the analysis most importantly reveal a relatively steady state of international comparative higher education research over the past 20 years. Further patterns examined show that international collaborative articles have a much higher share in international comparative research compared to non-comparative research, small-scale country clusters are preferred for comparison and there is a dense network of comparative clusters between Europe and the US. Finally, rationales for these patterns are discussed, as well as potential implications.     

Literacy and life skills education for vulnerable youth: What policy makers can do

In countries with a high concentration of youth with low literacy levels, the policy and programming task related to education and training is particularly daunting. This note briefly presents policies and practices which have been put in place to provide vulnerable youth with literacy and life skills education. It is based on a multi-country research study undertaken by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) in cooperation with the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD Canada; previously Canadian International Development Agency, CIDA), and on subsequent policy dialogue forums with policy makers, practitioners, researchers and youth representatives held in Africa, the Arab region and Asia. Built on this review of existing policies and their implementation, this note provides lessons for innovative practices and suggests six concrete ways to address the needs of vulnerable youth through literacy and life skills education.     

Teachers in early childhood policy

This paper examines teacher accountability and authority in early childhood policy. It reports on data from a study that investigated the influences affecting early childhood teacher decision-making at the preschool level in Victoria, Australia. Using a question raised by Ball ‘Where are the teachers in all this [policy]?’ provided a starting point for the critical discourse analysis into how forms of control, teacher authority, obligation and constraint within policies potentially influenced teachers’ curriculum decisions. The study found that despite no government-mandated curriculum framework at the time, teachers were held accountable for their curricular practice. Yet as professionals, early childhood teachers were denied public acknowledgement of their expertise as they were almost invisible in policy. In the four policies analysed, proprietors of early childhood settings and preschool agencies held authority over curriculum. Subsequently, teachers’ authority as professionals with curricular knowledge was diminished.     

Morphological and biochemical responses of Oryza sativa L. (cultivar MR219) to ion beam irradiation

Objective

Heavy ion beam, which has emerged as a new mutagen in the mutation breeding of crops and ornamental plants, is expected to result in the induction of novel mutations. This study investigates the morphological and biochemical responses of Oryza sativa toward different doses of carbon ion beam irradiation.

Methods

In this study, the dry seeds of O. sativa were irradiated at 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120 Gy, followed by in-vitro germination under controlled conditions. Morphological and biochemical studies were conducted to investigate the morphological and physiological responses of O. sativa towards ion beam irradiation.

Results

The study demonstrated that low doses (10 Gy) of ion beam have a stimulating effect on the height, root length, and fresh weight of the plantlets but not on the number of leaves. Meanwhile, doses higher than 10 Gy caused reductions in all the morphological parameters studied as compared to the control samples. The highest total soluble protein content [(2.11±0.47) mg/g FW] was observed in plantlets irradiated at 20 Gy. All irradiated plantlets were found to have 0.85% to 58.32% higher specific activity of peroxidase as compared to the control samples. The present study also revealed that low doses of ion beam (10 and 20 Gy) had negligible effect on the total chlorophyll content of O. sativa plantlets while 40 Gy had a stimulating effect on the chlorophyll content. Plantlets irradiated between 40 to 120 Gy were shown to be 0.38% to 9.98% higher in total soluble nitrogen content which, however, was not significantly different from the control samples.

Conclusions

Carbon ion beam irradiation administered at low to moderate doses of 10 to 40 Gy may induce O. sativa mutants with superior characteristics.     

Focusing on the Thinking,Not the Tools: Incorporating Critical Thinking Into an Information Literacy Module for an Introduction to Business Course

Two librarians at the University of Louisville explain how a university-wide Quality Enhancement Plan focused on critical thinking led to positive changes in information literacy instruction at their institution. A revised information literacy module for an introductory business course serves as an example of a new instructional approach that emphasizes critical thinking about information, rather than library tools such as catalogs and databases.     

Translation as problematic discourse in organizations

Translation as an organizational activity is critical to the effective functioning of many institutions and is becoming ever more commonplace as our society grows increasingly multilingual and culturally diverse. This study examines translation in terms of its influence on organizational members' sensemaking and consequent social and task functions of the institution. An integrated theory of translation provides a foundation for identifying three major categories of problematics involving translation in workplaces: inaccuracies, losses of common sociocultural contexts, and changes to power relationships. Data from a hotel business meeting in which an executive's discourse in English were simultaneously translated into Spanish is analyzed to illustrate the problematics and to derive guidelines for organizations with multilingual workforces.     

Metaphor use and perceived managerial effectiveness

This study examines the metaphorical language of three managers in a Northwest city government. Four communication specialists used an interpretative method to identify, categorize, and rate perceptions of metaphors in three 30‐minute transcribed interviews. The results establish a set of metaphor categories, support a theory of culturally‐shared metaphors, demonstrate managers' differences in metaphor use, and suggest an association between managers metaphor use and subordinate ratings of effectiveness.