Overcoming cross-cultural group work tensions: mixed student perspectives on the role of social relationships

As universities worldwide rapidly internationalise, higher education classrooms have become unique spaces for collaboration between students from different countries. One common way to encourage collaboration between diverse peers is through group work. However, previous research has highlighted that cross-cultural group work can be challenging and has hinted at potential social tensions. To understand this notion better, we have used robust quantitative tools in this study to select 20 participants from a larger classroom of 860 students to take part in an in-depth qualitative interview about cross-cultural group work experiences. Participant views on social tensions in cross-cultural group work were elicited using a unique mediating artefact method to encourage reflection and in-depth discussion. In our analysis of emergent interview themes, we compared student perspectives on the role of social relationships in group work by their academic performance level. Our findings indicated that all students interviewed desired the opportunity to form social relationships with their group work members, but their motivations for doing so varied widely by academic performance level.     

Mid-range universities’ linkages with industry: Knowledge types and the role of intermediaries

We analyze how mid-range universities can contribute to industrial change through the transfer of tacit and codified knowledge in the areas of spin-offs; licensing and patents; contract research, consultancy and reach-out; and graduate and researcher mobility. We use archival, survey and interview data relating to mid-range universities in mid-range environments in the UK, Belgium, Germany and Sweden. Our findings suggest that mid-range universities primarily need to focus on generating world-class research and critical mass in areas of expertise, as well as developing different types of intermediaries. Mid-range universities may need to develop a portfolio of university-industry linkages in terms of the scope of activities and the types of firms with which they interact. We also show that different intermediaries have important roles to play in developing university-industry linkages for mid-range universities.     

Coherent motion sensitivity and reading development in the transition from prereading to reading stage

Evidence suggests that sensitivity to coherent motion (CM) is related to reading, but its role in the etiology of developmental dyslexia remains unclear. In this longitudinal study, CM sensitivity was measured in 31 children at family risk for dyslexia and 31 low-risk controls. Children, diagnosed with dyslexia in third grade (mean age=8 years 3 months), demonstrated reduced CM sensitivity in kindergarten (mean age=5 years 8 months), before they had learned to read. Preschool CM thresholds in controls also uniquely predicted future literacy achievement. When reassessed in first grade, CM sensitivity in the dyslexic children was age appropriate, and CM thresholds in the controls no longer predicted literacy acquisition. These findings contribute to the debate about the developmental relations between visual processing and reading acquisition.     

Dimensions of quality and accessibility: Selection of human information sources from a social capital perspective

This study focuses on how the accessibility and quality of co-workers in organizations affect their use as information source. Prior research has produced inconsistent findings concerning these factors’ respective influence on source selection. In this article, we argue that one potential reason for this lies in the lack of coherent definitions of accessibility and quality. To bridge this gap, we unpack these concepts into their underlying dimensions, based on insights derived from social capital theory, more specifically Nahapiet and Ghoshal’s (1998) contribution, to uncovering the multidimensionality of social capital. We empirically test the dimensionality of accessibility and quality, as well as the relative influence of these concepts on human information source selection, in a scenario experiment within an organization. Findings support the proposed dimensionality, and lead to the conclusion that both quality and accessibility influence the selection of human information sources, although quality exerts a slightly stronger influence.     

Hypothetico-deductive reasoning skill and concept acquisition: Testing a constructivist hypothesis

This study tested the constructivist hypothesis that the acquisition of domain-specific conceptual knowledge (declarative knowledge) requires use of general procedural knowledge. More specifically, it was hypothesized that use of a general pattern of hypothetico-deductive reasoning is necessary for the acquisition of novel domain-specific concepts. To test this hypothesis 314 high school biology and chemistry students were first tested to determine whether or not they were skilled in the use of hypothetico-deductive reasoning. Based on this test, students were classified as reflective, transitional, or intuitive thinkers. All students were then presented with a series of four concept-acquisition tasks. It was predicted that reflective (hypothetico-deductive) thinkers would acquire the concepts while intuitive (empirico-inductive) thinkers would not. Transitional thinkers were expected to be partially successful. These predictions were confirmed as skill in hypothetico-deductive reasoning (developmental level), but not age, was highly correlated with performance on the concept acquisition tasks (X² = 71.14, p < 0.00001). This result was interpreted to be supportive of the constructivist hypothesis.     

Investigating the effect of school‐wide positive behavioral interventions and supports on student learning and behavioral problems in elementary and middle schools

Many states have scaled up School‐Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW‐PBIS) with the goal of improving student behavior and academic outcomes. Although the effects of SW‐PBIS on behavioral and discipline outcomes have been promising, the findings for academic achievement have been inconclusive and are often limited to cross‐sectional data. This paper examined the longitudinal effect of SW‐PBIS on student behavioral problems and academic achievement growth in elementary and middle schools using propensity score matching. We found no statistically significant longitudinal effects of SW‐PBIS on either student behavior problems or academic achievement among elementary and middle schools in this quasi‐experimental design, even though the positive direction of longitudinal changes would be identified. The result raised questions about the efficacy of SW‐PBIS using a statewide achievement test when scaled up to a state level. Additional research is needed to better understand the impact of SW‐PBIS using rigorous scale‐up designs.     

Emotion work and emotional exhaustion in teachers: the job and individual perspective

Teaching requires much emotion work which takes its toll on teachers. Emotion work is usually studied from one of two perspectives, a job or an individual perspective. In this study, we assessed the relative importance of these two perspectives in predicting emotional exhaustion. More than 200 teachers completed a questionnaire comprising the DISQ (Demand‐Induced Strain Compensation Questionnaire), the Dutch Questionnaire on Emotional Labour (D‐QEL), and the UBOS (Utrechtse Burnout Schaal [Utrecht Burnout Scale]). In line with previous studies, our findings indicated that emotional exhaustion is positively associated with emotional job demands and surface acting. The relative importance of the two operationalisations of emotion work was assessed by comparing the results of two regression analyses. Whereas the model with job demands explained 18% of the variance, the model with emotional labour explained only 5%. In understanding what might contribute to emotional exhaustion in teachers, the emotional job demands might be much more important than the self‐regulation perspective that is measured with emotional labour.     

Hybrid clustering for validation and improvement of subject-classification schemes

A hybrid text/citation-based method is used to cluster journals covered by the Web of Science database in the period 2002–2006. The objective is to use this clustering to validate and, if possible, to improve existing journal-based subject-classification schemes. Cross-citation links are determined on an item-by-paper procedure for individual papers assigned to the corresponding journal. Text mining for the textual component is based on the same principle; textual characteristics of individual papers are attributed to the journals in which they have been published. In a first step, the 22-field subject-classification scheme of the Essential Science Indicators (ESI) is evaluated and visualised. In a second step, the hybrid clustering method is applied to classify the about 8300 journals meeting the selection criteria concerning continuity, size and impact. The hybrid method proves superior to its two components when applied separately. The choice of 22 clusters also allows a direct field-to-cluster comparison, and we substantiate that the science areas resulting from cluster analysis form a more coherent structure than the “intellectual” reference scheme, the ESI subject scheme. Moreover, the textual component of the hybrid method allows labelling the clusters using cognitive characteristics, while the citation component allows visualising the cross-citation graph and determining representative journals suggested by the PageRank algorithm. Finally, the analysis of journal ‘migration’ allows the improvement of existing classification schemes on the basis of the concordance between fields and clusters.     

Understanding academics’ resistance towards (online) student evaluation

Many higher educational institutions and academic staff are still sceptical about the validity and reliability of student evaluation questionnaires, in particular when these evaluations are completed online. One month after a university-wide implementation from paper to online evaluation across 629 modules, (perceived) resistance and ambivalence amongst academic staff were unpacked. A mixed-method study was conducted amongst 104 academics using survey methods and follow-up semi-structured interviews. Despite a successful ‘technical’ transition (i.e. response rate of 60%, similar scores to previous evaluations), more than half of respondents reported a negative experience with this transition. The results indicate that the multidimensional nature of ambivalence towards change and the dual nature of student evaluations can influence the effectiveness of organisational transition processes.