Cats,Comics, and Knausgård: Promoting Student Reading at a U.K. Academic Library with a Leisure Reading Collection

This case study describes the creation of a leisure reading collection in the Clifford Whitworth library at the University of Salford. It briefly surveys existing literature on leisure reading collections and looks at the growing interest among U.K. academic libraries in recreational reading. It considers the reasons for promoting reading as a leisure activity to students and describes the processes of selecting, purchasing, and marketing the collection at Salford. It also considers possible future developments for the collection and the evaluation of the library's attempts to encourage a culture of reading among Salford students. The positive response to the collection suggests the development of leisure reading is a worthwhile activity for academic libraries to focus on and the study contains useful information for others who are interested in creating a similar collection.     

Acquisition and extinction of differential responses to signals paired with shock or shock omission in goldfish: Evidence for truly discriminated avoidance learning

Goldfish trained to discriminate between signals paired with shock (S?) and signals paired with shock omission (S+) with a linear presentation procedure, originally learned (OL) to control the signal state of a shuttle box and showed a decided preference for the S+ signal. In Experiment 1, following OL, groups had one OL signal replaced (S+ or S?), both signals replaced (S+ and S?), or the OL signals reversed (S+ and S? reversed) and were then tested in a transfer training procedure. In transfer, groups with one signal replaced maintained discriminated performance at OL levels; the S+ replaced group was slightly superior to the S? replaced group on the first day of transfer. With both OL signals replaced, discrimination dropped to chance performance levels, whereas, with OL signal shock pairing reversed, discrimination performance dropped below chance levels. In Experiment 2, following OL, extinction procedures consisted of turning off the shocker (0% shock) or of shocking 100% or a random 25% of the trials. A fourth extinction procedure (R,) retained the trial start response-dependent shock-omission contingency, but shock differentiating the S+ and S? signals was eliminated entirely. Extinction of the S+/S? discrimination was measured both during extinction training per se and with reversal retraining of the S+/S? discrimination later. Groups for which the OL S+ was paired with shock during extinction extinguished on both measures, but groups for which the OL S? was paired with shock omission did not extinguish, especially as shown by the reversal test procedure. Theoretical implications and the implications for several conditioning procedures are discussed.     

Netskills and the current state of beliefs and practices in student learning: an assessment and recommendations

This article analyses data from over 1000 student questionnaires dealing with how students currently use the web to support their learning. It discusses student understanding, needs, and expectations of the web and the overwhelming perception that the web now forms an integral part of their study and research practices. However, these practices require greater definition and refinement for and by the student. Evidence from some teaching staff is compared with that from students for validation purposes and has also revealed striking differences in perception and attitudes between the two groups. We identify specific needs on the part of most students in our survey who require greater guidance and study skills when using the web. These “Netskills” are described and recommendations are made concerning their acquisition and future development by students who are demanding that such skills become part of their own learning strategies.     

The development of subjective group dynamics: children's judgments of normative and deviant in-group and out-group individuals

A developmental model of subjective group dynamics suggests that social identity is sustained first by intergroup biases and later by intragroup biases. In this study 476 English children 5 to 11 years old evaluated the English and German soccer teams, and judged in-group or out-group members whose attitudes toward the teams was normative versus antinormative. Children of all ages expressed intergroup bias. Differential evaluation against in-group deviants and in favor of out-group deviants strengthened with age. Understanding of targets' relative acceptability (differential inclusion) among in-group and out-group members mediated the effects of age and intergroup bias on intragroup bias. Identification with the in-group moderated the effects only among older children.     

Contract cheating in UK higher education: A covert investigation of essay mills

Contract cheating is currently a concern for universities and the higher education (HE) sector. It has been brought into the spotlight in recent years through the growth of online essay mills, where students can easily commission and purchase written assessment responses. This study contributes to the wider literature on academic integrity in HE by examining the phenomenon of contract cheating from a supply‐side perspective, thereby considering the essay mill offering and student interaction with it. The authors covertly engage with five essay mills, before successfully completing an assignment purchase with two of these providers. The pre‐purchase stage of an assignment transaction is first examined, unpacking ten reassurance cues used by essay mill providers in the text of their websites. These reassurance cues help to ensure the attractiveness of the essay mill product to potential student consumers. The analysis then moves to explore the ethical discourses around academic integrity that essay mills provide, revealing inconsistencies in their stance towards the potential for academic misconduct from the use of essay mill services. Finally, the article explores the quality of the essay mill product, through grading and Turnitin^® reports for the two purchased essay mill assignments. Following recent calls for the outlawing of essay mills, this article provides a timely addition to current understanding of this phenomenon, and the associated challenges of contract cheating in HE.