Deaf parents and pediatric cochlear implantation: an exploration of the decision-making process

The study examined factors in deaf parents' decision between cochlear implantation (CI) and traditional hearing aids for their child. The subjects were 6 Flemish children ages 5-9 years with severe/profound congenital hearing loss, with at least 1 deaf parent. The researchers, who conducted thematic content analysis of qualitative data collected through parent interviews, found that with the exception of a family with 1 hearing parent, parents gave priority to Deaf identity, sign language, and ethical issues in deciding between CI and hearing aids. Medical risks were also mentioned. The researchers conclude that the decision-making processes of the parents involved factors that have also been found among hearing parents, as well as aspects that have not been reported to play a role in hearing parents' decision making. A further conclusion is that deaf parents' perspective merits attention in professional practice and empirical research.     

Young science journalism: writing popular scientific articles may contribute to an increase of high-school students’ interest in the natural sciences

Far too few high-school students choose subjects from the natural sciences (NaSc) for their majors in many countries. Even fewer study biology, chemistry or physics at university. Those, that do, often lack training to present and discuss scientific results and ideas in texts. To meet these challenges the center for didactics of biology of Graz University has set up the program Young Science Journalism. This new workshop-based interdisciplinary concept was tested in an exploratory study with grade 10 students of one Austrian high school, engaging both the biology and the German teacher of the class. It was our aim to raise students’ interest in the NaSc by encouraging them to write popular scientific articles about self-chosen topics, and to help them improve their writing competence. In this paper we focus on interest development through writing. Results from this pilot study were promising. Using a mixed-method approach (comparing pre- and post-test questionnaires and semi-structured interviews from different time points analyzed qualitatively), we found that almost all students valued the project-related work highly. Most of them showed higher interest in the NaSc at project end with girls, in average, seeming to profit more from project participation. We thus recommend integrating such writing tasks into school curricula to increase students’ interest in NaSc or to even create new interest. Additionally, we introduce a network presentation of questionnaire data as a powerful tool to visualize the effect of an intervention on individual students and student profile groups.     

Using tablet computers in preschool: How does the design of applications influence participation,interaction and dialogues?

The results in this article explore whether and how the design of applications used on tablet computers influences the interaction and dialogues that occur between children and pedagogues, the participation of children in the activities and the mathematics that can be learned. While mathematics offered a lens to explore the use of tablet devices, child–teacher interactions is the focus of this article. Twelve pedagogues were observed as they used different applications with 25 preschool children. These applications were categorised based on their classification (boundaries of the application) and framing (form of the application). It was shown that the same pedagogue interacted differently with the children based on the application they were using. Further, the children's participation as well as the structure and content of the dialogues between pedagogues and children differed based on classification and the framing of the application used. The results indicate that the design of the applications influences the pedagogues and the educational context in which children are invited to participate.     

Practicality Studies: How to Move From What Works in Principle to What Works in Practice

In his article “Principled Practical Knowledge: Not a Bridge but a Ladder,” Carl Bereiter (2014) argues that theoretical knowledge is too shallow to support the generation of innovative learning activities. He makes a case for principled practical knowledge (PPK)—“principled know-how and know-why”—to fulfill this practical generative role. We argue and illustrate in this commentary that PPK as portrayed by Bereiter does not offer much practical guidance for 2 potential users: professional designers and teachers. For professional designers PPK should be further specified in order to fulfill its generative role. But even this enriched form of PPK still does not suffice to address the challenging issues of practicality teachers face. We explain the magnitude and dimensions that underlie practicality in the everyday work of teachers and suggest how recent work on fast and frugal heuristics can contribute to helping teachers to make instructional innovations practical.     

突破困境:子报转型与发展重构——以《信息时报》为个案

本文从分析《信息时报》面临的市场困境入手，深入研究子报存在的问题，提出转型对策。     

Toward relationships-querying in document retrieval systems

A concept of end-user query language with facilities of expressing relationships between objects kept in a data base is presented. The idea of nesting these facilities in typical document system query language is shown. Special kinds of referring terms are designed. Examples of usage of the new facilities are attached.     

The Never-Ending Story: Structural Dilemmas and Changing Solutions in the Communication Field

This article examines the idiosyncratic development of Israel's communication field against the backdrop of the field's main structural dilemmas: (a) emphasis on research orientation versus on professional journalistic training and (b) firm boundaries for the field based on its mother disciplines (humanities or social sciences) versus open boundaries adopting different disciplines' research topics/methods that touch on communication phenomena. The article suggests a theoretical framework based on criteria anchored in the sociology of science and then applies these criteria to an analysis of the institutionalization and development of the Communication Institute at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem from its foundation in 1964 through the 1990s. The study is based on documents from the university archive and the Guttman Institute for Applied Social Research, curricula and catalogs of communication departments in Israel, and interviews with senior researchers in the field.     

Leadership for Open and Flexible Learning

Universities are responding to demands to be more inclusive, accountable, entrepreneurial and self-sustaining by seeking solutions in open and flexible learning and information and communications technology (ICT). Such applications are being transformed from equity-driven and marginal in a few universities to commercially-driven and mainstream across higher education systems. Open learning and ICT have the capacity to be 'disruptive technologies', transforming the organisation, culture and practices of existing universities and leading to new forms of institution and learning networks. The authors discuss these issues and draw upon their recent study into leadership in the field to argue for transformation leadership at the institutional, departmental, and programme level and suggest an action framework for those who would lead and manage.