Perspectives on Uncertainty for Technical Communication Scholars

Technical communication scholars have tended to treat uncertainty as a lack of certainty rather than as a diverse range of strategies for talking about risk. This review employs Goodnight’s argument spheres to comprehend treatments of uncertainty in technical communication and closely related fields. The advantages of such an approach are demonstrated via a reanalysis of a recent risk communication study. The review finishes by identifying hybrid forums as productive sites for future research.     

Influential Players in Twitter Networks of Libraries at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions

This study presents an analysis of Twitter networks from academic libraries housed in medium-sized, primarily undergraduate universities. Previous investigations on this topic have used networks of followers, i.e. attention, to show that accounts associated with a library's home institution are the prime influencers in library Twitter networks. That is, they are in key positions to disseminate library-related information. The library itself was found to be positioned to contribute to the institution-wide conversation as well. Networks of followers, however, are susceptible to unwanted influence from inactive users. The present study utilizes networks constructed from tweeting behavior to identify influencers. These networks are, thus, insensitive to inactive followers. The results are compared to those of the previously published follower networks. The behavior networks are significantly smaller and contain far fewer interactions than the follower networks; however, institutional accounts are found to be the principal influencers in these networks as well. Additionally, the social network analysis allows for the quantification of relationship strengths. The closest relationships are between library/institutional and library/student accounts. The former demonstrates that the libraries are active participants in the university-wide exchanges on Twitter and the institutional accounts often include the libraries in their messages.     

The effect of question format in revealing the quality of student learning of some biological concepts

Specializations: science and technology, biology teacher education.     

The Strategic Teaching Framework: The use of multimedia in teacher education

Conclusion Teaching needs to be studied in context, as a whole. This approach would require the student to spend much time in classrooms and in reflection. The STF is a learning environment which while not replacing actual teaching experience, can support that experience and allow students to maximise the benefit of the time they do have in the classroom. Students can learn about instructional strategies in a classroom context, tapping into an experienced teacher's knowledge and experience. The motivation for creating the STF was not to ‘teach’ the students the ‘correct’ strategies to use in the classroom, but to support them in constructing and testing their own understanding of the instructional strategies in a classroom context. The next phase of the project will be trials of the STF with pre-service primary teaching students. A copy of the prototype will be installed at Newling Primary School so that the teachers there can become familiar with the project and offer comment. After this exposure to the concept, a survey will be conducted to determine the structure and content of an STF which would support in-service training. Specializations science education, senior secondary students' understanding of biological concepts, applications of multimedia.     

Youth representations of environmental protest

A necessary condition for a functioning democracy is the participation of its citizens, including its youth. This is particularly true for political participation in environmental decisions, because these decisions can have intergenerational consequences. In this article we examine young people’s beliefs about one form of political participation—protest—in the context of communities affected by fracking and associated anti-fracking protest, and discuss the implications of these representations for education. Drawing on focus groups with 121 young people (aged 15–19) in five schools and colleges near sites which have experienced anti-fracking protest in England and Northern Ireland, we find young people well-informed about avenues for formal and non-formal political participation against a background of disillusionment with formal political processes and varying levels of support for protest. We find representations of protest as disruptive, divisive, extreme, less desirable than other forms of participation and ineffective in bringing about change but effective in awareness-raising. These representations are challenging, not least because the way protest is interpreted is critical to the way people think and act in the world. These representations of environmental protest must be challenged through formal education in order to safeguard the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and ensure that the spirit of Article 11 of the UK Human Rights Act is protected.     

Controversies in Science

Science & Education - Controversies in science are an essential feature of scientific practice: defined here as current problems that are unresolved because there are no accepted procedures by...     

Children's Peer Relationships: Longitudinal Prediction of Internalizing and Externaliziing Problems from Middle to Late Childhood

In this longitudinal study, the predictive relations between social difficulties in early childhood (grade 2) and subsequent internalizing as well as externalizing problems in middle childhood (grade 5) were examined. Of particular interest was whether early indices of social isolation would predict internalizing problems 3 years later. A longitudinal sample of 87 children were assessed in both grades 2 and 5 on a variety of measures, including sociometric ratings, peer assessments of aggression and isolation, and self-appraisals of social competence. In the second grade, observations of isolated and aggressive behavior were made, as well, and teacher ratings of internalizing and externalizing difficulties were obtained. In the fifth grade, teacher ratings of shy-anxious and acting-out behavior and self-reports of loneliness and self-esteem were collected. Consistent with previous research, results demonstrated predictive links between early peer rejection (unpopularity) and aggression and subsequent externalizing difficulties. Internalizing problems in middle childhood were significantly related to early social difficulties, particularly those of an internalizing sort, including poor peer acceptance, social isolation, and perceptions of social incompetence. Social isolation, then, may indeed be a risk factor in early development.