Improving vocational students’ consideration of source information when deciding about science controversies

We present an empirical investigation of a classroom training fostering vocational students’ consideration of source information when deciding about science-based controversies. The training was specifically aimed at raising students’ awareness of the division of cognitive labor and the resulting need to take a source’s competence into account when deciding whom to trust. Data were collected from a training group and a waiting list control group in a pretest–posttest design. The results show that students benefitted from the training in terms of their inclination to agree with pertinent expert sources rather than low-pertinent experts and to refer to the source of information to justify their judgment. Source memory was not affected by the training.     

Counselor‐In‐Residence: A Counseling Service Model for Residential College Students

The Counselor‐In‐Residence program at the University of Arkansas was designed as a model to provide counseling for residential college students who otherwise might not take advantage of the services of a traditional university counseling center.     

The development of nonverbal working memory and executive control processes in adolescents

The prefrontal cortex modulates executive control processes and structurally matures throughout adolescence. Consistent with these events, prefrontal functions that demand high levels of executive control may mature later than those that require working memory but decreased control. To test this hypothesis, adolescents (9 to 20 years old) completed nonverbal working memory tasks with varying levels of executive demands. Findings suggest that recall-guided action for single units of spatial information develops until 11 to 12 years. The ability to maintain and manipulate multiple spatial units develops until 13 to 15 years. Strategic self-organization develops until ages 16 to 17 years. Recognition memory did not appear to develop over this age range. Implications for prefrontal cortex organization by level of processing are discussed.     

The Stanford Binet fourth edition and its use with individuals with Down Syndrome: cautions for clinicians

Stanford Binet: Fourth Edition (SB:IV) assessments have been collected longitudinally for 195 individuals with Down syndrome. This article discusses individual assessments which were selected for their ability to highlight major concerns that practitioners need to consider when interpreting intelligence test scores with this population. In this study, Intelligence Quotient (IQ) changed substantially for many individuals, demonstrating changes in classification from a mild level of intellectual impairment on initial assessment to a severe level on later assessment. Subtests used in calculating composite scores were found to have a dramatic effect on IQ. There was up to 9 IQ points difference depending on whether only the “core” subtests or all subtests used by the assessor were included in the calculations. Thirty‐seven percent of the assessments were at “floor level” (i.e., IQ of 36), despite obvious divergent abilities illustrated by age equivalent scores. Mean Age Equivalent (MAE) scores were also problematic as they failed to adequately represent either the range, or divergence, of abilities of the individuals whose data are presented. Directions for future research are discussed.     

Identities of research-active academics in new universities: towards a complete academic profession cross-cutting different worlds of practice

This study explores how academics who expanded their teaching-only positions to include research view their (re)constructed academic identity. Participants worked in a higher professional education institution of applied research and teaching, comparable with so-called new universities. The aim is to increase our understanding of variations in academic identity and to be better able to support academics’ ‘role making’ within and across different worlds of practice. Data from semi-structured interviews with 18 academics at a Dutch new university were analysed using a grounded theory approach. This revealed six well-rounded academic identities reflecting participants’ personal scholarly objectives: the ‘continuous learner’, ‘disciplinary expert’, ‘skilled researcher’, ‘evidence-based teacher’, ‘guardian of the research work process’ and ‘liaison officer’. The researcher role served to promote the overall development of participants’ identities. The ‘disciplinary expert’ matured through participation in the academic world and research activities. Participants discovered what ‘being’ and ‘becoming’ a researcher in the new university might entail, and contributed to the professions’ knowledge base. Participants learned to apply various research-based teaching approaches. As brokers, they linked research projects to practices in meaningful ways. The six identities embodied an emergent power in creating and preserving a complete academic profession. Participants’ accounts showed tensions inherent in an extended role portfolio and constraints in ‘role making’ given inconsistencies between the university’s espoused research mission and the one in use. These imply challenges for university managers in aligning policies and practices, and scaffolding academics’ attempts to integrate their academic roles in different worlds of practice.     

ID model construction and validation: a multiple intelligences case

This is a report of a developmental research study that aimed to construct and validate an instructional design (ID) model that incorporates the theory and practice of multiple intelligences (MI). The study consisted of three phases. In phase one, the theoretical foundations of multiple Intelligences and ID were examined to guide the development of such model. In phase two the model components were determined and an initial model was constructed. In phase three, the model was reviewed and validated by experts in the field of ID through a three-round Delphi study. The result was a revised and validated Multiple Intelligences Design Model. This paper presents the decision-making processes and procedures used in model development, and provides a framework for the internal validation of ID models using expert review procedures.     

Achieving scale of farmer reach with improved common bean technologies: the role of village-based advisors

Purpose: We assessed the effectiveness of Village-based Advisors (VBAs) as a novel approach for scaling up improved common bean technologies in southern highlands of Tanzania.

Design/methodology/approach: Data were gathered through focus group discussions (FGDs) and interviews with 11 VBAs and 102 farmers (37% female). The effectiveness of VBAs was assessed based on farmer reach, farmer knowledge, and application of new technologies.

Findings: VBAs played important roles in reaching a wide audience of farmers, with common bean technologies. There was evidence of uptake of promoted common bean practices by farmers, enhanced by judicious incentives such as higher yields, increased land productivity, and labor-saving. VBAs shared information mainly through farm visits and community meetings. Extension materials facilitated VBA engagement of farmers even in informal settings, enhancing information flow beyond village boundaries. The current success of the VBA approach stems from the fact that VBAs are motivated by the rewards they receive – both cash and non-cash.

Practical implications: VBAs are relevant in scaling up improved common bean technologies in rural Tanzania and similar settings, because of farmer understanding and trust. For sustainability, there is need to develop a more systematic incentive structure for VBAs through business development, and knowledge enhancement to keep pace with innovations to address emerging production challenges.

Theoretical implications: Access to extension service providers who are knowledgeable of farmers’ context enhances learning and uptake of innovations.

Originality/value: Results fill information gap on the effectiveness of VBAs as knowledge and input disseminators, achieving scale of farmer reach with agricultural innovations.     

What I am Versus What I do

As digital technologies have practically annihilated entry barriers in the field of journalism, the industry has seen the rise of many digitally native news media startups. Many of these startups are hyperlocal media, usually started by former journalists or concerned residents to provide news to their neighborhoods. Little research exists on entrepreneurship and news media and even less research exists on how these former journalists and/or concerned residents step into these new work roles and make sense of their new responsibilities. This paper explores these individuals’ work-role transition and professional identity negotiation. Analyses of in-depth interviews revealed the respondents tried to make sense of their work in relation to their professional identity by melding their responsibilities with their image of who they are. Thus, they create holistic, positive, professional identities that are more reflective of their new work and roles yet not too different from their idea of who they are as professionals.     

Discovering Indigenous Australian Culture: Building Trusted Engagement in Online Environments

ABSTRACT

Promoting and facilitating access to historical collections for Indigenous communities has recently increased across Australia. Such activities have been integrated into the practices of archives and libraries seeking to reunite Indigenous people with materials that not only document their past but also inform their future. Challenges in accessing these materials go beyond retrieval and include concerns about their emotional content. The State Library of New South Wales is working to create trusted environments for Indigenous peoples and collections with both physical and digital spaces. Through the presentation of work undertaken at the State Library, this article explores how the digital environment can be an effective extension of the physical site in which cultural collections are held. In addition, this article looks at issues that must be addressed to ensure the success and ongoing viability of Web spaces, specifically, the long-standing power dynamics that often dominate interactions with Indigenous collections and that have displaced power from the traditional owners of Indigenous knowledge.