Tutoring the end-of-studies dissertation: helping psychology students find their academic voice when revising academic texts

This intervention study aimed at helping undergraduate students of psychology learn to use the discursive resources useful to make academic voice visible in their texts and to improve their writing practices. The intervention involved tutorial meetings and collaborative revisions in two different learning environments, on-line and face-to face. The final text quality, the students’ knowledge and the amount and the quality of revisions were assessed in both conditions. Results show that the quality of the texts improved for both intervention groups in contrast with for control group, and better texts were related with higher rates of revision and more students’ satisfaction with the intervention.     

Online Contact,Face-to-Face Contact,and Multilingualism: Young Swedish-Speaking Finns Develop Trilingual Identities

Based on the tenets of the social context model of second language acquisition, the present article examined the combined effect of online and face-to-face contact in developing multilingual skills and identities among young Swedish-speaking Finns (N = 304). The hypotheses were tested for Finnish as a second language and English as a third language using parallel models. The results were largely identical for both languages. Specifically, online contact enhanced language confidence which, in turn, contributed to language identity. However, online contact had a more substantial effect on confidence as well as identity among those who had little face-to-face contact with speakers of the given language. Findings and their implications are discussed.     

Exploring the present and projecting the future: people with severe mental illness speaking for themselves

The participation of people with mental illness in research is key to their empowerment and provides them with a highly meaningful experience. The aim of this article was to explore the perspectives, views and experiences of people with severe mental illness (SMI) regarding their present life and projection of the future (desires, expectations related to the illness, their personal, working, relational life, etc.). We present the results of a qualitative study in which two personal interviews were conducted with seven people with SMI, incorporating visual elements produced by the participants themselves (photographs and drawings). The results obtained allow us to take a more in-depth look at these people’s reflections with regard to the present and future, while also opening a working path for professionals in the social education services.     

The Library of the Royal Society of Physicians in Budapest becomes today's Semmelweis Medical History Library

Objectives:

The 170-year history of the library of the Royal Society of Medicine in Budapest illustrates both that political and cultural context matter and that “medical” libraries, if they survive, in due course become primarily “medical history” libraries.

Methods:

Two of the authors are on the staff of the Semmelweis Medical History Library; the third is a US scholar who makes frequent use of the library. Together, they avail themselves of archival and published materials—and personal experience with the collection—to establish the context that produced the original library, trace its evolution, and describe its present-day incarnation.

Results:

A tale of transformation emerges that reflects how collections are likely to change. The authors present events and individuals in the life of the Royal Society''s library and paint a picture of the value of today''s Semmelweis Medical History Library. Unique treasures in the collection are described.

Conclusion:

The story told here is of how a particular nineteenth-century library became a twenty-first–century institution. The authors establish its peculiarly Hungarian context and potential value to librarians and historians from outside Hungary. The overall message is that general medical libraries everywhere are perforce likely to become medical historical libraries over time.

Highlights

• Context matters. The historical background of a library helps determine its functions and its future; shifts in modes of publishing affect and monetary concerns shape the development and preservation of an historical collection.
• Libraries evolve. Medical libraries undergo a normal and profoundly useful transformation over time into repositories of medical history.
• Books alone do not a library make: Libraries can and should be settings for continuing education, cultural affirmation, and assistance to scholars by preserving and making available for use a variety of sometimes rare archival and published materials.

Implications

• Knowing the political and cultural background of a library is essential to understanding its history as well as its present-day status.
• Preserving and expanding historical collections demands vigilance and creative management, especially under difficult fiscal and political circumstances. The loyal and diligent work of Hungarians and others who helped build and preserve this library can serve as a model for other threatened collections.
• Sharing the story of a relatively unknown library''s development brings its general assets and unique resources to the attention of a wider audience of librarians and scholars. Few outside Hungary have previously had any way of knowing about the Semmelweis Medical History Library''s rich holdings.

     

Planification a long terme du systeme pedagogique Hongrois

Cette étude s'occupe du problème de la planification à long terme de l'éducation. Tout d'abord, elle considère la conception fondamentale du système d'éducation, indiquant quels sont les facteurs essentiels dans l'éducation nationale en Hongrie. Les auteurs cherchent alors, au moyen d'une conception de la théorie de systèmes, de donner à cette éducation une place dans la société et dans la civilisation — en tenant compte du fait que l'éducation nationale est un système d'une indépendance relative. De là, ils examinent les motifs imposés par la planification du développement à long terme.Un chapitre important examine la planification comme un processus et la considère comme un élément essentiel concomitant de la stratégie du développement dans les phases suivantes:

Writing at university: are we on the same page? / Escribir en la universidad: ¿nos entendemos?

Abstract

This study seeks to analyse the characteristics and functions that students and faculty attribute to written genres in Spanish universities, to what extent these representations are shared by both groups, and how they contribute to the construction of disciplinary knowledge in Spanish higher education. Accordingly, we classified students’ and teachers’ responses into 12 genre families grouped into five functions: Disciplinary Knowledge (DK), Critical Analysis (AC), Personal Reflection (PR), Research (R) and Professional Practice (PP). In terms of functions, demonstration of disciplinary knowledge appeared as the most frequently mentioned goal for both groups, whereas the genres targeted at research were the least frequent ones, along with the genres used for personal reflection. The most common genre family for both groups was Explanation, which was linked to demonstration of knowledge acquired in the discipline.     

The art of questioning in online learning environments: the potentialities of feedback in writing

Research on feedback has focused more on generating feedback rather than on how students use it and implement it; that is, what type of cognitive, metacognitive or affective activity students engage in once they have received feedback. In order to visualize feedback use and implementation, a quasi-experimental study was carried out. Students were randomly assigned to four conditions, in respect of the type of feedback (corrective, epistemic-questioning, suggestive and epistemic?+?suggestive). This research provides evidence of how students use and implement feedback in online collaborative writing. Findings show that when students received epistemic?+?suggestive feedback, they engaged in more cognitive and metacognitive activities. With regard to implementation, students who received epistemic?+?suggestive feedback obtained better final marks. This study highlights the importance of metacognitive activities in online learning, as they play a key role in the implementation of feedback.