PEER AND STUDENT-FACULTY RELATIONS IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES

This study investigated differences in peer and student?faculty relationships of male and female community college students. Men reported more frequent participation in college activities, whereas women reported more frequent involvement in less formal activities such as studying with other students. Women had less difficulty than men meeting and making friends. For both men and women, little student?faculty interaction outside the classroom was reported.     

Mapping continuity and change in the intellectual structure of the knowledge base on problem-based learning, 1974–2019: A systematic review

Problem-based learning (PBL) emerged during the 1970s in response to demands for active learning methods capable of developing transferable knowledge and skills in the training of doctors. Over succeeding decades, PBL was gradually adopted in other fields of education. This systematic review aimed to identify key streams of theory and empirical research that have emerged over time in PBL research and practice. The review sourced 12,036 Scopus-indexed documents published between 1974 and 2019. Science mapping was used to reveal the ‘intellectual structure’ or key research themes that have evolved in this literature over the past 45 years. The science mapping tool used in this review was author co-citation analysis conducted in VOSviewer software. Author co-citation analysis identified three schools of thought that together describe the intellectual structure of the PBL knowledge base: Design of PBL Curriculum and Instruction; PBL Effectiveness; Theory and Practice in Active Learning. In addition to portraying the intellectual structure of the literature as a whole, the review also conducted longitudinal analyses aimed at highlighting structural changes in this field over time. These analyses found that although the size and impact of schools of thought associated with Design of PBL Curriculum and Instruction and PBL Effectiveness increased over time, they remained stable in terms of theoretical foci. However, the Active Learning school evolved from a small school of authors associated with Cognitive Learning Theories prior to 2000 into the largest school of thought during the most recent decades. These findings both reaffirm the theoretical underpinnings of the PBL knowledge base and highlight its increasing integration with other forms of active learning.     

The Program for Cooperative Cataloging’s Transformative Role as a Leader of Change

Abstract

The transformation of library metadata encoded in MARC to linked data will enable libraries to participate in the Semantic Web. This transformation, however, will be an iterative development dependent upon community-based decisions. The PCC, as a community-based organization, is ideally positioned to lead this transformation. As PCC guides this transition, three broad areas must be resolved: the conversion of legacy data to linked data, the use of identifiers to support controlled headings, and the transformation of current workflows to linked-data counterparts. By embracing the Web as a community, PCC can confirm its relevance in a complex web of global data.     

The kinematic differences between accurate and inaccurate squash forehand drives for athletes of different skill levels

ABSTRACT

To maintain the accuracy of squash shots under varying conditions, such as the oncoming ball’s velocity and trajectory, players must adjust their technique. Although differences in technique between skilled and less-skilled players have been studied, it is not yet understood how players vary their technique in a functional manner to maintain accuracy under varying conditions. This study compared 3-dimensional joint and racket kinematics and their variability between accurate and inaccurate squash forehand drives of 9 highly skilled and 9 less-skilled male athletes. During inaccurate shots, less-skilled players hit the ball with a more open racket, demonstrating a difference in this task-relevant parameter. No joint kinematic differences were found for accuracy for either group. Coordinated joint rotations at the elbow and wrist both displayed a “zeroing-in” effect, whereby movement variability was reduced from the initiation of propulsive joint rotation to a higher consistency at ball-impact; potentially highlighting the “functionality” of the variability prior to the impact that enabled consistent task-relevant parameters (racket orientation and velocity) under varying conditions. Further, highly skilled players demonstrated greater consistency of task-relevant parameters at impact than less-skilled players. These findings highlight the superior ability of highly skilled players to adjust their technique to achieve consistent task-relevant parameters and a successful shot.     

Bayesian reasoning in avalanche terrain: a theoretical investigation

In this article, I explore a Bayesian approach to avalanche decision-making. I motivate this perspective by highlighting a version of the base-rate fallacy and show that a similar pattern applies to decision-making in avalanche-terrain. I then draw out three theoretical lessons from adopting a Bayesian approach and discuss these lessons critically. Lastly, I highlight a number of challenges for avalanche educators when incorporating the Bayesian perspective in their curriculum.     

Whose curriculum is it anyway? Stakeholder salience in the context of Degree Apprenticeships

A Degree Apprenticeship model has recently been introduced into the United Kingdom (UK) Higher Education system as part of wider changes to vocational training. The system has experienced numerous rapid changes in regulation and funding, and it is now little understood by many stakeholders. Distinguishing different phases in UK Higher Education, and using a salience model as a lens for analysis, this article identifies and examines stakeholders with regards to their influence on the Higher Education curriculum. The new Degree Apprenticeship model is funded by an employer payroll levy and it requires Higher Education institutions to deliver training to specific standards. This research explores the implications of the model for the Higher Education curriculum, concluding that the direct involvement of employers in the design and delivery of vocational Higher Education introduces untried elements into UK Higher Education on the assumption that the funding requirement will lead to a change in employer behaviour. This, coupled with the opening of Higher Education provision to private providers, transfers power over the curriculum to those with potentially no commitment to wider public values, and may offer a threat to the international standing of UK Higher Education. This article contributes to research in understanding how Higher Education systems respond to, and actors cope with, imposed change.     

Who are We?

This article scrutinises the usage of the words “we”, “us” and “our” by BBC radio journalists when reporting and discussing news and current affairs. By analysing reports and discussions on the “flagship” Radio 4 Today, a daily news programme whose centrality to political and public debate is widely recognised, the article raises substantive questions about clarity, accuracy and impartiality in senior broadcast journalists’ choice of language. In exploring the assumptions which may underlie the invocation, via such language choices, of an implied community, and against the backdrop of the BBC's commitment to impartiality in its Editorial Guidelines, the article identifies numerous recent examples where the choice of words and identifiers can be seen as undermining the BBC's impartiality and which show several of its senior journalists adopting the first-person plural “we” when reporting on matters of public policy. The findings therefore indicate a general need to codify norms which are seen to integrate the need for accuracy as well as impartiality, and for these norms to take into account issues which might at first glance seem to be inconsequential, micro-level features of the journalists’ language. The evidence suggests that more fine-grained guidelines on permissible circumstances for BBC journalists’ usage of “we” and “our” need revising and disseminating in the light of these findings.     

Research and Training in Higher Education: The State of the Art

The author presents a tour d'horizon of the field of higher education studies, including research on higher education, citing the relevant publication series and journals dealing with the subject, the strongest institutions, worldwide, offering university level studies in the field, and the antecedents of the endeavour. It is growing in importance as higher education institutions and systems expand, diversify, and become increasingly complex, requiring more and better insights regarding themselves for various purposes. The field needs to more fully tap findings in parallel interdisciplinary fields and to publicize the results of private institutional endeavours such as institutional research. A very glowing prognosis for higher education studies is given.