Words on the screen: broadening analyses of interactions among fanfiction writers and reviewers

Young fanfiction writers use the Internet to build networks of reading, writing and editing – literacy practices that are highly valued in schools, universities and workplaces. While prior research shows that online spaces frame multiple kinds of participation as legitimate, much of this work focuses on the extensive contributions of exceptional young authors. In this paper, we foreground the contributions of fanfiction reviewers and focus on their interactions with writers, exploring their communicative literacy practices and hypothesising about how we can make their reading and writing more visible and more effectively consider their learning practices. To do so, we conducted a linguistic analysis of fanfiction review comments on two sites, FanFiction.net and Figment.com. While fanfiction readers provide writers with an authentic audience for their creative work, our findings indicate that the review comments that they leave generally do not offer specific feedback regarding the craft of writing. For this reason, we argue that teachers' expertise is still needed in the difficult task of developing young adults' composition, peer review and critique skills.     

Empathy and critical thinking: primary students solving local environmental problems through outdoor learning

The present study explores the outcomes of teaching empathy and critical thinking to solve environmental problems. This investigation was done throughout the duration of an environmental education course within a primary school located in central Chile. A community-based research methodology was used to understand the formation of empathy and critical thinking. The findings reveal a significant benefit in using empathy strategies to engage students regarding the thinking processes involved with solving environmental problems. Using these elements as teaching techniques for environmental education courses can be very helpful in reaching the aims of creating a sustainable citizenry.     

Linguistic Synchrony in Parasocial Interaction

Social media can be used to assess public opinions and emotions during different stages of a crisis. Guided by the Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) model, this study examined a systematic sample of 2,881 tweets from a corpus of over one million tweets posted during the initial, maintenance, and resolution stages of the 2015 California measles outbreak. It found that the public showed the greatest interest (as measured by the number of tweets and retweets) in the initial stage of the crisis, but their interest drastically declined afterward. The expression of humor/sarcasm was significantly more frequent in the initial stage than in the maintenance or resolutions stage, while the expression of reassurance increased significantly from the initial, maintenance, and resolution stage. The emotion of alarm/concern was most frequently expressed during the initial stage. For message types, the public were more likely to tweet about their personal opinions and less likely to tweet about resources during the initial stage. These findings allow public health professionals to better design messages in response to the public’s concerns and emotions during public health crises.     

我在中国的精彩生活

我和Eric都是在上海中学国际部读书的外国学生。我叫Samantha Ciccone,是美国人，Enic有一半的中国血统。我们都是十七岁，但Eric来中国的时间远比我长，所以他的中文非常地道。     

When Is It Acceptable to Lie? Interpersonal and Intergroup Perspectives on Deception

While deception is generally viewed as an undesirable and unethical action, people evaluate some lies as more detrimental than others. This study examined factors influencing deception assessments, including the seriousness of the lie and whom it benefits. The effect of an intergroup versus an interpersonal context for the lie was examined. Utilizing 24 vignettes varying in terms of these conditions, 259 participants evaluated a lie’s appropriateness, deceptiveness, and complexity. Altruistic and white lies were viewed as less deceptive and more acceptable than self-serving and more consequential lies. Lies evaluated as least acceptable were interpersonal, serious, and self-serving compared to altruistic lies and those embedded in an intergroup context. Intergroup and interpersonal deceptions are recognized as distinct forms of lying and are evaluated differently.     

Teaching critical thinking skills through commonly used resources in course-embedded online modules

The University of Louisville Quality Enhancement Plan focuses on integrating critical thinking into the undergraduate curriculum while using the Paul-Elder Critical Thinking Framework. In an effort to expand information literacy and outreach opportunities, the Social Sciences Librarian created online learning modules using SoftChalk, a program that enables the modules to be embedded into any Blackboard course shell. Originally created for an Introduction to Psychology course, the Critical Thinking & Information Evaluation Module Series maps information evaluation concepts to the Paul-Elder Framework's Elements of Thought through an examination of commonly used resources: Wikipedia, Google, and scholarly journal articles.     

Assessment and Perception of Information Literacy Skills Among Teacher Education Students

This study aims to assess the information literacy skills of a sample of undergraduate teacher education students and explore their perceptions about those skills. Participants completed iSkills, an online assessment from the Educational Testing Service aligned with the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Standards, and a subsample participated in focus-group discussions regarding their test experience and perceptions of information literacy. This article focuses on the qualitative findings from these discussions. Participants were unfamiliar with the term “information literacy” but see it as essential to their success and that of their future students, especially in the context of a diverse, urban school district.