Make or Buy? A Qualitative Analysis of the Organisational Handling of Digital Innovations in the German Book Publishing Sector

Traditional media have been changing in response to digitisation processes and the spread of the internet. This article looks at the consequences of technological change for the organisational structures of publishing houses in Germany, most of which are small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Following any decision to produce digital content, new tasks emerge which need to be fulfilled and publishing houses have to re-allocate appropriate responsibilities. The context of the preference for in-house or for external production is explored as is the precise identification of the managerial and technical skills demanded by a switch to digital publishing. The findings suggest the important role of strategic partnerships with service providers as well as with other publishing houses, especially for larger projects beyond the capabilities of SMEs.     

Why Diverse Zines Matter: A Case Study of the People of Color Zines Project

Historically, zines have been an alternative outlet for niche topics, or writers and writing, that are ignored by mainstream media. Zines are significant because they offer the opportunity for connection, community, and networking between those interested in these diverse topics. The developments in digital technology have enabled zines to extend into the online sphere: this increased access has resulted in increased participation (by readers and writers). This paper will focus on (digital) zines that are created by people of colour (POC). In recent years, there has been much discussion and media coverage about the lack of diversity in cultural output, and various campaigns, to promote diverse writing have followed. Through a case study of the POC Zines Project—a community-building project that promotes zines by POC—this paper will look at how creators of zines are experimenting with digital formats and social platforms, and will consider what mainstream publishers can learn from this. As Radway (in: Anouk (ed) From codex to hypertext. University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst, 2012) outlines “zine-ing is a social phenomenon, a form of social action driven by desires for new forms of sociability and new ways of being in the world” (p. 140): this paper will highlight the important of social collaboration and production on opening up the creative process and offering a response to the under-represented in traditional publishing.     

Assessment of symptoms in adult survivors of incest: a factor analytic study of the Responses to Childhood Incest Questionnaire

Although research has established the long-term damaging effects of incest, these efforts have suffered from the lack of valid, standardized assessment instruments. The present study reports on the construction and factor validation of the Response to Childhood Incest Questionnaire (RCIQ), a self-report instrument that assesses a range of commonly reported symptoms experienced by adult survivors of incest. A clinical population of 104 adult women who had experienced childhood or adolescent incest completed the RCIQ. A factor analysis of the RCIQ items revealed seven factors which corresponded to hypothesized stress response themes experienced by survivors of traumatic events. These factors include vulnerability and isolation, fear and anxiety, anger and betrayal, reaction to the abuser, sadness and loss, and powerlessness. In addition, four factors corresponded to the diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder: intrusive thoughts, avoidance and intrusive emotions, detachment, and emotional control and numbness. The usefulness of the RCIQ as a pre- and post-treatment measure and the need for further research is discussed.     

Understanding a High School Physics Teacher’s Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Argumentation

Scientific argumentation is an important learning objective in science education. It is also an effective instructional approach to constructivist science learning. The implementation of argumentation in school settings requires science teachers, who are pivotal agents of transforming classroom practices, to develop sophisticated knowledge of argumentation. However, there is a lack of understanding about science teachers’ knowledge of argumentation, especially the dialogic meaning of argumentation. In this case study, we closely examine a high school physics teacher’s argumentation-related pedagogic content knowledge (PCK) in the context of dialogic argumentation. We synthesize the teacher’s performed PCK from his argumentation practices and narrated PCK from his reflection on the argumentation practices, from which we summarize his PCK of argumentation from the perspectives of orientation, instructional strategies, students, curriculum, and assessment. Finally, we describe the teacher’s perception and adaption of argumentation in his class. We also identity the barriers to argumentation implementation in this particular case and suggest solutions to overcome these barriers.     

Idea generation in biomedical engineering courses using Design Heuristics

ABSTRACT

With increasing demand for improved medical equipment and healthcare, next-generation biomedical engineers need strong design skills. Equipping biomedical engineering students with tools for idea generation and development can increase student design success. Design Heuristics are an ideation tool developed through empirical studies of product designs. While identified in the mechanical engineering space, Design Heuristics may be applicable in biomedical engineering design. In our study, we implemented a Design Heuristics session during upper-level undergraduate and first-year graduate biomedical engineering design courses. We examined the applicability of Design Heuristics within individual and team concept generation contexts. The findings demonstrated that biomedical engineering students were able to use Design Heuristics to generate multiple concepts, and that initial concepts produced using Design Heuristics were carried over into final team design. The results support the applicability of Design Heuristics to student idea generation in biomedical engineering design.     

Reading from the Feet Up: The Local Work of Literacy

Children learn to read at approximately the same stage in life as they start to master their physical environment. This article argues that some of the same mapping and schema-building strategies inform each activity, and draws on examples from a broad range of children’s books to support the idea that reading fiction and mapping one’s local surroundings work in tandem among many young children. Fictional examples include Ramona the Brave, The Moffats, and The House at Pooh Corner. As children grow, and their understanding of their own world increases, their relationship with fiction may become more complex; this proposal is discussed in relation to the works of Carolyn Keene and Enid Blyton.     

Can Long John Silver Save the Humanities?

Given the serious decline in the number of undergraduates majoring in the humanities in general, and literature in particular, teachers of Children’s Literature have a unique opportunity to serve their discipline by tapping the power of classroom dialogue to introduce students to the practical reasoning central to humanistic study. This essay takes Long John Silver, from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island (1883), as a model for generating lively discussion that begins with literary matters but leads, with help from the teacher, to fundamental questions about the role of the humanities in students’ education and in their lives. In the process, the essay traces a pedagogical strategy that moves from matters of plot and character, to issues of ethics and judgment, to larger questions regarding approximate knowledge and sound reasoning about the complexities of the human condition. This inquiry focuses specifically on the charming but villainous Silver and the possible explanations for his escape at the end of the novel. But the ambiguity and fascination of his character are also catalysts for wide-ranging classroom discussion of a kind that Children’s Literature routinely promotes and sustains. Such discussion can provide broad, balanced insight into the nature and variety of critical understanding. As such, Children’s Literature and the pedagogy it supports serves to identify and enliven the benefits of humanistic study at a crucial moment of academic history.