An analysis of the effectiveness of feedback to students on assessed work

This paper presents the views of students, from a range of schools and disciplines, on the effectiveness of current assessment feedback practices at Flinders University. We also report on a workshop on feedback with teachers. Overall, individual written comments were found to be the most useful form of feedback. However, there was significant variation with the level of satisfaction with feedback and the relative usefulness of different forms of feedback across the different schools and disciplines. This research suggests both the need to improve the effectiveness of such feedback and to tailor the forms of feedback offered to students according to the distinctive teaching and learning environments in different schools and disciplines. To that end, innovation and further research on feedback are justified, and some suggestions are offered.     

Gender Differences in Selective Media Use for Mood Management and Mood Adjustment

Mood management theory has found empirical support but was challenged by gender-typed selections and exposure to negative content. These challenges are addressed with response style theory and the mood adjustment approach. A secondary data analysis and original experimental data serve to test hypotheses. As expected, after a mood-impacting experience, men tend to distract themselves with absorbing messages, whereas women tend to ruminate the experience and thus prefer messages with low absorption potential. When anticipating a mood-impacting activity, men tend to distract themselves right before it by selecting absorbing content, whereas women focus on it and prefer less absorbing messages.     

“Why post more pictures if no one is looking at them?” Parents’ perception of the Facebook Like in sharenting

ABSTRACT

This paper reports on findings from an exploratory investigation about parents’ perceived role of the Facebook Like in sharenting (i.e., sharing about their children on social media) by drawing on the qualitative results of an online survey. Findings show that the majority of participants think that getting a Like on a picture of one’s child can encourage a parent to share more about him/her because of two main understandings of this paralinguistic cue: the Like as a received validation of one’s parenting, or as a metric of connection with important people, causing emotional reactions in the receivers. Several parents, though, judge the Like as more commonly being important for others, explaining this difference in terms of internal characteristics. This study aims to extend our understanding of the motivations behind sharenting by taking into account the role of the Like in this practice and highlighting how parents position themselves in such an exchange of digital photo-sharing and feedback. As communication does not happen in a vacuum, we advance that research on parents’ photo-sharing behavior online may benefit from considering whether and how social media liking can foster and shape interpersonal communication between posters and recipients.     

Evaluation of a learning analytics tool for supporting teachers in the creation and evaluation of accessible and quality open educational resources

The learning analytics (LA) field seeks to analyze data about students’ interactions, and it has been applied in the development of tools for supporting both learning and teaching processes. Recent research has paid attention on how LA may benefit teachers in the creation of educational resources. However, most of the research on LA solutions is carried out to support teachers in analyzing students’ behavior data collected as they interact with virtual learning environments. While solutions to support teachers in different virtual learning and teaching contexts have become important, to date little research has been done on how LA solutions can help teachers to create and evaluate Open Educational Resources (OERs). This study aims at presenting the evaluation of a LA tool for supporting teachers in the creation and evaluation of accessible and quality OERs considering that both processes fall within the competences that teachers can acquire and strengthen by participating as authors (creation) and evaluators (evaluation) of OERs. The study was conducted with Colombian teachers and the results obtained highlight the positive effect the tool had on the teachers’ acquisition of the competences and the positive attitude they had toward using the tool.     

赛前情绪与运动成绩

分析了赛前情绪与运动成绩的关系。研究表明,赛前的自信心程度、梦境、焦虑水平、对操作表现和个人潜力的知觉等因素与运动成绩有关。用《心境状态量表》(POMS)和《8种状态问卷》(8SQ)进行测验,发现了不同水平运动员的不同的情绪模式。由于认知先于情绪,因此,调节情绪应首先从调节认知着手,建立积极的内部条件反射;同时,还应将认知-情绪-行为链式反应各环节作为不可分割的整体。     

Project Management Techniques at the Complutense University: Academic Librarians' Perceptions

This study examines how academic librarians at the Complutense University (Spain) perceive project management techniques that are becoming increasingly popular in library and information centers due to the need to comply with their strategic planning and services. To reach this goal, a quantitative and qualitative methodology was applied and a survey, in the form of a questionnaire, was used as a data gathering tool. The response rate was 31.2%. The key findings are based on respondents' education regarding project management skills and their expertise managing projects, as well as the presence of project management courses in the Library and Information Science Spanish curriculum. This study revealed that over one third of the academic staff completed their project management training by self-directed learning. Additionally, over half of them stated that they had not participated in any library project in the last five years, and almost half of the library staff concluded that project management techniques are quite important as formal courses in the Library and Information Science university programs. The study is interesting and revealing for those library and information services professionals who are facing day-to-day to users' demands and Library and Information Science challenges.     

Ethanol as an antifungal treatment for paper: short-term and long-term effects

In paper conservation ethanol is used as an antifungal agent. However, information on the antifungal efficacy of this alcohol is scarce and often inconsistent. In this study, we clarify if ethanol is effective and safe to use in paper conservation in the short as well as in the long term. None of the tested ethanol concentrations (5–100%) promoted conidia germination, but rather delayed or entirely inhibited it, depending on alcohol concentration and contact time. In a simulation of an interventive treatment of samples colonized by fungi, all the tested ethanolic solutions (30, 70, and 100%) revealed antifungal activity. The best results were obtained with 70% ethanol, showing fungicidal properties on four of the five-tested fungal species (Aspergillus niger, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Penicillium chrysogenum, and Penicillium corylophilum). No deleterious effects of 70% ethanol on the tested paper were observed either in the short or in the long term.     

Legends in Science: from Boom to Bust

In biology and medicine, a scientist’s legend is most commonly determined by their sphere of influence, either on surrounding peers, on clients in the case of medical practitioners, or on the wider scientific public in the case of research scientists. A scientific paper still constitutes the most effective portal through which ideas, knowledge and opinions can be shared among academics and scholars. Thus, legends in science are built upon a scientist’s published literature. Legend was always assumed to be safe in its final form, i.e., a published paper. Yet, a powerful movement of post-publication peer review has begun to identify that not all has been well with the vetting process that led to the publication of a tranche of the scientific literature, and that editorial oversight and weakness has prevailed in a number of cases, leading to retractions and a more critical re-assessment of the literature. One could say that the half-life of a scientific paper has only just begun once it is published. Within this context of science publishing that has given a sense of false security, legends may evolve from boom to bust within the space of weeks or even months. The legendary status of a scientist is therefore no longer safe if there are hidden or undiscovered errors, fraud or misconduct.