Text recycling: Views of North American journal editors from an interview‐based study

Over the past decade, text recycling (TR; AKA ‘self‐plagiarism’) has become a visible and somewhat contentious practice, particularly in the realm of journal articles. While growing numbers of publishers are writing editorials and formulating guidelines on TR, little is known about how editors view the practice or how they respond to it. We present results from an interview‐based study of 21 North American journal editors from a broad range of academic disciplines. Our findings show that editors' beliefs and practices are quite individualized rather than being tied to disciplinary or other structural parameters. While none of our participants supported the use of large amounts of recycled material from one journal article to another, some editors were staunchly against any use of recycled material, while others were accepting of the practice in certain circumstances. Issues of originality, the challenges of rewriting text, the varied circulation of texts, and abiding by copyright law were prominent themes as editors discussed their approaches to TR. Overall, the interviews showed that many editors have not thought systematically about the practice of TR, and they sometimes have trouble aligning their beliefs and practices.     

Transformation of a Modern Newsroom Workforce

Digital transformation continues to impact the news industry and news organizations are adapting accordingly through shifts in required skills and prescribed job positions of journalists. In order to examine the changing nature of the modern journalist, a case study was conducted examining the employment histories of New York City journalists (n?=?3587). Social network analysis was used to better understand the career trajectories of journalists within the dataset, with a specific focus on understanding the development of new jobs for journalists in data, analytic, social, and mobile-oriented job positions. Findings demonstrate important differences between traditional employment patterns and those of employees in jobs requiring new skills and knowledge of new technology.     

THE TEACHER INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCES OF PROSPECTIVE HIGH SCHOOL MATHEMATICS TEACHERS

Nine prospective secondary mathematics teachers were interviewed about their teaching internship experience. The results of these interviews revealed that 7 of the 9 participants professed to value reform-oriented teaching and conceptual understanding in mathematics, yet all were paired with cooperating teachers who seemed to value traditional instruction and procedural understanding in mathematics. We explored the reasons that some of these student interns had positive experiences with their cooperating teachers and university supervisors while others had negative experiences. We found that the participants valued (a) critical feedback that was constructive and contained concrete recommendations for improvement, (b) freedom to use their own teaching methods, and (c) a friendly and supportive relationship with their mentors. The differing teaching philosophies of student teachers and their cooperating teachers contributed to negative experiences only when student teachers were not allowed freedom in their teaching methods.     

Peer acceptance and peer status in relation to students’ special educational needs,migration biography,gender and socio-economic status

Research within the context of inclusive education is strongly focused on the investigation of students’ special educational needs (SEN). However, a broader understanding of inclusion requires consideration of other factors that may compromise inclusion, especially when it comes to social participation. This study investigates the social participation of 512 students from Austrian secondary mainstream schools. Aside from students’ SEN, their migration biography, gender and socio-economic status (SES) were also considered. Students’ social participation was measured using peer nominations and peer status. The results indicate that, apart from students with SEN, those with a migration biography and low SES are at risk of low social participation. Amongst the popular students, those with SEN were significantly underrepresented. Regarding peer nominations, students with SEN received less positive and more negative nominations compared to those without SEN. Similar effects for negative nominations were found for students with migration biography and extreme SES. The results suggest that being at risk of low social participation is not only a problem for students with SEN but also a problem for those belonging to minority groups. In terms of research and practical implications (e.g., prevention of the negative outcomes of low social participation), the results of the current study suggest considering student diversity in a broader sense. Furthermore, students from other minority groups, such as those with a migration biography or students from low socio-economic status backgrounds (SES), are likely to suffer from social exclusion.     

Early childhood practicum students' professional growth in the USA: areas of confidence and concern

This research examines specific areas of confidence and concern as expressed by 40 American undergraduate early childhood students on a practicum (supervised field-based internships); if their beliefs changed over the course of their practicum, and if prior teaching experience had an impact on their confidence levels. Areas of confidence and concern were determined through questionnaires, reflections and interviews at three points in time during the semester. Findings indicate that students were more confident when arranging the physical environment and least confident in managing children's behaviour. Significant changes in understanding and interaction with children, planning and implementing activities and overall confidence were observed over time periods. Experienced students initially showed and maintained higher confidence levels than inexperienced students who were much less confident at the start of the practicum, but improved significantly. Interestingly, by the end of the semester, this latter group was as confident as more experienced students. Here the factors that affected confidence, the factors that boosted student confidence at different time periods and differences in confidence among students based on prior experience are discussed.     

Cross-Cultural Analysis of Social Competence and Behavior Problems in Preschoolers

A multi-national study using the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation Inventory (SCBE-30) was conducted to investigate preschool children's social and emotional development across cultures. A total of 4,640 children from eight participating countries, including Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the United States were evaluated by their preschool teachers. The main objective of the study was to validate the SCBE-30 in each country and build a cross-cultural data set for the investigation of universals, as well as cultural differences, in the development of preschool children's social competence and the frequency and type of their behavioral problems. Results provide a clear case for the structural equivalence of the SCBE-30 across all samples, for universals in the structure of early social behavior, and possibly some differences that may be attributed to culture. The pattern of gender differences found in North American samples was found to generalize across cultural contexts as preschool boys were universally reported to be significantly more aggressive and viewed as less socially competent than girls. Age differences were also found in all eight samples reflecting increasing competence in older children, however age trends in the prevalence of behavior problems were culture specific.     

Dimensional comparisons in subject-specific academic self-concepts and achievements: A quasi-experimental approach

Even though marks in different subjects are substantially correlated, the corresponding self-concepts often display a very weak association. The “Internal–External Frame of Reference Model” (I/E-model; Marsh, H. W. (1986). Verbal and math self-concepts: an internal/external frame of reference model. American Educational Research Journal, 23, 129–149) explains this finding: social comparisons (resulting in positive correlations of the self-concepts) and dimensional comparisons (resulting in negative correlations of the self-concepts) are confounded. A rarely tested hypothesis derived from the I/E-model is that the dimensional comparison process only affects the self-concepts, if the students achieve differently in the corresponding subjects. In a sample of N = 1508 students (grades 7 and 8), low correlations of the self-concepts for four subjects could be observed only in students displaying different school-marks in the corresponding subjects. In students who have the same marks in different subjects, the self-concepts showed a substantial positive correlation.