Publication Services at the University Library Graz: A New Venture,a New Role

ABSTRACT

Establishing Publication Services in the library at the University of Graz did more than broaden the service portfolio of the library. A convergence of expertise at the library, needs of researchers at the university, and ongoing changes in scholarly communication also contributed to the evolution of the library's role and profile. The new services offer first-level support for matters pertaining to scholarly publishing and communications. Furthermore, Publication Services has developed into a knowledge sharing platform, extending beyond the library to other administrative departments and creating a community of practice.     

Cinematic Rendering in Anatomy: A Crossover Study Comparing a Novel 3D Reconstruction Technique to Conventional Computed Tomography

Integration of medical imaging into preclinical anatomy courses is already underway in many medical schools. However, interpretation of two-dimensional grayscale images is difficult and conventional volume rendering techniques provide only images of limited quality. In this regard, a more photorealistic visualization provided by Cinematic Rendering (CR) may be more suitable for anatomical education. A randomized, two-period crossover study was conducted from July to December 2018, at the University Hospital of Erlangen, Germany to compare CR and conventional computed tomography (CT) imaging for speed and comprehension of anatomy. Sixteen students were randomized into two assessment sequences. During each assessment period, participants had to answer 15 anatomy-related questions that were divided into three categories: parenchymal, musculoskeletal, and vascular anatomy. After a washout period of 14 days, assessments were crossed over to the respective second reconstruction technique. The mean interperiod differences for the time to answer differed significantly between the CR–CT sequence (−204.21 ± 156.0 seconds) and the CT–CR sequence (243.33 ± 113.83 seconds; P < 0.001). Overall time reduction by CR was 65.56%. Cinematic Rendering visualization of musculoskeletal and vascular anatomy was higher rated compared to CT visualization (P < 0.001 and P = 0.003), whereas CT visualization of parenchymal anatomy received a higher scoring than CR visualization (P < 0.001). No carryover effects were observed. A questionnaire revealed that students consider CR to be beneficial for medical education. These results suggest that CR has a potential to enhance knowledge acquisition and transfer from medical imaging data in medical education.     

Primary Physical Science for Student Teachers at Kindergarten and Primary School Levels: Part II—Implementation and Evaluation of a Course

Interchange - This is the second of two papers on a novel physical science course for student teachers that develops and uses an imaginative approach to&nbsp;Primary Physical Science Education....     

Software vulnerability due to practical drift

The proliferation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) into all aspects of life poses unique ethical challenges as our modern societies become increasingly dependent on the flawless operation of these technologies. As we increasingly entrust our privacy, our well-being and our lives to an ever greater number of computers we need to look more closely at the risks and ethical implications of these developments. By emphasising the vulnerability of software and the practice of professional software developers, we want to make clear the ethical aspects of producing potentially flawed software. This paper outlines some of the vulnerabilities associated with software systems and identifies a number of social and organisational factors affecting software developers and contributing to these vulnerabilities. Scott A. Snook’s theory of practical drift is used as the basis for our analysis. We show that this theory, originally developed to explain the failure of a military organisation, can be used to understand how professional software developers “drift away” from procedures and processes designed to ensure quality and prevent software vulnerability. Based on interviews with software developers in two Norwegian companies we identify two areas where social factors compel software developers to drift away from a global set of rules constituting software development processes and methods. Issues of pleasure and control and difference in mental models contribute to an uncoupling from established practices designed to guarantee the reliability of software and thus diminish its vulnerability.     

Does early reading failure decrease children's reading motivation?

The authors used a pretest-posttest control group design with random assignment to evaluate whether early reading failure decreases children's motivation to practice reading. First, they investigated whether 60 first-grade children would report substantially different levels of interest in reading as a function of their relative success or failure in learning to read. Second, they evaluated whether increasing the word reading ability of 15 at-risk children would lead to gains in their motivation to read. Multivariate analyses of variance suggest marked differences in both motivation and reading practice between skilled and unskilled readers. However, bolstering at-risk children's word reading ability did not yield evidence of a causal relationship between early reading failure and decreased motivation to engage in reading activities. Instead, hierarchical regression analyses indicate a covarying relationship among early reading failure, poor motivation, and avoidance of reading.     

Les colonies de vacances en France, 1944–1958: impulsions politiques autour d’un fait social majeur

Abstract

This article looks at the French state’s approach to the “colonies de vacances” between 1944 and 1958. Created in 1876 by the Reverend Bion in Zurich, these summer camps originated as a charitable institution: their initial purpose was to provide rural retreats and to restore the health of poor urban youth. Set up on French soil in 1880, these institutions gradually grew in France in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Considered both as complements to the republican school and as extensions of the “patronages” (parish unions), they were important for children and adolescents from the industrial city suburbs, and were enshrined in the leisure policies of the Popular Front from 1936 onwards. After the Second World War, summer camps in France became a major social institution (300,000 children went to summer camps in 1945, 900,000 in 1949) in response to both hygiene and educational needs. Based on the archives of the Directorate of Youth Movements and Popular Education (1944–1947) and the General Directorate of Youth and Sports (1948–1958), this article aims to examine the politics behind the organisation of these summer camps and to demonstrate the social and political importance of these popular educational institutions which, in 1957, involved 1.35 million French children and teenagers. Although the history of French summer camp federations (UFCV, CEMEA, CPVC, UFOVAL, etc.) has been widely studied, how the state sees its role and influences these organisations has mostly been considered indirectly. The intention is to show that among the educational, cultural and sports policies implemented during the Fourth Republic in France, those related to the organisation of “colonies de vacances”, and therefore the organisation of holidays for a very large number of children and teenagers, occupy a significant place. In 1944, the summer camps were widely supported by the French state, which also planned to regulate this booming sector. The creation of qualifications for summer camp staff and directors in 1949 obliged organisations to start training schemes: they trained staff and directors to work in the municipal camps, associations, etc. Security issues led to the state tightening control of the summer camps, their recruitment and their activities. There was a great deal of political investment in these “colonies de vacances” during this period, and this was reflected in the creation of a Ministerial Education Committee in 1950, a general and regional body of inspectors for these camps, etc. However, the considerable expansion of summer camps posed increasing problems at the national political level resulting in changes to the initial subsidy policies. The State played a major part in crucial issues such as the sociological diversification of these institutions and the changes in their social role according to evolving sociocultural trend. The fact remains that the “colonies de vacances” were for the French state a centrepiece of the “popular education” that the political actors of the Fourth Republic wanted to implement in order to build the France of the post-war period..