Network structure, self-organization, and the growth of international collaboration in science

Different approaches have been used to analyse international collaboration in science but none can fully explain its rapid growth. Using international co-authorships, we test the hypothesis that international collaboration is a self-organising network. Applying tools from network analysis, the paper shows that the growth of international co-authorships can be explained based on the organising principle of preferential attachment, although the attachment mechanism deviates from an ideal power-law. Several explanations for the deviation are explored, including that of the influence of institutional constraints on the mechanism of self-organisation.     

Rethinking feedback practices in higher education: a peer review perspective

Peer review is a reciprocal process whereby students produce feedback reviews on the work of peers and receive feedback reviews from peers on their own work. Prior research has primarily examined the learning benefits that result from the receipt of feedback reviews, with few studies specifically exploring the merits of producing feedback reviews or the learning mechanisms that this activates. Using accounts of their experiences of peer review, this study illuminates students’ perceptions of the different learning benefits resulting from feedback receipt and feedback production, and, importantly, it provides insight into the cognitive processes that are activated when students construct feedback reviews. The findings show that producing feedback reviews engages students in multiple acts of evaluative judgement, both about the work of peers, and, through a reflective process, about their own work; that it involves them in both invoking and applying criteria to explain those judgements; and that it shifts control of feedback processes into students’ hands, a shift that can reduce their need for external feedback. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. It is argued that the capacity to produce quality feedback is a fundamental graduate skill, and, as such, it should receive much greater attention in higher education curricula.     

Innovation in regions: What does really matter?

The literature on systems of innovation conceptualises innovation as an evolutionary and social process of collective learning. But three main questions remain open: is this learning process rather internal or external? What are the boundaries of this process? Is this social process voluntary or rather unintended? This paper strives to tackle those questions by analysing the determinants of regional innovative levels in French manufacturing industries. By estimating a knowledge production function we find that building external interactions is of greater importance than developing internal innovative competences. Second, unintended knowledge flows have less influence on regional innovative performance than deliberate ones. Lastly, the French innovation system looks regional rather than sectoral.     

A study of the difficulties of care and support in new university teachers’ work

This paper discusses some findings from a small‐scale qualitative study involving ‘new’ teachers in a medium sized, regional English university. Using Grounded Theory methods to inform and guide the research, the study explores participants’ views on working as both teachers and researchers whilst also managing considerable amounts of ‘caring work’ with a diverse body of students who often need academic and pastoral support in excess of that assumed within the university academic timetables or support networks. The voices of these teachers suggest that care is an overlooked aspect of university teachers’ work, yet it plays an important part in maintaining their and their students’ sense of scholarly endeavour. Further, our findings suggest that within the university at large there is a ‘discourse of difference’ in the way that many academics conceptualize and represent the student body and students’ needs to be supported. This discourse impacts on the development of new teachers’ identities and aspirations. Some implications of these findings for implementing strategies for supporting teachers to develop both academic and pastoral roles within universities are discussed.     

The HPT Model Applied to a Boutique‐Style Online Retail Store

Suzy Q's is a retail business located in the southeastern United States. It offers hand‐knitted scarves; handmade hair accessories; handcrafted beaded jewelry such as necklaces, bracelets, and earrings; small handmade children's toys; and stock and custom‐printed T‐shirts. It began operations in early 2014. The owners established an online store and developed plans to sell items at local craft fairs and farmers’ markets in the southeastern United States. During its initial launch, the business generated limited orders for its products. In the beginning there was a limited amount of advertising using social media, which consisted of establishing a Facebook page, posting notifications on the business's Facebook page, and posting notifications about the business to the owners’ personal contacts on Facebook. Despite establishing a web presence and utilizing social media in its first year of operations, Suzy Q's did not generate a significant number of orders and received very little revenue. The owners of Suzy Q's, our client, established a goal to generate at least $700 per month in revenue for the calendar year 2015. Our analysis of the business revealed that the managers and employees had the skills needed to perform the work, but the lack of orders presented an obstacle to achieving their business goals. After completing a performance analysis, we recommended that Suzy Q's establish a single online presence, implement a marketing effort, establish a local presence, create a dedicated studio space, and create a formal business plan. It was our belief that Suzy Q's had the potential to reach its goals set for 2015 and beyond if these solutions were implemented.     

Individual Differences in Childhood Behavior Disorders Associated With Epigenetic Modulation of the Cortisol Receptor Gene

Behavioral/emotional difficulties in children are the first sign of mental health problems. These problems are however, heterogeneous. A domain that may identify homogenous subgroups is hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal function. This study tested whether epigenetic regulation of glucocorticoid receptor gene could explain the co‐occurrence of anxiety problems in children with behavior problems. Four‐ to 16‐year‐old clinically referred children (N = 241) were measured for psychiatric symptoms, methylation of target CpG sites in blood or saliva, and morning cortisol levels in those who gave blood. Increased methylation of promoter 1F CpG sites was associated with higher vulnerability to co‐occurring internalizing symptoms and morning cortisol. The results support increasing optimism that epigenetic regulation of key neuroendocrine systems might help explain hitherto unfathomable individual differences in susceptibility to psychiatric symptom profiles.     

Book Reviews

Ted Goodhew, T.R.I.S.T. Advisory Teacher, Berkshire County Council, ‘New Directions in Pastoral Care’, Edited by Peter Lang & Michael Marland, 1985 Blackwell —

Professor R. F. Dearden, University of Birmingham, Profiles and Records of Achievement, Patricia Broadfoot (ed) 1986 Holt, Rinehart and Winston £6.50 paperback

Pat Salder, Education for Capability, Ed Tyrrell Burgess N. F. E. K./Nelson 1986 £10.95

John Alcock, University of Warwick, Solo Monologues for Drama,John Goodwin and Bill Taylor 1985 Edward Arnold Ltd £2.15

Caroline Lodge, White Hart Lane School, London, Sharing,Beryl Heather FPA Education Unit 1984 52pp £3.50     

“Forget birth pains,we haven't got past the conception stage yet”. A reply to Frank Coffield's ‘Britain's continuing failure to train: the birth pangs of a new policy’

This article is a response to Frank Coffield's recent reflections in this journal on the Performance and Innovation Unit's project on workforce development in Britain. It questions the extent to which the PIU's findings represent a ‘new understanding’ of the UK's skills problem and asks why academics have been so reluctant to spell out what a demand‐side strategy for tackling the problem would involve.     

Acting up or acting out? Unlocking children's talk in literature circles

It is generally accepted that talk enriches children's interpretations of texts in literature circle discussions. However, the nature of that talk and exactly how it facilitates interpretation of texts has not been much analysed. This article describes some work undertaken with a class of Scottish children, aged 9–10, to introduce them to the idea of literature circles. The literature circle discussions were then recorded and analysed. The purpose of the project was to record the kinds of exchanges, chains of comment and range of discourses and voices that children used when talking among themselves, and to reflect on their function and value. It was found that a lot of the talk was exploratory though not always in the sense proposed by Mercer. In his terms much was ‘cumulative’. Some talk veered towards anecdotal chat. The children also frequently put on voices not their own, mimicking characters in the story they were reading, and other people they knew. These forms of talk are not always encouraged in the classroom, their effectiveness for learning being in doubt. This article argues that cumulative talk, the telling of anecdotes and the performing of different characters' voices all have a useful function in discussions of books: they can encourage engagement, be helpful in bringing texts to life and advance children's thinking about literature.