News Sources and Follow-up Communication

For sports actors, social media provide the opportunity to bypass sports journalism's gatekeeping function and to disseminate sports-related information to target groups directly. Thus, social media have been conceptualized as a competitor to journalism. We argue that the relation is much more diverse. We differentiate between competitive, integrative, and complementary facets of the relationship between sports journalism and social media. Our study focuses on complementarity and analyzes how far social and mainstream media serve as sources for each other. Therefore, we combine an online survey among 122 German sports journalists, an analysis of the Twitter networks of German sports journalists during the Winter Olympics 2014, and a content analysis of the most popular news items in social media. Results suggest that sports journalists perceive social media accounts of athletes as beneficial news sources, especially to gather inside information. Huge sports events influence the social media activities of sports journalists as they tend to have stronger connections to athletes at these times. Whereas social media appear to be significant sources for sports journalism, sports media content receives little attention in social media. However, our results indicate that sports journalism and social media indeed maintain a complementary relation.     

Beyond “J-Tweeters”

Based on a survey (N?=?1613) directed to members of the Norwegian Journalist Association (NJ), this paper presents an extensive overview of the ways in which comparably older and newer online platforms have been incorporated into the professional lives of Norwegian journalists. While plenty of research is available that explores the uses of Twitter by journalists, the results presented here suggest that Facebook is by far the most frequently used platform throughout the journalistic process—from collecting information, distributing content and engaging with readers. Statistical analyses provide further insights into which variables appear to influence certain modes of usage across the studied platforms. Based on the results, the argument is made that the advantages of using Facebook as a platform for journalistic practices are obvious due to its popularity among the general public, but that this utilization of one platform over others also could be problematic. As Facebook continues to gain leverage towards the newspapers they host, questions of journalistic practices need to come to the fore.     

Elite Interaction

While a good deal of research has examined the uses of Twitter in journalism, comparably few research projects employ comparative research designs in order to provide new insights. The present study details Twitter use by public service broadcasters (PSBs) during recent national elections in Norway and Sweden. Utilizing quantitative analysis of social media content in tandem with qualitative interviews with key PSB journalists, the main results indicate that while the PSB organizations—the Norwegian NRK and the Swedish SVT—are both frequently contacted by “regular” citizens on Twitter, they seem to prefer to retweet and interact with journalists, politicians or other “elite” users. Compared with the interviews performed, the study uncovers an interesting tension as journalists often talk about the need to engage with “regular” users—a practice that is arguably in line with PSB regulations, but that is seldom adhered to in the contexts studied here.     

Low energy availability in exercising men is associated with reduced leptin and insulin but not with changes in other metabolic hormones

Low energy availability, defined as low caloric intake relative to exercise energy expenditure, has been linked to endocrine alterations frequently observed in chronically energy-deficient exercising women. Our goal was to determine the endocrine effects of low energy availability in exercising men. Six exercising men (VO_2peak: 49.3 ± 2.4 ml · kg^?1 · min^?1) underwent two conditions of low energy availability (15 kcal · kg^?1 fat-free mass [FFM] · day^?1) and two energy-balanced conditions (40 kcal · kg^?1 FFM · day^?1) in randomised order. During one low energy availability and one balanced condition, participants exercised to expend 15 kcal · kg^?1 FFM · day^?1; no exercise was conducted during the other two conditions. Metabolic hormones were assessed before and after each 4-day period. Following both low energy availability conditions, leptin (?53% to ?56%) and insulin (?34% to ?38%) were reduced (P < 0.05). Reductions in leptin and insulin were independent of whether low energy availability was attained with or without exercise (P > 0.80). Low energy availability did not significantly impact ghrelin, triiodothyronine, testosterone and IGF-1 (all P > 0.05). The observed reductions in leptin and insulin were in the same magnitude as changes previously reported in sedentary women. Further research is needed to understand why other metabolic hormones are more robust against low energy availability in exercising men than those in sedentary and exercising women.     

“I Hope to Remain the Same”: Continuity and Change in College Students' Sexual Possible Selves across the First Semester

This study replicates and extends research on college students’ sexual possible selves by longitudinally examining their sexual expectations, fears, and behavioral strategies at the beginning and end of the first semester in college. Open-ended responses were collected at two time points (T1, N?=?78; T2, N?=?40) and were analyzed using directed content analysis. First semester students’ salient expectations and fears focused on abstinence, interpersonal relationships, quantity, conditional sex, decreasing/avoidant behaviors, and fears related to sexual health/well-being, sexual assault/coercion, self-focus, and increased sexual risk at both T1 and T2. However, two new themes emerged at T2: maintain (expected) and partner-focus (feared). At both time points, behavioral strategies included abstinence, making opportunities, restricting boundaries, sexual health/well-being, thoughtful/informed decisions, and self-assertion/protection. Quantitative frequency comparisons were also conducted to examine changes in the prevalence of the reported categories and indicated shifts in salient expectations, fears, and strategies across the first semester. Implications for sexual education are discussed.     

Compulsory Higher Education Teacher Training in Sweden: Development of a national standards framework based on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Today visible proofs of excellence in teaching and learning are increasingly important aspects of institutional branding in higher education (HE). Teaching competence is brought forward as a central aspect of the quality of programmes. Still, the induction of new university teachers is managed in many different ways. Approaches may vary according to how teaching competence is perceived; as growing from practice only, requiring formal courses or, for instance, outlined in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) movement. In Sweden, the HE Ordinance from 2002 states that to get permanent positions, lecturers should have completed Compulsory HE Teacher Training (CHETT). The size and organisation of the courses were not regulated in the Ordinance and institutional practices varied. In a three-year project intended learning outcomes for CHETT was suggested. These outcomes are based on SoTL and linked to an estimated workload of 10 weeks. Based on a national survey in 2006, institutional responses to the proposals are analysed.

     

Assessment of metacognitive skills by means of instruction to think aloud and reflect when prompted. Does the verbalisation method affect learning?

Recent research on metacognition points out the crucial role of on-line methods when endeavouring to conduct valid assessments of metacognitive skills. Presently, different on-line methods are used, however, it is still a question of research whether and how they affect students’ learning behaviour and learning outcome. Thus, the aim of this study is to quasi-experimentally analyse the effects of two on-line verbalisation methods on learning performance. By means of the thinking-aloud method, students in one experimental group (n = 24) were instructed to read and think aloud during learning. With the reflection when prompted method, students of another experimental group (n = 24) were prompted at each navigational step to reflect on the reasons why they chose specific information. Students in the control group (n = 22) learned without being instructed to verbalise. All three groups were treated identically except for the different use of verbalisation assessment methods. The students’ task was to learn the concepts and principles of operant conditioning presented in a hypermedium within 30 min. The students’ learning sessions were videotaped and learning performance was obtained immediately afterwards. Based on Ericsson and Simon’s (Protocol analysis: Verbal reports as data, MIT, Cambridge, 1993) model, no performance differences between the thinking aloud and the control group were hypothesised. However, prompting students for metacognitive reflection should affect learning performance positively, which is confirmed by the results only in tendency for transfer performance. Implications for on-line assessment methods of metacognitive skill will be discussed.     

Facebook for supervision? Research education shaped by the structural properties of a social media space

This study analyses the use of a group space on the social networking site Facebook as a way to facilitate research supervision for teams of learners. Borrowing Lee’s framework for research supervision, the goal was to understand how supervision and learning was achieved in, and shaped by, the properties of a social networking space. For this purpose, the discourse between supervisor and learners was analysed along with the structural properties afforded by the space. Using the empirical findings and further literature, a conceptual framework was developed that illustrates the ways in which functional supervision, enculturation, emancipation, critical thinking and relationship development are achieved and formed by the interplay of the technological, functional, multimodal and the wider sociocultural, political and sociolinguistic structures associated with social media space.     

Role of the educator in social software initiatives in further and higher education: A conceptualisation and research agenda

Higher and further education institutions are increasingly using social software tools to support teaching and learning. A growing body of research investigates the diversity of tools and their range of contributions. However, little research has focused on investigating the role of the educator in the context of a social software initiative, even though the educator is critical for the introduction and successful use of social software in a course environment. Hence, we argue that research on social software should place greater emphasis on the educators, as their roles and activities (such as selecting the tools, developing the tasks and facilitating the students' interactions with these tools) are instrumental in a social software initiative. To address this gap, we have developed a research agenda on the role of the educator in a social software initiative. Drawing on role theory, both as the basis for a systematic conceptualization of the educator role and as a guiding framework, we have developed a series of concrete research questions that address core issues associated with the educator roles in a social software context. We have provided recommendations for further investigations. By developing a research agenda, we hope to stimulate research that creates a better understanding of the educator's situation and develops guidelines to help educators carry out their social software initiatives. Considering the significant role an educator plays in the initiation and conduct of a social software initiative, our research agenda ultimately seeks to contribute to the adoption and efficient use of social software in education.