Peer education in the commons: a new approach to reference services

In planning for a new library construction project for the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa, graduate students enrolled in the University of Oklahoma (OU) School of Library and Information Studies collaborated in an innovative effort to develop a commons-based reference service. By first considering a philosophical approach to the need for a commons, blending in the experiences of other libraries that have created similar spaces, and focusing on the workflow issues likely to be encountered by the graduate assistants staffing the commons itself, this planning team developed an uncommon peer-to-peer approach to reference and education services, one focused on the patron as student.     

On transitional space,unresolved conflicts,and an uncertain teacher education

This research project began as an effort to redesign a learning theory course as transitional space and evolved into an analysis of how unresolved conflict from younger learning selves influence graduate preservice teachers’ acquisition of teacher identity. The study draws upon work by Elizabeth Ellsworth on transitional space and Deborah P. Britzman’s work that deconstructs teacher education development. The data for the study were collected throughout a three‐semester graduate teacher education program and include narrative and formal writing using theoretical discourses. Foucauldian concepts of discourse analysis were used to interpret the initial data set; discourse analysis maps were then employed to further develop data interpretation. Two case study illustrations of preservice teachers resulted from this work. These illustrations demonstrate how transitional space is troubled space and the unevenness of teacher development. The study raises the question, ‘What will teacher education do with uncertainty?’     

Developing and testing a method to measure academic societal impact

This paper aims to extend understanding of the business and societal impact of academic research. From a business school perspective, it has taken stock of the role of academic research and relevance in business and society. The proposed conceptual framework highlights the forces influencing the pursuit of academic rigour and relevance in scholarly outputs. A theoretical model for measuring the societal impact of academic journal articles—the Academic Rigour and Relevance Index (AR2I)—was developed. This index comprises six key parameters, which are assessed by three stakeholder groups connected with academic research into business issues, these groups being: business practitioners, society and academics. The behaviour of the AR2I model was evaluated using the Monte Carlo simulation model. Taking into account the relationships between the standard deviations and the differences of classification between articles with different levels of rigour and relevance, it is demonstrated that the AR2I model is an effective tool.