Enhancing the facilitation of online groups in higher education: a review of the literature on face-to-face and online group-facilitation

There still appears to be a gap between what online learning promises and what it can deliver in terms of student learning. Developments in online pedagogies and professional learning appear to lag behind the developments in technology and the promised benefits of technological transformation may not be realised. In this paper, we bring together perspectives that highlight vital aspects of online group-learning by reviewing the group-facilitation literature and the latest online learning literature to interrogate the pedagogical theories and practices currently used in online group-learning in higher education. We specifically focus on the interpersonal interactions between teachers and students, which are described in the online learning literature using the terms instructor immediacy, teaching presence, and social presence. We note differences in the literature regarding how teacher presence is interpreted and enacted and we expound the importance of the personal characteristics of the online teacher. Finally, we provide some signposts that might help course designers and teachers to improve online group learning: the intentional use of effective online learning pedagogies; a deeper understanding of what constitutes teacher presence; and strategies to enact that teacher presence with online groups. Recommendations for further research in online group facilitation are provided.     

The easy-to-hard effect: Transfer along the dimension of orientation in the rat

Long-Evans rats were trained on an easy simultaneous discrimination problem and then transferred to a hard discrimination problem. The discriminanda were different orientations of stripes. In Experiment I, transfer was intradimensional with stimulus generalization controlled. The easy-to-hard effect was not found. In Experiment II transfer was intradimensional and either compatible (nonreversal) or incompatible (reversal). With compatible transfer, rats trained on a prior easy problem learned the hard problem faster than rats trained only on the hard problem. Persistent negative transfer was found with incompatible transfer. Attention was not supported as underlying the easy-to-hard effect. Explanations based on specific sources of intradimensional transfer, such as stimulus generalization or adaptation level, are suggested.     

Career Counseling for Longevity: Self-Care and Burnout Prevention Strategies for Counselor Resilience

Balancing self-care and other-care is often a struggle for career counselors and others in the helping professions. The process of caring is made up of a constant series of empathic attachments, active involvements, and felt separations. The ability to continually engage in the caring cycle is important for success. However, the constant need to re-create the cycle of caring can lead to counselor depletion and burnout. This article provides a developmental framework for assisting career counselors to avoid depleted caring while prolonging their professional longevity. The model of self-care includes recognizing the hazards of high touch work, such as limited resources and constant one-way caring. Also addressed are specific means of professional and personal sustenance, such as maximizing experiences of professional success and balancing personal wellness throughout one's career.     

Opportunity knocks

Research on technological opportunity has typically focused on the impact of broad industry characteristics on R&D intensity of firms. This study complements such approaches by examining the impact of a multidimensional vector that measures technological opportunity on independent inventors’ decisions to patent and commercialize inventions. Using data from 559 inventions and controlling for demand, appropriability, and competitive conditions, we found two of four tested dimensions of technological opportunity - technical performance and technical uncertainty - to be significant and important determinants of the likelihood of commercialization. Technical feasibility appears important in affecting patenting but unimportant in affecting commercialization. Technical significance carries a negative, although insignificant, sign conditioning commercialization.     

Factors affecting journal submission numbers: Impact factor and peer review reputation

Previous research has found that researchers rank journal reputation and impact factor (IF) amongst the key selection criteria when choosing where to submit. We explored the actual effect upon submission numbers of several possible factors. We retrieved 10 years of submission data from over a thousand journals, as well as data on IF, retractions, and other factors. We performed statistical analysis and identified correlations. We also undertook case study research on the 55 most significant submission decreases. We found a statistically significant correlation between changes in IF, ISI percentage ranking, and changes in submissions numbers in subsequent years. We also found a statistically significant effect on submission numbers in the year following the publication of a retraction. Our case studies identified other factors, including negative feedback on the peer review process. Our findings regarding IF confirm previous indications about the significance of IF on submissions. We explain the correlation with retractions through the concept of ‘peer review reputation’. These results indicate that editors and publishers need to focus on a journal's peer review practices, as well as a journal's IF, if they are to maintain and grow submissions.     

Variation in Valuation: How Research Groups Accumulate Credibility in Four Epistemic Cultures

Minerva - This paper aims to explore disciplinary variation in valuation practices by comparing the way research groups accumulate credibility across four epistemic cultures. Our analysis is based...     

Validity and reliability of a linear positional transducer across commonly practised resistance training exercises

This study investigated the validity and reliability of the GymAware PowerTool (GPT). Thirteen resistance trained participants completed three visits, consisting of three repetitions of free-weight back squat, bench press, deadlift (80% one repetition maximum), and countermovement jump. Bar displacement, peak and mean velocity, peak and mean force, and jump height were calculated using the GPT, a three-dimensional motion capture system (Motion Analysis Corporation; 150 Hz), and a force plate (Kistler; 1500 Hz). Least products regression were used to compare agreeability between devices. A within-trial one-way ANOVA, typical error (TE; %), and smallest worthwhile change (SWC) were used to assess reliability. Regression analysis resulted in R² values of >0.85 for all variables excluding deadlift mean velocity (R² = 0.54–0.69). Significant differences were observed between visits 3-2 for bench press bar displacement (0.395 ± 0.055 m; 0.383 ± 0.053 m), and deadlift bar displacement (0.557 ± 0.034 m; 0.568 ± 0.034 m). No other significant differences were found. Low to moderate TE (0.6–8.8%) were found for all variables, with SWC ranging 1.7–7.4%. The data provides evidence that the GPT can be used to measure kinetic and kinematic outputs, however, care should be taken when monitoring deadlift performance.