Students’ navigation of the uncharted territories of academic writing

Many students enter tertiary education unfamiliar with the ‘norms and conventions’ of their disciplines. Research into academic literacies has shown that in order to succeed in their studies, students are expected to conform to these norms and conventions, which are often unrecognized or seen as ‘common sense’ by lecturers. Students have to develop their own ‘map’ of their programme’s expectations in order to make sense of the seemingly mysterious practices they are expected to take on. This study, undertaken at a University of Technology in South Africa, details students’ perceptions of their writing difficulties and their attempts to navigate their way through various writing tasks. The findings reveal that students experience a range of difficulties and that the students often feel unsupported in their travails with academic writing.Department of HE and Training approved lis

‘It’s quite weird to write … you feel like a nut job’: the practical and emotional consequences of writing personal reflections for assessment in psychology

Setting the tone for reflective writing – should the first person, populated approach that currently dominates be ethically questioned? An active voice is recommended to enhance ‘power’ and emotional investment in reflection, but often presents practical difficulties for students conditioned in ‘scientific’ depopulated ways. Beyond the practical, being instructed to employ a personal tone could exacerbate the emotional risks involved for vulnerable students. Ethical questioning is an area of reflection and teaching that has been largely neglected. The current paper responds to this gap, discursively considering the impact of requiring students to reflect using the first person and how this could intersect with emotionality components, located within the experiences of MSc Forensic Psychology students. Six students that had recently undertaken a reflective practice assignment volunteered to take part in a semi-structured interview about their experiences. For some students the themes of personal pronoun use and emotionality intersected, whereby at deeper levels of analysis the emotional impact was compounded by first person usage. Assessing the risk of enhanced vulnerability to psychological discomfort, implementing practical strategies to mediate this and the support procedures followed when requiring students to reflect are reviewed

Student understandings of evidence-based management : ways of doing and being

This paper advances the literature on Evidence Based Management (EBMgt) by exploring how students understand EBMgt. We conduct a qualitative inductive study of undergraduate students who were introduced to EBMgt and applied evidence-based processes as part of an introductory management course. Our findings identify four qualitatively different student understandings of EBMgt: (1) EBMgt as an unrealistic way of doing management; (2) EBMgt as a way of doing management in particular situations; (3) EBMgt as a generally useful way of doing management; and (4) EBMgt as an ideal way of being a manager. We find that variations in student understanding are based upon perceptions of the utility of evidence-based processes, the stance taken towards scientific evidence as a form of knowledge, and the focus of reflection about the practice of EBMgt. By opening up insight into the how undergraduate students understand and make sense of EBMgt as ways of doing and being, we contribute to the theoretical literature on EBMgt and to the practice of EBMgt teaching and learning and offer new paths for future research.PostprintPeer reviewe

Impact of grassland management on soil carbon storage and organic matter biogeochemistry

La séquestration du C dans les sols réduit les effets du changement climatique, et améliore la qualité du sol. L'introduction des prairies temporaires dans le cycle des cultures pourrait améliorer les matières organiques du sol (SOM). L'objectif de la thèse était d'évaluer l'impact des modes de gestion de prairies temporaires sur la quantité, la composition et les processus de stabilisation des SOM et les émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GHG).Mes résultats montrent un arrière effet de la gestion des prairies temporaires sur les SOM après 3 ans de culture. La durée des prairies influence la quantité et la composition de la biomasse microbienne ainsi que la nature des SOM. La fertilisation en N de la prairie est nécessaire à la séquestration du C dans le sol sans augmenter les émissions de GHG.Pour remplacer la fertilisation en N minérale, des légumineuses peuvent être utilisées. En conséquence, je me suis intéressée à l'effet de la luzerne sur les formes de C, de N et de P dans les sols sous mélanges luzerne-graminées. Mes résultats indiquent une absence d'augmentation du stock de C dans les sols sous mélanges comparés aux monocultures de graminées fertilisées, malgré une plus forte productivité de la luzerne. Les biomarqueurs moléculaires indiquent que l'introduction de la luzerne en prairie influence la dégradation des SOM plus que leur stabilisation. De plus, la luzerne influence fortement les formes du P dans les sols sous mélanges.Ainsi, lors de l'introduction de prairie dans les cycles de culture, il est important d'optimiser les modes de gestion afin de faire le bon compromis entre le stockage du C, les émissions de GHG et l'utilisation d'engrais.Soil C sequestration reduces the effects of climate change, improves soil quality and food security. Soil organic matter (SOM) could be enhanced by introduction of ley grassland into the cropping cycle. The objective of this PhD thesis was to evaluate the effect of management practices of ley grassland on the quantity, composition and stabilization processes of SOM and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). My data showed legacy effects of duration and fertilization of the temporary grassland phase on SOM after 3 years of cropping. The duration of grassland phase influenced the quantity and composition of the microbial biomass as well as the nature of SOM. N fertilization during the grassland phase is necessary for soil C sequestration in soil without increasing GHG emissions.To replace mineral N fertilization, legumes may be used in forage production systems. Consequently, I was interested in the effect of introduction of lucerne on C, N and P forms in soils under lucerne-grass mixtures. My results indicate similar soil C stocks under mixtures and grass monocultures, despite the high productivity of lucerne. Molecular biomarkers indicated that the introduction of lucerne in grassland influenced the degradation of the SOM more than its stabilization. Moreover, the presence of lucerne influenced P forms in soils under mixtures.In conclusion, the introduction of ley grasslands into cropping cycles requires careful evaluation of the management practices in order to optimize C storage, GHG emissions and N fertilizer use

Monitoring Grassland Management Effects on Soil Organic Carbon—A Matter of Scale

Introduction of temporary grasslands into cropping cycles could be a sustainable management practice leading to increased soil organic carbon (SOC) to contribute to climate change adaption and mitigation. To investigate the impact of temporary grassland management practices on SOC storage of croplands, we used a spatially resolved sampling approach combined with geostatistical analyses across an agricultural experiment. The experiment included blocks (0.4- to 3-ha blocks) of continuous grassland, continuous cropping and temporary grasslands with different durations and N-fertilizations on a 23-ha site in western France. We measured changes in SOC storage over this 9-year experiment on loamy soil and investigated physicochemical soil parameters. In the soil profiles (0–90 cm), SOC stocks ranged from 82.7 to 98.5 t ha−1 in 2005 and from 81.3 to 103.9 t ha−1 in 2014. On 0.4-ha blocks, the continuous grassland increased SOC in the soil profile with highest gains in the first 30 cm, while losses were recorded under continuous cropping. Where temporary grasslands were introduced into cropping cycles, SOC stocks were maintained. These observations were only partly confirmed when changing the scale of observation to 3-ha blocks. At the 3-ha scale, most grassland treatments exhibited both gains and losses of SOC, which could be partly related to soil physicochemical properties. Overall, our data suggest that both management practices and soil characteristics determine if carbon will accumulate in SOC pools. For detailed understanding of SOC changes, a combination of measurements at different scales is necessary

The impact of grassland management on biogeochemical cycles involving carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus

International audienceGrassland introduction into intensively managed agricultural landscapes may enhance soil organic matter (SOM) content and ecosystem services. However, the magnitude of this effect depends on grassland management practices, and their influence on the soil system. The aim of this paper is to highlight these impacts and their consequences for SOM dynamics and element cycling. We focused in particular on the effect of different grassland management practices in terms of grazing regime, fertilization, and species choice. While carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles are more strongly coupled under grassland as compared to permanent cropping, uncoupling of elemental cycles may occur through management intensification. Grazing regime, fertilization and species choice affect elemental coupling and SOM turnover via organic matter input and rhizosphere activity to different extent, thereby resulting in contrasting SOM storage. Grazing may be more beneficial for SOM contents compared to mowing up to a certain animal density depending on soil type and pedoclimatic context. SOM storage may be increased in some cases through specific fertilizer additions, whereas in others no change was observed. Species choice, e.g. high diversity or introduction of legumes, influence element budgets and soil nutrient availability through plant physiological constraints as well as intra-or interspecific interactions. The effect of different plant species mixtures on soil parameters has rarely been elucidated. We conclude that the impact of grassland management practices on SOM of different soil types and the resulting ecosystem services, such as C and nutrient storage need further research in contrasting pedoclimatic contexts. More studies on the controls of belowground biogeochemical cycling of elements are necessary in order to fully understand and manage belowground processes via aboveground plant communities

Ley grassland under temperate climate had a legacy effect on soil organic matter quantity, biogeochemical signature and microbial activities

Temporary (ley) grassland introduced into cropping cycles has been advocated as being beneficial for the delivery of ecosystem services by agricultural soils. The management of these temporary grasslands has unknown effects on soil organic matter (SOM) concentrations and biogeochemical properties of the cropland soils following the grassland phase. Here, we investigated the legacy effect of differently managed temporary grasslands, i.e. change of soil properties lasting beyond three years of crop. We assessed soil organic carbon (SOC) quantity and SOM biogeochemical signature (composition of soil neutral carbohydrates and lignin), as well as microbial activities (potential C and N mineralization and denitrification). We used a long-term field experiment on Cambisol with temperate climate in western France, where temporary grassland management practices differed in terms of duration (3 or 6 years) and presence or absence of N fertilisation. Topsoil (10 cm) samples were collected after a 3-yr crop rotation (maize, wheat, barley).Our results showed that N fertilisation during the grassland phase was necessary to maintain soil C and N concentrations beyond three years of crop. Temporary grassland management may affect microbial activities as indicated by contrasting polysaccharide and lignin composition. It had however, no effect on potential CO2 and N2O emissions during laboratory incubations. The biogeochemical signature of SOM was close to continuous grassland only in treatments with 6 yrs of fertilized temporary grassland. We thus, conclude that the legacy effects of a grassland phase on SOC quantity and properties of SOM depend on its management