‘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

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

Incorporating participatory action research and social media as a research tool whilst Gen-Y studies abroad

Gen-Y students undertaking study abroad are electronically literate “digital natives.” However, their modes of social communication may be inadequate to support indelible learning. Many international exchange programmes have not kept pace with digital opportunities to reinforce intercultural learning whilst students are abroad. This chapter reports on qualitative findings from an Australian project that developed reflection-based curriculum for improving study abroad outcomes. In particular, we discuss participatory action research that used blogs and photo elicitation to augment reflection, intercultural skills, and professionalization. We conclude that social media and visual literacy, with carefully guided facilitation, produce a virtual “third space” where students reflect on cultural differences and strengthen their metacognitive skills for lifelong learning