Amidst criticism of the peer review process, the valuable contributions of reviewers should be defended

As flaws in the peer review process are highlighted and calls for reform become more frequent, it may be tempting for some to denigrate and dismiss the contributions of the reviewers themselves. Maxine David has been witness to this and here makes an appeal to give space to recognise those who offer their time and expertise voluntarily and generously

Trump’s Foreign Policy: the Catalyst the European Union Needed?

Much political and media attention is currently focused on the likely consequences of a Trump presidency for US foreign policy and the USA’s European allies. Maxine David examines the reactions of key European leaders and argues that doubts over Trump’s foreign policy direction might be the spur Europeans needed to reassert their own value base and to take on the burden of responsibility for their own security.​

New Zealand culture of intoxication: Local and global influences

This article shows that attitudes towards and behaviours involving the consumption of alcohol in New Zealand have long been problematic. It provides an historical account of social, economic and legislative factors which have influenced the development of the New Zealand drinking culture. Accordingly, it tracks a combination of local and global alcohol-related influences and documents the interrelationships amongst these factors. In particular, it proposes that the liberalisation of alcohol licensing laws and advertising/sponsorship regulations, alongside the growth of the alcohol-based hospitality industry have promoted the normalisation of an alcohol-based leisure lifestyle. Against this backdrop, the growth of consumer culture , tertiary student culture and the New Zealand drug culture, along with the development of new alcohol products and the establishment of commercial and social-networking websites have conjointly enabled the growth of a culture of intoxication, which is characterised by drinkers intentionally drinking to intoxication and viewing this behaviour as socially acceptable

Pleasure, profit and pain: Alcohol in New Zealand and the contemporary culture of intoxication

This book details the rich, complex and often contested role of alcohol in New Zealand society. It explores the three fundamental alcohol rights that continue to fight for dominance of the national drinking culture: the rights of individual drinkers to enjoy the pleasures of alcohol, the rights of society to protect itself from the harms of alcohol, and the rights of the alcohol industry to profit from the sale of a legal commodity. Historically, most of our intoxicated drinkers were adult males and drinking was typically separated from family, food and entertainment. With the sweeping social changes of the 1960s and 1970s, women and later young people, increasingly engaged with alcohol. A growing proportion of these groups have since joined men in a culture of intoxication, or binge drinking culture as it is often termed. New Zealand is not alone however, in having a culture of intoxication, with similar alcohol consumption patterns evident in many other developed nations. This book identifies the local and the global influences that have affected New Zealand society (and much of the rest of the world) since the late 1900s and details how these influences have sustained the contemporary culture of intoxication. Finally, this book will propose that to implement effective change to our national drinking culture, the rights of the alcohol industry and of individual drinkers will need to be pulled back from the liberal excesses that the 1980s and 1990s provided. A re-balancing is required in order to strengthen and sustain society’s right to protect itself from alcohol-related harm

Summary statement of the Asilomar conference on recombinant DNA molecules

This meeting was organized to review scientific progress in research on recombinant DNA molecules and to discuss appropriate ways to deal with the potential biohazards of this work. Impressive scientific achievements have already been made in this field and these techniques have a remarkable potential for furthering our understanding of fundamental biochemical processes in pro- and eukaryotic cells. The use of recombinant DNA methodology promises to revolutionize the practice of molecular biology. Although there has as yet been no practical application of the new techniques, there is every reason to believe that they will have significant practical utility in the future

Foreword: "Life is going to be different in the Future"

The result of the EU referendum of June 2016 sent a shockwave through Europe as Europeans found that the British voting public had narrowly rejected continued membership of the European Union. Well before campaigning for the referendum opened, as a journal focused on European research and one of the journals of the University Association of Contemporary Europe Studies (UACES), the editors of JCER felt a responsibility to ensure that a topical response to the results – whatever they might have been - were heard. In the first of a new initiative by JCER (to publish a special section on an issue of topicality for Europe and those who research it) this final issue of 2016 features a special section dedicated to delivering some understanding of the reasons for the EU referendum, the inherent processes, the politicking and the voting choices

Generating Feedback from Self and Peer Review: Developing Evaluative Judgement

Peer review not only results in students receiving additional feedback from peers but it also encourages self-assessment and develops feedback literacy (e.g. Carless & Boud, 2018; Morrow, 2006; Nicol, Thomson & Breslin, 2014). In this presentation we will examine how the quality of the work reviewed and stage of the review process (i.e. peer review, self-review or receiving reviews) influences students’ evaluative judgments about their own work. Students anonymously reviewed 3 pieces of work via an established online peer review tool. Two of these online submissions were from their peers, and one was an exemplar written by the teacher. After each review, students completed a “self-review” of their own work using a rubric, and after all three reviews, they then received feedback comments from their peers. Participants were psychology students, and the contribution of each aspect of the peer review process to their learning was evaluated using a quantitative questionnaire, open ended questions and focus groups. When asked how the peer review process contributed to their learning, students indicated that reviewing the work of their peers contributed most. Typical comments were: “I felt this helped me to see if I was on the right track with my own work”; “I already had a template in my own head of what I had written so could see how theirs differed to mine”; “Just from reviewing their work I could identify areas in which mine could be improved”. Our findings suggest that while students reported the process of ‘reviewing and commenting’ as challenging, students learned more from comparing, reflecting and generating feedback for themselves than from receiving feedback comments. This presentation will discuss how use of peer review as a platform to develop evaluative judgement can provide an authentic method of assessment which prepares students for a final summative assessment

“It allowed me to question my own writing”: Generating Feedback from Self and Peer Review

Objectives: The aim of this paper is to investigate the benefits of peer review and peer feedback. Specifically, how the quality of the work reviewed and stage of the review process (i.e. peer review, self-review or receiving reviews) influences students’ evaluative judgments about their own work. Design: Students anonymously review 3 pieces of work online. Two are from their peers, and one is an exemplar written by the teacher. Students complete a “self-review” of their own work using a rubric, and then receive feedback comments from their peers. Methods: Participants are psychology students, and the contribution of each aspect of the peer review process to their learning is evaluated using a qualitative and quantitative questionnaire. Students’ evaluative judgements will be analysed qualitatively. Results: When asked how the peer review process contributed to their learning, students indicated that reviewing the work of their peers contributed most. Student comments on their experience of the peer review process are summarised:. “I felt this helped me to see if I was on the right track with my own work”..”. I already had a template in my own head of what I had written so could see how theirs differed to mine”. “Just from reviewing their work I could identify areas in which mine could be improved” Conclusions: To date, findings suggest that students learned equally or more from comparing, reflecting and generating feedback for themselves than receiving feedback comments. Use of peer review as a platform to develop evaluative judgement will be discussed

@Russia.com: Online- und Offline-Protest

Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht die Online-Demographie in Russland und deren Bedeutung für Offline-Protest und politische Reformen. Die Vorteile des Internet und der sozialen Medien für gesellschaftliche Bewegungen sind klar und unbestritten. Sie bieten eine Plattform zur Verbreitung von Informationen sowie zur Organisierung von Offline-Protesten. Die Verbindung von Online-Engagement und Offline-Engagement in Form von Straßenprotesten wirft die Frage auf, ob wir einen gesellschaftlichen Aufbruch erleben, der zu einem weitreichenden Wandel führt. Die Antwort des Staates erfolgte allerdings schnell, sie war repressiv und hat der Durchschnittsbevölkerung in Russland Angst eingeflößt. Die Agenda der Reformer wurde abgewürgt. Trotzdem könnte für Reformkräfte auch in Zukunft Online-Engagement das beste der zur Verfügung stehenden Instrumente sein

The InproTK 2012 release

Baumann T, Schlangen D. The InproTK 2012 release. In: Eskenazi M, Black A, Traum D, eds. SDCTD '12 NAACL-HLT Workshop on Future Directions and Needs in the Spoken Dialog Community: Tools and Data. Stroudsburg, PA: ACL; 2012: 29-32