Media Choice in Multicultural Business Interactions

[EN] The aim of this study was to identify which media is chosen for Computed-mediated Communication (CMC) in multicultural business interactions when the main language of communication is English as a lingua franca. The second aim was to determine how the results of this study should be taken into consideration at Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in curriculum development. The analyses employed in this survey followed Media synchronicity theory (MST), originally proposed by Dennis/Valacich (1997) and later refined by Dennis et al. (2008). This study was conducted using a mixed method approach with data from a quantitative survey regarding media usage of 274 respondents and qualitative theme interviews of five working life representatives. The findings indicate that the choice of media varies between different countries and is dependent on the different capabilities and synchronicity of the media. The team structure, communication processes, choice of language, cultural diversity and ethical rules of the company play an important role in communication and are meaningful when choosing the media for communication. The main conclusion is that the ability to choose the media that is suitable for varying communicative situations in working life has become essential and therefore needs to be developed as part of curriculum development work at HEIs.This work was supported by the Erasmus+ Project CoMoViWo, Communication in Mobile and Virtual Work under Grant KA 2014-1-F101-KA203-00851.Varhelahti, M.; Joshi, M.; Mikkilä-Erdmann, M.; Pérez-Sabater, C. (2017). Media Choice in Multicultural Business Interactions. Hermes. (56):163-180. https://doi.org/10.7146/hjlcb.v0i56.97230S1631805

Conceptual change challenges in medicine during professional development

This study investigates professional development during medical studies from a conceptual change perspective. Medical students' conceptual understanding and clinical reasoning concerning the central cardiovascular system were investigated during the first three years of study. Professional development was inspected from the perspectives of biomedical knowledge, clinical knowledge and skills needed to solve a patient case. Biomedical misconceptions regarding false beliefs and mental models were detected. Students with misconceptions were more likely to give lower level answers in clinical application tasks and to make inaccurate diagnoses compared to those students who had accurate conceptual understanding. Based on the results, pedagogical suggestions are discussed

Medical students' biomedical and clinical knowledge: Combining longitudinal design, eye tracking and comparison with residents' performance

This study combines longitudinal and individual process-level analyses to investigate medical students' biomedical knowledge and how they generate a diagnosis for a patient case text. The diagnostic processes were investigated using the eye-tracking method, and students' processes were compared with those of residents. The results showed that students differed in their diagnostic performance in the beginning of the clinical phase. Of the students who had biomedical misconceptions in the preclinical phase, 69% ended up with an incorrect diagnosis, while 60% of students with accurate biomedical knowledge made a correct diagnosis. The processing of a patient case text was faster among better achieving students and residents. Furthermore, residents' illness-script activation could be seen from their eye-movement data as a relatively longer reading time regarding the sentence that concerned the enabling condition of the case. Based on the results of the study, pedagogical suggestions are discussed. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

A multidimensional adapted process model of teaching

Abstract In the present study, we aimed to specify the key competence domains perceived to be critical for the teaching profession and depict them as a comprehensive teacher competence model. An expert panel that included representatives from seven units providing university-based initial teacher education in Finland carried out this process. To produce an active construction of a shared understanding and an interpretation of the discourse in the field, the experts reviewed literature on teaching. The resulting teacher competence model, the multidimensional adapted process model of teaching (MAP), represents a collective conception of the relevant empirical literature and prevailing discourses on teaching. The MAP is based on Blömeke et al.’s, Zeitschrift für Psychologie, 223, 3–13, (2015) model which distinguishes among teacher competences (referring to effective performance of teachers’ work), competencies (knowledge, skills, and other individual competencies underlying and enabling effective teaching), and situation-specific skills of perceiving, interpreting, and making decisions in situations involving teaching and learning. The implications of the MAP for teacher education and student selection for initial teacher education are discussed

Emprego de um software baseado em mineração de texto e apresentação gráfica multirrepresentacional como apoio à aprendizagem de conceitos científicos a partir de textos no Ensino Fundamental

Abstract: This work presents two independent studies that aim to investigate how a tool based on text mining and multi-representational graphical presentation (SOBEK) can contribute to the process of constructing scientific concepts from text by elementary school students. The studies were conducted in a quasi-experimental design with application of pre-test and post-tests with non-equivalent control groups. Refutational texts from published researches were used, as well as the corresponding performance tests about each text. The concepts covered are energy and the particulate nature of matter. Performed in a municipal school in Southern Brazil, the studies included two classes of 8th grade students. Statistical analysis of scores performed by students in tests show significant improvements in student's performance that used the SOBEK tool as support for the study of text. More detailed studies are needed to identify the occurrence and extent of possible changes in students´ conceptual structure supported by the proposed approach.Resumo: Este artigo apresenta dois estudos independentes que têm como objetivo investigar como uma ferramenta baseada em mineração de texto e apresentação gráfica multirrepresentacional (SOBEK) pode contribuir no processo de construção de conceitos científicos por estudantes do Ensino Fundamental. Os estudos foram realizados através de pesquisa quasi-experimental com aplicação de pré-teste e pós-teste, utilizando grupos controle não equivalentes. Textos refutacionais de pesquisas já publicadas foram utilizados nas intervenções, assim como testes de performance correspondentes aos textos. Os conceitos abordados foram energia e natureza particulada da matéria. Os estudos foram conduzidos em duas turmas de 9º ano de uma escola municipal no sul do Brasil. Análises estatísticas do desempenho nos testes mostraram melhora significativa dos estudantes que utilizaram o SOBEK como suporte para estudo dos textos. Investigações mais detalhadas são necessárias para identificar a ocorrência e extensão das modificações na estrutura conceitual dos estudantes e sua relação com a estratégia proposta

Uncovering the effect of text structure in learning from a science text: An eye-tracking study

Successful text reading is crucial to most learning required in school and academic contexts. To extend current research on learning from science texts, this exploratory study investigates the interplay of readers\u2019 prior knowledge and text structure through eye-tracking methodology. We examined whether reading a refutational or non-refutational text would induce different cognitive processing, as revealed by eye-movement analyses that provide objective measures of visual attention allocation during reading. Unlike a standard expository text, a refutational text acknowledges a reader\u2019s alternative conceptions about a topic, refutes them, and then introduces scientific conceptions as viable alternatives. Forty university students read one or the other type of text about the phenomenon of the tides. All had alternative conceptions about the topic. Findings showed that at post-test (off-line measure) refutational text readers learned more than non-refutational text readers. Outcomes regarding indices of visual behavior (on-line measures) during reading revealed that refutational text readers fixated the text segments presenting scientific concepts for a longer time overall than non-refutational text readers, in particular during the second-pass reading. Refutational text readers also fixated the refutational segments for a shorter time than non-refutational text readers for the control segments. Furthermore, all indices of visual attention predicted learning only for the refutational text readers, whose comprehension was negatively related to the length of reading, but positively related to its quality. The more the students\u2019 reading of the refutational text was strategic, the better they learned from it. Implications about eye-tracking methodology and the refutational effect are drawn from the study