Embedding a curriculum-based information literacy programme at the University of Bedfordshire

This article describes the development of an information literacy programme that was embedded into the Psychology curriculum during 2007-2008. The programme was a collaboration between a faculty librarian and the Department of Psychology and utilized a blended learning approach along with a variety of teaching and assessment methods. This paper also reports on the initial findings from an ongoing evaluation assessing the impact of the programme on students' learning and information skills development. There had been an acknowledgement within the Department of Psychology and at broader University level of the importance of supporting students' and graduates' employability. Indeed, when the University undertook a curriculum redesign in 2008 (known as CRe8) the University recognized that 'there are four core skills areas at the core of 'graduateness' and employability that the University expects all courses to emphasise: communication; Information literacy; Research and evaluation; and creativity and critical thinking' (University of Bedfordshire, 2009). The development and implementation of an information literacy programme was therefore aligned closely with the University's goals at that time

Peer Evaluation and the Improvement of Student Writing

The purpose of the study was to determine whether or not the peer evaluation process could improve student writing and attitudes toward writing. Fifty-five eighth grade students participated in the study. The control group consisted of twenty students, and the experimental group consisted of thirty-five students. The same four creative writing assignments were given to both groups. Ten students with similar writing abilities were selected from each group. After completing each assignment, the twenty papers were photocopied and evaluated by three English instructors at the junior high school. Numerical scores representing the combined content and mechanics grades assigned by the instructors determined the results along with informal observations made by the teacher. The results indicated that the peer evaluation program increased the students\u27 motivation and writing quality

Without a critical approach to big data it risks becoming an increasingly sophisticated paradigm for coercion

We are in the midst of a data revolution, one reliant on the capture, analysis, and visual representation of enlarged quantitative data, in increasingly digital formats. Hamish Robertson and Joanne Travaglia argue that big data quantification is now not only a mechanism for extracting information but has become an idea with social and political power in its own right. The lack of critique of quantitative methods and their application contributes to the existing and potentially coercive power of digital information systems and their attendant methods, and enhances the potential for “collateral damage” associated with such applications

Big data problems we face today can be traced to the social ordering practices of the 19th century.

In the 19th century, changes in knowledge were facilitated not only by large quantities of new information pouring in from around the world but by shifts in the production, processing and analysis of that information. Hamish Robertson and Joanne Travaglia trace the connections between the 19th century data revolution and the present day one, outlining the implications this may have for the politics of big data in contemporary society. Two centuries after the first big data revolution, many of the problems and their solutions persist down to the present era

The necropolitics of COVID-19: will the COVID-19 pandemic reshape national healthcare systems?

The COVID-19 pandemic has made necropolitics – the politics of life and death – unavoidable . Drawing on the work of Achille Mbembe, Hamish Robertson and Joanne Travaglia argue that, as in previous crises, COVID-19 reveals many of the hidden assumptions underpinning national healthcare systems. As the current crisis continues to bring these assumptions into the mainstream and disrupts business as usual, they suggest that COVID-19 points towards opportunities to reshape the relationship of society to its most vulnerable members

Evidence of cryptic introgression in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) based on wild tomato species alleles

Abstract Background Many highly beneficial traits (e.g. disease or abiotic stress resistance) have been transferred into crops through crosses with their wild relatives. The 13 recognized species of tomato (Solanum section Lycopersicon) are closely related to each other and wild species genes have been extensively used for improvement of the crop, Solanum lycopersicum L. In addition, the lack of geographical barriers has permitted natural hybridization between S. lycopersicum and its closest wild relative Solanum pimpinellifolium in Ecuador, Peru and northern Chile. In order to better understand patterns of S. lycopersicum diversity, we sequenced 47 markers ranging in length from 130 to 1200 bp (total of 24 kb) in genotypes of S. lycopersicum and wild tomato species S. pimpinellifolium, Solanum arcanum, Solanum peruvianum, Solanum pennellii and Solanum habrochaites. Between six and twelve genotypes were comparatively analyzed per marker. Several of the markers had previously been hypothesized as carrying wild species alleles within S. lycopersicum, i.e., cryptic introgressions. Results Each marker was mapped with high confidence (e-30) to a single genomic location using BLASTN against tomato whole genome shotgun chromosomes (SL2.40) database. Neighbor-joining trees showed high mean bootstrap support (86.8 ± 2.34%) for distinguishing red-fruited from green-fruited taxa for 38 of the markers. Hybridization and parsimony splits networks, genomic map positions of markers relative to documented introgressions, and historical origins of accessions were used to interpret evolutionary patterns at nine markers with putatively introgressed alleles. Conclusion Of the 47 genetic markers surveyed in this study, four were involved in linkage drag on chromosome 9 during introgression breeding, while alleles at five markers apparently originated from natural hybridization with S. pimpinellifolium and were associated with primitive genotypes of S. lycopersicum. The positive identification of introgressed genes within crop species such as S. lycopersicum will help inform conservation and utilization of crop germplasm diversity, for example, facilitating the purging of undesirable linkage drag or the exploitation of novel, favorable alleles.</p

Constructing a Sense of Story: One Block at a Time

This photo essay focuses upon the literacy practices of two groups of preschoolers as they built, illustrated, and dictated stories in response to their participation in a “Castle Project.” Data, including literacy artifacts, photodocumentation, sociodramatic play scenarios, and conversations are qualitatively analyzed, coded, and evaluated over a three month period. We use a narrative approach to describe the three- and four-year-olds’ talk, actions, and ideas, and the ways block play facilitated their sense of story and motivation to write. We suggest a reciprocity of thinking between the building and composing processes. Preschoolers’ story ideas, we deduce, were conceptualized and rehearsed in the block corner. We illustrate the power of emergent literacy learners to construct understandings of the world with the support and guidance of their teacher, using inquiry based and arts infused approaches to teaching and learning

Adapting the Mellow Parenting Scale to assess videoed meals in children aged 1-2 years: is it practical, valid and reliable, and does it discriminate between children with and without weight faltering?

No abstract available

The value of 'community' in supporting transitions outside university

Statistics from the Destinations of Leavers in Higher Education (DLHE) survey has shown that graduate level employment or study 6 months after graduation is relatively low for psychology graduates compared to graduates from other disciplines. Due to highly competitive conditions for postgraduate places on professional psychology training courses, new graduates often spend time developing their portfolio of relevant skills and experience in order to compete for postgraduate places one or more years after graduating. In addition, QAA (2010) noted that only 15-20% of psychology graduates develop careers as professional psychologists. Many initiatives have been introduced across the UK (see Reddy, Lantz, & Hulme, 2013) to support students' transitions out of university and into employment or further study, however these initiatives vary in the extent to which they are embedded and capture student engagement. At the University of Strathclyde, we are taking a multi-pronged approach to enhancing students’ employability that is underpinned by an ethos of ‘community’. First, the creation of the Strathclyde Psychology Alumni Network (SPAN), developed in collaboration with students, provides a platform through which current students, alumni, and staff, interact as members of the Strathclyde Psychology Community, virtually via LinkedIn and face-to-face at networking events. Second, a new work placement class in the final year will provide students the opportunity to enhance their experience and apply their psychological knowledge and skills in a work-based context. Third, a novel curriculum review process involving staff, alumni, and employers (representing private, public, and third sectors) has sought to identify the opportunities and challenges that graduates face, and the characteristics of the ‘Ideal Strathclyde Psychology Graduate’. A core competency framework will be output from this process and will drive the curriculum enhancement process so that students have the opportunity to develop the characteristics of the ‘Ideal Strathclyde Psychology Graduate’

Constructing a Sense of Story: One Block at a Time

This photo essay focuses upon the literacy practices of two groups of preschoolers as they built, illustrated, and dictated stories in response to their participation in a “Castle Project.” Data, including literacy artifacts, photodocumentation, sociodramatic play scenarios, and conversations are qualitatively analyzed, coded, and evaluated over a three month period. We use a narrative approach to describe the three- and four-year-olds’ talk, actions, and ideas, and the ways block play facilitated their sense of story and motivation to write. We suggest a reciprocity of thinking between the building and composing processes. Preschoolers’ story ideas, we deduce, were conceptualized and rehearsed in the block corner. We illustrate the power of emergent literacy learners to construct understandings of the world with the support and guidance of their teacher, using inquiry based and arts infused approaches to teaching and learning