Methods and masters: multilingual teaching in 16th-century Louvain

En el siglo XVI se hablaban y se practicaban varias lenguas en Flandes, especialmente en la ciudad universitaria de Lovaina y en Amberes, centro económico de los Países Bajos españoles. El multilingüismo que se practicaba era por un lado un multilingüismo ‘vertical’, implicando el estudio de las tres lenguas ‘sagradas’ (hebreo, griego, latín); este tipo de estudio se concretizó con la fundación del Collegium Trilingue de Lovaina (1517). Por otro lado, estaba muy difundido un multilingüismo ‘horizontal’, que implicaba las lenguas vernáculas, como el español, el francés y el italiano; este tipo de multilingüismo se explica por el ascenso de la clase comerciante. La presente contribución analiza la documentación disponible (sobre los maestros de lengua y los instrumentos didácticos) y rastrea los factores contextuales que influían en la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras en Flandes, con particular atención a Lovaina.In 16th-century Flanders, various languages were spoken and practiced, especially in the university town of Louvain and the city of Antwerp, the economic heart of the Southern Low Countries. On the one hand, the multilingualism to be observed there was a ‘vertical’ one: it concerned the study of the three ‘sacred’ languages (Hebrew, Greek, and Latin), and is typically exemplified by the creation of the Collegium Trilingue in Louvain (1517). On the other hand, there was a widespread ‘horizontal’ multilingualism, involving the vernaculars (e.g., French, Italian, Spanish) and serving the needs of the ascending merchant class. The present paper surveys the extant documentation (language masters, didactic tools), and investigates the contextual factors underlying the teaching and learning of foreign languages in Flanders, with a focus on Louvain

Teaching with Twitter:reflections on practices, opportunities and problems

In recent times there has been an increasing wave of interest in the use of Social Media for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. In particular, the micro-blogging platform Twitter has been experimentally used in various Universities world-wide. There are relevant publications reporting on experimentations with Twitter for reaching diverse learning goals, including better engagement, informal learning or collaboration among students. Existing research papers on the use of Twitter however focus exclusively on the positive aspects of experimentations, on what went well in the use of Twitter. In our University we run a small project on the use of Twitter with goals that are similar to those of others: fostering participation and better learning processes. In this paper we report on our project and the strategies and best practices we adopted for using Twitter for teaching. We also reflect that in our experimentation however we encountered a number of practical problems connected for example with use of technology, with the class settings and with spam. In the conclusion we offer some recommendations for Teaching and Learning with Twitter based on our personal experience

What happens when interviewers ask repeated questions in forensic interviews with children alleging abuse?

This study was designed to explore 1) the ways in which interviewers refocus alleged victims of abuse on their previous responses and 2) how children responded when they were refocused on their previous responses. Transcripts of 37 forensic interviews conducted by British police officers trained using the best practices spelled out in the Memorandum of Good Practice were examined. The instances in which interviewers asked repeated questions were isolated and coded into categories with respect to the reasons why interviewers needed to ask the repeated question (i.e., there was no apparent reason, to challenge a child’s response, clarification, no answer the first time the question was asked, digression, or compound question). The children’s responses to the repeated questions were further categorised into mutually exclusive categories (i.e., elaboration, repetition, contradiction, or no answer). On average interviewers asked children 8 repeated questions per interview. Most of the time interviewers asked repeated questions to challenge a previous response (62%), but they were also sometimes asked for no apparent reason (20%). Children repeated previous responses or elaborated on a previous response 81% of the time and contradicted themselves 7% of the time when re-asked the same question. We conclude that children did not appear unduly pressured to change their answers, and, more importantly, did not contradict themselves when interviewers attempted to refocus them on particular responses

Illusory correlation, group size and memory

Two studies were conducted to test the predictions of a multi-component model of distinctiveness-based illusory correlation (IC) regarding the use of episodic and evaluative information in the production of the phenomenon. Extending on the standard paradigm, participants were presented with 4 groups decreasing in size, but all exhibiting the same ratio of positive to negative behaviours. Study 1 (N = 75) specifically tested the role of group size and distinctiveness, by including a zero-frequency cell in the design. Consistent with predictions drawn from the proposed model, with decreasing group size, the magnitude of the IC effect showed a linear in- crease in judgments thought to be based on evaluative information. In Study 2 (N = 43), a number of changes were introduced to a group assignment task (double presentation, inclusion of decoys) that allowed a more rig- orous test of the predicted item-specific memory effects. In addition, a new multilevel, mixed logistic regression approach to signal-detection type analysis was used, providing a more flexible and reliable analysis than previ- ously. Again, with decreasing group size, IC effects showed the predicted monotonic increase on the measures (group assignment frequencies, likability ratings) thought to be dependent on evaluative information. At the same time, measures thought to be based on episodic information (free recall and group assignment accuracy) partly revealed the predicted enhanced episodic memory for smaller groups and negative items, while also supporting a distinctiveness-based approach. Additional analysis revealed that the pattern of results for judg- ments though to be based on evaluative information was independent of interpersonal variation in behavioral memory, as predicted by the multi-component model, and in contrast to predictions of the competing models. The results are discussed in terms of the implications of the findings for the proposed mechanisms of illusory correlation

Intoxicated eyewitnesses:the effects of alcohol on eyewitness recall across repeated interviews

The study evaluated the usefulness of repeat-interviewing of witnesses to crimes who were intoxicated by alcohol at the time of the incident and their first interview, and then re-interviewed when not intoxicated the following day. Sixty young, social drinkers were divided into three groups. One group was given a “placebo” (alcohol-like) beverage, a second was given a “low dose” of alcohol (0.2 g/kg men; 0.17 g/kg women), and a third was given a “high dose” of alcohol (0.6 g/kg men; 0.52 g/kg women) over a 15 minute period. Twenty minutes later they viewed a 4-minute video of a crime, and afterwards they were given two opportunities to recall everything that they could remember from the incident; the first opportunity was immediately after the event, and the second was 24 hours later. Analyses of the quantity and accuracy of the details recalled revealed no overall increase in the total amount of information recalled between the first and second recall opportunities. However, on average, 18% of the details recalled by participants in the second test were new and accurate. The incidence of contradictions between the first and second recall opportunities was less than 1%. Surprisingly, none of the effects were influenced by alcohol, even at the highest dose. The results imply that 1) memory for at least some incidents observed under the influence of alcohol is resilient even up to relatively high blood-alcohol levels; and 2) the repeated interviewing of witnesses who were intoxicated at the time of the crime can reveal additional, reliable information that is not present at the initial interview, just as is the case for non-intoxicated witnesses

The quality of details when children and youths with intellectual disabilities are interviewed about their abuse experiences

The question for this study was to further understand how children and youths with intellectual disabilities (IDs) provide central and peripheral details when interviewed about their abuse experiences. Through a quantitative method we examined police officers' first formal investigative interviews with 32 children and youths with IDs. We analyzed the details they reported about abuse in relation to types of questions asked. The findings showed that few open-ended invitations were used and that a large number of option-posing questions were asked. The children and youths tended to agree with option-posing and suggestive statements but were nonetheless able to report important information about their abuse experiences without the ‘help’ from these potentially contaminating questions. The results of this study are limited because of the selective nature of the sample and that we did not have access to complete information about the participants specific diagnosis. Although it shows that police officers need to provide children and youths with IDs greater opportunities to report details using open-ended invitations. If they do not develop their responses when asked open-ended invitations they may be asked open directive questions to facilitate the elicitation of both central and peripheral information

Public participation in flood control areas - approaches to ‘sustainable’ communication strategies

Global warming causes heavy rainfall and rising sea levels. These climate effects prove to be a strong motivation for looking differently at issues of water management and safety in estuaries. For decades, the only answer to hazardous situations (e.g. flooding by increased river discharges or by incoming storm water) was to strengthens dikes and dams. This led to damage in the natural water system, a declining biodiversity and destruction of the unique estuary and river landscapes. Nowadays, different approaches are more frequently implemented, with creating more space for the rivers as a guiding principle. Instead of stemming and rapid discharge, water is contained in estuary and catchment areas. The alternative approach to water management contributes to a more sustainable development of the estuary, protecting the natural and ecological values. However, estuaries are often densely populated areas, accommodating several (conflicting) spatial and economical functions, such as residential areas, ports and harbors, industrial zones, farming and recreational facilities. Creating more space for water management (i.e. retention areas, flood planes and wash lands) leaves less space available for other spatial developments. As a consequence, stakeholders will be affected in their interests; e.g. cities cannot grow unrestrained and farming will have to be downsized. Concepts as ‘multiple land use’ and ‘societal cost – benefit evaluation’ come to mind to characterize the challenge for transforming the designated areas into more sustainable, multi-functional retention basins. Governmental agencies are often acting as project executives in these transformations. They are faced with various stakeholders who are all trying to defend or strengthen their specific interests. A vital question is how to communicate with these stakeholders in the different stages of the transformation process. What communication strategy applies to what situation? And equally important, if a communication strategy is developed, how should it be instrumented? What will the message be, how are the target groups identified and addresses, which mediums should be applied? And, more important, what kind of public participation is required to enable cooperation and avoid opposition to the transformation process? In general, four basic communication strategies can be identified: co-knowing, co-thinking, co-working and co-deciding. Each of these strategies apply to different situations, following the cultural and historic context in the area, the established relationship between the ‘governor and the governed’, and of course, the preferred style of governance. In a research assignment from four governmental agencies in The Netherlands, the UK and Belgium we have evaluated the applied communication strategies in six flood control areas in the EU. For this assignment, an evaluative framework was developed. The evaluation shows the suitability of the applied communication strategy in each of the reviewed areas. Moreover, lessons are drawn on the question in what situation, which type of communication strategy is most suitable. Also, the review gives examples of good practice and inspiration for ‘sustainable’ communication efforts in future transformation processes.

Are two interviews better than one? Eyewitness memory across repeated cognitive interviews

Eyewitnesses to a filmed event were interviewed twice using a Cognitive Interview to examine the effects of variations in delay between the repeated interviews (immediately & 2 days; immediately & 7 days; 7 & 9 days) and the identity of the interviewers (same or different across the two repeated interviews). Hypermnesia (an increase in total amount of information recalled in the repeated interview) occurred without any decrease in the overall accuracy. Reminiscence (the recall of new information in the repeated interview) was also found in all conditions but was least apparent in the longest delay condition, and came with little cost to the overall accuracy of information gathered. The number of errors, increased across the interviews, but the relative accuracy of participants’ responses was unaffected. However, when accuracy was calculated based on all unique details provided across both interviews and compared to the accuracy of recall in just the first interview it was found to be slightly lower. The identity of the interviewer (whether the same or different across interviews) had no effects on the number of correct details. There was an increase in recall of new details with little cost to the overall accuracy of information gathered. Importantly, these results suggest that witnesses are unlikely to report everything they remember during a single Cognitive Interview, however exhaustive, and a second opportunity to recall information about the events in question may provide investigators with additional information