How power relations affect the distribution of authority

In this article we report on the distribution of authority over information practices observed in a postgraduate taught course at a large research university located in the UK. The course was designed using principles from information literacy (IL) pedagogy and represents the operationalisation of Radical Information Literacy (RIL) theory. By analysing course documentation, assessed online discussion board posts and through interviews with teaching staff and students we examine how and why the distribution of authority is a complex matter; not least that the liberatory intentions of the Programme Director actually contain repressive dimensions in practice. We identify that students are subjected to techniques of disciplinary power, including surveillance and normalisation, and that they resist these by communicating outside of official discussion board spaces. Such resistance is not necessarily problematic, as it enables learning. Notably, students demonstrate development of IL practices through, for example, shaping their information landscapes, digital stewardship and critical reflection.

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Experiencing Misgendered Pronouns: A Classroom Activity to Encourage Empathy

Teaching Sociology ◽

10.1177/0092055x17708603 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 45 (3) ◽

pp. 269-278 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Jessica MacNamara ◽

Sarah Glann ◽

Paul Durlak

Keyword(s):

Research University ◽

Discussion Board ◽

Social Boundaries ◽

Class Discussion ◽

Transgender People ◽

Gender Nonconforming ◽

The Social ◽

And Gender ◽

Large Research

How can teachers help students understand the importance of gender pronouns for transgender and gender-nonconforming people? This article presents a gender pronoun reversal activity that simulates the experience of being verbally misgendered. Students followed up on the activity by posting reflections on an online class discussion board. The activity promoted empathy among cisgender students for transgender people and reflexivity regarding the social boundaries of gender identity. Empathy and reflexivity were common responses among students enrolled in Sociology of Diversity and Sociology of Gender at a large research university in the northeast. We present the activity, including preparation and follow-up along with an analysis of student responses.

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Determining priority welfare issues for cats in the United Kingdom using expert consensus

Veterinary Record Open ◽

10.1136/vetreco-2019-000365 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. e000365 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Fiona Rioja-Lang ◽

Heather Bacon ◽

Melanie Connor ◽

Cathy Mary Dwyer

Keyword(s):

Pain Management ◽

Home Environment ◽

Thematic Analysis ◽

Delphi Method ◽

Online Discussion ◽

Discussion Board ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Online Discussion Board ◽

The Uk ◽

Initial List

BackgroundCats are the most popular pets in the UK, yet relatively little research has been conducted into the welfare of cats living in a home environment. The purpose of this study was to determine and prioritise welfare issues for cats using a Delphi method.MethodsCat welfare experts (n=14) were asked to identify and rank welfare issues for cats in the UK. An initial list of 118 welfare issues was generated by an anonymous online discussion board of experts and thematic analysis using NVivo. Subsequently experts ranked the list of welfare issues according to severity, duration and prevalence using a 6-point Likert scale. All issues with a median score of 3 or above (n=43) were included in the second survey to determine agreement on the rankings of issues. Finally, a subsection of experts attended a two-day workshop to discuss the welfare rankings and determine the final prioritised list of welfare issues.ResultsThe issues considered to be the most severe and/or likely to cause prolonged cat suffering included social behaviour issues, diseases of old age, obesity, owners not seeking veterinary care and poor pain management. The welfare issues perceived to be most prevalent included neglect/hoarding, delayed euthanasia, inherited conformational defects/diseases, social or environmental restriction, and poor pain management.ConclusionsThe outcomes suggested that, although issues such as cat behaviour required further research, owner education was an important factor in improving cat welfare.

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Rabbit welfare: determining priority welfare issues for pet rabbits using a modified Delphi method

Veterinary Record Open ◽

10.1136/vetreco-2019-000363 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. e000363 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Fiona Rioja-Lang ◽

Heather Bacon ◽

Melanie Connor ◽

Cathy Mary Dwyer

Keyword(s):

Delphi Method ◽

Discussion Board ◽

Future Research ◽

Modified Delphi Method ◽

The Third ◽

Modified Delphi ◽

Online Discussion Board ◽

Research And Education ◽

The Uk ◽

Final Round

BackgroundRabbits are the third most popular pet in the UK, but little research into their welfare needs has been conducted.MethodsA modified Delphi method was used to generate expert consensus on the most important welfare issues for rabbits in the UK. The study involved 11 experts, recruited from a range of disciplines. The experts generated an initial broad list of welfare issues via an online discussion board. Two rounds of online surveys were conducted to prioritise these issues. The final round was a workshop with a subsection of experts. The experts decided that welfare issues should be ranked considering: (1) severity, (2) duration, and (3) prevalence.ResultsExperts considered that rabbits were often kept in inadequate housing, were not handled or socialised properly, were fed inappropriate diets and owners failed to vaccinate their rabbits against preventable diseases. Rabbits were thought to experience a reduced life expectancy. Lack of owner knowledge of rabbit husbandry and behaviour and, in some cases, also lack of veterinary knowledge, contributed to poor rabbit welfare.ConclusionsThe Delphi process resulted in consensus on the most significant welfare challenges faced by rabbits and can help guide future research and education priority decisions.

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Determining a Welfare Prioritization for Horses Using a Delphi Method

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani10040647 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 647

Author(s):

Fiona C. Rioja-Lang ◽

Melanie Connor ◽

Heather Bacon ◽

Cathy M. Dwyer

Keyword(s):

Delphi Method ◽

Discussion Board ◽

Priority List ◽

Online Discussion Board ◽

Wide Range ◽

Education Interventions ◽

Research And Education ◽

Equine Welfare ◽

The Uk ◽

Initial List

Equine welfare issues are receiving increasing attention in the UK, but welfare problems can arise from a wide range of causes. In order to identify the most important welfare concerns for horses, we used a Delphi method with 19 equine welfare experts. An initial list of 84 equine welfare issues was generated using an online discussion board and NVivo thematic analysis. Subsequently, experts ranked these welfare issues for perceived prevalence, severity and duration of suffering associated with each issue on a 6-point Likert scale. All issues with a mean score of 3 or above (n = 37) were included in subsequent rounds. Finally, a subset of experts attended a two-day workshop to determine the final priority list of welfare issues. The welfare issues perceived to be most prevalent were lack of biosecurity, delayed euthanasia, lack of owner knowledge of equine welfare needs, fear and stress from use, and obesity. The issues considered to cause greatest suffering for individual horses were delayed euthanasia, lack of recognition by owners of pain behaviour, large worm burdens, obesity and being fed unsuitable diets for equine feeding behaviour. These outcomes can help to focus research and education interventions on the most pressing welfare issues for horses.

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Laying the groundwork for information literacy at a research university

Performance Measurement and Metrics ◽

10.1108/pmm-12-2014-0044 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 4-17 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

A. Gabriela Castro Gessner ◽

Erin Eldermire

Keyword(s):

Information Literacy ◽

Research University ◽

College Graduates ◽

Teaching Staff ◽

Curriculum Mapping ◽

Library Directors ◽

Content Type ◽

Library Assessment ◽

Accessible Information ◽

Baseline Information

Purpose – Information literacy (IL) is increasingly becoming an explicit learning outcome for college graduates, and some libraries are playing a role in planning and teaching IL instruction to students. Amidst the overall trend of shrinking budgets that libraries are experiencing, what strategies can be employed by libraries that support large universities to plan IL instruction? The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Inspired by curriculum mapping, staff in the library assessment department created teaching maps which match the curriculum from seven colleges with the library’s teaching efforts. To create them, they combined information about: first, courses that librarians have instructed over the last three years with; second, required courses for majors within the colleges; and third, typical enrollment for each course. Findings – Easily accessible information was combined to create the teaching maps, which enable the library to realign efforts to maximize IL instruction and best utilize library staff resources. Practical implications – Teaching maps serve as a portal to quickly understand majors, courses and course enrollment, and provide baseline information on past library instruction activity to inform future IL instruction strategy. Library directors and teaching staff are utilizing them to realign instruction efforts. Originality/value – Assessment strategies, such as curriculum mapping, serve not only the institution’s teaching mission, but also help strategize for effective and efficient stewardship of staff resources. These methods will be useful for library directors, assessment and instruction librarians at large research universities.

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CASE STUDY OF ONLINE DISCUSSION BOARD USE IN AN ENGINEERING EDUCATION GRADUATE COURSE

Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA) ◽

10.24908/pceea.vi0.13838 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Alexandra Davidson ◽

Lisa Romkey ◽

Allison Van Beek

Keyword(s):

Engineering Education ◽

Online Discussion ◽

Discussion Board ◽

Online Discussions ◽

Asynchronous Learning ◽

Discussion Boards ◽

Graduate Course ◽

Post Secondary ◽

Online Discussion Board

Due to the increasing prevalence of asynchronous learning platforms, the development and implementation of online discussion boards have become important considerations in the design of post-secondary learning environments. This research is conducted as a case study of the online discussion board use in a small engineering education graduate course, consisting of in-class and online discussion components. By varying the structure of the online discussion board to allow different types of student interaction, the study identifies trends in discussion board use, specifically pertaining to student participation, student collaboration, and the integration between in-class and online discussions. As a result, the study provides insight into the utility and limitations of online discussion boards in post-secondary courses.

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Student Perceptions of an Asychronous Online Discussion Board Used to Assess the Professional Skills

2021 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON) ◽

10.1109/educon46332.2021.9453886 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Maurice Danaher ◽

Anthony Rhodes ◽

Ashley Ater Kranov

Keyword(s):

Student Perceptions ◽

Online Discussion ◽

Discussion Board ◽

Professional Skills ◽

Online Discussion Board

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Electronic Journal Usage at Ohio State University

College & Research Libraries ◽

10.5860/crl.62.1.25 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 62 (1) ◽

pp. 25-34 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

Sally A. Rogers

Keyword(s):

Graduate Students ◽

Research University ◽

Statistical Correlation ◽

Ohio State University ◽

Electronic Journal ◽

State University ◽

Frequent Users ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

Frequency Of Use ◽

Large Research

E-journal, printed journal, and database usage data from campus polls conducted annually, 1998–2000, at one large research university show increased use of e-journals and decreased use of printed journals by faculty and graduate students as the number of available e-journals increased from two hundred to more than three thousand. Little or no statistical correlation between age and frequency of use was found. The majority of frequent users of all three types of resources were from departments in the sciences. Transcripts from the 1998 poll provided insights into attitudes toward replacing printed journals with e-journals. The advantages and disadvantages mentioned were consistent with previous studies.

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