Social media literacy: A conceptual framework

Concerns over the harmful effects of social media have directed public attention to media literacy as a potential remedy. Current conceptions of media literacy are frequently based on mass media, focusing on the analysis of common content and evaluation of the content using common values. This article initiates a new conceptual framework of social media literacy (SoMeLit). Moving away from the mass media-based assumptions of extant approaches, SoMeLit centers on the user’s self in social media that is in dynamic causation with their choices of messages and networks. The foci of analysis in SoMeLit, therefore, are one’s selections and values that influence and are influenced by the construction of one’s reality on social media; and the evolving characteristics of social media platforms that set the boundaries of one’s social media reality construction. Implications of the new components and dimensions of SoMeLit for future research, education, and action are discussed.

Giving Unwanted Gifts: Political Economy of Youtube Apology

A public apology is a fairly common content found on the YouTube platform to restore the reputation and regain people's trust. At the same time, Youtube can also be used as a commodity-based economic platform that allows organizations, individuals, and Google (the owner of Youtube) to earn revenue either through advertising or direct promotion. These two things reflect the dual benefits of two opposites: genuine demand in the public interest and economic exploitation for the benefit of certain parties. This is well explored by the political economy theory of media which sees the digital platform as a convergence between the moral economy of commodities, the moral economy of gifts, and the moral economy of public goods. This article aims to further explore the three elements of the political economy of the media in the context of apologies on Youtube in five cases that occurred in Indonesia. The five apology cases were analyzed using parameters reflecting the moral economy of commodities, gifts, and public goods. The results of the analysis provide a typology of apology and a model that reflects the interrelation between the three moral economies involved in every apology.

Conhecimentos Evidenciados Por Futuras Professoras de Matemática Sobre os Números Racionais e Sobre seu Ensino

ResumoEste artigo objetiva identificar os conhecimentos evidenciados por um grupo de licenciandas ao ensinar noções e procedimentos concernentes ao conceito de fração e à resolução de operações em Q na Educação Básica. Considera-se as categorias refinadas por Ball, Thames e Phelps a partir de trabalhos de Shulman, no que diz respeito aos conhecimentos necessários ao professor que ensinará Matemática. Opta-se por discutir neste trabalho os resultados de dois questionários aplicados a quatro estudantes de um curso de Licenciatura em Matemática ao iniciar uma formação sobre números racionais e seu ensino, vinculada ao projeto de pesquisa “Um estudo sobre os conhecimentos necessários ao professor de matemática para ensinar frações”. As respostas das participantes a esses questionários indicaram dificuldades como: localizar frações na reta numérica; fixar uma unidade comum a todas as frações para ser o inteiro e compará-las; e representar uma fração em que o denominador seja maior que o numerador. Esses desafios, muito presentes em alunos da Educação Básica, persistem mesmo após essas licenciandas terem integralizado mais de 50% do curso. Diante disso, considera-se que o formador de professores precisaria incluir em suas aulas situações que lhe permita discutir com os futuros professores aspectos relacionados ao conteúdo, às causas dos erros cometidos pelos alunos e maneiras de superá-las. Palavras-chave: Formação de Professores. Ensino de Fração. Conhecimento Comum do Conteúdo. Conhecimento do Conteúdo Especializado. AbstractThe goal of this article is to identify the knowledge that a group of student-teachers has for teaching notions and procedures regarding the concept of fractions and solving equations in Q in Basic Education. We consider the categories refined by Ball, Thames and Phelps, based on the works of Shulman, with respect to the knowledge necessary for a teacher to teach Mathematics. In this paper, we have chosen to discuss the results of two questionnaires applied to four students in a Mathematics Teaching Degree program at the start of the training program on Rational Numbers and how to teach them, linked to the research project “A study on the knowledge necessary for a Mathematics teacher to teach fractions” (Um estudo sobre os conhecimentos necessários ao professor de matemática para ensinar frações). The participants’ answers to these questionnaires indicated difficulties, such as: locating fractions on a number line; finding a common unit for all fractions to be a whole number and, thus, be able to compare them; and representing a fraction in which the denominator is greater than the numerator. These challenges are frequently present among students in Basic Education and they persisted even after the student-teachers completed 50% of the program. As such, we believe that teacher trainers need to include situations in their classes to discuss with future teachers aspects related to the content, to the causes of mistakes made by students and ways to fix them. Keywords: Teacher Trainer. Teaching Fractions. Common Content Knowledge. Specialized Content Knowledge.

Burning Down the House: Mythological Chaos and World Order on Gotlandic Picture Stones

The Gotlandic picture stone monuments of the oldest type constitute a material manifestation of a "concept" which basically deals with world order and balance, from the single picture to the monument as a whole. This concept is detectable in myths, sagas and material culture alike. Only by paying more attention to the female agents of the sagas is it possible to reach an understanding ofthe common content of ideas between the different expressions. That the elements play an important role in the sagas is reflected in the setting and execution of monuments and artefacts.

Variation in performance on common content items at UK medical schools

Background Due to differing assessment systems across UK medical schools, making meaningful cross-school comparisons on undergraduate students’ performance in knowledge tests is difficult. Ahead of the introduction of a national licensing assessment in the UK, we evaluate schools’ performances on a shared pool of “common content” knowledge test items to compare candidates at different schools and evaluate whether they would pass under different standard setting regimes. Such information can then help develop a cross-school consensus on standard setting shared content. Methods We undertook a cross-sectional study in the academic sessions 2016-17 and 2017-18. Sixty “best of five” multiple choice ‘common content’ items were delivered each year, with five used in both years. In 2016-17 30 (of 31 eligible) medical schools undertook a mean of 52.6 items with 7,177 participants. In 2017-18 the same 30 medical schools undertook a mean of 52.8 items with 7,165 participants, creating a full sample of 14,342 medical students sitting common content prior to graduation. Using mean scores, we compared performance across items and carried out a “like-for-like” comparison of schools who used the same set of items then modelled the impact of different passing standards on these schools. Results Schools varied substantially on candidate total score. Schools differed in their performance with large (Cohen’s d around 1) effects. A passing standard that would see 5 % of candidates at high scoring schools fail left low-scoring schools with fail rates of up to 40 %, whereas a passing standard that would see 5 % of candidates at low scoring schools fail would see virtually no candidates from high scoring schools fail. Conclusions Candidates at different schools exhibited significant differences in scores in two separate sittings. Performance varied by enough that standards that produce realistic fail rates in one medical school may produce substantially different pass rates in other medical schools – despite identical content and the candidates being governed by the same regulator. Regardless of which hypothetical standards are “correct” as judged by experts, large institutional differences in pass rates must be explored and understood by medical educators before shared standards are applied. The study results can assist cross-school groups in developing a consensus on standard setting future licensing assessment.

Analysis of Not Structurable Oncological Study Eligibility Criteria for Improved Patient-Trial Matching

Background Higher enrolment rates of cancer patients into clinical trials are necessary to increase cancer survival. As a prerequisite, an improved semiautomated matching of patient characteristics with clinical trial eligibility criteria is needed. This is based on the computer interpretability, i.e., structurability of eligibility criteria texts. To increase structurability, the common content, phrasing, and structuring problems of oncological eligibility criteria need to be better understood. Objectives We aimed to identify oncological eligibility criteria that were not possible to be structured by our manual approach and categorize them by the underlying structuring problem. Our results shall contribute to improved criteria phrasing in the future as a prerequisite for increased structurability. Methods The inclusion and exclusion criteria of 159 oncological studies from the Clinical Trial Information System of the National Center for Tumor Diseases Heidelberg were manually structured and grouped into content-related subcategories. Criteria identified as not structurable were analyzed further and manually categorized by the underlying structuring problem. Results The structuring of criteria resulted in 4,742 smallest meaningful components (SMCs) distributed across seven main categories (Diagnosis, Therapy, Laboratory, Study, Findings, Demographics, and Lifestyle, Others). A proportion of 645 SMCs (13.60%) was not possible to be structured due to content- and structure-related issues. Of these, a subset of 415 SMCs (64.34%) was considered not remediable, as supplementary medical knowledge would have been needed or the linkage among the sentence components was too complex. The main category “Diagnosis and Study” contained these two subcategories to the largest parts and thus were the least structurable. In the inclusion criteria, reasons for lacking structurability varied, while missing supplementary medical knowledge was the largest factor within the exclusion criteria. Conclusion Our results suggest that further improvement of eligibility criterion phrasing only marginally contributes to increased structurability. Instead, physician-based confirmation of the matching results and the exclusion of factors harming the patient or biasing the study is needed.

Decoupling of Economic Growth from Environmental Damage: A Theoretical Aspect

The relevance of the study is conditioned by the need for an in-depth investigation of decoupling as an indicator of the effectiveness of the state's implementation of the concept of sustainable development, which in the current trends of the world economy is dominant among countries. The purpose of the study is to improve and specify the theoretical foundations of decoupling economic growth from environmental damage. The methodological framework of the study included methods of empirical analysis, synthesis, induction, comparison, hypothetical-deductive method, as well as a systematic approach to the study of scientific papers of Ukrainian and foreign scientists, strategic environmental documents of authoritative international organisations on decoupling. The study identifies three content features of decoupling economic growth from environmental damage, related to the economic growth of the economic system and the environmental damage it causes, as well as two groups of factors of environmental damage: resource and environmental factors. The author has improved the definition of decoupling based on the analysis of existing definitions of this concept, by distinguishing them from common content features and their synthesis into a single whole. Types of decoupling and approaches to the classification of its degrees are considered: according to the method of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, as well as the author's method of P. Tapio. It was found that absolute decoupling constitutes a priority in the context of the state's implementation of the concept of sustainable development, as it meets the signs of decoupling and the basic principles of sustainable development identified in the course of the study. The study offers ways of effective development and intensification of decoupling processes within the framework of state implementation of the concept of sustainable development. The practical value of the obtained research results is related to their further application in the processes of strategic planning at the national level, as well as in the development of an economic mechanism to stimulate the decoupling of economic growth from environmental damage

Understanding the Role of Online Media Platforms in Airport Capital Projects and Community Outreach

Community outreach and engagement efforts are critical to an airport’s role as an ever-evolving transportation infrastructure and regional economic driver. As online social media platforms continue to grow in both popularity and influence, a new engagement channel between airports and the public is emerging. However, the motivations behind and effectiveness of these social media channels remain unclear. In this work, we address this knowledge gap by better understanding the advantages, impact, and best practices of this newly emerging engagement channel available to airports. Focusing specifically on airport YouTube channels, we first document quantitative viewership metrics, and examine common content characteristics within airport YouTube videos. We then conduct interviews and site visits with relevant airport stakeholders to identify the motivations and workflow behind these videos. Finally, we facilitate sample focus groups designed to survey public perceptions of the effectiveness and value of these videos. From our four project phases, to maximize content effectiveness and community engagement potential, we synthesize the following framework of action items, recommendations, and best practices: (C) Consistency and community; (O) Organizational structure; (M) Momentum; (B) Branding and buy-in; (A) Activity; (T) Two-way engagement; (E) Enthusiasm; and (D) Depth, or as a convenient initialism, our COMBATED framework.

Variation in Performance on Common Content Items at UK Medical Schools

Background Due to the diverse approaches to medical school assessment, making meaningful cross-school comparisons on knowledge is difficult. Ahead of the introduction of national licensing assessment in the UK, we evaluate schools on “common content” to compare candidates at different schools and evaluate whether they would pass under different standard setting regimes. Such information can then help develop a cross-school consensus on standard setting shared content. Methods We undertook a cross-sectional study in the academic sessions 2016-17 and 2017-18. Sixty “best of five” multiple choice items were delivered each year, with five used in both years. In 2016-17 30 (of 31 eligible) medical schools undertook a mean of 52.6 items with 7,177 participants. In 2017-18 the same 30 medical schools undertook a mean of 52.8 items with 7,165 participants for a full sample of 14,342 medical students sitting common content prior to graduation. Using mean scores, we compared performance across items and carried out a “like-for-like” comparison of schools who used the same set of items then modelled the impact of different passing standards on these schools. Results Schools varied substantially on candidate total score. Schools differed in their performance with large (Cohen’s d around 1) effects. A passing standard that would see 5% of candidates at high scoring schools fail left low-scoring schools with fail rates of up to 40%, whereas a passing standard that would see 5% of candidates at low scoring schools fail would see virtually no candidates from high scoring schools fail. Conclusions Candidates at different schools exhibited significant differences in scores in two separate sittings. Performance varied by enough that standard setting approaches that produce realistic fail rates in one medical school may produce substantially different pass rates in other medical schools – despite identical content and the candidates being governed by the same regulator. Regardless of which hypothetical standards are “correct” as judged by experts, large institutional gaps in pass rates must be explored and understood by medical educators before shared standards are applied. The study results can assist cross-school groups in developing a consensus on standard setting future licensing assessment.

Using the Internet to Encourage Reading

We analyzed the websites of 125 elementary and high school libraries in Israel for content that promotes reading. We found that the websites promote reading in many ways and to different degrees, and that there is no consensus regarding the websites’ role in promoting reading. The most common content found included: reports on a national project in which students ranked books, links to special websites that encourage reading, lists of new books purchased by the library, library forum on reading, book recommendations by librarians and students, and biographies of authors and poets.