Academic Reading and Pacific Students: Profiling Texts, Tasks & Readers in the First Year of University in New Zealand

<p>Central to tertiary study in the literate world is the storage, transmission and retrieval of knowledge via the written word through the complex, multi-faceted and largely invisible process of academic reading. With New Zealand's changing demographics and increasing participation in tertiary education by students of Pacific descent, it cannot be assumed that there is a sufficient degree of match between the cultures of academic literacy of the institution and those of the linguistic /ethnic minority student readers; and this is an issue that requires in-depth investigation. This thesis focuses on student readers of Pacific descent undertaking their first year of study in selected 100-level Humanities and Commerce courses in a NZ university. By drawing together the composite skills, cognitive and socio-cultural traditions of reading research, this study conceptualizes academic reading as the dynamic interplay between Text-Task-Reader within any given socio-cultural context. This three-part understanding of academic reading enables a rich profiling of Readers, Texts, and Tasks within their contexts. It permits the systematic discovery and documentation of the nature of the challenge inherent in the academic texts and tasks of the first year of university, and enables the characteristics of the prototypical 'good reader' in a specific discipline to be established. By identifying and holding the core first year academic reading Task of 'reading to understand and remember' constant, the complex interactions between the Reader and Text were able to be observed, thus providing insights into the ways in which these Pacific readers made meaning from Text. Then, through the holistic profiling of cognitive, affective, skills, and socio-culturally based reader features, the Pacific student readers' academic reading personae were constructed. Combined, the readers' profiles reveal group trends, and individually, the complete holistic profiles of two case study readers were able to be woven together from the various profiling 'strands', thus highlighting the usefulness of the profiling system and the uniqueness of the individual readers. Finally, a comparison between the 'good reader' and the 'real' student readers affords an understanding of the degree of 'fit' between the readers' characteristics and the expectations of the institution. It is argued that this type of holistic profiling is of considerable value to institutions, enabling them to respond in informed, strategic ways to the academic literacy development requirements of their Pacific (and other) students, on both an individual and group scale.</p>

Academic Reading and Pacific Students: Profiling Texts, Tasks & Readers in the First Year of University in New Zealand

<p>Central to tertiary study in the literate world is the storage, transmission and retrieval of knowledge via the written word through the complex, multi-faceted and largely invisible process of academic reading. With New Zealand's changing demographics and increasing participation in tertiary education by students of Pacific descent, it cannot be assumed that there is a sufficient degree of match between the cultures of academic literacy of the institution and those of the linguistic /ethnic minority student readers; and this is an issue that requires in-depth investigation. This thesis focuses on student readers of Pacific descent undertaking their first year of study in selected 100-level Humanities and Commerce courses in a NZ university. By drawing together the composite skills, cognitive and socio-cultural traditions of reading research, this study conceptualizes academic reading as the dynamic interplay between Text-Task-Reader within any given socio-cultural context. This three-part understanding of academic reading enables a rich profiling of Readers, Texts, and Tasks within their contexts. It permits the systematic discovery and documentation of the nature of the challenge inherent in the academic texts and tasks of the first year of university, and enables the characteristics of the prototypical 'good reader' in a specific discipline to be established. By identifying and holding the core first year academic reading Task of 'reading to understand and remember' constant, the complex interactions between the Reader and Text were able to be observed, thus providing insights into the ways in which these Pacific readers made meaning from Text. Then, through the holistic profiling of cognitive, affective, skills, and socio-culturally based reader features, the Pacific student readers' academic reading personae were constructed. Combined, the readers' profiles reveal group trends, and individually, the complete holistic profiles of two case study readers were able to be woven together from the various profiling 'strands', thus highlighting the usefulness of the profiling system and the uniqueness of the individual readers. Finally, a comparison between the 'good reader' and the 'real' student readers affords an understanding of the degree of 'fit' between the readers' characteristics and the expectations of the institution. It is argued that this type of holistic profiling is of considerable value to institutions, enabling them to respond in informed, strategic ways to the academic literacy development requirements of their Pacific (and other) students, on both an individual and group scale.</p>

Systematic Literature Reviews in Kansei Engineering for Product Design—A Comparative Study from 1995 to 2020

Individual products and models on the market must be specifically differentiated from the rest to meet user demand. In terms of consumer purchasing behaviour, consumers increasingly base their decisions on subjective terms or the impression that the product leaves on them, both in terms of functionality, usability, safety, and price adequacy, and regarding the emotions and feelings that it triggers in them. This demand has lead both Asia and Europe to implement new methodologies to develop new products, such as “emotional design” or Kansei engineering. This paper presents a systematic literature review (SLR) on the most relevant methodologies based on Kansei engineering and their relevant results in the specific discipline of product design, addressing these five questions: (RQ1) How many studies on KE and emotional design are there in the Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) databases from 1995 to February 2021? (RQ2) Which research topics and types of KE are addressed? (RQ3) Who is leading the research on KE and emotional design? (RQ4) What are the benefits and drawbacks of using and applying the methodology? (RQ5) What are the limitations of the current research? We analysed 87 studies focusing on the Kansei methodology used for product design and device technologies (e.g., shape design, actuators, sensors, structure) and aesthetic aspects (e.g., Kansei words selection, the quantification of measured emotions of results, and detected shortcomings), and provided the database with all the collected information. One identified and highlighted sector in the results is the electronic–technological-device sector. Results confirm that this type of methodology has a majority and direct application in these sectors, and they are widely represented in the automotive and electronics industries. Lastly, this SLR provides researchers with a guide for comparative emotional-design work, and facilitates future designers who want to implement emotional design in their work by selecting the specific type according to the results of the SLR.

ENGLISH MATERIAL NEEDS OF AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS: AN ESP APPROACH

English for automotive technology is a specific discipline in which the students require particular language learning materials to meet their academic and future career needs. Hence, contextual material is a prerequisite to achieving the success of language learning. Drawing on this issue, the present study identified the English material needs of automotive technology students for working in vehicle inspection. The required data were collected using a web-based questionnaire and semi-structured interview from 186 students, 7 English lecturers, and 44 graduates of Poltrada Bali and PKTJ Tegal Indonesia who were purposively selected as the participants. This study classified English materials into content areas of automotive technology, language skills, and linguistic features. The results revealed that content areas needed by the students included vehicle components and their performances, ranging from engine system to support components. This study further suggested that speaking and reading were the most frequently needed skills than the other two skills because of the rapid growth of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) and the needs of international information exchange in the automotive field. It was also depicted that the students preferred applied terminologies and translation to grammar since many automotive technology references and vehicle inspection were normally written in English. The results of this study could serve as an overview for lecturers and institution in automotive technology program to create standard syllabus and contextual material textbooks for the students.

The effect of two educational technology tools on student engagement in Chinese EFL courses

Educational technology has become an indispensable aspect of higher education, playing a crucial role in affecting student engagement, in particular. The application, advantages and disadvantages of learning management systems (LMS) and social networking systems in Chinese EFL courses, represented by Superstar—Xuexitong and WeChat, are introduced. The study aims to explore the relationship between the two educational technology tools and three dimensions of student engagement. Using an adopted and revised questionnaire from previous researches, the study measures the extent of impact of the specified educational technology tools on student engagement with the help of SPSS. Through the independent sample T tests, analysis of variance, correlation and regression, the study found that emotional engagement has the strongest positive effect on educational technology engagement. In addition, analysis of the four principal factors indicates that using LMS could engage students more than adopting social networking systems. There are significant differences in cognitive engagement between different genders, with that of males surpassing females. This article provides some empirical evidence for exploration into the use of educational technology in a specific discipline to foster better student engagement.

School Inquiry in Secondary Education: The Experience of the Fiesta de la Historia Youth Congress in Seville

In secondary education, the focus of history teaching must be on the development of global citizenship. The present research was a study contextualized in the Fiesta de la Historia Youth Congress in Seville (Spain). A documentary analysis with a descriptive and interpretive design was made of 63 projects of inquiry that pupils carried out. The main objectives were to assess the incidence of the proposal in terms of participation, and to determine whether the pupils’ projects followed a logic of inquiry about socially relevant problems which favors the construction of global citizenship. The results point to a low incidence of schools participating in this initiative. The projects of inquiry analyzed present, for the most part, themes related to the historical and social heritage of the locality. The proposals are approached as problems of a specific discipline and are worked on through a method based on a pseudoscientific research process. The findings indicate the need to continue implementing initiatives based on school inquiry that allow the teaching of history to be articulated around relevant social problems, with the objective being to develop citizenship skills.

Methodology for assessing the competitive positions of a higher education institution on the national market of educational services

The fact that many Russian universities offer a wide, but often similar, range of educational services substantiates stiff competition between them, which aggravated in the conditions of protracted global COVID-19 pandemic due to the need for rapid implementation of the tools and methods of distance learning. The educational institutions compete for not only students, by their admission to each specific discipline. The goal is set to analyze the competitive positions and opportunities of the university on the market of educational services in the Russian Federation. The subject of this research is Kazan Innovative University named after V. G. Timiryasov. The research methodology leans on the general theoretical methods, as well as 7P and SWOT analysis. As a result, the author determines the merits and flaws of the university, market opportunities and threats; as well as offers the vectors for improving on the market of educational services. The acquired conclusions on the need to expand the material base, increase the academic degree holders rate, involvement in the grant mechanism, and integration into the real sector of economy are relevant for a great many universities in the Russian Federation.

ESSENTIAL METHODS OF MATH ANXIETY REGULATION

Представлен феномен математической тревожности и рассмотрены методы, позволяющие регулировать данный вид тревожности, способы их реализации, а также потенциальное применение с точки зрения их эффективности и надежности. Описанные методы практически не проверялись на российских выборках, в связи с этим требуется их дальнейшее изучение и экспериментальная верификация, а также апробация в условиях образовательного процесса. Новая реальность смешанного и онлайн-обучения может способствовать развитию математической тревожности и привести к увеличению количества школьников, испытывающих дискомфорт при работе с числовой информацией. Это требует переосмысления и усовершенствования методов ее регуляции. Math anxiety (MA) is a feeling of fear, worry and discomfort when working with numerical information. Students with a high level of math anxiety tend to avoid mathematics and further study in areas where mathematical knowledge is required. This leads to a shortage of applicants for technical and natural sciences. The development of MA can be caused by: poor mathematical skills, genetic predisposition, socio-environmental factors. In fact, some of the same genetic and environmental reasons affect both math ability and math anxiety. This paper discusses such methods of MA regulation as: expressive writing, reappraisal, relaxation, meditation, mindfulness, art therapy, bibliography, music therapy, and psychophysiological methods (i.e. transcranial stimulation). The effects obtained by these methods, its implementation, as well as potential applications in terms of their effectiveness and reliability have been covered. The studied methods have practically not been tested on Russian samples. Therefore, their further study and experimental verification are required. Regulation methods also require testing in real conditions of the educational process. The new reality of blended and online learning could trigger math and academic anxiety. It is important that some of the proposed methods can be indirectly applied to other types of “academic anxiety” (anxiety caused and experienced by students for other specific discipline).

The basic postulates of documentology – the general theory of documents

The author introduces the basic principles of documentology. Its subject is the document as an abstract concept considered at the methodological, theoretical, historical and practical levels. Structurally, it is legitimate to study the document a s a w hole, a s w ell a s i n r elation t o i ts i ndividual a spects a nd f eatures. The result of this study is the division of documentology into general, special and specific discipline. The pan-civilization significance of documents as the most important masterpiece of human genius is that it enables to freeze things in time or even to turn time back – which is otherwise impossible for the human beings.The documents give the material form to ethereal thoughts and knowledge of any kind, over the entire existence of the humankind. The appearance of the written language enables to draw the line between prehistorical and historical periods of human existence. No one social function is possible without documents; the documents has been the most powerful factors of the civilization progressing. The entity of document is compared to that of information; the former is characterized mainly with its components, namely nominative, generative, material, signative, semantic, syntaxive, temporal and pragmatic. The best definition of document is given by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO): Document is “recorded information or material object which can be used as a unit in the documentation process”; in particular, the document in library collections is the recorded information or a physical matter matching the collection profile. The basic postulates of documentology are generalized; they comprise the discipline structure and laws, the general principles of creating, disseminating, storing and using the documents; as well as the core document elements.

School inquiry in Secondary Education: The experience of the Fiesta de la Historia Youth Congress in Seville

In Secondary Education, the focus of History teaching must be on the development of global citizenship. The present research was a study contextualized in the Fiesta de la Historia Youth Congress in Seville (Spain). A documentary analysis with a descriptive and interpretive design was made of 63 projects of inquiry that pupils carried out. The main objectives were to assess the incidence of the proposal in terms of participation, and to determine whether the pupils' projects followed a logic of inquiry about socially relevant problems which favours the construction of global citizenship. The results point to a low incidence of schools participating in this initiative. The projects of inquiry analysed present for the most part themes related to the historical and social heritage of the locality. The proposals are approached as problems of a specific discipline, and are worked on through a method based on a pseudoscientific research process. The findings indicate the need to continue implementing initiatives based on school inquiry that allow the teaching of History to be articulated around relevant social problems, with the objective being to develop citizenship skills.