Search

Traditionally, clinician educators are tasked with the responsibility of training future physician workforce. However, there is limited identification of skills required to fulfill this responsibility and a lack of consensus on effective faculty development for career growth as a clinician educator. The newly released Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Clinician Educator (CE) Milestones framework outlines important skills for clinician educators and provides the opportunity to create robust faculty development. In this paper, members of the Society of General Internal Medicine Education Committee discuss the importance of these CE Milestones, outline the novel themes highlighted in the project, and provide recommendations for proper application on both the individual and institutional levels to optimize faculty development. The paper discusses strategies for how to apply the CE Milestones as a tool to create a culture of professional growth and self-directed learning. Using a reflective approach, CE faculty and mentors can identify areas of proficiency and opportunities for growth, thereby creating individualized professional development plans for career success. Institutions should use aggregate CE Milestones data as a needs assessment of their faculty "population" to create targeted faculty development. Most importantly, institutions should not use CE Milestones for high-stakes assessments but rather encourage reflection by CE faculty and create subsequent robust faculty development programs. The ACGME CE Milestones present an exciting opportunity and lay an important foundation for future CE faculty development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge diffusion in regional innovation ecosystems is an important factor that influences the regional innovation efficiency. In regional innovation ecosystems under digital empowerment, the knowledge diffusion enables the optimal allocation of innovation resources and promotes the sustainable development and ecological evolution of regional innovation ecosystems. In this paper, a SEIR (Susceptible–Exposed–Infected–Recovered) model is proposed for knowledge diffusion in regional innovation ecosystems under digitization. The basic reproduction number of the proposed model is calculated and its stability is validated. Finally, the expressions for the optimal control system and the optimal control parameters are presented. According to the research conclusions of this paper, the knowledge-diffusion ability of innovation agents in an innovation ecosystem affects the knowledge diffusion in a system; the contact rate between innovation agents affects the efficiency of knowledge diffusion in the system and the structure of the system; the digital transmission ability of innovation agents affects the breadth of knowledge diffusion in the system; and the self-learning ability of innovation agents affects the efficiency of knowledge diffusion in the system.The digital technologies help heterogeneous innovation agents in regional innovation ecosystems to break down the knowledge silos. At the same time, the digital technologies enhance the ability of innovation agents to absorb and learn knowledge in regional innovation ecosystems under digitization, thereby increasing the infection rate of knowledge diffusion in such systems.These conclusions extend the theoretical boundaries of innovation ecosystems and knowledge diffusion and offer management implications for enterprises and governments in decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Criminal forensics in an Internet-of-Things (IoT) environment often requires complex investigations because IoT devices usually generate a large amount of electronic data, especially image data, which brings great difficulties to traditional digital forensic methods. Therefore, designing a secure management solution for image data and making it to be image evidence available in court is a new challenge. In this paper, we present a new secure image evidence management framework based on multi-bits digital watermarking and blockchain. In this framework, we first propose a flexible and robust self-learning based watermark embedding algorithm, which can embed both image marks and binary messages into the latent space of the input images and also improve the resistance of a broad range of attacks (geometric transform, JPEG, noise, etc.) to the watermarked images. And then, we design a smart contract resided in blockchain, which can achieve safe storage and automatically authentication of embedded watermarks. The experimental results on both watermarking algorithm and smart contracts have demonstrated the feasibility and efficacy of the proposed framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automatic question generation and automatic question answering from text is a fundamental academic tool that serves a wide range of purposes, including self-study, coursework, educational assessment, and many more. Manual construction of questions is a time-consuming and complicated process that requires experience, whereas automating the process diminishes the costs of manual question creation and fulfills the need for a persistent supply of questions for the tutors and self-evaluators. This paper uses an encoder–decoder architecture-based text-to-text transfer transformer (T5) intending to generate several types of question–answer pairs over a given context, including subjective question–answers having short and long answers, fill-in-the-blanks-type question–answers, Boolean answer (yes-or-no)-type questions, and multiple-choice question-answers. The model has been evaluated on benchmark datasets—SQuAD, QuAC, and BoolQ; over automated metrics—BLEU, ROUGE, METEOR, F1, and accuracy. The model outperformed previous baseline models, with 18.87 and 25.24 scores over BLEU-4 and METEOR metrics, respectively. The paper also demonstrates that the proposed system efficiently generates question–answer pairs where the baseline approaches struggled. The evaluation analysis also shows that the generated question–answer pairs are comparable with existing systems and even better in terms of diversity. Also, the generated questions are grammatically and contextually correct, and the answer generated matches the question in the textual context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in smart connected vehicles and intelligent transportation systems are based on the collection and processing of massive amounts of sensor data. There are various internal sensors integrated into modern vehicles that are useful to monitor multiple mechanical and electrical systems, and the shift to semi-autonomous vehicles adds outward-facing sensors such as cameras, lidar, and radar. Low-cost, dependable sensing, connectivity, computational capacity, and powerful analytics are ushering in a new era of vehicle context sensing and vehicular network (VANET). However, due to latency, bandwidth, cost, security, and privacy issues, as well as the growing capabilities of edge computing devices, it is necessary to examine both edge and cloud computing in order to make informed judgments based on their contexts and performances. So, in this paper, we have proposed an architecture that focuses on an intelligent transportation system based on both Cloud and Edge computing in order to monitor and analyze vehicle sensor data and its environment; known as monitoring and analyzing as a service. Our proposed architecture is able to react in real-time to any vehicle context changes in a dynamic, adaptive, and autonomous way. It generates many plans adapted to the vehicle context that will be useful for future research to achieve a self-learning and self-adaptive system. This suggested architecture helped us improve vehicle and road safety, traffic efficiency, and convenience as well as comfort to both drivers and passengers. Also, we have reduced latency and increased bandwidth. Finally, we have approved the performance of our architecture based on different evaluation metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microscopic emission estimation based on driving states plays a crucial role in controlling the pollution of on-road vehicles. Existing research has evolved from fitting nonlinear models of driving cycles and emission factors to utilizing neural networks to exploit driving patterns and construct a nonlinear mapping between driving states and emission values. However, due to the small percentage of driving-cycle related to high emissions, it is still challenging to capture the vehicle emission peaks, which lead to the most noteworthy high-emission characteristics being regarded as abnormal disturbances instead. To address the issue, this paper proposes a peak-sensitive microscopic emission estimation framework characterized by sequence-to-sequence learning for on-road vehicles. Sequence-to-sequence learning emphasizes serial pattern mapping from driving sequences to emission sequences to provide more statistical constraints and reduce the estimation uncertainty brought by unstable driving behaviors. Specifically, the framework aims at capturing context features related to high emissions from sequences dynamically in an adaptive and self-learning way and is composed of a driving states embedding module and a dynamic aggregation module. Particularly, an incremental tracking loss (ITL) is proposed to adjust the incremental emissions at adjacent time steps by supervising the differences of the generated sequences, enabling the model to track sudden changes in emissions. Extensive experiments are conducted on the on-board diagnostics (OBD) dataset with 12628 sampling records collected from a heavy-duty diesel vehicle. The results show that the estimation accuracy of our proposed method is significantly better than state-of-the-art methods, and it can effectively capture high-emission peaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Image super-resolution (SR) is a classic problem of image processing. This paper proposes a self-learning interpolation method (SLIM) based on a single image by combining grid feature mapping with binary decision tree, which is not only transparent as the interpolation-based methods, but also achieves comparable performance as the learning-based methods. Firstly, it downsamples the given image I LR to obtain its low–low-resolution image I LLR , which is used to obtain sample data for the self-learning interpolation algorithm for enlarging I LLR to get I LR . Secondly, it provides a structural feature classification method to divide all of the samples into several groups, such that each class of I LLR is mapped to a matrix of coefficients for calculating the values of the pixels of I LR . The image I LR is approximated by executing the decision tree to refine the corresponding mapping matrix. Finally, the resulting high-resolution image I HR is obtained from the given image I LR by using the mapping matrixes. Experimental results show that SLIM achieves more smooth edges and better details on subjective vision than prevailing SR methods, and it is a transparent one but achieves comparable performances on PSNR and SSIM with the learning-based methods, while it outperforms the interpolation-based methods. It means that SLIM is both transparent and efficient and has much better subjective vision than other SR methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper considers real-time cyberattack detection methods based on an algebraic approach. The author has applied the algebraic matching method, which relies on solving behavioral equations and algebraic modeling. The paper proposes to improve the efficiency of attack detection and prevention by combining a neural network that classifies attacks with an algebraic matching method. This scheme is called a cognitive network, the concept of which was first conceived in 2005. The cognitive network properties, such as double and self-learning, are discussed. The technological line for cyberattack detection using cognitive networks is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combination of information technology and machine learning fuels the rapid evolution of today's educational landscape. Revolutions in both fields and a common goal of improving education drive this transformative journey. In a time when resources and information are more readily available than ever, traditional teaching strategies are changing to include digital tools that meet the various needs of students. For a teaching services support system (TSS), this paper proposed a novel machine learning-based model that utilizes the powerful backpropagation (BP) neural network, well known for its machine learning and data analysis capabilities. Increasing the effectiveness of online learning is the primary objective of the TSS, which focuses on contributing to a complete learning environment and promoting self-directed learning. This work closely examines the construction and functionality of the BP neural network within the TSS, contribution visions into input–output mechanisms, activation functions, and weight coefficients. This novel approach can bring concerning a digital age educational revolution by increasing the effectiveness and caliber of online learning, rekindling students' enthusiasm for learning, and making the best use of teaching resources. In addition, the research explores the field of data-mining-based online teaching support services in Open Universities. It clarifies the system's architecture, which includes virtual teaching modules, resource management, and user authentication. Machine learning methods such as adaptive genetic algorithms and BP neural networks optimize the system's architecture. Experimental results achieved remarkable BP neural network accuracy and stability, significantly enhancing instructional quality and student engagement. The results show an impressive 83.4% accuracy, outperforming traditional methods such as SVM, KNN, DT, RF, and XGBoost. This demonstrates how learning outcomes and productivity can be enhanced by incorporating machine learning into education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching–learning-based optimization (TLBO) algorithm is an excellent human-inspired optimization technique. This paper proposes an innovative improved version of TLBO—collectivism teaching–learning-based optimization (CTLBO) algorithm. This algorithm imitates group and individual behaviours in the reality of teaching and learning, applies group-individual multi-mode cooperation strategies to form new search mechanism. The CTLBO contains three phases, i.e. preparation phase, teaching and learning phases. In the preparation phase, there are two operators, i.e. teacher self-learning and teacher-learner interaction operators. In the teaching phase, class teaching and performance-based group teaching operators are implied. In the learning phase, neighbour learning, student self-learning and team-learning strategies are mixed together to form three operators. Two sets of experiments are conducted to test the performance of CTLBO. The first set of experiments validates the improvement effect of CTLBO by comparing it with the original TLBO and other authors' improved versions of TLBO. The second set of experiments illustrates the advantage of CTLBO by comparing it with other 17 meta-heuristic algorithms in solving 30 general benchmark functions and 15 CEC2015 test suit functions. The results of experiments show that CTLBO algorithm has significant improvement effect compared with TLBO. It is the most effective one amongst the improved versions of TLBO selected for comparison, and outperforms all other 17 meta-heuristic algorithms. The algorithm can significantly improve the convergence ability and the accuracy in solving different-scale complex optimization models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After 70 years of intricate development, machine learning, represented by deep learning, is based on the multilevel structure of the human brain and the layer-by-layer analysis and processing mechanism of neuron connection and interaction information. The powerful parallel information processing ability of self-adaptation and self-learning has allowed for breakthroughs in many fields, among which the most representative is image recognition. Therefore, this paper proposed optimizing the RBF algorithm with machine learning (ML) to improve the recognition rate of spectrum sensing. The results showed that the average detection success rates of the RBF algorithm were 93.62%, 95.07%, 96.91%, 98.78% and 99.37% when the SNRs were − 8 dB, − 4 dB, 0 dB, 4 dB and 8 dB, respectively, and the other conditions were kept the same. The average detection success rates of the SVM/RBF algorithm were 97.65%, 99.63%, 99.76%, 99.91% and 99.88%, respectively. The average detection success rate of the SVM/RBF algorithm was significantly higher than that of the RBF algorithm. This indicates that analyzing the RBF neural network algorithm through ML can improve the success rate of spectrum sensing, which highlights a new direction for the application of ML and neural networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the importance for graduate students to use their self-efficacy and self-regulation to improve their writing performance. Discussion of the concept of self-efficacy and the factors that influence it which rely on the individual's interpretation of success or failure is provided. Emphasis on how self-efficacy depends on an individual's confidence about the quality of the content they are producing is offered.

The "use of self" is a powerful tool that social workers rely upon to facilitate treatment growth for their clients. Yet, for many ethnic and racial minority clinicians, their self contains personal, psychological, social, and cultural aspects that they must acknowledge, examine and negotiate as they enter into the clinical arena. The therapeutic world is increasingly diverse, therefore, the profession must address issues relating to researching, educating, training, supervising, and supporting clinicians from diverse backgrounds to attend with greater knowledge and self-examination. They must attend to the nuances of use of self with respect to issues of intersectionality in order to provide attuned, culturally responsive, and socially just treatment. This paper demonstrates how clinical social work practitioners can facilitate self-development and growth in clients through their strategic use of self as grounded in early British and American object relations theories and contemporary relational theory. The clinical materials in the composite case study (employed to protect the confidentiality of the clients) are used to illustrate that when clinicians embrace the challenges of working in the intercultural and interracial treatment arena and dive deeply beyond the choppy surface, there are many opportunities to further the therapeutic progress while providing a culturally sensitive and socially just clinical practice. Implications for clinical social work practice, education and research are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws upon both Carl Jung's theory of the psyche and nonviolence philosophy to re-examine curriculum dynamics in the context of teacher education. An integrative psychic life is enabled by the transcendent function of assimilating the unconscious to expand the horizon of consciousness while the integrative power of nonviolence heals the wounds of violence and promotes compassionate relationships. These theories follow different directions—the primary focus of Jung's theory is the individual person and that of nonviolence theory is humane relationality—but their underlying philosophical principles also intersect in ways that have important implications for today's education. This paper focuses on three major intersections: the thread of interconnectedness is the undercurrent of an integrative psychic life and the underlying foundation for nonviolent relations; the shadow awareness within the individual psyche creates a social space for compassionate relationships with others; and complementary modes of psychic and nonviolent integration provide multiple pathways for teacher educators' pedagogy and students' self-education. After elaborating on these intersecting aspects and their curriculum implications, the final section discusses curriculum dynamics for subjective and social transformation through analysing the interactive relationships between and among teacher educators, students, texts, and contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a historical account of the ‘pickup artists’ (PUA) phenomenon, tracing the origins back to the early 1970s when more liberal attitudes towards sexuality were on the rise in the West. Today PUA advice not only includes information about seduction techniques, but also programs about self-improvement or so-called ‘inner game’. Seduction and dating gurus can be found across the internet—from individual bloggers to dating coaches and relationship experts—all providing niche services and products on how to seduce and/or have fulfilling relationships with women. By addressing the moral panics around the PUA discourse, the paper seeks to illustrate the connection between second wave feminism, as a discourse increasingly interested in the idea of ‘gender egalitarianism’ and the popularity of seduction techniques for men based on emerging scientific research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open education, including the use of open educational resources (OER) and the adoption of open education practice, has the potential to challenge educators to change their practice in fundamental ways. This paper forms part of a larger study focusing on higher education educators' learning from and through their engagement with OER. The first part of the study was a quantitative survey investigating educators' learning behaviour when they learned to use OER in their practice. The second part of the study explored qualitatively how educators engaged with OER and how they conceptualised their learning. Data were gathered through interviews with 30 higher education educators. This paper reports the analysis of these interviews. The analysis draws on the theory of self-regulated learning and cultural-historical activity theory to explore the challenges adult education practitioners encounter when changing their practice. The study tests the application of a framework that traces the discursive manifestations of contradictions, exploring how this framework can be used to examine different aspects of self-regulated learning as educators learn how to use OER. We have identified three distinct tensions in higher education educators' practice: tensions between the emerging needs of the individual (as he or she adopts new forms of practice) and organisational policies; between the transfer of responsibilities from educators to students as new practice is embedded and institutional accountability; and between cost efficiency and learning objectives. The framework for the discursive manifestations of contradictions was a useful tool used to surface these apparent tensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inquiry-based learning has been growing in popularity, but the ill-structured nature of complex problem-solving still has challenges related to how to ensure students learn the content and how to provide feedback. This paper addresses this gap by exploring how open microcredentials can support open-ended learning by providing "guardrails" that simultaneously honor the openness of student inquiry while addressing these challenges. This manuscript begins by exploring the theoretical tenents of IBI and the importance of self-directed learning in ill-structured problem-solving. We then discuss the challenges documented in the literature and how microcredentials could address some of the implementation issues described in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual Reality (VR) is being integrated into many different areas of our lives, from industrial engineering to video-games, and also including teaching and education. We have several examples where VR has been used to engage students and facilitate their 3D spatial understanding, but can VR help also teachers? What are the benefits teachers can obtain on using VR applications? In this paper we present an application (VR4Health) designed to allow students to directly inspect 3D models of several human organs by using Virtual Reality systems. The application is designed to be used in an HMD device autonomously as a self-learning tool and also reports information to teachers in order that he/she becomes aware of what the students do and can redirect his/her work to the concrete necessities of the student. We evaluate both the students' and the teachers' perception by doing an experiment and asking them to fill-in a questionnaire at the end of the experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive Community Initiatives (CCIs) are designed as purposeful systems to empower communities for self development. There is a dearth on the number of empirical evaluative studies that interrogate the design of such systems; rather, focus has been on evaluating programmatic impacts. Understanding and enhancing the design of such systems is fundamental in enhancing their empowerment and emancipatory objectives. This study addresses three questions; firstly, what are the critical design factors for CCIs? Secondly, what are the potential distributive, ethical and social consequences of CCI designs? And thirdly what are the fundamental components of a framework for evaluating CCI designs? The Mhakwe CCI in Zimbabwe is used as a case study. The paper identified the critical design factors to include; enhancing interconnectivity of institutions, development actors and community; incorporating mechanisms for capacity development; enhancing collective purpose; developing measures for community empowerment; addressing power imbalances and incorporating perceived risks. Social consequences of the design impinged on the willingness to share knowledge and participation in dialogue by the affected. The paper recommends key components of a framework for evaluating CCI design to; incorporate perceptions of both the affected and the involved; view CCIs as purposeful systems; be based on boundary critique and apply multi methodological approaches. The paper ends by suggesting important factors in ensuring sustainability of CCIs and recommends the integration of sustainability factors in designing CCIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creativity supports the advancement of all disciplines, providing both individual and societal benefits. Most individuals can demonstrate and improve their creativity; therefore, understanding the creative process is of particular interest to facilitate deliberate development of creative thinkers. Despite copious research of the creative process, the work tends to be fragmented without a unified, general theoretical foundation. Historically, creative process research has examined the steps that creative people use, while overlooking how people learn these steps and the mechanisms behind the process. This paper proposes to situate the creative process within broader theoretical framework of self-regulated learning (SRL). This merger emphasizes that the creative process can be learned and that creative process strategies may inspire general learning strategies. Further, the SRL framework provides an organizational structure that illuminates gaps in current research and provides inspiration for new measurement techniques. Current assessment methods are often unable to determine how people regulate themselves throughout the creative process, specifically how internal psychological processes, external behaviors, and explicit strategies influence the creative process; however, SRL measurement techniques, like SRL microanalysis interviews, may provide an opportunity to identify intervention casual mechanisms, extend experimental studies, provide consistent variables to compare across disciplines and studies, and help practitioners assess students’ creative process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within self-regulated learning, learners exercise agency by setting targets, formatively monitoring progress, and evaluating results in ways which inform their own goal attainment. However, in real-world classroom situations, assessment processes can elicit behaviours that are more ego-protective than growth-oriented. Resistance to teacher expectations in assessment can arise from the individual’s need to protect his or her own identity or ego within the psychosocial context of the classroom. In addition, resistance can arise from strategic choices learners make to cope with competing demands on their time and resources. Thus, students may exercise their agency by not following assessment expectations or protocols (e.g. lying, cheating, or failing to give their best effort). These choices seem to undermine assessment validity. This paper shares student voice data from the Measuring Teachers’ Assessment Practices (MTAP) project (n = 46 students in seven focus groups) in New Zealand and the Supporting Student-assessment Success (SSAS) Project (n = 108 first-year university students) in Australia. Both highlight the different ways students resist, subvert, or act in contention with assessment. These data show that students in both sectors do not always act in the growth-oriented ways that educators envision. Students reported exercising potentially maladaptive assessment agency via Assessment dishonesty, Purposeful underperformance, and Doing it alone. These categories were underpinned by three differing rationales: Protection, Strategic prioritisation, and Mini-max. Educators must be mindful of these potential student actions and motives, working to establish psychological safety within the learning environment, and making sure links between learning and assessment are clear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have known for a long time that a relationship exists between how learning is assessed and the learning processes and strategies students employ when engaged in those assessments. Black and Wiliam pointed out in 1998 that self-regulated learning should be a primary goal of formative assessment (FA). Since then, a growing body of research on this relationship has been produced. The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss keystone publications that inform our current understandings of the relationship between FA and self-regulated learning. The result is a roadmap of the development of the field and directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaborative research partnerships are widely recognised as being of value. This paper examines the benefits, constraints and challenges of research partnerships between teacher education faculties in universities and teacher employing authorities or departments of education and schooling. A case study of a collaborative research partnership between an education faculty and a teacher employing authority is examined to illustrate the features that supported a truly collaborative partnership and also to provide insights about the challenges that occurred. This research partnership was studied using self-study methods. The partnership between the individual researchers was examined in the context of the systemic partnership, to investigate the impact of the two contexts on each other and on the partnership. Constraints and facilitators of this collaborative partnership are identified in this paper. The feasibility of truly collaborative partnerships between institutions with differing aims and methods of operation is critiqued, using this particular partnership as an illustrative case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing digitalization and automation of coaching practices is rapidly changing the landscape of coaching and (health-related) self-improvement. The introduction of a new class of support technologies- 'e-coaching systems'-promises to deliver highly personalized, timely, around-the-clock coaching in a wide variety of domains and to a broad audience. At the same time, the introduction of these systems raises a number of practical and ethical concerns regarding, for example, privacy and personal autonomy, that deserve careful consideration. Unfortunately, constructive conversations about these technologies are hindered by the lack of a precise understanding of what constitutes an e-coaching system and how e-coaching systems differ from other types of behavior change interventions. The broad and inclusive definitions that have been offered in the recent literature facilitate a systematic underestimation of the impact that the introduction of e-coaching systems will have, by allowing discussions to include examples of systems with which people are familiar but which lack the level of sophistication and independence needed for a genuine process of coaching. As a consequence, specific concerns that arise with sophisticated, adaptive systems that form their own perspective on a user's health and behavior and from that perspective shape persuasive interactions, remain out of focus. This paper aims to remedy this situation by proposing a more narrowly construed definition of e-coaching systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I discuss personal learning environments and their diverse benefits, uses, and implications for life-long learning. Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) are Web 2.0 and social media technologies that enable individual learners the ability to manage their own learning. Self-directed learning is explored as a foundation for the use of PLEs. I outline the optimal criteria for social media tools to be used as PLEs: they must be easy to use, open, dynamic, and offer collaboration options. I discuss individual PLE tools with examples and possible uses. I list implications for educators and individual learners. I conclude the discussion with ideas for future study of PLEs in formal and informal learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hope is increasingly recognized as an important psychological resource for career development, yet the empirical research on its functioning in this domain is sparse. This paper describes an investigation of how dispositional hope is related to career decidedness, career planning, and career self-efficacy beliefs and whether these more proximal career attitudes mediate the effects of hope on proactive career behaviors, life satisfaction, and job satisfaction. This investigation was conducted using two independent samples of university students ( N = 1,334) and working professionals ( N = 233). The results showed that in both samples, hope was significantly related but empirically distinct from career variables. In both samples, hope had a direct effect on proactive career behaviors, partially mediated by more career planning. Hope had significant direct and indirect effects on life satisfaction among students, mediated by the three career development attitudes. Although hope was significantly correlated with job satisfaction among employees, no direct effect of hope was found in the mediation model, but an indirect effect through career decidedness was found. The results suggest that hope is an important resource for proactive career development at different career stages and that the positive relation of hope to life and job satisfaction can partially be attributed to the positive relation between hope and favorable career development attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a self-study undertaken by the author to better understand the educational practices of scaffolding in pre-service teachers' collaborative group work. The method included student interviews, conversations with a critical friend, and the researcher's diary. The self-study allowed for fine-tuning theoretical understanding and practical implementation of scaffolding in students' small group work. While the study confirmed my expectations that facilitation of the students' group work was useful for them to understand content and develop collaborative skills, the students' emphasis on the emotional side of scaffolding was a surprising find. It was also interesting to note that the needs of emotional scaffolding in mature age students were different to those of high school graduates, which related to their self-confidence and their understanding of the role of the lecturer in assisting with their academic work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I interpret Montaigne's essay, 'On Educating Children', as a pedagogical text through its performance of a distinct epistolary function, one that addresses the letter-recipient for the purpose of shaping the ideas, actions, and beliefs of that individual. At the same time, I also read 'On Educating Children' within the context of the wider project of Montaigne's Essays, which, as I suggest, is an ethical-aesthetic project of self-fashioning and self-cultivation. The net result is an interpretation of teaching as an ethical-aesthetic practice of the self, one that is in concert with the interpretation of Montaigne's writing of the Essays as a similar practice of the self. In order to build this case, I employ Michel Foucault's fourfold schema of ethical subjectivity, mapping that schema onto 'On Educating Children', so as to reveal a unique pedagogy of self-formation-a pedagogy that works as much upon the self of the teacher as it does the self of the student. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following paper explores the concepts of reflective functioning, metacognition (Main et al. in Adult attachment scoring and classification systems. Regents of the University of California, Berkeley, ), and mentalization (Fonagy and Target in Mind to mind: Infant research, neuroscience and psychoanalysis. Other Press, New York, ; Fonagy et al. in Affect regulation, mentalization and the development of the self. Other Press, New York, ). Using an extended case illustration, the author demonstrates how she uses the clinical process to develop more mature reflective and mentalization capacities with a client through dream analysis, identification of affect states, therapeutic ruptures and mutual play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there continues to be a proliferation in the number of studies conducted on various aspects of distance education, we are often left with little understanding of the holistic planning and effects of it. This paper draws lessons learned from the literature on distance education over the past five years. This review did not seek to be exhaustive in presenting the findings of every study, but instead focuses on specific instruction we can take from past research at the institutional, faculty, and student levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the application of concepts of normal adolescence pioneered by Offer and colleagues to the study of gay and lesbian youth. Adolescent development among this population demonstrates remarkable historical variability along the lines of generation-cohort, revealing the utility of a life-course approach to the study of normal adolescence. Concepts of normal adolescence appear to shift with changing narratives of identity for sexual minority youth. We contrast two narratives of gay youth identity development that have emerged since the inception of substantive research programs on gay adolescence: (1) the narrative of struggle and success that came to dominate the literature in the 1980s and 1990s and (2) the narrative of emancipation that has emerged from the work of Savin-Williams and others who argue for a recognition of the diversity of adolescent development for this population. In relating this contrast to Offer’s seminal contributions to the study of adolescence, we suggest that the most normative feature of human development, particularly during adolescence, is its connection to discourses of identity through the formation of personal narratives that anchor the life course and provide meaning to conceptions of self-development. The example of shifting narratives of gay youth identity development is meant to exemplify this characteristic feature of human development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schools can offer a secure and personally meaningful environment which facilitates self development, as well as academic and social competence. The purpose of this article is to present a point of view about the meaning of schooling experience, particularly that of students and teachers. There is a need to extend and deepen understandings of the human context of education which significantly influences the meaning of school experience. The authors of this paper, an educator and a clinician, have come together around their shared commitment to furthering the growth of children and adolescents, and their common conviction that the complexities of contemporary schooling require a sharing of professional knowledge and insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychoanalytic theorists have noted a particular dynamic in the mother-infant relationship in which the emotional needs of the mother predominate. When this situation occurs, the emotional needs of the infant may go unmet, resulting in impaired self-development. Through an integration of the ideas of mainstream psychoanalytic theorists and feminist psychoanalytic thinkers, this paper proposes the idea that, because of the intensity of the mother-daughter relationship, this dynamic may be more prevalent between mothers and daughters than between mothers and sons. A mother-daughter relationship is described in which the mother comes to depend on her daughter for emotional attunement and response, and the mother's selfobject needs predominate. As a consequence, the daughter is unable to develop a cohesive sense of self and experiences difficulty in achieving separation. Two clinical reports are presented to illustrate the way in which this mother-daughter dynamic manifests itself in the patient's life and in the therapeutic relationship. A negative transference dynamic is described resulting from these patients' fear of duplicating their relationship with their mothers in the therapeutic relationship by having to meet the selfobject needs of the therapist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that phenomenological insights regarding selfhood are relevant to the informed consent process in the treatment of depression using electro-convulsive therapy (ECT). One of the most significant side-effects associated with ECT is retrograde amnesia. Unfortunately, the current informed consent model does not adequately appreciate the full extent in which memory loss disturbs lived-experience. Through the philosophy of Merleau-Ponty, it is possible to appreciate the way in which memory loss affects a person’s self-experience, with emphasis given to one’s pre-reflective and embodied, relationship with things in the world. This paper aims to demonstrate that proper informed consent should acknowledge the extent to which repeated ECT treatments affect a patient’s sense self. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]