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Obtaining a doctoral degree requires acquisition of different types of skills and knowledge. The aim of this article is to explore multidisciplinary peer-mentoring groups (PMGs) facilitated by senior academics as a knowledge sharing practice in doctoral education. Drawing from interviews with participants of PMGs at a Finnish university, we found that the participants perceived that cultures and practices of doctoral education in departments and faculties, as well as limited support from supervisors might hinder knowledge sharing. They highlighted that a flat hierarchy and confidential atmosphere supported by the multidisciplinary group composition promoted knowledge sharing and emotional support. Based on these results, we argue that PMGs are a useful resource for facilitating knowledge sharing amongst doctoral researchers and thus have a capacity to benefit the individual as well as the organisation as a whole. peerReviewed

In contemporary working life, art-based initiatives are increasingly used in organizational training and development. For artists, this has created new employment opportunities as creative entrepreneurs who provide specialist services for workplaces. In this article, we study the dynamics of such encounters through the narrated accounts of training professionals. Our data come from a professional mentoring program where the working pairs of artists and consultants shared stories about their customer projects. By using conversation analysis as a method, we analyze the way stories are interactionally accomplished in peer group sessions of the program. In particular, we analyze how participants produce different versions of the narrated events, and by so doing, negotiate the questions of blame and accountability with regard to professional action. In conclusion, we discuss stories and storytelling as organizational practice through which the moral order and legitimacy of the program is sustained and the boundaries of the profession constructed.

Streaming Video-on-demand (SVOD) services are getting increasingly popular. Current research, however, lacks knowledge about consumers’ content decision processes and their respective influencing factors. Thus, the work reported on in this paper explores socio-technical interrelations of factors impacting content choices in SVOD, examining the social factors WOM, eWOM and peer mediation, as well as the technological influence of recommender systems. A research model based on the Theory of Reasoned Action and the Technology Acceptance Model was created and tested by an n = 186 study sample. Results show that the quality of a recommender system and not the social mapping functionality is the strongest influencing factor on its perceived usefulness. The influence of the recommender system and the influence of the social factors on the behavioral intention to watch certain content is nearly the same. The strongest social influencing factor was found to be peer mediation. peerReviewed

This article reviews research on the Finnish model of peer‐group mentoring (PGM). The theoretical foundation of the model is based on the constructivist theory of learning, the concept of autonomy in teaching profession, peer learning, and narrative identity work. The model has been disseminated nationwide in the educational sector to promote professional development of teachers and educational staff, mainly in primary and secondary education, but also in early childhood education and higher education. The thematic review is based on 46 peer‐reviewed publications about PGM in Finland in 2009–2019. Research has focused on the following main themes: (1) general aspects and characteristics of the implementation of the model; and (2) mentors’ and mentees’ experiences. The qualitative approach has been dominant in research. The studies show that both mentors and mentees find PGM a useful tool for individual professional learning and well‐being. Indirect influences have been reported about the development of work communities. The main challenges in applying the model are the lack of national agreement concerning the organization of PGM and allocation of mentors’ and mentees’ working time to PGM. It is concluded that PGM, as well as teachers’ professional development as a whole, should be seen as an integral part of the educational ecosystem. peerReviewed

This study was conducted to test whether the weight outcomes in an online social networking group were mediated by changes to psychological outcome measures in overweight and obese individuals, following a weight management programme delivered via Facebook. The data analysed in this study were collected during a three-armed, randomised, controlled clinical weight management trial conducted with overweight and obese adults over 24 weeks. Two intervention groups were given the same weight management programme: one within a Facebook group, along with peer support from other group members (the Facebook Group); the other group received the same programme in a pamphlet (the Pamphlet Group). A Control Group was given standard care. The primary outcome was weight; secondary outcomes included the following domains from self-reported questionnaires: energy intake and expenditure; psychological health, social relationships, physical health, quality of life, depression, anxiety, stress, health anxiety, happiness, as well as Facebook Group participants' opinion of this group. The Facebook Group experienced a reduction in their baseline weight measurement by week 24, significantly compared to the Control Group (p = .016). The Facebook Group recorded a significant increase in the psychological health domain during the trial (at week 12) relative to their baseline measurement, and significant compared to the Control Group (p = .022). Mediation analysis indicated a statistical trend, but not statistical significance, for psychological health as a mediator to weight loss in the Facebook Group. While both intervention groups showed significant changes in psychological outcome measures, the Facebook Group was the only group to experience statistically significant weight loss by the end of the 24 weeks. Therefore, an examination of other psychological and/or behavioural outcome measures undertaken in larger studies in the future may help to identify significant mediators to improved weight loss outcomes in online social networking groups.

Tässä julkaisussa kerrotaan vuosina 2017–19 toteutetun Verme2-hankkeen tuloksista. Se oli yksi Opettajankoulutuksen kehittämisohjelman kärkihankkeista, jotka käynnistettiin pääministeri Juha Sipilän hallituskaudella (2015–19). Hanke on jatkanut mentoroinnin kehittämistä aikaisemmin muodostuneessa valtakunnallisessa verkostossa, joka on soveltanut vertaisryhmämentorointia Suomessa vuodesta 2010 alkaen. Verme-verkostossa ovat olleet mukana kaikki suomalaiset opettajankoulutusta järjestävät yliopistot (8) ja ammatilliset opettajakorkeakoulut (5), ja sitä on koordinoinut Koulutuksen tutkimuslaitos. Lisäksi verkostossa on ollut kuntia ja koulutuksen järjestäjiä, jotka ovat osaltaan vastanneet vertaisryhmämentoroinnin toteutuksesta oppilaitoksissa. This publication presents the results of the Verme2 project implemented in 2017–2019. Verme2 was one of the key projects launched during the term of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s Government (2015–2019), implemented as part of the national Teacher Education Development Programme. The project has continued to develop mentoring in the previously formed national network, which has applied peer-group mentoring (PGM) in Finland since 2010. All Finnish universities that provide teacher education (8) and all Finnish vocational teacher education colleges (5) have been involved in the Verme network, coordinated by the Finnish Institute for Educational Research (FIER). In addition, the network has included municipalities and education providers also responsible for implementing PGM in educational institutions. nonPeerReviewed