Reading Group Research Articles

Cognitive processes in EFL learners' reading comprehension: A comparative analysis of WhatsApp and traditional group-driven reading

WhatsApp (WA) has become increasingly popular in second language (L2) instructional practices, primarily for assessing L2 learners’ outcomes. Despite this popularity, there remains a significant gap in the literature regarding well-documented inquiries into the cognitive processes and reading comprehension of L2 learners. This study aimed to explain L2 learners’ reading comprehension abilities, and explore their cognitive processes between L2 learners who were taught using WA reading groups and those taught using the traditional group-driven reading approach. A mixed quantitative using an experimental design with 32 learners (12 males and 20 females) and a qualitative design was applied to address the two research purposes. The study results illustrated that learners' cognitive process in the WA reading group was effective, and their reading comprehension scores were higher than the traditional reading group. The effective cognitive strategies were visualized from learners’ WA chat histories. The WA reading group's cognitive process involved content discussion, self-reflection, and interpretation during online reading activities. They did not discuss from word to passage, but they tended to discuss the text's content and logical flow without finding the same difficult word for all group members. Conversely, the traditional reading group cognitive processes were less effective since the group member roles were not identified, such as all learners starting to find similar unfamiliar words and then discussing them again before interpreting the content of the texts. Study limitations and pedagogical implications from the study are adequately discussed.

Prevention of post-spinal anaesthesia hypotension in caesarean delivery using delayed supine positioning - A randomised controlled trial.

Maternal hypotension is a common and dangerous consequence after a subarachnoid block for a caesarean section. Combining pharmacological methods such as norepinephrine infusion, ondansetron and non-pharmacological methods in delayed supine positioning better impacts the maternal haemodynamic profile. The present study assessed the benefits and adverse effects of combining pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods in hypotension prophylaxis. This randomised controlled trial was conducted at Cairo University Hospital's obstetric theatre from January to October 2020. The study included 85 parturients who were randomised to two groups. Group Sitting was left seated for 2 min after injection, and Group Control was made to lie down in the supine position immediately after the subarachnoid block. Both groups received prophylactic intravenous norepinephrine infusion, in addition to an ondansetron bolus, before surgery. Patients' systolic blood pressure (SBP) from intrathecal injection until delivery of the foetus, was documented. The Sitting group's SBP (122 (14) mmHg) till delivery was statistically higher than the Control group's readings (114 (10) mmHg) (P = 0.004). The Sitting group's intraoperative SBP values were often greater than the Control group values. In addition, the Sitting group had a reduced hypotension incidence and a lower rate of ephedrine use than the other group, but bradycardia incidence was comparable between both groups. In elective caesarean delivery, combining pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods achieve better results regarding maternal hypotension, vasopressor consumption, nausea and vomiting, and foetal outcomes.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN TEACHING ACADEMIC WRITING: THE EXPERIENCE OF A FACULTY READING GROUP

Professional development in academic writing in English can be challenging for university instructors in non-English speaking countries. These challenges may be caused by a lack of experts in the field to conduct professional development, budgeting issues, access to training, and motivating and meeting the needs of faculty who may already be overburdened by high teaching loads. In this article, the authors describe conducting a year-long reading group focused on professional development in the teaching of academic writing. The goal of the group was to advance participants’ understanding of how to teach academic writing. To achieve the goal, the group was designed to increase awareness of writing pedagogy theories, construct a clearer understanding of the concept of academic writing, and critically examine current practices in teaching academic writing within the context of higher education in Russia. The authors describe the design, facilitation, and outcomes of the group. They also consider the benefits and limitations of engaging in this form of professional development. Finally, they offer implications for continuous professional development for university language instructors in a collaborative environment.

Latin American formal consensus on the indications for the surgical treatment of massive and irreparable rotator cuff tears

ObjectivesTo implement the Formal Consensus Method among a group of experts in shoulder surgery in Latin America, in order to establish appropriate indications for the surgical treatment of massive and irreparable rotator cuff injuries. MethodsThe Formal Consensus Method was used to develop surgical treatment recommendations for massive and irreparable rotator cuff tears (MIRCT). Three independent groups of experts in shoulder surgery were confirmed. The steering group conducted a systematic literature review and constructed a voting matrix consisting of 348 clinical scenarios. The rating group, composed of 15 members, rated each scenario on two occasions: first anonymously and then during an in-person discussion meeting. The median and voting ranges were used to classify each scenario as inappropriate, uncertain, or appropriate for each surgical technique. Finally, the reading group, consisting of 10 surgeons, reviewed, evaluated and rated the recommendations derived from the detailed analysis of the voting grids. ResultsThe main finding of the study reveals a high percentage (70%) of clinical scenarios in which consensus was achieved regarding the appropriateness or inappropriateness of different surgical alternatives for the treatment of massive and irreparable rotator cuff injuries. Through a detailed analysis of the voting grids, a total of 20 recommendations were elaborated concerning the appropriateness of various surgical techniques in addressing irreparable rotator cuff tears. ConclusionsThe indications for the operative treatment of MIRCT were determined based on expert consensus and the best available evidence, they seek to provide guidance on the appropriateness of various surgical techniques for different clinical scenarios. Level of evidenceV.

Quantitative methods for group bibliotherapy research: a pilot study

Background Bibliotherapy is under-theorized and under-tested: Its purposes and implementations vary widely, and the idea that ‘reading is good for you’ is often more assumed than demonstrated. One obstacle to developing robust empirical and theoretical foundations for bibliotherapy is the absence of analytical methods capable of providing sensitive yet replicable insights into complex textual material. This pilot study offers a proof-of-concept for new quantitative methods including VAD (valence–arousal–dominance) modelling of emotional variance and doc2vec modelling of linguistic similarity. Methods VAD and doc2vec modelling were used on conjunction with qualitative coding to analyse transcripts of reading-group discussions plus the literary texts being discussed, from two reading groups each meeting weekly for six weeks (including 9 participants [5 researchers (3 authors, 2 collaborators), 4 others] in Group 1, and 8 participants [2 authors, 6 others] in Group 2). Results In-text–discussion similarity was inversely correlated with emotional volatility in the group discussions (arousal: r = -0.25; p = ns; dominance: r = 0.21; p = ns; valence: r = -0.28; p = ns). Enjoyment or otherwise of the texts was less significant than other factors in shaping the significance and potential benefits of participation. (Texts with unpleasant or disturbing content that strongly shaped subsequent discussions of these texts were still able to sponsor ‘healthy’ discussions of this content.) Conclusions Our methods and findings offer for the field of bibliotherapy research both new possibilities for hypotheses to test, and viable ways of testing them. In particular, the use of natural language processing methods and word norm data offer valuable complements to intuitive human judgement and self-report when assessing the impact of literary materials. We also share observations on facilitation protocols, interpretative practices, and how our group reading model differs from other trials of group reading for wellbeing.

Streamlining remote nanopore data access with slow5curl.

As adoption of nanopore sequencing technology continues to advance, the need to maintain large volumes of raw current signal data for reanalysis with updated algorithms is a growing challenge. Here we introduce slow5curl, a software package designed to streamline nanopore data sharing, accessibility, and reanalysis. Slow5curl allows a user to fetch a specified read or group of reads from a raw nanopore dataset stored on a remote server, such as a public data repository, without downloading the entire file. Slow5curl uses an index to quickly fetch specific reads from a large dataset in SLOW5/BLOW5 format and highly parallelized data access requests to maximize download speeds. Using all public nanopore data from the Human Pangenome Reference Consortium (>22 TB), we demonstrate how slow5curl can be used to quickly fetch and reanalyze raw signal reads corresponding to a set of target genes from each individual in large cohort dataset (n = 91), minimizing the time, egress costs, and local storage requirements for their reanalysis. We provide slow5curl as a free, open-source package that will reduce frictions in data sharing for the nanopore community: https://github.com/BonsonW/slow5curl.

Impersonal Forms of Togetherness: Finding Ways to (Not) Belong Through Reading Groups

Impersonal Forms of Togetherness: Finding Ways to (Not) Belong Through Reading Groups

Engaged and insurgent scholarship: a reflection

This article is a rejoinder to the special issue that celebrates and honours my life as a scholar-activist. Rather than directly responding to the articles, the rejoinder traces my intellectual and political development from growing up in Cala, a small village town where I was born in the Eastern Cape, to how I ended up being the engaged and insurgent scholar that all the contributors proclaim me to be. The key point is that my entry into the academic world and where I am now can be traced to my involvement in organic, community-based reading and study groups in Cala and beyond, thus underscoring an almost seamless continuity in my intellectual and political work. Related to this is a reminder that rigorous intellectual activity does not happen only in the academy. None of the activists in our study groups was an academic. The flow of knowledge is not one-directional, where knowledge generated from the academic is transmitted to the wider world. Academics should accept that there is a lot they can learn from intellectual activities taking place outside the academy. Hence the importance of greater collaboration between university-based academics and intellectuals who are doing serious work outside the academy. Finally, this rejoinder is a clarion call to academics for engaged and insurgent scholarship: making a connection between their scholarly pursuits and the struggle for social and economic justice. The call is not about academics and intellectuals acting for and on behalf of the downtrodden, but rather for academics to conduct rigorous research using the abundant resources in academic institutions and feed its outcomes back in intelligible forms to the wider society as a way of developing the agency of the downtrodden to lead struggles for emancipating not only themselves, but society at large.

How to set up and run a Bad Bugs Bookclub group.

The Bad Bugs Bookclub is a public engagement initiative that enables scientists (microbiologists) and non-scientists to discuss the role of infectious disease and microorganisms in novels of fiction. The bookclub began in 2009, but since 2020, the meetings have taken place online, enabling international membership and occasional author participation. The bookclub has been shown, through peer-reviewed publications, to have impact and value to its members. For each book (the number now exceeds 100), a reading guide (questions to provoke discussion) and a meeting report (narrative of the discussion) were produced. Previously hosted on a website, the reading guides from this rich archive and resource are now presented alongside this paper, which provides tips on how to run a similar reading group.

Disciplining Subjectivities and Sensing Time at a US University

Abstract Informed by new materialism as well as Stefano Harney and Fred Moten’s concept of the undercommons, this article is a philosophical investigation of the feelings of time upon disciplined bodies and subjectivities in the university. Drawing from the author’s experience while participating in an anomalous reading group, this mode of inquiry is reflective and interpretive, mirroring the personal nature of sensation. The article first turns to Foucault’s analysis of how time disciplines the subject, followed by a discussion of the university’s perceptions of time. Finally, a sense of “useless” time is explored in terms of the undercommons to disrupt temporally disciplined bodies. Attention to the different sensations of time encountered – fast, slow, and timeless – demonstrates how, in turn, those same feelings can generate strategies to counteract the temporal constraints imposed by the managerial and neoliberal university.

THE EDUCATIONAL ROLE OF LIBRARIES IN THE GRECO-ROMAN CIVILIZATION AND THE FORMATION OF THE SOCIAL CHARACTER OF READING

The paper delves into the interplay between the history of books, the evolution of libraries, and reading habits in the Greco-Roman world. It examines how literary production and reading practices were influenced by social and cultural conditions, shaping the relationship between readers and literature. By exploring book production, library institutions, and reading attitudes of that era, it becomes apparent how reading literature not only requires but also enhances linguistic, social, and cognitive skills, thus impacting overall quality of life. This historical perspective underscores the educational role of libraries as hubs for reading, fostering culture, and emphasizing the communal aspect of reading. It suggests that the notion of reading groups as interpretive communities, as we understand them today, has deep historical roots, catering to individuals' mental needs and serving societal functions within each collective.

초등학생용 마음읽기 향상 집단상담 프로그램 개발 및 효과성 검증

This study was conducted to examine whether a group counseling program to improve mind-reading was effective in improving mind-reading and peer relationships in elementary school children. First, after implementing the mind reading improvement group counseling program developed in this study, dependent samples t-test was conducted for each of the experimental and control groups. As a result, the experimental group had statistically significant mean differences in interactive reading and mind reading, but the control group did not show significant results. Next, analysis of covariance and multivariate analysis of covariance were conducted to examine whether this program was purely effective in improving mind reading and peer relationships. As a result, the experimental group significantly improved than the control group in both mind reading and its subfactors, namely interaction reading and higher order thought reading, but no significant results were found in peer relationships. Implications and suggestions were presented based on the research results.

Development by “simple consensus” of a tool to assist the activation of the helicopter at SAMU 14

The main objective of this work was to develop a tool to assist the activation of a helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) for the SAMU 14. We opted for a methodology based on "guidelines of good professional practice." Simple consensus was used. A multidisciplinary working group (pilots, medical regulation assistants, doctors) was created. Subgroup meetings (pilots, medical regulation assistants, doctors) developed subparts of the tool. The assembly of the tool's subparts was reviewed by the working group and then by an independent reading group. This work enabled the consensual creation of a tool to support the use of the helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) for the SAMU 14. It is composed of maps, a protocol, and a written procedure of activation. This methodology by "simple consensus" allowed the development of a tool rationalizing the activation of the helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) for the SAMU 14. It was the first work of this type within the SAMU 14. This simple and transposable methodology could be used in other emergency centers or for other multidisciplinary protocols.

Classics, illness narratives, or fantasy?

What kinds of fictional literature are most suitable for use in bibliotherapy? And what functions may reading and talking about this literature serve for those participating in a bibliotherapeutic reading group? These questions are highly relevant to researchers who carry out scholarly studies and to librarians who work with bibliotherapy in practice. However, very little empirical research has been conducted from a participant perspective. The aim of this study is to deepen the knowledge of these questions by examining them in relation to a bibliotherapeutic reading group for women with feelings of sadness after giving birth. The material used in the study consists of participant observations of ten group meetings and in-dept interviews with the participants. The analysis shows that participants benefited most from reading and discussing genres that have not traditionally been used for bibliotherapy, such as fantasy and realistic fiction that thematize issues other than the participants’ own problems or health concerns. Some of the bibliotherapeutic functions highlighted by participants can be discerned in recent user-centered research, while others, such as the intellectual function, are quite new. This study contributes new knowledge as it problematizes notions of literature selection found in previous research and presents new functions of bibliotherapy. It is thus highly relevant to both researchers and librarians. Additional similar studies that are more extensive should be carried out to further broaden knowledge of literature selection bibliotherapy.

“The poem has stayed with me”: Continued processing and impact from Shared Reading experiences of people living with cancer

Encounters with literary texts can lead to deeply cherished memories, some of which readers may ascribe powerful and enduring functions to in terms of acquired life insights, behavioral changes, consolation, and well-being. The present article charts how texts relate to readers’ experiences and how these text-experiences are related to how they are remembered. In the context of a Shared Reading group for people living with cancer, a multiple-case study was conducted, tracing examples of enduring impressions and how these are perceived as transformative and valuable resources for the participants in coping with their disease. Qualitative and quantitative data from four readers were collected at different points in time and were analyzed through the grounded theory method and a temporality framework. The results clarify how, in the long run, literature, and in particular Shared Reading, can affect personal growth and resilience.

Reading America, Reading Rodriguez: Exploring American Literature at an English Prison Book Group

This article details a cutting-edge Knowledge Exchange initiative which advanced the ongoing partnership between the University of Hull and HMP Hull, and stemmed from the annual BAAS conference, held in Hull in April 2022. The purpose of the article is to explore the value of critiquing US culture in a nonacademic setting and the extent to which a prison reading group presents a productive opportunity for so doing. Our research analyses the reception of a number of texts discussed in an American-themed book club hosted in HMP Hull, with a particular focus upon the responses of prison learners to the literary works of gang-member-turned-best-selling-author Luis J. Rodriguez.

Girls in Pieces: An Exploration of Ethnic Identity in Two Anglo-Latina University Students

The multiracial population is the fastest-growing demographic in American society, increasing at three times the rate of the population as a whole. Because the majority of multiracial and multiethnic individuals are children and adolescents, the issue has important implications for the future of American schools. Using Rockquemore and Brunsma’s racial identity taxonomy, I analyzed the interview and reading group response data of two Anglo-Latina students at a large research university in the mid-Atlantic region to determine which identity options they chose and how they experienced living as multiracial individuals in the USA. Emergent themes included the students’ identification with the fictional protagonist of Gabi, A Girl in Pieces, being assigned a racial identity by others that did not match their self-determined identity, a sense of loss, and the experience of racial discrimination.

Time distortion for short-form video users

Time distortion occurs when individuals exhibit either overestimation or underestimation of the duration of events or activities. Previous studies of the relations between media use and time distortion have mainly focused on video games or social media. Given the widespread use and unique characteristics of short-form videos, we aimed to explore the effects of short-form video use on time distortion through two empirical studies. In Study 1, we conducted a three-phase survey among 111 college students consisting of demographic information, subjectively estimated and objectively recorded daily short-form video use, and a general unrelated survey task. Students were then asked how much time they spent on the survey task. The results showed that short-form video use frequency significantly positively predicted the degree of overestimation of both daily short-form video use and time spent on the general survey task. In Study 2, we assigned 62 college students to one of two priming activities (15 min of TikTok or reading) and compared their duration perceptions of the 15-min priming activity and of a subsequent 15-min general academic task. The results showed that the TikTok group significantly overestimated the duration of both the priming activity and the subsequent academic task, and their frequency of daily short-form video use significantly positively predicted their degree of overestimation. However, the reading group demonstrated relatively accurate duration estimation with no time distortion. Our findings extend the cognitive models of time perception to the field of short-form video use and provide practical implications for intervention of short-form video overuse.

Readers matter: seven transactions with the visual, linguistic and material elements in a picture book

In this paper, we draw upon Rosenblatt’s transactional theory of reading to frame six readings of a picture book. The picture book, There’s a Ghost in This House by Oliver Jeffers, was selected for a children’s literature reading group which brought together literacy researchers and teacher educators to share their encounters with the text. The question “How did you read the book?” provoked us to examine how we had transacted with the text to generate interpretations. This work was presented at the “Stories that Matter” seminar alongside the other papers appearing in this special edition of the Australian Journal of Language and Literacy. In this paper, we highlight our own roles as readers encountering Jeffer’s book and reflect on our own responses as a way of explaining the multiple readings we present. We emphasise the place of intertextuality and intratextuality in reader response and argue that Rosenblatt’s transactional theory continues to be an important way of understanding what it means to read, including the reading of multimodal texts which combine linguistic, visual and material modes.

Virtual reality as a tool to explore multisensory processing before and after engagement in physical activity.

This pilot study employed a non-randomized control trial design to explore the impact of physical activity within a virtual reality (VR) environment on multisensory processing among community-dwelling older adults. The investigation compared both chronic (over 6 weeks) and acute effects of VR-based physical activity to a reading control group. The evaluation metrics for multisensory processing included audiovisual response time (RT), simultaneity judgments (SJ), sound-induced flash illusion (SIFI), and temporal order judgments (TOJ). A total of 13 older adults were provided with VR headsets featuring custom-designed games, while another 14 older adults were assigned to a reading-based control group. Results indicated that acute engagement in physical activity led to higher accuracy in the SIFI task (experimental group: 85.6%; control group: 78.2%; p = 0.037). Additionally, both chronic and acute physical activity resulted in quicker response times (chronic: experimental group = 336.92; control group = 381.31; p = 0.012; acute: experimental group = 333.38; control group = 383.09; p = 0.006). Although the reading group showed a non-significant trend for greater improvement in mean RT, covariate analyses revealed that this discrepancy was due to the older age of the reading group. The findings suggest that immersive VR has potential utility for enhancing multisensory processing in older adults. However, future studies must rigorously control for participant variables like age and sex to ensure more accurate comparisons between experimental and control conditions.