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Although ethnicity and gender play a significant role in many types of social interaction, little research exists on their importance in mediation. An analysis of community mediation cases (N = 27,852) from New York state demonstrated that, consistent with predictions from criminal justice research, Whites were underrepresented in mediation relative to Blacks and Hispanics, and that females were more likely to participate in mediation as claimants than men. Both ethnicity and gender were related to the type of dispute, degree of violence, intimacy between disputants, source of referral, and mediation outcome. Additional analysis, taking into account source of referral, education, and income level of the claimant, did not fully account for the observed ethnic or gender differences. Results are discussed in terms of reasons why ethnic and gender differences exist in mediation, limitations of demographic data, and areas for future research.

Purpose – The purpose of this chapter is to consider the historical context of the gradual release model as it emerged following the early twentieth century emphasis on behaviorism as psychologists (and reading researchers) increasingly focused on cognition in the reading process. This “cognitive turn” in educational psychology was followed closely by a “social turn” with its focus on the socially constructed nature of texts, learning, and reading, particularly influenced by Vygotsky and work on scaffolding.

Design/methodology/approach – This chapter uses literature from the field to contextualize the gradual release of responsibility (GRR) model and to discuss research or practice chapters included in this edited volume.

Findings – This chapter described the transition from behaviorism to cognition to social construction as it applies to the reading process generally and to GRR in particular. It noted that this transition has required teachers to be more nimble and flexible than ever before, cautioned that the complexity of classroom life and the pressures on teachers can cause techniques such as GRR to be misused, and suggested ways to manage the group work which is central to social cultural approaches to literacy. And along the way it spotlighted the ever-widening range of applications of the GRR documented in the earlier chapters of the book.

Practical implications – The section in this chapter with most immediate practical implication is clearly the section on misuses of the GRR model. This section discusses some misuses of the model: neglecting explicit teaching; missing the middle (i.e., jump from explicit teaching directly to independent practice); and applying in an overly rigid manner.

Originality/value of paper – This chapter makes an original contribution to the field in providing a historical context for the gradual release model and for addressing the chapters in this edited collection. The authors also point to some areas for next steps forward as reminders to those applying the model.

On the verge of what has been hailed as the next technological revolution, the purpose of this paper is to examine scientific and popular definitions of the social robot, reflecting on how expert and lay spheres of knowledge interact. Drawing on social representations theory, this paper aims to elucidate how social robots are named and classified, and to examine the dynamics contributing to their definition.

Scientific and popular definitions of the social robot were investigated by conducting: a systematic review of relevant articles published from 2009 to 2015 in the International Journal of Social Robotics; an analysis of the definitions retrievable from the scientific literature using Google Scholar; and an assessment of the interest in the public sphere, and of the popular definitions retrievable online (by inputting “social robot” in Google Trends, and in Google).

Scientific definitions of the social robot adopt two strategies, one drawing on and merging previous definitions, the other proposing new, visionary, forward-looking definitions. Popular online definitions of social robots attribute new emotional, linguistic and social capabilities to their physical body.

The findings need to be confirmed by further research, given the limited size of the data sets considered, and the distortions in the data due to filters and the opacity of the online tools employed.

Both scientific and non-scientific definitions see social robots as being capable of interacting with and working for humans, but attribute them a different degree of (functional or full) autonomy. In future, any controversy over the connotation of social robots is likely to concern their sociality and autonomy rather than their functionality.

Northern Ireland is a society divided by political, national and religious identities. Between 1968 and 1998, there was a violent political conflict in which 3,700 people died. Throughout the conflict, many looked to schools to work to improve community relations, even though the school system itself was divided on largely religious grounds. This chapter looks at education interventions in Northern Ireland aimed at promoting conflict transformation, with a particular focus on the shared education work of the 2000s which is based on collaborative networks of schools from the different communities. The collaboration involved in the shared education initiative is based on a participatory approach which emphasises teacher-led innovation and locally tailored school partnerships. This is in contrast to the defining features of the Northern Ireland school system which has always had a hierarchist character, even when education reforms in the 1990s introduced market principles and school competition. This chapter analyzes education policy and practice in light of these frameworks and considers the potential tension between the shared education approach given the prevailing ethos of the Northern Ireland education system. It suggests that the consequences of this potential tension remain unclear.

This paper aims to demonstrate the transformative potential of school networks in divided societies, where separate schools often mirror wider ethnic divisions. It describes Shared Education in Northern Ireland, where networks are being utilised to change how Catholic and Protestant schools engage with one another. The concept of boundary crossing is used to frame how staff members build relationships and bridge distinct knowledge communities shaped by socio-cultural practices and identities.

A mixed-methods design was employed. Evidence is presented based on a social network analysis of teacher interactions within a Shared Education partnership of five primary schools in Northern Ireland.

The findings suggest that school networking can overcome systemic separation in divided societies and provide the infrastructure necessary to establish an alternative model for collegial engagement. The structural characteristics of the observed school network are discussed, including comments on its sustainability, the role of boundary-crossing relationships, the professional value for those involved and its transformative potential for society.

This paper provides a unique perspective on the application and utility of school networks for supporting the development of professional communities in challenging circumstances. It also presents valuable social network data on the structure and management of school networks.

This chapter describes how the anticipation of connected content relegates cognitive spacing, which opens the possibility for schema acquisition. Information organization does not simply involve putting new data into folders, but instead cognitively preparing for knowledge development.

Understanding information input and output is central to providing meaningful instructional opportunities. This chapter describes the three phrases of cognitive spacing: ready, set, and go.

Information organization does not simply involve putting new data into folders, but instead cognitively preparing for knowledge development. This is accomplished by ongoing reorganizations where new information, known information, and assumed information are evaluated against current stimuli. The subsequent shifts in understanding are the fundamental crux to instilling lifelong learning within students.

The importance of spacing theory in literacy development is significant to skill development and content acquisition.

The evaluation of website usability is the precondition and a critical step for website design and optimization. The purpose of this paper is to investigate and provide empirical evidence of the interrelationships between human physiological metrics and website usability. This study examines how eye-movement metrics and heart rate variability (HRV) evaluate website usability, and then affect users’ online surfing behavior.

A physiological measurement experiment is designed to collect participants’ physiological metrics. This paper proposes an objective measurement model for website usability, and partial least squares is used to analyze the measurement and structural models, based on data collected from 200 participants who had experienced online surfing at least four times.

The analysis supports partially or fully 28 of the 31 hypotheses formulated. The study reveals that human physiological metrics (i.e. fixation duration, fixation count, blink count, HRV) have a strong explanatory ability for website usability.

Data for this study were collected only from mainland China. Therefore, participants may have been influenced by Chinese cultures. The generalizability of this study may be enhanced by collecting data from more diverse samples and validating the model on different cultures.

This study contributes significantly to the industry by providing empirical evidence of the interrelationship between human physiological metrics and website usability. The findings also provide managers with valuable insight into better understanding of the nature of these interrelationships.

This study aims to highlight the post-COVID-19 trends in tourism education within the context of Transformational Learning Theory (TLT). This theory represents a transition in an individual's consciousness and the world beliefs and is usually applied in traditional educational system context. As the current educational system is altering and moving from traditional to digital classrooms, this chapter will explore the 10 phases of the transformative learning process in the upcoming educational trends. The study is conceptual and suggests that reformation of tourism education be adopted from the existing norms of TLT.

A six‐day negotiation simulation was developed from newspaper articles and interviews with elected officials. In this integrative bargaining exercise, participants assume the role of either the Richland Town Board or the River City Mayor's Office and attempt to resolve a conflict between the two governments. Several homeowners in the unincorporated town of Richland have had their wells fail and have asked to annex into River City. Richland officials want to stop such annexations and instead purchase water from River City. River City officials want to annex as much of Richland as possible and prevent it from incorporating. Both sides are provided with common information as well as confidential information. Using their information, they must negotiate over several days, seeking an agreement that addresses each side's interests and concerns.