The growth of online learning within education has corresponded to an increase in use of asynchronous discussion. Asynchronous discussion is a form of interaction that is mediated rather than directed, and is characterized by a time lag in the interactions between discussants. In this paper we conducted a brief narrative review of the literature on asynchronous discussion. We argue, initially, that discussion is necessary, but not sufficient, for successful pedagogic outcomes-especially in the case of online learning. We identified areas of agreement within the literature on what can be considered the key factors for successful asynchronous discussion.

Professional insecurity is a long‐standing concern within HR, with claims to expertise seen as critical to credibility. Considering HR as an epistemic community and drawing on the identity work literature, we examine an identity threat to, and subsequent response by, a training and development (T&D) team. Based on ethnographic exposure to their practice, we explore how team members experience the threat and follow their attempts to re‐establish their position in the local epistemic community, the HR department. We examine both individual and collective identity work, considering how both the identity threat and subsequent responses are embedded within T&D and HR practice more broadly. Through this analysis, we offer academic insight on the nature of HR practice and the construction of claims to expertise.

The rating of English words and their Welsh equivalents provided the opportunity to compare subjective ratings in two languages as well as the opportunity to compare ratings in a deep and a shallow orthography (English and Welsh, respectively). Four variables-age of acquisition (AOA),familiarity, concreteness, and imageability-were rated. AOAand imageability emerged as the two most important extralingual variables (r = .8 and.73, respectively). Although the patterns of ratings were generally consistent within and between languages, some differences did emerge when these patterns were compared with those from other studies. Using similar instructions to rate familiarity and AOAresulted in a low correlation in English (r = -.5) and a high correlation in Welsh (r = -.84). The mean ratings for familiarity, concreteness, and imageability were higher in Welsh than in English (5.23 vs. 3.35, 5.46 vs. 4.41, and 5.29 vs. 4.38, respectively). Both ofthese findings are explained in terms of differences in orthographic depth, and it is suggested that Welsh may be a more imageable language than English.The majority of work on word recognition and production has taken place in the English language with monolingual subjects. In the past decade, however, research on word recognition and production has been proceeding in languages other than English, as well as with bilinguals. A developing bilingual literature has begun to focus on cognitive and psycholinguistic issues (see, e.g., Boyce, Browman, & Goldstein, 1987; Caramazza & Brones, 1979; Gerard & Scarborough, 1989). In particular, the work of de Groot and others (see, e.g., de Groot, 1992; de Groot, Dannenburg, & van Hell, 1994; de Groot & Nas, 1991) has begun to develop a strong theoretical foundation for bilingual word recognition based on shared conceptual representations of words. Bilingualism potentially presents some of the strongest challenges--outside ofmultilingualism-to existing theories of lexical processing, which are based on monolingual research. At the same time, it has the potential to present powerful evidence in support of these theories.A related line of developing research compares word recognition and production in deep and shallow orthographies; such a comparison allows an important variable in word recognition-orthography-to be manipulated (see, e.g., Frost, 1994; Frost, Katz, & Bentin, 1987; Katz & Feldman, 1983). A deep orthography is one in which the spelling-to-sound rules are inconsistent. That is, a This study was based in part on an MSc (Econ) dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the MSc degree at the University of Wales College ofCardiff. The research was supported by Grants K00429413158 and R0042953438I from the Economic and Social Research Council. I would like to thank Diane Ellis and C. Barry for their help and support during the research. Thanks are also extended to the two reviewers of this paper for their comments and suggestions. Correspondence should be addressed to W.1. Fear, School of Psycholog...

International audiencePatient Safety is a global institution in the field largely assumed to have emerged following the publication of To Err Is Human by the Institute of Medicine in 1999. In this paper we demonstrate that Patient Safety has been constructed as an institution separately in the practice of anaesthesia since 1954 and in hospitalised care since 1964. The publication of To Err was, in fact, only one of a number of later field configuring events. We use Bruner's (1991) theory of narrative to frame the institution building process which we term deliberative instauration in recognition of the historic literature on the subject. We further link the process of institution building to Vygotsky's theory of social mediation and the use of artefacts in relation to the object of intended action. We conclude that a narrative can be understood as both an artefact and a process used in the social construction of institutions by professional psychological collectives (in this case physicians)

Stories are ubiquitous in organizations and play an important role in all aspects of organizing. Patient Stories have come to prominence in health care in a number of different forms. In Wales, they have been used as one element of a large-scale organizational development program, the 1000 Lives Campaign. The purpose of the Patient Stories was to bring about learning and organizational change at the board level. Using Lakoff and Johnson's theory of metaphor, I deconstructed the Patient Stories being presented to the board. I found that the stories were being used as a vehicle to present the Uniqueness Story to the board. The Uniqueness Story highlighted the value and worth of nursing and was a means of attracting and maintaining resources. This led to the understanding that there was a story behind the stories that can be explained using the original theory of metaphor. The implication is that if the Uniqueness Story is presented through the vehicle of the Patient Story, it assumes the validity of an accepted truth claim.