Being a successful and valuable peer reviewer

Purpose – The purpose of this editorial is to announce the winners of the EJM Reviewer of the Year awards, and also to make some observations about successful and effective practice in reviewing scholarly work. Design/methodology/approach – The authors draw from their own experience as reviewers, authors, and editors to provide a set of considerations for those involved in the review process. Findings – The authors propose a set of guidelines for reviewers who wish to make the most of their role in the scientific method. Research limitations/implications – These thoughts are preliminary, and are drawn from personal experiences rather than a wide-ranging survey of stakeholders. Practical implications – Marketing researchers should ensure that they understand their role in the scholarly reviewing process, and that they provide timely and constructive comments on their areas of expertise. Originality/value – This piece should offer marketing researchers considerable value in the context of their own efforts, both as authors and reviewer.

The 'Healthy Passport' intervention with older people in an English urban environment:effects of incentives and peer-group organisers in promoting healthy living

This paper reports the evaluation of the effectiveness of incentives (viz. points and prizes) and of peer-group organisers ('older people's champions') in the outcomes of a health-improvement programme for people aged 50 + years in a multi-ethnic district of the West Midlands, England. Health promotion activities Were provided, and adherence, outcome variables and barriers to adherence were assessed over six months, using a `passport' format. Those aged in the fifties and of Asian origin Were under represented, but people of Afro-Caribbean origin were well represented and proportionately most likely to stay in the project. Those of greater age and With more illness were most likely to drop out. There were significant improvements in exercise, diet and the uptake of influenza vaccines and eyesight tests, but slighter improvements in wellbeing. Positive outcomes related to the incentives and to liking the format. The number of reported barriers was associated with lower involvement and lack of change, as was finding activities too difficult, the level of understanding, and transport and mobility problems, but when these were controlled, age did not predict involvement. Enjoying the scheme was related to positive changes, and this was associated with support from the older people's champions.

Peer mentoring in Higher Education:a reciprocal route to student success

This paper provides an introduction to the findings of a large HEFCE/Paul Hamlyn-sponsored project, which aimed to investigate and analyse the value of peer mentoring in facilitating a successful transition into higher education.

Peer mentoring works!

This report draws on the findings of a three year study into peer mentoring conducted at 6 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), 5 of which were in the UK, 1 of which was in Norway. Following a multiple case-study design, quantitative and qualitative research was conducted in collaboration with the project partners. The research findings provide empirical evidence that peer mentoring works! In particular the report provides: - An Executive Summary outlining the main project findings - A synopsis of the relevant literature – and a link to a much larger literature review undertaken at the beginning of the study - A working conceptual framework and set of research questions - An overview and rationale of the methodological approach and tools - Evidence of the value of peer mentoring in promoting a ‘smooth’ transition into university - Evidence that peer mentoring works by providing the means by which new students can access peer support in both social and academic spheres throughout their first year - Identification of the main challenges of peer mentoring - Evidence of the manner in which writing peer mentoring works by providing bespoke help for individual students - A discussion section in which a new approach to peer mentoring, Transition+, is proposed. The report concludes with recommendations for: Higher Education Institutions: Students: Policy Makers: and, Individuals within HEIs wishing to establish peer mentoring.

Peer mentoring works! How peer mentoring enhances student success in Higher Education:evaluation toolkit

This toolkit, published by the HEA, provides colleagues across the Sector with the practical and methodological tools to empirically evaluate peer mentoring and tutoring. This evaluation kit provides two data collection tools that may be adopted and adapted to meet institutional requirements. The first of these is a survey, developed out of the original survey used in the Peer Mentoring Works Project. Some questions have been added as a result of reflexive application of colleagues and students input as the project has progressed. The second part of the toolkit comprises a qualitative interview guide. This guide is similar to the one used in the research, but again it has been further developed as a result of the project. It may be adapted for use in focus groups or one-to-one interviews. The final document within the kit is a sample consent form.

Peer mentoring works! Institutional manual

Institutional guidance and recommendations pertaining to peer mentoring

Peer mentoring and experiential learning:the pathway to success

An analysis of the value of peer mentoring as an experiential learning approach

Writing for success:mentoring as a pedagogical tool – a cross- institutional study

The prominent position given to academic writing across contemporary academia is reflected in the substantive literature and debate devoted to the subject over the past 30 years. However, the massification of higher education, manifested by a shift from elite to mass education, has brought the issue into the public arena, with much debate focusing on the need for ‘modern-day' students to be taught how to write academically (Bjork et al., 2003; Ganobcsik-Williams, 2006). Indeed, Russell (2003) argued that academic writing has become a global ‘problem' in Higher Education because it sits between two contradictory pressures (p.V). On one end of the university ‘experience' increasing numbers of students, many from non-traditional backgrounds, enter higher education bringing with them a range of communication abilities. At the other end, many graduates leave university to work in specialised industries where employers expect them to have high level writing skills (Ashton, 2007; Russell, 2003; Torrence et al., 1999). By drawing attention to the issues around peer mentoring within an academic writing setting in three different higher education Institutions, this paper makes an important contribution to current debates. Based upon a critical analysis of the emergent findings of an empirical study into the role of peer writing mentors in promoting student transition to higher education, the paper adopts an academic literacies approach to discuss the role of writing mentoring in promoting transition and retention by developing students' academic writing. Attention is drawn to the manner in which student expectations of writing mentoring actually align with mentoring practices - particularly in terms of the writing process and critical thinking. Other issues such as the approachability of writing mentors, the practicalities of accessing writing mentoring and the wider learning environment are also discussed.

Peer mentoring in higher education:a literature review

A review of the literature in the area of peer mentoring.

Peer and friend influences on children's eating

Peers and friends are perceived as important role models for the formation of children's attitudes and behaviours. A wealth of research has aimed to establish the contribution of peers and friends to children's developing eating behaviours, and their attitudes towards eating. This review describes and evaluates such research. Experimental research examining peer modelling of food consumption and liking is reviewed, and several individual child factors that are suggested to make children more or less receptive to peer and friend influences are discussed. The influence of children's perceptions of their peers' and friends' eating behaviours upon their own eating practices is also explored. The benefits of future longitudinal research to improve understanding of peer and friend influences on children's eating are emphasized. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A multihop peer-communication protocol with fairness guarantee for IEEE 802.16-based vehicular networks

Wireless-communication technology can be used to improve road safety and to provide Internet access inside vehicles. This paper proposes a cross-layer protocol called coordinated external peer communication (CEPEC) for Internet-access services and peer communications for vehicular networks. We assume that IEEE 802.16 base stations (BS) are installed along highways and that the same air interface is equipped in vehicles. Certain vehicles locating outside of the limited coverage of their nearest BSs can still get access to the Internet via a multihop route to their BSs. For Internet-access services, the objective of CEPEC is to increase the end-to-end throughput while providing a fairness guarantee in bandwidth usage among road segments. To achieve this goal, the road is logically partitioned into segments of equal length. A relaying head is selected in each segment that performs both local-packet collecting and aggregated packets relaying. The simulation results have shown that the proposed CEPEC protocol provides higher throughput with guaranteed fairness in multihop data delivery in vehicular networks when compared with the purely IEEE 802.16-based protocol.

Tackling transition! Peer mentoring in engineering education:a UK perspective

This paper builds on previous work (Clark, 2009; Clark & Andrews 2011, 2014) to continue the debate around a seemingly universal question…“How can educational theory be applied to engineering education in such a way so as to make the subject more accessible and attractive to students? It argues that there are three key elements to student success; Relationships, Variety & Synergy (RVS). By further examining the purposefully developed bespoke learning and teaching approach constructed around these three elements (RVS) the discourse in this paper links educational theory to engineering education and in doing so further develops arguments for the introduction of a purposefully designed pedagogic approach for use in engineering education.