...As the world moves into the second decade of the 21 st century, one of the major markers of this era is the rise and use of online communities. In particular, a paradigm called Web 2.0 describes recent technologies that focus on networking mass numbers of individuals into distinct communities over the Internet (O’Reilly, 2007). Social networking sites (SNS) are online communities designed to connect individuals to wider networks of relationships, and are one major example of Web 2.0 applications. Sites such as Facebook have exploded in membership. In a short period of 2007 – 2010, Facebook estimates that its membership has grown from 50 million to over 400 million users (Facebook, n.d.). Online social networks are now an integrated part of daily life and compel questions of how these media platforms affect human development, relationships, and interaction. Teenagers are among the most avid users of technology in general and social network sites in particular (Lenhart, Madden, Macgill, & Smith, 2007b). Recent reports find that youth spend nearly 10 hours per day using some form of technology, with socially networked media playing a large role in their daily lives (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010). New technologies are deeply intertwined with adult perceptions about teenage life. Mimi Ito and colleagues observe that, “Although today’s questions about ‘kids these days’ have a familiar ring to them, the contemporary version is somewhat unusual in how strongly it equates generational...
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...first present common features of qualitative research and review debates regarding research paradigms in the social sciences and humanities. I also discuss the role of triangulation and capturing participants’ insider or emic perspectives in qualitative research and highlight various data collection methods and ways of combining macro-level and micro-level analyses, particularly in ethnographic research. Ethical issues, difficulties obtaining informed consent in classroom research, and criteria for evaluating qualitative research are then considered. Three qualitative studies that have been deemed exemplary and meritorious by scholars in English language education are then presented and some common themes in current qualitative classroom research with ELLs are identified. The chapter concludes with directions for future qualitative research. Introduction Over the past 2 decades, research in language education, as in other academic disciplines, has witnessed a major shift in the types and methods of research that are accepted as valid, important, and useful. Whereas quantitative studies of a psychometric nature or involving (quasi-) experimental designs might previously have been viewed as more legitimate forms of research within education and the social sciences, rigorous...
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...The influence of social networking sites on high school students' social and academic development Dissertation Author: June Ahn Abstract: This dissertation examines the effects of social network sites on youth social and academic development. First, I provide a critical analysis of the extant research literature surrounding social network sites and youth. I merge scholarly thought in the areas of Internet studies, digital divides, social capital theory, psychological well-being, identity development, academic engagement, and educational technology to understand how researchers might examine new social technologies and youth. Second, I examine the question of digital divide, or whether particular teenage populations do not have access to online social networks. Using a nationally representative dataset from the Pew Internet & American Life study, I explore whether there are disparities in teenage access to social network sites. Third, I report a cluster-randomized trial that was designed to explore whether social network sites have a beneficial impact when used in high school classrooms. A total of 50 classrooms, and nearly 1,400 students were randomly assigned to use an experimental social network site. The results highlight the challenges and potential of this technology when applied to school contexts. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements i i List of Tables i v Abstract v Chapter 1 : Introduction 1 Chapter 2: The Effect of Social Network Sites on Adolescents’ Social...
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...Researchers have shown that a history of childhood adversity has been shown to increase the likelihood of one experiencing homelessness in adulthood. Through different studies, several key life events were commonly found in the history of homeless young adults. A history of sexual and or physical abuse, neglect, poor relationships with caregivers or parents and out of home placement were all reoccurring themes among the homeless population. With over 3.5 million Americans in any given year experience homelessness, it’s imperative to analyze and understand the causes of homelessness to ensure the services provided to them are effective. Additionally, having an understanding on the cause of homelessness can assist researchers...
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...Children’s Fashion. It has long been said that clothing present people’s lifestyles or class levels, but is it still true today ?If so, how do the styles of clothing convey change over the years? “Clothing disguises much of the poverty in the United States, and this may explain, in part, it is middle class image.”(Rothenberg, #186) The connection between fashion and social class is not only focused on adults but is also a big issue for kids. The issue with today’s children’s fashion affects their thinking of values, branding and social class. For children, the meaning of branding might be just one word, “cool”. How do children (from age 5-14) determine and chose their style of clothing? Is it from material, price or their parents? Their parents judge their appearance by using evaluative criteria; it may affect children’s clothing when they have enough income or knowledge to shop. Most of the time, people believe clothing makes or shows the class status because people like to discuss others’ styles and put them in the different catalog of class level. “With marketing of mass marketing of designer clothing and with shifts in the nation’s economy jobs from blue-collar to white-collar and pink-collar in the service sector, it is becoming creasing difficultly to distinguish class differences based on appearance.” (Ewen and Ewen, 1982)The basic principle of fashion is that high status individuals set fashion. Any assessments of clothing and fashion should include all class...
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...This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here with permission of the publisher for your personal use. Not for redistribution. See publisher’s website for the definitive published version. http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/09500693.asp Abstract This paper reports a qualitative study of the learning environment of a Year 11 Biology class. The research was originally framed in a constructivist epistemology, but was also informed by an emancipatory interest. The main methods used for data gathering were participant observation, interviewing, and a written response survey (CES, Tobin, 1993a). It was found that, even though the students viewed the class positively, and described themselves as highly motivated to learn, the level of cognitive engagement was affected by two interrelated factors: the control the teacher had over almost all activities, and student beliefs about learning in this context. The data suggests that both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation which could lead to deep involvement in learning are constrained by a preponderance of teacher-centred methods of instruction. A model is proposed relating intrinsic and extrinsic interest to cognitive engagement. It is concluded that more activities should be used which either implicitly or explicitly reinforce positive beliefs about the need for self-direction in learning. A personal perspective has been included in this paper to indicate the non-linearity of the development of theory. Introduction Most...
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...Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Poetics 39 (2011) 469–490 www.elsevier.com/locate/poetic Experiencing unemployment: The roles of social and cultural capital in mediating economic crisis ´ Virgılio Borges Pereira ˆ Departamento de Sociologia, Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto, Via Panoramica, ´ s/numero 4150-564 Porto, Portugal Available online 24 October 2011 Abstract The paper offers an engagement with economic issues, via an exploration of the recent crisis in Northern Portugal, to discuss the roles of social capital and cultural capital in the configuration of diverse experiences of unemployment. It focuses on changes over time and on contemporary everyday relations to identify such experiences. By means of a multiple correspondence analysis, patterns of sociability are discerned. Ethnographic material enables these patterns to be qualified and three main types of unemployment experience are identified, all centred on the idea of unemployment as a space of sociability. The case study elaborates on and qualifies research inspired by Bourdieu on methodological and theoretical grounds. It demonstrates the need to qualify statistical patterns emerging from MCA with refined qualitative material and indicates specific ways in which social and cultural capitals interact with the economic sphere in a particularly severe economic crisis. # 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction This paper puts forward an analysis of the experience of economic...
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...DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL VALUES AND CULTURAL PRACTICES Certain needs such as to make a living, the need for social organization, knowledge as well as learning, normative and metaphysical expression are common to all the people. As a result, the culture of a society not only acts as an instrument of cooperate development, but also as a basis of social values and cultural practice development. In addition, culture is not considered as being in the opposition to development, but rather as an idea that is continually changing as well as being created in relation to the changing social processes and it constitutes a common point of reference within the global development. The study examines how social values and cultural practices are shaped by age, class, ethnicity and gender. Social values and cultural practices shaped by age A study on the vast potential expansion of HIV epidemic as well as cultural impact in the sub-Saharan Africa reflects how ages shapes social values and cultural practices. Cultural practices that include large differences within the ages of men and women at marriage as well as along the period of postpartum abstinence have resulted into frequent extra-marital relations. However, such relationships have contributed to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. In order to respond to the spread of HIV/AIDS, the social adaptations have to include some profound changes within the sexual behaviours, child bearing and marriage customs. On the other hand, social values, norms...
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...Informal Online Learning Practices: Implications for Distance Education Fawn Winterwood The Ohio State University, USA fwinterwood@ehe.osu.edu Abstract This qualitative ethnographic study examines five American teenagers‟ historical and current digitally-mediated multiliteracy practices within digital popular culture. The participants included three male and two female students of a private high school in the Midwestern United States. The study is framed by the notion that literacy is a socially, culturally, and historically situated discursive construct rather than a purely individualized cognitive endeavor. This social constructivist theory of literacy emphasizes the social conditions necessary to navigate the economic, social, and political worlds of the 21st century. The purpose of the study was to explore the students‟ multiliteracy practices that they enact through their activities within digital popular culture. Data collection methods included synchronous interviews facilitated by video conferencing tools as well as observation of the participants‟ online activities and member checks conducted via email and instant messaging. The analytic strategy employed during this study was informed by Clarke‟s (2005) situational analysis method. The study‟s findings indicate that literacy practices in which the study participants have engaged through informal learning activities within digital youth culture have had a much greater impact on enabling them to cultivate the multimodal...
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...And I have realized as a result of my ethnographic research, all forms and shapes of diversity are important, and it does have an affect on the academic experience of all students. During an international students society meeting at Essex County Community college, I was able to see first hand why diversity was important to them.One of the members of this society stated, “I feel like I can relate to these people when I come here, I am so lucky to have found an organization like this where I can come in and be myself and feel good about it”, while another participant said, I just love it here, they make me feel like I am a part of a community that embrasses my uniqueness” It provided them with a sense of acceptance, a sense of security, opportunities to form new friendships, and a chance...
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... Theoretical Perspectives * Theories are never “set in stone”; they are always open to change as a result of new findings? * Children shape their world as it shapes them? * Cross-cultural research enables us to determine which aspects of development are universal and which are culturally influenced? * An experiment is the most definitive way to demonstrate that one event causes another? * The results of laboratory experiments may be less applicable to real life than experiments carried out in a home, school, or public setting? These are just a few of the interesting and important topics we will cover in this chapter. Here, we present an overview both of major theories of human development and of research methods used to study it. In the first part of the chapter, we explore major issues and theoretical perspectives that underlie much research in child development. In the remainder of the chapter, we look at how researchers gather and assess information so that, as you read further in this book, you will be better able to judge whether research findings and conclu- Perspective 1: Psychoanalytic Perspective 2: Learning Perspective 3: Cognitive Perspective 4: Contextual Perspective 5:...
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...Chapter 8 – Developing a brand equity measurement and management system * Indirect approach: assess potential sources of CBBE by identifying and tracking consumers’ brand knowledge. * Direct approach: assess the actual impact of brand knowledge on consumer response to different aspects of the marketing program. * Brand equity measurement system: set of research procedures designed to provide marketers with timely, accurate, and actionable info about brands so they can make the best possible tactical decisions in the short run and strategic decisions in the long run. * New accountability- return of marketing investment. * Measuring the long-term value of marketing in terms of both its full short term and long-term impact on consumers is crucial for accurately assessing ROI. Brand Audits * Brand audit: a comprehensive examination of a brand to discover its sources of brand equity. Assesses the health of the brand, and suggests ways to improve and leverage its equity. * 2 steps in a brand audit: brand inventory and brand exploratory. * Marketing audit: comprehensive systematic, independent and periodic examination of a company’s marketing environment, objectives, strategies, and activities with a view of determining problem areas and opportunities and recommending a plan of action to improve the company’s marketing performance. * Brand inventory: provides a current profile of how all the products and services sold by a company are marketed...
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...The Ecology of Family Life Report of research conducted by The Social Issues Research Centre 2008 The Social Issues Research Centre 28 St Clements Street Oxford OX4 1AB UK +44 1865 262255 group@sirc.org The ecology of family life Contents 1 Introduction..................................................................................................................................................................................4 1.1 Family and childhood: a paradigmatic review ....................................................................................................................................4 1.2 Space and time in family life...................................................................................................................................................................4 1.3 Pennies and pounds: the socioeconomic relations of families and children in the present.......................................................4 1.4 Theoretical framework.............................................................................................................................................................................5 1.5 Defining consumption ..............................................................................................................................................................................5 1.6 Methodology and sources of data ...........................................................................................
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...STUDIES IN PROFESSIONAL LIFE AND WORK Mike Hayler University of Brighton, UK Autoethnography, Self-Narrative and Teacher Education examines the professional life and work of teacher educators. In adopting an autoethnographic and life-history approach, Mike Hayler develops a theoretically informed discussion of how the professional identity of teacher educators is both formed and represented by narratives of experience. The book draws upon analytic autoethnography and life-history methods to explore the ways in which teacher educators construct and develop their conceptions and practice by engaging with memory through narrative, in order to negotiate some of the ambivalences and uncertainties of their work. The author’s own story of learning, embedded within the text, was shared with other teacher-educators, who following interviews wrote self-narratives around themes which emerged from discussion. The focus for analysis develops from how professional identity and pedagogy are influenced by changing perceptions and self-narratives of life and work experiences, and how this may influence professional culture, content and practice in this area. Autoethnography, Self-Narrative and Teacher Education Autoethnography, Self-Narrative and Teacher Education STUDIES IN PROFESSIONAL LIFE AND WORK The book includes an evaluation of how using this approach has allowed the author to investigate both the subject and method of the research with implications for ...
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...Chapter I THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND Introduction A child or student’s interest is the most basic element that makes a group learning system work in an organize way. From the head to the base members of this organization, the condition of one may affect the others. This kind of educational system is comparable to a series light connection where in the state of one greatly affects the others. Population and the percentage within that population which causes negative feedbacks can be the primary reason of a poor product. The group or classroom type of organized way of learning has given that impact to the community being the commonly used system. Its effectiveness has been proven and has never been out of fashion. The relationship between the student’s physical presence on class discussions and their learning performance are greatly relative. Class participation is just one way of measuring a child’s learning ability. In a class, the teacher-student relationship is one of the most fundamental units in student’s learning. Learning in a system of group collaboration is one of the best ways in gaining knowledge. It is a teamwork which the framework relies on an individual learning from the others and others learning from that individual. When a student misses a day of school he/she must have lost the chance to hear others, interpret and analyzing the lessons or joins the interaction within the class. This lost is being rooted to two different courses and varying...
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