In this commentary, the common themes from the interesting articles in this special section of "Developmental Psychology" are considered as they illuminate the potential ontogenetic sources of the conscientiousness-well-being-longevity interconnections that have emerged in recent research. In particular, consideration is given to the…

Organizations are increasingly using social media to improve their internal communication. When successfully implemented, such initiatives can have a dramatic impact on internal efficiency, team collaboration, innovation, organizational alignment, and cultural transformation. This article describes a course offered by the Ross School of Business,…

The viability of using complexity science in physics education research (PER) is exemplified by (1) situating central tenets of student persistence research in complexity science and (2) drawing on the methods that become available from this to illustrate analyzing the structural aspects of students' networked interactions as an important dynamic…

This study is based on a survey of 364 undergraduate journalism students and looks at how news consumption patterns influence the journalistic role conceptions that students hold. This study finds that students rated the interpreter role as most important. Students who prioritized the interpreter role also tend to get their news from online…

Educators have increasingly turned to Twitter as a means for receiving professional development and building and sustaining professional learning communities. This paper reports the results of a study of 82 undergraduate preservice teachers and their attitudes regarding Twitter as a medium for informal professional development support during their…

The complexity of learning has plagued the educational establishment for decades. Recently, ideas of complexity theory and complex adaptive systems have made headway in how we think of institutions of learning. This study developed and tested an instrument for the modeling of underlying social structures, as an element of complexity, within the…

Interaction has always been highly valued in education, especially in distance education (Moore, 1989; Anderson, 2003; Chen, 2004a; Woo & Reeves, 2007; Wang, 2013; Conrad, in press). It has been associated with motivation (Mahle, 2011; Wen-chi, et al., 2011), persistence (Tello, 2007; Joo, Lim, & Kim, 2011), deep learning (Offir, et al.,…

Countering reactionary attempts to ban social media from schools is a strong research based rationale for bringing social media into the literacy classroom. When used as a medium to explore literature--or more specifically for interactive character journaling--this medium exemplifies how meaning is created by individuals' interactions with…

Evaluating and monitoring large-scale distance learning programs require different techniques, systems, and analysis methods. This work presents challenges in evaluating and monitoring digital inclusion training programs, considering the aspects inherent in large-scale distance training, and reports an approach based on network and distance…

This paper draws on findings from an analysis of interviews with young people aged 14-18 years, to explore the peer influences in young people's informal social networks which can affect their access to sexual health services. The research focuses on the social meanings of a C-Card condom distribution scheme in North East England. Such schemes are…

Using collaborative performance ethnography in community- and school-based settings, sex education has the potential to challenge at-risk narratives for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) youth. This paper problematises the youth-led drama project "Epic Queer" to test the "queer" potential of…

Purpose: The aim of this exploratory study is to investigate the role of personal networks in supporting academics' professional learning. In particular, the paper examines the composition of academics' networks and the implications of network tendencies for academics' learning about teaching. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts a…

Teacher educators' collaboration plays an important role in the improvement of teacher education. Many studies in educational research focus on collaboration from 1 particular perspective. A focus on 2 perspectives, a qualitative (focusing on collaborative activities) as well as a quantitative (focusing on relations) perspective, and relating both…

Background: Community college leaders are now turning to social media/social networking sites for new avenues and opportunities to increase students' interaction, engagement, and collaboration with peers, faculty, and staff. Social media may be a particularly attractive option because it can provide a potentially effective and exciting mechanism…

There has been an alarming increase in the rate of unemployment among active urban population in Tanzania whereby the youth are severely affected. In this regard Youth Economic Groups (YEGs) program was formed as one among the best alternative strategies to address this perennial problem. Membership in YEGs act as a means to complement youth…