Realizing the potential for web-based communication provides a challenge for educators. The purpose here is to report students' behavioural and cognitive strategies for active learning when using an unrestricted blog in an academic context. This provides insight into how students are making sense of the incorporation of Web 2.0 technology into…

Literacy practices can be considered powerful tools used to claim a space, establish an identity, or provide a voice in various social interactions. The goals of this study were to understand the literacy practices of three female young adults who attended an alternative school prior to my study in the spring of 2008. The study also explored the…

This work proposes an organizational framework for creating a community to share personal health record (PHR) information in the form of a Health Records Social Network (HRSN). The work builds upon existing social network community concepts as well as the existing Systemized Nomenclature of Medicine (SNOMED) model used by the medical community and…

As the ranks of educators on Twitter grow, more and more are heard about the importance of their "PLNs" (a term reportedly coined by educational technology guru David Warlick). A PLN, or Personal Learning Network, is a group of like-minded professionals with whom one can exchange ideas, advice, and resources. So why shouldn't students have PLNs of…

The social media environment is much like a coral reef--a living, growing, dynamic entity filled with billions of independent organisms or ideas attaching themselves to each other and creating something glorious. But like a reef, these free-floating ideas need to be nurtured by a robust and healthy ecosystem if they are to remain vital. In the…

If six degrees of separation is all that is needed for anyone to find anyone else, and if three clicks can find almost anything on the World Wide Web, perhaps analyzing how social networks form and connect people to each other offers a useful way to reconsider how the rehabilitation profession pursues job placement and employer development. Social…

When it comes to keeping an organization on the cutting edge, there is one thing that effective leaders cannot afford to neglect--and that is relationships. To support a quality public relations program in school districts, one of the most important relationships to cultivate is that with building principals. Talk to any seasoned school public…

In the 1990s, sociologists began to rethink the failure of utilization models to explain whether and why individuals accessed formal treatment systems. This effort focused on reconceptualizing the underlying assumptions and processes that shaped utilization patterns. While we have built a better understanding of how social networks structure…

This research investigates the process through which individuals build cohesive relationships in positively connected exchange relations. Positive connections exist any time exchange in one relation must precede exchange in another. Such situations arise through gatekeeping, in generalized exchange contexts, and when resources diffuse across a…

With celebrities discussing Twitter on television talk shows, Facebook being used by people to share pictures of their grandchildren, and academic seminars being delivered in Second Life, it is hard to get through a day without being faced with some sort of social networking tool. Librarians often talk about the importance of outreach and of…

Knowledge has become a decisive and competitive resource for local and global development, especially since the paradigm "knowledge for development" was initiated and promoted by the World Bank in 1998-1999. Through the use of novel management structures and technologically supported social networks, development organisations and…

Online safety is obsolete. A concept little changed since the 1990s, it's one size fits all, emphasizing fear instead of facts, with young people stereotyped as potential victims in a hostile media environment. It's past time for Online Safety 3.0. Why 3.0? Previous versions--1.0 and 2.0--focused on inappropriate content, adult-to-child crime, and…

Have you ever stopped to think about life before Google? We will make the argument that Google is the first manifestation of Web 2.0, of the power and promise of social networking and the ubiquitous wiki. We will discuss the positive influence of Google and how Google and other social networking tools afford librarians leading-edge technologies…

This paper describes an evaluation of the quality and utility of synchronous online interviewing for data collection in social network research. Synchronous online interviews facilitated by Instant Messenger as the communication medium, were undertaken with ten final year university students. Quantitative and qualitative content analysis of…

This article identifies 13 cultural trends that libraries can turn into opportunites to reach patrons. These trends include: Twitter, online reputation management, value added content, mobile marketing, and emotional connection.