Outreach occurs systemwide at Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (PLCMC). All branches are involved in reaching their surrounding neighborhoods and patrons. Under the guidance of the outreach manager, the outreach department provides support for these efforts and also offers focused programming via 12 staff members. The department is…

This study examines the process of linguistic-and-cultural-identity formation as experienced by adult immigrants to Canada who consider themselves professionally successful and highly proficient in the target language. It addresses the characteristics of "good language learners" by determining how they negotiated their marginal standing…

Middle school reformers have widely promoted advisory programs as a way to strengthen connectedness at the middle level. Broadly defined, advisory programs are configurations in which an adult advisor meets regularly during the school day with a group of students to provide academic and social-emotional mentorship and support, to create…

Background/Context: Researchers have proposed a number of lenses for analyzing teacher professional communities in recent years. These lenses have been useful in describing key dynamics of professional communities; however, none provides a compelling approach to how to integrate data from the school as a whole with case study data on individual…

This study surveyed 366 Valparaiso University freshmen to discover their feelings about librarians using Facebook and MySpace as outreach tools. The vast majority of respondents had online social network profiles. Most indicated that they would be accepting of library contact through those Web sites, but a sizable minority reacted negatively to…

Social Networking Web sites (SNWs) are now being used as reference checks by human resource personnel. For this reason, SNW users, particularly university students and other soon-to-be job applicants, should ask the following questions: Am I loading information that I want the world to see? Is this really a picture that shows me in the best light?…

Analysis of interaction patterns is one of the most important indicators of quality of learning in educational web forums. Social network analysis (SNA) is gradually assuming importance in the study of interaction patterns as it focuses on the analysis of the interrelationships between individuals, thus providing a holistic perspective on group…

This article starts by presenting five scenarios, each represents a significant type of grassroots change that is occurring at colleges and universities across the country. Those who are instigating these changes have little formal authority. The authors recently conducted a study to document and better understand these kinds of changes and the…

What impact can Web 2.0 technologies, specifically social networking sites, have inside and outside the classroom? While participation within the Facebook community has grown exponentially across college campuses, participation in course-specific WebCT discussion forums has not necessarily followed suit. In response to this disparity, Jacob…

It has been assumed that, due to limited Internet access, electronic media is an ineffective means for information dissemination to Native Americans with disabilities. In this investigation, we surveyed a sample of 467 households of Native Americans with disabilities living on Great Plains reservations regarding access to electronic resources. Of…

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of job stress, personality and social support to burnout among college of education lecturers. The second purpose was to examine the extent to which personality and social support can buffer the negative effects of stress on burnout. Design/methodology/approach--Survey methodology…

The paper is aimed to analyse the external expert evaluation results of eContent"plus" programme's iCOPER (Interoperable Content for Performance in a Competency-driven Society) project's deliverables, especially quality control and Web 2.0 technologies report. It is a suitability report for better practice concerning the use of Web 2.0…

From a learner-as-creator perspective, this study investigates how second language learners use technology, especially computers and the Internet, to construct their language learning environments. This study also attempts to identify factors that affected the frequency of technology by second language learners. Participants were 102 Chinese…

The purpose of this study was to describe undergraduate students' experiences and perceptions of online courses based on interviews, observations, and online focus groups. I describe (a) motivational and learner characteristics within online classes, (b) the positive and negative aspects of online courses as experienced by students, (c) what…

As Web 2.0 tools and technologies increase in popularity in consumer markets, enterprises are seeking ways to take advantage of the rich social knowledge exchanges that these tools offer. The problem this study addresses is that it remains unknown whether employees perceive that these tools offer value to the organization and therefore will be…