An effective approach to camp staff orientation involves veteran staff leading orientation groups for new staff. In addition to familiarizing staff members with the camp, group leaders are responsible for making members feel at ease through activities. Details a highly successful five-day orientation led by veteran staff. (LP)

A survey of 88 Mexican American workers in Phoenix found that respondents generally perceived English and the Anglo group as more vital than Spanish and the Mexican American group. Perceived in-group vitality was positively related to ethnic identity but not to first language. (SV)

The matching of 5 predictors of organizational commitment with 5 career stages was investigated with a sample of 1,536 Air Force employees. Between- and within-stage analysis showed that team cohesion was stronger during second stage, job challenge during third, supervisor behavior during fourth, and organizational climate during fifth.…

Used group development stage theory to investigate team development patterns in an academic setting. Twenty-nine teams of undergraduate college students enrolled in a study skills improvement course met weekly for five weeks and completed the Team Development Rating Scale at the conclusion of the meeting. Found some support for three patterns of…

A conference held at Cluny (France), an ancient gathering place of scholars, brought together diplomats, linguists, information scientists, and academics from 17 countries to discuss the role of languages in the newly formed European Community and the paradox of unification amidst great cultural diversity. (MSE)

Since 1968, the Yavapai community at Fort McDowell, Arizona, has been threatened with relocation because of proposed dam construction. Severe psychological distress (demoralization) and high use of medical services were found among 79 adults surveyed, for whom relocation was as distressing as a loved one's death. Contains 68 references. (SV)

Describes how camp counselors can foster camaraderie among campers through participative decision making, name games, listening, adventure courses, storytelling, spending time in nature, decorating cabins, avoiding favoritism, setting rules, admitting faults, setting group goals, and praising sincere efforts. (TD)

This article explores the relevance for network learning of themes developed by Wenger, initially with Lave and subsequently alone. While Wenger's fieldwork is located in the workplace, he sees his theorisation on becoming a learner as applicable to any context, be it home, work or formal education. In unravelling the connectedness between…

This study investigated whether self-efficacy beliefs measured before the onset of social change would moderate effects of social change on adolescents' life satisfaction, optimism regarding their future, and educational success. Self-efficacy beliefs of 593 German adolescents were measured between 1985 and 1988 before German unification. In 1992,…

This discussion paper provides an overview and analytic guide to long term planning of education systems in the context of Education for All and the Millennium Development Goals. Long term gains in educational access depend on anticipating future financial and non-financial constraints on growth and on successful implementation of plans which…

This study explores how group processes, such as group cohesiveness and group norms, influence an individual EFL learner's autonomy--their autonomous beliefs and actual autonomous behaviors. Questionnaires were administered to 152 Taiwanese university students from the English Department of a National Science and Technology University in southern…

This article examines the impact of new forms of citizenship and European construction on the university. If one conceives new forms of citizenship as identity-driven, rather than based on territory, and European construction as the intertwining of four metaphors (the flag, association, the network and the bazaar), what are the implications for a…

Analysis of the experiences of four farmer groups set up to learn how to jointly manage local natural resource issues shows that the groups are going though two simultaneous processes. One builds technical competency in natural resource management and the other is the underpinning social process that allows the groups to make decisions and work…

In the context of ongoing social divisions, lack of coherent leadership by government, and even divisiveness over medical advances and public health mandates, how might universities respond? What university actions can support "social cohesion" in a society splintered by class, race, gender, colonial legacies, the history of apartheid,…

Before unconditionally supporting the development of closer community or the restoration of a public realm, communication scholars should further reflect on the historical uses and potential threats attendant to this task. A sense of nostalgia sometimes romanticizes the Greek "polis" while sidestepping the changes wrought by population…