Purpose: To explore information exchange about HIV/AIDS among people living in rural and urban communities and to assess the value of social capital theory, as well as demographic factors, in predicting community members' knowledge of HIV/AIDS and their likelihood of having talked about the disease. Method: A random-digit dial telephone survey was…

Because an important period of time of daily life has been spent on the Internet, the way people communicate has recently changed. One of the most important reasons for this change is social network sites (SNS). It can be seen that the most adhesive users of SNS in Turkey which have gained an increasing global quality are students. This…

This research aims to determine opinions of university graduates about social networks according to their personal characteristics. The research was conducted on 203 university graduates who received teacher training at Sakarya University in 2010-2011 academic year. Two different data collection tools were administered to the participating…

Community organizing for school reform offers an urgently needed alternative to traditional approaches to school change. Many current reforms fail to thrive due to lack of trust, understanding, or cultural relevance to the community being targeted. The high turnover of reformers (superintendents, principals, or outside organizations) in high-need…

While first language social networks offer immigrants practical and emotional support in the early period of their settlement in a new country, the development of social networks through English is crucial at this time not only for the acquisition of the linguistic and social capital vital to their long-term advancement, but also for the…

This paper looks at brokerage functions in a project on building innovation capacity through improved networking. Innovation capacity influences how actors respond to changes in their environments. In such dynamic environments well connected sets of actors are at an advantage in that they can combine skills to address the emerging opportunities…

People working in the field of education know well the positive effects adult and community learning can have on mental health and wellbeing. Participating in adult and community learning can help to widen social networks and improve life and employment chances; it makes for better general health; and can strengthen the learner's self-confidence,…

Background: Adolescents frequently report barriers to obtaining sexual health education. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine adolescents' views regarding how new technologies could be used for sexual health education. Methods: Focus group interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of adolescents between 14 and 19 years old.…

In this paper we look at what the critical tradition in education has to offer to the phenomenon of social media. Through an overview and evaluation of the approaches advocated by practitioners of critical literacy and critical media literacy, we illustrate the limitations of applying these frameworks to the fluid and densely interwoven spaces of…

Purpose: Social software usage is growing at an exponential rate among the present generation of students. Yet, there is paucity of empirical study to understand the determinant of its use in the present setting of this study. This study, therefore, seeks to investigate factors that predict students' attitudes and intentions to use this…

The aims of this study were to examine the mentoring and social network experiences of Latino youth during the high school transition. A mixed-methods approach was used to examine participants' natural mentoring relationships before and after the transition along with the broader social networks of youth. A total of 32 Latino participants…

This special report examines how K-12 professional development is taking a more digital and freewheeling approach to educator training. The report--which also features a webinar and online chat--shows how professional development programs are now blending face-to-face and online training, incorporating social networking tools, offering…

In considering two extended examples of educational reform efforts, this discussion traces relations that become visible through analytic approaches associated with actor-network theory (ANT). The strategy here is to present multiple readings of the two examples. The first reading adopts an ANT approach to follow ways that all actors--human and…

As summer comes to a close, military families across the globe are relocating to new installations. With that transition requirement comes a great deal of challenges faced by military families with school-age children. This means new houses, new neighborhoods and new friends. Families who have a child with special needs require new physicians, new…

Colleges, schools, and faculties at large universities form strong academic bonds with students. So is it any wonder they want a say in keeping these students engaged as alumni? To provide that input, many larger institutions are decentralizing their alumni operations, meaning that colleges, schools, and faculties have their own alumni staff…