Habitats, ecology and evolution are a few of the many metaphors commonly associated with the domain of biological ecosystems. Surprisingly, these and other similar biological metaphors are proving to be equally associated with a phenomenon known as digital ecosystems. Digital ecosystems make a direct connection between biological properties and…

Recent years have seen unprecedented possibilities for the use of different technologies to enhance learning in marketing courses. Given the rapid and widespread diffusion of these technologies, particularly within the demographic of the student population, it is pertinent to explore and examine how such technologies can benefit student learning.…

Purpose: This article describes an innovative practice called Blended Learning Networks (BLNs) whose aim is to enable older people, their families, and care providers to exchange knowledge, learn together, and support each other in local development work so that care is improved for older people. BLNs were established in 31 municipalities, headed…

More than half of all online American adolescents and emerging adults have created personal profiles for social networking on the Internet. Does homophily in their offline friendships extend online? Drawing mainly on research of face-to-face friendship, we collected data from the public spaces, called "walls," of 129 young Americans ages 16 to 19…

Beth Kanter is working hard to get the word out about how best to get the word out. Kanter is CEO of Zoetica, which provides word-of-mouth communication services to nonprofits and socially conscious companies; a decade-long blogger on the topic of social media and nonprofits; and a popular conference speaker and trainer. She is also co-author of…

Northern Michigan University (NMU) is a public 4-year undergraduate institution of higher education with an enrollment of approximately 9,500 students. The university's Division of Academic Information Services encompasses both the staff of the library, which includes authors Clumpner and Burgmeier, and the instructional technology areas, where…

This article focuses on the nature of power dynamics that faculty and staff grassroots leaders encounter as they attempt to create change. I identified five distinctive types of power dynamics--"oppression," "silencing," "controlling," "inertia," and "micro-aggressions" from the most overt to more subtle and covert forms. Staff experience multiple…

Innovations and new project ideas often emerge in networks of researchers, users of research, and societal actors. This article analyzes and discusses how research scientists learn to conduct research that has an impact on their clients, scientific community, and society. We describe a new developmental impact evaluation method based on the theory…

Twitter, the micro blogging tool, has seen unprecedented growth in the past year and is expected to continue into the future. Twitter's power, engagement, and popularity lie in its endless networking opportunities. Its potential as a venue for professional growth and development needs to be explored, discussed, and ultimately used as such. A brief…

Cyberbullying is a category of bullying that occurs in the digital realm and affects students at astonishing rates. Unlike traditional bullying, in which displays of aggression may be evident to bystanders, the ramification of cyberbullying occurs through unconventional strategies (e.g., text messaging, online Web logs, video sharing). As a…

Almost everyone uses social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn. Since Facebook is the most popular site in the history of the Internet, this article will focus on how one can protect his/her personal information and how that extends to protecting the private information of others.

The purpose of the author's rebuttal is to provide a sociocultural critique of Wolff-Michael Roth and Michael Cole's arguments and of the current "Mind, Culture, and Activity" ("MCA") policy regarding referencing. In sum, Roth and Cole write that some unnamed "MCA" authors (and some scholars in general) abuse the reference practice by…

Obtaining representative samples from populations of emerging adults who do not attend college is challenging for researchers. This article introduces respondent-driven sampling (RDS), a method for obtaining representative samples of hard-to-reach but socially interconnected populations. RDS combines a prescribed method for chain referral with a…

Although scholars have proposed many steps to increase evaluation use, there has been little comparative empirical study of whether researchers follow these recommendations and whether specific steps are associated with greater utilization. This study of state legislative evaluators finds that those that regularly meet with stakeholders and…

In response to polarising and emotive debates around young people using the internet, this paper presents recent research findings and offers insight into the issue from the perspective of young people. In early 2010, young people in two rural Victorian towns were asked to complete surveys answering questions about their online habits. Their…