We use social network analysis to test the hypothesis that group ideology affects information exchange among environmental groups. The analysis is based on interviews with leaders of 136 environmental groups in Alabama. This paper adds to the literature on resource mobilization among social movement organizations by exploring information exchange…

This paper offers a critical review of the role of the International Network for Learning and Teaching geography in higher education (INLT) in the production of geographical knowledge. Through an examination of the Network's membership and activities, it explores some of the ways in which INLT--as a global virtual group--may be inadvertently…

A key component in the success of students' first-year experience is their successful academic and social integration into the college environment (Tinto, 1993). Researchers have specified integration in terms of student behaviors and perceptions (Berger & Milem, 1999; Hurtado & Carter, 1997) and also studied it in terms of engagement (Kuh, 2009)…

This study provides a simultaneous examination of all components of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2000; Anderson, Rourke, Garrison & Archer, 2001; and Rourke, Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 1999) and seeks to extend previous work into the nature, development, and relationships between the constructs of…

The rapid spread of learning networks based on asynchronous written communication--Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALNs)--makes it crucial to assess the possibilities offered by these new environments to facilitate and promote learning processes and learning outcomes. Our interest in this area is specifically directed towards the study of…

This study examines an alternative function of information sharing--social construction of meaning. Drawing on social construction, social interaction, and task closure theories, we explored the influence of both the media environment in which students are situated and the medium that group members choose to communicate with one another on the…

Business education requires students to have knowledge about corporations and the relationships between them. Sometimes students, in particular non-traditional ones, may not have either this knowledge or the skills required to obtain it. The Business Web guides students in acquiring information about businesses and understanding their…

Students acquire an understanding of the differences between TCP and UDP (connection-oriented vs. connection-less) data transfers as they analyze network packet data collected during one of a series of labs designed for an introductory network essentials course taught at Boise State University. The learning emphasis of the lab is not on the…

Academe has traditionally tended to polarize college employees into two camps: (1) the faculty, who educate; and (2) the staff, who provide services and entertainment. At Colby-Sawyer College, a small private liberal arts institution of 950 students in rural New Hampshire, the us-versus-them mentality was rejected in order to re-envision its…

Partnership is a dominant theme in education policy and practice in England and in other western countries but remains relatively under-researched, especially with respect to what sustains a partnership. This article draws on a study of partnership working in the field of post-16 learning that revealed the role of dimensions of social capital in…

Only since the 1990s has the impact of globalisation on education drawn scholarly attention, primarily due to the impact of international school achievement surveys. This study argues that the globalisation of education began much earlier, with the establishment of intergovernmental agencies, such as UNESCO and the OECD, and the adoption of…

Organizational collaboration is "en vogue", especially in higher education. So far, little is known about the mechanisms that explain co-operation formation and their impact on the social structure of the research systems. By examining co-authored research papers written at South African universities between 1966 and 2006, co-operation…

This paper draws on data from a recent multi-method study exploring knowledge management in support of district-level instructional renewal (Edge 2005). The data for this paper come from a strand of inquiry that examined the perceived impact of literacy teacher leader LC Networks in support of improved in-school implementation of the early…

The National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England places much emphasis on creating partnerships at both national and local levels between government, the drinks industry, health services, police, individuals and communities to tackle alcohol misuse and associated harm and disorder. This article describes the characteristic structures and…

As American schools increasingly are called on to ensure students have the skills necessary to succeed in the 21st century, school districts nationwide are responding with a renewed interest in systemic change. The revived attention notwithstanding, educators, policymakers and the public still misunderstand the true meaning of systemic change in…