An introduction to the potential of social networking sites in education
This paper reviews Social Networking Sites (SNS) that have become available via the Internet in the light of usability for teaching and learning. Membership rules relating to entries for some popular sites, such as “Facebook” and “MySpace” are reviewed. Characteristics of these sites are reviewed and then compared to evaluate the trust and privacy issues of shared information available to any given social group. Trust and privacy plays a critical role when SNS are used for the purpose of teaching and learning. Thus, the negative and positive aspects of SNS are reviewed in detail. This knowledge will form the basis to assist with regulating SNS for teaching and learning. Publication Details This conference paper was originally published as Griffith, S and Liyanage, L, An introduction to the potential of social networking sites in education, Proceedings of the Emerging Technologies Conference, University of Wollongong, 18-21 June 2008. This conference paper is available at Research Online: http://ro.uow.edu.au/etc08/9
On the importance of social network sites in the transitions which characterize 'emerging adulthood'
Modern-day economic and socio-cultural developments require people to be ever more specialized and mobile in their educational and professional choices. This is particularly relevant for ‘emerging adults’, that is to say, those who find themselves at that stage of life when their scholastic or university education ends, and they begin to make choices regarding their professional working life. Transitions between different activity systems, and changes of residence which they entail, make ‘emerging adulthood’ a particularly unstable period in which young people continually dissolve, create and recreate relationship networks of varying degrees of importance which are able to support them through these changes. Beginning with empirical evidence and theoretical starting points typical of the psychology of education and development, this contribution proposes a theoretical reflection which attempts to analyze the efficacy of Social Network Sites in facilitating and supporting emerging adults during their education and vocational training and the important transitions which they have to face as they develop.
The role of masculine gender role stress in expressivity and social support network factors
This study examined the relationship of masculine gender roles stress (MGRS) to nonverbal and verbal expressivity in positive and negative emotional dyadic role-play situations. The relationship between masculine gender role stress and emotion-focused social support was also explored. Male subjects were differentiated by their appraisals of gender-related situations as stressful; they were rated on nonverbal facial expression and global verbal expressivity in positive and negative emotional situations. It was demonstrated that (a) all subjects were less nonverbally and verbally expressive in situations requiring positive emotional expression than in situations requiring negative emotional expression; (b) high MGRS subjects were less nonverbally expressive than low MGRS participants in both types of situations; (c) however, the high MGRS subjects were less verbally expressive than the lows only under emotionally positive conditions; and (d) while high MGRS subjects did not have smaller social support networks than the lows, they reported less satisfaction with their social support systems. Results were discussed in terms of gender roles and stress-buffering implications.