Social Bookmarking–Repository–Networking: Possibilities for Support of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Abstract

Social bookmarking, repositories, networking, and other Web 2.0 technologies have the capacity to engage enormous numbers of ordinary people in networking, sharing, and working with digital resources. The Faculty of Education at The University of Hong Kong has been pioneering new educational applications. Through grants from the University we have developed a social bookmarking and repository system based on Web 2.0 ideas. RISAL—Repository of Interactive Social Assets for Learning has an unrealized potential to support teaching and learning at the University level. It is designed to facilitate and encourage sharing and collaboration of teachers and students with similar interests or learning foci across levels and programs. This form of learning support builds on and encourages the Web 2.0 culture of social networking and contribution of the individual to the community. In addition, the system is designed to incorporate compliance with Hong Kong's Copyright Ordinance (Creative Commons). The authors discuss the RISAL and describe its features and benefits that this system can offer to teaching and learning.     

Using Mindfulness Meditation to Teach Beginning Therapists Therapeutic Presence: A Qualitative Study

Some of the more difficult to define aspects of the therapeutic process (empathy, compassion, presence) remain some of the most important. Teaching them presents a challenge for therapist trainees and educators alike. In this study, we examine our beginning practicum students’ experience of learning mindfulness meditation as a way to help them develop therapeutic presence. Through thematic analysis of their journal entries a variety of themes emerged, including the effects of meditation practice, the ability to be present, balancing being and doing modes in therapy, and the development of acceptance and compassion for themselves and for their clients. Our findings suggest that mindfulness meditation may be a useful addition to clinical training.     

Alumni of a BSW-Level Specialized Title IV-E Program Voice Their Experiences in the Workplace

This study surveyed 289 alumni of a specialized Title IV-E program that prepares undergraduate social work students for careers in public child welfare, examining factors such as turnover rates, adherence to strengths-based practice principles, perceptions of work conditions, and intent to stay. Findings indicate that graduates of this program were less likely than other caseworkers to leave their positions. Most maintained adherence to strengths-based practice principles, reported satisfaction with the work, felt supported by colleagues, and intended to stay in the field of child welfare. Based on alumni comments, ways that agencies can retain such workers are suggested.     

Signs of resilience in sexually abused adolescent girls in the foster care system

In a sample of 99 sexually abused adolescent girls in the foster care system (64% in congregate living situations and 36% in family/foster care homes), nearly half were psychologically functioning well despite having experienced moderate-to-severe emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. It was hypothesized that these girls with resilient trajectories would differ from the currently symptomatic girls on several protective factors: education, future orientation, family support, peer influence, and religion. The results revealed that the girls with resilient trajectories were significantly more certain of their educational plans and optimistic about their future and had more positive peer influences.     

R-squared and prediction in regression with ordered quantitative response

This paper is concerned with the use of regression methods to predict values of a response variable when that variable is naturally ordered. An application to the prediction of student examination performance is provided and it is argued that, although individual scores are unlikely to be well predicted at the extremes of the range using the conditional mean, conditional on covariates, it is possible to usefully predict where an individual is likely to feature in the rank order of performance.     

Educating a New Generation of Social Workers: Challenges and Skills Needed for Contemporary Agency-Based Practice

Schools of social work are continually challenged to provide professional training which effectively prepares students for the ever-changing and increasingly demanding contemporary practice context. This paper provides an overview of emerging clinical, organizational, and research trends and challenges within agency-based social work practice in the past decade. Implications of these changes for the profession will be discussed and recommendations will be offered for ways in which academic and field educators can best equip social work students with the skills needed to meet these challenges of the current agency-based practice context. These recommendations for social work practice, education, and research include the development of an integrated set of clinical, organizational, and research skills; directions for curriculum renewal and expansion; and academic field partnerships for future research.     

Working to learn and learning to work: A profile of service-learning courses in university public relations programs

The purpose of this study was to use quantitative survey methodology triangulated with qualitative interviews to explore faculty perceptions in four key areas of service-learning in public relations programs: (1) conceptualization, (2) outcomes, (3) institutional support, and (4) instructional techniques. Results support findings in other disciplines. Public relations course goals reflect four different types of stated learning outcomes: (1) application to real-world settings, (2) teamwork, (3) interactions with PR clients, and (4) civic responsibility, but most educators include reflection opportunities only on public relations concepts and not on community engagement.     

Does Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Extraction Affect How Much Youth in Rural Pennsylvania Like Their Community?

Prior research on the impacts of boomtowns on youth provides mixed results. Recent qualitative work suggests youth are ambivalent about change associated with extraction of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale. The Rural Youth Education longitudinal study of youth in rural Pennsylvania provides a unique opportunity to examine youth views about their communities before and during development of the Marcellus Shale. We use two waves of data from 10 rural school districts to assess differences in youth reports of how much they liked their community pre‐Marcellus (2005) and during Marcellus activity (2009), creating a natural experiment. Youth characteristics, aspirations, perceptions of job and educational opportunities, and views about their community are included in multinomial multivariate logistic regression models to predict how much youth like their community. We find no difference in youth liking their community pre‐Marcellus, but a larger share of youth in communities experiencing Marcellus activity by 2009 like their community “a lot” than those in areas not affected. The Marcellus effect strengthens when controls for other factors typically associated with extraction activity and views of community are included in the model, suggesting other, unmeasured aspects of Marcellus‐related activity influence how much youth like their community.