AGENT: Alumni growth and engagement across new technologies

The AGENT project aims to use social networking technologies (LinkedIn and Facebook) to support the development of undergraduates’ employability and career development. The focus of the project is on e-mentoring by alumni to provide a ‘bridge’ between individuals whose social ties and connections are weakened by time and distance, whilst at the same time capitalising on the learning opportunities afforded by the widening of social networks. Social networking sites (SNSs) have been shown to provide students with the tools to make connections, build relationships and support personal development. From a social capital perspective, SNSs can support ‘weak ties’ by allowing students to grow a social network from which to draw resources in the form of information, knowledge, advice and expertise that an institution’s alumni can provide. Alumni are a key resource for building professional networking communities that can provide offline as well as online support to students. We report on an on-going JISC project –AGENT (Alumni Growth and Engagement across New Technologies) that explores how Web 2.0 technologies engage alumni, create the sense of belonging, develop more effective and mutually-beneficial alumni-student connections and associated positive social capital outcomes.Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) 2011-201

Understanding Small Business Networking and ICTs: Exploring Face-to-Face and ICT-related opportunity creation mediated by Social Capital in East of England Micro-businesses

Small businesses that are sole traders or micro-businesses—with few, if any employees notoriously suffer from a ‘liability of smallness’ (Aldrich and Auster 1986), including poor access to various resources. However, many authors argue that the inherent problems of smallness can be overcome with networking and good network connections. Resources, the opportunities to access them and other benefits apparent from networks and networking are readily apparent in the literature. However, few articles, if any, have examined small business networking from the perspective of this study—using in-depth qualitative methods, the theoretical construct of social capital and exploring the increasing role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in networks and networking—as part of understanding a variety of entrepreneurial opportunities. This article provides much needed empirical insights on how and if ICTs support opportunity creation amongst small businesses within a spatial and social network perspective. Its ‘media ecology’ approach does not over-prioritise the role of ICTs, but instead examines their interrelationships with face-to-face contact—putting technology in its ‘place’. The article focuses on the notion of ‘opportunity creation’ from networks, since this is the outcome critical for the small businesses themselves in order to generate economic benefits for their business. It seeks to provide a higher level, outcomebased framework that helps specify the various sorts of opportunities created by networks for small businesses, based on original ethnographic material and findings from a case study of East of England micro-businesses

Prevention is a solution: building the HIVe

This Special Issue of Digital Culture and Education (DCE), Building the HIVe, offers relevant and applicable examples of digital technologies being leveraged, positioned and practiced towards community-based and led HIV prevention as a solution in a digital era. The contributors to this Special Issue, frontline workers, activists, researchers and educators alike, have taken risks as they have explored innovative prevention approaches with and through digital technologies, and documented and analysed their pedagogical innovations in different cultural contexts. Importantly this Special Issue also includes the critical voices and leadership of individuals living with HIV as designers of prevention as a solution. Their timely insights, advice and understandings of HIV prevention as a solution merit close scrutiny as evidence of resourceful, imaginative and critical endeavour; they are offered to share successful interventions and stimulate further discussion

The evidence base for careers websites. What works?

There is some evidence which suggests that using career websites as part of broader careers education provision can impact positively on young people’s career readiness and the quality and diversity of their social networks for careers purposes. The evidence points to a number of findings which can be turned into lessons for practice. - Information-based career websites need to exist in the context of a wider offline careers support program. They are not a replacement for professional career guidance. - Career websites that provide automated interactions need to be embedded within a wider range of careers support services. Only by doing so can they increase users’ awareness of career support or give users new ideas about careers by exposing them to multimedia resources. - Where career websites are used to facilitate communication (e.g. through online guidance and counselling or through delivery based inside virtual worlds), this can lead to positive outcomes such as gains in career decidedness and self-knowledge, gains in satisfaction with future career prospects, and in career exploration behaviours (such as more frequent career searches). - Career websites need to be integrated into careers education provision and into wider forms of career support (e.g. tutorial support and personal guidance).Careers and Enterprise Compan

The “Glass-ceiling” in the church organization: Can e-mentoring be a panacea to women desiring leadership positions?

In leadership studies, mentoring has been in practice for a long time be it in local and national governance, organizational development (especially as part of a systematic leadership succession plan) or even for personal/professional development of individuals or groups. It seems that in organizations today many desire to be mentored but unfortunately not all are finding appropriate mentors that will cater for their personal and professional needs especially in meeting with their psychosocial needs (Kram, 1983). This is the case with many women in many male-dominated workplaces known for the preserving of “male prejudices, male values and creations” (Woodd, 1997), which though appear innocuous on the surface, invariably play vital roles in choosing leaders for top leadership positions. This phenomenon that hinders women who cluster middle management levels in organizations but ended “sieved out” as unwanted for the top is known as the “glass ceiling”. This phenomenon has been on since 1986 when some writers of the popular Wall Street Journal stumbled on the cliché to describe this barrier that appears so strong, yet transparent, hindering women from climbing to the top in organizations (Weyer, 2007). It is worthwhile to point out that mentoring is essential for career advancement especially for women in management but many women as a result of their gender disposition, in most cases, find it difficult to have access to mentors (Kram, 1983)

Meeting their potential: the role of education and technology in overcoming disadvantage and disaffection in young people

This report is a review of literature, policy and reported practice, exploring the potential of technology to mitigate disaffection and disadvantage in education and raise attainment of those young people who are under-achieving in school or other educational settings

La mentoría electrónica entre pares para la transición a la universidad: una revisión teórica

ABSTRACTThe European Space for Higher Education and the calls for lifelong learning highlight the responsibility universities have to facilitate their students´ access and success, and places career guidance (especially in the early transition phase) as a central element of institutional quality. While doing this, it is important to promote community development as part of the integration of each student in the higher education system, so peer mentoring initiatives have become widely adopted across European universities. In this context, information and communication technologies can help to reduce isolation and distance between students, facilitating student collaboration, creating community feelings among students and making it possible to European universities. In this context, information and communication technologies can help to reduce isolation and distance between students, facilitating student collaboration, creating community feelings among students and making it possible to create new guidance programmes that improve access, support and guidance to students. In the confluence of three main areas of research and practice (transition to university, student guidance through peer mentoring, and computer mediated communication (CMC), this paper proposes peer electronic mentoring (e-mentoring) as a new guidance alternative to facilitate student transition to university. Therefore, we review the scarce literature existing in the area, gathering theoretical reviews, anecdotal experiences and programme results, and finally we propose questions for future research.RESUMENEl Espacio Europeo de Enseñanza superior y las demandas del aprendizaje permanente ha puesto de relieve la responsabilidad de las universidades de facilitar el acceso y éxito de su alumnado. La orientación al estudiante (especialmente en su fase de transición temprana) constituye un elemento central de calidad institucional y el fomento del desarrollo comunitario y la integración del estudiante. En este contexto, las iniciativas de mentoría electrónica entre pares son cada vez más comunes en las universidades europeas como estrategia para reducir el aislamiento y la distancia entre estudiantes, facilitando la colaboración entre pares, creando sentido de comunidad entre estudiantes y posibilitando la creación de nuevos programas orientados a mejorar el acceso, apoyo y orientación. Situándonos en la confluencia de tres áreas principales de investigación y práctica (la transición a la universidad, la orientación al estudiante a través de la mentoría entre pares, y la comunicación mediada por ordenador o CMO), este artículo propone la mentoría electrónica (e-mentoring) entre pares como una nueva alternativa orientadora para facilitar la transición de los estudiantes a la universidad. Para ello, revisamos la escasa literatura existente en el tema, recogiendo revisiones teóricas, informes anecdóticos y resultados programáticos, y por último proponemos líneas de investigación en el tema.ABSTRACTThe European Space for Higher Education and the calls for lifelong learning highlight the responsibility universities have to facilitate their students´ access and success, and places career guidance (especially in the early transition phase) as a central element of institutional quality. While doing this, it is important to promote community development as part of the integration of each student in the higher education system, so peer mentoring initiatives have become widely adopted across European universities. In this context, information and communication technologies can help to reduce isolation and distance between students, facilitating student collaboration, creating community feelings among students and making it possible to European universities. In this context, information and communication technologies can help to reduce isolation and distance between students, facilitating student collaboration, creating community feelings among students and making it possible to create new guidance programmes that improve access, support and guidance to students. In the confluence of three main areas of research and practice (transition to university, student guidance through peer mentoring, and computer mediated communication (CMC), this paper proposes peer electronic mentoring (e-mentoring) as a new guidance alternative to facilitate student transition to university. Therefore, we review the scarce literature existing in the area, gathering theoretical reviews, anecdotal experiences and programme results, and finally we propose questions for future research.

WOMEN IN ENGINEERING: IDENTITY COMMUNICATION IN SOCIAL MEDIA

This thesis examines women engineers\u27 experience in social media with a focus on identity communication. Framing as a case study, this study attempts to explore women engineers\u27 online presence and how they utilize social media in their daily activities. Using the concept of intersectionality, this study addresses the differences of social media usage among women engineers in terms of the use of social media by professional organizations of women engineers and the use of individual women engineers. Thematic analysis was conducted to analyze the public available data from a Facebook page maintain by a well-known women engineers\u27 professional organization. Online survey was also conducted in order to capture individuals\u27 perceptions of using social media. Findings show, first, similar trends of using social media can be found among women engineers as the most popular social media accounts owned by women engineers are Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Second, women engineers use social media mostly for information exchanging and maintaining pre-existing relationships with friends and family. Third, women engineers considered social media to be not effective platforms for professional communication and privacy issues are the major concerns of adopting social media. In summary, this study offers insights on women engineers\u27 online presence and suggests more effort is required in building online professional support networks for women engineers