Flickr: A case study of Web2.0

The “photosharing” site Flickr is one of the most commonly cited examples used to define Web2.0. This paper explores where Flickr’s real novelty lies, examining its functionality and its place in the world of amateur photography. The paper draws on a wide range of sources including published interviews with its developers, user opinions expressed in forums, telephone interviews and content analysis of user profiles and activity. Flickr’s development path passes from an innovative social game to a relatively familiar model of a website, itself developed through intense user participation but later stabilising with the reassertion of a commercial relationship to the membership. The broader context of the impact of Flickr is examined by looking at the institutions of amateur photography and particularly the code of pictorialism promoted by the clubs and industry during the C20th. The nature of Flickr as a benign space is premised on the way the democratic potential of photography is controlled by such institutions. Several optimistic views of the impact of Flickr such as its facilitation of citizen journalism, “vernacular creativity” and in learning as an “affinity space” are evaluated. The limits of these claims are identified in the way that the system is designed to satisfy commercial purposes, continuing digital divides in access and the low interactivity and criticality on Flickr. Flickr is an interesting source of change, but can only to be understood in the perspective of long term development of the hobby and wider social processes

Testing the spirit of the information age

Every age has a 'spirit," The Information Age seems to be a more extreme case than most eras, with the constant barrage of messages promising social and individual salvation. Information and information technology are heralded as\ud great, new possibilities not just for reform but perfection, with some even predicting the end of physical death (using information technology. by the end of the next century. The intensity of our current period's fascination with technology is partly due to the technology itself-ideas or sales pitches get out to more people more quickly than ever before in history, and, as a result it\ud is easy to be blinded by all the promises and hype. It is no accident that ideas like "ecommerce" and "knowledge management' are unifying concepts for many in this era, but although there is nothing intrinsically wrong with them, there is something amiss with how they are discussed. This essay comments on the latter issue, the hyperbole of the Information Age, from three perspectives: 1) as a consumer of information technology; 2) as an educator in a field (archives and records management) utilizing information technology; and 3) as an individual convinced about the relevancy of basic Judaic-Christian beliefs as one means to shift critically the many conflicting and confusing messages promulgated by the so-called modern Information\ud Age

Gender, conflict, continuity: Anne Brontë's 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall' (1848) and Sarah Grand's 'The Heavenly Twins' (1893)

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2010 W. S. Maney & Son Ltd.The New Woman fiction of the fin de siècle brought into conflict patriarchal and feminist ideologies, challenging widely held assumptions about gender roles and the position of women. Sarah Grand's The Heavenly Twins is an important contribution to the genre, and engages with a number of the key issues that concerned feminists at the end of the nineteenth century, including marriage, the education of women, the double standard, male licentiousness, and the wider issue of social purity. These are also key themes in Anne Brontë's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall — published nearly fifty years before Grand's seminal New Woman text. In this essay, I consider Anne Brontë's text as a forerunner to the New Woman fiction of the fin de siècle, through a comparative examination of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and The Heavenly Twins

Principal and Mathematics Coaches\u27 Journey to Improve Mathematics Learning

My educational career path began as an elementary school teacher, then as an assistant principal, and now as a principal. With the educational experiences that I had at each level of my career, I was certain I would be able to handle an increase in the mathematical rigor presented to our students through the new Mathematics Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools (SOL) [1]. I found that, yes, I was able to understand the rigor. However, I found the challenge was providing the needed assistance to bring about results that would ultimately help our teachers and students be successful. I knew that something was needed, but what that something was I was not sure. Fortunately, Richneck Elementary was provided a wonderful opportunity of being assigned a mathematics coach for three years by way of a grant that the Newport News Public School division was awarded to support military-connected students. In addition, the grant supported teachers to work toward their Mathematics Specialist degree. As a result, Karen Joos, Mathematics Coach, received her master\u27s in education with an endorsement as a Mathematics Specialist. David Hundley, Mathematics Coach Facilitator, provided support for coaches under this grant. This article will provide a road map for the journey: working with the mathematics coaches and understanding their processes, promoting my leadership philosophy in relation to the new rigor of the state standards, improving communication through lessons learned, and identifying the collaboration process to achieve the best results for the school and community

Towards a Mixed Economy of Youth Justice

The concept of a ?mixed economy of justice? involves the idea that welfare is delivered by a range of agencies working in partnership. The United Kingdom 1998 Crime and Disorder Act introduced multi-agency approaches requiring criminal justice agencies to work together with local authorities and communities, following a ?mixed economy of justice? model. This presentation introduces the author?s new study on how mixed economies work within youth justice in the United Kingdom. It points out that there are historical precedents to these partnerships and provides an overview of recent developments in the field. The presentation then concludes that contemporary partnerships around youth justice present a much higher level of commodification and that voluntary action now works more on the principle of investment than altruism. A criminal justice ?industry? is now in place. Is it possible, however, to ?buy social justice?? And how far has the development of a multi-agency criminal justice ?industry? assisted the realisation of child rights in the United Kingdom? If it has not, how can it be made to do so and by whom? These essential questions aim to be addressed by the author?s new project

The Middle East Justice & Reconciliation Initiative

Report on Muslim/Christian faith-based reconciliation dialogue in Cyprus - this report includes a description of faith-based reconciliation methodology in relation to The Middle East Justice & Reconciliation Initiative