Agency in action – young women and their sexual relationships in a private school

Agency among young women is often understood as fleeting in nature, and studies rarely offer insights into how agency could become a more sustained position. Using data from 54 young women discussing their sexual and intimate relationships, this paper suggests a new way of understanding agency beyond that found in work which stresses agentic practice as resistance or the challenging of dominant expectations and understandings. Instead, through the notion of ‘agency in action’ we begin with young women’s conceptualisations of power. In this study, power was viewed as a resource that is shared between partners, but also a capacity of the self. These conceptualisations offer two new ways of understanding agency in intimate relations – either through ‘reacting into action’ and taking power back; or by ‘starting from’ a powerful position. Central to an understanding of young women’s agency is the role of emotions and recognition of these as motivators for change.     

The development of two observational tools for assessing metacognition and self-regulated learning in young children

This paper reports on observational approaches developed within a UK study to the identification and assessment of metacognition and self-regulation in young children in the 3–5 year age range. It is argued that the development of observational tools, although containing methodological difficulties, allows us to make more valid assessments of children’s metacognitive and self-regulatory abilities in this age group. The analysis of 582 metacognitive or self-regulatory videotaped ‘events’ is described, including the development of a coding framework identifying verbal and non-verbal indicators. The construction of an observational instrument, the Children’s Independent Learning Development (CHILD 3–5) checklist, is also reported together with evidence of the reliability with which it can be used by classroom teachers and early indications of its external validity as a measure of metacognition and self-regulation in young children. Given the educational significance of children’s development of metacognitive and self-regulatory skills, it is argued that the development of such an instrument is potentially highly beneficial. The establishment of the metacognitive and self-regulatory capabilities of young children by means of the kinds of observational tools developed within this study also has clear and significant implications for models and theories of metacognition and self-regulation. The paper concludes with a discussion of these implications.

The PRET A Rapporter framework: Evaluating digital libraries from the perspective of information work

The strongest tradition of IR systems evaluation has focused on system effectiveness; more recently, there has been a growing interest in evaluation of Interactive IR systems, balancing system and user-oriented evaluation criteria. In this paper we shift the focus to considering how IR systems, and particularly digital libraries, can be evaluated to assess (and improve) their fit with users’ broader work activities. Taking this focus, we answer a different set of evaluation questions that reveal more about the design of interfaces, user–system interactions and how systems may be deployed in the information working context. The planning and conduct of such evaluation studies share some features with the established methods for conducting IR evaluation studies, but come with a shift in emphasis; for example, a greater range of ethical considerations may be pertinent. We present the PRET A Rapporter framework for structuring user-centred evaluation studies and illustrate its application to three evaluation studies of digital library systems.     

Designing computer systems to support peer learning

This article begins with a review of the various roles which computers have played in supporting collaborative learning and argues that, whatever role it plays, technology is not neutral with respect to interactions with and between users. Interfaces to learning environments embody particular representational schemes which have the potential either for competing with representations of the learning domain or for giving access to it. In this respect, the learner-machine interface has ‘Epistemic significance’ and its design is as important as the design of the materials and activities to which it interfaces.     

Inventing book news, 1925–1935: “Publicity hypnosis” and the colophon

The Colophon, published from 1925 through 1935 for an audience of book collectors and connoisseurs, illuminates the debate over the basis of a book's value: genuine quality or artificial scarcity. It also illustrates the distinction between genuine news about the book industry and “publicity hypnosis”—today’s “hype.” The magazine’s authors, designers, typographers, printers, and illustrators were among the finest of their day. Claire Badaracco is an assistant professor at Marquette University, and is currently writing a series of articles about Anglo-American book publishing, journalism, and publicity trades between 1920 and 1940 with the support of The British Academy, the National Endowment, and the Bibliographical Society of America. Her work has been published inAmerican Literary Realism, Journalism Quarterly, Essays in Business and Economic History, and other journals. The Library of Congress, The Center for The Book, is publishing her monograph “The Lakeside Press Four American Books Campaign 1926–1930.”     

Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans? Internet Communication, Geographic Community, and Social Capital in Crisis

This study investigated Internet communication and use in a crisis situation, Hurricane Katrina, to explore the role of the Internet in supporting or diminishing geographically-based community during a crisis. The researchers conducted an online survey of Internet users (n=1192) from the dispersed metropolitan New Orleans area. The survey focused on amount, type, function, and importance of Internet use to creating and maintaining social capital, supporting geographically-based communities, activating social networks, reducing uncertainty, and achieving both expressive and instrumental communication goals. The results indicated that Internet users in a crisis situation went online to seek interactive fora specific to their neighborhoods and to activate weak ties in their social networks. They engaged in more uncertainty reduction behavior when experiencing higher degrees of damage. They turned to the Internet in place of other media as a result of disruptions caused by the crisis. Women valued online expressive communication more than men did. The findings suggest that social capital theorists would benefit from a communication perspective on the Internet. The study also led to the formation of suggestions for emergency preparedness agencies, shelter providers, crisis victims, and online news providers that can improve emergency response.