Personal Social Networks and the Cultivation of Expertise in Magic: An Interview Study

The purpose of the present study was to examine expertise in magic by interviewing 16 prominent Finnish magicians who were identified earlier through a social network analysis of 120 Finnish magicians. A semi-structured interview was administered that addressed the participants’ histories; their relationship to magic, the nature of their expertise, the networked development of expertise, their engagement with magical expertise and their motivation for cultivating such expertise. The results indicated that expertise in magic is cultivated, to a great extent, by informal networks of expertise without formal training. The participants had become excited about magic as children and started to pursue an expertise in the field from a relatively early age (4 to 14 years). In accordance with other domains of expertise, it had taken about 10 years of cultivating skills and competencies before becoming professional in the field, with a few exceptions. Ego-centric network analyses revealed that there were three or four magicians who had significantly shaped the Finnish field of magic and affected most of the participants’ development and career. Most of the participants were clustered, forming a core of Finnish magicians, and those magicians working abroad and collaborating with international magicians were located at the periphery of the Finnish network or formed an isolated network of clusters within it.     

A model for bridging the gap between neuroscience and education

As the brain sciences make advances in our understanding of how the human brain functions, many educators are looking to findings from the neurosciences to inform classroom teaching methodologies. This paper takes the view that the neurosciences are an excellent source of knowledge regarding learning processes, but also provides a warning regarding the idea that findings from the laboratory can be directly transposed into the classroom. The article proposes a model of five levels which describe different types of knowledge that must all contribute to new teaching methodologies. These include the levels of neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, psychology, educational theory and testing, and finally the classroom.     

Media-Related Works

Eugene P. Sheehy, comp. Guide to Reference Books (Chicago: American Library Association, 1976—$30.00)

Richard Kuhn, Susan Rumsey and Diane Willis, An Annotated Bibliography of Aspen Institute Publications (Aspen Institute Publishing Program Office, 360 Bryant St., P.O. Box 1652, Palo Alto, Calif. 94302—$4.00, paper)

Albert D. Talbott and Malcom S. MacLean, Jr., Use of Simulation and Games for Mass Communication Education: A Symposium (1974, 143 pp. spiral bound, $3.50, paper)

Hanno Hardt, ed. Experience and Learning: A Collection of Papers on Communication Education (Occasional Paper No. 1, 1976—$3.50, paper)

The Journal of Communication Inquiry: Essays in Honor of Malcom S. MacLean, Jr. (Spring 1976—$3.00, paper)

Conference on Culture and Communication: Program and Abstracts (Dept. of Anthropology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa. 19122—apparently free on request, paper)

The Popular Culture Scholar: A Journal of Theory and Analysis (Department of English, Frostburg State College, Frostburg, Md. 21532—exact price not known, but about $5.00 or $6.00 per year/quarterly)

John P. Robinson's How Americans Use Time: A Social-Psychological Analysis of Everyday Behavior (New York: Praeger Special Studies, 1977—no price given)

James D. Halloran, ed. Mass Media and Socialization: International Bibliography and Different Perspectives (International Association for Mass Communication Research, Center for Mass Communication Research, University of Leicester, 104 Regent Rd, Leicester, United Kingdom, 1976—price not given, paper)     

Stockholm's 17 SK: a case study in community football

17 SK is a community sports club based in Stockholm, Sweden. Its members play different sports, but the football groups are by far the most popular. In this paper, we want to sketch the history of the club and reflect on the aspects of its football activities that seem most relevant from a social and political perspective: gender, integration, community building and matters of organization. We are both co-founders and board members of the club and regularly partake in its activities. The article is therefore mainly based on participatory observation and on numerous discussions we have had with other 17 SK participants over the past three years.     

On Learning Physics

Science &; Education -     

In practice—R U signed on?

Joining students' 24/7 instant messaging world sends dread through many an educator. Jodi Koslow Martin of Aurora University, by contrast, believes that being an easily accessible icon on her students' computer screens is an important part of her work.     

Individual differences in children''s and adults'' suggestibility and false event memory

In this article, we provide an overview of the emerging area of research concerning individual differences in children's memory, suggestibility, and false event reports. We begin with a discussion of recent research on children's false event memories. We then review research and theory concerning sources of individual differences in children's memory and suggestibility, including both cognitive (e.g., understanding of dual representations, source monitoring, imaginativeness, and event knowledge), and social-personality (e.g., attachment styles and temperament, parent-child communication, and sequelae of maltreatment) influences, and we highlight implications of these sources for children's false event reports. Finally, we examine how individual-difference factors proposed to mediate adults' false memories relate to those that may mediate children's false memories.