Search

The paper offers a look at the Facebook social service from the point of view of information management in an information society. The article presents a description and comparison of two sets of focus group research. The study was carried out among students in an academic center in a small city (population of 120,000), and in an academic center in a big city (population exceeding 750,000). The research was aimed at exploring issues related to using Facebook, in particular the issue of motives related to creating a profile on the service and using it in everyday life. The research has revealed three categories related to Facebook use: a need for security in the scope of access to information, a need to possess a tool facilitating management of information-communication processes, as well as a respondent's dislike for Facebook. In the final part, the paper presents conclusions, but also limitations of the described research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the chosen ongoing perspectives related to science understanding based problems. Science is viewed, following Robert Merton, as a functioning institution. Social context plays a significant role in defining the possibilities of developing science. The question arises how a functioning institution can be effectively analyzed and which perspectives can be implemented. Hence this paper's goal is to reveal some ways of exploring science understanding. Consequently the paper touches the scientific discourses upon science discussing its academic functional ethos and on the other hand tension between bureaucratization and openness in science. More broadly how far science is democratized in an academic interaction. The proposition of examining the problem of the quality of science as an institution is to grasp two perspectives: first, the formal perspective, related to the legal field and its rationality and second, followed by Adele Clarke known as "situatedness". The idea of joining formalization with situatedness can be regarded as an embodiment within John Meyer and Brian Rowan's concept of an institutionalized organization. Hence science understanding is defined as a complex functioning institution escaping from a modern version of science into many postmodern ad-hoc made sciences. The paper's intention is to provide problems and proposition of solving them through applying an integrating perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the paper a comparative study conducted on the 1st grade students of sociology and pedagogy is discussed. The study focused on the language skills of students. The abilities to decode academic content are the most important tested skills. The study shows that the students have very poor language skills in decoding the academic content on every level of its complexity. They also have noticeable problems with the definition of basic academic terms. The significance of the obtained results is considerable because of the innovative topic and character of the study, which is the first such study conducted on students of a Polish university. Results are also valuable for academic teachers who are interested in such problems as effective communication with students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]