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In the Community of Explorers Project (CoE) high school teachers and students engaged in scientific problem solving using advanced network technology and innovative pedagogy. Analysis of e-mail indicated the important effects of organizational and occupational cultures on the application of technology in classrooms and on the development of a professional community oriented toward designing innovative curriculum. (Author/AEF)

The InternNet Project examined applications of Internet resources to preservice development. Secondary interns were trained to use e-mail for communicating with faculty and maintaining an ongoing dialog. Analysis of e-mail traffic and content of clinical interactions with e-mail found that the social environments of electronic communication networks significantly affected the development and use of information technology. (SM)

Public opinion research methods try to capture public opinion out of its socio-cultural context. Consequently, data gathered from public opinion research often fails to mirror the actual opinions of individuals. To increase the validity of such data, public opinion research methods should be constructed in a way that they take into consideration the influence of social interaction on individual public opinion formulation.

Objectives: The objectives are to examine communication patterns in the discourse between a female geriatric patient and a pharmacist concerning use of an inhaler in order to understand the communicative components of consultation interaction that support the patient learning and demonstrate understanding of medical information. Methods: This article is a qualitative case study from a project that video recorded 40 clinical consultations. The case was selected as a representative example of the use of material and visual information resources during a clinical consultation between a patient and a pharmacist in a geriatric setting. Results: The patient's understanding of the clinician's medical advice did not result simply from repeating the clinician's demonstration. Rather, the patient's discussion and manipulation of the inhaler produced a communication pattern that increased her authority over topics and forms of expression. Conclusion: A combination of verbal, visual and tactile information resources produced pattterns of interaction that enhanced the patient's participation, authority and understanding of medical information. Practice implications: Many consultations can incorporate use of visual and material information resources to improve patients' participation in treatment decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study identifies the components and effects of professional persistence by analyzing video recordings of teachers' responses to students during genetics learning activities in high-school biology courses. It describes types of persistence that, as responses to digressive questions and comments, support standard communicative agendas embedded in professional culture. Examining persistence elucidates how specific components of interaction sustain conventions of professional culture and consolidate professional authority. The discussion extends the findings to consider how types of persistence apply more generally to various types of professional-client encounters, and how they affect clients' participation and access to useful information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]