Pre-existing Friendship Research Articles

Peer observation of student-led teaching

Introduction The use of near-peer teaching in medical schools is increasing internationally. Peer observation of teaching (POT) is a useful and effective method for enhancing teaching experiences and quality, but its use among student peer teachers is not well documented. The aim of the study was to explore medical student perceptions on the value and limitations of POT. Methods Ten medical students were trained as observers. Using a previously developed model, they observed 27 teaching sessions led by other students (observees), with a pre- and post-observation meeting. Observers and observees completed a survey and group interview to explore their experiences. Descriptive analysis of survey data and thematic analysis of qualitative data were conducted. Results Observees found feedback valuable in learning about, reflecting on, and increasing confidence in teaching practice. They felt comfortable receiving feedback and reported positively about the observers in terms of: expertise, relatability, non-intimidating presence, and awareness of the target audience. Observers reported learning more about good teaching practice. While most observers found it enjoyable, several found some aspects of giving feedback uncomfortable. Most found it difficult to establish a satisfactory dynamic, citing lack of credibility and difficulty in eliminating hierarchies. Pre-existing friendships were reported by observers as both helping and hindering the dynamic. Discussion Both observers and observees gained from the experience of POT. However, observers lacked confidence in their credibility. Further work should address how best to implement POT into the curriculum to improve teaching practice in medical students. Further training or coaching could be considered to overcome observers’ concerns. Practice points Consider coaching observers to address concerns of credibility. Consider collaborating with experienced staff to ensure evaluation is robust. To support sustainability, consider facilitation of experienced observers training those more junior in POT. Following initial training, observers could be given the chance to shadow an observer, do an observation and debrief with a trainer.

Doing drug research as an intimate insider: navigating the complex ethical terrain of pre-existing friendship in drug research

Doing drug research as an intimate insider: navigating the complex ethical terrain of pre-existing friendship in drug research

Friends, peers and safeguarding

Friends, peers and safeguarding

Establishing ties or strengthening friendships? Students' use of online social networks in intercultural friendship development

PurposeThis study was conducted to achieve the following objectives: (1) determine the differences and reasons for using outgroup OSNs by gender, age and student groups (Mainland and Hong Kong [HK] students); (2) uncover the impact of online social networks (OSNs) on the development of Mainland–HK friendships and (3) determine the roles of different OSNs (social networking sites [SNSs] and instant messaging platforms [IMPs]) in the development of intercultural friendships in the real world.Design/methodology/approachTo explore how OSNs facilitate (or inhibit) intercultural interactions, 198 students completed a questionnaire and 24 students participated in follow-up semi-structured interviews examining the role of OSNs in intercultural friendship development.FindingsResults revealed that demographic and motivational preferences for using outgroup-OSNs differed among students. Both IMPs and SNSs helped students maintain friendships using little effort, whereas it tended to strengthen their existing social networks, rather than helping to start new friendships. IMPs helped develop a sense of “presence awareness”, strengthening pre-existing friendships and solidifying offline connections. SNSs also assisted students in exploring their shared interests while revealing their values and cultural differences.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors’ findings offered empirical evidence on social exchange theory and anxiety-uncertainty management theory regarding the perceived benefit of OSNs on students' friendship development.Practical implicationsThe study sheds light on the differences between Mainland Chinese and HK students, including participants' perceptions of different friendship stages.Originality/valueThis study is interested in the roles of different SNSs and IMPs in intercultural friendship development, especially their strengths and weaknesses as perceived by students. Also, the authors are curious about how students select and use IMPs and SNSs differently according to their individual preferences and needs. To the authors’ knowledge, the dynamic link between online communication and intercultural friendship development has not been thoroughly examined in the field of intercultural communication.

Emerging Adulthood, a Pre-adult Life-History Stage.

The duration of human maturation has been underestimated; an additional 4–6-year pre-adult period of “emerging adulthood,” should be included in models of human maturation. It is a period of brain maturation, learning about intimacy and mutual support, intensification of pre-existing friendships, family-oriented socialization, and the attainment of those social skills that are needed for mating and reproduction. We propose that emerging adulthood is a life-history stage that is a foundation of the high reproductive success of human beings. The period of emerging adulthood has an evolutionary context and developmental markers, and we present evidence that supports the idea that emerging adults require protection because they are still learning and maturing.

Rhythmic Features of Movement Synchrony for Bonding Individuals in Dyadic Interaction

This study examined ways in which rhythmic features of movement contribute to bonding between individuals. Though previous studies have described synchrony as a form of social glue, this research extends those findings to consider the impact of fast versus slow tempo on movement synchrony. This two-part experiment examined dyadic interactions as they occurred between same-sex strangers (Study 1) and friends (Study 2). Participants were video-recorded as they engaged in 5- or 6-min chats, and synchrony was evaluated using wavelet transform via calculations of cross-wavelet coherence. Study 1 employed regression commonality analysis and hierarchical linear modeling and found that among various frequency bands, rapport between individuals was positively associated with synchrony under 0.025 Hz (i.e., slower than once every 40 s) and 0.5–1.5 Hz (i.e., once every 0.67–2 s). On the contrary, Study 2 determined that synchrony of 0.5–1.5 Hz was not impactful among friend dyads and only predictive of the motivation to cultivate a friendly relationship during interactions with strangers. These results indicate the existence of a distinctive rhythm for bonding individuals, and the role of pre-existing friendship as a moderator of the bonding effect of synchrony. However, the role of relative phase (i.e., timing of movement; same versus opposite timing) remains unclear, as the ratio of in- and anti-phase patterning had no significant influence on perceived rapport and motivation to develop relationships. On the basis of the research results, a theoretical contribution is proposed to the study of interpersonal coordination.

Freedom from Reality: The Diabolical Character of Modern Liberty by D. C. Schindler

Reviewed by: Freedom from Reality: The Diabolical Character of Modern Liberty by D. C. Schindler Scott Philip Segrest SCHINDLER, D. C. Freedom from Reality: The Diabolical Character of Modern Liberty. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press. 456 pp. Cloth, $55.00; paper, $55.00 D.C. Schindler has produced one of those exceedingly rare books capable of making you rethink everything you thought you knew on a subject (here, modern liberty or liberalism) and on exhaustively studied great philosophers (in this case, especially [End Page 810] Locke, Plato, and Aristotle). The text is densely packed with close analysis of the relevant sources and requires slow, careful reading to digest. Schindler's basic thesis is that the commitment to modern liberty, as quintessentially formulated by John Locke, involves a flight from reality, a flight in particular from engagement with any concrete, substantive goods beyond a subjective personal satisfaction that in fact never really satisfies. The root of modern liberty, Schindler suggests, is a deliberate divorcing of potency from actuality, from any transcendent ground of the will or any transcendent ends toward which the will inherently tends, from a motive of wanting to possess pure power over against any controlling natural order or any good not self-determined. The problem with modernity is not modern values in the abstract but that the values (rights, equality, and so on) are reduced to abstractions, have been completely abstracted from the larger reality in which each of us stands—from any ultimate transcendent good and from any concrete positive human relations (relations of friendship or generosity as opposed to mere interest-based contractual arrangements). If this looks like a Platonic-Aristotelian-Christian critique of liberalism, it is, but Schindler's analysis is novel in several respects, and his case is argued with unusual power of insight. Most notable on a substantive level is the evaluation of modern liberty, as the book's subtitle indicates, as having a "diabolical character." This diabolical character of modern liberty is part and parcel of the diabolical order, or rather disorder, of modern human experience, which comes into focus in juxtaposition to the "symbolical order" of premodern times, of which the diabolical is a "subversion." One of the outstanding features of Schindler's work is his effort to recover lost meanings through etymological tracings, and the most important of these is his analysis of the Greek ςυμβαλλω, which suggests a kind of bringing together, and διαβαλλω, which suggests a dividing and breaking apart, with a connotation in its extended meaning of a deceptive and distorting representation of reality. The term "symbolon," Schindler tells us, was originally connected with the ancient token of friendship known as the tessera hospitalis, an act of hospitality symbolizing a preexisting friendship. A "symbolical" social order was a kind of community of friends understood to reflect and participate, through such hospitable enactments, in a larger order of nature that was fundamentally good. The notion of "participation" is of crucial importance. The members of the community participate together in a larger good that transcends them but in which they dwell harmoniously. Schindler does not explain exactly how the modern "diabolical subversion" of this premodern symbolical order occurred, but he expounds the diabolical elements of the subversion in a way that sheds great light on modern problems. The actual order of the world in which the symbolical order is embedded is, as actual, inescapable. The order that results from the will's attempt to make itself autonomous cannot therefore dispense with, but only subvert, the symbolical order. It must live parasitically on the symbolical order, mimicking it while emptying the new order of the old [End Page 811] substantive content, or indeed of any substantive content. But emptying order of substantive content is self-subverting. The diabolical order retains something of the form of reality but is left with only its outer crust. Human relationships and even one's own personality are completely externalized. There is no real vitality within the shell, and no intimacy between persons because their relations are defined by their external boundaries. In terms of liberty, the features of diabolical liberty are all negative—rights are rights against others and against government; equality tends...

Am I a leader or a friend? How leaders deal with pre-existing friendships

We studied employees who were promoted into a leadership role from within their workgroup and explored how they dealt, psychologically, with being both a leader and a friend of their subordinates. In an inductive, qualitative study of 33 individuals from across three organizations (two mining companies and one childcare organization) we found that these people experienced psychological conflict that resulted in them feeling vulnerable to being exploited or being afraid to use their power over subordinate-friends. We identified five strategies that were used, namely abdicating responsibility, ending the friendship, establishing the divide, overlapping the roles, and using friendship to lead. We developed a model whereby the type of psychological conflict and the person's leader identity (either “the boss”, just a role, or a weak or non-existent leader identity) leads to the choice of resolution strategy. This exploration into understanding pre-existing friendships demonstrates the ongoing need to consider those in a leadership role as “people” and not just “leaders”.

In sickness and in health: classmates are highly motivated to provide in-hospital support during childhood cancer therapy.

Extended hospitalization for school-aged cancer patients increases their risk of social marginalization. School-aged children mature through peer-interaction, but healthcare providers fail to incorporate this in rehabilitation efforts. The RESPECT study offers classmates to cancer patients to become ambassadors during hospital stays. This study explores classmate decision-making patterns about ambassadorship. An open-ended question was prospectively and consecutively provided to classmates (N = 221) (and parents) of 10 children diagnosed with cancer in 2014 and enrolled in the RESPECT study. Statements were analysed using thematic content analysis. Of 221 classmates, 140 responded (63%). Of these, 81 applied for ambassadorship (median 8/patient), 58 declined, one was undecided. Nine forms were incomplete; leaving 131 in total that revealed 303 statements for analysis. Five major themes emerged: existing friendship (132/303 statements), personal resources (academic, emotional and social) (107/303), attitudes towards the ambassadorship (34/303), hospital environment (18/303) and logistics (12/303). Of the classmates with pre-existing friendships, 77% applied for ambassadorship and 80% with a surplus of personal resources applied. These were predominant predictors for ambassadorship application. Classmate motives were condensed into four archetypes: pre-existing friendship with a surplus of resources (100% applied), non-friend classmates with a surplus of resources (63% applied), pre-existing friendship with limited resources (22% applied) and non-friend classmates with limited resources (0% applied). Classmates are highly motivated to support patients during serious illness, irrespective of pre-existing friendships. Ambassadors offer a novel in-hospital approach to promote rehabilitation in children with severe/chronic diseases. Results need validation in other settings. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A Community of Strangers: The Dis-Embedding of Social Ties

In this paper we explore two contrasting perspectives on individuals' participation in associations. On the one hand, some have considered participation the byproduct of pre-existing friendship ties — the more friends one already has in the association, the more likely he or she is to participate. On the other hand, some have considered participation to be driven by the association's capacity to form new identities — the more new friends one meets in the association, the more likely he or she is to participate. We use detailed temporal data from an online association to adjudicate between these two mechanisms and explore their interplay. Our results show a significant impact of new friendship ties on participation, compared to a negligible impact of pre-existing friends, defined here as ties to other members formed outside of the organization's context. We relate this finding to the sociological literature on participation and we explore its implications in the discussion.

The use of social technologies in Spanish young people: a global behaviour model in teenagers

The majority of all Spanish youths aged 12–17 use online social networking sites (internet and mobile technology), according to a new local survey of teenagers conducted by Valencia University, Fepad & the Universidad Politecnica de Valencia. The survey also found that older teens, in particular girls, are more likely to use these sites. For girls, social networking sites are places to reinforce pre-existing friendships, while for boys these networks provide opportunities for flirting and making new friends. In both cases, business relations in the future will be influenced by this new relationship method with ‘new business relationships’ being taken on by ‘digital natives’ as opposed to the current ‘digital immigrants’ who have not taken on board this network technology as quickly. The objective of this study is to present our research on the relationship between web 2.0 technologies and the behaviour and personality of the teenagers who form the object of the study as well as the potential dependencies, and resulting personal, academic and family disorders that may stem from abuse of these technologies, especially via mobile phones. The main objective is to explore how web-based technologies lessen or generate different types of disorders in today’s society, particularly amongst teenagers.

Symposium 2: Understanding emerging knowledge spillovers in team-group learning settings

In classroom teaching, teachers make increasingly use of collaborative learning formats such as team learning, and educational technology to enhance the learning experience of students. Most research on team-learning focuses on learning within teams. However, to what extent do learners also share knowledge between teams during a course? This study took place in a third-year course on International economics, whereby 57 students were divided into eleven teams and learned and collaborated in an innovative blended learning environment. For ascertaining whether inter- and intra-team learning and knowledge spillovers occurred during the course, we employed a method developed within the field of Social Network Analyses (SNA). We measured prior friendship relations during the first week, while possible knowledge spillovers between learners and teams were assessed during week 4, week 7 and week 14.The results indicate that knowledge spillovers across teams do occur over time. All eleven teams developed outside links to other teams after 14 weeks. Already after seven weeks, the average number of external links tripled to 20.0, which implies that the number of external links is (almost) equal to the internal links with the teams, and the E-I index was -0.12. In other words, substantial knowledge spillovers occurred after seven weeks. Finally, after 14 weeks the average number of external links was 18.4 and the External-Internal (E-I) index is -0.17, implying that in comparison to the beginning of the course learning occurred both within teams as well as outside teams but relatively more within their team rather than outside their team. Friendship relations were positively correlated to the three learning networks. However, the size of these correlations was lower than the size of correlations between the three learning networks, indicating that new learning links (i.e. knowledge spillovers) were established over time, as confirmed by follow-up multiple regression quadratic assignment procedures. Our results indicate that pre-existing friendships play a part in knowledge spillovers, but dynamics between learners and teams over time seem more important.

Symposium 2: Understanding emerging knowledge spillovers in small-group learning settings

Learning in authentic projects is supposed to enhance graduates knowledge, skills and future employment. However, in programmes with a large number of students, implementing project-based learning and providing helpful guidance, extensive feedback, and support by teachers can be cumbersome. While peer assessment traditionally is used for grading or marking peers, there is a call for more formative (for learning) assessment and feedback using ICT which goes beyond marking and grading. This study took place in a post-graduate course on Event Operations management, whereby 69 primarily international students were divided into nine teams and worked together for a sustained period of fourteen weeks on a high-stake assignment, namely running a successful and profitable event. For ascertaining whether inter- and intra-team learning and knowledge spillovers occurred during the course, we employed a method developed within the field of Social Network Analyses (SNA). We measured prior friendship and work relations during the first week, while possible knowledge spillovers between learners and teams were assessed during week 14.In contrast to previous research on evolution of knowledge spillovers in small-group settings by Hernandez Nanclares et al. (2012), our results seem to indicate that knowledge spillovers across teams reduced over time. While all nine teams had substantial work and friendship relations outside their own team at the beginning of the module, over time all teams became more focussed on learning within teams. While pre-existing friendship ties are significantly correlated to the post- measurements of learning and work networks, pre-existing work ties are more strongly correlated with learning ties after fourteen weeks, as confirmed by multiple regression quadratic assignment procedures. Although further research is needed to confirm the underlying dynamics why teams and learners became more internally focussed, we hypothesise that the instructional design (i.e. focus on competition) and task-assignment may have a stronger impact on reducing knowledge spillovers between learners and teams.

Reshaping the Hourglass? The Environmental Movement and Civil Society Development in the Russian Federation

Rose's and Mishler and Rose's ‘hourglass’ construction of post-Soviet Russian society illustrates that the civil space traditionally occupied by advocacy and community groups continues to be constricted. Such groups fail to successfully bridge the space between the individual and the state, thereby holding the fledgling Russian democracy to account. In this paper, to shed light on reasons for the continuing constriction of Russian civil space, the behavior of the environmental movement in one Russian region — Samara Oblast — is observed through the lens of social capital. By utilizing Adler and Kwon's schema for assessing the benefits and risks arising from social capital stocks possessed by collectives, it will illustrate that the Russian environmental movement is inward looking and parochial; built on pre-existing friendships or elite connections; and uninterested in forming a mass movement or actively engaging with the Russian public. Moreover, rather than being situated within the constricted civil space of Russian society, the majority of groups within the Samara environmental movement are themselves situated firmly in either half of the hourglass. Groups within each half successfully span gaps between each other, but no activity is undertaken to bridge or reshape the constricted space between the halves.

Development of computer-supported collaborative social networks in a distributed learning community

This study examines the formation and change of collaborative learning social networks in a distributed learning community. A social network perspective is employed to understand how collaborative networks evolved over time when 31 distributed learners collaborated on a design project using a computer-mediated communication system during two semesters. Special attention was paid to how pre-existing friendship networks influenced the formation of macro-level collaborative learning networks and individual level social capital. We discovered that pre-existing friendship networks significantly influenced the formation of collaborative learning networks, but the effect was dependent on the developmental phase of community. Also, pre-existing networks generally acted as a social liability that constrained learners' ability to enhance their social networks and build social capital when they participated in a new learning environment. The results suggest that, in order to fully understand how to build effective collaborative learning and work environments, participants' social network structures need to be considered.

Social networks, communication styles, and learning performance in a CSCL community

The aim of this study is to empirically investigate the relationships between communication styles, social networks, and learning performance in a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) community. Using social network analysis (SNA) and longitudinal survey data, we analyzed how 31 distributed learners developed collaborative learning social networks, when they had work together on the design of aerospace systems using online collaboration tools. The results showed that both individual and structural factors (i.e., communication styles and a pre-existing friendship network) significantly affected the way the learners developed collaborative learning social networks. More specifically, learners who possessed high willingness to communicate (WTC) or occupied initially peripheral network positions were more likely to explore new network linkages. We also found that the resultant social network properties significantly influenced learners’ performance to the extent that central actors in the emergent collaborative social network tended to get higher final grades. The study suggests that communication and social networks should be central elements in a distributed learning environment. We also propose that the addition of personality theory (operationalized here as communication styles) to structural analysis (SNA) contributes to an enhanced picture of how distributed learners build their social and intellectual capital in the context of CSCL.

Pour une compréhension élargie de la sociabilité maçonnique à Paris à la fin du XVIIIe siècle

Irène Diet, For a wider understanding of masonic sociability in Paris at the end of the Eighteenth Century. The author's aim here is to present a new reading of masonic sociability at the end of the Eighteenth Century and a new understanding of the freemasons' social function through the study of a group of friends, all of whom were freemasons. Pre-existing friendships made it possible to be introduced into the life of the Lodge, which in turn encouraged and strengthened other friendships that were then expressed in terms of intermarriage, cohabitation or relationships of business or conviviality. The precise study based on notarial sources makes it possible to follow a whole constellation of families and friends from the Parisian notarial milieu held together by the common bonds of freemasonry from the Eighteenth Century to the begining of the Nineteenth.