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Time, space and structure in an e‐learning and e‐mentoring project
Author(s) -
LoureiroKoechlin Cecilia,
Allan Barbara
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
british journal of educational technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.79
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1467-8535
pISSN - 0007-1013
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2009.00975.x
Subject(s) - e learning , agency (philosophy) , knowledge management , space (punctuation) , empathy , frame (networking) , macro , face (sociological concept) , structure and agency , structuration theory , sociology , computer science , psychology , pedagogy , educational technology , social psychology , social science , telecommunications , programming language , operating system , anthropology
This study focuses on a project, EMPATHY Net‐Works , which developed a learning community as a means of encouraging women to progress into employment and management positions in the logistics and supply chain industries (LaSCI). Learning activities were organised in the form of a taught module containing face‐to‐face and online elements and e‐mentoring with successful professional women in the LaSCI. In this particular research, we have used structuration theory, a social theory that concentrates on the relationships between human agency (micro‐level) and social structures (macro‐level). We used structuration as an analytical tool to help us understand what happened within the project e‐learning and e‐mentoring processes. Our analysis suggests that there were two factors that influenced the way project participants carried out their learning activities: the first one being the issue of absence and presence in online environments, and the second one the issue of time frame changes for online users.