On 5/24/07, 'Gail Taylor <gdtaylor@uiuc.edu> wrote:

I'm not familiar with Keele University and not certain what cultural practices are guiding the decision-making processes of the administrators who are choosing this course of action. Can anyone share information about this University that might shed light on the administrative culture?

I'm familiar with the reactions of many American institutions but I dare not extend my observations and speculation to a British institution. It seems that here in America, administrators are coming around from the initial "It's evil and should be forbidden!" reaction that many seemed to exhibit (most Facebook-related presentation I attended at this year's ACPA/NASPA Joint Meeting focused largely on positive and constructive uses of the tool). However, there does appear to be a lingering split between the (a) scholars and younger staff who seem to have a better understanding of the tools and how and why students use them and (b) older practitioners who tend to mainly deal with the negative repercussions of students using or misusing the tools. I don't think it surprising that those whose jobs focus mainly on disciplinary and administrative issues tend to see more negative uses of new tools than positive. From a scholarly perspective, it is really exciting to see some of the student development scholars and student affairs practitioners beginning to conduct their own research into Facebook and similar tools. They bring a unique and rich understanding of both traditional college students and the (social, legal, and political) culture of higher education to this issue. Kevin