Against the global trend that more and more governmental
policy initiatives for, as well as the commercialization of, e-learning
and networking, this section critically examines social development
issues, with specific role of e-learners, new media and socio-economic
cultural milieu they anchor upon, as well as social learning, knowledge
creation and creativity processes interfacing learners and knowledge
institutions. It articulates that as social agencies and socio-economic
system are undergoing changes driven by the globalization processes,
learners’ idiosyncrasies to respond and to pursue their strategic
learning venture for knowledge discovery (why, where, when, what and
how to learn) are nomadic yet innovative in many ways. For the learners’
idiosyncrasies in terms of strong initiatives, critical engagements,
and their creativity, they are instrumental for the success of the life-long
learning project, taking into accounts of the economies of educational
scale (local, regional and global) and the functional differentiation
towards inter-disciplinary and-multi professional knowledge building,
transfer and synthesis. Yet, the liberalization of learning horizons
is constrained by global regime of intellectual property.
This section explores social development issues of the intertwining
relationships and dynamics of social transformation with special reference
to knowledge creation and creativity, as shaped by, as well as shaping,
new media and social agencies. Innovative case studies and their interpretations
on the interfacing between new media, social agencies and social development
will be examined.
