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Because of our involvement in various micropublics, modern life compels us to switch continuously, without conscious attention to the process, from one domain to another and among multiple sets of ties. The identity of a person engaged in interactions emerges and reemerges phenomenologically through frequent conscious and unconscious switching among different social roles. Therefore, I define "publics" as interactional spaces of discursive or nondiscursive communication emerging through the actions of shifting network connections. I conceptualized …

…the structures of publics; it can only influence them. As we all know, children often "hang out" informally with "unexpected" (from the viewpoint of teachers and parents) friends, and may also acquire information unintended by the school system. Yet, the school program can still heavily influence the children's learning processes and ways of meeting other individuals. This degree of influence explains why many parents spare no effort to help their children get into "better" schools.