Suchergebnisse

Blended learning, in the form of screencasts to be viewed online outside of class, was incorporated into three sections of an introductory sociology course in a liberal arts college setting. The screencasts were used to introduce concepts and theories to provide more time for discussion in class and more opportunity for students to review concepts and theories outside of class. Students' use and their perceptions of the impact of the screencasts were assessed with an in-class survey instrument in addition to a web-based college-administered survey. Although it was not possible to measure the impact of blended learning on students' academic performance and learning outcomes in this exploratory study, student responses indicated high use of the screencasts as well as the perception that the screencasts were helpful, contributed positively to performance on exams, and also led to more positive feelings about the course more generally. Overall, this provides an optimistic initial appraisal of the prospects for blended learning.

This article evaluates the extent to which Melbin's (1978) ideal type of frontiers can be applied to a new frontier, outer space. Although outer space fits Melbin's model of frontiers in a number of ways, several deviations are also apparent. These deviations from the model are linked to a combination of four characteristics of outer space as a frontier: the highly technological nature of travel, dependence on Earth, government control, and the initially perceived limitlessness of space. This application leads to further specifications of Melbin's conceptualization of frontiers and provides the basis for speculation concerning the future of outer space as a frontier.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the portrayal of gender and race in the images on the official Disney websites used to market five theme parks: the Disneyland Parks in California, Paris, Tokyo, and Hong Kong, and the Magic Kingdom in Florida. This is important because of the growth of e-commerce, Disney's global influence, and the potential impact on those who view the images. The 452 images that had Disney human characters, human-like characters, animals, cast members, or guests were coded for gender. The main gender hypothesis, that the percentage of male-dominated images would exceed the percentage of female-dominated images, was tested using gender disparity values, which measured the gap between the percentage of male-dominated and female-dominated images. The hypothesis tended to be supported overall, and for most of the resorts (e.g., Florida), lands (e.g., Adventureland), and activities (attractions, entertainment, dining) for human characters, human-like characters, animals, and cast members, but not for guests. Furthermore, the hypotheses that gender disparity values would be highest for images of animals and lowest for images of guests was supported for all five resorts, six of eight lands, and all three activities. Additional analysis also revealed the preponderance of same-sex pairings in parent–child combinations in the images. With regard to race, while the images of some theme parks displayed more racial diversity among their guests than others, in some images, individuals of different races were shown interacting whereas in others they were not. Explanations for these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.