The invention of aviation has made it possible for people to travel faster and farther than ever before, and has led to a global increase in connection of commerce, people, and ideas. However, economic growth and social changes have also led to challenges for the aviation industry. NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) works…

Social sciences differ from the "hard" sciences because the social sciences are fundamentally dialectical in nature. The use of instructional dramaturgical dialogs can help students appreciate the kind of knowledge social scientists seek and the positive consequences of scholarly conflict. An illustrative dialog between educators and…

Presents a way of teaching the scientific method through studying the adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Asserting that Sherlock Holmes used the scientific method to solve cases, the authors construct Holmes' method through excerpts from novels featuring his adventures. Discusses basic assumptions, paradigms, theory building, and testing. (SLM)

In the teaching approach described here, middle-grade gifted students assume the roles of working social scientists in the fields of anthropology, economics, history, geography, political science, and sociology. This article includes a brief description of each of these disciplines, with an example of a related "social sciencing" classroom…

Contends that academic training involving collaboration of sociology and history disciplines should begin at the undergraduate, rather than the graduate, level. Advocates teaching sociological principles in a historical context. Suggests that a course examining the interplay of sociology and history should be required for sociology majors. (DB)

Describes a college-level student research project on white-collar crime and its relationship to political sociology. Provides suggestions for adapting the activity to other classrooms. Includes recommended resources that can be found in most college libraries. (CFR)

Maintains the status of economics is falling. Fewer students, low returns on econometric models, and over-certain economic predictions resulting from inappropriate scientific methodology are seen as indicators of the fall. More attention needs to be given in teaching the sources, use and abuse of economic data, and in social science methodology.…

Social scientists need to cultivate awareness of values, their own and those embedded in research activities, and be responsive to the value system they encounter when doing organizational research. Discusses the sharing of ethical responsibility with organization members, elements of self-awareness and self-management, relationship management,…

Three epistemological domains for history are discussed: the present concrete world, chronological ordering, and ideas. The nature of the epistemic network is emphasized through the formula history presupposes as a recognition of the contemporaneity of the past and the historicity of the present. (Author/DS)

Notes that economics courses use a model of perfect competition as a starting point for the analysis of competitive structures. Further notes this model does not work for an investigation of oligopolies. Presents a contestable markets model which can improve students' understanding of the imperfect competitive environment. (RKM)

Illustrates the construction of a classroom demonstration of the moving cube illusion. Gives details for building this three-dimensional figure that appears to be a solid cube but is actually a hollow figure. Suggests ways in which this display may be used in the classroom or as a permanent exhibit. (KO)

Describes two exercises in which undergraduates from abnormal psychology courses act as role-play clients for graduate counselor-trainees. Finds that the exercises seem to be educationally beneficial and may also help decrease undergraduates' negative stereotyping of persons with psychological problems. (KO)

This module offers students opportunities to examine the theories and research associated with a range of different disciplines that focus on relationships between family life and work life. The module is organized around articles that have been nominated for the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Work-Family Research. This award process identifies…

Maintains that the recent introduction of SPSS for Windows allows for data analysis to be employed in substantive courses as well as methods courses. Describes the use of the program in upper-division sociology classes where substantive themes are developed in depth. Presents and discusses several classroom activities using the program. (CFR)

A proposal is presented for a Community College of Philadelphia course surveying basic social science skills and information, including scientific method, map usage, evolution, native peoples, social groups, and U.S. Government. Following a standard cover form, a statement of purpose for the course indicates that it is designed to provide…