Magic tricks are very popular, and they can and should be used in teaching when the underlying principle is easily explained by physics. Such tricks often fall in the realm of hands-on experiments, which are considered to be potentially very effective in raising interest and motivating students. Unfortunately, many hands-on experiments are easy to…

This paper proposes a new way for sociology, through both methodology and theory, to understand the reality of social groups and their "minority practices." It is based on an experiment that concerns a very specific category of agriculturalists called "pluriactive" stock farmers. These stock farmers, who engage in raising livestock part-time…

The economic and institutional analysis of capitalism can be illustrated through John Ford's Westerns. This article focuses on six classics by Ford that show the move toward modern order, the creation of a new society, and the rule of law. Economic features are pervading, from property rights and contracts to markets, money, and trade. Ford has…

Digital globes are new technologies increasingly used in informal and formal education to display global datasets and show connections among Earth systems. But how effective are digital globes in advancing public literacy in Earth system science? We addressed this question by developing new content for digital globes with the intent to educate and…

This article introduces the Hong Kong Baptist University's Heritage project (http://heritage.lib.hkbu.edu.hk/), a multi-disciplinary online showcase for curriculum-related creative outputs that were produced by faculty and students of the university. Initiated and led by the University Library, this project was a collaborative effort with six…

This study aimed at investigating the problems that translators faced when subtitling cultural expressions from English into Arabic. To achieve this goal, the researchers selected a convenient sample comprising 40 graduate and 40 undergraduate students who were enrolled in the English language programs during the academic year 2012/2013 in…

Can race and assimilation be taught? Interdisciplinary pedagogy provides a methodology, context, and use of nontraditional texts culled from American cultural history such as from, theater and historical texts. This approach and these texts prove useful for an examination of race and assimilation in America. The paper describes a course that while…

As technology and media become more popular pedagogical tools for instructors, the discussion of using films as a way to help students understand criminological concepts is also growing. Using a conceptual framework of popular criminology, the author set out to explore the ways in which films can be incorporated into a unique course aimed at…

This article describes an activity in which students of instructional communication (1) learn about hegemony in the classroom; and (2) analyze the pedagogical behavior of a cinematic teacher in the movie "Half Nelson." Through this analysis, students will gain a heightened awareness of hegemony and will identify avenues for praxis. Doing so will…

In large parts of the developed world, increased connectivity has led to changes in the communicational landscape. Meaning-making associated with new media disturbs established ways of describing and defining literacy, leading some academics and educators to identify "new literacies" as a distinct break from traditional and predominantly…

This dynamic resource offers teachers a new way to energize the teaching of writing while also meeting Common Core State Standards. The author draws on his unique background in education and media to provide this "all-in-one" resource to help teachers use the versatility of scriptwriting to motivate students and support literacy skills…

Digital storytelling has emerged as an innovative practice that allows students deeper engagement with content while encouraging the use of critical thinking and technological skills needed to navigate the ever changing digital terrain of the 21st century. The integration of traditional and new literacy practices is evident throughout the process…

In addressing literacy in high school education, it is important to foreground the particular issues faced by growing numbers of English Language Learners (ELLs). In our increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms, this is a matter for all literacy teachers, as well as ELL specialists. In Australia, teachers of ELLs are…

With the rising incidence of television consumption in children, the aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of such habits on vocabulary skills in young children. Very little research has targeted a key cognitive skill--vocabulary--during the toddler years, which represent a critical developmental period. We recruited toddlers,…

This article explores how storied representations of characters with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are typified in a world that is increasingly influenced by popular media. Twenty commercially published children's picture books, popular novels, mainstream television programs, and popular movies from 2006-2012 were selected using purposive,…