Distance education initiatives that incorporate interactive television are explored from the perspective of two social work programs. Though both programs are of similar size and exist in the same state, one is private and located in an urban area, while the other is public and located in a rural area. Four key dimensions essential to distance…

Objective: To assess students' human papillomavirus (HPV) knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Participants/ Methods: Students (N = 1,282) at a large, public university in the Northeast United States completed a questionnaire during February 2008 assessing HPV knowledge, prevalence, transmission, cervical cancer risk and stigma; sexual behavior,…

This study examines the effects of media resources in the parental home on the science performance of 15-year-old students. It employs data from the 2006 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) containing information on 345,967 respondents from 53 countries. Results show that media assets in the family home are indeed meaningful for…

A unique talent development project took place in Belfast, Northern Ireland over the autumn (fall) term of 2007 that developed 60 young people from ten diverse schools (Special, Secondary, Grammar, Controlled (state schools) and Catholic Maintained). The project culminated in Manchester on 3 December 2007 when the Young People undertook a journey…

In this article, the Eco Challenge race video is presented as a teaching tool for facilitating theory-based discussion and application in organizational behavior (OB) courses. Before discussing the intricacies of the video series itself, the authors present a pedagogically based rationale for using reality TV-based video segments in a classroom…

The aim of this study is three-fold: (1) to examine the similarities and differences between instructor and peer assessments of EFL group presentations; (2) to understand the utility of peer assessment for discriminating each group member's contribution to group presentations in college EFL classrooms; and (3) to investigate the relationship…

Business students should understand the relevance of professional attire as an indication of conformity. Of equal importance is the recognition that some companies have loosened their dress codes to a more flexible policy to recruit young talent. "Ugly Betty" could serve as a teaching tool to initiate the dialogue on conformity in a light-hearted,…

Background: The purpose of this study was both to investigate if children with intellectual disability (ID) spend more time watching television and on the computer than their peers without disabilities and if total screen time correlates with physical activity in these same children. Methods: Participants were 9 children with ID matched with 9…

Reproductive justice is an important and comprehensive conceptualization for understanding the complexity of reproductive issues faced by women. When considering attitudes and beliefs that give rise to policies related to reproduction, it is critical to examine the ways in which the issues are framed. In this case-study-style analysis, the…

Background: Physical activity (PA) declines as children and adolescents age. The purpose of this study was to examine how specific school factors relate to youth PA, TV viewing, and body mass index (BMI). Methods: A sample of 12- to 18-year-old adolescents in 3 cities (N = 165, 53% females, mean age 14.6 [plus or minus] 1.7 years, 44% nonwhite)…

A study investigated the idea that the amount of knowledge viewers extract from exposure to television is a function of the amount of mental effort involved in processing the program content, and that the mental effort invested in viewing is partly a function of people's expectations about the demand characteristics associated with the content.…

This module is part of an interdisciplinary program designed to educate the general citizenry regarding the issues of science/technology/society (STS) that have important consequences for both present and future social policies. Specifically, the program provides an opportunity for students to assess the effects of selected technological…

Reported in this document are findings from an evaluation of three kinds of prosocial children's programming broadcasted by the NBC network during the 1980-81 season. The prosocial programmings evaluated were "Drawing Power,""Play Alongs," and "How to Watch TV". The primary goals of the study, as stated by NBC, were…

The primary objectives of this study were: (1) to determine the extent to which Sesame Street is continuing to reach underprivileged preschool children and to compare its current performance with data established in the previous studies conducted in 1970, 71, and 73; (2) to examine the relationship of Sesame Street to school age children by…

The purpose of this book is to provide the reader with an informational frame of reference that will permit the formation of critical judgments concerning America's mass media institutions. The book covers the broad spectrum of the communications media in terms of their impact on American society. Such topics are discussed as social aspects of…