Contact Theory as a Framework for Experiential Activities as Diversity Education: An Exploratory Study

Participation in experiential education is said to enhance people\u27s appreciation for diversity. This article reports on a study that found significant changes in participants\u27 attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors following a nonformal diversity education program using adventure-based and community-service activities. Additionally, hypothesized program conditions, as outlined by contact theory, were significantly predictive of outcomes, although majority and minority participants differed on their perceptions of these conditions. These findings suggest that experiential activities may be considered a viable approach to diversity education in nonformal settings, assuming key conditions are met. Implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed

Youth Media's Impact on Audience and Channels of Distribution

In partnership with the Open Society Institute, the Surdna Foundation supported a research and capacity building initiative focused on youth media's impact on audience. Social Policy Research Associates (http://www.spra.com), based out of the Bay Area, was hired to conduct a literature review of existing media evaluation models, develop a theory of youth media impact on audience, and create a toolkit, which was used to build the evaluation capacity of a regional group of youth media organizations

Intangible trust requirements - how to fill the requirements trust "gap"?

Previous research efforts have been expended in terms of the capture and subsequent instantiation of "soft" trust requirements that relate to HCI usability concerns or in relation to "hard" tangible security requirements that primarily relate to security a ssurance and security protocols. Little direct focus has been paid to managing intangible trust related requirements per se. This 'gap' is perhaps most evident in the public B2C (Business to Consumer) E- Systems we all use on a daily basis. Some speculative suggestions are made as to how to fill the 'gap'. Visual card sorting is suggested as a suitable evaluative tool; whilst deontic logic trust norms and UML extended notation are the suggested (methodologically invariant) means by which software development teams can perhaps more fully capture hence visualize intangible trust requirements

Brain Resilience: Shedding Light into the Black Box of Adventure Processes

Understanding of the active beneficial processes of adventure learning remains elusive. Resilience may provide one foundation for understanding the positive adaptation derived from Outdoor Adventure Education (OAE) and Adventure Therapy (AT) programming. From a neurological perspective, resilience may be explained by the brain’s innate capability to adapt its structure (growth of new cells) and function (re-wiring of existing cells) directly in response to environmental exposure. This paper explores the role of known brain responses to experiences analogous to adventure programming based on themes from a key literature review. The fundamental paradigm of ‘stress and recovery’ contends that a balance of neurobiological processes help realign psychosocial equilibrium in the short term and over time. Through progressive, repeated exposure to custom-built outdoor challenges, the concept of brain resilience may provide a scientific platform for understanding the mechanisms of achieving meaningful, authentic and healthy outcomes. It could also help to begin to illuminate a section of the black box of adventure processes

Low empathising and high systemising tendencies in higher education computing students: the affordances of virtual worlds in their education

Background. The increasing societal reliance on emerging technologies is demanding much more from those planning a career in the computing industry than technical ability alone. Many contemporary job roles require business contact, increasing the relevance of soft skills to competent practice. However, the association between those who are inherently drawn to a career in computing and low empathising, high systemising tendencies may present a barrier to future professional success. It is therefore important that the needs of such students are considered as part of their higher education experience, in order to ensure that the development of essential soft skills can be addressed as early as possible. Aim. To evaluate the ability of virtual world (VW) technology, through its characteristics of immersion, identity and interaction, to foster the soft skills recognised as presenting the most difficulty for those with a low empathising, high systemising disposition. Method. A variety of bespoke scenarios were developed for a VW and introduced to an undergraduate Applied Computing programme. These were based on technical activities but with a focus on managing non-routine situations, improving communication, embracing play and imagination as well as developing social relationships. Associations were made between the students’ cognitive style and their scholastic performance, including their own perception of the intervention. Consideration was also given to the observations of others, such as higher education unit lecturers, support staff, volunteer VW scenario participants and employers. Result. Achievement for all students was generally found to be better in areas of the course incorporating VW activities. Those with low empathising, high systemising traits considered their communication to have improved the most, followed by their ability to tackle non-routine situations, albeit with some delay in their reaction to the latter. A positive, but less significant, impact was reported for the other skills. However, the contribution of VW activities appeared to be transformational in some students experiencing more severe difficulties in these areas. Discussion. The research provided evidence of the VW as an engaging environment for developing non-technical skills through technical experiences, but raised a number of adoption concerns. While these techniques, applicable to other Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) areas or indeed any subject discipline that requires an emphasis on sought-after soft skills, could still be implemented by other methods in the real world, the activities may not be as effective as they are in avatar-based VWs

Challenges in Bridging Social Semantics and Formal Semantics on the Web

This paper describes several results of Wimmics, a research lab which names stands for: web-instrumented man-machine interactions, communities, and semantics. The approaches introduced here rely on graph-oriented knowledge representation, reasoning and operationalization to model and support actors, actions and interactions in web-based epistemic communities. The re-search results are applied to support and foster interactions in online communities and manage their resources

Back to Reality: A Study of Reality Television Tourism

With movies and television providing entertainment in almost every American household, reality programming has become an integral part of the marketing industry today. This form of entertainment has influenced viewers and marketers alike as the number of programs have increased on nearly every network. This paper explores the gap in available academic research as to how this explosion in programming affects tourism to the locations presented in films and television shows. Data was collected by means of a self-administered survey completed through Qualtrics; snowball sampling was used. The survey was posted and completed through reality television message boards and blogs and via social media. Data analysis involved multiple statistical measurements but relied primarily on Structural Equation Modeling. Components adapted from Crompton’s push/pull model in additional to others introduced items provided the base work for the analysis. This study found that the primary viewer of reality television was female, thirty years-of-age or older, well educated, married, and at a higher income level. The findings of the study exhibited three factors that influenced consumer likelihood of visiting a reality television destination. These were: Personal Involvement, Destination Image, and Motivation. This study provides traditional print marketers, destination marketers, film and television producers as well as the destination location, much valuable and useful information. The data obtained provides an opportunity to capitalize upon different mediums through the use of advertisements and specified promotions that are directly related to locations and/or destinations portrayed within the program. It also provides a look at the consumers of the programming and what would attract the viewers to a location. KEYWORDS: Reality television tourism, Push/Pull, structural equation modeling, film-induced tourism, destination image, travel and touris

Disentangling Student Engagement in Afterschool Programs

This dissertation presents a line of research exploring the characteristics and role of student engagement in afterschool programs, specifically during early adolescence. The dissertation takes a two-study format, building off of my comprehensive exam Measuring engagement in out-of-school time programs. This first chapter is an introduction in which I will detail the underlying problem that is investigated in the following two manuscripts. Following this introduction, the two separate studies are presented

Video games and learning : a scoping study of the diverse use of video games in Australian classrooms

This study investigates current uses of video games within secondary classrooms in Australia, and the ways this is impacted by teacher attitudes and experiences. First, a thorough systematic review of current literature surrounding video games in secondary classrooms was conducted. The review indicated that current research regarding video games and education is primarily concerned with short-term interventions, and often does not take into consideration the context of wider teaching activities. The review further found that research in the Australian context is limited, and primarily qualitative in nature. Second, a survey of Australian secondary teachers was conducted to explore teacher attitudes towards video game based learning, and to identify promoters and barriers to the adoption of video games. Results indicated teacher beliefs were positive regarding the ability of video games to increase student interest and engagement, and to teach real-world skills. External support for video games and the frequency of teacher video game use in their own practice significantly influenced teacher attitudes. The opportunities for building on the limited research within an Australian context means this study contributes to building a comprehensive body of research that accounts for teacher attitudes and uses of video games within Australian secondary classrooms