This paper offers some reflections on what it is like to use podcasting in the online setting, teaching political science. It provides a definition and description of how it is done. Through a review of the literature, it presents the pros and cons of podcasting, its uses in the classroom, some thoughts on how it can be improved, views on its limitations, and some general observations about podcasting in the context of using new technologies in the classroom.
]]>This study was an exploratory examination of Christian hardcore music fans. Using participant observation methods, this article examines how Christian hardcore fans define themselves, the structure of Christianity, and the intersection of hardcore music and Christianity. This study was conducted in a major metropolitan area in the mid south for the purpose of uncovering common themes about the Christian hardcore music movement. The information is based on the observations of fans, informal conversations, and participation in the music scene. This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge on musical social movements by analyzing how two separate movements have contributed to the creation of this particular movement and how participants negotiate between and within the two realities during their development of their group’s ideological perspectives.
]]>Modern organizations are continually turning to technology to maximize performance, expand into the global marketplace and to bring the best and brightest together to support product innovations. Virtual teams offer organizations low-cost, high-impact solutions to complex organizational problems. An estimated 8.4 million employees are members of corporate virtual teams. This is perhaps one of the largest, unprecedented changes that managers have faced in the last fifty years. Unfortunately, evidence increasingly suggests virtual teams fail more often than they succeed. This paper presents findings regarding trends in high-performing virtual teams in an MBA program, focusing on communication and how relationships are established in high-performing teams.
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For many years, Organic Chemistry was taught as a body of chemical reactions with little or no conceptual connectivity. Professors and students alike struggle to make some sense out of literally tens of thousands of organic compounds within traditional classroom lectures.
This presentation will focus on the conceptual framework called “the seven pillars of organic chemistry”. I have used this approach for many years which led to a greater student comprehension and enjoyment of the subject matter. The approach is not intended to cover all the concepts needed for a second-year organic chemistry but rather to promote a teaching methodology that appeals to students and appears to be in harmony with many ideas concerning the teaching of organic chemistry. Hence, these seven pillars should serve as a vehicle for answering the most nagging questions in the synthesis and mechanisms of many organic reactions.
]]>This paper is an examination of student opinions about online classes. A questionnaire was administered to 168 students in the introductory class in political science and a sociology class. Students were given a 20 item inventory designed to rate online and traditional classes. The questionnaire also contained information about student demographics and learning styles. Both of these were correlated with student attitudes. The results show strong support for the classroom over online learning. The most favorable attitudes toward online classes were found among students who had taken three or more classes online. Demographic differences did not reach statistical significance suggesting that the newest generation of students do not have the same problems with computers that previous students encountered.
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