Establishing "Green Schools" and Enhancing Teachers and Students' Environmental Awareness

In today's television commercials, human beings more and more frequently serve as the medium between products and their consumers, and in both Chinese and foreign commercials the personality images are mostly those of women, especially young women. Someone has watched twenty commercials in a row and counted fourteen in which females played a role. How should one appraise this phenomenon? In the author's view, the prevalence of women's images in commercials is in keeping with the aesthetics of art, with human nature, and with the actualities of life in present-day society.     

On using humor to market higher education: at whose expense is the clowning?

This essay examines the deliberately humorous approaches undertaken in two recent higher education marketing endeavors: The American Council on Education's ‘Solutions for Our Future’ campaign and Stanford's ‘Hail, Stanford, Hail’ initiative. Three television commercials from each project are described and discussed in light of a view of comedy advanced by philosopher Kenneth Burke. Specifically, this essay identifies among each trio of videos a markedly different ‘clown’ – a figure at whom the audience is encouraged to laugh yet ultimately redeem. In turn, higher education marketing professionals and leaders are invited to reflect on choices associated with employing humorous messaging strategies.     

Accent in British Television Commercials

Television commercials can be used for studying language interaction. Accent application in television commercials is particularly interesting since it indicates a reliance on prejudice towards and against certain accents in the viewing audience. Accent use in British television commercials is studied with respect to British dialect and sociolect preferences and with respect to non‐British accents of English specifically and foreign accents generally. The implications of accent choice are investigated and discussed.     

The propaganda of bodies

In his famous “tobacco speech” of 1962, NAB President LeRoy Collins invoked the industry's own self‐regulatory standards and declared that private profit must give way when the public interest is jeopardized. Thus he argued that advertisements for cigarettes directed at youth should be barred from the airwaves. However, the broadcasters’ rejection of his proposal reveals the industry's historical equivocal view of the public interest. On January 1, 1971 Congress struck cigarette advertising from radio and television. Broadcasters fought that decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, although it is quite possible that the airing of cigarette commercials would still be permissable but for a critical industry decision ten years ago.     

Training priority: Positive suggestions

“Keep the sand low, Mike, so it doesn't accidentally get in someone's eyes. That would hurt. Yes, like that — you and Jonathan are building some very long roads. Would a little water help you pack them smoothly?” This teacher's tone of voice is accepting, and her words show understanding of the lifelong learning process.     

GERONTOLOGY AND SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION: LEARNING ACTIVITIES FOR ELIMINATING NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES

In recent years, gerontologists have pointed to the ever increasing number of older persons in American society. Implicit in these increasing numbers is the need to educate all segments of society about the problems faced by the elderly. While public schools alone cannot be held responsible for this task, it is believed that schools provide an ideal forum for developing learning activities. Schools can help increase student awareness and knowledge concerning these problems.

One of the most chronic problems faced by the elderly is that of negative stereotypes. After reviewing the literature, we suggest that social studies provides an ideal curriculum area for developing strategies that allow students to examine personal stereotypes concerning the elderly as well as possible sources of these stereotypes.

Given the hypothesis that various print and electronic media are guilty of creating or reinforcing stereotypes, students can gather information about the physical and behavioral characteristics of the elderly as portrayed on television and in magazines. Data can be gathered from regular entertainment programs and commercials on television and print advertisements in magazines. As a result of these activities, students can evaluate the media's role in perpetrating stereotypes of the elderly. In addition, we suggest strategies for allowing students to interact with the elderly in the community as a means of negating existing stereotypes.     

Is the ‘Idiot's Box’ raising idiocy? Early and middle childhood television watching and child cognitive outcome

There is widespread belief that exposure to television has harmful effects on children's cognitive development. Most studies that point to a negative correlation between hours of television watching and cognitive outcomes, fail to establish causality. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) we study young children between 5 and 10 years of age during late 1990s and early 2000s. We find strong evidence of negative correlations between hours of television watched and cognitive test scores. However, once parent's characteristics and unobserved child characteristics are taken into account these correlations go away. We find that hours of television viewed per se do not have any measurable impact on children's test scores. Our results are robust to different model specifications and instrumental variable estimates. We conclude that despite the conventional wisdom and the ongoing populist movement, proactive policies to reduce children's television exposure are not likely to improve children's cognitive development and academic performance.     

谈"问题常境"的发现和挖掘

创设问题情境能帮助学生进行深入细致的观察分析,从而培养学生的观察能力与直觉思维能力;更能帮助学生针对所观察的数学情境提出相关的数学问题,培养学生的提出问题能力与抽象思维能力。现通过分析一则案例,提出面对易境时,凭数学直觉发现问题、提出问题;面对困境时,凭元认知分析问题、解决问题;面对胜境时,凭反思创新解法、升华问题。从而强调在重视创设问题情境的同时,更要重视常规问题情境的发现和挖掘。     

China's changing policy and practice in television education, 1978–1993

In the People's Republic in China, government policies are aimed at enabling the country to achieve by the year 2050 the same standard of economic development as the middle group of developed countries, such as Portugal and Greece, reached in 1990. Education supported by television has been given an important role to play, but China's policy and practice in television education has changed considerably since 1978. The remarkable growth of the television universities, started in 1979 with a terrestrial broadcasting system, was aided by a large World Bank loan. Reforms of the late 1980s in higher education led to a decline in undergraduate numbers in these universities, but other reforms enabled them to serve new groups, such as those requiring specialised vocational courses. Next, the government decided to establish a satellite television system for education, to serve several purposes including in-service training for primary and secondary school teachers, and “post-university” television education for technicians, managers and professional staff. The outcomes of these changing policies have been monitored and to some extent evaluated, raising questions about the future of television education in China.     

Sowing Green Seeds

The paper Chinese Women's News has been running the column "Everyone Discuss the Image of Women in Commercials" for more than two months now. The views expressed are basically of two kinds. Among the first are expressions of concern about the social status and state of existence of modern women and the belief that the images of women in commercials generally present females as dutiful wives and good mothers or as flower vases and ornaments. The second kind maintains that the images of women in today's commercials basically conform with conditions in China and with social culture in its current stage. I tend toward the latter view, although I cannot say I am pleased with the manner of debating of its proponents who indulge in sarcastic argumentation and tend to be arrogant when they believe they have made a point.     

Educational Television as Part of a Learning Environment: dilemmas for the Dutch Open School broadcasts

What to do if you want to make an educational programme for 40% of the population and only 2% of them are watching? You can choose between giving up and a total face‐lift. The makers of the thematic educational broadcasts for Dutch television (TELEAC) chose to renew their product. The research activities reported here were undertaken to support the process of redesigning the programme through construction principles that can help to improve thematic educational television directed at independent learning. Three investigations were carried out: consultation with experts in the field of education, mass communication, and television programme design; consultation with educationally related groups; consultation with the audience at home. The results were interpreted in the light of an educational theory of self‐directed adult learning to produce proposals and suggestions on four main topics: context and image; content; form; and appeal to the audience     

Television and Secondary School Children

Abstract

The way in which children judge the general output of television, and the way in which it affects them, should be prime factors in considering programming for educational television, particularly in areas where educational television is still in its infancy, asin the Third World.

Dr Collin's article looks at the effects TV can have on young people, and considers the general programme output. From survey results he draws important lessons about these effects and how, for young people, the world of television translates into real life.     

《玩转地球的世界》

你以前就昕过这样的说法吧——世界就是你的牡蛎，里面充满了奇妙的体验。《玩转地球》是部节奏紧凑的旅行冒险系列片，已经在公共节目上播放了十几年，而其勇敢的团队也已经环游全球来探索地球上最盛大的节日、最壮观的海滩、最危险的险途和最怪事迭出的地方。《玩转地球的世界》将最精良的呈现给你——一个月一个月地剖析，这样你就能知道你想去旅行的时候会是什么样子了。     

Enrolment trends in school science education in Australia

Investigations were carried out to find the amount of science portrayed by terrestrial television in the UK and the public comprehension of that science as shown on television. UK terrestrial programming was derived from the Radio Times . Advertisement information was derived from UK terrestrial commercial television commercials. Public opinions were solicited by a survey of 200 members of the public ( n = 196). Science-based programming formed 5.36% of all terrestrial broadcasting time, with people watching an average of 1.75 science programmes per week (approx. 0.2% of programmes possible). 65% of all television advertisements were found to be science-based, although only 26% of advertisement categories were recognized as being science-based by the public. If interest in science is reflected in the amount of science programmes watched then the public are not interested in science. The lack of comprehension of the scientific basis of many advertisements is indicative of the lack of relevance of science education to people in modern society.     

TELEVISION AND THE EDUCATION OF THE YOUNG

This paper, from the 1979 Conference, ‘Television In Society’ begins by defining the educational process as one of persisting, despite initial failures, to acquire understanding or mastery, and underlining the uniqueness of each individual learner. The author reports on the results of a one‐year study of the viewing habits of pre‐school children. Little ‘rising fives’ are such heavy viewers that they must feel a sense of loss when school attendance deprives them of ‘their’ television, perhaps the most valuable ‘child‐minder’ of all. Television delights these veteran under‐five viewers and provides an aid that parents and teachers can welcome; it also seems to stimulate little or no ‘participation’ and to inhibit language skills. Older children are also voracious viewers, but the author's experience suggests that television does not of itself inhibit reading and that to blame violent behaviour on viewing of violence is humbug. In conclusion it is suggested that educators are as yet failing to recognize the paramount importance of television in children's lives: there is an urgent need for education to acknowledge this in its curricula and for children (and adults) to find out more about how television is created. The Educational Television Association could play an important role here.     

Circular of the General Office of the State Education Commission on Retransmitting the "Circular on Resolving the Problem of Secondary and Elementary School Dropouts"

The "Circular on Resolving the Problem of Secondary and Elementary School Dropouts," issued by the General Office of the People's Government of Shanxi Province, is now retransmitted to you for your reference.     

Piaget's Theories and some Possible Implications for Educational Television

This article discusses the extent to which Piaget's general theories of thinking and mental development might have relevance for the production of educational television programmes. Joan Bliss summarises and discusses the main points of Piaget's theories, and Michael Goater and Christopher Jones provide their own critical analysis of the implication of those theories for television production. Tony Bates concludes that, while there are some major difficulties in making the jump from Piaget's more general theories to specific television practice, the exercise does raise some fundamental questions about the relationship between television and the development of thinking.     

MARKETING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES TO COMMERCIAL BROADCASTERS

A major investment in educational television programmes by the federal government led the United States Department of Education to seek ways to extend the audience size for these programmes beyond public television by placing them on commercial broadcast stations in America. This article describes the programmes, the marketing organization and strategies used to promote programming to the commercial marketplace, and the successes achieved in persuading commercial broadcasters to accept educational children's programming, particularly programmes aimed at minority audiences.     

Pre‐operational Children and Educational Television

Statements made about educational television and learning are usually general, but they should refer to specific developmental stages of thought and mental development. Evaluation of the medium's efficacy in pre‐operational children's learning has received scant attention. Some suggestions are made whereby production and teachers’ use of programmes can align to Piaget's theory, but this is insufficient. Scope remains for ample research, but the immediate needs are for producers to embark on more ambitious and enterprising programmes and for teachers to examine whether they are providing adequately for pre‐operational children's learning from existing practices with educational television.     

A Useful Example when Teaching Hypothesis Testing

This article describes an example which is useful when teaching hypothesis testing in order to highlight the interrelationships that exist among the level of significance, the sample size and the statistical power of a test. The example also allows students to see how what they learn in the classroom directly affects the content of some of the commercials that they watch on television.