#OscarsSoWhite: how Stuart Hall explains why nothing changes in Hollywood and everything is changing

ABSTRACT

Stuart Hall’s work on culture, representation, ideology and hegemony positions Hollywood as a cultural institution informed by and informative of US social values and norms. Thus contemporary debates over Hollywood's diversity are indicative of broader social conflicts. Empirically the article examines 2014–2015 news coverage of Hollywood to question the Hollywood paradox—the lack of diversity in film/TV production yet TV’s increasing shift towards on-screen diversity. It maps three discursive frames: Hollywood exceptionalism, economic imperatives, and institutionalized racism and sexism. The article concludes by using Hulu’s East Los High to reflect on TV’s digital turn and innovative models in production and representation.     

Many choices,one destination: multimodal university brand construction in an urban public transportation system

Amidst global competition in higher education, colleges and universities adopt strategies that mimic and adapt business practices. Branding is now a widespread practice in higher education; multimodal advertisement is a manifestation of emerging branding strategies for universities. While the visibility of brands in higher education has grown substantially in recent years, its empirical study has lagged. This article reports on the findings from a study that employed social semiotic and multimodal analysis to explore text and visual rhetoric as brand construction strategies in publicly displayed university advertisements. After analyzing photographs representing advertising campaigns from 16 different universities displayed in an urban public transportation system, I suggest that universities construct their brand identity through messages that emphasize multiple choices and convenience, but construct success primarily according to corporate standards and values.     

To answer questions from text,one has to understand what the question is asking: differential effects of question aids as a function of comprehension skill

Reading and Writing - The present study investigates the effectiveness of question paraphrases in supporting students’ understanding of a specific task. Secondary school students (i.e.,...     

Equity and social exclusion measures in EU lifelong learning policies

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to examine how EU lifelong learning policies are trying to reach the vulnerable by looking at what measures against social exclusion they offer and how equitable these measures are. It is a qualitative study that focuses on policy documents that form the European Union’s legal and political frameworks of reference in the lifelong learning area since 1992. The document analysis has been complemented by semi-structured interviews with EU lifelong learning experts. The findings show that early school leavers and migrants are the main target groups in the policies, leaving many other groups at risk of being excluded from learning opportunities. There is not enough attention to measures addressing wider social phenomena. There is also an overemphasis on basic skills which are understood in a very narrow way as literacy and numeracy when referring to the vulnerable. We argue that a greater variety of measures as well as better targeted measures are needed to address the multiple and complex needs of the vulnerable. Such measures would allow a broader understanding of lifelong learning where those that are hardest to reach are offered learning opportunities independent of their personal and social circumstances     

Predicting transition and adjustment to college: biomedical and behavioral science aspirants’ and minority students’ first year of college

The purpose of this study is to explore key factors that impact the college transition of aspiring underrepresented minority students in the biomedical and behavioral sciences, in comparison with White, Asian students and non-science minority students. We examined successful management of the academic environment and sense of belonging during the first college year. Longitudinal data were derived from the Higher Education Research Institute’s (HERI) 2004 Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) Freshman Survey and the 2005 Your First College Year (YFCY) Survey. Using a reformulation of the integration model (Nora, Barlow, and Crisp, 2005), we find concerns about college financing, negotiating family support and responsibility, and campus racial dynamics (perceived and behavioral) affect student adjustment and sense of integration in the first year. This study was made possible by the support of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH Grant Number 1 RO1 GMO71968-01. This independent research and the views expressed here do not indicate endorsement by the sponsor.     

At the Crossroads: the development of thinking about the role,appointment and training of headteachers in Spain

For many years now, most countries of the world have increasingly valued the headteacher as a powerful force in facilitating school and staff development. Such recognition has resulted in widespread training programmes—even in the poorest countries. In Spain, however, there has been, until very recently, considerable ambiguity over the role of the headteacher. This uncertainty is manifested in the appointment system of headteachers and the lack of commitment to training. This paper seeks to show the reasons for this situation, through an evaluation of recent legislation, the impact of Franco's legacy on education and the current preoccupation with democratic government at all levels. The paper highlights important changes of attitude towards the role of the head now taking place, mainly at local levels, and encourages the government to ensure that examples of effective training, emanating from these ideological shifts, are recognised and contained within national programmes.