Transformation to Virtual Societies: Forces and Issues

This article presents a conceptual research framework for investigating virtual societies. As this subject area is relatively new to the research world, this paper presents a framework for studying virtual societies. To date, much of the relevant research has been in the area of telecommuting or teleworking. But the changes to people's lives that may be a result of the movement to virtual societies encompass far more than alterations to the way we perform work in the future. The framework portrays the driving forces and the issues related to the study of this ensuing societal form. A review of the driving forces and issues of the virtual society stimulated the development of the research framework. It identifies technology as the enabler that is paving the way for society to be transformed into virtual communities, but does not dwell solely on the technology. Our endeavors focus on identifying the critical forces and issues within a global context in order to provide a foundation for future research.     

The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on physical activity in U.S. children

BackgroundDaily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is vital to the physical, mental, and social well-being of children. Early restrictions during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic included the closure of schools and physical activity (PA) amenities across the US. This study aimed to examine the impact of the pandemic on the PA and play behavior of U.S. children and to provide evidence-based recommendations to improve their PA.MethodsA cross-sectional, online, parent-reported survey was conducted of children aged 3–18 years between April and June 2020 to assess light PA and MVPA using a modified Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire. Additional items included family/child socioeconomic demographics, child adaptability to the pandemic, and community access. The survey was shared through social media and snowball sampling distribution.ResultsAnalysis of 1310 surveys indicated child PA scores declined significantly during the pandemic (from 56.6 to 44.6, max 119, p < 0.001). Specifically, MVPA score decreased (from 46.7 to 34.7, max 98, p < 0.001) while light PA remained the same. Age-based changes were seen in the quantity, variety, and intensity of PA, with the lowest pandemic-related impact seen in preschoolers and the highest in high schoolers (–4.7 vs. –17.2, p < 0.001). Community-based peer PA decreased across all age groups.ConclusionThis study shows decreased PA levels in U.S. children, according to parent reporting, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recommendations for community leaders, educators, and parents to improve PA in children are provided. With continued spread of COVID-19, these results and recommendations may be imperative to the physical well-being of U.S. children.     

Reading and Writing: Digital Directions

The authors show that IT hardware and software are having an effect on literacy. As well as being aware of those changes, English teachers, they argue, should be exploiting IT for the development of those reading and writing skills necessary for the future. The article goes on to exemplify, through an exploration of how it came to be written, some of the processes and opportunities identified earlier.     

STEM education: A deficit framework for the twenty first century? A sociocultural socioscientific response

The ubiquitous of STEM education initiatives in recent years has created a bandwagon that has moved at nearly light speed. The impulse of the science education community and policy-makers is to grab hold for dear life or be marginalized from subsequent discussions about the necessity and consequences of using STEM initiatives to prepare and inform our next generation of citizens. This commentary questions the prudence of STEM-related science education goals, as typically represented and discussed in the literature, and likens the current practice to a deficit framework. A sociocultural perspective framed through socioscientific considerations is offered as an alternative conceptualization as well as surplus model to hegemonic STEM practices.     

Does entrepreneurship education matter? Business students’ perspectives

The paper presents the findings of a mixed-methods study investigating the perceptions of business students in the Czech Republic towards entrepreneurship education, and examining the factors influencing their level of intention to be entrepreneurs. The results indicate that family background significantly influences the student’s entrepreneurial intention, and that participation in entrepreneurship-oriented courses positively influences the student’s level of self-efficacy. The study revealed further that business education had some effect on the student’s ability to gain the necessary knowledge for entrepreneurship. Another key finding was that entrepreneurship education specifically for business students has to equip students with entrepreneurial skills, attributes and behaviours. The results also suggest that entrepreneurship education is a contextually determined concept which requires modification of content and methods to meet the specific needs of particular target groups. The study has important implications for higher education institutions in terms of designing and managing effective entrepreneurship education.     

Discipline in the context of development: a case of the social sciences in Malawi,Southern Africa

Changes in research production precipitated by the globalization have generally been theorized as applying across nations and disciplinary projects. This article examines the relation of discipline to research production from the situational vantage point of the developing world, specifically the Southern African country of Malawi, and from the empirical perspective of the social sciences. Evidence derives from eight months of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Malawi in 2003 and 2004, drawing specifically from over 100 formal interviews and from analysis of historical and contemporary documents. The article finds that against depictions of academic disciplines as inflexible, arbitrary, and in need of restructuring, the case of the social sciences in Malawi demonstrates the value of distinctly disciplined expertise in problem-oriented research. This efficacy is, however, precariously dependent on the capacity of local disciplinary communities to regenerate and reproduce their expertise and compete effectively in the increasingly competitive knowledge market.