Learning about movies: the impact of movie release types on the nationwide box office

Major Hollywood studios typically release new movies in North America in one of the two ways, wide release or platform release. In this paper, we investigate how release form affects the demand of a new movie after it is nationally released. In particular, we focus on movies for which the platform release is pre-planned to make the problem tractable. We estimate our model using a sample of Hollywood movies that eventually received nationwide release from 1999 to 2003. Our results show that platform release shifts consumers’ perception of unobservable movie appeal through its first stage performance, which turns out to be a stronger effect than that of advertising. Meanwhile, we find that the demand for platform movies decays faster than for wide release ones after their national release. Using counterfactual analysis, we find that more than half of the platform movies which later went to national release would have earned higher profits if they had been given a wide release.     

A cogenerative inquiry using postcolonial theory to envisage culturally inclusive science education

This forum constitutes a cogenerative inquiry using postcolonial theory drawn from the review paper by Zembylas and Avraamidou. Three teacher educators from African, Asian and Caribbean countries reflect on problems confronting their professional practices and consider the prospects of creating culturally inclusive science education. We learn that in Mozambique, Nepal and the Caribbean scientism patrols the borders of science education serving to exclude local epistemological beliefs and discourses and negating culturally contextualized teaching and learning. Despite the diverse cultural hybridities of these countries, science education is disconnected from the daily lives of the majority of their populations, serving inequitably the academic Western-oriented aspirations of an elite group who are “living hybridity but talking scientism.” The discussants explore their autobiographies to reveal core cultural values and beliefs grounded in their non-Western traditions and worldviews but which are in conflict with the Western Modern Worldview (WMW) and thus have no legitimate role in the standard school/college science classroom. They reflect on their hybrid cultural identities and reveal the interplay of multiple selves grounded in both the WMW and non-WMWs and existing in a dialectical tension of managed contradiction in a Third Space. They argue for dialectical logic to illuminate a Third Space wherein students of science education may be empowered to challenge hegemonies of cultural reproduction and examine reflexively their own identities, coming to recognize and reconcile their core cultural beliefs with those of Western modern science, thereby dissipating otherwise strongly delineated cultural borders.

Can a social networking site support afterschool group learning of Mandarin?

Schools are often encouraged to facilitate extra-curricular learning within their own premises. This study addresses the potential of social networking sites (SNS) for supporting such out-of-class study. Given concerns that learning on these sites may happen at a surface level, we adopted self-determination theory for designing a social networking experience that aspired to offer a ‘community of inquiry’. A case study of a Mandarin class is reported, in which seven children voluntarily attended afterschool lessons and used a SNS for 12 weeks. Pedagogical strategies to create a sense of relatedness and competence and to offer autonomy support were used in order to steer their informal communication and exploration towards deep and meaningful learning. Our findings show that the online social networking activities are not used simply to extend formal lessons to informal online environment, instead they open up opportunities for students to benefit from informal exploration and thus enrich their experience of learning about the subject.     

Historical Networks in Science Education

Science & Education - This paper discusses the potential of the creation and analysis of historical networks as didactic strategies in science education. To this end, we first argue the...     

Students' misconceptions about U.S. westward migration

Fifth-grade students with learning disabilities (LD) and their typically achieving (TA) peers participated in an 8-week investigation about 19th-century U.S. westward migration. During their investigations, the students analyzed primary and secondary sources to understand the experiences of these emigrants and Native peoples. The analysis of source material was preceded by teacher-led discussions about the possibility of bias in evidence that affects the trustworthiness of historical documentation. Quantitative analyses showed that these investigations were associated with gains in students' knowledge about the period of westward expansion and a better understanding of historical content and historical inquiry; however, these gains were not always comparable for students with LD and their TA peers. Furthermore, misconceptions about this historical period and the processes of historical investigation were evident in students' responses before and after instruction. We discuss how design features of the instruction and its implementation may have contributed to the development and persistence of these misconceptions.     

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Rural Business Clusters: The Relation Between ICT Adoption and Benefits Derived From Cluster Membership

This study examines the relationships between information and communication technologies (ICT) usage, the benefits a company derives from membership in a rural business cluster, and the success of rural companies. Analysis of 333 rural businesses located in northern lower Michigan showed a strong relationship between (a) ICT adoption and benefits derived from the membership in business clusters, (b) ICT adoption and self-reported business success, and (c) benefits derived from business clusters and business success. Although analysis indicates that these relationships may be industry specific, results suggest that ICT adoption by rural enterprises may have advantages for the region's social capital and business success and may help reduce the digital divide experienced in rural communities.