Shaw, A. (n.d.). Putting The Gay In Games: Cultural Production And GLBT Content In Video Games. Games and Culture, 228-253.

This article addresses gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) representation in video games from a cultural production perspective. It addresses how members of the video game industry account for the relative lack of GLBT representation in this medium. Previous studies have shown that certain stakeholders actively invest in GLBT representation in media.

Questions to Consider:

1)How can the portrayal of LGBT characters in video games impact the way individuals view members of the LGBT community?

 

2)How would each of the sociological theoretical perspectives view the issues discussed within this article?

 

Brown, B. (1990). Advertising Influences on Majority and Minority Youth: Images of Inclusion and Exclusion. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 17-30.

This paper attempts to identify key issues from research on advertising’s effects on young people. The focus is on the interpretation of experience by children between 3 and 12 years of age from different racial and ethnic group backgrounds.

Questions to Consider:

1)How does advertising, in your opinion, impact young children?  What role can parents play in terms of neutralizing the effects of advertisements on their children?

 

2)Minorities, according to the article, tend to be underrepresented in advertisements.  What factors can account for this?  Do you think this will change in the future?          

 

Johnson, Thomas J., and Barbara K. Kaye. (2015). "Site Effects: How Reliance on Social Media Influences Confidence in the Government and News Media." Social Science Computer Review, 127-44.

The rise of social media, such as blogs, social network sites, Twitter, and YouTube, encourages hope for renewed confidence in the government and news media because these venues connect users directly to candidates and officeholders. This article indicates that blogs most heavily relied on the type of social media for political information. Moreover, reliance on blogs and YouTube leads to reduced confidence in the presidency, Congress, and the news media, but reliance on social network sites and Twitter leads to higher confidence in these institutions after controlling for strength of party ties, political ideology, political interest, reliance on traditional media, and demographic variables.

Questions to Consider:

1)Do you use social media sites such as You Tube or Twitter to gain access to information about the government and/or the presidency? If so, how does it affect your views about these institutions?  If not, what is the main source of information for you in regards to these institutions?

 

2)If you were a political candidate running for office how would you use the results of this study to help you in your campaign?

 

Bliss, K. "Social Media in the Classroom: An Experiential Teaching Strategy to Engage and Educate." Pedagogy in Health Promotion (2015): n. pag.

This article outlines an approach to engaging and educating college students through the use of social media. The project is designed for a substance use course at the college/university undergraduate level. However, it could be adapted for any health education course/health issue where education and/or communication via social media are appropriate. It is well suited for both face-to-face and online classroom settings and has been utilized in both venues.

Questions to Consider:

1)“Those students who were highly proficient with technology or who used social media tools regularly seemed to have an easier time with the project, enjoyed the process, and produced quality campaigns”.  How can instructors use this piece of knowledge when developing lesson plans for their students?  Should higher level institutions have mandatory courses that help incoming freshman become familiar with social media tools? Why or why not?

 

2)This project has been implemented in one face-to-face substance use course (36 students) as well as one online substance use course (28 students) where students in the face-to-face course completed the project with a partner and students in the online course completed the project individually.  What are the advantages of a face-to-face course as opposed to an online course in terms of understanding the use of social media tools?  What might be the disadvantages?