Pop Culture Media Research Articles

The Application of Code-switching, Code-mixing, and the need for Bilingual Pedagogy in Brunei Religious (Ugama) Schools: A Qualitative Study Involving Generation X and Millennial Teachers

Religious (Ugama) education is a compulsory form of education apart from the mainstream education Brunei Darussalam. The Ugama schools are of autonomous management under Jabatan Pengajian Islam (JPI), a department under Brunei Ministry of Education. The classes are often conducted in a separate specified school during the weekdays and the enforced medium of instruction is the Malay language as opposed to English for the mainstream education. This research is interested in the trending application of code-switching and code-mixing in lower and upper primary level as teaching and communicating strategies employed by the teachers. The study also aims to acquire the Millennial teachers’ and Generation X teachers’ perspectives on the increasing use of the English language in Malay-medium oriented schools and its possible effects to the religious curriculum. Using in-depth interview and classroom observations as research methods, this study not only found a ‘normalized’ view on code-switching and code-mixing in lower primary level and less in upper primary level, but also majority of Generation X participants’ call for the need of formal training for English language. The Millennial participants, on the other hand, called for a move towards bilingual pedagogy for religious education to keep abreast with the mainstream education and so it could stop being viewed as secondary. The study also discovered the individual teachers’ concern for the diminishing use of the Malay language to affect the significance of religion due to the impact of cultural globalization, specifically disseminated by the internet and pop culture media. Moreover, the study also found some probable evidence of students identify English as their mother tongue, instead of Malay.

Investigating Security Folklore: A Case Study on the Tor over VPN Phenomenon

Users face security folklore in their daily lives in the form of security advice, myths, and word-of-mouth stories. Using a VPN to access the Tor network, i.e., Tor over VPN, is an interesting example of security folklore because of its inconclusive security benefits and its occurrence in pop-culture media. Following the Theory of Reasoned Action, we investigated the phenomenon with three studies: (1) we quantified the behavior on real-world Tor traffic and measured a prevalence of 6.23%; (2) we surveyed users' intentions and beliefs, discovering that they try to protect themselves from the Tor network or increase their general security; and (3) we analyzed online information sources, suggesting that perceived norms and ease-of-use play a significant role while behavioral beliefs about the purpose and effect are less crucial in spreading security folklore. We discuss how to communicate security advice effectively and combat security misinformation and misconceptions.

A Return to Psychedelic Funk: An Inquiry into Childish Gambino’s “Redbone”

Childish Gambino’s “Redbone” has incited many waves of impact across today’s pop culture media. His song uses features of the 1970s psychedelic funk movement, such as slap bass space feels and paranoia, to recall the Black Power Movement and illustrate the fear of Blackness in modern society while asking listeners to “stay woke” in political activism. This paper examines the origins of the Funkadelic movement along with its social implications within the Black Power Movement. It is then followed by a musical analysis of “Redbone” with a focus on the harmonic, melodic, and instrumental aspects of the piece and its direct relations to the 1970s movement while providing a novel variation. Cries to “stay woke” in the lyrics reemphasize the call to action, bringing wide reception and success to both the subsequent album and Glover as an artist.

TeamSTEPPS Training for Nursing Students Using Pop Culture Media.

TeamSTEPPS Training for Nursing Students Using Pop Culture Media.

TeamSTEPPS Training for Nursing Students Using Pop Culture Media

TeamSTEPPS Training for Nursing Students Using Pop Culture Media

Toward Pax Terra-Humana

In this critical instrumental case study, the author examines an application of O'Sullivan's transformative learning theory to foreign language (FL) education. Specifically, he examines such application within the context of national FL standards for culture in secondary-level Japanese FL learning. Findings suggest that transformative learning is possible in the discipline of FL and among adolescents. Findings also suggest that discussions about transformative learning topics in relation to Japanese pop culture media resulted in increased student awareness of the transformative learning themes of cosmology and ecospiritual selfhood that can lead to a deep cultural and planetary literacy of peace.