Ferengi Business Practices in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"--To Enhance Student Engagement and Teach a Wide Range of Business Concepts.
2017; Volume: 11; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1835-9132
AutoresKatherine J. Lopez, Gary Pletcher, Craig L. Williams, William Bradley Zehner,
Tópico(s)Microfinance and Financial Inclusion
ResumoAbstract The purpose of this article is to provide examples of business concepts appearing in science fiction, offering accounting and business educators a means to engage students and allow students to make connections with business concepts outside of the strict business realm, resulting in increased long-term learning. To accomplish this, The Star Trek series Deep Space Nine (Berman, et al., 1993-1999) was examined, and instances of business concepts located in the series were documented and presented in table format. This paper adds value by providing educators with a database of examples to help students learn business concepts. This article identifies specific accounting, business, and economic concepts illustrated by the Ferengi Traders in Star Trek--Deep Space Nine, as well as explores the educational theory behind why students are more likely to engage in learning by relating the new to the familiar. Keywords: science fiction; memory recall; video learning; business education, accounting and business curriculum. JEL Classification: M40 PsycINFO Classification: 3530 FoR Code:1302; 1501; 1503 ERA Journal ID#: 35696 Introduction On September 8, 1969, the first episode was broadcast of what became the Star Trek series of TV shows and films, making it part of American and Global cultures for almost five decades, with a popularity so enduring that a new series of Trekkie episodes will begin broadcasting in January, 2017. Three generations have grown up watching Star Trek, embedding it in the American culture--especially among the current college-age population, who are familiar with the major characters such as Captain Kirk, Spock, Scotty, Uhura, et al. A Harris poll in 1994 found that 53% of the American public considered themselves to be Star Trek fans, aka Trekkies (Harrison and Jenkins, 1996). Research (Long & Prat, 2002) found a correlation between the deeper the knowledge of Star Trek, the more likely individuals are to improve their performance on Star Trek ideas. This may partially explain why Star Trek has been used to successfully teach science courses such as biology (Bixler, 2007), chemistry (Pool, 1990), math (Karls, 2010), and physics (2006). To date, the only business related study of Star Trek has been on the meanings of consumption (Kozinets, 2001). The purpose of this study is to identify and classify accounting, business, and economic concepts in the Star Trek Deep Space Nine series, which may be used as building blocks in the creation of a business curriculum imbedded in the Ferengi cultural business practices. The learning objective is to help students to identify, retain, and apply business concepts by drawing parallels between economic and business principles and the Ferengi in Deep Space Nine. The purpose of this article is to provide examples of business concepts appearing in science fiction, offering accounting and business educators a means to engage students and allow students to make connections with business concepts outside of the strict business realm, resulting in increased long-term learning. The article first presents a literature review demonstrating the benefits of incorporating videos, especially science fiction videos, into classes. Second, the paper explains the methods used to collect the video clip information. Third, the paper presents its results, consisting of a repository of the video clips collected, and, finally, a discussion and conclusion. Literature Review Impact of Videos on Memory Recall There is wide support through numerous studies that visual aids, such as videos and films, are important to the learning process (Siegel & Allik, 1972; Graber, 1990; Lang, 1995; Berk, 2009; Paivio, 2014). Studies have shown that visual stimuli result in greater recall than audio stimuli (Siegel & Allik, 1972; Graber, 1990; Lang, 1995). …
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