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Journal articles on the topic "Board-Registered School Subjects"

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Agley, Jon, Wasantha Jayawardene, Mikyoung Jun, Daniel L. Agley, Ruth Gassman, Steve Sussman, Yunyu Xiao, and Stephanie L. Dickinson. "Effects of the ACT OUT! Social Issue Theater Program on Social-Emotional Competence and Bullying in Youth and Adolescents: Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial." JMIR Research Protocols 9, no. 4 (April 13, 2020): e17900. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/17900.

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Background Students in the United States spend a meaningful portion of their developmental lives in school. In recent years, researchers and educators have begun to focus explicitly on social and emotional learning (SEL) in the school setting. Initial evidence from meta-analyses suggests that curricula designed to promote SEL likely produce benefits in terms of social-emotional competence (SEC) and numerous related behavioral and affective outcomes. At the same time, there are often barriers to implementing such curricula as intended, and some researchers have questioned the strength of the evaluation data from SEL programs. As part of the effort to improve programming in SEL, this paper describes the protocol for a cluster randomized trial of the ACT OUT! Social Issue Theater program, a brief psychodramatic intervention to build SEC and reduce bullying behavior in students. Objective The objective of this trial is to examine if a short dose of interactive psychodrama can affect SEC metrics and bullying experiences in schoolchildren in either the short (2-week) or medium (6-month) term. Methods The ACT OUT! trial is a cluster randomized superiority trial with 2 parallel groups. The unit of measurement is the student, and the unit of randomization is the classroom. For each grade (fourth, seventh, and 10th), an even number of classrooms will be selected from each school—half will be assigned to the intervention arm and half will be assigned to the control arm. The intervention will consist of 3 moderated psychodramatic performances by trained actors, and the control condition will be the usual school day. Outcome data will be collected at baseline (preintervention), 2-week postintervention (short term), and 6-month postintervention (medium term). Outcomes will include social-emotional competency; self-reported bullying and experiences of being bullied; receptivity to the program; and school-level data on truancy, absenteeism, and referrals to school displinary action for bullying. A power analysis adjusted for clustering effect, design effect, and potential attrition yielded a need for approximately 1594 students, consisting of an estimated 80 classrooms split evenly into intervention and control arms. Results This study was funded in June 2019; approved by the Indiana University Institutional review board on September 17, 2019; began subject recruitment on November 5, 2019; and prospectively registered with ClinicalTrials.gov. Conclusions Many states have issued recommendations for the integration of SEL into schools. The proposed study uses a rigorous methodology to determine if the ACT OUT! psychodramatic intervention is a cost-effective means of bolstering SEC and reducing bullying incidence in schools. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04097496; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04097496 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) PRR1-10.2196/17900
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Hopper, Mari K., and Alexis N. Kaiser. "Engagement and higher order skill proficiency of students completing a medical physiology course in three diverse learning environments." Advances in Physiology Education 42, no. 3 (September 1, 2018): 429–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/advan.00128.2017.

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The primary aim of this study was to determine whether levels of student engagement, higher order skill proficiency, and knowledge acquisition demonstrated by medical students would differ when completing the same course in three diverse learning environments. Following Institutional Review Board approval, 56 first-year medical students, registered at the same medical school but attending class at three different campus centers, were enrolled in the study. All participants were completing a medical physiology course that utilized the same learning objectives but relied on different faculty incorporating diverse methodologies (percentage of class devoted to active learning strategies), course format (6-wk block vs. 17-wk semester), and student attendance. Students completed a validated survey of student engagement (SSE), a proctored online problem-based assessment of higher order skill proficiency [Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA+); http://cae.org ], and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Physiology subject exam. In this limited sample, results indicate no significant differences between campus sites for any of the variables assessed. Levels of engagement were lower than expected compared with published values for graduate students. Higher order skill proficiency assessed by CLA+ was significantly higher than values reported for college seniors nationally. Surprisingly, SSE offered no prediction of performance on CLA+ or NBME, as there were no significant correlations between variables. These data indicate that, although first-year medical students may not perceive themselves as highly engaged, they are adept in using higher order skills and excel in meeting course learning objectives, regardless of learning environment.
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Melssen, Maria. "Low Response Rate and Other Factors Render Academic Health Science Library System Study Ungeneralizable." Evidence Based Library and Information Practice 7, no. 2 (June 11, 2012): 87. http://dx.doi.org/10.18438/b8131g.

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Objective – To determine the factors, barriers and facilitators, preference, and intended use of e-book compared to print book usage by all patrons in a health science library system, which serves a university with health science degree programs and a hospital system. Design – Two online surveys. Setting – University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences Library System, which includes the University of Pittsburgh’s six schools of health sciences (medicine, dental medicine, nursing, pharmacy, public health, and rehabilitation) and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center hospitals and programs. Subjects – All health sciences library system users, including faculty, researchers, clinicians, residents, fellows, employees, and students. Methods – Two versions of the survey were deployed in 2009 using Opinio. There were 46 questions for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) survey and 47 questions for the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) survey. The surveys were pilot tested by Health Sciences Library System (HSLS) librarians and graduate students in a survey methods class. The survey was edited based on the feedback provided and received institutional review board approval as an exempt study. A total of 5,292 email addresses were randomly selected by SPSS from a pool of 9,472 UPMC and Pitt patrons registered with a HSLS remote access password; 2,684 patrons from UPMC and 2,608 patrons from Pitt were selected. HSLS librarians were excluded from the survey. Participants were emailed a link to the survey in March of 2009. Three email reminders were sent at five day intervals. Data was collected for 22 days and exported from Opinio to SPSS statistics software. Survey results were analyzed using basic descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations. Main Results – Of the 5,292 emails sent, 979 surveys were submitted and 871 were completed fully. The 108 partially completed the surveys were analyzed using pair wise deletion. All HSLS user groups were represented and all rated their confidence in computer skills high. The mean age of respondents was 39.9 with the majority of respondents being female. Of the 871 completed surveys, over half (55.4%) of the respondents reported using HSLS e-books: 66.7% men and 54.9% women. HSLS e-books were used for in-depth reading by 53.4% of men and 36.8% of women. At UPMC, 70% of attending physicians, interns, residents, fellows, and Pitt postdoctoral/fellows use HSLS e-books. The primary use of the e-books was for clinical care, by 75.3% of attending physicians; 86% of interns, residents, and fellows; and 38.9% of nurses. HSLS e-books are also used by 61.8% of respiratory care and physical therapists, 28.6% of administrators, and 56.8% of researchers. At Pitt, 73% of postdoctoral students or fellows and 64.7% of faculty used HSLS e-books. The primary use of the e-books was to support research. 76.5% of postdoctoral students and fellows and 54.1% of faculty used e-books for this purpose. Only 21.3% of faculty assigned e-books for class readings. Though 14% of undergraduate and 33.5% of medical students responded that they had been assigned readings from e-books, 51% of undergraduates and 62.1% of graduate and medical students used an e-book to complete an assignment. Over half (65.5%) of respondents saw information about HSLS e-books on the HSLS website and 55.4% of respondents used an HSLS e-book. When using an e-book, 56.6% look up brief, factual information while 41.9% use e-books for in-depth study. Uses of HSLS e-book search tools were rated: the federated full text search tool was used by 67.2% of respondents and 74.3% of those who use this tool rated it as moderately to extremely useful. Google books and the library catalog were also rated moderately to extremely useful by respondents. The catalog received the lowest rating of the HSLS e-book search tools. More respondents (95.4%) use the library’s website than come to the physical library (63.8%); however, 66.9% say they use both the website and physical library. Of the 63.8% of respondents who came to one of the HSLS libraries, 67.2% borrowed or used a HSLS print book. When using a book at the library, 23.4% only use print, 14.8% only use e-books, 44.7% use both, and 17.1% use neither. Fewer respondents (46.4%) agreed or completely agreed they could locate an e-book compared to those who agreed or completely agreed they could locate a print book (66.7%). Nearly half (45.3%) agreed that both HSLS e-books and print books were accessible where they needed to use them; however, only 27.9% agreed or completely agreed that they had time to go to the library and use a print book when they needed it. The closer a respondent worked to the library the more likely they used the physical library. Those also within one block of the library were greater users of HSLS e-books (67% of respondents) than those who worked more than two blocks from the library (52.3% of respondents). When respondents did come to the library, 84.3% used a HSLS print book in the past year and 64.7% used an HSLS e-book. Of the respondents who did not have time to come to the library, 55.3% used a HSLS print book and 55.3% used a HSLS e-book. When using e-books, respondents preferred such features as printing, saving, and searching over features such as bookmarking, highlighting, and annotating. Respondents also preferred e-books for general reference and pharmaceutical reference, and print books for textbooks and handbooks. A finding of significance is that “those preferring print were more flexible about using e-books than those preferring e-books were about using print” (p. 224). Conclusion – HSLS e-book use varied depending on the respondent’s role at their institution (e.g., clinical physician, researcher) and type of book (e.g., reference book) they used. The heaviest HSLS e-book users were students, postdoctoral fellows, researchers, and clinical physicians. Respondents who used HSLS e-books most often were also those who used print books most often, and respondents within one block of the library were some of the heaviest HSLS e-book users. Respondents felt that reference and pharmaceutical books were more suitable as e-books. Also of note was that though faculty were not using e-books heavily for assigned readings, students were using HSLS e-books to complete assignments. The greatest drive to choosing between a print and e-book was the respondent’s information need and which book format was most convenient to access at that time. Respondents were flexible in their use of print books and e-books: respondents “would be willing to use a less preferred format if it were more convenient at the time of need” (p.226). In light of respondents’ flexibility between e-book and print book usage, the authors suggest that collection development librarians could reduce the duplication of book formats. Regarding awareness of e-books, survey results from this study were comparable to that of other studies. Also, the respondent’s comments indicate that the survey itself prompted e-book awareness: respondents felt that more advertising of e-books should be done. Such responses show that passive advertisement of e-books though the library’s catalog and on the website are not enough. E-books should be advertised during library instructional sessions. Respondents also prefer Web access to HSLS e-books as well as the HSLS federated e-book search rather than to access HSLS e-books from the library catalog. The authors’ recommendation is to make sure users can easily access e-book catalog records through the Web in order to best facilitate patrons’ use of e-books. Despite the conclusions that were drawn, there were several limitations of this study. Though the sample size was large enough and all HSLS users were included, the response rate was very low. Bias could be an issue as well: non-response bias as well as an overestimation of the number of HSLS e-book users could be contributing factors to the low response rate. In addition to the small sample size and possible bias, the lack of completed responses (11%) was also a concern. Finally, respondents expressed confusion over how “e-books” were defined in the survey. Because of these issues, results of this survey may not be generalizable to other libraries.
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Quan, Michele, Abdullah Alismail, Noha Daher, Derrick Cleland, Sonia Chavan, and Laren D. Tan. "Randomized, placebo controlled, double blinded pilot superiority phase 2 trial to evaluate the effect of curcumin in moderate to severe asthmatics." BMC Pulmonary Medicine 21, no. 1 (August 17, 2021). http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12890-021-01619-y.

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Abstract Background Curcumin, a derivative of the spice turmeric, has been adopted by Eastern medicine for centuries as an adjunct to treat several medical conditions (e.g., anorexia and arthritis) because of its well-established anti-inflammatory properties. Studies have shown that the use of curcumin in mice models has led to reduction in several inflammatory markers as well as key inflammatory pathway enzymes. As a result, studies in Western medicine have developed to determine if this recognized benefit can be utilized for patients with inflammatory lung diseases, such as asthma. This study will seek to better understand if curcumin can be used as an adjunctive therapy for improving asthma control of patients with moderate to severe asthma; a finding we hope will allow for a more affordable treatment. Methods This study will utilize a randomized, placebo controlled, double blinded pilot superiority phase 2 trial at an outpatient pulmonary clinic in Southern California, USA. Subjects will be receiving Curcumin 1500 mg or matching placebo by mouth twice daily for the study period of 12 weeks. Subjects will be randomized to either a placebo or intervention Curcumin. Subjects will have 6 clinic visits: screening visit, a baseline visit, monthly clinic visits (weeks 4, 8, and 12), at weeks 4, 8, and a follow-up clinic visit or phone-call (week 16). Changes in asthma control test scores, number of days missed from school/work, FEV1 (% predicted), FEV1/FVC ratio, FVC (% predicted), blood eosinophil count, blood total IgE, and FeNO levels will be compared by group over time. Discussion The therapeutic effects of curcumin have been studied on a limited basis in asthmatics and has shown mixed results thus far. Our study hopes to further establish the benefits of curcumin, however, there are potential issues that may arise from our study design that we will address within this paper. Moreover, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in safety concerns that have delayed initiation of our study. This study will contribute to existing literature on curcumin’s role in reducing lung inflammation as it presents in asthmatics as well as patients suffering from COVID-19. Trial registration This study protocol has been approved by the Institutional Review Board at Loma Linda University Health, (NCT04353310). IND# 145101 Registered April 20th, 2020. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04353310.
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Brien, Donna Lee, Leonie Rutherford, and Rosemary Williamson. "Hearth and Hotmail." M/C Journal 10, no. 4 (August 1, 2007). http://dx.doi.org/10.5204/mcj.2696.

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Introduction It has frequently been noted that ICTs and social networking applications have blurred the once-clear boundary between work, leisure and entertainment, just as they have collapsed the distinction between public and private space. While each individual has a sense of what “home” means, both in terms of personal experience and more conceptually, the following three examples of online interaction (based on participants’ interest, or involvement, in activities traditionally associated with the home: pet care, craft and cooking) suggest that the utilisation of online communication technologies can lead to refined and extended definitions of what “home” is. These examples show how online communication can assist in meeting the basic human needs for love, companionship, shelter and food – needs traditionally supplied by the home environment. They also provide individuals with a considerably expanded range of opportunities for personal expression and emotional connection, as well as creative and commercial production, than that provided by the purely physical (and, no doubt, sometimes isolated and isolating) domestic environment. In this way, these case studies demonstrate the interplay and melding of physical and virtual “home” as domestic practices leach from the most private spaces of the physical home into the public space of the Internet (for discussion, see Gorman-Murray, Moss, and Rose). At the same time, online interaction can assert an influence on activity within the physical space of the home, through the sharing of advice about, and modeling of, domestic practices and processes. A Dog’s (Virtual) Life The first case study primarily explores the role of online communities in the formation and expression of affective values and personal identity – as traditionally happens in the domestic environment. Garber described the 1990s as “the decade of the dog” (20), citing a spate of “new anthropomorphic” (22) dog books, Internet “dog chat” sites, remakes of popular classics such as Lassie Come Home, dog friendly urban amenities, and the meteoric rise of services for pampered pets (28-9). Loving pets has become a lifestyle and culture, witnessed and commodified in Pet Superstores as well as in dog collectables and antiques boutiques, and in publications like The Bark (“the New Yorker of Dog Magazines”) and Clean Run, the international agility magazine, Website, online book store and information gateway for agility products and services. Available online resources for dog lovers have similarly increased rapidly during the decade since Garber’s book was published, with the virtual world now catering for serious hobby trainers, exhibitors and professionals as well as the home-based pet lover. At a recent survey, Yahoo Groups – a personal communication portal that facilitates social networking, in this case enabling users to set up electronic mailing lists and Internet forums – boasted just over 9,600 groups servicing dog fanciers and enthusiasts. The list Dogtalk is now an announcement only mailing list, but was a vigorous discussion forum until mid-2006. Members of Dogtalk were Australian-based “clicker-trainers”, serious hobbyist dog trainers, many of whom operated micro-businesses providing dog training or other pet-related services. They shared an online community, but could also engage in “flesh-meets” at seminars, conferences and competitive dog sport meets. An author of this paper (Rutherford) joined this group two years ago because of her interest in clicker training. Clicker training is based on an application of animal learning theory, particularly psychologist E. F. Skinner’s operant conditioning, so called because of the trademark use of a distinctive “click” sound to mark a desired behaviour that is then rewarded. Clicker trainers tend to dismiss anthropomorphic pack theory that positions the human animal as fundamentally opposed to non-human animals and, thus, foster a partnership (rather than a dominator) mode of social and learning relationships. Partnership and nurturance are common themes within the clicker community (as well as in more traditional “home” locations); as is recognising and valuing the specific otherness of other species. Typically, members regard their pets as affective equals or near-equals to the human animals that are recognised members of their kinship networks. A significant function of the episodic biographical narratives and responses posted to this list was thus to affirm and legitimate this intra-specific kinship as part of normative social relationship – a perspective that is not usually validated in the general population. One of the more interesting nexus that evolved within Dogtalk links the narrativisation of the pet in the domestic sphere with the pictorial genre of the family album. Emergent technologies, such as digital cameras together with Web-based image manipulation software and hosting (as provided by portals like Photobucket and Flickr ) democratise high quality image creation and facilitate the sharing of these images. Increasingly, the Dogtalk list linked to images uploaded to free online galleries, discussed digital image composition and aesthetics, and shared technical information about cameras and online image distribution. Much of this cultural production and circulation was concerned with digitally inscribing particular relationships with individual animals into cultural memory: a form of family group biography (for a discussion of the family photograph as a display of extended domestic space, see Rose). The other major non-training thread of the community involves the sharing and witnessing of the trauma suffered due to the illness and loss of pets. While mourning for human family members is supported in the off-line world – with social infrastructure, such as compassionate leave and/or bereavement counselling, part of professional entitlements – public mourning for pets is not similarly supported. Yet, both cultural studies (in its emphasis on cultural memory) and trauma theory have highlighted the importance of social witnessing, whereby traumatic memories must be narratively integrated into memory and legitimised by the presence of a witness in order to loosen their debilitating hold (Felman and Laub 57). Postings on the progress of a beloved animal’s illness or other misfortune and death were thus witnessed and affirmed by other Dogtalk list members – the sick or deceased pet becoming, in the process, a feature of community memory, not simply an individual loss. In terms of such biographical narratives, memory and history are not identical: “Any memories capable of being formed, retained or articulated by an individual are always a function of socially constituted forms, narratives and relations … Memory is always subject to active social manipulation and revision” (Halbwachs qtd. in Crewe 75). In this way, emergent technologies and social software provide sites, akin to that of physical homes, for family members to process individual memories into cultural memory. Dogzonline, the Australian Gateway site for purebred dog enthusiasts, has a forum entitled “Rainbow Bridge” devoted to textual and pictorial memorialisation of deceased pet dogs. Dogster hosts the For the Love of Dogs Weblog, in which images and tributes can be posted, and also provides links to other dog oriented Weblogs and Websites. An interesting combination of both therapeutic narrative and the commodification of affect is found in Lightning Strike Pet Loss Support which, while a memorial and support site, also provides links to the emerging profession of pet bereavement counselling and to suppliers of monuments and tributary urns for home or other use. loobylu and Narratives of Everyday Life The second case study focuses on online interactions between craft enthusiasts who are committed to the production of distinctive objects to decorate and provide comfort in the home, often using traditional methods. In the case of some popular craft Weblogs, online conversations about craft are interspersed with, or become secondary to, the narration of details of family life, the exploration of important life events or the recording of personal histories. As in the previous examples, the offering of advice and encouragement, and expressions of empathy and support, often characterise these interactions. The loobylu Weblog was launched in 2001 by illustrator and domestic crafts enthusiast Claire Robertson. Robertson is a toy maker and illustrator based in Melbourne, Australia, whose clients have included prominent publishing houses, magazines and the New York Public Library (Robertson “Recent Client List” online). She has achieved a measure of public recognition: her loobylu Weblog has won awards and been favourably commented upon in the Australian press (see Robertson “Press for loobylu” online). In 2005, an article in The Age placed Robertson in the context of a contemporary “craft revolution”, reporting her view that this “revolution” is in “reaction to mass consumerism” (Atkinson online). The hand-made craft objects featured in Robertson’s Weblogs certainly do suggest engagement with labour-intensive pursuits and the construction of unique objects that reject processes of mass production and consumption. In this context, loobylu is a vehicle for the display and promotion of Robertson’s work as an illustrator and as a craft practitioner. While skills-based, it also, however, promotes a family-centred lifestyle; it advocates the construction by hand of objects designed to enhance the appearance of the family home and the comfort of its inhabitants. Its specific subject matter extends to related aspects of home and family as, in addition to instructions, ideas and patterns for craft, the Weblog features information on commercially available products for home and family, recipes, child rearing advice and links to 27 other craft and other sites (including Nigella Lawson’s, discussed below). The primary member of its target community is clearly the traditional homemaker – the mother – as well as those who may aspire to this role. Robertson does not have the “celebrity” status of Lawson and Jamie Oliver (discussed below), nor has she achieved their market saturation. Indeed, Robertson’s online presence suggests a modest level of engagement that is placed firmly behind other commitments: in February 2007, she announced an indefinite suspension of her blog postings so that she could spend more time with her family (Robertson loobylu 17 February 2007). Yet, like Lawson and Oliver, Robertson has exploited forms of domestic competence traditionally associated with women and the home, and the non-traditional medium of the Internet has been central to her endeavours. The content of the loobylu blog is, unsurprisingly, embedded in, or an accessory to, a unifying running commentary on Robertson’s domestic life as a parent. Miles, who has described Weblogs as “distributed documentaries of the everyday” (66) sums this up neatly: “the weblogs’ governing discursive quality is the manner in which it is embodied within the life world of its author” (67). Landmark family events are narrated on loobylu and some attract deluges of responses: the 19 June 2006 posting announcing the birth of Robertson’s daughter Lily, for example, drew 478 responses; five days later, one describing the difficult circumstances of her birth drew 232 comments. All of these comments are pithy, with many being simple empathetic expressions or brief autobiographically based commentaries on these events. Robertson’s news of her temporary retirement from her blog elicited 176 comments that both supported her decision and also expressed a sense of loss. Frequent exclamation marks attest visually to the emotional intensity of the responses. By narrating aspects of major life events to which the target audience can relate, the postings represent a form of affective mass production and consumption: they are triggers for a collective outpouring of largely homogeneous emotional reaction (joy, in the case of Lily’s birth). As collections of texts, they can be read as auto/biographic records, arranged thematically, that operate at both the individual and the community levels. Readers of the family narratives and the affirming responses to them engage in a form of mass affirmation and consumerism of domestic experience that is easy, immediate, attractive and free of charge. These personal discourses blend fluidly with those of a commercial nature. Some three weeks after loobylu announced the birth of her daughter, Robertson shared on her Weblog news of her mastitis, Lily’s first smile and the family’s favourite television programs at the time, information that many of us would consider to be quite private details of family life. Three days later, she posted a photograph of a sleeping baby with a caption that skilfully (and negatively) links it to her daughter: “Firstly – I should mention that this is not a photo of Lily”. The accompanying text points out that it is a photo of a baby with the “Zaky Infant Sleeping Pillow” and provides a link to the online pregnancystore.com, from which it can be purchased. A quotation from the manufacturer describing the merits of the pillow follows. Robertson then makes a light-hearted comment on her experiences of baby-induced sleep-deprivation, and the possible consequences of possessing the pillow. Comments from readers also similarly alternate between the personal (sharing of experiences) to the commercial (comments on the product itself). One offshoot of loobylu suggests that the original community grew to an extent that it could support specialised groups within its boundaries. A Month of Softies began in November 2004, describing itself as “a group craft project which takes place every month” and an activity that “might give you a sense of community and kinship with other similar minded crafty types across the Internet and around the world” (Robertson A Month of Softies online). Robertson gave each month a particular theme, and readers were invited to upload a photograph of a craft object they had made that fitted the theme, with a caption. These were then included in the site’s gallery, in the order in which they were received. Added to the majority of captions was also a link to the site (often a business) of the creator of the object; another linking of the personal and the commercial in the home-based “cottage industry” sense. From July 2005, A Month of Softies operated through a Flickr site. Participants continued to submit photos of their craft objects (with captions), but also had access to a group photograph pool and public discussion board. This extension simulates (albeit in an entirely visual way) the often home-based physical meetings of craft enthusiasts that in contemporary Australia take the form of knitting, quilting, weaving or other groups. Chatting with, and about, Celebrity Chefs The previous studies have shown how the Internet has broken down many barriers between what could be understood as the separate spheres of emotional (that is, home-based private) and commercial (public) life. The online environment similarly enables the formation and development of fan communities by facilitating communication between those fans and, sometimes, between fans and the objects of their admiration. The term “fan” is used here in the broadest sense, referring to “a person with enduring involvement with some subject or object, often a celebrity, a sport, TV show, etc.” (Thorne and Bruner 52) rather than focusing on the more obsessive and, indeed, more “fanatical” aspects of such involvement, behaviour which is, increasingly understood as a subculture of more variously constituted fandoms (Jenson 9-29). Our specific interest in fandom in relation to this discussion is how, while marketers and consumer behaviourists study online fan communities for clues on how to more successfully market consumer goods and services to these groups (see, for example, Kozinets, “I Want to Believe” 470-5; “Utopian Enterprise” 67-88; Algesheimer et al. 19-34), fans regularly subvert the efforts of those urging consumer consumption to utilise even the most profit-driven Websites for non-commercial home-based and personal activities. While it is obvious that celebrities use the media to promote themselves, a number of contemporary celebrity chefs employ the media to construct and market widely recognisable personas based on their own, often domestically based, life stories. As examples, Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson’s printed books and mass periodical articles, television series and other performances across a range of media continuously draw on, elaborate upon, and ultimately construct their own lives as the major theme of these works. In this, these – as many other – celebrity chefs draw upon this revelation of their private lives to lend authenticity to their cooking, to the point where their work (whether cookbook, television show, advertisement or live chat room session with their fans) could be described as “memoir-illustrated-with-recipes” (Brien and Williamson). This generic tendency influences these celebrities’ communities, to the point where a number of Websites devoted to marketing celebrity chefs as product brands also enable their fans to share their own life stories with large readerships. Oliver and Lawson’s official Websites confirm the privileging of autobiographical and biographical information, but vary in tone and approach. Each is, for instance, deliberately gendered (see Hollows’ articles for a rich exploration of gender, Oliver and Lawson). Oliver’s hip, boyish, friendly, almost frantic site includes the what are purported-to-be self-revelatory “Diary” and “About me” sections, a selection of captioned photographs of the chef, his family, friends, co-workers and sponsors, and his Weblog as well as footage streamed “live from Jamie’s phone”. This self-revelation – which includes significant details about Oliver’s childhood and his domestic life with his “lovely girls, Jools [wife Juliette Norton], Poppy and Daisy” – completely blurs the line between private life and the “Jamie Oliver” brand. While such revelation has been normalised in contemporary culture, this practice stands in great contrast to that of renowned chefs and food writers such as Elizabeth David, Julia Child, James Beard and Margaret Fulton, whose work across various media has largely concentrated on food, cooking and writing about cooking. The difference here is because Oliver’s (supposedly private) life is the brand, used to sell “Jamie Oliver restaurant owner and chef”, “Jamie Oliver cookbook author and TV star”, “Jamie Oliver advertising spokesperson for Sainsbury’s supermarket” (from which he earns an estimated £1.2 million annually) (Meller online) and “Jamie Oliver social activist” (made MBE in 2003 after his first Fifteen restaurant initiative, Oliver was named “Most inspiring political figure” in the 2006 Channel 4 Political Awards for his intervention into the provision of nutritious British school lunches) (see biographies by Hildred and Ewbank, and Smith). Lawson’s site has a more refined, feminine appearance and layout and is more mature in presentation and tone, featuring updates on her (private and public) “News” and forthcoming public appearances, a glamorous selection of photographs of herself from the past 20 years, and a series of print and audio interviews. Although Lawson’s children have featured in some of her television programs and her personal misfortunes are well known and regularly commented upon by both herself and journalists (her mother, sister and husband died of cancer) discussions of these tragedies, and other widely known aspects of her private life such as her second marriage to advertising mogul Charles Saatchi, is not as overt as on Oliver’s site, and the user must delve to find it. The use of Lawson’s personal memoir, as sales tool, is thus both present and controlled. This is in keeping with Lawson’s professional experience prior to becoming the “domestic goddess” (Lawson 2000) as an Oxford graduated journalist on the Spectator and deputy literary editor of the Sunday Times. Both Lawson’s and Oliver’s Websites offer readers various ways to interact with them “personally”. Visitors to Oliver’s site can ask him questions and can access a frequently asked question area, while Lawson holds (once monthly, now irregularly) a question and answer forum. In contrast to this information about, and access to, Oliver and Lawson’s lives, neither of their Websites includes many recipes or other food and cooking focussed information – although there is detailed information profiling their significant number of bestselling cookbooks (Oliver has published 8 cookbooks since 1998, Lawson 5 since 1999), DVDs and videos of their television series and one-off programs, and their name branded product lines of domestic kitchenware (Oliver and Lawson) and foodstuffs (Oliver). Instruction on how to purchase these items is also featured. Both these sites, like Robertson’s, provide various online discussion fora, allowing members to comment upon these chefs’ lives and work, and also to connect with each other through posted texts and images. Oliver’s discussion forum section notes “this is the place for you all to chat to each other, exchange recipe ideas and maybe even help each other out with any problems you might have in the kitchen area”. Lawson’s front page listing states: “You will also find a moderated discussion forum, called Your Page, where our registered members can swap ideas and interact with each other”. The community participants around these celebrity chefs can be, as is the case with loobylu, divided into two groups. The first is “foodie (in Robertson’s case, craft) fans” who appear to largely engage with these Websites to gain, and to share, food, cooking and craft-related information. Such fans on Oliver and Lawson’s discussion lists most frequently discuss these chefs’ television programs and books and the recipes presented therein. They test recipes at home and discuss the results achieved, any problems encountered and possible changes. They also post queries and share information about other recipes, ingredients, utensils, techniques, menus and a wide range of food and cookery-related matters. The second group consists of “celebrity fans” who are attracted to the chefs (as to Robertson as craft maker) as personalities. These fans seek and share biographical information about Oliver and Lawson, their activities and their families. These two areas of fan interest (food/cooking/craft and the personal) are not necessarily or always separated, and individuals can be active members of both types of fandoms. Less foodie-orientated users, however (like users of Dogtalk and loobylu), also frequently post their own auto/biographical narratives to these lists. These narratives, albeit often fragmented, may begin with recipes and cooking queries or issues, but veer off into personal stories that possess only minimal or no relationship to culinary matters. These members also return to the boards to discuss their own revealed life stories with others who have commented on these narratives. Although research into this aspect is in its early stages, it appears that the amount of public personal revelation either encouraged, or allowed, is in direct proportion to the “open” friendliness of these sites. More thus are located in Oliver’s and less in Lawson’s, and – as a kind of “control” in this case study, but not otherwise discussed – none in that of Australian chef Neil Perry, whose coolly sophisticated Website perfectly complements Perry’s professional persona as the epitome of the refined, sophisticated and, importantly in this case, unapproachable, high-end restaurant chef. Moreover, non-cuisine related postings are made despite clear directions to the contrary – Lawson’s site stating: “We ask that postings are restricted to topics relating to food, cooking, the kitchen and, of course, Nigella!” and Oliver making the plea, noted above, for participants to keep their discussions “in the kitchen area”. Of course, all such contemporary celebrity chefs are supported by teams of media specialists who selectively construct the lives that these celebrities share with the public and the postings about others’ lives that are allowed to remain on their discussion lists. The intersection of the findings reported above with the earlier case studies suggests, however, that even these most commercially-oriented sites can provide a fruitful data regarding their function as home-like spaces where domestic practices and processes can be refined, and emotional relationships formed and fostered. In Summary As convergence results in what Turow and Kavanaugh call “the wired homestead”, our case studies show that physically home-based domestic interests and practices – what could be called “home truths” – are also contributing to a refiguration of the private/public interplay of domestic activities through online dialogue. In the case of Dogtalk, domestic space is reconstituted through virtual spaces to include new definitions of family and memory. In the case of loobylu, the virtual interaction facilitates a development of craft-based domestic practices within the physical space of the home, thus transforming domestic routines. Jamie Oliver’s and Nigella Lawson’s sites facilitate development of both skills and gendered identities by means of a bi-directional nexus between domestic practices, sites of home labour/identity production and public media spaces. As participants modify and redefine these online communities to best suit their own needs and desires, even if this is contrary to the stated purposes for which the community was instituted, online communities can be seen to be domesticated, but, equally, these modifications demonstrate that the activities and relationships that have traditionally defined the home are not limited to the physical space of the house. While virtual communities are “passage points for collections of common beliefs and practices that united people who were physically separated” (Stone qtd in Jones 19), these interactions can lead to shared beliefs, for example, through advice about pet-keeping, craft and cooking, that can significantly modify practices and routines in the physical home. Acknowledgments An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Association of Internet Researchers’ International Conference, Brisbane, 27-30 September 2006. The authors would like to thank the referees of this article for their comments and input. Any errors are, of course, our own. References Algesheimer, R., U. Dholake, and A. Herrmann. “The Social Influence of Brand Community: Evidence from European Car Clubs”. Journal of Marketing 69 (2005): 19-34. Atkinson, Frances. “A New World of Craft”. The Age (11 July 2005). 28 May 2007 http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2005/07/10/1120934123262.html>. Brien, Donna Lee, and Rosemary Williamson. “‘Angels of the Home’ in Cyberspace: New Technologies and Biographies of Domestic Production”. Paper. Biography and New Technologies conference. Humanities Research Centre, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT. 12-14 Sep. 2006. Crewe, Jonathan. “Recalling Adamastor: Literature as Cultural Memory in ‘White’ South Africa”. In Acts of Memory: Cultural Recall in the Present, eds. Mieke Bal, Jonathan Crewe, and Leo Spitzer. Hanover, NH: Dartmouth College, 1999. 75-86. Felman, Shoshana, and Dori Laub. Testimony: Crises of Witnessing in Literature, Psychoanalysis, and History. New York: Routledge, 1992. Garber, Marjorie. Dog Love. New York: Touchstone/Simon and Schuster, 1996. Gorman-Murray, Andrew. “Homeboys: Uses of Home by Gay Australian Men”. Social and Cultural Geography 7.1 (2006): 53-69. Halbwachs, Maurice. On Collective Memory. Trans. Lewis A. Closer. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1992. Hildred, Stafford, and Tim Ewbank. Jamie Oliver: The Biography. London: Blake, 2001. Hollows, Joanne. “Feeling like a Domestic Goddess: Post-Feminism and Cooking.” European Journal of Cultural Studies 6.2 (2003): 179-202. ———. “Oliver’s Twist: Leisure, Labour and Domestic Masculinity in The Naked Chef.” International Journal of Cultural Studies 6.2 (2003): 229-248. Jenson, J. “Fandom as Pathology: The Consequences of Characterization”. The Adoring Audience; Fan Culture and Popular Media. Ed. L. A. Lewis. New York, NY: Routledge, 1992. 9-29. Jones, Steven G., ed. Cybersociety, Computer-Mediated Communication and Community. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1995. Kozinets, R.V. “‘I Want to Believe’: A Netnography of the X’Philes’ Subculture of Consumption”. Advances in Consumer Research 34 (1997): 470-5. ———. “Utopian Enterprise: Articulating the Meanings of Star Trek’s Culture of Consumption.” Journal of Consumer Research 28 (2001): 67-88. Lawson, Nigella. How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking. London: Chatto and Windus, 2000. Meller, Henry. “Jamie’s Tips Spark Asparagus Shortages”. Daily Mail (17 June 2005). 21 Aug. 2007 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/dietfitness.html? in_article_id=352584&in_page_id=1798>. Miles, Adrian. “Weblogs: Distributed Documentaries of the Everyday.” Metro 143: 66-70. Moss, Pamela. “Negotiating Space in Home Environments: Older Women Living with Arthritis.” Social Science and Medicine 45.1 (1997): 23-33. Robertson, Claire. Claire Robertson Illustration. 2000-2004. 28 May 2007 . Robertson, Claire. loobylu. 16 Feb. 2007. 28 May 2007 http://www.loobylu.com>. Robertson, Claire. “Press for loobylu.” Claire Robertson Illustration. 2000-2004. 28 May 2007 http://www.clairetown.com/press.html>. Robertson, Claire. A Month of Softies. 28 May 2007. 21 Aug. 2007 . Robertson, Claire. “Recent Client List”. Claire Robertson Illustration. 2000-2004. 28 May 2007 http://www.clairetown.com/clients.html>. Rose, Gillian. “Family Photographs and Domestic Spacings: A Case Study.” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers NS 28.1 (2003): 5-18. Smith, Gilly. Jamie Oliver: Turning Up the Heat. Sydney: Macmillian, 2006. Thorne, Scott, and Gordon C. Bruner. “An Exploratory Investigation of the Characteristics of Consumer Fanaticism.” Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal 9.1 (2006): 51-72. Turow, Joseph, and Andrea Kavanaugh, eds. The Wired Homestead: An MIT Press Sourcebook on the Internet and the Family. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2003. Citation reference for this article MLA Style Brien, Donna Lee, Leonie Rutherford, and Rosemary Williamson. "Hearth and Hotmail: The Domestic Sphere as Commodity and Community in Cyberspace." M/C Journal 10.4 (2007). echo date('d M. Y'); ?> <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0708/10-brien.php>. APA Style Brien, D., L. Rutherford, and R. Williamson. (Aug. 2007) "Hearth and Hotmail: The Domestic Sphere as Commodity and Community in Cyberspace," M/C Journal, 10(4). Retrieved echo date('d M. Y'); ?> from <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0708/10-brien.php>.
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Dissertations / Theses on the topic "Board-Registered School Subjects"

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Randall, Dell, and n/a. "An exploratory study of Board-registered school subjects : a survey of selected schools in south east Queensland." University of Canberra. Education, 1990. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20061107.092656.

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Abstract:
An exploratory study of Board-Registered School Subjects was undertaken in 1989 to investigate the impact of this category of subjects on the curriculum for Year 11 and 12 students in Queensland secondary schools. The study was undertaken at two levels -the Systems and the Schools levels. At the Systems level, analysis of Reports and other documents was supplemented by interviews with key personnel in the education authorities. The segment at the Schools level consisted of interviews with administrators or teachers in ten schools in South East Queensland and a small student survey. Board-Registered School Subjects, first developed in that State in 1982, broadened the Senior curriculum from its traditionally academic base. The development of this category of subjects also heralded the beginnings of school based curriculum development in many secondary schools in that State. However, in the latter years of the 1980's, policies and syllabuses developed by the Queensland Department of Education indicate that a shift to systems based curriculum development is probable in the 1990's. Four sub-categories of Board-Registered School Subjects were identified in the sample schools. These were alternatives to core subjects, such as English and Mathematics, vocationally oriented subjects, those related to life/leisure skills and subjects which reflected the nature of the geographical area. The response by many schools to the development of these subjects was enthusiastic; most schools in the sample offered six to eight Board-Registered School Subjects to students in Years 11 and 12. Although many of these subjects were developed initially for students of "lower ability", a reported recent trend was for "academic" students to select one Board-Registered School Subject. The enthusiastic response by schools was curbed to some extent by the reaction of some teachers, students and parents to these subjects. Several Board-Registered School Subjects offered in 1989 were not implemented because insufficient numbers of students selected them. The major factor which mitigated against successful implementation of Board-Registered School Subjects was that students' results in these subjects could not be used in the calculation of the Tertiary Entrance Score, the basis for selection to tertiary institutions. For many students and parents, the Tertiary Entrance Score appeared to be the major goal of Senior secondary education.
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