Third-generation responses to holocaust video-testimony

This research investigated responses of grandchildren of Holocaust survivors ("third generation") to Holocaust video-testimony. The analysis revealed that video-testimony can transmit memories of survival experiences to viewers, enabling them to "work through" their positions as witnesses and make active decisions relating to remembrance.

Video testimony : the generation and transmission of trauma

My mother experienced the final part of the Second World War displaced and separated from her family and particularily her husband. (His name was on Oscar Schindler's List; her name was, and then wasn't). This dislocation from her husband was one trauma within a larger set of daily traumas. In 1997, as part of the Shoah Foundation Visual History series, my mother narrated her individualized video testimony, once again, separated from her family. This paper examines the methodologies of this video testimony in relation to two connected questions: was my mother re-traumatized by the process of providing her testemony, and by narrating and recording her video testimony, did she, unwittingly, 'transmit' her traumas, and those of her generation to my generation?

Trauma and holocaust video testimony : the intersection of history, memory, and judgment in the interview process

This article analyzes video testimonies recorded at the Jewish Holocaust Museum and Research Centre in Melbourne,Australia, which address the highly complex and sensitive issue of “privileged” Jews. The so-called privileged Jews include prisoners in the Nazi-operated camps and ghettos who held positions that gave them access to material and other benefits, while compelling them to act in ways that have been judged detrimental to fellow inmates. Although the issue of “privileged” Jews has been largely neglected, it relates to a crucial facet of the Holocaust and has vast implications for its aftermath. The ethical dilemmas facing these victims may be closely linked to what Lawrence Langer has termed choiceless choices, which challenge conventional notions of “judgment” and “responsibility.” This problem is also the primary subject of Auschwitz survivor Primo Levi’s essay titled “The Grey Zone,” which is arguably the most influential essay ever written on the Holocaust. Levi argues that one should abstain from judging individuals who confronted such extreme circumstances, positioning prisoners with “privileged” positions at the threshold of representation and understanding. However, moral evaluations of “privileged” Jews have a strong impact on Holocaust testimonies, whether these were constructed during the war or recorded long after the survivors’ experiences. The examples of video testimonies explored in this article reveal that this is particularly the case when interviewees are former “privileged” Jews and interviewers are themselves Holocaust survivors. The article argues that when confronted with such an emotionally and morally fraught issue, judgment may itself be seen as a “limit of representation.”

Children’s preferences for group musical activities in child care centres : a cross-cultural study

This paper reports on a cross-cultural research study of children’s preferences for group musical activities in child care centres. A total of 228 young children aged 4–5 years in seven child care centres in Hong Kong and in the Adelaide City of South Australia participated in the study. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected via a mixed method approach. Result showed that dancing/moving was children’s most preferred musical activity in centres. Significant differences were found between children’s cultural contexts and their preferences for three activities: (1) Singing; (2) Listening; and (3) Playing instruments. Qualitative data further revealed the social phenomena of these two cultural contexts which influenced children’s preferences. Implications for the curriculum planning of early childhood music education arising from these findings are discussed.

Mental context reinstatement increases resistance to false suggestions after children have experienced a repeated event

When children allege repeated abuse, they are required to provide details about specific instances. This often results in children confusing details from different instances, therefore the aim of this study was to examine whether mental context reinstatement (MCR) could be used to improve children’s accuracy. Children (N ¼ 120, 6–7-yearolds) participated in four activities over a 2-week period and were interviewed about the last (fourth) time with a standard recall or MCR interview. They were then asked questions about specific details, and some questions contained false information. When interviewed again 1 day later, children in the MCR condition resisted false suggestions that were consistent with the event more than false suggestions that were inconsistent; in contrast, children in the standard interview condition were equally suggestible for both false detail types and showed a yes bias. The results suggest a practical way of eliciting more accurate information from child witnesses.

Measuring children’s involvement as an indicator of curriculum effectiveness : a curriculum evaluation of a selected child study centre in Singapore

This paper presents one aspect of a research project evaluating a curriculum model of a selected child study centre in Singapore. An issue of worldwide interest and concern is the ‘quality of learning’ debate as it relates to early childhood centres. In Singapore, the government is focusing on expansion in child care settings and increases in the amount of funded training. One of the issues surrounding prior-to-school education raises the question of how one measures the quality of teaching and learning, to describe the value of using, funding and promoting early education. The research reported in this study used a quasi experimental research paradigm to assess one aspect of the quality of a curriculum programme in a child study centre in Singapore. Children aged between 18 months and 6 years (N = 81) participated in the research. Using the observation scale of Laevers’ Child Involvement Scale, the active involvement of children in learning experiences was measured. The findings are presented and discussed.

The emergence and development of specialist courts : lessons for juvenile justice from the history of the children’s court in South Australia?

To illustrate how specialist courts have developed to manage juvenile offenders, this paper provides an overview of the history and development of the youth court in one jurisdiction, South Australia. Drawing on interviews conducted with judicial officers, the paper seeks to highlight some of the changes that have taken place since the Court’s inception, as well as how the Court currently understands its role and positioning within the broader justice and welfare systems. Key discussion points of these interviews included the Youth Court’s guiding principles and how they impact on court procedures and responses to young people in the system, as well as the challenges that limit, or create difficulties for, the effective operation of the Youth Court. It is concluded that the Youth Court system attempts to balance both welfare and justice approaches to dealing with young people, but are sometimes hindered by inadequate procedural, structural and resource-related factors – some of which exist externally to the Youth Court itself.

Reducing the energy density of an entrée decreases children’s energy intake at lunch

Background: Strategies need to be developed to reduce preschool children’s energy intake.

Objective: To test the effect of reducing the energy density of an entrée on children’s ad libitum energy intake.

Subjects: Subjects were 2- to 5-year-old children (37 boys and 40 girls) in a university day-care facility.

Intervention: In this within-subjects crossover study, children were served a test lunch once per week for 6 weeks. Two versions of a macaroni and cheese entrée were formulated to differ in energy density while maintaining similar palatability. Each version was served to children three times. The higher-energy-density entrée had 2.0 kcal/g and the other entrée was 30% lower in energy density. Lunch, consumed ad libitum, also included broccoli, applesauce, and milk.

Main outcome measures: Food intake and energy intake were measured.

Statistical analyses: A mixed linear model tested effect of energy density of the entrée on food intake and energy intake. Results are reported as mean±standard error.

Results: Decreasing the energy density of the entrée by 30% significantly (P<0.0001) reduced children’s energy intake from the entrée by 25% (72.3±8.3 kcal) and total lunch energy intake by 18% (71.8±7.9 kcal). Children consumed significantly more of the lower-energy-density entrée (10.1±4.2 g; P<0.05). Children’s sex-specific body mass index–for-age percentiles did not affect the relationship between energy density of the entrée and children’s intakes.

Conclusions: Decreasing the energy density of a lunch entrée resulted in a reduction in children’s energy intake from the entrée and from the total meal. Reducing the energy density of foods may be an effective strategy to moderate children’s energy intake.

Multiplatform innovation and participatory citizenship : the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s digital children’s television projects

This paper examines children’s multiplatform commissioning at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in the context of the digitalisation of Australian television. A pursuit of audience share and reach to legitimise its recurrent funding engenders a strategy that prioritises the entertainment values of the ABC’s children’s offerings. Nevertheless, these multiplatform texts (comprising complementary ‘on-air’ and ‘online’ textualities) evidence a continuing commitment to a youth-focussed, public service remit, and reflect the ABC’s Charter obligations to foster innovation, creativity, participation, citizenship, and the values of social inclusiveness. The analysis focuses on two recent ‘marquee’ drama projects, Dance Academy (a contemporary teen series) and My Place (a historical series for a middle childhood audience). The research draws on a series of research interviews, analysis of policy documents and textual analysis of the television and multiplatform content. The authors argue that a mixed diet of programming, together with an educative or social developmental agenda, features in the design of both program and online participation for the public broadcaster.