Reading Readings: An Approach to the Relationship between Television and Literature at School

The main problem addressed by this research was that of what are the relations between TV viewing at home and studying literature at school, and how an adequate position on this can be reached. As well as the theoretical background, it involved an experimental study with classes of second and sixth grade students, discussing and observing their reactions to and interpretations of a number of animated cartoons. The work is divided into four parts - Is there a Class in this Text?, Stories of Reading, Narratives of Animation and Animation of Narratives, and The (Three) Unrepeatable (Pigs). Beginning, Middle End - which examine the tensions between the "undiscriminating sequence" of the televisual flow and a way of "thinking", "making" and "doing" education that presupposes a fundamental belief in possible re-productions, copies unescaping, following the original, or competing. The work focuses on animated cartoons, seeing them not merely as a part of the flow of television, but as an allegory of reading this flow, of the flow within the flow itself. What they question - "identity", "end", "followability" - is what is most important to teaching. Thus the interest in the metamorphoses of animated films is an interest in the tensions which their "strange law/flow" introduces into the field of teaching - this totally forbidden place of saying everything.

Educational Television Broadcasting in Germany: Prevailing Practices, Existing Challenges and Adoptable Policies

Television is widely used for educational purposes but has still not achieved its fullest potential neither in developed nor in developing countries. This worldwide under performance invite experts and academics to join hands to search causes and provide suggestions to make television a better and popular learning tool. Guided by this philosophy, the present paper analyzes the educational television broadcasting in Germany from different perspectives. The focus of analysis includes measures and practices adopted by German institutions/broadcasters to promote educational television. Besides dealing with these issues, the paper discusses existing challenges and suggests best adoptable educational television broadcasting polices from Germany to promote educational television in global perspectives.

J-Quizmaker

Lehrvideos erfreuen sich dank aktueller Entwicklungen im Bereich der Online-Lehre (Videoplattformen, MOOCs) auf der einen Seite und einer riesigen Auswahl sowie einer einfachen Produktion und Distribution auf der anderen Seite großer Beliebtheit bei der Wissensvermittlung. Trotzdem bringen Videos einen entscheidenden Nachteil mit sich, welcher in der Natur des Datenformats liegt. So sind die Suche nach konkreten Sachverhalten in einem Video sowie die semantische Aufbereitung zur automatisierten Verknüpfung mit weiteren spezifischen Inhalten mit hohem Aufwand verbunden. Daher werden die lernerfolg-orientierte Selektion von Lehrsegmenten und ihr Arrangement zur auf Lernprozesse abgestimmten Steuerung gehemmt. Beim Betrachten des Videos werden unter Umständen bereits bekannte Sachverhalte wiederholt bzw. können nur durch aufwendiges manuelles Spulen übersprungen werden. Selbiges Problem besteht auch bei der gezielten Wiederholung von Videoabschnitten. Als Lösung dieses Problems wird eine Webapplikation vorgestellt, welche die semantische Aufbereitung von Videos hin zu adaptiven Lehrinhalten ermöglicht: mittels Integration von Selbsttestaufgaben mit definierten Folgeaktionen können auf Basis des aktuellen Nutzerwissens Videoabschnitte automatisiert übersprungen oder wiederholt und externe Inhalte verlinkt werden. Der präsentierte Ansatz basiert somit auf einer Erweiterung der behavioristischen Lerntheorie der Verzweigten Lehrprogramme nach Crowder, die auf den Lernverlauf angepasste Sequenzen von Lerneinheiten beinhaltet. Gleichzeitig werden mittels regelmäßig eingeschobener Selbsttestaufgaben Motivation sowie Aufmerksamkeit des Lernenden nach Regeln der Programmierten Unterweisung nach Skinner und Verstärkungstheorie gefördert. Durch explizite Auszeichnung zusammengehöriger Abschnitte in Videos können zusätzlich die enthaltenden Informationen maschinenlesbar gestaltet werden, sodass weitere Möglichkeiten zum Auffinden und Verknüpfen von Lerninhalten geschaffen werden.

Autonomic stress responses elicited by watching a live broadcast soccer game: a pilot study

Aim: Increased rates of hospitalization due to cardiovascular events have been reported during phases of World Soccer Championships (WSC). The purpose of this pilot study was to explore acute psychological and physiological effects of watching a live broadcast soccer game during the WSC 2006. Methods: Seven male supporters (age: M=24; SD=2.7) of the Swiss National Soccer Team watched a game of their team in a controlled laboratory setting. Heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), salivary cortisol, alpha-amylase (sAA), and testosterone concentrations, as well as several mood ratings were captured repeatedly before, during, and after the game. Results: Subjects reported feeling stressed, and HR and sAA activity showed an increase during the game. In contrast, HRV, cortisol and testosterone were unaffected. Conclusion: Watching a sports competition seems to specifically affect the sympathetic nervous system, which can be measured by sensitive electrocardiographic and salivary markers.

Television viewing, C-reactive protein, and depressive symptoms in older adults

There is emerging evidence for a link between sedentary behavior and mental health, although the mechanisms remain unknown. We tested if an underlying inflammatory process explains the association between sedentary behavior and depressive symptoms. We conducted a two year follow-up of 4964 (aged 64.5 ± 8.9 years) men and women from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, a cohort of community dwelling older adults. Self-reported TV viewing time was assessed at baseline as a marker of leisure time sedentary behavior. The eight-item Centre of Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) scale was administered to measure depressive symptoms at follow-up. At baseline, TV time was associated with C-reactive protein (CRP), adjusted geometric mean CRP values were 2.94 mg/L (<2 h/d TV); 3.04 mg/L (2–4 h/d TV); 3.29 mg/L (4–6 h/d TV); 3.23 mg/L (>6 h/d TV). We observed both a direct association of TV time on CES-D score at follow-up (B = 0.08, 95% CI, 0.05, 0.10) and indirect effects (B = 0.07, 95% CI, 0.05, 0.08). The indirect effects were largely explained through lack of physical activity, smoking, and alcohol, but not by CRP or body mass index.

Saturday Morning Television Advertisements Aired on English and Spanish Language Networks along the Texas-Mexico Border

Objectives: The aim of this content analysis study is to characterize the TV advertisements aired to an at-risk child population along the Texas-Mexico border. Methods: We characterized the early Saturday morning TV advertisements aired by three broadcast network categories (U.S. English language, U.S. Spanish language, and Mexican Spanish language) in Spring 2010. The number, type (food related vs. non-food related), target audience, and persuasion tactics used were recorded. Advertised foods, based on nutrition content, were categorized as meeting or not meeting current dietary guidelines. Results: Most commercials were non-food related (82.7%, 397 of 480). The majority of the prepared foods (e.g., cereals, snacks, and drinks) advertised did not meet the current U.S. Dietary Guidelines. Additionally, nutrition content information was not available for many of the foods advertised on the Mexican Spanish language broadcast network category. Conclusions: For U.S. children at risk for obesity along the Texas-Mexico border exposure to TV food advertisements may result in the continuation of sedentary behavior as well as an increased consumption of foods of poor nutritional quality. An international regulatory effort to monitor and enforce the reduction of child-oriented food advertising is needed. Editors' Note: This article was submitted in response to the first issue of the Journal of Applied Research on Children: Latino Children.

The New Audiovisual Media Services Directive : Television without Frontiers, Television without Cultural Diversity

After long deliberations, the European Community (EC) has completed the reform of its audiovisual media regulation. The paper examines the main tenets of this reform with particular focus on its implications for the diversity of cultural expressions in the European media landscape. It also takes into account the changed patterns of consumer and business behaviour due to the advances in digital media and their wider spread in society. The paper criticises the somewhat unimaginative approach of the EC to new media and the political (and at times protectionist) considerations behind some of the Directive's provisions.

The Reform of the EC Audiovisual Media Regulation : Television Without Cultural Diversity

In the profoundly changing and dynamic world of contemporary audiovisual media, what has remained surprisingly unaffected is regulation. In the European Union, the new Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMS), proposed by the European Commission on December 13, 2005, should allegedly rectify this situation. Amending the existing Television without Frontiers Directive, it should offer a fresh approach and meet the challenge of appropriately regulating media in a complex environment. It is meant to achieve a balance between the free circulation of TV broadcast and new audiovisual media and the preservation of values of cultural identity and diversity, while respecting the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality inherent to the Community. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether and how the changes envisaged to the EC audiovisual media regime might influence cultural diversity in Europe. It addresses subsequently the question of whether the new AVMS properly safeguards the balance between competition and the public interest in this regard, or whether cultural diversity remains a mere political banner.

Sticking to Syntax: The Reflection of Story Grammar in Children's and Adult's Recall of Radio and Television Shows

Two studies were conducted to determine how well story grammar predicted recall of televised stories. In Experiment 1, preschoolers viewed a non-narrated televised story from "Sesame Street." In Experiment 2, preschoolers and adults were administered a narrative via television or radio. In both studies, subjects' retention reflected recall of nodal information, regardless of medium of input.

Neural correlate of spatial presence in an arousing and noninteractive virtual reality: an EEG and psychophysiology study

Using electroencephalography (EEG), psychophysiology, and psychometric measures, this is the first study which investigated the neurophysiological underpinnings of spatial presence. Spatial presence is considered a sense of being physically situated within a spatial environment portrayed by a medium (e.g., television, virtual reality). Twelve healthy children and 11 healthy adolescents were watching different virtual roller coaster scenarios. During a control session, the roller coaster cab drove through a horizontal roundabout track. The following realistic roller coaster rides consisted of spectacular ups, downs, and loops. Low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) and event-related desynchronization (ERD) were used to analyze the EEG data. As expected, we found that, compared to the control condition, experiencing a virtual roller coaster ride evoked in both groups strong SP experiences, increased electrodermal reactions, and activations in parietal brain areas known to be involved in spatial navigation. In addition, brain areas that receive homeostatic afferents from somatic and visceral sensations of the body were strongly activated. Most interesting, children (as compared to adolescents) reported higher spatial presence experiences and demonstrated a different frontal activation pattern. While adolescents showed increased activation in prefrontal areas known to be involved in the control of executive functions, children demonstrated a decreased activity in these brain regions. Interestingly, recent neuroanatomical and neurophysiological studies have shown that the frontal brain continues to develop to adult status well into adolescence. Thus, the result of our study implies that the increased spatial presence experience in children may result from the not fully developed control functions of the frontal cortex.

Watching Eyes - Effekte an Recyclingsammelstellen

Weniger unsachgemässe Abfallentsorgung dank Watching Eyes – dies war die These unseres Feldexperiments. In fünf Gemeinden der Region Bern und Olten wurde während drei Monaten die Wirkung von aufklebbaren Augenpaaren (sog. „Watching Eyes“) auf die unsachgemässe Abfallentsorgung bei Recyclingsammelstellen getestet. Die Menge des Abfalls konnte durch Watching Eyes um bis zu 35 % reduziert werden. Ebenfalls bestätigt wurden die zusätzlichen Erwartungen, dass an Unterflur - Containertypen und an offen einsehbaren Sammelstellen weniger Müll unsachgemäss abgestellt wird. Alle Erkenntnisse passen in die Theorie, dass Benutzer der Sammelstellen sich eher normkonform verhalten, wenn sie sich beobachtet fühlen. Ausserdem macht diese Forschungsarbeit Hoffnung, dass Watching Eyes für ein gesellschaftsrelevantes Problem, die unsachgerechte Abfallentsorgung, Hilfestellung bieten können. Watching Eyes - Aufkleber entfalten ihren grössten Effekt auf soziales Verhalten bei dauerhafter Anwendung. Dieser Effekt vermag die illegal deponierten Müllmengen an Recyclingsammelstellen um rund ein Drittel zu reduzieren. Weiter kann Gemeinden empfohlen werden, in Unterfluranlagen zu investieren und von den alten, traditionellen Containern abzusehen, da dadurch die Menge deponierten Abfalls deutlich reduziert werden kann.