Associations between usual school lunch attendance and eating habits and sedentary behaviour in French children and adolescents

Background/Objective: Our objective was to investigate whether school lunch attendance was associated with overall eating habits and sedentary behaviour in a French sample of children and adolescents.

Subjects/Methods: Data for the study were taken from the second French cross-sectional dietary survey (INCA2-2006-07). In total, 1413 school children aged 3–17 years old were classified according to their school type and their usual school lunch attendance. Eating habits included meal regularity, dietary diversity, purchase in vending machine, snacking habits and frequency of eating in fast-foods. Two composite indices of eating habits were derived from multiple correspondence analyses. Sedentary behaviour was assessed by the average daily screen times for TV and computer. The association between school lunch attendance and each variable was tested. Multivariate association between school lunch attendance and the composite indices of eating habits and sedentary behaviours was studied.

Results: In all, 69.0% (CI95%: 64.2–73.9) of secondary school children and 63.0% (CI95%: 58.5–67.5) of pre- and elementary school children usually attended school lunch at least once a week. Pre- and elementary school children attending school lunches showed a higher dietary diversity score (P=0.02) and ate morning snacks more frequently (P=0.02). In secondary school children, attending school canteen was related to a lower rate of skipping breakfast (P=0.04) and main meals (P=0.01). In all school children, school lunch attendance was simultaneously associated with healthier overall eating habits and less sedentary behaviour.

Conclusion: In France, children attending school canteens seem to have healthier eating habits and display less sedentary behaviour, independently of their socio-economic and demographic background.

One tweet does not a revolution make : technological determinism, media and social change

This paper discusses the problematic influence of technological determinism in popular news media coverage and analysis of the Arab Spring events of 2010-11.

The purpose is to develop insights into how and why elements of a ‘soft’ technological determinism inflect both journalistic practice and news discourse in relation to the Arab Spring. In particular it discusses how the ‘bias of convenience’ and a journalistic obsession with the ‘continuous present’ connect with this determinist inflection to create a potential distortion in the journalists’ ‘first rough draft’ of history in relation to significant and complex events such as social revolution.

Cuban thrills of a dance revolution

Review : Ballet Revolucion performed at State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne

Is this an ipad revolution or mobile learning revolution? A global perspective across countries : " iWorld, iLearn"

 This evolution of mobile technologies and application integration in education across the world has provided a shift to a new learning environment via various mobile platforms.Educational institutions globally are missing to identify specific mobile technologies initiatives and strategies as a method to evaluate these mobile technologies and to expose both students and teachers to the potential it engenders.This panel will undertake a cross country comparison among culturally diverse countries: Turkey,UAE,USA,Lebanon,Iceland,Israel,Japan,Germany.Questions will be raised such as:Why some countries are branding mobile learning and their integration of these technologies has been made device specific, app specific and operating system specific?Is this the right approach?The digital gap between countries will be discussed?Availability access, barriers and limitations for some countries are described.We will try to figure out similarities,differences and challenges among these countries.

Delight and revolution: literary studies, aesthetics and ideology

 A commissioned article for the special edition on the future of English as a discipline.

The French consul's wife : memoirs of Céleste de Chabrillan in gold-rush Australia

A former Parisian courtesan, bare-back-rider, and polka dancer, Céleste de Chabrillan scandalized Melbourne when she arrived in 1854. Her vivid account of years spent in diplomatic circles and on the goldfields reveals her great energy and will.