The authenticity of the museum experience in the digital age: the case of the Louvre

The technological shift of museums is extensively documented, even if research on the impact of technologies on cultural practices and social patterns at large is still lacking. As part of a research programme conducted by the Louvre and HEC Paris, the article proposes a conceptual analysis of ‘real’ (visiting the museum) and ‘virtual’ (visiting its website) experiences of museums. It contributes to the understanding of whether the two experiences are substitutes or complements using a newly created measurement scale. In addition, the article also aims at enriching the contemporary discussion on the artworks’ aura and the authenticity of the cultural experience in the digital age.     

Three-Year Study of Students’ Attitudes Toward Physical Education: Grades 4–8

Purpose: A relationship exists between attitudes toward physical education and future physical activity. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in attitude toward physical education as students progressed from upper elementary school (Grade 4) through middle school (Grade 8). Method: Three cohorts of students (Cohort 1, Grades 4–6, n = 96; Cohort 2, Grades 5–7, n = 71; and Cohort 3, Grades 6–8, n = 73) were each followed for 3 years to examine changes in attitudes toward physical education. Results: After an initial increase from Grade 4 to Grade 5, a significant decrease was observed from Grades 5 to 8 in students’ positive attitudes toward physical education, with a faster rate of change for girls than boys. Conclusion: This longitudinal study provides further insights regarding the attitudes of students as they progress from Grade 4 to Grade 8 and expands on previous findings identifying decreasing positive attitudes toward physical education as students age, particularly for girls. The results provide evidence to support targeted interventions.     

Short texts to explain problem — Solution structures — and vice versa

Linguistic analysis of short published reports leads to the presentation of an aigorithm that depicts the problem-solving process in terms of a series of evaluative questions. The work shows how reports enable us to define in detail the various stages of problem solving, and it shows that an understanding of these various stages enables us to recognise information structures in written texts; the writing of brief reports of high-priority information on which the whole thinking process is based is thus seen as a vital part of the problem-solving process. One report is analysed in detail to demonstrate the close relationship between information structures in the text and the real-life thought'action process it describes. There is discussion of how paragraphs, sentences and signals within the sentences enable the writer to communicate the information in a conceptual array that represents the actual thought/action process it describes. Educational implications for inter-sentential coherence, discourse analysis, and writing structures, and control of research through written reports are all discussed.