Happily Ever After? A Content Analysis of Romantic Ideals in Disney Princess Films

This study presents a quantitative content analysis of the romantic expressions portrayed in the 12 Disney princess movies. The films were analyzed for presence of romantic expressions (ideals and challenges) and the character reactions to those expressions. Results indicated that romantic expressions are prevalent in these films, with idealization of other as the most common ideal expressed. The transitional era of films (i.e., princess movies released between 1989 and 1998) contained roughly the same number of ideals as the other eras of classic (i.e., movies released before 1989) and modern (i.e., movies released after 1998) combined. Further, ideals were three times more common than challenges in classic films, whereas ideals and challenges were expressed equally in transitional and modern films. In general, across all three eras, challenges were most commonly met with punishing and negative reactions, whereas ideals were most often rewarded. Finally, there were no sex differences in terms of ideal expressions, but male characters were the dominant pursuers in 9 of the 11 films that featured a romantic relationship.     

Learning about literacy: Children’s versions of the Literacy Hour

This article reports on an enquiry into the responses of a class of Year 1 children, aged 5‐6 years, to the first eight months of the National Literacy Strategy (NLS). Children were given incomplete drawings to represent the four parts of the Literacy Hour. In completing the drawings the children made their own interpretations of the Literacy Hour. They could choose to write thought or speech bubbles, draw faces and expressions, make written or dictated comments about the teacher and the children portrayed. The methodology enabled these young children to articulate detailed responses to their experience of a particular style of teaching. Each child documented a range of attitudes to and feelings about whole class teaching, group work and the plenary session. These insights, which were often challenging, put the emotional dimension of learning at the centre of their experiences of the NLS.     

Biodeterioration of Incralac used for the protection of bronze monuments

Outdoor bronze sculptures are highly susceptible to corrosion in many environments and organic coatings are widely used for their protection. The purpose of this study was to determine the susceptibility of the commonly used coating Incralac to biodeterioration by microorganisms. A yeast was isolated from a bronze statue treated with Incralac and its ability to degrade Incralac was determined using growth curves, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The organism grew slowly on Incralac in liquid culture, but SEM images demonstrated its ability to adhere to Incralac coated metal. Additionally, the yeast caused a rapid drop in the low frequency impedance of Incralac coated metal that was not observed under sterile conditions, indicating that the organism accelerated deterioration of the coating. The potential for microbial growth to accelerate deterioration of Incralac should be considered when developing a maintenance strategy for the protection of outdoor metal monuments.     

Enhancing Preservice Teachers' Understanding of Web-based Scientific Inquiry

Journal of Science Teacher Education -