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.     

A comparison of regular program and vocational program junior high school students on affective dimensions

The hypothesis that young adolescents in vocational education programs would differ from young adolescents in a regular program along several affective dimensions was examined. The Today Form of the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (MAACL) was administered twice during the school year to 111 students in a vocational program and to 50 students in regular classrooms. Dimensions of Anxiety, Depression, and Hostility were examined. Significant main effects for all three dimensions were noted for school program (regular vs. CVAE) and for grade (seventh vs. eighth). Students in the vocational program and those in seventh grade scored higher on Anxiety, Depression, and Hostility. These differences persisted across time, with the exception of Depression, for which there was a significant interaction between time (pretest vs. posttest) and school program (regular vs. CVAE), with regular students reporting increased depression at the second testing.     

MeSH and text-word search strategies: precision,recall, and their implications for library instruction

Objective:This study compared the recall and precision of MeSH-term versus text-word searching to better understand psychosocial MeSH terms and to provide guidance on whether to include both strategies in an information literacy session or how much time should be spent on teaching each search strategy.Methods:Using the relevant recall method, a total of 3,162 resources were considered and evaluated to form a gold standard set of 1,521 relevant resources. We compared resources discussing psychosocial aspects of children and adolescents living with type 1 diabetes using two search strategies: text-word strategy versus MeSH-term strategy. The frequency of MeSH terms, the MeSH hierarchy, and elements of each search strategy were also examined.Results:Using the 1,521 relevant articles, we found that the text-word search strategy had 54% recall, while the MeSH-term strategy had 75% recall. Also, the precision of the text-word strategy was 34.4%, while the precision of the MeSH-term strategy was 47.7%. Therefore, the MeSH-term search strategy yielded both greater recall and greater precision. The MeSH strategy was also more complicated in design and usage than the text-word strategy.Conclusions:This study demonstrates the effectiveness of text-word and MeSH search strategies on precision and recall. The combination of text-word and MeSH strategies is recommended to achieve the most comprehensive results. These results support the idea that MeSH or a similar controlled vocabulary should be taught to experienced and knowledgeable students and practitioners who require a myriad of resources for their literature searches.     

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.