WhatsApp as a Tool for Participation on Spanish Radio: A Preliminary Study of the Program Las Mañanas on RNE

This study was conducted in an environment of widespread use of social media and mobile applications in the mass media. The general goal of the study was to analyze the use of WhatsApp in cybermedia, specifically in radio. A case study was proposed to examine the use of WhatsApp on the program Las mañanas de RNE, broadcast by Spanish National Radio. It was found that the public was very accepting of the program’s initiative to solicit WhatsApp voice messages, beginning in November 2015. The case study used audio files of a direct broadcast that included specific times for audience participation. The use of WhatsApp was accepted by the audience, in addition to the use of the conventional telephone, as a tool well-suited to listener participation in radio programming. Finally, the study highlights the importance of interactive, participatory spaces in broadcasts through the creation of synergies with new forms of online participation.     

Effects of Multimedia versus Live Professional Development on Teachers’ and Students’ Performance Related to the Question Exploration Routine

In each of two studies, teachers were randomly assigned to either a Virtual Workshop (VW) group that used a computerized professional development program or an Actual Workshop (AW) group that participated in face-to-face professional development, including discussion, feedback, and collaboration. In both studies, teachers’ posttest scores related to their knowledge of the Question Exploration Routine and their plans for using it were significantly higher than their pretest scores. In Study 2, both groups’ posttest scores with regard to implementation and planning of the routine were significantly greater than their pretest scores. There were no significant differences between the groups at posttesting on any measure. The posttest knowledge scores of the whole groups of students and the subgroups of students with LD being taught by both groups of teachers were significantly higher than their pretest scores. All teachers indicated that they were satisfied with the training and the routine. VW teachers in both studies indicated that they were satisfied with the software program.     

New insights into brazilwood lake pigments manufacture through the use of historically accurate reconstructions

A multi-analytical approach for the study of brazilwood and its lake pigments was carried out based on historically accurate reconstructions. Recipes for brazilwood lakes from the fifteenth century technical text Livro de como se fazem as cores and the Winsor & Newton nineteenth century colourman's archive were reproduced and compared. Both primary sources allowed for the successful preparation of brazilwood lake pigments with colours that vary from light pink to dark red. The main steps and ingredients for the manufacture of these pigments were common in both sources, particularly the addition of Al³⁺ in the form of alum, and calcium carbonate (chalk). Reconstructions revealed that the latter acts as a pH buffer and filler, controlling the pH at which the lake pigment precipitates. The main difference between the two sources is that the nineteenth century recipes give the quantities for all ingredients, the precise temperatures and time, and achieved higher relative pigment yields (75% versus 45%). Full chemical characterisation of the reconstructions provided detailed information on the individual steps in the pigment manufacture and revealed that the presence of calcium sulphate dihydrate (gypsum) in the final pigment was a result of its formation in situ. Infrared, reflectance, and fluorescence spectroscopy proved to be essential and complementary techniques: while infrared was used to characterise additives and binders, reflectance and fluorescence data were fundamental for identifying the chromophore. The pigments and paints produced can now be used as standards for the identification and investigation of brazilwood lake pigments found in artworks.     

Cindy Sherman: A Play of Selves. A collaborative approach to conservation

In 2013, The Better Image (TBI) was contacted to examine A Play of Selves, a unique work created by artist Cindy Sherman during her graduate studies in 1975. The work is composed of 244 paper doll-like photographs of Sherman that are presented within 72 frames. During initial condition checks, it was noted that a number of individual elements had begun to show signs of chemical staining. Over the course of 2013/2014, a collaborative response was developed with the help of the artist, the artist's printer, the representing gallery, TBI staff and the owner. The main goal was to address the physical and chemical issues present and preserve this work for future exhibition and study. Determining an effective decision- making model based on a hierarchy of values was crucial before undertaking any conservation treatment, as there were several invested parties, each with a different perspective. The focus of this paper is the interplay of our responsibilities as conservators with the concerns of the artist, her gallery, her printer, and the owner to balance aesthetic vs. physical integrity of the artwork, reversibility of treatments, importance of record keeping while developing a balanced response within a world of rapidly disappearing traditional photographic papers.     

Mnemonic-strategy reduction of prose-learning interference

One hundred and sixty college students read three fictitious biographical passages according to either imagery-mnemonic or no-strategy control instructions. In one mnemonic condition, subjects formed separate images involving each biographical name and its associated facts: in another mnemonic condition, the biographical name and its associated facts were integrated within a single composite image. Relative to an interference-control condition, integrated mnemonic subjects recalled more factual information, whereas separate mnemonic subjects did not. In addition, the recall of integrated mnemonic subjects was statistically no different from that of a noninterference control condition, whereas the recall of separate mnemonic subjects was lower. Both theoretical and educational implications of the results are discussed. The first author’s contribution to this work was supported by an Organized Research Grant from the Graduate School of Illinois State University. The second author’s contribution was supported by the National Institute of Education under Grant No. NIE-G-81-0009 to the Wisconsin Center for Education Research and was facilitated by a Romnes Faculty Fellowship from the Graduate School of the University of Wisconsin, Madison.