“What is the Use of a Book Without Pictures?” An Exploration of the Impact of Illustrations on Reading Experience in A Monster Calls

This article examines the effect of Jim Kay’s illustrations on the experience of reading A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. The author compares the responses of six Key Stage Three children (11–14 years old), three of whom were given an illustrated version of the text, and three a non-illustrated version. The children with an illustrated copy engaged with the text more deeply and critically than the others. They were also more likely to relate the story to their own lives. The illustrations were found to work alongside the participants’ own visualisations rather than replacing them, and opened up further possible interpretations rather than limiting them. The illustrations did not appear to have influenced the participants’ overall enjoyment of the book, nor did they significantly alter the readers’ views on key themes and ideas of the text.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10583-016-9279-

High prevalence of mental disorders and comorbidity in the Geneva Gay Men's Health Study

Background: Several large surveys have suggested high prevalence of psychiatric disorders among gay men and other men who have sex with men. Methods: In 2002, a comprehensive health survey was conducted among 571 gay men in Geneva, Switzerland, using probability-based time-space sampling. The Composite International Diagnostic Interview Short-Form (CIDI-SF) was used to assess 12-month prevalence of major depression, specific phobia, social phobia, alcohol dependence, and drug dependence. Results: Nearly half (43.7%, 95% CI=39.0-48.4) of the sample fulfilled the criteria for at least one of the five DSM-IV disorders: 19.2% had major depression, 21.9% had specific and/or social phobia, and 16.7% had an alcohol and/or drug dependence disorder in the past 12months. Over one quarter of the cases were comorbid with another kind of disorder, and 35.7% of cases consulted a health care professional in the past 12months for mental health. Like cases, screen-positives for mood and/or anxiety disorders (24.7%) also reported significantly greater disability and lower quality of life. Conclusions: Nearly two-thirds of this community sample of gay men was affected by psychiatric morbidity with new evidence for comorbidity, subthreshold disorders, and low levels of awareness of psychiatric disorders and their treatment. This population needs to be a priority in psychiatric epidemiology and mental public healt

Defining digital comics: a British Library perspective

This article presents a working definition of digital comics for the specific context of the British Library. It explores formal and sociocultural characteristics of digital comics as well as the sociocultural issues surrounding comics collections at national libraries. The article argues for the value of flexible working definitions over formal definitions, and explores the problematic issue of definitional authority at a national institution such as the British Library. The article defines what distinguishes a digital comic from a print comic, and explores visual, functional and sociocultural features of digital comics before presenting a flexible, composite working definition of a digital comic. This definition is presented in the spirit of an instrumental case study with the aim of helping to inform other context-specific working definitions of digital comics.ESR

Collecting and Preserving Digital Comics

This report is the result of an ESRC funded collaboration with the British Library to investiage the collection and preservation of digital comics published in the UK and Ireland in line with The Legal Deposit Libraries (Non-Print Works) Regulations 2013

Reading illustrated novels: exploring the medium through participatory case study

Reading illustrated novels: exploring the medium through participatory case study Jennifer Aggleton This thesis explores the opportunities that the medium of illustrated novels may provide for readers, through an empirical study of the responses of five children to three illustrated novels. The aim of this research was to create a new model of response to illustrated novels by exploring reading and meaning making processes, as well as the critical, creative, and aesthetic responses of children to illustrated novels. The research takes a sociocultural view of reading, and draws on theories of reader-response and social semiotics, as well as perspectives from research into illustrated novels, picturebooks, and theories of response to art. The research was conducted as a participatory qualitative multiple case study, working with five 9-10-year-old children reading three illustrated novels: The Imaginary by A F Harrold and Emily Gravett, The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett and Jonathan McNaughtt, and Not As We Know It by Tom Avery and Kate Grove. The participants helped to choose the texts, the research methods, and to direct the avenues of exploration. The data collected was analysed using the constant comparative method and content analysis. The model of response developed by this research suggests that illustrated novels, when approached as complete texts in which the writing and illustrations are considered interdependent and equally worthy of attention, have the potential to encourage readers to engage deeply through the creation of moments of pause which can provide space for reflection. The medium also holds the potential to prompt critical and creative responses when the juxtaposition of words and images results in the reader perceiving gaps, uncertainties, disagreements, or dissatisfactions. In addition, illustrated novels can provide aesthetic experiences, and prompt and develop aesthetic judgement. The research concludes that illustrated novels appear to hold enormous potential to prompt readers to engage in a variety of critical and aesthetic ways, and argues for a shift in the way in which this medium is perceived within scholarship and education in order to maximise that potential.Fully funded by ESRC studentshi

Pictures and picturing: mental imagery whilst reading illustrated novels

The medium of illustrated novels has been neglected by educational research, and the limited current research on the influence of illustrations on a reader’s mental images is largely negative in tone. However, by adopting a participatory multiple case study methodology, this research provides a new understanding of the nature of mental picturing when reading illustrated novels. In exploring the responses of five 9–10-year-old participants to three illustrated novels, this study demonstrates that the interactions between illustrations and mental pictures are more complex than previously theorised. In addition, far from having a negative impact upon mental picturing, the potential of illustrations to interact with mental pictures should be embraced by practitioners as an opportunity for growth, enjoyment, and increased criticality and creativity

Critical health education studies: Reflections on a new conference and this themed symposium

In May 2018, a group of scholars gathered in the icy and sunlit grandeur of Queenstown (Aotearoa New Zealand) to talk, debate and share ideas about health education. The conference aimed to trouble and disrupt traditional kinds of health education and, instead, suggest possibilities for the critical study of health education – both in terms of theory and practice. This introduction to the special themed symposium is a reflection by the six authors on that new conference – Critical Studies in Health Education (CHESS) – and what it aimed to achieve. The authors discuss and define the intent of critical approaches to health education, and reflect on their experiences of the conference, as well as the future of the field. Papers in this special themed symposium of Health Education Journal are also introduced.Katie Fitzpatrick acknowledges the support of Te Aparangi The Royal Society of New Zealand for its support via a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship

Where are the children in children’s collections? An exploration of ethical principles and practical concerns surrounding children’s participation in collection development

This article takes a theoretical approach to children’s involvement in the development of children’s collections. The article explores whether children have the right to be involved in the development of children’s collections and considers whether children’s literature is children’s culture. The article discusses practical considerations of representation and competence, and examines application of principles to children’s collections in different environments: school libraries, public libraries, academic libraries, and archives. The article recommends that where children are using children’s collections, they have a right to be involved in their development, and advocates further research into methods of engaging children with collection development