Society and Culture Association Personal Interest Projects Resource List extracts

Resource Lists The resource list should include annotated references used in the Personal Interest Project and/or a list of other kinds of resources, for example films, internet sites or electronic resources referred to during the preparation of the project, and resource persons (eg people interviewed). The references should be accurate and include publication/production details. For each internet site, the URL and the most recent date the site was visited should be included, along with a short annotation on its usefulness to the Personal Interest Project. Assessment and Reporting in Society and Culture, page 11

Examples of Resource Lists Sample 1 Books Dumbest Generation, the: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don’t Trust Anyone under 30) by Mark Bauerlein, Published by Penguin Books (2008) This text, which concluded surveys undertaken by Bauerlein about the changing attitudes of young Americans and reading habits, was extremely useful in providing the influence technology has had on Generation Y. It was bias in the fact that Bauerlein greatly argued the negative impacts of technology; however surveys undertaken by Americans were useful. However, the text was based on American adolescent studies so could not be used greatly to support my argument with Australian Generation Y’ers Leading a Digital School: Principles and Practice edited by Mal Lee and Michael Gaffney Published by Acer Press (2009) This text was helpful in providing an outlook at what the future holds in regard to technological advancements in Australian schools. Although it did not necessarily include how technology may affect books, it did allow an example of the effect technology is having in Australia for Generation Y individuals.

Examples of Resource Lists Sample 1 Newspaper Articles “Australians deserve access to cheaper books” by Sydney Morning Herald journalist Michael Wilding (printed 17/07/09) books dmvk.html books dmvk.html This article was helpful as it provided an outline of why Generation Y may not read books due to financial cost. However, it was biased as it “Can read, won’t read books” by BBC journalist Martha Buckley (printed: 17/08/2005) This article was helpful as it provided a BBC case study on the number of books read by adults in the UK. Although the data and surveys were old, it enabled an outline of what factors have influenced reading undertaken by adults. However, the statistics were about UK adults and thus could not be applied to Australian individuals.

Examples of Resource Lists Sample 1 Transcripts Transcript of interview with Mark Bauerlein and Paul Comrie-Thomson (13 October 2008) by ABC Radio National: This transcript was really useful in providing an outline of my Chapter One. It helped me obtain opinions and information of later useful authors such as Mark Bauerlein. It was bias as it was undertaken over the radio however ABC radio ensured that information given to the public was accurate, as I later discovered. Transcript of Lateline’s presenter Ticky Fullerton on topic titled “Debate rages over book import restrictions” (07/05/09) This transcript was useful in providing a basis of the import cost and restriction of books in Australia as well as authoritative and civilian opinions on the matter. The opinions and statistics provided were also useful and reliable as ABC radio similarly ensures that information given to the public was accurate.

Examples of Resource Lists Sample 2 Primary Methodologies Questionnaire Surveying a large number of people (50) enabled me to see an overall picture of the attitudes towards Disney in Australian society. I discovered that not only were participants keen to praise Disney, but they also felt compelled to defend Disney and this result supported my secondary research that indicated a widespread reluctance to criticise or condemn The Walt Disney Company. Focus Group This methodology was extremely useful in helping me form the basis of my primary research. The discussion presented me with a variety of perspectives from my peers that helped me understand how people perceive Disney and how they feel it should change (if at all) in the future. All six participants were around the same age and from similar backgrounds and although they had differing views perhaps I could have selected a broader demographic (as I did with the questionnaire) in order to gain more conclusive results.

Examples of Resource Lists Sample 3 Secondary Research Pascoe, C.J. (2007) “You Have Another World to Create: Teens and Online Hangouts” (online) – accessed 10/02/07 This ‘post’ is an evaluation of a New York Times article discussing how teenagers have less and less places to “hang out”, and how the internet has become this place. This post is relevant to my study as it is an “average Joe’s” perspective on the online phenomenon of MySpace. The reliability of this source is questionable, however as this article was simply used as background information on this topic, this is not a major issue. There is no evidence that this post is biased. Willard, N. (2006) “The ‘MySpace Phenomenon’”, (online), - accessed 18/02/07 This article gives a brief overview of what MySpace is and addresses the safety of these “online social networking sites”. This article is relevant to my study as it looks at the ways in which teenagers may interact with this site. The author of this article is well-versed on this topic, making the source reliable. There may be a slight bias with this source as Willard’s interests lie with the safety of children on the internet.

Examples of Resource Lists Sample 4 Secondary Research 150m/2008/03/04/ htmlhttp:// 150m/2008/03/04/ html retrieved 1 June elk.html