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In late 2017 and throughout 2018, surveillance discourse collided with meme culture through the popular “FBI agent” meme. The meme had various iterations but usually depicted ordinary individuals who are aware that they are constantly being surveilled on their personal devices by an assigned government agent. However, far from threatening Orwellian depictions of surveillance, in which a dangerous government is constantly watching, the FBI agent meme characterized the surveillant relationship as positive and caring, where the government agent is answering questions or helping with homework, providing a sympathetic ear for relationship troubles, crying over movies together, and even dropping by to deliver milk. The joke is predicated on the assumption that the government agent is always watching, knows the individual intimately, communicates with them regularly, and sometimes even intervenes through their devices, but only with the individual’s best interests in mind. The FBI agent meme depicts the relationship between the individual and the surveillant apparatus as one of surveillant companionship. Surveillant companionship suggests that surveillance fulfills a social role: partly care and control, and partly a response to widespread alienation. The FBI agent meme’s depiction of surveillant companionship satirizes the normalization of mass surveillance by highlighting the absurdity of sharing every intimate moment with the surveillant gaze. Memes also function as collective interventions in political discourse, in this case mass surveillance. Although the meme depicts the surveillant apparatus as a form of ambivalent companionship, the collective and collaborative nature of memes and the participation in communal humor and critique offers a different kind of companionship, one organized around a recognition of shared grievances and surveillant intrusions.

Keywords: surveillant companionship, memes, popular culture, digital resignation, surveillance realism, FBI

As connectivism is increasingly accepted as a theory of learning for the digital age, scholars and practitioners in education often overlook the dilemma that this creates for its most ardent advocates. In the academic literature, we increasingly find scholarly works that present insouciant descriptions of connectivism. However, such practices often underplay or ignore critiques of connectivism, allowing many of our contentions about its epistemological character and pedagogical effectiveness to calcify. In fact, it is becoming increasingly difficult to rationalize why so many educators have endorsed connectivism as a new theory of learning when there continues to be a need for more empirical testing and greater philosophical substantiation. To illustrate this paradox, this paper examines Stephen Downes’s consideration of connectivism and his connectivist model of literacy. Using the dialogic philosophy of Mikhail Bakhtin, it introduces an architectonic model of connectivism and multiliteracies as an alternative discourse and pedagogical paradigm. A key finding from this study suggests that the lack of attention to capitalist practices, power, and the intermediality of texts in networked learning help to conceal the ways in which connectivist practices rearticulate behaviorism.

Background/Objective: Medical students experience increased rates of burnout and mental illness compared to the general population. Yet, it is unclear to what extent North American medical schools have adopted formal wellbeing curricula. We sought to establish prevailing themes of existing wellbeing educational interventions to identify opportunities for further curricular development.Methods: We conducted a scoping review of the literature searching for wellbeing education programs implemented for undergraduate medical students across North America. We searched four comprehensive databases and grey literature and only included published original research. Two independent researchers screened all papers with a third to resolve any disagreements. Two researchers conducted the data extraction following a predetermined template that was refined continuously, with a third researcher to resolve any discrepancies.Results: We identified 3996 articles in the initial search of which 30 met inclusion criteria and were included for further analysis. The most common types of interventions were mindfulness and meditation practices. 27 studies found that their wellbeing sessions contributed to positive wellbeing outcomes of learners.Conclusions: Our review identified that there are few wellbeing curricular initiatives that have been evaluated and published in the literature. Additionally, the methodology and rigour of wellbeing curriculum evaluation to date leaves significant room for improvement. The existing literature does suggest that the adoption of a wellbeing curriculum has the potential to improve outcomes for medical students. These findings can be used to assist the development of a validated wellbeing curricular framework for wellbeing initiatives.

This paper explores how Large Language Models (LLMs) foster the homogenization of both style and content and how this contributes to the epistemic marginalization of underrepresented groups. Utilizing standpoint theory, the paper examines how biased datasets in LLMs perpetuate testimonial and hermeneutical injustices and restrict diverse perspectives. The core argument is that LLMs diminish what Jose Medina calls “epistemic friction,” which is essential for challenging prevailing worldviews and identifying gaps within standard perspectives, as further articulated by Miranda Fricker (Medina 2013, 25). This reduction fosters echo chambers, diminishes critical engagement, and enhances communicative complacency. AI smooths over communicative disagreements, thereby reducing opportunities for clarification and knowledge generation. The paper emphasizes the need for enhanced critical literacy and human mediation in AI communication to preserve diverse voices. By advocating for critical engagement with AI outputs, this analysis aims to address potential biases and injustices and ensures a more inclusive technological landscape. It underscores the importance of maintaining distinct voices amid rapid technological advancements and calls for greater efforts to preserve the epistemic richness that diverse perspectives bring to society.

Keywords: algorithmic bias, biais algorithmique, intelligence artificielle, artificial intelligence, echo chambers, chambres d’écho, friction épistémique, epistemic friction, epistemic injustice, injustice épistémique, théorie du point de vue, standpoint theory

With advancements in technology, more children are engaging with media at younger ages. While elementary teacher candidates recognize the importance of media literacy instruction, and the willingness to learn more to better support their future students, attention to the overall implementation of media literacy education in teacher education programs appears to be limited. This paper shares survey data of elementary teacher candidates’ perceptions of and experiences with media literacy instruction and the kinds of resources they have been introduced to in their program that (re)highlight the need for better programming and support in relation to media literacy education.

Keywords: media literacy, elementary classroom, Elementary teacher education, teacher candidates

Professionals working in family services often come into contact with stepfamilies. Issues that often need professional support and stepfamily intervention include divorce, custody disputes, children’s stress and adjustment problems, and challenges new stepfamilies encounter. The aim of this cross-sectional descriptive study was to explore the challenges of stepfamilies as perceived by the families themselves and by the professionals working in services for children, adolescents, and families. Data were collected in the spring of 2018 using semi-structured questionnaires among social and health care professionals and stepfamilies. The data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. The challenges reported related mainly to the complexities of managing a stepfamily, including parenting, role conflicts, issues arising from the former life, children’s adaptation difficulties, and stepcouple relationships. Five themes were identified from the responses of professionals and parents in stepfamilies: many overlapping stories, children living amid changes, parenting under cross-pressure, love relationship is hard to maintain, and rocky road to a balanced family. These results provide perspectives from a wide range of stakeholders regarding the challenges stepfamilies face. Our study may offer valuable information for professionals working with stepfamilies and for researchers and decision-makers planning interventions for stepfamilies.

Keywords: stepfamily, stepcouple, children, adolescents, family relations

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many educational institutions switched to online learning to maintain learning activities. With the global pandemic, the educational environment was forced to shift from traditional face-to-face teaching or blended learning to a fully online learning model. In February 2020, China took the lead in announcing the implementation of online learning, encouraging most teachers to use it. Exploring the potential of online learning to replace traditional face-to-face teaching is a topic deserving consideration. This study explored the factors that influenced teachers’ intention to switch to online learning during the pandemic, using a push-pull-mooring model. The study analyzed 283 valid responses gathered through an online questionnaire and found that push effects, pull effects, and habits significantly impact teachers’ intention to switch from offline to online teaching. The findings provide additional insights into the future of higher education after the pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19, migration behavior, online learning, push-pull mooring model

This systematic review sheds light on the role of ontologies in predicting achievement among online learners, in order to promote their academic success. In particular, it looks at the available literature on predicting online learners’ performance through ontological machine-learning techniques and, using a systematic approach, identifies the existing methodologies and tools used to forecast students’ performance. In addition, the environment for generating ontologies, as considered by academics in the field, is likewise identified. Based on the inclusion criteria and by adopting PRISMA as a research methodology, seven studies and two systematic reviews were selected. The findings reveal a scarcity of research devoted to ontologies in the prediction of learners’ achievement. However, the research outcomes suggest that building an ontological model to harness machine-learning capabilities could help accurately predict students’ academic performance. The results of this systematic review are useful for higher education institutes and curriculum planners. This is especially pertinent in online learning settings to avoid dropout or failure. Also highlighted in this study are numerous possible directions for future research.

Keywords: data mining, decision tree, education, ontology, Semantic Web, classification algorithm

Objectives: This study adopts a dual-factor approach to examine the association of seeking and receiving social support with 6 indicators of current functioning and 14 psychosocial strengths. Methods: A survey completed by 440 youth ages 10 to 21 (M = 16.38, SD = 3.04) assessed strengths, functioning, and victimization. Youth were classified into four groups: Interconnected (high on social support seeking and receiving; 33% of sample), Rebuffed (high on social support seeking, low on social support receiving; 12%), Tended (low on social support seeking, high on social support receiving; 16%), and Isolated (low on social support seeking and receiving; 39%). Results: Controlling for age, gender, and victimization, the social support group was associated with each meaning making, regulatory, and interpersonal strength, and every indicator of current functioning except trauma symptoms. The Isolated group scored lowest on all measures and the Interconnected group scored highest on 19 of 20 measures. The mixed profile groups fell between these extremes. Notably, the Rebuffed group reported higher levels of some strengths and non-theistic spiritual well-being than the Tended group. The Tended group was never significantly higher than the Rebuffed group. Implications: Individual skills and attitudes regarding helpseeking may be more impactful than social support provided by others. Rebuffed youth may be steeling themselves in other strengths when the social environment is not supportive.

Keywords: social support, resilience, social ecology, youth, social support seeking, social support received

Keywords: soutien social, résilience, écologie sociale, jeunes, recherche de soutien social, soutien social reçu