Food Edu-Care in the Primary Curriculum: A collaborative case study in an inner city DEIS Gaelscoil

This applied case study explored the role of food education and its potential to nurture the lives of children who may experience disadvantage socially, culturally and economically. The research concedes at the outset that the role of ‘food’ in education is complex, that schools do not deal with curriculum matters alone but also with social justice policy issues, and that school-based ‘food poverty’ policy interventions to date are broadly motivated by nutritional concerns. The research was informed by a critical pedagogy perspective using a collaborative enquiry design focused on individual and collective agency at the school level. Multiple theoretical and analytical frameworks related to constructivist learning methodologies, educational psychology, and critical social theory framed the study. The research intervention in the inner-city DEIS Gaelscoil was at the invitation of the Parents’ Council and staff who collectively identified an urgent need for healthier eating practices and a shift to cross-curricular pedagogical practices to meet educational targets in literacy and numeracy. An Integrated Food Edu-Care curriculum module was collaboratively developed and delivered in Irish through weekly class sessions and field-trips. The integrated Food Edu-Care curriculum module consisted of; sixteen food and cooking lessons, a collaborative Hot Lunch Experience (Pedagogic Meal) and the creation of a ‘Foodbook’ as a class project. The curricular areas included in the integrated Food Edu-Care curriculum module included, Mathematics, Language, Social, Environmental and Scientific Education (SESE), Social Personal and Health Education (SPHE) and Visual Arts. The outputs from the research include an Integrated Food Edu-Care Pedagogical Guide for teachers and Pupils’ Activity Workbook, an ‘e-Foodbook’, educational videos, flashcards and posters in both English and Irish. The findings indicate that using a collaborative, experiential, caring, active and integrated Food Edu-Care curriculum module has the capacity to reach all learners and to build on classroom relationships, thereby facilitating social and emotional learning particularly in the area of self-efficacy and social skills. The research confirmed that such a curriculum module can incorporate seamless compensation for missed life chances and for on-going disadvantage. The thesis recommends a fifth domain of emotional and self-efficacy development needs among primary school children which is better facilitated by systemic policy change to school food provision and integrated curriculum with target-free pedagogies than by narrowly focused, targeted initiatives for free school lunches

Optimization for recipe-based, diet-planning inventory management

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Computation for Design and Optimization Program, 2010.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 40-41).This thesis presents a new modeling framework and research methodology for the study of recipe-based, diet-planning inventory management. The thesis begins with an exploration on the classic optimization problem - the diet problem based upon mixed-integer linear programming. Then, considering the fact that real diet-planning is sophisticated as it would be planning recipes rather than possible raw materials for the meals. Hence, the thesis develops the modeling framework under the assumption that given the recipes and the different purchasing options for raw materials listed in the recipes, examine the nutrition facts and calculate the purchasing decisions and the yearly optimal minimum cost for food consumption. This thesis further discusses the scenarios for different groups of raw materials in terms of shelf-timing difference. To model this inventory management, the modeling implementation includes preprocess part and the optimization part: the formal part involves with conversion of customized selection to quantitative relation with stored recipes and measurement on nutrition factors; the latter part solves the cost optimization problem.by Sheng Kang.S.M

Media-enhanced cooking using a hands-free device - Evaluated through a HoloLens application

Head Mounted Displays (HMD) are increasingly used in various industries. But apart from the industry environment, the potentials of HMDs in a private environment like at home has been rel- atively unexplored so far. What daily tasks can these help with, in the home kitchen for example? The aim of this thesis is to obtain knowledge about the usefulness of such an HMD, the HoloLens, in combination with an application, while following a new recipe. Therefore a prototype applica- tion for the HoloLens got developed which guides a user through the cooking of a sushi burger by using multimedia content. With a mixed method design, consisting of quantitative and qualitative methods, the HoloLens in combination with an application was evaluated by 14 participants. Not only the weight of the device was a problem for users. The test also revealed that the display is darkening the view and participants tend to look below the glasses. An advantage is indeed to reach the next cooking step without the need of using hands and always having in sight what needs to be done next. Positive feedback was given as well for the application. Through voice control the user communicates to a character which will guide through the recipe by videos and text. If in future the technical characteristics of HMD devices will improve, an application in this con- text will be of advantage in order to simplify learning a new recipe. This device, in combination with an application, could help early-middle stage cognitive impaired people and blind people to cook.Datenhelme (Head Mounted Displays) kommen mehr und mehr zum Einsatz in der Industrie. Wie aber mögliche Einsatzgebiete in einer privaten Umgebung aussehen könnten, wurde bislang noch wenig erforscht. Welche Aufgaben könnten beispielsweise mittels eines Datenhelms im Kü- chenumfeld unterstützt werden? Ziel dieser Masterthesis ist es, Einblicke zu bekommen wie eine Datenhelm, zusammen mit einer Anwendung, beim Kochen eines neuen Rezeptes unterstützen kann. Dazu wurde eine Anwendung für die Microsoft HoloLens entwickelt, die einen Benutzer durch einzelne Schritte eines Sushi-Burgers leitet. Mittels eines gemischten Forschungsdesigns, bestehend aus quantitativen und qualitativen Me- thoden, wurde die Datenbrille zusammen mit der Anwendung mit 14 Teilnehmern evaluiert. Neben dem Beklagen des schweren Gewichtes der HoloLens, hat sich auch gezeigt, dass das Display die Sicht etwas verdunkelt und Benutzer deshalb dazu neigen unter die HoloLens zu schauen. Von Vorteil ist allerdings, dass man zum nächsten Kochschritt gelangt, ohne dabei seine Hände benutzen zu müssen und immer im Blick hat, welcher Schritt ausgeführt werden sollte. Positive Rückmeldungen gab es auch für die Anwendung. Über die Sprachsteuerung wird dabei wie mit Spielecharakter kommuniziert und durch das Rezept anhand von Videos und Text geführt. Wenn sich in Zukunft die technischen Eigenschaften der Datenhelme verbessern, könnte eine An- wendung in diesem Bereich von Vorteil sein, um das Erlernen von neuen Rezepten zu vereinfa- chen. Der Datenhelm, zusammen mit einer Anwendung, könnte kognitiv eingeschränkten Men- schen im mittleren Stadium sowie blinden Menschen beim Kochen unterstützen

Using social media and mobile gaming to improve the vegetable intake of young adults

Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend five servings of vegetables daily for prevention of chronic disease, but only 7% of adults achieve this. The initial stages of this thesis involved secondary analysis of the 2011-12 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey data. Results showed young adults aged 18-24 years were the poorest consumers of vegetables, with mean intake of 2.7 serves daily. To inform the design of a targeted intervention using new technology the PhD candidate systematically reviewed the literature and found mobile-phone based interventions have positive effects on vegetable consumption (Cohen’s d 0.15,95% CI 0.04–0.28). Notably, engagement was low among young adults and few studies harnessed novel strategies such as social media or gamification for program delivery. Yet 95% of young adults own a smartphone and 91% use their device for game play or social networking. The final stage of this thesis involved the development of a 4-week social media and mobile-gaming intervention underpinned by behavioural theory, to addresses key barriers to, and psychosocial determinants of, vegetable intake. Behaviour change techniques demonstrated to mediate success, such as goal setting and self-monitoring were integrated. Short mobile-phone delivered cooking videos were developed to address the low level of cooking literacy among this age group, with focus group testing confirming their acceptability among the target audience. A factorial study design was used to determine the feasibility of delivering the program. This was the first study to explore the impact of social support using social media in combination with gaming elements in a nutrition intervention for young adults. The research revealed that it is feasible and practical to deliver behaviour change interventions to young adults using these novel communication mediums. The accessibility of these platforms could allow the dissemination of individual behaviour change interventions at scale

Perceptions of The Culinary Art Community On Their Higher Education Programs in Egypt: The Way Forward

Culinary art education used to have a narrow focus that forgoes its richness and ignores its infiltration into economic, political, and cultural aspects within society. Recently the world witnessed an evolution in this field of study as it reached tertiary education institutions. However, in Egypt, culinary art studies are integrated into hospitality education and are still confined to a shallow concept. This study aimed to explore the perception of the culinary art community in Egypt on their higher education programs from a sociocultural perspective. It also explored the possible new frameworks, and core competencies to improve culinary arts higher education curricula in Egypt. The study used a qualitative research methodology based on a case study strategy for inquiry. Data were collected via focus group discussions, and individual interviews. Data analysis relied on a combination of deductive, and inductive approaches to classify the results under five main themes. The findings confirmed the literature review on many points like the social connotation of food, and the divided perception of the culinary arts’ higher education in Egypt between the traditional mindset that considers it a vocational field, and the emerging experts who see the potential of this field as an academic discipline based on scientific knowledge. Also, the gap in Egyptian higher education in culinary art was confirmed, the participants called for an education that promotes creativity, and innovation. The study proposed a multidisciplinary curriculum framework for culinary art higher education, to serve as guiding reference for the future development of this discipline

"Mango Mango, How to Let The Lettuce Dry Without A Spinner?'': Exploring User Perceptions of Using An LLM-Based Conversational Assistant Toward Cooking Partner

The rapid advancement of the Large Language Model (LLM) has created numerous potentials for integration with conversational assistants (CAs) assisting people in their daily tasks, particularly due to their extensive flexibility. However, users' real-world experiences interacting with these assistants remain unexplored. In this research, we chose cooking, a complex daily task, as a scenario to investigate people's successful and unsatisfactory experiences while receiving assistance from an LLM-based CA, Mango Mango. We discovered that participants value the system's ability to provide extensive information beyond the recipe, offer customized instructions based on context, and assist them in dynamically planning the task. However, they expect the system to be more adaptive to oral conversation and provide more suggestive responses to keep users actively involved. Recognizing that users began treating our LLM-CA as a personal assistant or even a partner rather than just a recipe-reading tool, we propose several design considerations for future development.Comment: Under submission to CHI202

Cook to learn: A Food-Focused Curriculum for Grades 3-5

In this Integrated Master\u27s project, I argue that a new curriculum is needed to address the following: (a) plant-based foods and from-scratch food preparation practices are strongly connected to positive outcomes for children, (b) diets high in processed foods can lead to negative health outcomes (c) students aged 8-10 are particularly well suited to learn more about food, (d) studying food offers many opportunities for interdisciplinary learning across many subjects (literacy, math, science and social studies) and (d) food-focused learning connects particularly well to common learning objectives for students in grades 3-5, yet (e) there is currently a dearth of appropriate curricular materials to meet the needs of today\u27s student population. As a career-changer with some domain experience in both food and education, I have created a curriculum designed to address these areas of need. Having tested this curriculum with a group of eight children in this age range, I share my findings, reflections and changes made to the curriculum based on their feedback. I discuss the future implications for this work-and the implications for our students\u27 futures if we do not continue to take up this work and improve upon it

The "Planning Health in School” programme (PHS-pro) to improve healthy eating and physical activity: design, methodology, and process evaluation

Few interventions have successfully promoted healthy eating and active living among children with effective changes in anthropometric health outcomes. Well-designed interventions involving multiple strategies to convert the knowledge already available into action are needed for preventing childhood obesity. In this study, an educational programme called “Planning Health in School” (PHS-pro) was designed, implemented and evaluated to contribute to the prevention of obesity in childhood. The PHS-pro aimed at improving the eating behaviours and lifestyles of Portuguese grade-6 children towards healthier nutritional status. This paper describes and evaluates the PHS-pro concerning: (i) the research design within the theoretical framework grounded on “The Transtheoretical Model” and the stages of change; (ii) the educational components and the application of the participatory methodology to engage children to meet their needs, as active participants in their change process; and (iii) the process evaluation of the intervention. The implementation of the PHS-pro took into account the views and inputs of the participants for evaluating the educational components that should be considered in the designing of interventions aiming to be effective strategies. From the health promotion perspective, this study is important because it examines new approaches and pathways to effectively prevent overweight and obesity in children.Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), grant numbers SFRH/BD/79512/2011 and Research Centre on Child Studies (R&D Unit 317 of FCT; projects UIDB/00317/2020 and UIDP/00317/2020)