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How Malaysia Reads: Individual, Home and
School InitiativesProf. Dr. Ambigapathy Pandian
DeanSchool of Languages, Literacies and Translation
HeadInternational Literacy Research Unit
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Content• Introduction
• Reading in Malaysia
• Key Findings
• Intervention Strategies
• Initiatives
• Conclusion
Definition: PISA [Program for International Student Assessment]
Reading literacy - the ability to understand, use and reflecton written texts in order to achieve one's goals, to developone's knowledge and potential, and to participate effectivelyin society.
READING
Reading In Contemporary Times
Reading –• Unique civilization of human behavior and social phenomena• Accesss to an important means of knowledge and information• Continuous progress of human society development• Nature of reading is constantly changing
Alvin Toffler
Reading- A Snapshot of Main Theories
Top-Down Approach ( Goodman)
Bottom-up Approach: Encoding and Decoding
Interactive Approach (late 70s and 80s):
Rumelhart( 1977)-
Mechanistic and basic in orientationBehaviouristic in notion as it valorises automaticisation
Cognitivist in orientation as it emphasizes the Cognitive and experiential processes related meaning-making
Interactive Approach: Combination of the top-down andBottom –up processes.Essentially premised onSchema theory - it is stillcognitive in orientation
From the 1990’s onwards,new theories that sought to explain emerged. Prominent of this was dual-coding theory (Paivio& Sadoski, 1991)
Key Findings on Reading• Ambigapathy – Reading Habits (1997)
• National Library Survey (2005)
• ILRU, USM – Reading Case- Study (2011)
Reading Habits
Ambigapathy (1997)
• Reading ability & reading habits (different languages)
• Reading Reluctancy: people who can read but choose not to read.
• Attitudes towards reading
• The family as a socializing agent
• The school as a socializing agent
Explanatory Model of reading habitsB. Home Variables
B1. Variety of reading materials at
home
B2. Amount of reading materials at
home
B3. Home influence
B4. Parent/siblings as reading model
A. Background
Variables
A1. Residential area
A2. Sex
A3. Ethnicity
A4. SES
D. Intervening Variables
D1. Exposure language
D2. Attitudes towards
reading
D3. Attitudes towards
language
E. Reading Habit Variables
E1. Variety of reading materials
E2. Activeness in acquisition of
reading materials
E3. Time spent in reading
E4. Readiness to read
E5. Value attached to reading
E6. Degree of habitualness in
reading
C. School Variables
C1. Variety of reading materials in
school
C2. Amount of reading materials in
school
C3. Availability of reading area
C4. Teacher influence
C5. Peer influence
Reading HabitsKey Findings
• Female students have a positive attitude towards reading
• Reading models at home help nurture love towards reading
• Peer influence in the school setting is more powerful than teacher influence in developing reading habits
• School contributes to the nurturing of reading habits
Reading HabitsKey Findings
• Profile of a Habitual Reader in English
- Lives in an urban area rather than a rural area
- Comes from a family with a higher SES
- Comes from a home where there is a greater variety and amount of materials in English, more home influence and reading models at home
- Has attended a school with a greater variety and amount of materials in English with more teachers who encourage students to read, and more friends who read English
- Has more exposure to English
- Has a more positive attitude towards reading in English
Reading HabitsKey Findings
• Profile of Habitual Reader in Malay
- Lives in a rural area rather than an urban area
- Is a Malay rather than a non- Malay
- Comes from a home with a greater variety and amount of materials in Malay, more home influence and reading models at home
- Has attended a school with a greater variety and amount of materials in Malay, with more teachers who encourage students to read, and more friends who read Malay
- Has had greater exposure to Malay
- Has more positive attitudes toward reading in Malay
Reading HabitsKey Findings
• Profile of Habitual Reader in Chinese
- Lives in an urban area rather than a rural area
- Comes from a family with a higher SES
- Is a female rather than a male
- Comes from a home with a greater amount of reading materials in Chinese
- Has attended a school with more positive teacher influence, a wider variety of materials in Chinese in the school library, a larger reading area in the library and more friends who read materials in Chinese (i.e. more likely to have attended a Chinese vernacular school or a Chinese independent secondary school
Reading HabitsKey Findings
• Profile of Habitual Reader in Tamil
- Lives in a rural area rather than an urban area
- Comes from a family with a lower SES
- Comes from a home with a wider variety of reading materials in Tamil
- Has attended a school with a greater amount of materials in Tamil and greater reading area in the library.
- Has peers who read materials in Tamil
National Library Survey 2005 • Malaysians read less than
seven pages a day.
• Reading for passing exams.
• The older we get, the less we read.
• Age 10-24: 55% read books,
• Age 25-56: 39% read books,
• Age > 57 : 6% read books.
• Reading not a favouritepastime; prefer watching TV/Internet.
The 4 Motivations for Reading within the Malaysian Context
Reading for Knowledge• History
•Philosophy•Religion•Science
Reading for Task Performance•Job-related
•Studies-related•Functional
Reading for Leisure•Entertainment•Arts and culture•Recreational
Reading for Empowerment
•Self-improvement•Decsion-making
•planning
Reading Emphasis in MalaysiaReading for Task Performance•Job-related•Studies-related•Functional
Reading for Empowerment•Self-improvement•Decision-making•Planning
Reading for Knowledge• History•Philosophy•Religion•Science
Reading for Leisure•Entertainment•Arts and culture•RecreationalLess
More
Intervention Strategies
• Government- led
• Private - led
• University- led
• Individual
• Home
• School
Main Government Agencies Involved
• Ministry of Education
• Ministry of Higher Education
• Ministry of Rural Development
• Ministry of Human Resources
• Ministry of Youth and Sports
• Ministry of Entrepreneurship
Malaysian Reading Programme• The ministry of education has initiated a reading program
called NILAM. For the NILAM program, students need to
complete reading one book a week and give feedback either
in written or sketch form based on students' proficiency and
understanding level.
NILAM (Nadi Ilmu Amalan Membaca – The Pulse of Knowledge is through Reading)
Malaysian Reading Programme• The time allocated for reading in each language class per
week is one hour.
• Each language class is taken to the library once a week.
• Students are required to select their own reading material
to facilitate learning in class.
• The school has made it compulsory for each student to
borrow and read at least one book per week.
Implementation of NILAM
Phase I: Jauhari
Phase II: Readers’
Friend
The program consists of two phases:
Implementation of NILAM
NILAM (Nadi Ilmu Amalan Membaca – The Pulse of Knowledge is through Reading)
Phase I: Jauhari
• Build skills and interest in reading so that it becomes a habit• Students are made compulsory to follow the reading activities in
schools• Using the available facilities to borrow books through the School
Resource Center and other sources• Assessment begins from Year 1 through Year 6 (Elementary
School) and Form 1 through Form 5 (Secondary School)
Implementation of NILAMNILAM (Nadi Ilmu Amalan Membaca – The Pulse of Knowledge is through Reading)
Phase II (Readers’ Friend)
• Ability to guide students and to attract other fellow friends to read• After reading 100 book titles, students are eligible to enter Phase II• Students are guided in groups by teachers through workshops and
teaching• Books borrowed from the School Resource Centre or from other
sources will be shared with friends, family members, neighbors and others
• Marks will be given based on the frequency of activity participated, number of books loaned, number of listeners, and readers
Implementation of NILAMNILAM (Nadi Ilmu Amalan Membaca – The Pulse of Knowledge is through Reading)
Examples of Readers’ Friend activities:(a) Story telling(b) Reading together(c) Let’s talk about books(d) Borrowing books(e) Forums(f) Book reviews
Implementation of NILAMNILAM (Nadi Ilmu Amalan Membaca – The Pulse of Knowledge is through Reading)
Annual• Progress Record Books• Overall Cumulative
Card
Reward and Recognition System
After 6 years of elementary school and 5 years in secondary school• School Leaving
Certificate• School Certificate
Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) (2008)UNICEF
• Promote good reading habits among the indigenous
population
• Support from UNICEF and the Malaysian Ministry of
Education
• 30 schools across the states of Sabah and Sarawak
Private - led
F&N Beverages Marketing Sdn Bhd (F&N) which has set up reading corners or Sudut Iqra F&N The reading corner is part of the company's corporate social responsibility to promote a reading culture and increase English proficency among students in schools
Print Media – & Children Products Newspaper in education Reading, story telling and Spelling Competition
International Literacy Research Unit (ILRU), USM
Reading Research :Case- Study (2011)School going population
• Individual• Home• School
Individual Initiatives• Students use free time to choose and read a book as a
requirement for the government mandated NILAM programas well as for leisure.
• Students from the school that was observed were readingbefore the assembly as well as during lunch time.
• Students individually do visit the library during lunch breakand after school hours.
• Students were seen to have used their own laptops tocomplete reading tasks.
Key Findings
Individual Initiatives• Apart from reading traditional print, students were also observed
reading online materials and browsing through websites to gaininformation in the computer labs and individual laptops.
• Students are aware of the availability of reading material apart fromprinted texts and are taking advantage of available technology toaccess more reading materials. It appears that these students arebehaving like computer natives.
• A large portion of the students are observed to focus more ontraditional printed texts because of its convenience, however thenew media has made an impact on these students as it is moreattractive, contemporary, swift in providing information andbecause of their savyness.
Individual Initiatives• Students utilise technology in helping to interpret
reading material, for example using onlinedictionaries and encyclopaedia software to get betterunderstanding on texts they encounter.
• The attitude towards reading has moved on fromconforming to the need to read for education toreading for knowledge, interest and leisure.
• Most of the reading reported by the respondents isdone via traditional methods i.e, popular magazines,newspapers, story books. However, 26% attest toreading online.
Home Initiatives• Based on the findings, parents spend their time after dinner every
weekend facilitating their children in reading.
• There is no specific reading area in the houses but there is a minilibrary in the houses of the respondents.
• Children are able to select a book and read it at any time and at anyplace in the house.
• Since each house has its own mini library; there is no immediatenecessity for parents to take their children to the public library.However, occasionally respondents bring their children to localbookshops to select some new titles.
Key Findings
Home Initiatives• Other than parents, older siblings assist their younger brothers and
sisters in reading.
• 85% of respondents mentioned that they observed their parentsreading at home, indicating that there is a reading culture in thehousehold.
• This is supported by the finding that 75% of respondents attest tohaving a reading corner at home, showing that printed text likebooks and magazines are still the most prevalent type of readingtext though there is a rise in the emergence of new media.
Home Initiatives• Parents tend to use traditional texts more than online texts because
of its handiness, mobility and convenience (in the bedroom, livingarea, kitchen, garden) compared to online texts.
• New form of media do facilitate reading at home to a certaindegree (26%)
• 65% of the respondents read with their family members while therest read alone. This illustrates that the students prefer to read in asocial setting with their family members than reading alone whichshows that parents and family members play an important role inmotivating student to read
School Initiatives:• Novels in curiculum
• Co-curiculum
- Debate, storytelling, public speaking- reading basedactivities
Key Findings
School Initiatives:• From the findings, 90% of the respondents reported that they read
outside school. This indicates that reading is not confined to
academic purposes only.
NILAM (Nadi Ilmu Amalan Membaca – The Pulse of Knowledge is through Reading)
Reading Records: Each
student records books read in a specific book.
Confirmation of Reading:
Teachers confirm records of
pupils’ reading.
Recognition: Recognition is
given to students based on the
number of books read.
Promoting Reading Practices
Individual
• Background variables: sex, ethnicity, SES
• Readiness to read
• Active in acquiring reading materials
• Value attached to reading
• Interest in the act of reading
• Focus and support from home and school
Promoting Reading Practices
Home
• Variety of reading materials at home
• Family promoting the love of reading
• Involvement in literacy events
• Positive role models at home
• Reading in Malay and English
• Access to library, bookshops and other reading resources and events
• New global setting : Reading in many languages
: Multi-modal reading
Promoting Reading Practices
School
• Positive school environment
• Facilities, library & reading resources, classroom organization, instructional variables
• Teacher-student relationships
• Student peers
OUR QUEST
Book Club as a Reading Platform
The Reading Association/ University has endeavoured to locate a suitable and efficacious model to promote reading and critical literacy skills amongst its students.
Opted for the Book Club Model given its informal and non-stressful orientation which made reading both a fun and educative activity.
Use the Book Club model as a language and critical literacy teaching and learning platform in order to achieve utilitarian targets.
With this aim in mind, we set out to conceptualise the requisite framework and its implementation.
Factors taken into account in outlining the framework included:
a. local socio-cultural norms : the essentially predominant “sit -eat – talk” culture that define the Malaysian socioscape.
Book Club as a Reading Platforma) The emphasis on tangible
outcomes : reading as withother intellectual pursuits arepursued for their measurableoutcomes.
b) Differing proficiency levels:different readingcommunities are constitutedof members with differingproficiency levels.
c) Objective –based learning:local education frameworksare often defined by set goalsand objectives.
d) Informality and stress freeenvironment that allows forthe syncretism of intangibleoutcomes
IQRA’ literally ‘read’ in Arabic
Features of the Book Club Theoretical Frameworka. Informal and convivial ambience:
discussing books over tea and scones gelled with the sit-eat-talk culture.
b. the original Book Club concept contained a degree of flexibility that enabled it to be modified to meet local needs and objectives.
c. the club image was designed to serve as an attraction to get prospective participants to join in the reading activities.
d. the empowering principles underpinning the Book Club model facilitated its easy receptivity compared to other prescriptive and centralisedmodels.
The implicit theoretical framework of the Book Club model was one that is grounded in the socio-cultural learning theory as postulated by Vygotsky (1978), a learning theory that promoted community learning which was in sync with the prevailing trend in EL teaching and learning within the wider educational framework in the Malaysian context
Why we Adopted the Book Club Model
Features of IQRA’s Theoretical Framework
Facilitates Community
Learning
• Transactional in nature Common Purpose and
• Shared Interests
Public and private space
movement
•Traverses the public and the private
•Allows for induction, postulation, transaction, mediation. contemplation and inculcation of information
Man is a social
animal
•Man interacts with society and not functions in isolation
•Social setting especially via immersion in learning communities enhances learning
Advantages of IQRA
Facilitates interaction, discussion and analysis of issues thuspromoting more insightful and meaningful learning that willenhance productivity and performance over the long-term.
IQRA facilitates reader empowerment by devolvingresponsibility of text selection and activity framing to theReading Activity and Discussion (READ) groups.
Absence of direct/indirect forms of assessment whetherformative or summative in nature. The only “test”mechanism involved is programme evaluation that seeks toanalyse the attitudinal and transformational impact of theprogramme
Strengths
IQRA in action
Advantages of IQRA (cont.)
IQRA can be tailored to meet specific needs in order to enhance vocational or
academic or social performance
Egalitarian in scope due to its classless orientation.
Facilitates the nurturing of critical thought and analysis via deconstruction/reconstruction activities
Avoids the indoctrination features of top-down determined reading activities.
READER ADVISORY BOARD(RAB)
READER ADVISORY BOARD(RAB)
READING ACTIVITIES & DISCUSSION group (READ)
READING ACTIVITIES & DISCUSSION group (READ)
READING ACTIVATED ACTIVITIES (REACT)
READING ACTIVATED ACTIVITIES (REACT)
Set objectives and goalsDevise protocolsProvide reading listEstablish evaluation criteria
Select books for reading sessionsDiscussions related to the bookDevise activities/topics related to reading
Interactive Collaborative Exchange (ICE)Selected Creative Read-related Improvised Tasks (SCRIpT)
CONCEPTUALISATION
IMPLEMENTATIONEVALUATION
QUALITATIVE•Reading logs•Journals•Diaries
QUANTITATIVE• Attitudinal testson cognitive and behaviourial changes
GROUP 1
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF COHORT
GOAL : IMPROVED WORKPLACE LITERACY & PRODUCTIVITY
GROUP 2
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT COHORT
GOAL : IMPROVED PROFICIENCY LEVELS AND DEVELOPMENT OF CRITICAL LITERACY SKILLS
GROUP 3 : POST-GRADUATE STUDENT COHORT
GOAL : DEVELOPMENT OF CRITICAL ACADEMIC READING SKILLS
GROUP 4 : ENGLISH PROFICIENCY COURSE PARTICIPANTS (TO BE INDUCTED FROM JULY
2010 )
GOAL : ENHANCEMENT OF PROFICIENCY LEVELS
COMPOSITION OF GROUPS AND OBJECTIVES
THE 4 QUADRANTS OF THE IQRA PROGRAMME
STEP 1 : READER ADVISORY BOARD (RAB)
Establishment of a ReaderAdvisory Board to set the goalsand objectives of the club.
RAB formulates readingprotocols for the conduct ofBook Club meetings
RAB develops a non-intrusiveevaluative framework toevaluate IQRA’s impact
IQRA Implementation framework : Details
STEP 2 : READING ACTIVITY and DISCUSSION (READ)
Reading Activity and Discussion(READ) group empowered withtext selection based on the listof objectives framed by theRAB.
In addition, the READ is alsoempowered in charting themodalities of the post readingactivities based on textualknowledge.
IQRA Implementation framework : Details (cont.)
STEP 3: PAR, ICE and SCRIpT
Protocols outlined by the ReaderAdvisory Board (RAB) arepracticed and the activities arefocused on discussing variousaspects of the text.
Participation in thought provokingactivities such as Post- ReadingActivated Response (PAR),Interactive CollaborativeExchange (ICE), and SuggestedCreative Read-related ImprovisedTasks (SCRIpT) designed to elicitreader responses and gauge innerunderstanding of the text as wellas provide a forum to test one’spostulations within the public andprivate spheres as envisaged inthe Vygotskian paradigm (McVee,2008)
IQRA Implementation framework : Details (cont.)
Parameters in Initial Evaluationa. attitudinal – the nature and scope of attitudinal transformations effectedvia participation in IQRA, the types of attitudinal changes experienced, didIQRA facilitate behavioural transformations in terms of perceptions of self,perceptions of others. Were attitudinal transformations linear or multifariousin nature.
b. motivational – did the IQRA sessions enhance motivation in general. Whataspects of vocational or academic motivation that were enhanced via IQRA?Were they integrative or instrumental in orientation?
c. cognitive – the cognitive transformations attained through participation inIQRA. Has cognitive aspects like critical evaluation of texts, opinions beenenhanced via involvement in IQRA? Did the infusion of viewpoints fromfellow participants contribute to a re-examination of prevailing notions andthe validation or rejection of prior postulations? Have writing styles,discourse strategies provided insights on how to frame arguments, thepresentation of ideas etc.
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF GROUP
Relaxed and convivial ambience gave them an opportunity tointeract with colleagues/peers in a less inhibitive manner.
Collegiality was at its peak as the staff perceived a sensefriendship and office comradeship akin to that felt bymembers of a family unit.
Motivated to find ways on how to connect the social problemsthey read to their office scenario. For instance; they sensedthey were more critical of how information was transmittedand processed.
Learn about the need for openness in communication in orderto avoid misunderstanding.
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF GROUP
Morale boosted through participation in such activity as theyfelt their views were valued and there was mutual respectaccorded to all.
Increase in motivation as voicing opinions and feelingsregarding certain issues had a liberating effect.
Provided them with a period of reflection as the sessionconducted after office hours allowed them to reflect and selfanalyse their actions in relation to the text read.
Preliminary Findings : Undergraduate Group
Improvement in reading and writing skills (it should cautionedthat this is a subjective assessment with no empirical datacollated as yet). Participants logged their improvements in theirreading log and attributed such improvements to peer influence
It provided a platform to meet and exchange ideas and in theprocess allowed for the enhancement of speaking skills.
Good semi structured activities afforded a right balance thatfostered both spoken and written responses.
A congenial and conducive ambience contributed a lowering ofinhibitions which resulted in heightened confidence.
Preliminary Findings : Undergraduate Group
Better understanding of the Other (Said, 1978) in terms of cultures andlifestyles. A perusal of their reading logs indicated that attitudinaltransformations were being effected through reader-text interaction aswell as peer discussion of the text.
Participants were generally motivated to explore other genres asconstant exposure to reading via the book club lowered their “anxiety”towards reading.
Had a better grasp of how to critically evaluate differing viewpoints aswell as how such viewpoints are transmitted within a communicativeenvironment.
Preliminary Findings : Post-Graduate GroupAble to generate a variety of interesting perspectives regarding the motivations of individuals and communities and how such motivations were linked to the personal and the collective.
Able to critically evaluate viewpoints and differentiate subjective and objective notions.
Able to locate voice and decipher silences within texts and characters
Able to relate incidents and content to ideologies, socio-cultural factors etc.
Improvement in terms of critical writing skills as well as in formulating cogent arguments through exposure to different writing strategies and genres
Better equipped to interpret events and gained profound insights into the subtle nuances of local culture and lifestyles .
Improved capability in textual deconstruction
PRELIMINARY FINDINGS
Discussion
Preliminary findings: All 3 groups displayed a marked improvement in attitudinal, cognitive and motivational spheres.
Preliminary responses also indicate that participants from the administrative staff group experienced a marked improvement in collegiality and teamwork.
Both academic cohorts evinced improvements in academic oriented aspects.
IQRA, facilitated the subtle activation of learning as internal monologues, personal perspectives and subjective postulations were tested within communal learning environment in keeping with social learning theory orientation of IQRA.
Overall, the findings reveal that the programme had an impact on both the ideational and affective levels
PLATFORM DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION
FUTURE PLANS
Preliminary outcomes have motivated us to further
examine the viability of IQRA as a teaching platform to
enhance vocational productivity and academic
performance.
The next phase of research be devoted to comprehensively
evaluating the efficacy of IQRA through a deployment of the
various quantitative and qualitative research tools.
Constraints and Solutions
DIFFERENCES IN PROFICIENCY LEVELS
Solution: Promoting other activities such as relay writing, mini-projects based on the text that will serve to generate output which will be subject to peer review and comments. Also the use of L1 as in the administrative group.
Constraint : Differences in proficiency levels amongst group members impede discussion sessions and truncate the free exchange of ideas.
Constraints and Solutions
MATERIALS: AFFORDABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES
Solution : Use of alternative reading materials sourced from newspapers, magazines, travelogues etc.
Constraint : lack of accessible and affordable reading material especially in Third World reading environments.
Constraints and Solutions
SCHEDULE AND READJUSTMENTS
Solution: Members had a discussion and came to a consensus that they would conduct the sessions during lunch-break and opted to bring along takeaways and packed food as a form of potluck
Constraints : Initial Schedule (after office hours) not suitable for Administrative Staff Group as they were fatigued after a day’s work and had to fulfill family commitments.
MOTIVATION
Constraint : Motivating members toembrace the Integrative QualityReading Approach in improvinglanguage and critical literacy skillsthrough active participation in theBook Club initiative.
Solution: Encouraging readers tomaintain a reading log that will detailtheir progress in language acquisitionas well in the development of criticalliteracy. Facilitating appropriate textselection via discreet intervention inthe selection process. Basingclassroom activities on texts read.
Constraints and Solutions
MAINTAINING INTEREST
Solution: Diversifying post readingactivities that engender moreparticipation such as dramatisation ofcontent, social interaction with externalcommunities , engagement with differentsocial strata etc.
Constraint : Maintaining participantinterest in the programme over the longterm in view of boredom, the lack ofmotivation or other emotionalimpediments.
Constraints and Solutions
Constraint
Encouraging enrolment into the Book Club model given that the BC model has to compete with the attractions
afforded by New Media as well as the perennial challenge from traditional
electronic media.
Constraints and Solutions
Solution
Create a sense of special belonging through specially designed
paraphernalia that fosters an air of exclusivity. Engender a relaxed
atmosphere via informality and a sense of equality by seating peers across hierarchies within a room
where ideas are freely transacted to facilitate learning. “Club Ambience”
via tea and scones, potlucks etcetera. Where possible, a virtual
book club forum can be established to enable exchange of views via
electronic means.
Conclusion
• Reading- promoting the desire to read
• Reading as a path to:
• Success (the need for mastery),• Curiosity (the need for understanding),• Originality (the need for self-expression),• Relationships (the need for involvement with others).
• Decision making (the need to participatein society)
Confronting new global setting• Diversities and unpredictable currents
• Impact of new media technologies
• Reading in multi languages and multi modal forms
• Building reading communities
Conclusion
ConclusionCreating reading communities:
• Book rich environment
• Language rich environment
• Knowledge rich environment:
Print, Television, Multimedia, Interacting with outside world
• Nurturing:
- The individual
- The home
- The school
Individual, Home, School
Reading Communities
Knowledge Communities
Participation in human society development
Conclusion
In America…
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