Alexander Studies Online is developing tools and resources in four main functional areas:
(Our resources are also projects, as they will require development over a long period of time.)
Information
- bibliographic database - not only publications directly about the Alexander Technique [AT] but also material which contributes to our understanding of the AT from the perspective of other disciplines
- link library: links to external websites, individuals and organisations
- Alexander Encyclopaedia - entries for concepts, people, insititutions, places, events etc relevant to the Alexander Technique
- Universal Alexander Index - a searchable index of key Alexander writings, starting with Alexander's own work but extending to other signifcant writings on the Technique
- taxonomy - using the power of taxonomy to tag content across different content types with terms from predefined vocabularies, thus making content more accessible and addressing some of the disadvantages of generic search tools
Analysis and research
- pre-publication discussion of original materials through peer and community review processes, supporting eventual publication through any channel (also including ASO)
- publication of essays, reviews, case studies, discussion, original research etc, either produced specifically for publication via ASO website or previously published elsewhere and made available to us
- Alexander Encyclopaedia - some entries will involve detailed and original treatment of the topics under consideration
Communications
- online discussion forum - facilitating discussion between scholars and researchers; moderated where necessary to guarantee relevance and quality
- email notifications of new content - keeping people in the loop and making them aware of new resources.
- comments against materials - building the dialogue between contributors and allowing deepening and correction of material; the website supports comment against virtually any type of content including the more formal processes associated with community review and community and open commentary.
Projects
In a sense everything on the site is a project as it is an evolving body of material. However some projects can be thought of as having a distinct identity throught the creation of new resources:
- The Alexander Technique in Autobiography is intended to allow contributors to record their experiences as pupils, trainee teachers and teachers, building up a body of material that can serve different purposes: to facilitate the self-understandig of the teaching profession; to provide a corpus of material for qualitative research; to inspire; to challenge; to illuminate the issues that can arise at many different points in the trajectory of self-development and how they might have been overcome - or not.
- The Universal Alexander Index will require a careful review of existing index material and the creation of many new entries, reflecting the particular challenges involved in combining entries appertaining to many different works in one centralised resource and necessitating standardised terminology
- The Link Library will require a systematic approach to the not overly exciting task of collecting up the necessary links
- The Bibliograpic database will require both clear processes and dedicated volunteers able to add new entries as new material becomes available but also a huge task to reference the massive amount of scholarly material that already exists and not only document it but tag it with the appropriate terms