Digital Commons Network^™

Learners: Development Of Self-Confidence, Jill Castek, Gloria Jacobs, Kimberly D. Pendell, Drew Pizzolato, Stephen Reder, Elizabeth Withers

Research Briefs and Case Studies

The Development of Self Confidence Brief highlights the ways that participation in a digital literacy acquisition program improved learners’ self-confidence and attitudes towards technology. The Research Briefs series highlight key findings about how underserved adults acquire digital literacy skills, and include quotes from participants and practitioners. The Briefs are designed to be accessible by practitioners, program administrators, and policy makers to inform and enhance digital literacy programs.

Learners: Impact, Jill Castek, Gloria Jacobs, Kimberly D. Pendell, Drew Pizzolato, Stephen Reder, Elizabeth Withers

Research Briefs and Case Studies

The Impact Brief introduces findings that illustrate the tremendous positive impact that learning digital literacy can have on adult learners’ lives. The Research Briefs series highlight key findings about how underserved adults acquire digital literacy skills, and include quotes from participants and practitioners. The Briefs are designed to be accessible by practitioners, program administrators, and policy makers to inform and enhance digital literacy programs.

Learners: Learners Who Become Tutors, Jill Castek, Gloria Jacobs, Kimberly D. Pendell, Drew Pizzolato, Stephen Reder, Elizabeth Withers

Research Briefs and Case Studies

The Learners who Become Tutors Brief describes the experiences of learners who went on to become tutors in a digital literacy acquisition program. It details the reasons why these learners went on to volunteer and the unique connections they made with learners to support them. The Research Briefs series highlight key findings about how underserved adults acquire digital literacy skills, and include quotes from participants and practitioners. The Briefs are designed to be accessible by practitioners, program administrators, and policy makers to inform and enhance digital literacy programs.

Learners: Measuring Success, Jill Castek, Gloria Jacobs, Kimberly D. Pendell, Drew Pizzolato, Stephen Reder, Elizabeth Withers

Research Briefs and Case Studies

The Measuring Success Brief summarizes findings that demonstrate the need for incremental, learner-centered evaluations of success in digital literacy acquisition programs. The Research Briefs series highlight key findings about how underserved adults acquire digital literacy skills, and include quotes from participants and practitioners. The Briefs are designed to be accessible by practitioners, program administrators, and policy makers to inform and enhance digital literacy programs.

Learners: Self-Paced Learning, Jill Castek, Gloria Jacobs, Kimberly D. Pendell, Drew Pizzolato, Stephen Reder, Elizabeth Withers

Research Briefs and Case Studies

The Self Paced Learning Brief details findings that demonstrate learners and tutors’ preferences for working at their own pace to learn digital literacy skills. The Research Briefs series highlight key findings about how underserved adults acquire digital literacy skills, and include quotes from participants and practitioners. The Briefs are designed to be accessible by practitioners, program administrators, and policy makers to inform and enhance digital literacy programs.

Language Learners: Learners' Perspectives, Jill Castek, Gloria Jacobs, Kimberly D. Pendell, Drew Pizzolato, Stephen Reder, Elizabeth Withers

Research Briefs and Case Studies

The Learners’ Perspective Brief introduces findings about English language learners’ language preferences as they work with tutors to learn digital literacy skills. The Research Briefs series highlight key findings about how underserved adults acquire digital literacy skills, and include quotes from participants and practitioners. The Briefs are designed to be accessible by practitioners, program administrators, and policy makers to inform and enhance digital literacy programs.

Language Learners: The Role Of Online Materials, Jill Castek, Gloria Jacobs, Kimberly D. Pendell, Drew Pizzolato, Stephen Reder, Elizabeth Withers

Research Briefs and Case Studies

The Role of Online Materials Brief describes how English language learners interact with online learning materials and resources in a digital literacy acquisition program. The Research Briefs series highlight key findings about how underserved adults acquire digital literacy skills, and include quotes from participants and practitioners. The Briefs are designed to be accessible by practitioners, program administrators, and policy makers to inform and enhance digital literacy programs.

Language Learners: Tutors' Perspectives, Jill Castek, Gloria Jacobs, Kimberly D. Pendell, Drew Pizzolato, Stephen Reder, Elizabeth Withers

Research Briefs and Case Studies

The Tutor Perspective Brief shares the insights of tutors who worked with English language learners in a digital literacy acquisition program, along with instructional supports they used to support learning. The Research Briefs series highlight key findings about how underserved adults acquire digital literacy skills, and include quotes from participants and practitioners. The Briefs are designed to be accessible by practitioners, program administrators, and policy makers to inform and enhance digital literacy programs.

Program Design: Learning Digital Skills In A Time-Limited Program, Jill Castek, Gloria Jacobs, Kimberly D. Pendell, Drew Pizzolato, Stephen Reder, Elizabeth Withers

Research Briefs and Case Studies

The Learning Digital Skills in a Time-limited Program Brief details how one program struck a balance between meeting the needs of learners and maximizing limited program resources. The Research Briefs series highlight key findings about how underserved adults acquire digital literacy skills, and include quotes from participants and practitioners. The Briefs are designed to be accessible by practitioners, program administrators, and policy makers to inform and enhance digital literacy programs.

Job Seeking Learners: Digital Literacy Acquisition Case Study, Elizabeth Withers, Gloria Jacobs, Drew Pizzolato, Jill Castek, Kimberly D. Pendell, Stephen Reder

Research Briefs and Case Studies

This case study investigates the experience of digital literacy acquisition among adult job seekers, offering an overview of the various lab settings accessed by job-seeking learners, as well as the different ways that tutor-facilitated, self-paced learning was organized. Examination of the learner path as experienced by job seekers reveals the challenge for learners of seeing the relevance of digital literacy acquisition when faced with the urgent need of having to find employment. Also discussed in the case study are the significant impact of the relationships that developed between learners and tutors, the role that tutors play in building relevance for …

Volunteers In An Adult Literacy Library Program: Digital Literacy Acquisition Case Study, Jill Castek, Kimberly D. Pendell, Gloria Jacobs, Drew Pizzolato, Elizabeth Withers, Stephen Reder

Research Briefs and Case Studies

This case study describes how one library, in its role as a community anchor institution, served to connect people through volunteerism to the community through the digital literacy acquisition program. The case study describes the setting, how the digital literacy acquisition program fit within the mission of the library, and how the program functioned within the community. The digital literacy acquisition process is described as a people centered process. Volunteering as a tutor in the program was found to contribute to a sense of belonging and connection, provide a way for individuals to serve the community, and provide opportunities for …

Community Connections: Digital Literacy Acquisition Policy Brief, Gloria Jacobs, Jill Castek, Drew Pizzolato, Kimberly D. Pendell, Elizabeth Withers, Stephen Reder

Research Briefs and Case Studies

This case study describes how the digital literacy acquisition program in a rural community was sustained through formal and informal connections across a variety of organizations and community institutions. The case study describes the setting, the details of how tutor facilitated, self paced learning was organized, and the various ways connections were made across organizations. Five types of connections are identified: formal top-level partnerships, local connections, library/workforce partnership, school/workforce connections, informal community connections, and lab coordinator/tutor/learner connections. Implications for these findings include how policy makers and other key stakeholders may benefit from recognizing and building on the ways people in …

Corrections And Reentry: Digital Literacy Acquisition Case Study, Elizabeth Withers, Gloria Jacobs, Jill Castek, Drew Pizzolato, Kimberly D. Pendell, Stephen Reder

Research Briefs and Case Studies

This case study investigates the digital literacy acquisition process for learners within a corrections setting. The digital literacy program was part of the reentry program available to some individuals approaching their release date. The case study describes the lab within a prison, and details of how mentor-facilitated, self-paced learning was organized. Examination of the learner path in a corrections setting highlights how learners perceived the relevance of digital literacy in their lives; how they overcame their fears of computers or technology and their self-confidence grew; and potential changes in their self-identity, which often led to imagining new and different possible …

Why Are We Watching Funny Videos In Our Pedagogy Course? Deconstructing Humorous Videos To Foster Social Activism In Educators, Anita Bright

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

For critical educators working towards social justice and activism, it is imperative to promote a thoughtful and purposeful examination of the privileges that spring from institutionalised practices, and the ways belief systems may deny the normalcy of views or experiences of others. By employing critical discourse analysis and framing funny videos as part of larger, cultural “mirror” that reflects widely-held values and beliefs within local, institutional and societal domains, this paper identifies specific humorous videos and lines of inquiry that have supported educators in recognising their own complicity in promoting a narrow definition of normativity, along varying and intersecting planes, …

Structuring Creativity: Successful Strategies For Using Creative Activities In The Classroom, Ellen West, Dannelle D. Stevens, Candyce Reynolds

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

From the political to the environmental, the 21st century presents a dizzying array of challenges for current and future generations. Society needs people who have the confidence to explore unique ideas and the willingness to take risks in shaping and sharing those ideas. Where will we prepare and encourage people to be creative? Is it in our universities? How can faculty members help our students learn to envision new, unusual and, in fact, creative solutions to ensure a better life for all? The purpose of this chapter is twofold: first, to show how three faculty members from three different disciplines …

Style Shifting In First-Encounter Conversations Between Japanese Speakers, Kenichi Shinkuma

Dissertations and Theses

This study examines style shift between formal and informal styles in first- encounter conversations between Japanese native speakers and demonstrates how the speakers shifted the speech style in the context. Many researchers have studied this type of style shift and demonstrated that style shifts occur within a single speech context where social factors, such as differences in age, status, and formalness remain constant (e.g., Cook, 2008; Geyer, 2008; Ikuta, 1983; Maynard, 1991; Okamoto, 1999). This study contributed support to these previous studies. In this study, both quantitative and qualitative analyses focusing on Japanese native speakers' use of style shifting in …

Language Skill Development In Japanese Kokugo Education: Analysis Of The Television Program Wakaru Kokugo Yomikaki No Tsubo, Ruri Yoshii

Dissertations and Theses

Any type of education implemented by a modern nation-state is, at least in part, a tool for socializing its people. In this regard, Japanese language and literature education, kokugo, has played an important role in Japan by emphasizing nationalism and the integrity of a Japanese identity. According to Ishihara (2007) and Lee (1996 [English translation 2010]), kokugo, since its inception in 1900, has promoted moral awareness and assimilation of Japanese ideals across the country. However, responding to unsatisfactory test results in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2003 and 2006, Japan's Ministry of Education Culture, Sports, Science and …

Latino Men Managing Hiv: An Appraisal Analysis Of Intersubjective Relations In The Discourse Of Five Research Interviews, Will Caston

Dissertations and Theses

Latino men, particularly those who have sex with other men, have been disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. Scholars have sought for nearly two decades to understand how various social and cultural factors in the Latino community exacerbate HIV risk among these men. Although following the advent of life-sustaining medications in 1996, HIV is often regarded as a manageable chronic illness, as opposed to a death sentence, scant attention has been devoted to how HIV-positive Latino men experience managing the illness. Among studies that have focused on HIV-positive persons' illness management, few Latino men have participated.

Using the Appraisal framework from Hallidayan …

The Effect Of Social Media On Public Awareness And Extra-Judicial Effects: The Gay Marriage Cases And Litigating For New Rights, Sarahfina Aubrey Peterson

Dissertations and Theses

When the Supreme Court grants new rights, public awareness is a crucial part of enforcement. Gerald N. Rosenberg and Michael J. Klarman famously criticized minority rights organizations for attempting to gain new rights through the judiciary. The crux of their argument relied heavily on the American media's scanty coverage of Court issues and subsequent low public awareness of Court cases. Using the 2013 United States v. Windsor and Hollingsworth v. Perry rulings as a case study, I suggest that the media environment has changed so much since Rosenberg and Klarman were writing that their theories warrant reconsideration. Minority rights groups …

Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute) Ecological Knowledge Of Piñon-Juniper Woodlands: Implications For Conservation And Sustainable Resource Use In Two Southern Nevada Protected Areas, Brian John Lefler

Dissertations and Theses

Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute) have inhabited the southern Great Basin for thousands of years, and consider Nuvagantu (where snow sits) in the Spring Mountains landscape to be the locus of their creation as a people. Their ancestral territory spans parts of Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and California. My research identifies and describes the heterogeneous character of Nuwuvi ecological knowledge (NEK) of piñon-juniper woodland ecosystems within two federal protected areas (PAs) in southeastern Nevada, the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area (SMNRA) and the Desert National Wildlife Refuge (DNWR), as remembered and practiced to varying degrees by 22 select Nuwuvi knowledge holders. I focus …

Afro-Ecuadorian Educational Movement: Racial Oppression, Its Origins And Oral Tradition, Ethan Johnson

Black Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper, three objectives are presented, first, to describe the socio-historical context of Afro-Ecuadorians generally and specifically related to education. Here, it is demonstrated how colonial and nation building practices and processes have attempted to silence and make absent the contributions people of African descent have made to development of the nation. Second, the Afro-Ecuadorian social movement is considered within the local, regional and global socio-historical context, and it is argued that the Afro-Ecuadorian Etnoeducación is part of a continuous struggle for freedom and inclusion in the nation as full citizens. The third area of analysis focuses on one …

Structural Factors That Increase Hiv/Sti Vulnerability Among Indigenous People In The Peruvian Amazon, E. Roberto Orellana, Isaac E. Alva, Cesar P. Cárcamo, Patricia J. García

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

We examined structural factors—social, political, economic, and environmental—that increase vulnerability to HIV among indigenous people in the Peruvian Amazon. Indigenous adults belonging to 12 different ethnic groups were purposively recruited in four Amazonian river ports and 16 indigenous villages. Qualitative data revealed a complex set of structural factors that give rise to environments of risk where health is constantly challenged. Ferryboats that cross Amazonian rivers are settings where unprotected sex—including transactional sex between passengers and boat crew and commercial sex work—often take place. Population mobility and mixing also occurs in settings like the river docks, mining sites, and other resource …

Explorations Into The Psycholinguistic Validity Of Extended Collocations, J. Arianna Morgan

Dissertations and Theses

This study tests the hypothesis that frequency and collocational association make independent contributions to the processing time of English multiword collocational, phrases for L1 and L2 English speakers. The results suggest that these constructs do play a role in the processing of 4-word, corpus-extracted phrases. In this sample, L1 speakers demonstrated reduced processing time for both highly frequent and highly associated phrases, while L2 speakers demonstrated reduced processing time for highly frequent phrases. Evidence exists in the data that highly proficient L2 speakers may develop similar patterns of reduced processing time as L1 speakers. Additionally, some L1 speakers did not …

"Del Campo Ya Pasamos A Otras Cosas--From The Field We Move On To Other Things": Ethnic Mexican Narrators And Latino Community Histories In Washington County, Oregon, Luke Sprunger

Dissertations and Theses

This work examines the histories of the Latino population of Washington County, Oregon, and explores how and why ethnic Mexican and other Latino individuals and families relocated to the county. It relies heavily on oral history interviews conducted by the author with ethnic Mexican residents, and on archival newspaper sources. Beginning with the settlement of a small number of tejano families and the formation of an ethnic community in the 1960s, a number of factors encouraged an increasing number of migrant Latino families--from tejanos to Mexican nationals to Central and South Americans to indigenous migrants of various nationalities--to settle permanently …

Preadvanced Japanese, Emiko Konomi

PDXOpen: Open Educational Resources

This textbook is designed for students who have intermediate competency in Japanese, roughly at Level 2 on the ILR (The Interagency Language Roundtable) proficiency scale, and are working on reaching Level 3.

This textbook can be used for self-study, as part of online course, and in a traditional classroom setting. It is comprised of four chapters, intended to be covered in one term of a quarter system.

Please see the Open Textbook Library for faculty reviews of this textbook

If you are an instructor adopting or adapting this PDXOpen textbook, please help us understand your use by filling out this …

Collaborative Treatment Of Late-Life Depression In Primary Care (Germanimpact): Study Protocol Of A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial, Iris Wernher, Frederike Bjerregaard, Iris Tinsel, Christiane Bleich, Sigrid Boczor, Thomas Kloppe, Martin Scherer, Martin Härter, Wilhelm Niebling, Hans-Helmut König, Michael Hüll

Institute on Aging Publications

Background: Depression is not a normal side effect of aging, however it is one of the most prevalent mental health issues in later life, imposing a tremendous burden on patients, their families, and the healthcare system. We describe the experimental implementation of a collaborative, stepped-care model for the treatment of late-life depression (GermanIMPACT trial) in the German primary care context. GermanIMPACT was developed as an adaptation of a successful and widely used American model. The aim of the study is to evaluate the model’s applicability to the German primary care setting and its cost-effectiveness.

Methods/Design: The study will be conducted …

Synthesis Before The Proto-Niger-Congo Inflectional Verb: Evidence From The Peripheral South Atlantic Languages, George Tucker Childs

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper contributes to the understanding of Proto-Niger-Congo (PNC) verb structure. It supports the contention in Nurse 2007 that PNC verbs were likely more analytical than synthetic in nature. It does so by illustrating several paths of grammaticalization (and cliticization), in a set of several far-west Atlantic languages, geographically distant from the Niger-Congo core.

Social Media, Fandom And Language Learning: A Roundtable With Shannon Sauro And Steven L. Thorne, Dean Wang, Shannon Sauro, Steven L. Thorne

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

Last November, Dr. Shannon Sauro and Dr. Steven L. Thorne visited the UAB campus to give lectures on, respectively, ‘Fandom, Social Media and Learning’ and ‘Human development and semiotic remediation through mobile place-based gaming’. (. . . ) Questions and responses are transcribed here.

The Impact Of Wiki-Based Collaborative Writing On English L2 Learners' Individual Writing Development, Gina Christina Caruso

Dissertations and Theses

Although the benefits of group and pair work in the second language (L2) classroom have been extensively studied, most documented research has focused on the use of oral tasks and spoken interaction between learners. Recently however, researchers have begun to investigate the advantages of collaboration on written work. More specifically, with the advancements in computer technology and web-based collaborative platforms like wikis, there has been a growing awareness of the educational possibilities of wikis to enhance L2 writing instruction. This study followed a pretest/posttest repeated measures design to investigate the impact and students' perceptions of wiki-based collaborative writing activities on …

Emerging Lexical Organization From Intentional Vocabulary Learning, Adam Jones

Dissertations and Theses

The role that vocabulary learning plays in second language acquisition has been receiving increased attention from both teachers and researchers. However, there is still much that is not known about the processes through which new words become functioning components of the mental lexicon. This study used a word association test (WAT) to investigate how new words are initially integrated into the lexicon immediately after being studied for the first time. This initial lexical organization of new words was compared with the existing lexical organization of well-known items. In addition, this study investigated how sentence writing, thought to encourage deeper levels …