Digital Commons Network^™

Scientism, Philosophy And Brain-Based Learning, Gregory M. Nixon

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

Since educators are always looking for ways to improve their practice, and since empirical science is now accepted in our worldview as the final arbiter of truth, it is no surprise they have been lured toward cognitive neuroscience in hopes that discovering how the brain learns will provide a nutshell explanation for student learning in general. I argue that identifying the person with the brain is scientism (not science), that the brain is not the person, and that it is the person who learns. In fact, the brain only responds to the learning of embodied experience within the extra-neural network …

Personal, Cultural, And Educational Implications Of Language Loss/Transformation: A Canadian Context, John W. Friesen

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

In this article, the author provides an engaging account of language loss, transformation, and preservation, and the personal, social, cultural implications of language shift. John’s personal reflections on replacing Low German with English as a child, in tandem with a carefully researched account of various language communities in Canada, alerts us to the unique opportunities and challenges teachers face with respect to the multicultural, multilinguistic character of the contemporary classroom. He punctuates his paper with four thoughtful observations with respect to cultural diversity in schools.

Language As Social Context And Literacy Development Of Students From Diverse Backgrounds, Abir R. El Shaban

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

In this article, the author invokes Cummins’ model for social empowerment of minority students to suggest an alternative way of thinking about the empowerment of school communities. This paper explains Cummins’ theoretical framework and suggests implications that might help teachers better understand social language literacy development in terms of Cummins’ (1986-1994) conceptual framework, which is based on the notion that students who are from a diverse background are in need of school literacy learning that attends to “the goals of instruction, the role of the home language, instructional materials, classroom management and interaction with students, relationships with the community, instructional …

Idealism And Pragmatism: "Transcendent" Validity Claims In Habermas's Democratic Theory, Richard Van Barriger

Anthós

In her recent article "Realism and Idealism: Was Habermas's Communicative Turn a Move in the Wrong Direction?" Maeve Cooke examines the evolution of Jürgen Habermas’s thought over the past five decades. According to Cooke, Habermas’s so-called ‘communicative turn’ was a necessary step in his philosophy’s systematic attempt to derive a universal norm from the immanent context of human practices and institutions. In her opinion, however, Habermas’s theory is unable to achieve such "transcendence from within" due to the inherent problem of justification in his theory’s treatment of normative validity claims. Cooke believes that despite Habermas’s exhaustive efforts to provide a …

Oral Care & Asian And Pacific Islander Communities In Oregon, Amira Caluya

Center to Advance Racial Equity Publications and Reports

This report attempts to describe the current knowledge of oral health care access within Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities in Oregon based on secondary data from the Oregon Health Authority’s Smile Survey 2007, Smile Survey 2012; and the Coalition of Communities of Color’s 2012 report, The Asian and Pacific Islander Community in Multnomah County: An Unsettling Profile. To be clear, the 2012 survey report draft is cited most, as the 2012 survey reported more data on children of color compared to the 2007 survey. This paper also attempts to highlight the multifaceted aspects of access to care …

Lacan, Ideology, And Military Behavioral Health: Exploring Interpellation Psychodiscursively, Joseph R. Van Der Naald

University Honors Theses

Recent research in psychosocial studies that draws on a theoretical framework of Lacanian psychoanalysis has granted social psychology with a rich understanding of individuals’ investments in discursive subject positions. The Lacanian psychosocial conception of subjectivity considers how multiple paradoxical narratives, conditioned by desire, form a complex subject constituted through discourse. However, this paradigm has yet to produce a psychosocial discursive analysis of subjection via ideological interpellation. This discourse analysis combines psychoanalytic cultural criticism with Lacanian psychosocial studies to produce an analytic methodology. The thesis then employs this methodology to examine a case study of three interview transcripts from Dr. Janice …

Top-Down Nationalism In Post-Soviet Kazakhstan, Annie M. Scriven

Geography Masters Research Papers

Kazakhstan was the most multi-ethnic country to emerge from the former Soviet Union and the only one to have its titular ethnicity as a minority. This paper examines the top-down nationalism that has occurred since independence in 1991. The government of Kazakhstan has used elements of the theories of nationalism and territoriality in their effort to build a strong and unified post-Soviet national identity. The role of language, treatment of minorities, changing demographics, and the multi-ethnic nature of Kazakhstan make this a difficult task.

Review Of Repertoires And Choices In African Languages By Friederike Lûpke And Anne Storch, George Tucker Childs

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Repertoires and Choices in African Languages (RCAL) will interest not only Africanists but also specialists in other geographical areas and those generally concerned with language endangerment and language documentation. In short, this is a timely book for readers of this journal. The authors, Friederike Lüpke and Anne Storch, are two of the finest scholars working on African languages today and two of the most reflective thinkers in this field. The breadth and depth of their research records (they call themselves, somewhat modestly, ‘fieldworkers’) are both exemplary, and together constitute a whole that any two other scholars would find difficult to …

The African Immigrant And Refugee Community In Multnomah County: An Unsettling Profile, Ann Curry-Stevens, Coalition Of Communities Of Color

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Since 1975, African immigrants, refugees and secondary migrants have been relocating to Multnomah County and now represent the fourth largest immigrant community after Latino, Asian, and Slavic immigrants. The African community here is incredibly diverse in its make-up, with over 28 different African countries and numerous ethnic groups represented. Estimates from 2003 suggest that African immigrants make up 2% of the foreign-born population in the Portland Metro (tri-county) area. Nearly half (45%) of the tri-county area’s African foreign-born population is from eastern Africa, including Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Other countries of origin include Sudan, Sierra …

Tutor-Facilitated Adult Digital Literacy Learning: Insights From A Case Study, Kimberly D. Pendell, Elizabeth Withers, Jill Castek, Stephen Reder

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

While the digital divide has decreased, those who are still unable to access and use information and communication technologies are left further behind. An effective digital literacy program helps underserved populations gain needed skills and alleviate the demand placed on public library staff. This case study presents findings on a digital literacy learning model that utilizes a self-paced online platform and in-person volunteer tutors. The researchers found that the learner/tutor relationship is an essential part of the learning process, and that tutors develop a variety of strategies for helping learners. The researchers also identify aspects of effective program implementation.

Here, We Are Walking On A Clothesline: Statelessness And Human (In)Security Among Burmese Women Political Exiles Living In Thailand, Elizabeth Hooker

Dissertations and Theses

An estimated twelve million people worldwide are stateless, or living without the legal bond of citizenship or nationality with any state, and consequently face barriers to employment, property ownership, education, health care, customary legal rights, and national and international protection. More than one-quarter of the world's stateless people live in Thailand. This feminist ethnography explores the impact of statelessness on the everyday lives of Burmese women political exiles living in Thailand through the paradigm of human security and its six indicators: food, economic, personal, political, health, and community security. The research reveals that exclusion from national and international legal protections …

Linguistic Minorities And The Right To Languages (Minorías Lingüísticas Y Derecho A Las Lenguas), Eva NúÑEz-MéNdez

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

Resumen: Esta contribución se centra en la noción de minorías lingüísticas y en el derecho a las lenguas desde una perspectiva sociopolítica y cultural. Se ofrece una definición de lo que se considera “minoría lingüística” con ejemplos representativos de lenguas bajo esta consideración así como datos que ratifican la existencia, vitalidad y extinción de éstas según el contexto moderno de la globalización. Además se incluyen situaciones de multilingüismo y diglosia y cómo el estado ha respondido constitucionalmente a las necesidades de estas comunidades, incluyendo programas educativos, legislaciones internas y derecho de lenguas. Para ello se han escogido una selección de …

Preparation In Practice: Simultaneous Preparation Of Educational Leaders And Future Teachers For Social Justice In Professional Development Schools, Amy Daggett Petti, Sabrina Flamoe

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

In times of crisis there are opportunities for innovation. Teacher preparation, leadership preparation, and education in general are facing a time of crisis. Teacher and principal preparation and performance are no longer just the fodder of educational journals and elite academics. When mainstream publications such as Newsweek run a cover image of a chalkboard with repeated lines of text, "We Must Fire Bad Teachers" as the solution to "saving American Education" (2010), we know the public perception of teacher preparation, teacher professionalism, and leadership in schools is in a crisis.

This chapter examines a case study of a school committed …

Matching International Enthusiasm With Diversity Commitment, Michael J. Smith, Akiko Ota

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

The article discusses the need for diversity and commitment from U.S. universities to increase enthusiasm for foreign student recruitment. It notes that cooperative societies have been formed by universities to attain efficiency and cost control. It mentions that partnership between schools and private sector recruiting firms have risen.

What Work Samples Reveal About Secondary Pre-Service Social Studies Teachers' Use Of Literacy Strategies, Susan J. Lenski, Gayle Y. Thieman

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

The article discusses a study which aims to answer the research questions of whether secondary social studies pre-service teachers incorporate literacy strategies in their work samples during student teaching, and the extent and conditions secondary social studies pre-service teachers use higher levels of literacy strategies in their work samples. The study is framed within 3 areas of research namely activity theory, work sample methodology and disciplinary literacy.

Factors Influencing Social, Cultural, And Academic Transitions Of Chinese International Esl Students In U.S. Higher Education, Akiko Ota

Dissertations and Theses

The U.S. is the leading nation for international students to pursue higher education; the majority of whom are from countries with significant differences in culture and language from American students. As such, many international students start higher education in ESL support programs. While on the surface international students supposedly add cultural and linguistic diversity to American higher education by contributing to the internationalization of campuses, international students' transition into U.S. life and academe is often fraught with challenges including culture shock, adjusting to the new environment and society, adjustment to norms of academic performance, acquisition of academic and language skills, …

Iktomi: A Character Traits Analysis Of A Dakota Culture Myth, Marianne Sue Kastner

Dissertations and Theses

This qualitative study comparing three separate English-language versions of a single Dakota cultural myth "Iktomi" presents a novel systematic approach for analyzing Native American folk tales to understand how stories function as tools of transmission of cultural information and knowledge. The method involved coding character traits according to type with regard to representation, ability, or attribute to ascertain patterns among the codes and elucidate character roles and relationships, reorganizing the coded traits into paired polarized correspondences to clarify relationships among traits, and assessing pronoun use and documenter effect pointing to gender-specific character activity. Findings revealed an encoded framework illuminating how …

'Graecomans’ Into Bulgarians: Shifting Perceptions Of Greek- Bulgarian Interethnic Marriages In The Nineteenth Century, Evguenia Davidova

International & Global Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article employs Greek-Bulgarian interethnic marriage as a category of analysis to contextualize the intersection of language, class, gender, and nationalism. Such marriages reveal pragmatic practices of auto-hellenization as expressions of eclectic urban lifestyles that flourished in the Ottoman era up to the 1830s, a process interrupted by the emergence of nation-states and the Tanzimat that led to intra-millet conflicts in which the groups caught in-between became scapegoats. Also, Greek language (enriched with a Turkish and Slav mix), a blend that can be called Balkan commercial koinē, which played a cohesive role similar to its Hellenistic predecessor, became a target …

The Semiotic Ecology And Linguistic Complexity Of An Online Game World, Steven L. Thorne, Ingrid Fischer, Xiaofei Lu

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

Multiplayer online games form complex semiotic ecologies that include game-generated texts, player-to-player communication and collaboration, and associated websites that support in-game play. This article describes an exploratory study of the massively multiplayer online game (MMO) World of Warcraft (WoW), with specific attention to its qualities as a setting for second language (L2) use and development. This empirical study seeks to answer the following question: What is the nature of the linguistic ecology that WoW players are exposed to? Many studies have described the developmental opportunities presented by commercially available gaming environments (e.g., Gee, 2003, 2007), their value as sites of …

The Tense-Op Syntagm: Unity To Nc Word Order, Evidence From Bulom, South Atlantic, George Tucker Childs

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Provides the outline of a paper that examines Proto-Niger-Congo features; the classification of Atlantic languages; The VP in Bulom and Atlantic, TNS-OP; A contact explanation: S-AUX-O-V-X from Mande; Other explanations, internal to Bullom, internal to Atlantic, and elsewhere; and comparison to (speculations as to) reconstructed Niger-Congo.

Digital Games For Language Learning: From Hype To Insight?, Frederik Cornillie, Steven L. Thorne, Piet Desmet

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

Special issue of ReCall topics the concept of ludic engagement as a form of developmentally productive activity specifically digital game-based second or foreign language learning (DGBLL).

Enhancing Instruction For English Learners In Response To Intervention Systems: The Pluss Model, Amanda K. Sanford, Julie Esparza Brown, Maranda Turner

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper proposes a model of effective instruction and intervention for English Learners (ELs) within a Response to Intervention (RTI) framework. First, we review literature on effective instruction for ELs and how RTI can address the needs of these students. Then, we describe the PLUSS model, which integrates research on effective instruction for ELs, tiered models of support, and teacher practices. The model includes the following elements: Pre-teaching critical vocabulary; Language modeling and opportunities to use academic language; Using visuals and graphic organizers; Systematic and explicit instruction; and Strategic use of native language and teaching for transfer. Finally, we provide …

English In Iranian Magazine Advertising, Robert J. Baumgardner, Kimberley Brown

Applied Linguistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

In the thirty-two years since the Islamic Revolution occurred in Iran, economic and cultural globalization have affected the role of English in multiple domains in the country. Within the domain of advertising, shifts have occurred throughout the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Persian scholars have attributed the source of these shifts to tension between local and global identities and to shifts in government advertising policy. This paper explores a data set of 335 advertisements taken from magazines from the period 2006–2008. We contrast borrowings and language display and explore language use in the six parts of the advertisements. …

Research Proposal For Study: Can Artifical Emulation Of Synesthesia Aid Visual Word Recognition?, Lucas Charles

Anthós

The field of synesthesia has largely been unexplored beyond mere analysis of the condition and only a few papers on the topic of new applications have been published within the last decade. The condition can potentially provide great benefits to the study of the psychology of language along with its role in language use itself. As understanding of this condition continues to grow, one can draw links between it and its effect on language use, thereby enabling a greater understanding of the language process itself. Synesthesia involves the stimulation of one sense along with involuntary activation of another sensory pathway. …

It’S Not What You Do, It’S Who You Are: Adjectives As Identity-Conferrers, C.B. Rodgers

Anthós

To see how positive identity assessments are created, I investigated two statements, both released by organizations that can broadly be described as part of Portland’s liberal or left community. Each statement responds to assertions that the actions of the organization, or one of its members, provides a platform for anti-Semitic, white supremacist, and/or fascist political organizers to make inroads in Portland. One set of data is a statement from Citybikes, a workerowned cooperative, that was published on Portland IndyMedia, a web-based independent media center; the other is a statement from a Portland community art space, The Variant, that was published …

The Intersection Between Science And Computer Science Is Almost Empty, Dick Hamlet

Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

Traditionally, a science such as physics overlaps with mathematics and engineering in a way that has been astonishingly productive. The math provides precise expression for the science, which in turn supplies the engineering with the information it needs to exploit physical phenomena. Computer science naturally wishes to put itself in the center of the traditional picture as a science. Unfortunately, it won't wash. The `science' of programming is pure and simple mathematics, not science. The distinction is more than linguistic, since science and mathematics have quite distinct goals and methods. By making the wrong choice, computer science research has been …

Levels Of Altruism, Martin Zwick, Jeffrey Alan Fletcher

Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

The phenomenon of altruism extends from the biological realm to the human sociocultural realm. This paper sketches a coherent outline of multiple types of altruism of progressively increasing scope that span these two realms and are grounded in an ever-expanding sense of “self.” Discussion of this framework notes difficulties associated with altruisms at different levels. It links scientific ideas about the evolution of cooperation and about hierarchical order to perennial philosophical and religious concerns. It offers a conceptual background for inquiry into societal challenges that call for altruistic behavior, especially the challenge of environmental and social sustainability.

This talk was …

The Case For Graphic Novels, Steven Hoover

Communications in Information Literacy

Many libraries and librarians have embraced graphic novels. A number of books, articles, and presentations have focused on the history of the medium and offered advice on building and maintaining collections, but very little attention has been given the question of how integrate graphic novels into a library's instructional efforts. This paper will explore the characteristics of graphic novels that make them a valuable resource for librarians who focus on research and information literacy instruction, identify skills and competencies that can be taught by the study of graphic novels, and will provide specific examples of how to incorporate graphic novels …

(Un)Covering The Story Of Judeo-Spanish: A Personal Exploration Of Language On The Margins, Lisya Seloni

Harlot: A Revealing Look at the Arts of Persuasion

In this reflective story of my family rhetoric, I describe the use of a small language, Ladino (Judeoespanyol--also known as Jewish-Spanish) in Istanbul, a cosmopolitan city of around 12 million people. I argue that languages and rhetoric used in families are more than a set of linguistic systems that can be readily passed on from one generation to another. In fact, they are a set of cultural symbols, ethnic representations, and ways of acting in the world, which help the family members create safe spaces, build identities and mark group membership. Through narrating the story of the use of Ladino …

Content-Based Instruction Website For Course Modules, Pelin Basci

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

This presentations focuses on content-based instruction for course modules - a Turkish sample.