Digital Commons Network^™

Outcomes Of Dialogic Communication Training On A City Government Management Team, Minna Johanna Holopainen

Master's Theses

Managing diversity in today's organizational environments can challenge many organizations. This action research study addresses that challenge by investigating the outcomes of dialogic communication training on a city government management team experiencing organizational diversity. The study consisted of four phases: (1) individual interviews for needs assessment, (2) focus group meeting for training design, (3) dialogic communication training, and (4) individual interviews for assessment of the outcomes. The results of this study indicate that dialogic communication and the development of dialogic style of leadership through dialogic communication training provide a valuable and practical approach for work teams. Specifically, management team members' …

Employment Decisions As A Function Of An Applicant's Accent, Lam Thanh Nguyen

Master's Theses

Using data collected from 167 college students, the present study examined the effects of an applicant's accent (Standard American English vs. Spanish) on employment-related decisions (i.e., job suitability, likelihood of promotion, and decision to hire) and perceived applicant characteristics (i.e., competence and likability). Results showed that Spanish-accented applicants were rated less suitable for an entry-level software engineering job, were perceived as having a lower chance of being promoted to a managerial position, and were hired less frequently compared to the Standard American English-accented applicant. Additionally, the Spanish-accented applicant was rated less competent but just as likable as the Standard American …

Kinna-Uganda: A Review Of Uganda's National Cinema, Kristin Alexandra Rasmussen

Master's Theses

Kinna-Uganda (K-U) is a form of cinema that has emerged in Uganda following decades of the totalitarian political regime of Idi Amin, which in turn followed almost a century of colonial rule. The concept of national cinema is evaluated in this thesis as a tool for analysis of K-U. The national cinema concept is compared with four other models -- regional, continental, Pan-African, and transnational -- that can also be used to analyze and deconstruct films and the academic space within which they reside. This study examines Uganda's pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial times and their impact on the production of …

Introducing Stem Majors To The Teaching Profession Through Authentic Experiences As Tutors, Grinell Smith

Faculty Publications

Recruiting people with rich backgrounds in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) into the teaching profession has historically been difficult and remains so today. In this bounded instrumental case study, undergraduate STEM majors were trained and placed as science and math tutors in grades 9-12, with an overarching goal of encouraging them to consider teaching as a possible career path. Several themes emerged from the tutors’ experiences as significant in their willingness to consider a career in teaching, including altruism from helping others, satisfaction from tutees’ improved academic performance, and a more nuanced understanding of the complex nature of teaching.

From 'Break Out' To 'Breakthrough': Successful Market Strategies Of Immigrant Entrepreneurs In The Uk, Anuradha Basu

Faculty Publications, School of Management

This paper explores the strategies that enable ethnic minority immigrant entrepreneurs to 'break out' of local ethnic markets and 'break through' into more promising markets with greater opportunities. It analyzes the contextual and personal characteristics of the entrepreneurs that implement those strategies, based on a primary survey of South Asian entrepreneurs in the UK. The analysis suggests that breaking out of co-ethnic customer markets is neither necessary nor sufficient for entrepreneurial expansion. The critical factor is the entrepreneur's ability to break through into customer markets that are larger, by geographical reach or profit margins and value added. Many successful immigrant …

On Constructive-Engagement Strategy Of Comparative Philosophy, Bo Mou

Faculty Publications

In this journal theme introduction, first, I explain how comparative philosophy as explored in the journal Comparative Philosophy is understood and how it is intrinsically related to the constructive engagement strategy. Second, to characterize more clearly and accurately some related methodological points of the constructive-engagement strategy, and also to explain how constructive engagement is possible, I introduce some needed conceptual and explanatory resources and a meta-methodological framework and endeavor to identify adequacy conditions for methodological guiding principles in comparative studies. Third, as a case analysis, I show how the constructive-engagement reflective practice bears on recent studies of Chinese and comparative …

Teaching English Language Learner Students In Us Mainstream Schools: Intersections Of Language, Pedagogy, And Power, Katya A. Karathanos

Faculty Publications

This study explored to what extent two groups of mainstream teachers in the midwestern region of the USA with differing degrees of English Language Learner (ELL) specific universitypreparation reportedly engaged in practises that incorporated the native languages (L1) of ELL students in instruction. The study further examined specific strategies reported by mainstream teachers in promoting L1 use in instruction as well as challenges identified in implementing this practise. The study utilized a mixed-method design that included analyses of survey data from a quantitative study (n=227) and qualitative analyses of teacher discourse from course documents and open-ended survey questions. Findings indicated …

Identité Et Langue Française Chez Azouz Begag Et Chahdortt Djavann, Nehal Abuelata

Master's Theses

This thesis addresses the problematics of identity construction through the acquisition of the French language for immigrants living in France. More specifically, it examines the impact French language acquisition has had and still has on the identity of children of Maghrebian descent and, more generally, its influence on the identity of non-francophone immigrants who arrived in France as adults by examining the novels of two francophone authors: Azouz Begag and Chahdortt Djavann. Whereas the former is a French writer of Algerian descent, a "Beur," the latter is an Iranian-born writer who emigrated to France as an adult. In addition, this …

A Phonetic, Phonological, And Morphosyntactic Analysis Of The Mara Language, Michelle Arden

Master's Theses

This thesis presents a linguistic analysis of the Mara language, a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in northwest Myanmar and in neighboring districts of India. Data has been gathered through interviews with a native speaker. The analysis includes a full phonetic segment inventory of the dialect and a phonological analysis of contrastive sounds and contextual variants. Sound files embedded in the document illustrate the phonetic system. Mara's distinctive phonetic features include the loss of word-final consonants, a set of voiceless sonorants, pre- and post- aspirated nasals, and lowered and unlowered vowel pairs. The morphosyntax of Mara pronominal words demonstrates a split-ergative case …

Who Am I?: The Reflexivity Of Self-Identity Through Tourism, Matthew Lee Milde

Master's Theses

This study has set forth to close gaps, explore innovative methods, and create a better understanding of "Who am I?", in tourism research. Few studies in tourism research focus on how experiences gained from traveling shape self-identity through personal biographies. Building on the work of seminal authors on self-identity, personal narrative, and tourism, this study explores the reflexivity of self-identity as represented in travel narratives. The lived experiences offered through narrative condition spontaneous instances of self-discovery allowing for the (re)creation of new self-identities.

Participants were selected through a snowball sample; in-depth interviews were held with fifteen (15) adults born and …

Survey Of Author Name Disambiguation: 2004 To 2010, Sarah Elliott

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Author name disambiguation methods continue to evolve and grow more sophisticated. This paper surveys a variety of manual and automatic approaches that have developed between 2004 and the beginning of 2010.

A Comparison Of Term Clusters For Tokenized Words Collected From Controlled Vocabularies, User Keyword Searches, And Online Documents, Elaine Maytag Nowick, Daryl Travnicek, Kent M. Eskridge, Stephen Stein

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Tokenized word terms were collected from three sources: controlled vocabulary headings, user keyword searches, and html documents all dealing with issues in water quality. Distances were calculated between word pairs using the Jacquard formula. Distances from the three sources were compared using Spearman rank correlations and clusters were calculated on distances transformed for non-normality using the SAS pseudo-centroid method. Word pair distances from controlled vocabularies were more closely correlated to keyword searches than document distances were to users’ keywords. The mean distance of controlled vocabularies was also closer to that of users. Clusters produced from the three sources were most …

Quality Of Life Among Rural Nigerian Women: The Role Of Information, Yetunde Abosede Zaid, S. O. Popoola

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The quality of life of people in developing countries including Nigeria is not near the expected standard. This is especially so with women living in the rural areas whose lives are characterized by poor income, poverty, hunger, diseases as well as lack of potable water, good shelter and access to medical attention. This is due to the fact that these women do not have access to valuable information and may not make use of available information which could help them meet the challenges of daily living. This study, therefore, investigated the extent to which information accessibility and use could improve …

Spartan Daily December 3, 2009, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 133, Issue 47

Spartan Daily November 23, 2009, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 133, Issue 43

Refiguring Rhetorical Education: Women Teaching African American, Native American, And Chicano/A Students, 1865–1911, Kathleen F. Mcconnell

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Barriers Influencing Minority Clients’ Access To Speech Language Pathology Services. Poster, Nidhi Mahendra, Katie Schoneman, Nisha Engineer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Metadata: Implications For Academic Libraries, Israel Yañez

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Academic libraries will do well to embrace metadata and the project possibilities it brings. Digital initiatives, particularly in the form of institutional repositories, help raise the profile of the academic library across campus and in the community. Metadata librarians, with an understanding of both metadata schemes and traditional cataloging, play a significant role in an academic library’s digital initiatives. Metadata librarians in academic libraries are a prime example of the 21st century librarian. This paper surveys the literature available on metadata and its implications for academic libraries. Definitions of metadata are offered. Metadata schemes are presented, including the scheme most …

Segmented Professions: Further Considerations Of Theory And Practice In Lis And Librarianship, Andrew Carlin

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

How relevant are theories of information to practical library work? Using sociology and the philosophy of social sciences, this essay discusses how theoretical work defines an area of knowledge in relation to other fields, the identification of researchable phenomena, and how phenomena are established as its own subject matter. Theorizing is a generic activity, highlighting connections between theory and practice, profession and field. While proposing that theorizing is important, this paper explores the nature of theorizing in LIS, and suggests that its cognitivistic foundations impede theory development. Information is a linkage between theory and practice, and this paper argues that …

Spartan Daily October 1, 2009, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 133, Issue 18

Meeting The Need For K-8 Teachers For Classrooms With Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students: The Promise And Challenge Of Early Field Experiences, Amy Strage, Susan Gomez, Kari Knutson-Miller, Ana Garcia-Nevarez

Faculty Publications

The writers present the findings of their study focused on teacher learning through early fieldwork experiences to address the problem of teachers working with a culturally and linguistically diverse student population. Data were analyzed from an archive collected from approximately 500 students enrolled in six undergraduate child development courses at three state university campuses located in urban areas of California. Findings suggest that early field experiences provide participants with opportunities for career goal clarification, and the context of field experience is significant and may lead to outcomes beyond the initial goal of the experience.

Spartan Daily September 2, 2009, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 133, Issue 5

What Is Glamour? The Production & Consumption Of A Working Aesthetic, Gordon Douglas

Faculty Publications, Urban and Regional Planning

I examine here how glamour is manifested in different places and among different peoples across Los Angeles, each with different histories, cultures and aesthetics. After initially defining the concept with reference to traditional understandings using the social and spatial history of Hollywood, I develop three ideal-typical categories of glamour (glitz as glamour, status as glamour, and grit as glamour) as heuristics for looking at the many diverse ‘glamours’ to be found in Los Angeles today: from the film industry to finance, the allure of haute cuisine to the chrome of Latino car culture, the manufactured spectacle of absurdist architecture to …

Let's Have A Party: Information Literacy Instruction As An Empowerment Strategy, Shahla Bahavar, Angela Boyd, Valeria Molteni, Sophie Lesinska

Faculty and Staff Publications

Is it a crazy idea or an innovative pedagogical strategy to turn an information literacy instruction (ILI) session into a party? Joy Kim, Curator of the Korean Heritage Library at the University of Southern California, implements this approach every semester to welcome Korean students to USC campus. Considering the success of her program, perhaps more instruction librarians should take time to organize information literacy welcome parties.

International and minority students experience more alienation on campus than average students. Effective ILI often minimizes this sense of alienation felt by these two groups. International students find services available in American libraries are …

Building On The Cultural And Linguistic Capital Of English Learner (El) Students, K Brooks, Katya A. Karathanos

Faculty Publications

Approaches and strategies that value and build upon the cultural and linguistic capital of English learner students are described. Through implementing such strategies, teachers can impress upon students and families that multiculturalism and multilingualism are highly beneficial to the classroom, school, and community.

Academic Libraries And The Remaking Of The Canon: Implications For Collection Development Librarians, Julianne Buchsbaum

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

An issue of central importance for academic librarians of the future will be how to perform successful collection development in a time of narrow budgets and a rapidly expanding universe of information. For librarians in the humanities, in particular, the issue of how to decide what to collect is even more fraught with tensions in a multicultural era in which conventional standards used to evaluate materials have been radically contested and in which the very existence of the canon, or any type of core collection, has been called into question. It will be important to the local culture of the …

Evaluation Of Strategies To Enhance Nclex-Rn Success, Joyce Barnby

Master's Projects

Successful performance on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) is a measure of competence indicating that newly licensed nurses have attained standards to ensure safe nursing practice. Concerned about a declining pass rate, one urban state university implemented multiple strategies over a period of time in order to enhance the success rate of frrst-time test-takers. The purpose of this research project was to focus on the state university's NCLEX-RN pass rates for frrst-time candidates, examined and evaluated new implemented strategies, and determined how the interventions influenced these pass rates. Data were collected using retrospective existing records on …

English Language Acculturation And Academic Achievement Among Junior Year Nursing Students, Leah Lukrich

Master's Projects

Efforts to alleviate the current nursing shortage have focused on recruitment and retention of diverse nursing students. Language acculturation has been identified in the literature as one predictor of academic achievement (Salamonson et al, 2008) PURPOSE: This study examined the relationship between pathophysiology and pharmacology grades and scores on the English Language Acculturation Scale (ELAS) survey for junior-level nursing students (N = 65). The relationship between years living in the United States (U.S.) and pathophysiology and pharmacology grades was examined also. RESULTS: ELAS scores ranged from 7-25, with a mean of22 (SD = 4.27). No statistically significant correlation was found …

Assessing Culture Competence Among Nurses In An Acute Care Setting, Maleka Virani

Master's Projects

The aim of the study was to assess cultural competence among nurses in an acute care setting. A 25-item questionnaire developed by Campinha-Bacote (2003) titled Inventory to Assess Cultural Competence Among Health Care Providers (IAPCC-R) along with a demographic survey were utilized to assess cultural competence among 100 nurses in an acute care hospital. The results of the study indicated that 70% of nurses (n=63) were culturally aware and 30% (n=27) were culturally competent. There was no statistical significance between the level of cultural competence and years of experience, educational degree or self rating of 'being culturally competent'. The findings …

Academic Gateway, Spring 2009, San Jose State University Library

Library Gateway

No abstract provided.