Digital Commons Network^™

Unlv - Ccsd Collaborative English Language Learners, Sylvia R. Lazos, Leann Putney, Ralph E. Reynolds

Policy Briefs and Reports

This proposal will provide statistical context of the overall performance of English Language Learner (ELL) students in Clark County School District (CCSD) and proposes a study that will assist the CCSD in identifying programs and strategies that increase ELL student performance on the third grade State mandated Criterion Reference Test (SMCRT) in reading and mathematics. To accomplish this goal, the proposed research project will first identify teaching methodologies, curricular strategies and support services that CCSD teachers are employing to assist ELL students in achieving satisfactory performance. These factors will be analyzed in comparison to SMCRT scores to determine the relative …

Contending With Foreign Accent Variability In Early Lexical Acquisition., Rachel Schmale, George Hollich, Amanda Seidl

Department of Psychological Sciences Faculty Publications

By their second birthday, children are beginning to map meaning to form with relative ease. One challenge for these developing abilities is separating information relevant to word identity (i.e. phonemic information) from irrelevant information (e.g. voice and foreign accent). Nevertheless, little is known about toddlers’ abilities to ignore irrelevant phonetic detail when faced with the demanding task of word learning. In an experiment with English-learning toddlers, we examined the impact of foreign accent on word learning. Findings revealed that while toddlers aged 2; 6 successfully generalized newly learned words spoken by a Spanish-accented speaker and a native English speaker, success …

Papa Abel Remembers -- The Tale Of A Band Of Booksellers, Fasicle 16: People, Computers, And Change, Richard Abel

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

@Brunning: People & Technology: At The Only Edge That Means Anything / How We Understand What We Do, Dennis Brunning

Against the Grain

No abstract provided.

Event Perception, Gabriel A. Radvansky, Jeffrey M. Zacks

Psychological & Brain Sciences Faculty Research

Events are central elements of human experience. Formally, they can be individuated in terms of the entities that compose them, the features of those entities, and the relations amongst entities. Psychologically, representations of events capture their spatiotemporal location, the people and objects involved, and the relations between these elements. Here, we present an account of the nature of psychological representations of events and how they are constructed and updated. Event representations are like images in that they are isomorphic to the situations they represent. However, they are like models or language in that they are constructed of components rather than …

Treasures In Tension: Immigrant Churches And Opportunities For Mission, Daniëlle Koning

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

No abstract provided.

(Re)Conceptualizing Intercultural Communication In A Networked Society, Damien S. Pfister, Jordan Soliz

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

We offer four theses about how intercultural communication is altered in a digitally networked era. Digital media shape intercultural communication by (1) producing new public fora capable of (2) hosting rich, multimodal ‘‘spaces’’ of contact on (3) a scale of many-to-many communication that (4) challenges traditional modes of representation

Increasing Higher Level Language Skills To Improve Reading Comprehension, Tiffany Hogan, Mindy Sittner Bridges, Laura M. Justice, Kate Cain

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Reading comprehension involves two primary processes: (a) decoding printed text and (b) understanding language accessed through the process of decoding. In the early years of reading development, children’s ability to comprehend text is largely constrained by individual differences in decoding printed text; however, once decoding becomes automatized, reading comprehension is largely dependent upon one’s skills in language comprehension (Catts, Hogan, & Adlof, 2005). In recent decades, numerous studies have investigated how children develop decoding skills and how, when these skills do not develop normally, educators can effectively intervene (e.g., Denton & Mathes, 2003; Simmons et al., 2008; Vellutino, Scanlon, Small, …

Grounded Theory Methodology: Positivism, Hermeneutics, And Pragmatism, Lars-Johan Age

The Qualitative Report

Glaserian grounded theory methodology, which has been widely adopted as a scientific methodology in recent decades, has been variously characterised as "hermeneutic" and "positivist." This commentary therefore takes a different approach to characterising grounded theory by undertaking a comprehensive analysis of: (a) the philosophical paradigms of positivism, hermeneutics, and pragmatism; and (b) the general philosophical questions of the aims of science and the issue of choosing a scientific methodology. The commentary then seeks to position grounded theory methodology in terms of these philosophical perspectives. The study concludes that grounded theory methodology contains elements of positivism, hermeneutics, and pragmatism. In coming …

Chaos As Strategy, P. H. Liotta

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

The Accession Insight And Patent Infringement Remedies, Peter Lee

Michigan Law Review

What is the appropriate allocation of rights and obligations when one party, without authorization, substantially improves the property of another? According to the doctrine of accession, a good faith improver may take title to such improved property, subject to compensating the original owner for the value of the source materials. While shifting title to a converter seems like a remarkable remedy, this outcome merely underscores the equitable nature of accession, which aims for fair allocation of property rights and compensation between two parties who both have plausible claims to an improved asset. This Article draws upon accession-a physical property doctrine …

Reframing Student Accommodation In Education Abroad: Reporting On A Cross-National Study Of Learning Outcomes, Anthony C. Ogden, Dan Dewey, Tomomi Kumai

Faculty Publications

All too often student accommodation is understood as a minor component of an education abroad program with only trivial impact on the overall educational experience. As such, students are frequently permitted to choose housing based on location, cost, convenience and more frequently, on the availability of amenities, such as wireless Internet, cable, and telephone. Unfortunately, the prioritization given to such logistical and practical arrangements tends to overshadow the fundamental learning potential of student accommodation. Through active reflection and experimentation, the learning that takes place in student accommodation can lead to meaningful and transformative learning.

This “theory to practice” pilot study …

Understanding The Evolving Roles Of Improvement-Oriented High School Teachers In Gilgit-Baltistan, Takbir Ali

The Qualitative Report

In this paper the author presents a framework for understanding how improvement-oriented high school teachers' accounts of change experiences portray their evolving roles as change agents in school reform. The data on which this paper is based come from a one-year long in-depth study (doctoral thesis research project) in which the author set out to investigate how improvement-oriented teachers pursue important changes in the realm of classroom, school and community; how the teachers-initiated changes can be characterized; and how the teachers' roles evolve with their change practices. The researcher employed qualitative case study methodology, using in-depth interviews, classroom observations, post-observation …

Competing Cultural Worldviews In The United States: A Phenomenological Examination Of The Essential Core Elements Of Transnationalism And Transculturalism, Mark P. Orbe, Darlene K. Drummond

The Qualitative Report

The objective of this study was to explore inductively the complex ways in which everyday discourse reflects larger - and often competing - cultural worldviews. A phenomenological framework was used to analyze transcripts generated through 13 focus group discussions involving 100 individuals. This particular analysis highlights how individuals who adopted a transnational worldview worked to transform cultural divisions through criticism of existing labels that failed to capture the multicultural nature of their identifies. Alternatively, individuals who adopted a transcultural worldview worked to transcend traditional cultural divisions through a rejection of traditional labels that worked against one unified social identity. The …

Patients’ Reports About Medical Doctors’ Inquiries On Their Mental Health: Do Generational Status, Ethnicity And Mental Health/Substance Use Disorders Matter?, Van M. Ta Park, P. Holck, T. Chen, N. Zane

Faculty Publications

Immigrants are less likely than others to use mental health (MH) services. Physicians' limited time often precludes inquiry about MH. This study investigated the influence of generational status, ethnicity, and mental/substance use disorders on physicians' inquiries about Asian American (AA) MH. Data from the National Latino and Asian American Study were analyzed (n=1,853). The outcome was past year physician's inquiry regarding MH. Results revealed that AA with U.S.-born parents had significantly greater odds compared to AA born outside the U.S. to report that their doctors inquired about their MH (OR=218, 95% CI: 1.28, 3.73). Past year mental/substance use disorder increased …

Exploring Intercultural Competence: A Service-Learning Approach, Donna Tangen, K. Louise Mercer, Rebecca Spooner-Lane, Erika Hepple

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study explored the developing intercultural competence of fourth-year Australian education pre-service teachers through a core unit of study on inclusive education, following a service-learning pathway. The Australian pre-service teachers volunteered to be ‘of service’ to a cohort of second-year Malaysian pre-service teachers studying in Australia in a transnational twinning program. Students participated in a Patches program which included writing ‘patches’ (reflections) and engaging in social exchanges. Data were gathered from focus group interviews, written reflection logs and Patches writing books and were analysed through Butin’s (2005) four-lenses of service-learning: technical, cultural, political and post-modern lenses. Data revealed that initially …

From Cosmogony To Anthropogony: Inscribing Bodies In Vedic Cosmogony And Samskara Rituals, Christine Boulos

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis argues that the inscription of bodies is necessary in order to constitute the cosmos, gender and sex. A study of the Vedic cosmogonic mythologies of the deities Purusha and Prajapati illustrates the ways in which sacrifice, as a form of inscription, constitutes the cosmos by ordering and fashioning the boundaries of the bodies of the deities through differentiation and unification. An analysis of samskaras, or consecratory rites of The Law Code of Manu, show that they operate as regulatory norms in order to constitute sex and gender. But the instability and unnaturalness of the categories of gender and …

Does Recreational Reading In Native Language Influence Foreign Language Learning Process?, Selami Aydin

The Qualitative Report

Limited studies have been conducted on the effects on recreational reading in native language on foreign language learning, whereas no findings exist on the effects of recreational reading in Turkish as a native language (L1) on English as a foreign language (EFL) learning. Thus, this study aims to investigate the effects of recreational reading in L1 on the process of learning EFL. The sample group consists of 70 learners and a background questionnaire, interviews, oral presentations, classroom discussions, essay papers, and responses to examination questions were used for data collection. The results indicated that recreational reading in L1 has some …

Haydn's "Farewell" Symphony: The Musical Aftermath Of An Anecdote, Christine Siegert

HAYDN: Online Journal of the Haydn Society of North America

The compositional response to Haydn’s works in the second half of the twentieth century has up to this point scarcely been investigated. Understandably, it focuses on Haydn’s more prominent works. An examination reveals that the reception of the “Farewell Symphony“ plays an exceptional role inasmuch as it forms not only the musical basis of works by Alfred Schnittke, Jindřich Feld, Kirke Mechem, George Crumb and other composers, but the “pantomime” (Georg August Griesinger) elements of the first performance, as told in the anecdote, are turned into performative actions in reception: the light’s extinction and the musicians’ departure. Analysis of Frank …

Beyond Search: Event-Driven Summarization For Web Videos, Richard Hong, Jinhui Tang, Hung-Khoon Tan, Chong-Wah Ngo, Shuicheng Yan, Tat-Seng Chua

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The explosive growth of Web videos brings out the challenge of how to efficiently browse hundreds or even thousands of videos at a glance. Given an event-driven query, social media Web sites usually return a large number of videos that are diverse and noisy in a ranking list. Exploring such results will be time-consuming and thus degrades user experience. This article presents a novel scheme that is able to summarize the content of video search results by mining and threading "key" shots, such that users can get an overview of main content of these videos at a glance. The proposed …

Learning From Consistently High Performing And Improving Schools For English Language Learners In Boston Public Schools, Rosann Tung, Virginia Diez, Laurie Gagnon, Miren Uriarte, Pamela Stazesky, Eileen De Los Reyes, Antonieta Bolomey

Gastón Institute Publications

Against a backdrop of increasing BPS ELL enrollment, district ELL leadership transitions, state and federal policies affecting ELL education, and with the knowledge that many teachers and administrators within the Boston Public Schools are expert practitioners with ELL students, we addressed the following research questions:

• In which BPS schools were ELL students performing at a consistently high level or showing steady improvement during SY2006-SY2009?
• What were some of the practices that these schools’ staffs credited with their success with ELL students during SY2006-SY2009?
• Which of the practices identified by school staff were shared among the selected schools?

Through case study …

Improving Educational Outcomes Of English Language Learners In Schools And Programs In Boston Public Schools, Miren Uriarte, Faye Karp, Laurie Gagnon, Rosann Tung, Sarah Rustan, Jie Chen, Michael Berardino, Pamela Stazesky, Eileen De Los Reyes, Antonieta Bolomey

Gastón Institute Publications

Using 4 years of student-level demographic, enrollment and testing and school-level characteristics, this study analyzes the enrollment and outcomes of English Language Learners (ELLs) in Boston Public School between SY2006 and SY2009 and assess the relative impact of individual and school level factors in testing outcomes of ELLs. The study reports on the improvement in ELL dropout rates and testing outcomes during the period of observation. It reports also on the outcomes of ELLs at different levels of English proficiency and finds (1) higher dropout rates and lower testing performance among low English proficiency students; (2) a minimal proportion of …

Puffery, Whitney Warne

Theses

The external body is a place to perform a version of ourselves, rather than be ourselves. To perform is to strike a balance between the self and the rules, between individual action and gesture and the script--between what you know and what other people tell you to know. Puffery explores the culturally constructed performance and expected behaviors of the modern female. I have created video and photography documented durational performances that question a female's relationship with exterior presentation. Viewers watch as she exposes her façade--examining it and breaking it down in an effort to negotiate self, power, and control.

Students' Learning Style Preferences And Teachers' Instructional Strategies: Correlations Between Matched Styles And Academic Achievement, Mary L. Wilson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of the current study was to identify the extent to which learning styles influence the educational process as well as the outcome of students, particularly elementary-age students, in terms of academic achievement. This study examined the potential relationship between the degree of match (as determined by comparing learning style preferences of students with instructional strategies of teachers) and the academic achievement of fourth grade students as shown by Palmetto Assessment of State Standards scores in four academic content areas, namely English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The researcher collected data from a sample of approximately 200 …

Experiences Of Looping For Students With Learning Disabilities: A Phenomenological Case Study, Laura C. Brown

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The problem is the academic, social, and emotional needs of students with learning disabilities are not being met within the general classroom. Looping, the practice of a teacher staying with the same group of students for two or more years, has been suggested as an educational approach designed to meet the needs of students with disabilities. The purpose of this research project was to examine the experiences of looping for students with learning disabilities from the perspectives of the looping teacher, the students with learning disabilities, and their parents. Therefore, a phenomenological case study design was utilized. The methods of …

Tractatus, Rodrigo Gonzalo Encinar

Theses

Tractatus is an act of criticism concerned with the current matters of economy, war and home. The work visually investigates through a range of interdisciplinary projects issues related to the nature of the photographic medium and the functioning of the capitalist system. Tractatus uses systematic methodologies embedded in Conceptualism that focus on a more complex, more politicized and more critical understanding of photographs, interrogating the documentary use of the camera.

Levels Of Altruism, Martin Zwick, Jeffrey Alan Fletcher

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

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.

Communication And Cultural Competence: The Acquisition Of Cultural Knowledge And Behavior, Jianglong Wang

Online Readings in Psychology and Culture

This essay expounds on individuals’ acquisition and development of cultural competence via the process of communication. It highlights both the importance of culture and communication in our lives and the close associations between culture, communication, cultural literacy, and cultural competence. The author explicates the commonly experienced difficulty in “knowing the true face” of one’s culture, and illuminates the communication process by which individuals acquire their cultural knowledge and behavior.

Universal Bibliographic Control Of Publications In Nigeria: The Journey So Far, Anthony Agena Igbashal, Jessica Aheman Agoh

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Accessibility and use of written, printed and published records have become more imperative then ever before. It is natural, under normal circumstances that librarians should be inclined to suppose that greater orderliness in the production of bibliographic services would meet the demands of readers especially researchers. This calls for a pattern of effective recording and arrangement which result from systematic listing of the records of human communication. Researches on bibliographic control are essentially descriptive. They involve compilation of a defined set of materials (books, manuscripts, maps, audio-visual materials, serial, etc) so that they may be described, analyzed, classified or codified. …

The School Library As A Foundational Step To Childrens’ Effective Reading Habits, Isaac Oluwadare Busayo

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Reading is recognized as an art capable of transforming man’s life and his entire society. However, in the state of the World Children Report by (UNICEF,1999), it was stated that nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or write their names. The Hindu newspaper (2004) also put forward that in an age when browsing the net, playing with funky handsets and passing non-stop SMSs seem to be the order of the day, reading a book in a peaceful corner of a library has become an archaic idea for most people. While technology is slowly …