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Notes from the editor

Nicaragua’S Grand Canal: A Case Study In Political And Economic Culture, Michael S. Doyle

Global Advances in Business Communication

The proposed Nicaraguan Grand Canal mega-project—whether promised land or pipe dream—serves as the basis for the following short case study in political and economic culture. It can be useful for multiple fields such as business, policy, foreign affairs, public relations, logistics, tourism, intercultural communication studies, business communications, and the emerging field of language for specific purposes. Neither a research nor a theoretical contribution per se, it is intended to serve as a theory-based pedagogical piece for developing critical thinking, problem-solving, and presentational skills, illustrative of the didactic genre, in a way that is applicable to multiple fields.

Working With Global Virtual Teams: A Case Study Reality Check On Intercultural Communication Best Practices, Karin L. Goettsch

Global Advances in Business Communication

In today’s global workplaces, when best practices in intercultural communication are not implemented or fail to live up to their promise, team reality checks can be a sobering reminder of the many interwoven complexities of international business communication. This global virtual team (GVT) case study highlights best practices and compares realities related to execution. The discussion includes strategies for effective intercultural teams and reflections on how the multiple roles one may be playing – of researcher, educator or practitioner – influence one’s perspective. This article will discuss two facets of this intercultural communication case: first, it highlights recommendations and strategies …

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Agenda, December 12, 2016, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Council on Teacher Education Annual Report
• EPC Items (December)
• Scholarship Advisory Board Annual Report
• Discussion of a portion of the Annual Review Procedures
  
  
  

Relationship Between Preponderance Of Adhd In The African American Community And How Teachers Are Trained To Type Students As Adhd, E Madison

Capstone Collection

The following capstone paper “Relationship between preponderance of ADHD in African American community and how teachers are trained to type students as ADHD” explores the epidemic of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnosis in students and the prevalence of ADHD in the African American community. In recent years the number of African American children with ADHD have skyrocketed concerning parents about the over diagnoses and misdiagnoses of the disorder (Ahmann, 2016). A recent study by Getahun and colleagues found a "70 percent increase in the number of ADHD diagnoses among African American children, with a 90 percent increase among African …

The Writing Development Of Multilingual Youth In A Spanish Immersion School, Angela Billur Layton

Dissertations

Language immersion schools offer students from diverse backgrounds with an opportunity for language enrichment education. Yet few studies attend to students’ perspectives on writing and multilingualism in immersion schools. The purpose of this study was to explore how four students from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds were developing writing and multilingual competencies at their Spanish Immersion Elementary School (SIES). This research investigated children’s emerging theories of writing and how school policies afforded and constrained practice. Further, this study examined the developmental trajectory of one trilingual student’s writing over time. This qualitative inquiry drew from two research traditions: ethnographic case study …

The Illumination Of Racial Understandings As Revealed In Teacher Education Students' Interpretation Of Written Text, Carolyn Marie Fuller

Dissertations

This study utilized a basic qualitative research design to explore how teachers enrolled in a graduate level social justice course read and respond to racialized texts, referenced as the “critical reading tasks.” These “critical reading tasks” included the constructs of: racial identity/positioning, historical time frame, characters/personal attributes, language, class, and intersectionality. Additionally, the following research questions guided the study: In what ways do teacher education students evoke, interpret, construct or misunderstand race, racism and anti-racism? And how do these understandings change over time, as participants revisit the readings? In what ways do participants describe the emotionality associated with revisiting racialized …

Elementary Teachers' Perceptions Of English Learners' Instructional Needs For Reading, Elizabeth Mcmullen

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

The population of students who speak a language other than English is accelerating. With inclusion, these students spend the majority of their school day in the mainstream classroom where they receive much of their literacy instruction. However, research shows that mainstream classroom teachers are not being adequately trained to meet the needs of this population of students, resulting in misguided perceptions of ELs' needs for reading instruction. This research provided teachers and school administrators with an understanding of the attitudes mainstream teachers carry in regards to ELs and presents suggestions for training teachers to improve their reading instruction of ELs …

Measuring What Students Know: Ensuring Math Word Problems On School Written Assessments Accurately Display English Language Learners’ Understanding Of Math Skills, Lori Magstadt

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

This study seeks to determine how often math word problems used by teachers to assess student learning contain unnecessary linguistic challenges for English Language Learners. It examines a question bank of math word problems used by a group of schools to develop internal assessments based on the six principals of Universal Design (UD), a set of linguistic modifications adopted on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment. Key influences included peers, EL teachers seeking to support their students in math, formal and current students, and authors such as Bambrick-Sontoyo, Abedi, Sato, etc. The research method was text analysis using both qualitative and quantitative …

Jiji Can Talk! An Oral Language Strategy Guide For Blended Learning Math Classrooms Using St Math, William Menz

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this project was, how can an oral language strategy guide be created to support ELs language development in the elementary math classroom that uses ST Math. The capstone outlines strategies that can be paired with online content from ST Math to help ELs and native speakers develop oral language around the math puzzles presented in the standards based curriculum. By simultaneously addressing conceptual understanding of math content and English language development, the strategy guide works to meet the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics and the Principles of Math Instruction for ELs using ST Math, …

Perceptions Of Co-Teaching, Ashlee Wicks

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research project was to investigate mainstream and ESL teachers’ perceptions of co-teaching. Electronic surveys were used to collect data. Teachers were asked to reflect on experiences they have had co-teaching. In addition, they were asked to share beliefs about ESL program models, co-teaching, and components they believe are necessary to make coteaching successful. Results show that a high percentage of mainstream and ESL teachers believe that co-teaching is a highly effective ESL program model and are willing to co-teach. However, both teachers with experience co-teaching and without acknowledge that there are many challenges to successfully co-teach. …

Wiki-Based Collaborative Creative Writing In The Esl Classroom, Rima Elabdali

Dissertations and Theses

Despite the growing number of L2 studies examining digitally-mediated collaborative writing, the vast majority of these studies have focused on academic writing tasks. This study examined the dynamics and perceptions of groups of ESL students who used wikis to write collaborative short stories. The study also compared the short stories written in groups with posttest short stories written individually in terms of creativity, accuracy, and complexity. The study involved nine students taking a Creative Writing course in an intensive English program at a large university in the U.S. It followed a multiple case study design; the students were divided into …

Fortaleza's Immigrant Song: Portrait-Narratives And An Identity Needs Analysis Of Recent Immigrants' Lived Experiences, Carl Weitz-Santiago

Capstone Collection

This inquiry sheds light on the personal stories and lived experiences of a group of recent immigrants currently living in Fortaleza, the sprawling capital of the Northeastern state of Ceará, Brazil. Utilizing a theoretical framework guided by “Epistemologies of the South,” ethnographic principles, and constructivist grounded theory, this capstones presents five first person portrait-narratives highlighting intimate details of project participants’ lives prior to immigrating, and uncovers four persistent and recurrent themes expressed by project participants: (1) language and communication, (2) professional opportunity, (3) personal growth, and (4) “saudade” and belongingness.

Through the lens of Johan Galtung’s Basic Needs Approach, …

Revealing The Dual Streams Of Speech Processing, Julius Fridriksson, Grigori Yourganov, Leonardo Bonilha, Alexandra Basilakos, Dirk B. Den Ouden, Chris Rorden

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

Several dual route models of human speech processing have been proposed suggesting a large-scale anatomical division between cortical regions that support motor–phonological aspects vs. lexical–semantic aspects of speech processing. However, to date, there is no complete agreement on what areas subserve each route or the nature of interactions across these routes that enables human speech processing. Relying on an extensive behavioral and neuroimaging assessment of a large sample of stroke survivors, we used a data-driven approach using principal components analysis of lesion-symptom mapping to identify brain regions crucial for performance on clusters of behavioral tasks without a priori separation into …

An Unmanned Marine Vehicle Thruster Fault Diagnosis Scheme Based On Ofnda, W. Abed, S. K. Sharma, R. Sutton, A. Khan

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

No abstract provided.

Framing Of Skill Problems, Kirk M. Winans

Theses

More frequently since the Great Recession, various concerns about a “skills gap” have been raised by industry leaders and organizations, politicians, and some economists. The most basic definition of a “skills gap” is that the workforce does not possess the skills required by employers. The most prominent concerns have been with STEM education and “middle skills” occupations, those that require more than a high school diploma but less than a 4-year degree. However, the various causes and solutions to these issues are widespread. Much of the alarm has been stimulated by reports published by industry and trade organizations asserting specific …

Beyond The Surface: An Analysis On The Journalistic Reporting Of Native American Issues, Nicole Dorothy Irene Scott

Theses

This study analyzes the reporting of four issues that have impacted the Native American community. The research begins by addressing historical events that transformed Native American identity and have shaped the media’s representation of Native identity. Framing theory, muted group theory, and tribal critical race theory support this study, with framing theory focusing on examining the news discourse. This study seeks to identify how Native American issues are framed differently in Indian Country Today Media Network and the New York Times, and seeks to identify if the Native voice can be heard in articles written by Native journalists. The results …

Commencement Convocation Program, Sarasota - Manatee Campus, December 11, 2016, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

Outstanding Graduate Award and Golden Bull Service and Leadership Award - Jennifer Caba; Outstanding Professor - Jean Kabongo

Video Modeling For Social Communication In Adults With Asd, Haley Ann Altman

Honors Projects

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can experience significant difficulty and psychosocial toll as a result of their impairments in social communication. Specifically for adults, this can have a negative effect on relationships and vocational stability. However, there is a lack of effective intervention for adults with ASD to assist in learning these social conventions. Video modeling is an intervention that has potential to help these individuals learn to be successful in social problem-solving situations. A pilot feasibility study (Hewitt & Kelliher, n.d.) was conducted to investigate the intervention of video modeling for adults with ASD. Coding was then necessary …

Teacher Sustainability Cultural Wealth Among Suburban Educators Of Color, Verna Wong

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this project was, how do teachers of color sustain themselves in a profession that struggles to retain teachers? It utilized bell hooks’s feminist theory to look at the challenges and strengths of teachers through gender, race and class intersections. Because retention is a concern, especially among teachers of color, the ndings describe how teachers utilized cultural wealth to strengthen their capacity to stay in their profession. Tara Yosso (2005) denes cultural wealth as “an array of knowledge, skills, abilities, and contacts possessed and utilized by Communities of Color to survive and resist macro and micro …

Commencement Convocation Program, Usf, Graduate, December 10, 2016, University Of South Florida

USF Graduation and Convocation Programs

Honorary Doctor of Business - Retired Vice Admiral Mike McConnell

The Impact Of Spanish Heritage Language Programs On Spanish Language Learners’ Self-Efficacy., Dietger De Maessener

Research and Development Supported by El Centro

This research study explores the experiences of Spanish heritage learners (SHL) in Spanish language classes. SHL are sometimes referred to as native speakers, quasi-native speakers, or home-background speakers and have a family-based connection to the Spanish language (Hancock, 2002). Given this broad definition of SHL, their experiences with the heritage language are wide-ranging. While levels of fluency and skill vary substantially, language ideologies, attitudes, stigma, and sociolinguistic factors can equally determine the linguistic market value of one’s Spanish skills (Bourdieu, 1977). Given the high level of complexity and the wide range of influential and continuously dynamic factors, especially situated within …

Barriers And Facilitators To Service Utilization For People With Dementia And Their Caregivers, Sana M. Hasan

Honors Capstones

According to the CDC, there were 5.2 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease in 2013 (CDC 2013). That number is expected to nearly triple in 2050 as the baby boomer generation reaches retirement age. Underutilization of services is something experienced by many demographics and is a considerable issue for individuals with dementia. This study sought to uncover factors correlated with underutilization of services for people with dementia through both a literature review and sit-down interviews with three healthcare professionals. Results indicated that cultural, financial, attitudinal and knowledge barriers exist for PwD (people with dementia) and their caregivers and may interfere …

Newcomers In A Nontraditional Receiving Community: Korean Immigrant Adaptation Strategies In The American Deep South, Charles A. Lynn, Sun-A Lee

The Qualitative Report

This ethnographic case study considers the role of the church in the lives of Korean immigrants in a small town in the southeastern United States. Drawn to a poultry processing plant by the promise of permanent residency, hundreds of middle class Koreans have cycled through one-year commitments at Claxton Poultry since 2005. We analyze the benefits and pitfalls of adaptation strategies developed by the Korean immigrants and how their social networks both help and hinder their livelihood in a nontraditional receiving locale. Results indicate that while membership at a prominent religious congregation does offer Korean immigrants bonding networks amongst themselves, …

Argumentation For Knowledge Representation, Conflict Resolution, Defeasible Inference And Its Integration With Machine Learning, Luca Longo

Conference papers

Modern machine Learning is devoted to the construction of algorithms and computational procedures that can automatically improve with experience and learn from data. Defeasible argumentation has emerged as sub-topic of artificial intelligence aimed at formalising common-sense qualitative reasoning. The former is an inductive approach for inference while the latter is deductive, each one having advantages and limitations. A great challenge for theoretical and applied research in AI is their integration. The first aim of this chapter is to provide readers informally with the basic notions of defeasible and non-monotonic reasoning. It then describes argumentation theory, a paradigm for implementing defeasible …

Review Of "Kings Of The Forest: The Cultural Resilience Of Himalayan Hunter- Gatherers" By Jana Fortier, "Culture And The Environment In The Himalaya" Edited By Arjun Guneratne, "Nature, Culture, And Religion At The Crossroads Of Asia" Edited By Marie Lecomte-Tilouine, Nayna Jhaveri

HIMALAYA, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies

No abstract provided.

Conference Reports, Divya Gupta, Galen Murton

HIMALAYA, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies

No abstract provided.

Obituary: David Llewelyn Snellgrove (1920 – 2016), Roger Croston

HIMALAYA, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies

No abstract provided.

Explorations Of A Transforming Himalaya: Everyday Religion, Sustainable Environments, And Urban Himalayan Studies, Georgina Drew, Ashok Gurung

HIMALAYA, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies

This text serves as an introduction to a special issue introducing the work of scholars associated with the Everyday Religion and Sustainable Environments in the Himalaya project. Included in the discussion is a set of observations on the key themes that brought the research project together, and which orient the submissions in this issue.

New Languages Of Schooling: Ethnicity, Education And Equality In Nepal, Uma Pradhan

HIMALAYA, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies

Mother-tongue education has remained a controversial issue in Nepal. Scholars, activists and policy-makers have, on the one hand, favored mother-tongue education from the standpoint of social justice. Against these views, others have identified this as predominantly groupist in its orientation and not helpful in an imagination of a unified national community. Taking this contention as a point of inquiry, this paper aims to explore the contested space of mother-tongue education to understand the ways in which people position themselves within the polarizing debates of ethnicity-based claims on education in Nepal. Drawing from the ethnographic fieldwork in mother-tongue education school, in …