English,literacy, rhetoric: changing the project?

In this paper I begin to trace two movements in the curriculum history and cultural politics of English teaching: on the one hand, a shift from ‘literature’ to ‘literacy’, as organizing principles for the field, and on the other, from ‘language’ to ‘rhetoric’. I do so within a particular understanding of history, as embracing past present and future dimensions. My aim is two‐fold: to open up questions about the subject's historical legacy, and to draw attention to some of the emerging challenges and prospects for English teaching today and tomorrow.     

Using collaboration to foster academic integrity

Abstract

For students new to higher education, the task of developing their academic writing skills, and particularly the principles and practices of source-referencing, can be daunting. Although institutions and teachers can and do provide positive guidance on this score, all too often students veer into inadvertent plagiarism through lack of confidence and confusion. This case study identifies opportunities through collaborative work to help students approach referencing with greater clarity and confidence. A project with first-year Arts students engaged in collaborative writing encouraged them to attend to their recording and writing-up of source references using individual ‘reading and referencing’ logs and then passing on completed references to their group’s designated bibliographer. Checks on later, solo, assignments by these students indicated that they were less likely to stray into inadvertent plagiarism, whilst feedback from the students themselves pointed towards improved confidence in their academic writing skills and development of study habits conducive to effective self-monitoring.     

Accuracy of Measurement in the Context of Mathematics National Curriculum Tests in England for Ethnic Minority Pupils and Pupils Who Speak English as an Additional Language

Research has suggested that inappropriate or misfitting response patterns may have detrimental effects on the quality and validity of measurement. It has been suggested that factors like language and ethnic background are related to the generation of misfitting response patterns, but the empirical research on this is rather poor. This research analyzes data from three testing cycles of the National Curriculum tests in mathematics in England using the Rasch model. It was found that pupils having English as an additional language and pupils belonging to ethnic minorities are significantly more likely to generate aberrant response patterns. However, within the groups of pupils belonging to ethnic minorities, those who speak English as an additional language are not significantly more likely to generate misfitting response patterns. This may indicate that the ethnic background effect is more significant than the effect of the first language spoken. The results suggest that pupils having English as an additional language and pupils belonging to ethnic minorities are mismeasured significantly more than the remainder of pupils by taking the mathematics National Curriculum tests. More research is needed to generalize the results to other subjects and contexts.     

Elementary school–wide implementation of a blended learning program for reading intervention

The authors examined the implementation of a blended learning program for literacy instruction across kindergarten through Grade 5 in a Title I urban elementary school, including a population of students (18%) who are English learners. Student progress in the online component of the blended learning program was a significant predictor of growth in reading performance on a standardized reading assessment (Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation, Pearson Assessment, Boulder, CO) when controlling for student grade level, initial student skill level, and English learner status; however, students in kindergarten through Grade 2 showed more substantial gains than students in later grades. These results suggest there is a benefit of a blended learning approach to literacy instruction for a diverse cross-section of students, particularly when beginning instruction in the early grades.     

Photographic Albums

Walter Herdeg Photographis 77: International Annual of Advertising and Editorial Photography (New York: Hastings House, 1977—$37.50)

Louis Stettner's Weegee (New York: Knopf, 1977—$15.00)

Shadow of Light: Photographs by Bill Brandt (New York: Da Capo Press, 1977—$14.50, paper)

Helmut Newton's White Women (New York: Stonehill, 1976—$25.00)

Roswell Angier's “...A Kind of Life,” Conversations in the Combat Zone (Danbury, N.H.: Addison House, 1976—$15.00)

Yvonne Kalmus, Rikki Ripp and Cheryl Wiesenfeld, eds. Women See Men (New York: McGraw- Hill, 1977.412.95/7.95)

Lew Thomas and Donna-Lee Phillips' Photography and Language (San Francisco: Camerawork Press, 1976—$6.95, paper)

Linda McCartney's Linda's Pictures: A Collection of Photographs (new York: Knopf, 1976-425.00, with a paperback edition now also available)     

Inside Oz: Hyperviolence,Race and Class Nightmares,and the Engrossing Spectacle of Terror

In this essay I analyze the HBO prison drama Oz as a cultural artifact of the current era of rampant incarceration. I argue that Oz's hyperviolent spectacle legitimizes both the expansion of the prison–industrial complex and the continuing prevalence of inhumane prison environments. I also contend that Oz's framing of race and class within a violent spectacle functions as a justification of discriminatory criminal justice practices.     

The four‐day workweek and media use: A glimpse of the future

The Medium and Message of the Introductory Mass Communication Course

Introduction to Mass Communications, Jay Black and Frederick G Whitney (Dubuque, IA: William C. Brown, 1983), 473 pp., $18.50.

Mass Media in America, Don R. Pember (Chicago: Science Research Associates, 1983), 441 pp., $16.95.

Mediamerica, Edward Jay Whetmore (Belmont, CA: Wads‐worth, 1982), 365 pp., $15.95.

Free But Regulated: Conflicting Traditions in Media Law, Daniel L. Brenner and William L. Rivers (Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press, 1982), 283 pp., $24.95.

The First Amendment Reconsidered: New Perspectives on the Meaning of Freedom of Speech and Press, Bill F. Chamberlin and Charlene J. Brown (New York: Longman, Inc., 1982), 218 pp., $27.95.

Terrorism, the Media and the Law, Abraham H. Miller (Dobbs Ferry, NY: Transnational Publishers, Inc., 1982), 221 pp., $25.00.

Readings in Mass Communication: Concepts and Issues in the Mass Media, 5th ed., eds. Michael Emery and Ted Curtis Smythe (Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown, 1983), 549 pp., $17.95.

Perspectives on Mass Communications, eds. Warren K. Agee, Phillip H. Ault and Edwin Emery (New York: Harper and Row, 1982), 476 pp., $13.50.

Mass Media III: An Introduction to Modern Communication, Ray Eldon Hiebert, Donald F. Ungurait and Thomas W. Bohn (New York: Longman, 1982), 643 pp., $17.95.     

Highly selective biomechanical separation of cancer cells from leukocytes using microfluidic ratchets and hydrodynamic concentrator

The separation of cells based on their biomechanical properties, such as size and deformability, is important in applications such as the identification of circulating tumor cells, where morphological differences can be used to distinguish target cancer cells from contaminant leukocytes. Existing filtration-based separation processes are limited in their selectivity and their ability to extract the separated cells because of clogging in the filter microstructures. We present a cell separation device consisting of a hydrodynamic concentrator and a microfluidic ratchet mechanism operating in tandem. The hydrodynamic concentrator removes the majority of the fluid and a fraction of leukocytes based on size, while the microfluidic ratchet mechanism separates cancer cells from leukocytes based on a combination of size and deformability. The irreversible ratcheting process enables highly selective separation and robust extraction of separated cells. Using cancer cells spiked into leukocyte suspensions, the complete system demonstrated a yield of 97%, while enriching the concentration of target cancer cells 3000 fold relative to the concentration of leukocytes.