A Case Study in Asynchronous Voice Conferencing for Language Instruction

In the past decade, text-based asynchronous communication technology has been used as a teaching tool and has been researched extensively for its pedagogical implications. Thus far, the research has consistently identified two major benefits of asynchronous communication technology: (1) a deeper thought process manifested in the discussion threads and (2) the facilitation of collaborative learning. However, text-based communication is restricted to written words that may be advantageous in some subject areas but is impedimental in language instruction where oral skills are essential for communicative competency. This paper describes a pilot project in the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programme at the University of Alberta where two courses incorporated a voice-based conferencing tool called Wimba. Students took part in organized debates and discussions in class and online to improve their oral skills. An evaluation survey was conducted at the end of the pilot project to test students' reactions and determine the effectiveness of the combination of Wimba and oral learning activities. There is no doubt that more research is needed to investigate the emerging field of voice-based asynchronous technology. The EAP pilot project serves as a case study at the intersection of this new technology and language instruction. Etude de cas pour une conférence orale asynchrone pour l’apprentissage des langues. Dans la dernière décennie, la technologie de communication asynchrone basée sur des textes À été utilisée comme outil

d’enseignement et a donné lieu À des recherches nombreuses sur ses implications pédagogiques. Jusqu À présent la recherche a identifié chaque fois 2 bénéfices majeurs de la technologie de communication asynchrone. 1. un processus de pensée approfondi que se manifeste dans les fils de la discussion

2. la facilitation de l’apprentissage en coopération. Cependant, la communication basée sur les textes est limitée aux mots écrits ce qui peut etre avantageux dans certains domaines mais peut gérer l’apprentissage des langues où les compétences orales sont essentielles. Cet article décrit un projet pilote du programme »English for Academic Purposes« À l’Université d’Alberta où 2 cours ont incorporé un outil de conférence basé sur la voix appelé Wimba. Les étudiants ont pris part À des discussions et débats organisés en classe et en ligne

pour améliorer leurs compétences orales. On a procédé À une enquête d’évaluation À la fin du projet pilote pour tester les réactions des étudiants et déterminer l’efficacité de la combinaison de Wimba et des autres activités d’apprentissage oral. Sans

aucun doute il faudra davantage de recherches pour étudier le champ émergeant de la technologie asynchrone basée sur la voix. Le projet pilote EAT fournit une étude de cas utile À l’intersection de cette nouvelle technologie et de l’enseignement des

langues.     

Student Communities and Individualism in American Cinema

Hollywood films partially construct how Americans think about education. Recent work on the representation of schools in American cinema has highlighted the role of class difference in shaping school film genres. It has also advanced the idea that a nuanced understanding of American individualism helps to explain why the different class genres are shaped as they are. This article attempts to refine this theoretical approach by focusing on the paradox of individualism, which suggests that individualism must always be dependent on community. We examine 5 films (Rushmore 1988, The Breakfast Club 1985, Mona Lisa Smile 2003, School of Rock 2003, and Stand and Deliver 1988) and argue that, although the values of individualism are certainly celebrated, these films also show, perhaps unwittingly, that the achievements of individualism require robust student communities. We describe how student communities function in these films, what achievements they make possible, and what obstacles they face.     

Speaking to the People: The Rhetorical Presidency in Historical Perspective

TRAGEDY AND THE THEORY OF DRAMA. By Elder Olson. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1961; pp. 276. $6.50.

THE LONDON STAGE, 1660–1800: A CALENDAR OF PLAYS, ENTERTAINMENTS &; AFTERPIECES TOGETHER WITH CASTS, BOX‐RECEIPTS AND CONTEMPORARY COMMENT COMPILED FROM THE PLAYBILLS, NEWSPAPERS AND THEATRICAL DIARIES OF THE PERIOD. PART 3: 1729–1747. Edited with a Critical Introduction by Arthur H. Scouten. Carbondale, Ill.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1961; Volume I, pp. ccxxxiii+596; Volume II, pp. lii+597–1315. $50.00.

NEW WORLD WRITING. Numbers 19 and 20. New York: Lippincott, 1961, 1962. $3.50; paper $1.65.

BURKE, DISRAELI, AND CHURCHILL: THE POLITICS OF PERSEVERANCE. By Stephen R. Graubard. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1961; pp. 262. $5.00.

PRESIDENT JAMES BUCHANAN: A BIOGRAPHY. By Philip Shriver Klein. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1962; pp. xviii+506. $7.50.

THREE PROPHETS OF RELIGIOUS LIBERALISM: CHANNING—EMERSON—PARKER. Introduced by Conrad Wright. Boston: Beacon Press, 1961; pp. 152. Paper $1.25.

REVIVALISM AND SEPARATISM IN NEW ENGLAND, 1740–1800: STRICT CONGRE‐GATIONALISTS AND SEPARATE BAPTISTS IN THE GREAT AWAKENING. By C. C. Goen. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1963; pp. x+370. $7.50.

MARK TWAIN'S HUMOR: THE IMAGE OF A WORLD. By Pascal Covici, Jr. Dallas, Texas: Southern Methodist University Press, 1962; pp. xiv+266. $4.50.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: A CRITIQUE AND A PROGRAM. By Oliver C. Carmichael. New York: Harper, 1961; pp. ix+213. $4.50.

DECISION BY DEBATE. By Douglas Ehninger and Wayne Brockriede. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1962; pp. 412. $6.00.

NEBRASKA SYMPOSIUM ON MOTIVATION, 1961. Edited by Marshall R. Jones. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1961; pp. x+210. $4.25; paper $3.25.

MY LANGUAGE IS ME: PSYCHOTHERAPY WITH A DISTURBED ADOLESCENT. By Beulah Parker. Foreword by Theodore Lidz. New York: Basic Books, 1962; pp. viii+397. $8.50.

TELEVISION IN THE LIVES OF OUR CHILDREN. By Wilbur Schramm, Jack Lyle, and Edwin B. Parker. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1961; pp. xii+324. $6.00.

TELEVISION AND RADIO. Edited by Poyntz Tyler. (The Reference Shelf, Vol. 33, No. 6.) New York: H. W. Wilson, 1961; pp. 192. $2.50.     

Stray the course: Technology's impact upon the representative‐elector artifact

Rhetorical critics usually understand political communication as messages in terms of speeches, campaign strategies, and voter behavior. By focusing upon messages, critics have failed to understand political communication as structurally formative of communication. A new methodology is proposed which conceives of rhetorical artifacts as enhancements of political communication. American congressional elections are presented as the artifact to be analyzed from the new perspective. Because the proposed methodology treats congressional elections as a structural genre, the contemporary, technological impact of electronic media can be criticized and compared to the artifact originally invented by the founders; the course they set has been strayed. Implications for political communication and its research conclude that we face what Habermas would call a “legitimation crisis.”;     

STUDENT RIGHTS, CLARENCE THOMAS, AND THE REVOLUTIONARY VISION OF EDUCATION

A bstract .  In his concurring opinion to the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Morse v. Frederick , Justice Clarence Thomas argues that the Tinker decision, which granted students constitutional rights in public schools, should be overturned on originalist grounds. In this essay, Bryan Warnick, Bradley Rowe, and Sang Hyun Kim make the case that Thomas's originalist analysis is inconclusive. Instead of looking at court decisions relating to public education starting in the middle of the nineteenth century to establish original meaning, as Thomas does, they argue that a better strategy involves an analysis of educational ideas circulating closer to the time of constitutional ratification. Using this strategy, the authors show that many prominent educational writers (a) believed that it was important for students to learn to act independently and to value their constitutional rights, and (b) believed that students learn best by imitating civic examples. These two ideas work together in early American educational thought to imply that schools should exemplify the sort of respect for self-governance and individual rights that is present in the larger constitutional order. Thus, Warnick, Rowe, and Kim argue that there are originalist reasons for supporting student rights that Thomas ignores. In the end, this analysis not only highlights the limitations of originalist interpretative strategies, it also reminds us, more broadly, of a way to reconcile liberty and order in civic education.     

Analysis of accelerometer-derived interpersonal spatial proximities: A calibration,simulation, and validation study

The purpose of this study was to estimate distances from accelerometer-derived Bluetooth signals as a measure of interpersonal spatial proximity. Accelerometer-derived proximity data were collected indoors and outdoors over a 10m range to calibrate simulation models. Proximity data were simulated over 20m (indoor) and 50m (outdoor) ranges. Competing statistical and machine learning models were used to predict simulated distances; the Root-Mean-Square-Error (RMSE) was calculated. Simulation estimates were validated under conditions wherein a single beacon-receiver (SBR) and multiple beacons-receivers (MBR) collected proximity data indoors and outdoors within a ≤10m range. Simulation data showed that a Random Forest (RF) model performed optimally. The validated RF RMSE was ≤2.7 for SBR, and ≥90% of predicted distances were accurately classified as ≤10m. For MBR, ≥67% of predicted distances were accurately classified as ≤10m. Simulation and validation data suggest that distances can be estimated from accelerometer-derived proximity data within a 20m range using a SBR.     

Low-cost method of removing periodical duplicates using a collection growth formula at a medium-sized academic library

The authors detail a low-cost, two-phased formula-based approach to bound periodical weeding at a medium-sized academic library with the goal of opening space for five years' growth, while still meeting user needs. Phase I included weeding bound titles with overlapping microfilm holdings. Phase II used the following criteria to determine which titles to discard: (1) four or fewer items, (2) availability in the University of Wisconsin System, (3) usage statistics and online access, (4) department consultation. This article summarizes the design, implementation, and successful results of the project.     

Was it worth it? A qualitative exploration into graduate perceptions of doctoral value

The recruitment of doctoral graduates yields collective knowledge, skills, networking, and prestige benefits to organisations, and to UK industries. As individuals though, do graduates experience overall benefit from their doctorate, and how do they perceive the value that engaging with doctoral study confers? This interview study used a critical, interpretive lens to examine perceptions of value across experiences of doctoral education and asked specifically about the utility of doctoral skills, behaviours, and competencies when translated into different workplaces. It presents some of the first insights into how doctoral value is perceived by graduates and the costs and benefits of doctoral study within and beyond the academy. Doctoral graduates (n?=?22) identified four domains of doctoral value: (1) career value; (2) skills value; (3) social value; (4) personal value. These were influenced by factors experienced both during and after their degrees: (1) time since graduation; (2) supervision; (3) accrued social connectivity; (4) employer value of the doctorate. Our conceptual model of doctoral value contributes to international higher education knowledge by providing a structure for enhancing the doctoral experience and its benefits, both during study and for entering the job market.     

The Conditions of Movement: a Discussion of Academic Mobility between Two Early Career Scholars

Academic mobility is an increasingly crucial topic to the current and future dynamics of doctoral study and the professoriate. Much of the research has focused on US, UK and European contexts. This research explores academic mobility and the manifold issues that arise between the jurisdictions of Canada and the US, in ways that parallel and diversify previous research based on various understandings of mobility. The qualitative perspective is grounded in a reflective narrative approach that enables exploration of powerful themes. The findings indicate that there are costs, tensions and benefits to academic mobility that serve to emphasise specific personal and professional elements to the pursuit of academic life that need explicit articulation. These findings encourage additional scholarly and practical attention to the changing nature of doctoral study and of academic work and life across jurisdictions.