Many choices,one destination: multimodal university brand construction in an urban public transportation system

Amidst global competition in higher education, colleges and universities adopt strategies that mimic and adapt business practices. Branding is now a widespread practice in higher education; multimodal advertisement is a manifestation of emerging branding strategies for universities. While the visibility of brands in higher education has grown substantially in recent years, its empirical study has lagged. This article reports on the findings from a study that employed social semiotic and multimodal analysis to explore text and visual rhetoric as brand construction strategies in publicly displayed university advertisements. After analyzing photographs representing advertising campaigns from 16 different universities displayed in an urban public transportation system, I suggest that universities construct their brand identity through messages that emphasize multiple choices and convenience, but construct success primarily according to corporate standards and values.     

Translating quality in higher education: US approaches to accreditation of institutions from around the world

This article reports on findings from a sociolinguistic qualitative study exploring inter-discursive relations manifested in the approaches and strategies that regional accrediting agencies in the United States utilise when recognising foreign universities. Even as most countries have developed national quality assurance systems and whilst international rankings comparing institutions globally are available, a growing number of universities around the world seek recognition from American regional agencies. By comparing policy statements, manuals, guidelines and other documents, and after interviewing top-level officers at US accrediting agencies, this study makes explicit the assumptions and central discourses associated with US accreditation of non-US institutions of higher education, from the accreditors’ perspective. Following constant comparison and cultural critical discourse analysis, the study reveals concerns about the equivalency of quality, emphasis on capacity building and reluctance toward adapting US standards. An interest in building international partnerships, in order to respond to globalisation, is also identified.     

Universal and Specific Services for University Students with Specific Learning Disabilities: The Relation to Study Approach,Academic Achievement,and Satisfaction

In recent years, an increasing number of students with specific learning disabilities (SLDs) have enrolled in universities. The present exploratory study examined the frequency of use and appreciation of universal (open to every student) and specific services (offered to students with SLDs) and their relation to age, academic achievement, satisfaction, self-efficacy, and use of self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies. Participants were 147 Italian university students with SLD diagnoses (42 males; mean age: 22.49, SD = 3.29). Results showed that, overall, the frequency of use and appreciation of specific services were positively related to academic satisfaction, self-efficacy, and SRL strategies. Furthermore, frequency of use of compensatory tools and dispensatory measures was positively associated with academic achievement. These findings suggest that universities play an important role in supporting students with SLDs during their academic years by providing them with useful services and accommodations.     

Inclusion and social exclusion issues in university education in prison: considerations based on the Italian and Spanish experiences

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on university education in prison as a strategic tool for building social inclusion. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, it examines the Italian and Spanish experiences in this area. In Italy and Spain, the idea of punishment having a rehabilitative function has been supported by strong motivation to achieve this ideal. In both countries, the way in which inmates are treated by the prison system was established to oppose prison systems designed by authoritarian regimes. However, the rhetoric of rehabilitation that is now prevalent seems to morally legitimise imprisonment and encourage the emergence of forms of ‘symbolic violence’. For these reasons, focusing attention on higher education in prison takes the form of an analytical and critical exercise that is particularly useful, as it allows the distance between prison and society, and prison and prisoner stereotypes, for example, to be questioned. It also enables the transformative effects that education has on the individual and on the system, beyond any rhetoric of treatment, to be understood.     

Reducing subjectivity in special education referrals by educators working with Latino students: using functional behavioral assessment as a pre-referral practice in student support teams

Over the past several decades, the Latino population throughout the USA has demonstrated significant growth and exceeded that of other ethnic minority groups. This influx is particularly evident in the student enrollment of US schools as the number of Latino students has increased by approximately 10 million within the past 10 years. With this dramatic increase, there are a number of critical issues that present significant barriers to a high-quality educational experience for Latino students, specifically overrepresentation of Latinos receiving disciplinary actions and the high number of referrals to special education evaluation for emotional and behavioral disorders. This paper will discuss the impact of the Latino population in US schools, the concern of overrepresentation and biased referrals, and the use of a culturally attuned functional behavioral assessment as a pragmatic solution to better serve this growing population.     

Cognitive regulation outdoes behavior regulation in predicting state standardized test scores over time

Metacognition and Learning - Individual differences in self-regulation have been a topic of increased empirical research. However, few investigations have been conducted on how sub-components of...     

Monitoring the ‘Enlaces’ educational computer network

The use of networks in education is experiencing world-wide growth. Many schools have taken advantage of the reduction of price in modems, the emergence of electronic bulletin boards and world-wide web pages with educational content, and the availability of software for public participation in networks. Nevertheless, little information is available about the quality and quantity of existing network traffic; information that would allow organizations, network project administrators and supporters, to evaluate its impact, know its usage, evolution and projections. This paper presents some of the traffic monitoring mechanisms presently in use in a Chilean educational network (the Enlaces Project), together with examples of the information collected through these mechanisms.     

Automated finger spelling by highly realistic 3D animation

We present the design of a new 3D animation tool for self‐teaching (signing and reading) finger spelling—the first basic component in learning any sign language. We have designed a highly realistic hand with natural animation of the finger motions. Smoothness of motion (in real time) is achieved via programmable blending of animation segments. The hand is utilised by a programme that automatically converts text to finger spelling with controllable playback speed and playback views. The programme can be operated in two modes for two basic applications: learning to read (finger spelling) and learning to sign. For both modes, multi‐sided views are provided. In addition, for the signing mode, a mirror view is provided for the common technique of using a mirror for feedback in practising finger spelling. An additional view revealing the joint structure of the hand allows the signer to practise the subjective view without having to guess the position of the fingers. This is the first example of highly realistic 3D animation that can be used practically to teach a basic aspect of sign language. The method is applicable more generally to sign language, and this finger‐spelling application should be regarded as a first step toward the extension of highly realistic 3D animation to sign language in general.     

Addressing quality challenges in the private university sector in Bangladesh: from policy formulation to institutional implementation

Private higher education is growing, especially in developing and transitioning countries. Rapid growth frequently comes with concerns about quality. This article explores challenges and opportunities for higher education quality among private universities in Bangladesh. By presenting a vertical case study that explores interactions among actors at the institutional, national and global spheres, the authors argue for the need of developing quality standards that respond to the local realities of developing and transitioning countries. It is also argued that self-regulation among private universities is likely the most effective pathway for improvement. Bangladesh presents an ideal case for analysis given the rapid growth that higher education has experienced in the last 20 years in that country and given the current policy junction as Bangladesh begins to implement a newly developed quality assurance system. Other countries in the region in early stages of developing quality assurance and accountability systems may benefit from the findings of this study.     

Teachers' Spatial Anxiety Relates to 1st‐ and 2nd‐Graders' Spatial Learning

Teachers' anxiety about an academic domain, such as math, can impact students' learning in that domain. We asked whether this relation held in the domain of spatial skill, given the importance of spatial skill for success in math and science and its malleability at a young age. We measured 1st‐ and 2nd‐grade teachers' spatial anxiety (N = 19) and students' spatial skill (N = 132). Teachers' spatial anxiety significantly predicted students' end‐of‐year spatial skill, even after accounting for students' beginning‐of‐year spatial skill, phonological working memory, grade level, and teachers' math anxiety. Since spatial skill is not a stand‐alone part of the curriculum like math or reading, teachers with high levels of spatial anxiety may simply avoid incorporating spatial activities in the classroom. Results suggest that addressing teachers' spatial anxieties may improve spatial learning in early elementary school.