774 research outputs found

    Digital culture, materiality and Nineteenth-Century studies

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    The rhetoric of the virtual stubbornly clings to digital culture, even though our experience of working within it is of a resisting medium that only behaves in certain ways. The persistence of the virtual demands attention: why do we cling to such a description even while we quite willingly recognise the interpenetration of the world beyond the monitor and that represented on it? In education we’re encouraged to use Virtual Learning Environments, as if somehow these spaces are not as real as classrooms; we participate (or read about others participating) in virtual worlds such as Second Life or World of Warcraft, places that imitate the real world, providing access to fantasies that are underpinned by very real economics; and we exploit the World Wide Web, believing in its textual metaphors (pages, hypertext) while ignoring its presence as a medium. In my contribution to this forum I want to suggest that our insistence on the immateriality of digital culture enforces an ontological distinction that overdetermines the materiality of the world beyond the monitor while misrecognizing the new things that are displayed upon it. Rather than continue to use the virtual as a category, I would like to argue using an alternative term, the apparition.1 Unlike the virtual, which foregrounds its effect of the real with reality itself present only as absence, apparition has two meanings: the first is an immaterial appearance, a ghostly presence that, like the virtual, can signal an absent materiality; the second is simply the appearance of something, specifically the emergence of something into history. It is this latter meaning, I suggest, that permits materiality to re-enter digital discourse

    Certain biological principles illustrated by natural color slides

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    Text is accompanied by 30 colored slides. Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

    Istraživanje konstruiranja značenja u jeziku slijepih: kognitivnolingvistička perspektiva

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    This paper describes and discusses issues pertaining to investigating meaning construal in the language of the blind. It introduces key problems in this largely unexplored area and proposes possible avenues of research by outlining four studies conducted over a period of eight years. The central arguments are built around the fundamental cognitive linguistic premise that language is an experiential phenomenon intimately related to general cognitive processes. The author focuses on the role of salience (or attention) and demonstrates how it is coded in the language of the blind. The main part of the paper starts with the outline of two exploratory studies the aim of which was to identify possible differences in salience and situatedness. The author discusses the contribution of the two studies and proceeds by describing a more focused study whose hypotheses were motivated by some of the questions raised in the previous two studies. The primary research question was related to the idea of the primacy of space in the blinds’ mental imagery and meaning construal. Finally, the author proposes a model integrating key language internal and language external factors affecting the process of meaning construal in this extraordinary population, and finishes by describing the fourth study whose primary aim was to double– test the research instrument used to investigate spatial (topological) elements in the language of the blind.Rad se bavi istraživanjem konstruiranja značenja u jeziku slijepih. Raspravlja se o ključnim pitanjima u ovom prilično neistraženom području i predlažu istraživačke smjernice na temelju opisa četiriju studija koje je autorica sa suradnicima provela u razdoblju od 2006. do 2013. godine. Središnja se rasprava temelji na osnovnoj kognitivnolingvističkoj pretpostavci da je jezik iskustvena pojavnost koja je nerazdvojiva od općih kognitivnih procesa. Autorica se bavi ulogom istaknutosti odnosno pažnje i nastoji pokazati kako je navedeni proces kodiran u jeziku. Glavni dio rada započinje opisom studija kojima je cilj bio utvrditi moguće razlike u kodiranju pažnje u jeziku slijepih. Raspravlja se o rezultatima i doprinosu navedenih studija za formuliranje novih, preciznijih hipoteza za studiju čiji opis također slijedi u radu. Temeljno istraživačko pitanje nove studije vezano je uz istaknutost prostornih elemenata u jeziku slijepih. Nakon rasprave o dobivenim rezultatima koji potvrđuju važnost navedenih elemenata, autorica predlaže model koji integrira unutarjezične i izvanjezične čimbenike za koje vjeruje da utječu na konstruiranje značenja kod slijepe populacije. Rad završava opisom četvrte studije kojoj je cilj bio revalidirati instrument upotrijebljen u prijašnjim studijama te potvrditi prethodne rezultate vezane uz prostorne (topološke) jezične elemente. Cilj je postignut i opisan u radu

    Critically Assessing Forms of Resistance in Music Education

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    In their classrooms, music educators draw upon critical pedagogy (as described by Freire, Giroux, and hooks) for the express purpose of cultivating a climate for conscientização. Conscientização, according to Paulo Freire (2006), “refers to learning to perceive social, political, and economic contradictions and to take action against the oppressive elements of reality” (p. 35). This consciousness raising is a journey teachers pursue with students, together interrogating injustices in communities and the world in order to transform the conditions that inform them. Learning to perceive social, political, and economic contradictions often leads to multiple forms of resistance in and out of music classrooms. This chapter explores the following question: What do critical forms of assessment look like in music classrooms that use critical pedagogy and embrace resistance to foster conscientization

    The language use and language development of blind and sighted preschool children

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    The purposes of this study were to investigate the language use and language development of blind and sighted preschool children who were in the same daily environment by means of naturalistic, observational research and to field test the methodology for the investigation. The sample consisted of 12 children who were attending the Infant Care Center at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. During each year of the study, 1980 and 1981, the vocalizations of two blind children were compared to those of the sighted boy and girl closest to them in age. The data were collected by observing each of the six (per year) subjects for 15 randomly selected minutes on 15 days. All vocalizations spoken by the subjects were recorded on observation sheets and classified by function. The percentage of each child's vocalizations in each category— spontaneous, response, imitated, and initiated—was computed and compared within each age group

    Augmenting Conceptualization by Visual Knowledge Organization

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    A Descriptive Analysis of Language and Cognition in Congenitally Blind Children Ages 3 Through 9

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    Purpose This study was designed as an investigation of the semantic and cognitive functioning of congenitally blind children within the age range of 3 through 9 years, to help fill the gap in the existing research concerning the early development of the visually handicapped. Delays in cognitive development among school age congenitally blind children have been attributed to the limitations imposed by blindness on mobility and interaction with objects and events in the environment. It has been assumed that blind children must rely on less efficient sensory perception and discrimination processes resulting in a conceptualization of the world which may be inconsistent, incomplete, or significantly different from that of sighted children. If the object concept differs for blind children, the meaning of words used to refer to those objects could be expected to differ from the meanings assigned by sighted children. Problems in word meaning and concept development—and hence, in communication—are an important consideration in mainstreaming efforts in the public schools. Consequently, the present study sought to explore linguistic and cognitive representation of common objects among blind children, along with their understanding and use of dimensional concepts in dealing with those objects. Procedure Ten totally and congenitally blind children and ten sighted children of matching age, sex, and socioeconomic status were interviewed individually following a prescribed format. By means of these structured interviews, information was gathered concerning the cognitive functioning of each child, and responses were secured to the lexical semantic tasks. These tasks focused on verbally and tactually derived attributions for selected objects defined as more tangible and less tangible, as well as measures of receptive and expressive use of comparative adjectives of dimension. Conclusions 1. This analysis suggested that the information gained through tactual means does not differ significantly from that gained through vision. The meaning of common words, and the underlying object concept reflected through the children\u27s attributions, did not appear to be significantly altered by the absence of vision. The younger blind children were found to have an accurate, albeit shallow conception of the less tangible objects, probably as a result of reduced opportunity for meaningful interaction/exploration with those objects. 2. The total number of attributions by the sighted children was not significantly larger than that of the blind children. Much similarity in the kind of attributes used was noted between vision groups. The number of visually oriented attributes mentioned by the blind children was extremely small compared to the total number of attributes used. It was concluded, therefore, that the language of the blind children was based on the object concept they had developed through tactual experience, rather than being a reflection of the language of sighted children. 3. Cognitive delay was evident among the older blind children, leading to the observation that the entire group was functioning at a preoperational level of cognitive development. The blind children\u27s attributions revealed a tactually based conceptualization of the world that was related to their personal experience, but which was not found to differ significantly from the visually based conceptualization of the sighted children. In fact, the mental image/object concepts for both vision groups appeared to draw heavily on egocentric and functional characteristics of the objects. 4. Communication between blind and sighted children regarding the objects used in this study did not appear to be seriously disrupted by the absence of vision. However, the importance of assisting blind children to develop effective and systematic methods for gathering and organizing information through tactual means was underscored. The results of this study emphasize the need for blind children to experience objects and events first hand

    The Education of the Public Man: A Medieval View

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    Istraživanje konstruiranja značenja u jeziku slijepih: kognitivnolingvistička perspektiva

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    This paper describes and discusses issues pertaining to investigating meaning construal in the language of the blind. It introduces key problems in this largely unexplored area and proposes possible avenues of research by outlining four studies conducted over a period of eight years. The central arguments are built around the fundamental cognitive linguistic premise that language is an experiential phenomenon intimately related to general cognitive processes. The author focuses on the role of salience (or attention) and demonstrates how it is coded in the language of the blind. The main part of the paper starts with the outline of two exploratory studies the aim of which was to identify possible differences in salience and situatedness. The author discusses the contribution of the two studies and proceeds by describing a more focused study whose hypotheses were motivated by some of the questions raised in the previous two studies. The primary research question was related to the idea of the primacy of space in the blinds’ mental imagery and meaning construal. Finally, the author proposes a model integrating key language internal and language external factors affecting the process of meaning construal in this extraordinary population, and finishes by describing the fourth study whose primary aim was to double– test the research instrument used to investigate spatial (topological) elements in the language of the blind.Rad se bavi istraživanjem konstruiranja značenja u jeziku slijepih. Raspravlja se o ključnim pitanjima u ovom prilično neistraženom području i predlažu istraživačke smjernice na temelju opisa četiriju studija koje je autorica sa suradnicima provela u razdoblju od 2006. do 2013. godine. Središnja se rasprava temelji na osnovnoj kognitivnolingvističkoj pretpostavci da je jezik iskustvena pojavnost koja je nerazdvojiva od općih kognitivnih procesa. Autorica se bavi ulogom istaknutosti odnosno pažnje i nastoji pokazati kako je navedeni proces kodiran u jeziku. Glavni dio rada započinje opisom studija kojima je cilj bio utvrditi moguće razlike u kodiranju pažnje u jeziku slijepih. Raspravlja se o rezultatima i doprinosu navedenih studija za formuliranje novih, preciznijih hipoteza za studiju čiji opis također slijedi u radu. Temeljno istraživačko pitanje nove studije vezano je uz istaknutost prostornih elemenata u jeziku slijepih. Nakon rasprave o dobivenim rezultatima koji potvrđuju važnost navedenih elemenata, autorica predlaže model koji integrira unutarjezične i izvanjezične čimbenike za koje vjeruje da utječu na konstruiranje značenja kod slijepe populacije. Rad završava opisom četvrte studije kojoj je cilj bio revalidirati instrument upotrijebljen u prijašnjim studijama te potvrditi prethodne rezultate vezane uz prostorne (topološke) jezične elemente. Cilj je postignut i opisan u radu

    Istraživanje konstruiranja značenja u jeziku slijepih: kognitivnolingvistička perspektiva

    Get PDF
    This paper describes and discusses issues pertaining to investigating meaning construal in the language of the blind. It introduces key problems in this largely unexplored area and proposes possible avenues of research by outlining four studies conducted over a period of eight years. The central arguments are built around the fundamental cognitive linguistic premise that language is an experiential phenomenon intimately related to general cognitive processes. The author focuses on the role of salience (or attention) and demonstrates how it is coded in the language of the blind. The main part of the paper starts with the outline of two exploratory studies the aim of which was to identify possible differences in salience and situatedness. The author discusses the contribution of the two studies and proceeds by describing a more focused study whose hypotheses were motivated by some of the questions raised in the previous two studies. The primary research question was related to the idea of the primacy of space in the blinds’ mental imagery and meaning construal. Finally, the author proposes a model integrating key language internal and language external factors affecting the process of meaning construal in this extraordinary population, and finishes by describing the fourth study whose primary aim was to double– test the research instrument used to investigate spatial (topological) elements in the language of the blind.Rad se bavi istraživanjem konstruiranja značenja u jeziku slijepih. Raspravlja se o ključnim pitanjima u ovom prilično neistraženom području i predlažu istraživačke smjernice na temelju opisa četiriju studija koje je autorica sa suradnicima provela u razdoblju od 2006. do 2013. godine. Središnja se rasprava temelji na osnovnoj kognitivnolingvističkoj pretpostavci da je jezik iskustvena pojavnost koja je nerazdvojiva od općih kognitivnih procesa. Autorica se bavi ulogom istaknutosti odnosno pažnje i nastoji pokazati kako je navedeni proces kodiran u jeziku. Glavni dio rada započinje opisom studija kojima je cilj bio utvrditi moguće razlike u kodiranju pažnje u jeziku slijepih. Raspravlja se o rezultatima i doprinosu navedenih studija za formuliranje novih, preciznijih hipoteza za studiju čiji opis također slijedi u radu. Temeljno istraživačko pitanje nove studije vezano je uz istaknutost prostornih elemenata u jeziku slijepih. Nakon rasprave o dobivenim rezultatima koji potvrđuju važnost navedenih elemenata, autorica predlaže model koji integrira unutarjezične i izvanjezične čimbenike za koje vjeruje da utječu na konstruiranje značenja kod slijepe populacije. Rad završava opisom četvrte studije kojoj je cilj bio revalidirati instrument upotrijebljen u prijašnjim studijama te potvrditi prethodne rezultate vezane uz prostorne (topološke) jezične elemente. Cilj je postignut i opisan u radu
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