Re-figuring informational texts when using Spanish to create and teach with them in a bilingual teacher preparation program : Latino contributions to linguistics and pedagogy

This dissertation investigated how a group of Spanish-speaking bilinguals immersed in a transformative bilingual preparation program discursively responded to mainstream visions about academic Spanish and literacy teaching sedimented historically and systemically for bilingual education communities. Data sources combined curriculum artifacts submitted during bilingual teacher preparation courses and retrospective interviews. Gee's (2014) notion of the seven building tasks of language and the theory and tools of figured worlds guided the data analysis. Findings pointed to linguistic and pedagogical contributions that emanated from creating and teaching with Spanish informational texts when the latter incorporate the background knowledge and experiences of Latinos in the US. Attention to these findings can support conceptual models and teacher education efforts regarding academic Spanish, pedagogical efforts towards informational texts, and policy initiatives regarding simultaneous bilingualism, an area in need of research attention (Escamilla, 2014). In addition, results reinforce the potential of teacher education contexts that focus on strengths, rather than on deficit paradigms.Curriculum and Instructio

The right to adequate food: how the COVID-19 pandemic affected access to food in Mexico and Scotland

BACKGROUND: How people accessed food during the COVID-19 pandemic was influenced by factors such as: losing one’s income; changes in households’ routines and structure; a changed food environment; and the availability of social protection policies. This thesis explored how the COVID-19 pandemic, and the lockdown implemented by the Mexican and the Scottish governments, impacted food and nutrition security, and the right to adequate food, of individuals in these two countries. METHODS: Using a case study methodology (Mexico and Scotland being the cases) with a critical realist ontology, and a contextualist epistemology, I built both cases from three different data sources, considered as studies 1,2 and 3. Study 1 involved a qualitative evidence synthesis of papers that had researched access to food by vulnerable populations using photo-elicitation interviews or focus groups. This review provided insight into how researchers have used photo-elicitation to research food/nutrition (in)security in different settings. Study 2 were online photo-elicitation semi-structured interviews with participants from households, where one or more members lost their jobs in Mexico and Scotland. Study 3 comprised online semi-structured interviews with stakeholders (academia, government and third sector organizations) in both countries. FINDINGS: The findings from the review were used to inform the utilization of the method in the households’ online interviews (study no. 2). It also provided valuable information to validate the findings of studies 2 and 3. In study 2, I interviewed members from 11 households in Mexico (from urban and urban areas) and 7 in Scotland (urban areas). The participants from Scotland experienced the COVID-19 pandemic in a less concerning manner, by showing less vulnerability to food and nutrition insecurity at the time of the interviews compared with the ones in Mexico. Social protection policies had an impact on how people in both countries experienced access to food. For example, the furlough scheme, availability of food aid, and a responsive food system contributed to a better experience for the families in Scotland. On the other hand, participants in Mexico, from both rural and urban areas, experienced deep and chronic stress related to the financial constraints. Those living in urban areas reported adaptations to their food-related behaviours to cope with the challenges of accessing food and financial vulnerability. In rural areas of Mexico, despite losing their source of income, the ability to grow their own food provided a sense of security and put an emphasis on the value of land. Fifteen stakeholders (eight Mexican and seven Scottish) were interviewed in study 3. Differences between Mexican and Scotland in terms of their understanding of the right to food and perceptions of the pandemic’s impact were identified. The right to food in Scotland is widely and thoroughly known by stakeholders, as well as in its implications. In Mexico, most stakeholders had heard of it, but did not know all of its components. An association between provision of food and the right to food was highlighted in Mexico, which in Scotland was mostly criticized (food relief system has grown significantly and diverts focus from structural problems). Despite the criticism, in Scotland, food aid was plentiful during the pandemic, and a wide response from third sector organizations to provide food was reported. Stakeholders in Mexico widely referred to important ongoing social issues in the country such as the obesity and diabetes epidemic, poverty, violence associated to drug cartels which they felt amplified the negative impact of the pandemic.   CONCLUSION: Through triangulation of data, it was possible to understand how the pandemic impacted each of the countries regarding food and nutrition security. The impact of the pandemic was different in each country. The COVID-19 pandemic represented a situation that unveiled many of the issues that represented an obstacle for people to achieve food and nutrition security. The findings in this dissertation contribute to the literature on the benefits of social protection measures, as well as the need of strengthening mechanisms and institutions to make the right to adequate food achievable for everyone, with the active participation of the government, third sector organizations, and the private sector

PLACE-BASED EDUCATION, STUDENT WRITING, AND CULTURAL CONTEXTS: A CASE STUDY OF BUILDING COMMUNITY CONSCIOUSNESS IN A RURAL MIDDLE SCHOOL CLASSROOM

The idea of place extends beyond just the location where people live. Place is a narrative, a story that involves interactions, characters, conflicts, and the rise and flow of humanity. By understanding the importance of place and the connection to the places from which people originate, the people, their motivations, and their strengths and weaknesses begin to take a shape that inspires transformational ideas and actions. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of place-based educational practices on rural middle school students’ identities and their cultural connections as shown through student writing. This study follows the critical pedagogy of place theoretical framework and works to support the best practices in rural education research. A qualitative case study design was used to conduct this study over eight weeks during the winter of 2014. This study took place in a middle school classroom of 25 students where a collaborative relationship was created between teacher and researcher. The school was located in rural North Carolina. Data sources included interviews, observations, and a collection of student writing. The data was analyzed through thematic and content analysis to better understand the influence of place-based writing practices on student identity and cultural connections as evidenced in their writing

NASA Tech Briefs, August 1995

There is a special focus on computer graphics and simulation in this issue. Topics covered include : Electronic Components and Circuits; Electronic Systems; Physical Sciences; Materials; Computer programs, Mechanics; Machinery; Fabrication Technology; and Mathematics and Information Sciences. There is a section on for Laser Technology, which includes a feature on Moving closer to the suns power

Mining culture, elevating taste: foodies and the work of refinement

As a means of social differentiation through taste, distinction has historically been viewed as a form of snobbishness. Elites with high cultural capital used their exclusive, esoteric, and refined preferences to both signal and justify their superior position in society. More recently, however, scholars have largely agreed that the dynamics of distinction have changed. In our “omnivorous” era, the types of tastes that are socially valuable are also more wide ranging, accessible, and tolerant of cultural expressions outside the Western elite cannon. While broadly accepted, the omnivore thesis has been subject to sustained critiques. This dissertation furthers such inquiries by examining whether the metaphor of the omnivore is appropriate.To be omnivorous, two separate criteria must be met: taste must be less restrictive than classic sociological theories would predict, and new cultural objects must be valued on their own terms. Across four food-related cases, I ask which logics and practices go into elevating seemingly ordinary and non-elite material objects: in 1) the category of “natural” foods in differently classed supermarket settings; 2) the service strategies of food truck operators trying to appeal to customers in different Boston neighborhoods; 3) the standards of value applied by participants in a food swap event, where individuals barter with items they have made, grown, or foraged themselves; and 4) the reappraisal of rosé wine by wine critics. Comparisons across diverse cases avoid reifying what counts as valuable within a given category, bringing more general logics of the gastronomic field to the fore. Using ethnography and content analysis, I find that while contemporary foodies may be consuming a wider range of objects, these objects are not accepted on their own terms. New objects and food practices are more highly valued when producers, distributors, consumers, and critics can monopolize the social meanings that get attached to them. As a result, this dissertation suggests a new metaphor for taste in contemporary social life. Foodies are more like the miners of our culinary landscapes than true omnivores. Theirs is an eye for raw materials—appropriating and refining their quarries to fit their needs

Advancement in Dietary Assessment and Self-Monitoring Using Technology

Although methods to assess or self-monitor intake may be considered similar, the intended function of each is quite distinct. For the assessment of dietary intake, methods aim to measure food and nutrient intake and/or to derive dietary patterns for determining diet-disease relationships, population surveillance or the effectiveness of interventions. In comparison, dietary self-monitoring primarily aims to create awareness of and reinforce individual eating behaviours, in addition to tracking foods consumed. Advancements in the capabilities of technologies, such as smartphones and wearable devices, have enhanced the collection, analysis and interpretation of dietary intake data in both contexts. This Special Issue invites submissions on the use of novel technology-based approaches for the assessment of food and/or nutrient intake and for self-monitoring eating behaviours. Submissions may document any part of the development and evaluation of the technology-based approaches. Examples may include: web adaption of existing dietary assessment or self-monitoring tools (e.g., food frequency questionnaires, screeners) image-based or image-assisted methods mobile/smartphone applications for capturing intake for assessment or self-monitoring wearable cameras to record dietary intake or eating behaviours body sensors to measure eating behaviours and/or dietary intake use of technology-based methods to complement aspects of traditional dietary assessment or self-monitoring, such as portion size estimation