5,814 research outputs found

    Crowdsourcing Strategizing: A View From the Top

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    Crowdsourcing strategizing is the application of crowdsourcing for organizational strategy development. While crowdsourcing is experiencing popularity in application and discussion, the concept is not new. However, literature on the value of crowdsourcing strategizing is not widespread in academic or business works. This qualitative case study explored crowdsourcing strategizing in Richmond, Virginia metro area nonprofits. The study was conducted to explore the lack of understanding on the value of crowdsourcing strategizing, with a focus on leaderships perspective of value. The results showed that nonprofit leaders found value in the crowdsourced data gathered through crowdsourcing strategizing

    Philosophies of Empirical and Habitual Teaching: Healthy Vocal Methodologies in Higher Education for the Twenty-first Century

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    Despite research done on healthy vocal methodologies, there are continuous changes in how best to prepare collegiate music students, relating to their emotional health through empirical and habitual teachings. This study will show how healthy vocal methodologies can influence higher education vocal students of the twenty-first century. This qualitative study can build a bridge to related topics in an exploratory framework with perspectives on: Dr. William Hettler’s Emotional Well-Being and its seven dimensions, Jean Piaget\u27s Cognitive Construction Theory, Peter Salovey and John Mayer\u27s Emotional Intelligence Theory, Daniel Goleman’s Social Emotional Learning Methodology, Susan Brookhart’s “Classroometrics” Theory, Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Imagery-Based Learning Methodology, and Learning-Based Methodology. By applying these theories and methodologies to the study, one can gain a better understanding of the process of higher education music students\u27 vocal background. In addition, music educators can facilitate and address relevant concerns regarding healthy vocal techniques that one’s emotional condition may influence. This study highlights gaps in the research on constructive and adverse effects of habitual and empirical vocal technique studies through interviews and facilitated lessons with higher education participants, which is essential because a solid foundation for music students\u27 success begins with vocal health. Based on new and developing perspectives of empirical and habitual teachings, this research will seek to explore findings benefiting music educators, vocal students, and further develop music specialists’ knowledge of what may affect higher education music students\u27 vocal health by discovering constructive and adverse habits that arise from empirical and habitual musical experiences

    Southern Adventist University Undergraduate Catalog 2023-2024

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    Southern Adventist University\u27s undergraduate catalog for the academic year 2023-2024.https://knowledge.e.southern.edu/undergrad_catalog/1123/thumbnail.jp

    An American Knightmare: Joker, Fandom, and Malicious Movie Meaning-Making

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    This monograph concerns the long-standing communication problem of how individuals can identify and resist the influence of unethical public speakers. Scholarship on the issue of what Socrates & Plato called the “Evil Lover” – i.e., the ill-intended rhetor – began with the Greek philosophers, but has carried into [post]Modern anxieties. For instance, the study of Nazi propaganda machines, and the rhetoric of Hitler himself, rejuvenated interest in the study of speech and communication in the U.S. and Europe. Whereas unscrupulous sophists used lectures and legal forums, and Hitler used a microphone, contemporary Evil Lovers primarily draw on new, internet-related tools to share their malicious influence. These new tools of influence are both more far-reaching and more subtle than the traditional practices of listening to a designated speaker appearing at an overtly political event. Rhetorician Ashley Hinck has recently noted the ways that popular culture – communication about texts which are commonly accessible and shared – are now significant sites through which citizens learn moral and political values. Accordingly, the talk of internet influencers who interpret popular texts for other fans has the potential to constitute strong persuasive power regarding ethics and civic responsibility. The present work identifies and responds to a particular case example of popular culture text that has been recently, and frequently, leveraged in moral and civic discourses: Todd Phillips’ Joker. Specifically, this study takes a hermeneutic approach to understanding responses, especially those explicitly invoking political ideology, to Joker as a method of examining civic meaning-making. A special emphasis is placed on the online film criticisms of Joker from white nationalist movie fans, who clearly exemplify ways that media responses can be leveraged by unethical speakers (i.e., Evil Lovers) and subtly diffused. The study conveys that these racist movie fans can embed values related to “trolling,” incelism, and xenophobia into otherwise seemingly innocuous talk about film. While the sharing of such speech does not immediately mean its positive reception, this kind of communication yet constitutes a new and understudied attack on democratic values such as justice and equity. The case of white nationalist movie fan film criticism therefore reflects a particular brand of communicative strategy for contemporary Evil Lovers in communicating unethical messages under the covert guise of mundane movie talk

    ACOUSTIC SPEECH MARKERS FOR TRACKING CHANGES IN HYPOKINETIC DYSARTHRIA ASSOCIATED WITH PARKINSON’S DISEASE

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    Previous research has identified certain overarching features of hypokinetic dysarthria associated with Parkinson’s Disease and found it manifests differently between individuals. Acoustic analysis has often been used to find correlates of perceptual features for differential diagnosis. However, acoustic parameters that are robust for differential diagnosis may not be sensitive to tracking speech changes. Previous longitudinal studies have had limited sample sizes or variable lengths between data collection. This study focused on using acoustic correlates of perceptual features to identify acoustic markers able to track speech changes in people with Parkinson’s Disease (PwPD) over six months. The thesis presents how this study has addressed limitations of previous studies to make a novel contribution to current knowledge. Speech data was collected from 63 PwPD and 47 control speakers using an online podcast software at two time points, six months apart (T1 and T2). Recordings of a standard reading passage, minimal pairs, sustained phonation, and spontaneous speech were collected. Perceptual severity ratings were given by two speech and language therapists for T1 and T2, and acoustic parameters of voice, articulation and prosody were investigated. Two analyses were conducted: a) to identify which acoustic parameters can track perceptual speech changes over time and b) to identify which acoustic parameters can track changes in speech intelligibility over time. An additional attempt was made to identify if these parameters showed group differences for differential diagnosis between PwPD and control speakers at T1 and T2. Results showed that specific acoustic parameters in voice quality, articulation and prosody could differentiate between PwPD and controls, or detect speech changes between T1 and T2, but not both factors. However, specific acoustic parameters within articulation could detect significant group and speech change differences across T1 and T2. The thesis discusses these results, their implications, and the potential for future studies

    The Witcraft of Seeing Things Differently : Hyperdetermined Humor, Unusual Viewpoints, and Narrative Rhetoric in Terry Pratchett's Discworld Novels

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    Sir Terry Pratchettin maineikasta ja menestynyttä Discworld-romaanisarjaa luonnehditaan yleensä koomiseksi fantasiaksi, ja vaikka sitä on aiemmin tutkittu etupäässä fantasiakirjallisuutena, niin fantasiamiljöön lisäksi toinen näiden kirjojen silmiinpistävä piirre on huumorin ylenpalttinen runsaus. Tässä väitöskirjassa olen valinnut harvinaisemman lähestymistavan tutkiessani Discworld-romaaneja ensisijaisesti humoristisena kirjallisuutena, ja sen mukaisesti väitöskirjani keskeisimpänä tavoitteena on tutkia Terry Pratchettin huumorin poetiikkaa. Tarkemmin sanottuna olen asettanut tässä väitöskirjassa tehtäväkseni kartoittaa Terry Pratchettin huumorille ominaisimmat komiikan keinot ja tutkia, mikä tekee Discworld-romaaneista hauskoja. Discworld-romaaneille ominainen huumorin runsaus koostuu humorististen kuvausten ja koomisten kohtausten tiheän esiintymisen lisäksi komiikan keinojen laajasta valikoimasta. Tässä väitöskirjassa väitän, että Terry Pratchettin huumori on hyperdeterminoitua, mikä tarkoittaa, että hän yhdistelee erilaisia komiikan keinoja samassa kuvauksessa tai kohtauksessa. Siksi Pratchettin huumorin poetiikkaa käsittelevä väitöskirjani on samalla myös tutkimus hyperdeterminoidun huumorin rakentumisesta. Selkeyttääkseni huumorin hyperdeterminaation rakentumista jaottelen komiikan keinot neljään kategoriaan: tilanteellisiin, kontekstuaalisiin, rakenteellisiin ja tyylillisiin. Sovellan tätä jaottelua väittämällä, että humoristista kuvausta tai koomista kohtausta voidaan perustellusti sanoa hyperdeterminoiduksi silloin, kun siinä yhdistellään komiikan keinoja useammasta kuin yhdestä kategoriasta. Pidän Pratchettin huumorille ominaisten komiikan keinojen kartoittamista yhtenä tämän väitöskirjan keskeisimmistä kontribuutioista kirjallisen huumorin tutkimukselle. Tilanteellisista komiikan keinoista tarkastelen Discworld-romaaneista löytämiäni esimerkkejä draamallisesta ironiasta ja absurdista logiikasta. Kontekstuaalisista komiikan keinoista käsittelen Pratchettin parodiaa ja satiiria, kun taas rakenteellisista komiikan keinoista tutkin, kuinka Pratchett käyttää paraprosdokiania, bathosta, toistuvia piloja (”figgin”) ja koomisia alaviitteitä. Tyylillisistä komiikan keinoista tutkailen Pratchettin koomisia kielikuvia (hyperbolia, metaforia, vertauksia ja personifikaatioita), hänen sanaleikkejään (paronomasia, antanaklasis, sanataskut ja kaksikieliset sanaleikit) sekä Pratchettin koomisia eufemismeja. Lisäksi osoitan väitöskirjassani, että Terry Pratchettin huumorille on ominaista kulttuuristen kliseiden (eli tuttujen kulttuuri-ilmiöiden, totunnaisten ajattelutapojen ja vakiintuneiden esittämisen konventioiden) esittäminen humoristisen epätavallisista näkökulmista käsin. Discworld-romaaneissa Pratchett siirtää erilaisia oman maailmamme kulttuuri-ilmiöitä Discworld-nimiseen (suom. Kiekkomaailma) fantasiamaailmaansa, ja tämän maailmojen törmäyttämisen seurauksena kulttuuriset kliseet näyttäytyvät lukijalle samanaikaisesti tuttuina ja koomisen outoina. Tällaiset humoristiset näkökulmat vahvistavat osaltaan huumorin hyperdeterminaatiota. Samalla kun fantasiamiljöö mahdollistaa kahden maailman koomisen törmäyttämisen ja oman maailmamme kulttuuristen kliseiden peilaamisen toisen maailman avulla, huumori toisaalta mahdollistaa Kiekkomaailmassa normaalia fantasiaa vapaamman mielikuvituksen lennon, eikä monia Discworld-romaaneissa kuvattuja asioita, tapahtumia ja ilmiöitä voisi esiintyä maailmoissa, jotka eivät rakennu absurdin logiikan, kulttuurisilla kliseillä leikittelyn ja koomisen liioittelun kaltaisten todellisuuta vääristävien periaatteiden luoman ”taikuuden” varaan. Komiikan keinojen moninaisuuden, hyperdeterminoidun huumorin ja epätavallisten näkökulmien lisäksi tutkin väitöskirjassani sitä, millaisia arvottavia asenteita kertojan humoristiset näkökulmat ja humoristisiin kuvauksiin sisältyvät henkilöhahmojen tunnereaktiot paljastavat. Tulkitsen tällaisen arvottavan huumorin kirjalliseksi retorisen vaikuttamisen keinoksi, jonka avulla kirjailija pyrkii ohjailemaan lukijansa hyväksyviä ja paheksuvia asenteita. Useimmiten Pratchettin huumori on kulttuurikriittistä, eli parodista ja satiirista, mutta toisinaan humoristiset näkökulmat esittävät todellisen maailman kulttuuri-ilmiöitä myönteisinä ja ihailtavina. Väitän tutkimuksessani, että kirjallisuuden retoriikka perustuu tällaisten kielteisten ja myönteisten asenteiden esittämiselle ja että huumori on yksi kertomuksen retoriikan vaikutuskeinoista.Sir Terry Pratchett’s bestselling Discworld series of novels has been commonly described as comic fantasy, and although it has been previously studied mainly as fantasy literature, another conspicuous feature in these novels, in addition to the fantasy milieu, is their rich and abundant humor. In this study, I have chosen the road less travelled by approaching the Discworld novels as humorous literature, and, consequently, my main goal here is to study the poetics of Terry Pratchett’s humor— his “witcraft”. To be more precise, in this dissertation I have set myself the task of mapping out the comic devices that are most characteristic for Terry Pratchett’s witcraft and investigating what makes the Discworld novels funny. The richness of humor that is characteristic for the Discworld novels consists partly of the frequent occurrences of humorous descriptions and comic scenes, but also of the numerous comic devices that Pratchett deploys. In this dissertation, I argue that Terry Pratchett’s humor is hyperdetermined, which means that he tends to combine numerous comic devices in the same description or scene. Consequently, this study on the poetics of Terry Pratchett’s humor is at the same time a study on the construction of hyperdetermined humor. To better understand how hyperdetermined humor is constructed, I have devised a taxonomy that divides comic devices into four categories: situational, contextual, structural, and stylistic. Based on this taxonomy, I argue that the humor of a humorous description or a comic scene can be said to be truly hyperdetermined whenever it combines comic devices from more than one of these categories. I consider mapping out the comic devices that are most characteristic for Terry Pratchett’s witcraft to be one of the major contributions of this dissertation to the academic study of humor in literature. Of situational comic devices, I discuss and analyze examples of dramatic irony and absurd logic that I have detected in the Discworld novels. Of contextual comic devices, I discuss Pratchett’s parody and satire; of structural comic devices, I study Pratchett’s use of paraprosdokian, bathos, figgins (or running gags), and comic footnotes. Of stylistic comic devices, I investigate Pratchett’s comic imagery (hyperboles, metaphors, similes, and personifications), his puns (paronomasia, antanaclasis, portmanteaux, and bilingual puns), as well as Pratchett’s comic euphemisms. In this dissertation, I also demonstrate that representing cultural clichés (i.e., familiar cultural phenomena, customary ways of thinking, and conventional ways of representing) from humorously unusual viewpoints is characteristic for Terry Pratchett’s witcraft. In the Discworld novels, Pratchett transfers various cultural phenomena from the real world, our “Roundworld”, to a fantasy world called the Discworld, and as a result of this interworldly resonance, the cultural clichés of our Roundworld appear to the reader simultaneously as familiar and comically strange. These humorous viewpoints can be viewed as an additional constituent of hyperdetermined humor. While the fantasy setting of the Discworld novels allows Pratchett to set up comic resonance between the worlds, Pratchett’s humor also makes the Discworld a more imaginative and fantastic place than typical fantasy worlds. Many events and phenomena that are represented in the Discworld novels can only exist in a world where reality is distorted and enhanced by the special “magic” of comically absurd logic, playing with cultural clichés, and humorous exaggerations. In addition to the abundance of comic devices, hyperdetermined humor, and humorously unusual viewpoints, I also study in this dissertation what kinds of evaluative attitudes the narrator’s humorous viewpoints and the characters’ emotional reactions reveal. According to my interpretation, such evaluative attitudes are means of narrative rhetoric, where the author attempts to guide the reader’s attitudes of approval or disapproval. Pratchett’s humor is often critical—parodical or satirical—although occasionally the narrator’s humorous viewpoints represent the cultural phenomena of our Roundworld in a positive light, as something admirable. In this dissertation, I argue that narrative rhetoric is based on representing negative and positive attitudes, and that humor is one possible means of narrative rhetoric

    Developing International Mindedness through the Arts in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP): An International Survey Design Conducted across all Continents

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    One distinct purpose of international education is to develop greater international understanding and intercultural competences. For the International Baccalaureate, this translates into students developing international mindedness throughout its programmes and courses. However, international mindedness is not measured and the impact of the programmes on the development of international mindedness remains mainly anecdotal. Furthermore, in the Diploma Programme, the choice of Arts courses is optional and the value of an Arts education, or specifically the value of taking a Diploma Programme Arts course in developing international mindedness, is equally unclear. This study investigated the development of international mindedness in students who opted for a Diploma Programme Arts course versus those who did not. The study followed a repeated measures, comparative and mixed-methods research design using a survey tool for data collection. The survey consisted of a quantitative section based on existing surveys and a qualitative section with six open-ended questions. The quantitative data showed an increase in intercultural knowledge and behaviours, while no change in attitudes, and a decrease in values was identified for both student groups, Diploma Programme Arts and Non-Arts-students. Furthermore, there was an increase in intercultural communication skills particularly in Diploma Programme Arts-students. Qualitative data analysis revealed a spectrum of categories of responses. The qualitative data also identified themes in addition to those identified in International Baccalaureate documentation and literature. Recommendations include for the International Baccalaureate Organization to integrate some of the emerging themes in their documentations, for example themes relating to adaptability and interconnectedness, which may also provide an interesting focus for curriculum design. Furthermore, curriculum and programme design should place a greater focus on the development of attitudes and values in the Diploma Programme and a reconsideration of the optionality of the Arts in this context

    A Closer Look into Recent Video-based Learning Research: A Comprehensive Review of Video Characteristics, Tools, Technologies, and Learning Effectiveness

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    People increasingly use videos on the Web as a source for learning. To support this way of learning, researchers and developers are continuously developing tools, proposing guidelines, analyzing data, and conducting experiments. However, it is still not clear what characteristics a video should have to be an effective learning medium. In this paper, we present a comprehensive review of 257 articles on video-based learning for the period from 2016 to 2021. One of the aims of the review is to identify the video characteristics that have been explored by previous work. Based on our analysis, we suggest a taxonomy which organizes the video characteristics and contextual aspects into eight categories: (1) audio features, (2) visual features, (3) textual features, (4) instructor behavior, (5) learners activities, (6) interactive features (quizzes, etc.), (7) production style, and (8) instructional design. Also, we identify four representative research directions: (1) proposals of tools to support video-based learning, (2) studies with controlled experiments, (3) data analysis studies, and (4) proposals of design guidelines for learning videos. We find that the most explored characteristics are textual features followed by visual features, learner activities, and interactive features. Text of transcripts, video frames, and images (figures and illustrations) are most frequently used by tools that support learning through videos. The learner activity is heavily explored through log files in data analysis studies, and interactive features have been frequently scrutinized in controlled experiments. We complement our review by contrasting research findings that investigate the impact of video characteristics on the learning effectiveness, report on tasks and technologies used to develop tools that support learning, and summarize trends of design guidelines to produce learning video

    Making Connections: A Handbook for Effective Formal Mentoring Programs in Academia

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    This book, Making Connections: A Handbook for Effective Formal Mentoring Programs in Academia, makes a unique and needed contribution to the mentoring field as it focuses solely on mentoring in academia. This handbook is a collaborative institutional effort between Utah State University’s (USU) Empowering Teaching Open Access Book Series and the Mentoring Institute at the University of New Mexico (UNM). This book is available through (a) an e-book through Pressbooks, (b) a downloadable PDF version on USU’s Open Access Book Series website), and (c) a print version available for purchase on the USU Empower Teaching Open Access page, and on Amazon
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