207 research outputs found

    Unpacking Creativity for Language Teaching

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    Before unlocking creativity, we must first unpack what it means. In this book, creativity is unravelled from various perspectives and the relevance for language teaching and learning is explored. Tin offers a coherent discussion of creativity, adopting an inclusive and integrated but, at the same time, focused approach to creativity. Divided into 12 chapters, the book covers: • A critical review of the way the term ‘creativity’ is used, defined and written about in various disciplines • Various models and theories of creativity, the product- and process-oriented views of creativity and their relevance for language teaching • Three pillars on which creative language pedagogy should be based • Over 60 practical tasks, applying theoretical arguments and principles of creativity to language teaching and learning. Based on the author’s own practice and research on creativity over the last two decades, the book provides exciting new ideas for scholars and practitioners interested in creativity and creative language pedagogy. The book serves as an important contribution for students, teachers and scholars in the field of applied linguistics, language teaching and education

    Gurus and Media: Sound, image, machine, text and the digital

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    Gurus and Media is the first book dedicated to media and mediation in domains of public guruship and devotion. Illuminating the mediatisation of guruship and the guru-isation of media, it bridges the gap between scholarship on gurus and the disciplines of media and visual culture studies. It investigates guru iconographies in and across various time periods and also the distinctive ways in which diverse gurus engage with and inhabit different forms of media: statuary, games, print publications, photographs, portraiture, films, machines, social media, bodies, words, graffiti, dolls, sound, verse, tombs and more. The book’s interdisciplinary chapters advance, both conceptually and ethnographically, our understanding of the function of media in the dramatic production of guruship, and reflect on the corporate branding of gurus and on mediated guruship as a series of aesthetic traps for the captivation of devotees and others. They show how different media can further enliven the complex plurality of guruship, for instance in instantiating notions of ‘absent-present’ guruship and demonstrating the mutual mediation of gurus, caste and Hindutva. Throughout, the book foregrounds contested visions of the guru in the development of devotional publics and pluriform guruship across time and space. Thinking through the guru’s many media entanglements in a single place, the book contributes new insights to the study of South Asian religions and to the study of mediation more broadly

    Video Conferencing: Infrastructures, Practices, Aesthetics

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    The COVID-19 pandemic has reorganized existing methods of exchange, turning comparatively marginal technologies into the new normal. Multipoint videoconferencing in particular has become a favored means for web-based forms of remote communication and collaboration without physical copresence. Taking the recent mainstreaming of videoconferencing as its point of departure, this anthology examines the complex mediality of this new form of social interaction. Connecting theoretical reflection with material case studies, the contributors question practices, politics and aesthetics of videoconferencing and the specific meanings it acquires in different historical, cultural and social contexts

    Efficient Semantic Segmentation for Resource-Constrained Applications with Lightweight Neural Networks

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    This thesis focuses on developing lightweight semantic segmentation models tailored for resource-constrained applications, effectively balancing accuracy and computational efficiency. It introduces several novel concepts, including knowledge sharing, dense bottleneck, and feature re-usability, which enhance the feature hierarchy by capturing fine-grained details, long-range dependencies, and diverse geometrical objects within the scene. To achieve precise object localization and improved semantic representations in real-time environments, the thesis introduces multi-stage feature aggregation, feature scaling, and hybrid-path attention methods

    The Quest to End Human Trafficking: An Educational and Practical Guide for Everyone Who Wants to Help Break the Bonds and Assist Survivors

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    People often assume that only legislators and law enforcement personnel can take meaningful steps to fight human trafficking, one of the most lucrative transnational crimes in the world. This inquiry sought to assess the validity of that belief. The study was informed by the author’s experience as a college instructor of human trafficking and the inspiration he drew from the range and quality of his students’ projects. The methodology included examining the strategies that governmental and non-governmental organizations are using to fight trafficking and assist survivors. It also considered the work of individual activists and service providers such as social workers and health/mental health professionals. Business allies selected for review included convenience store managers and those in the lodging, tourism, airline, and transportation industries. Community influencers such as public officials, members of the press, spiritual leaders, and college instructors were studied as well. The research demonstrated that each group is making a valuable contribution. The analysis first summarizes major concepts and laws that every antitrafficking activist needs to know. The author then organized the insights and lessons learned into five types of activities: Awareness, political advocacy, prevention, reducing demand (shopping wisely), and survivor intervention/aftercare. A separate discussion focused on ideas for student service projects, internships, and relevant career opportunities. The concluding chapters offer an easy-to-follow game plan for anyone interested in joining the cause. Altogether, the Guide has more than 1,100 hyperlinks to articles and free resources that advocates can use to pursue their personal antitrafficking interests and priorities

    Managing Misinformation on Social Media: Targeted Newsfeed Interventions and Freedom of Thought

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    Whether it is being told a particular politician consumes children, or drinking cow urine will cure your disease, or that Jimi Hendrix is alive and well living the good life in Drumnadrochit, misinformation affects societies in myriad ways. Its spread online via social media platforms raises questions concerning how it can be addressed. This article engages with a related problem: Can the use of targeted behavioral interventions on social media newsfeeds to reduce the spread of misinformation be reconciled with the human right to freedom of thought

    Bearer Negotiable Instruments: Addressing a Financial Intelligence Gap and Identifying Criminogenic Weaknesses

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    Bearer Negotiable Instruments (BNI) are a long-standing category of financial instruments used to transfer large amounts of money in ways that may not be subject to regulation, reporting, tracking, review, or oversight. There is limited information available on BNIs, and no evidence that any studies have been undertaken on BNIs alone, much less reported. Increasingly, BNIs are being used for illegal purposes including money laundering. This study gathers information about their characteristics, nature, purpose, legal status, and numbers. It also focuses on the crime risks associated with BNIs, the crime opportunities they facilitate, and the criminal weaknesses in the financial instruments themselves. Data and knowledge are obtained to provide a sound basis for further study and analysis, and to make policy recommendations that reflect practical, corrective, and preventative measures to reduce future crime using BNIs
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