Directional adposition use in English, Swedish and Finnish

Directional adpositions such as to the left of describe where a Figure is in relation to a Ground. English and Swedish directional adpositions refer to the location of a Figure in relation to a Ground, whether both are static or in motion. In contrast, the Finnish directional adpositions edellä (in front of) and jäljessä (behind) solely describe the location of a moving Figure in relation to a moving Ground (Nikanne, 2003). When using directional adpositions, a frame of reference must be assumed for interpreting the meaning of directional adpositions. For example, the meaning of to the left of in English can be based on a relative (speaker or listener based) reference frame or an intrinsic (object based) reference frame (Levinson, 1996). When a Figure and a Ground are both in motion, it is possible for a Figure to be described as being behind or in front of the Ground, even if neither have intrinsic features. As shown by Walker (in preparation), there are good reasons to assume that in the latter case a motion based reference frame is involved. This means that if Finnish speakers would use edellä (in front of) and jäljessä (behind) more frequently in situations where both the Figure and Ground are in motion, a difference in reference frame use between Finnish on one hand and English and Swedish on the other could be expected. We asked native English, Swedish and Finnish speakers’ to select adpositions from a language specific list to describe the location of a Figure relative to a Ground when both were shown to be moving on a computer screen. We were interested in any differences between Finnish, English and Swedish speakers. All languages showed a predominant use of directional spatial adpositions referring to the lexical concepts TO THE LEFT OF, TO THE RIGHT OF, ABOVE and BELOW. There were no differences between the languages in directional adpositions use or reference frame use, including reference frame use based on motion. We conclude that despite differences in the grammars of the languages involved, and potential differences in reference frame system use, the three languages investigated encode Figure location in relation to Ground location in a similar way when both are in motion. Levinson, S. C. (1996). Frames of reference and Molyneux’s question: Crosslingiuistic evidence. In P. Bloom, M.A. Peterson, L. Nadel & M.F. Garrett (Eds.) Language and Space (pp.109-170). Massachusetts: MIT Press. Nikanne, U. (2003). How Finnish postpositions see the axis system. In E. van der Zee & J. Slack (Eds.), Representing direction in language and space. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Walker, C. (in preparation). Motion encoding in language, the use of spatial locatives in a motion context. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Lincoln, Lincoln. United Kingdo

Narrating by doing: a bridging concept for understanding and informing the design of tangible interfaces for storytelling

We present and discuss the concept ‘narrating by doing’ as the process of creating narratives by performing different embodied actions with tangible interfaces for storytelling. We characterize it as a ‘bridging concept’ that can facilitate exchange between theory and design, informing research and design of TUIs for storytelling targeting young children. The concept builds on theories of cognition, learning and narration, specifically drawing upon the following perspectives: Constructionism, Socio-Constructivism, Embodied Cognition, Narratology and The Narrative Practice Hypothesis. Building upon these theoretical foundations, we identify and discuss four ‘design articulations’ (i.e. important parameters that express the qualities of the concept), namely communicative situation, narrative function of the tangible objects, collaborative and embodied actions and the narrator’s position. Finally, we add evidence to the concept and discuss its productiveness by presenting a set of considerations to inform the design of tangible interfaces for storytelling.This work has been financed by national funds through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and by the European Regional Development Fund through the Competitiveness and Internationalization Operational Program under the reference POCI/01/0145/FEDER/032580. This work is funded by CIEd—Research Centre on Education, Institute of Education, University of Minho, projects UIDB/01661/2020 and UIDP/01661/2020, through national funds of FCT/MCTES-PT

AURA_ A MEDIA DEVICE FOR NEW NARRATION SPACES IN MUSEUM CONTEXTS

The long months of social distance to which the pandemic has forced us have certainly accelerated the idea that the remediation of the concept of distance in a digital horizon can open up new spaces of negotiation for many social and cultural practices in the future. But it has also, dramatically, highlighted the limits and risks contained in the very idea that the experience of the meta-universe can really do without the mediation of physical reality and human direct intervention. The reflections and design experience proposed here therefore aim to reflect on the role that the new technologies and traditional professionals are playing in relation with the phygital cultural experience. The idea of the contemporary museum is indagated, questioning, however, the quality of the 'relationship' between the work of art and the user and the ways in which design can respond creatively to the demand for cultural consumption by activating new processes of attribution of meaning

Philosophical Games

Philosophical games are games designed to invite players to think philosophically within (and about) their gameworlds. They are interactive fictions allowing players to engage with philosophical themes in ways that often set them apart from non-interactive kinds of speculative fictions (such as philosophical novels or thought experiments). To better understand philosophical games, this entry proposes to distinguish two primary ways in which a philosophical game can approach its themes: dialectically or rhetorically

The Narrative Subject: Storytelling in the Age of the Internet

This open access book considers the stories of adolescents and young adults from different regions of the world who use digital media as instruments and stages for storytelling, or who make themselves the subject of storytelling. These narratives discuss interconnectedness, self-staging, and managing boundaries. From the perspective of media and cultural research, they can be read as responses to the challenges of contemporary society. Providing empirical evidence and thought-provoking explanations, this book will be useful to students and scholars who wish to uncover how ongoing processes of cultural transformation are reflected in the thoughts and feelings of the internet generation.Welche Geschichten erzählen Menschen, die die digitalen Medien als Instrumente, Bühnen und Gegenstand des Erzählens nutzen? Diese Studie, in die Netzakteur*innen und Blogger*innen einbezogen waren, zeigt: Es sind Geschichten, die u.a. von Vernetzung, Verwandlung, Grenzmanagement und Aufbruch erzählen. Als narrative Zeitsignaturen verweisen sie auf Fragen, Bedürfnisse, Ängste und Sehnsüchte, mit denen sich Kinder, Jugendliche und junge Erwachsene in verschiedenen Regionen der Welt angesichts des weltweiten gesellschaftlich-kulturellen Wandels konfrontiert sehen. Die in dem Buch angestellten kulturwissenschaftlichen Reflexion berücksichtigen die Einflüsse von Kultur und digitaler Technik auf heutiges Geschichtenerzählen

Global nomadism: a discursive and narratological analysis of identity concepts in the 'mobile professional'.

This thesis examined to what extent a particular class of highly mobile professionals has internalized the contemporary discourse of corporate global nomadism, proposed by the researcher as an example of the kind of corporate discourses that are emerging to encompass the ideology of neoliberalism and which are inscribed in a particular genre of popular managerial and globalization literature through prescription of ideal attitudes and forms of behaviour. The researcher selected a representative sample of corporate texts that comprises books by management gurus and popular writers on globalization and corporate websites by consultancy firms, and collected personal narratives or life stories from a sample of professionals who in the pursuit of work have relocated internationally more than once. These texts were cross-analysed to identify how the discourse of corporate global nomadism is manifested, whether in similar or contradictory ways. This analysis combined the methodological framework of critical discourse analysis with narrative analysis, with a particular emphasis on deconstruction and intertextuality. A characteristic feature of this study is the use of online communication technologies to encompass research participants who are geographically dispersed. The principal original contribution to knowledge of this dissertation is the relationship made between the contemporary discourse of corporate global nomadism and the ideology of neoliberalism. The methodologies and methods used in the elaboration of this research are also important contributions. The most prominent finding of this study is that the attitudes of the research participants towards their own mobility are contradictory as their self-representation from the standpoints of the context of work and the private sphere are discursively confronted. This dissonance in the narratives represents struggles in the life of the research participants as they attempt to meet corporate demands for continuous global mobility. The findings of this study show that despite the persuasive power of certain corporate discourses they are not passively assumed by individuals, meaning that the hegemony of neoliberal capitalism as a dominant ideology underlying modern organizations is not absolute, because individuals consciously or subconsciously resist and challenge the messages it conveys

In and Out of Uniform: The Transition of Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans into Higher Education

IN AND OUT OF UNIFORM: THE TRANSITION OF IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN WAR VETERANS INTO HIGHER EDUCATION by Vienna Messina Advisor: Professor Colette Daiute With the exit of US combat troops from Iraq in 2011 and the subsequent drawdown of forces in Afghanistan, much public attention became focused on the reintegration of veterans of these wars into all aspects of civilian life. Record numbers of returning veterans enrolled in higher education. Abramson (2012) reported that, since 2009, when the Post-9/11 GI Bill became effective, more than 860,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans had used its generous provisions for further education and projected that, by the end of 2013, that number might reach more than 1,000,000. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs website, more than sixty percent of student veterans who were enrolled in higher education attended two and four year public institutions. This study explores the transition of student veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars from the culture, discourses, and practices of military life into those of academic life in public higher education. The study is designed to consider transition as an activity-meaning system, a research approach in which the unit of analysis is the interaction of cross-context relationships and perspectives among stakeholder actors having varying interests, these stakeholders being both persons and institutions (Daiute, 2010; 2014). Although my primary interest in this study is student veterans\u27 interpretation of transition, as this does not occur in a vacuum, I have sampled meanings expressed by other stakeholders with whom they interact. Considering student veteran transition as an activity-meaning system places focus on the dialogue of the institutional perspectives of the military, veterans advocacy organizations, public institutions of higher education, and of student veterans themselves with their own unique perspectives, across contexts disparate enough as to constitute separate cultures. I regard institutional policies and individual activities as enactments of cultural values. The design affords the opportunity to explore the interplay of these values, both implicit and explicit, in narrative materials expressing the perspectives of all the involved stakeholders. Choosing a sample of culturally determined materials, the study analyzes military websites and training materials; the websites of public institutions of higher education as they address student veterans; and the websites and publications of veterans\u27 advocacy groups for values expressions. In relation to these values expressions, I examine the interviews of twelve student veteran participants from a large northeastern urban public university as to whether they uptake, resist, or transform these institutional values in their cross-context narratives about their experiences of military and academic life. Results indicate institutional stakeholder tensions with some widely divergent values expressed among them. Military values expressions focus on living a purposeful life guided by ideals, selfless service, and teamwork. Advocacy values expressions focus on addressing psychological trauma as a paramount concern in veteran transition, the superiority of peer to peer support, and service through giving. Academic values expressions focus on acting as liaison to veterans\u27 benefits and resources, diversity in learning communities, and the construction of knowledge. Student veterans\u27 values expressions interact with these in diverse ways. The student veteran narratives predominately reflect uptake of military values across both academic and military contexts, with relative silencing of those of advocacy and especially those of academia. Values in military and advocacy materials are expressed explicitly while those of higher education are generally implicit. Because of the implicit nature of academic values expression, learning what\u27s important and how to fit in academia may present a more challenging, developmentally complex task for student veterans. A plot analysis of student veteran narratives reveals clear disjuncture in the focal issues addressed across contexts and the use of full resolutions in military narratives and tentative resolution strategies in academic narratives, leaving those narratives open and subject to revision through further experience and reflection. I discuss the implications for psychological and educational research and practice of my findings that student veterans may continue to be guided by military values while participating in academic life and may be challenged in understanding and adapting to academia, a culture whose values are often less transparently expressed than those of the military

Developing the scales on evaluation beliefs of student teachers

The purpose of the study reported in this paper was to investigate the validity and the reliability of a newly developed questionnaire named ‘Teacher Evaluation Beliefs’ (TEB). The framework for developing items was provided by the two models. The first model focuses on Student-Centered and Teacher-Centered beliefs about evaluation while the other centers on five dimensions (what/ who/ when/ why/ how). The validity and reliability of the new instrument was investigated using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis study (n=446). Overall results indicate that the two-factor structure is more reasonable than the five-factor one. Further research needs additional items about the latent dimensions “what” ”who” ”when” ”why” “how” for each existing factor based on Student-centered and Teacher-centered approaches