Towards a continuous modeling of natural language domains

Humans continuously adapt their style and language to a variety of domains. However, a reliable definition of `domain' has eluded researchers thus far. Additionally, the notion of discrete domains stands in contrast to the multiplicity of heterogeneous domains that humans navigate, many of which overlap. In order to better understand the change and variation of human language, we draw on research in domain adaptation and extend the notion of discrete domains to the continuous spectrum. We propose representation learning-based models that can adapt to continuous domains and detail how these can be used to investigate variation in language. To this end, we propose to use dialogue modeling as a test bed due to its proximity to language modeling and its social component.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, published in Uphill Battles in Language Processing workshop, EMNLP 201

Strategies to Strengthen Youth Leadership and Youth Participation Opportunities in Central Appalachia

The purpose of this study was to assess opportunities for strengthening youth leadership and participation in the Central Appalachian region. In particular, authors Rebecca O’Doherty, Ada Smith, Ben Spangler, Elandria Williams, and Katie Richards-Schuster sought to understand and document the range of activities and strategies in the region as well as understand the nuances involved in promoting and sustaining youth leadership opportunities. Through interviews with key leaders in the region, they explored critical themes for strengthening youth leadership. To highlight the potential and opportunities for future development, they share a case study of an innovative approach to nurturing and sustaining youth leadership. They conclude with a set of recommendations for consideration by policy makers and stakeholders interested in developing sustainable youth leadership practices in Central Appalachia

Wolf Whistles and Creepy Compliments: How Safe Routes to School Programs Can Take Action to Protect Kids from Street Harassment

This report provides background on street harassment, discusses some potential approaches to addressing street harassment, and summarizes lessons from these approaches that may be applicable for Safe Routes to School programs.Street harassment can have a strong negative effect on students who are trying to get to school or home on foot, by bicycle, or on public transit. How do these unsolicited and often threatening comments and actions affect students? Experiences of street harassment can cause students to miss school, and can affect readiness to learn and academic success. They can lead students to avoid convenient, affordable, and healthy ways of getting to school, discouraging walking and taking transit. And, street harassment can affect students mentally, resulting in negative self-esteem and depression.

Intersecting communities, interwoven identities: questioning boundaries, testing bridges, and forging a queer latinidad in the U.S. Southwest

This contribution to the special issue on ‘Languages in Contact, Cultures in Conflict: English and Spanish in the USA’ aims to investigate the concept of queer latinidad in Phoenix, Arizona in an attempt to understand how queer Latin@s in Phoenix see themselves in relation to Latino communities, queer communities, and a queer Latino community. While questioning received notions of ‘community,’ we look at how queer latinidad is constructed or rejected by queer Latinas/os in Phoenix at the dawn of the twenty-first century precisely as national attention has been focused on the state of Arizona, and how this negotiation might blur traditional notions of community and question boundaries between communities by highlighting the racial and ethnic diversity of the (presumed Anglo) lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community, as well as the gender and sexual diversities of the (presumed heterosexual) Latino community