Mustang Daily, April 26, 2006

Student newspaper of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA.https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/studentnewspaper/7439/thumbnail.jp

The Chronicle [May 10, 1983]

The Chronicle, May 10, 1983https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/chron/3371/thumbnail.jp

Language Planning for Adult Immigrant Integration: Critical Perspectives on Challenges for and Motivations of Immigrant Second Language Learners in Finland

Finland has experienced a notable rise in immigration over the past decades while also since 2000 the reasons for relocation have diversified. Generally, local language learning is seen as a critical factor in the integration of foreign language speaking immigrant populations in their host societies. Language planners in Finland place education in the local language as a priority in efforts to support and advance integration. However, the Finnish language garners comparatively little attention on the international stage and learning Finnish can present challenges for second language migrant learners. Despite programming and financial support for adult immigrant learners, insufficient language skills continue to be a barrier to integration. This thesis research aims to identify motivators and challenges of adult immigrant learners of the Finnish language in the Helsinki region through the lens of critical language planning. Opportunities to study and use Finnish language are discussed taking into account critical perspectives on traditional language planning, such as discrimination based on one’s ethnicity, gender or economic situation as well as the presence of a prominent language of wider communication. The informants are Finnish language learners, non-EU adult immigrants to Finland who have been residents for 4-15 years. They participate in narrative interviews that are analyzed and discussed on the backdrop of language planning for migrants in Finland. Participants’ accounts of their learning goals, motives and process, communicative experiences, and the role of English in Finland are examined along with the role of L2 learning in integration. The interview analyses indicate that skills in English in the absence of Finnish aptitude can be sufficient for economic and social integration in certain cases, while remaining a limiting factor in other sectors of life, for example civic engagement and flexibility in personal advancement. Finnish language skills are seen to be most pertinent for the economic integration of those not fluent in English, who do not have a higher or professional education or who otherwise have difficulty finding sufficient employment. Participants however describe difficulties finding opportunities to use what they have learned in practice due to social or economic circumstances and the role of English in communication. Informants’ experiences of language switch with Finnish speakers are seen as a discouraging barrier to practice and indicative of opposing language planning for internationalisation and integration. Further language planning for access to instruction and practice is seen to be advisable particularly for immigrants immersed in primarily English-speaking environments.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

Mustang Daily, April 27, 2006

Student newspaper of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA.https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/studentnewspaper/7440/thumbnail.jp

The Internet and foreign market entry mode : some evidence from Hong Kong

Perspectives on entry mode choice are broad, emphasising different tenets and variables. However, none of them has examined the impact of the Internet, which has emerged since the 1980s. The thesis aims to investigate to what extent differing Internet usage impacts on foreign market entry mode choice, the achievement of a web site and the performance of a firm. The different Internet uses include using what the technology offers to businesses, getting ready for Internet business by disseminating information online and providing online customer service, and selling products and services online. Propositions are compiled and tested by using data collected with a structured questionnaire in a survey of 569 Hong Kong firms. Some pilot case studies were conducted to motivate the construction of the questionnaire. Sample firms were selected from the Hong Kong Business Web Directory 2000 and www.yahoo.com.hk. Data obtained through the questionnaire were analysed with the use of hierarchical logistic regression and hierarchical multiple regression models. It was found that firm size does not affect entry mode choice when the Internet is used, and having previous international experience is not a prerequisite for a firm to choose equity modes. Using what the Internet offers businesses and selling products and services online have a significant negative and positive impact on equity mode choice respectively. Findings on other variables such as special abilities, market potential, investment risk, and transaction cost are all influential by the use of the Internet, but their effects are less significant. In the examination of the achievement of a web site, special abilities, having previous international experience and using the Internet to sell products and services were found to have significant positive effects; while investment risk and industry type have significant negative effects. In the examination of the performance of firms, special abilities, using what the Internet offers businesses and getting ready for Internet business were found to have significant positive effects. In comparison, transaction cost and mode type have significant negative effects. Overall, the pattern of findings suggest that Internet usage has important positive and negative effects upon entry mode choice and a range of variables concerning foreign market entry choice, at least from the sample of Hong Kong organisations. The main contributions of the present research are three-fold. First, it has examined the impact of different uses of the Internet on entry mode choice. The findings on the impact of firm size and previous international experience pose challenge to prior perspectives. When the Internet is used in firms' internationalisation, both small and large firms may follow the same pattern. Firms' previous international experience is no longer as important as in prior studies. This has implications for the ways in which prior entry mode perspectives embrace the relative new technology. Secondly, it has investigated these uses in great detail. Prior research depicts different commercial uses of the Internet. In the present research, pilot case studies and surveys were adopted to examine these uses and their impact on entry mode choice. Thirdly, a method was suggested in the present research to measure these uses

Columbia Chronicle (03/04/2002)

Student newspaper from March 4, 2002 entitled Columbia Chronicle. This issue is 32 pages and is listed as Volume 35, Number 18. Cover story: New calendar slated for 2005, Carter tells council Executive Editor: Ryan Adairhttps://digitalcommons.colum.edu/cadc_chronicle/1539/thumbnail.jp

Lasten ohjelmoinnillisen ajattelun käsitteellinen muutos Hello Ruby -kesäkoulun 2016 aikana

The purpose of this study is to increase scientific understanding of children's conceptual change in computational thinking during a summer school intervention. With a mixed method approach of self-report questionnaire and interview, the investigation highlights modern children's knowledge, beliefs and understanding of as well as attitudes, emotions and motivations towards computers, programming and artificial intelligence. Think-aloud –tasks are also used to investigate children's computational thought processes. The SRQ data with an intervention group (n = 28) and a comparison group (n = 21) was analysed with repeated measures and independent samples t-tests, MANOVA and ANCOVA, with the pretest condition as covariate. The data revealed a change in the intervention group's conceptions about embedded cyber-physical systems and the application of computers in different industrial and artistic fields. A slight shift towards a strong AI –mindset was discovered in the intervention group through the SRQ. The interviews for the intervention group (n = 6) and two comparison groups (n = 4, material comparison n = 4) reinforced this conclusion and showed a strong enhancement of computational thinking attitudes and perspectives in the intervention group in contrast to the comparison groups. The computational skills were found to be tightly knit to level of mathematical understanding, and didn't change notably during the summer school intervention.Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on parantaa tieteellistä ymmärrystä kesäkouluintervention aikana lasten ohjelmoinnillisessa ajattelussa tapahtuvasta käsitteellisestä muutoksesta. Kyselytutkimuksesta ja haastatteluista koostuvalla mixed methods –lähestymistavalla tutkimus valaisee nykylasten tietokoneisiin, ohjelmointiin ja tekoälyyn liittyviä asenteita, tunteita ja motivaatioita sekä uskomuksia ja ymmärrystä. Lisäksi ääneenajattelutehtävien avulla tutkittiin lasten ohjelmoinnillisia ajatteluprosesseja. Kyselydatan (interventio n = 28, vertailu n = 21) varianssinalyysit ja t-testaus paljastivat muutoksen lasten käsityksissä sulautetuista järjestelmistä ja tietokoneiden sovelluksista eri taideteollisilla aloilla. Vahvoissa tekoälynäkemyksissä havaittiin myös lievä nousu interventioryhmän kohdalla. Haastattelut (interventioryhmä n = 6, vertailuryhmä n = 4, materiaalivertailuryhmä n = 4) vahvistivat tätä johtopäätöstä ja osoittivat myös vahvaa parannusta ohjelmoinnillisissa asenteissa ja näkymissä interventioryhmän kohdalla vertailuryhmiin nähden. Ohjelmoinnillisten taitojen havaittiin olevan tiukasti sidoksissa matemaattisen ymmärryksen tasoon, eikä niissä havaittu huomattavaa muutosta kesäkouluintervention aikana

Centralized Storm Information System (CSIS)

A final progress report is presented on the Centralized Storm Information System (CSIS). The primary purpose of the CSIS is to demonstrate and evaluate real time interactive computerized data collection, interpretation and display techniques as applied to severe weather forecasting. CSIS objectives pertaining to improved severe storm forecasting and warning systems are outlined. The positive impact that CSIS has had on the National Severe Storms Forecast Center (NSSFC) is discussed. The benefits of interactive processing systems on the forecasting ability of the NSSFC are described