Translating Tibetan Poetry: A Case Study of Gendun Chöphel’s Tibetan Alphabet Acrostic

This paper explores issues of fidelity & transparency in translation of poetry. The importance of literary aspects such as regular linguistic patterning (in meter & prosody), culturally-encoded meaning, idiomatic language, formal equivalence (of form), and the emotional viscerality of poems are discussed as they relate particularly to an Alphabetic Acrostic by Gendun Chöphel

Creating a Research-based Alphabet Book for Tibetan

Traditional pedagogy for learning alphabetic principles focuses on introducing the alphabet a letter at a time in a traditional order—the ABCs for English speakers; ཀ་ཁ་ག་ང་། for Tibetan. What educational research has shown, however, is that this form of education can actually be disadvantageous to the beginning reader. Instead, students benefit most from explicit instruction that concretely makes the connection between sound​ (phoneme) and ​text (grapheme). We’ve made these connections explicit by (1) ​disambiguating graphemes​ by using an appropriate CPS; (2) disambiguating consonant clusters​ by using bold, color­-coded grapheme-­to-­phoneme connections; (3) ​disambiguating word-­level meaning​; and (4) disambiguating letters and their sounds​ by using frequency analysis. By modeling a systematic set of introductory lessons on the Tibetan alphabet using these (and other) modern pedagogical principles, our aim is giving the student of the language the best possible start for later literary achievement

Rethinking Classical Tibetan Pedagogy

The following paper explores classical Tibetan language pedagogy as it’s generally practiced in the West, while suggesting a radical reinterpretation to that approach by providing alternatives based on the consensus of multidisciplinary research from second language education and linguistics, among others. Especial attention is paid to the importance of production processes (speaking and writing), phonology (listening and speaking), and environment (language exposure) and their roles in language learning contexts; these concerns lead us to the conclusion that the spoken language ought to be the basis for the study of sophisticated literature, even in a classical language context. We then turn toward the specific issues of Tibetan language literacy: the language diglossia; its history; why “classical” Tibetan is not a classic example of a classical language; and, briefly, how to overcome these obstacles in a Tibetan as a Second Language (TSL) educational context

Practical Applications for Corpora: The Role of Research-based Linguistics in Literacy & Education for the Tibetan Language

Corpus Linguistics and NLP have many obvious applications for researchers, academics, and other specialists; what should not be overlooked, however, is their role in improving the mundane, everyday interactions between people and language, be they a reader of a newspaper; a child with a storybook; or a student in a classroom. The language analyses that these linguistic tools provide have an important part to play in the feedback loop between authors, journalists, and pedagogists on the one hand and their audiences and students on the other. While these sorts of research-based resources have already made splashes in majority languages like English, their ripples have yet to spill over into the smaller language markets. Within this paper we outline the ways in which corpus linguistics may inform Tibetan language literacy and education in both L1 & L2 contexts, while drawing from our own research into issues of readability and the development of a modern pedagogy for instruction in the Tibetan alphabet based on frequency data

Tibetan Language Readability & Literacy

This small study on literacy explores levels of reading comprehension in the Tibetan diaspora. By testing vocabulary and syntax comprehension of 4 different texts across 88 participants, we conclude that, although education levels are not predictors of language skills, two factors do correlate with higher reading levels: 1) being born and raised in Tibet; and 2) using literary Tibetan for reading or writing on a daily basis. After showing that word-length cannot be an appropriate measurement for difficulty of vocabulary, it then explores other options for readability formulas in the Tibetan-language context

The City under Climate Change - The Adaptation Strategy for the City of Hanover

The paper shows the impacts of climate change in the city of Hannover. Problems with heat load and extreme weather events (heavy rain, summer droughts) are already in existence. In the future, these impacts are expected more often und more extreme. Hannover has dealt with the consequences of climate change at an early stage and has already developed a local adaptation strategy in 2012. The strategy comprises of eight fields of action, which were defined as particularly significant. The article describes the adaptation measures which are implemented in the last years and which are necessary in future to maintain the quality of life for the people living in Hannover

Strategies for Motivating Band Students Experiencing Difficulty in Skills Acquisition

The purpose of this research was to establish a consensus on the type of music learning environment that affords the band student the greatest level of individual success. Both cooperative and competitive environments were examined. This project also investigated alternative methods for helping the low ability band student enjoy success in an instrumental music curriculum. Finally, the research identified teaching strategies for aiding the low ability student to be successful in a competitive learning environment. The research results do not conclusively reach a consensus about the teaching environment that affords band students the greatest amount of success. The majority of the band director respondents utilized a cooperative learning environment, with some competitive elements. This environment utilized many of the teaching-learning methods needed for success by the low ability band student. The needs of the low ability band student proposed in the research for certain instructional environments and strategies were supported by the responses of music educators to a questionnaire. It was discovered that while the low ability band student could enjoy group success, individual success was also important. It was determined that the band director could foster individual success by encouraging all students to do their best and to use teaching strategies, such as mastery learning, to aid the low ability band student. Specific strategies were suggested by the research and supported in the questionnaire results, which aid the low ability band student. Data indicated that providing students with extra help, including the use of peer tutors, helped students perform on the same level as their peers. Providing instruction in small units aided the low ability band students in mastering difficult passages of music. Seating the high and low ability music students next to each other enabled students to work together in class

Tyrosinphosphorylierung als Regulator der Reifung von Rezeptortyrosinkinasen

Die RezeptortyrosinkinaseFLT-3istin frühen myeloidenund B-lymphoidenVorläuferzellen exprimiert und spielt eine wichtige Rolle bei der normalen Differenzierung hämatopoetischer Zellen. Fehlerhafte Aktivität von FLT-3 ist mit akuter myeloischer Leukämie (AML) assoziiert. In etwa 30 % aller AML-Fälle treten Mutationen im FLT-3-Gen auf, die eine konstitutiv aktive Kinase zur Folge haben. Die am häufigsten auftretende Mutationen sind die sg. “internal tandem duplications” (ITD) in der Juxtamembrandomäne. FLT-3 mit ITD Mutation induziert ein anderes Muster an aktivierten Signalwegen als FLT-3 WT, was eine wichtige Rolle bei der Transformation spielt. Der Grund für das veränderte Signalverhalten war bisher unbekannt. In der vorliegenden Arbeit können wir zeigen, dass FLT-3 ITD nicht effizient reift und partiell im endoplasmatischen Retikulum zurückgehalten wird und dass die-se Retention abhängig von seiner Kinaseaktivität ist. Hemmung der Kinaseaktivität durch Inhibitoren, Mutationen oder Coexpression von PTPasen resultierte in einer normalen Reifung des Rezeptors. Wir können ebenfalls zeigen, dass FLT-3 ITD im ER Qualitätskontrollsystem zurückgehalten wird und von molekularen Chaperonen wie Calnexin, HSP90 und ERp57 abhängig ist. Diese Abhängigkeit kann pharmakologisch ausgenutzt werden. Zudem können wir zeigen, dass ER Retention nicht nur bei onkogenem FLT-3 sondern allgemein bei hyperphosphorylierten Rezeptortyrosinkinasen auftritt und demnach Tyrosinphosphorylierung demnach ein allgemeiner gültiges Regulationsprinzip bei der Reifung von Rezeptortyrosinkinasen ist