Broughton Archipelago Clam Terrace Survey : final report

During a 1995 aerial video survey of the coastline of Johnstone Strait, an unusual shoreline feature was noted and termed “clam terraces” (inset) because of the terrace-type morphology and the apparent association with high clam productivity on the sandflats. Typical alongshore lengths of the terrace ridges are 20-50m, and across-shore widths are typically 20-40m. An area with an especially high density of clam terraces was noted in the Broughton Archipelago, between Broughton and Gilford Islands of southeastern Queen Charlotte Strait. Clam terraces in this area were inventoried from the aerial video imagery to quantify their distribution. The terraces accounted for over 14 km of shoreline and 365 clam terraces were documented. A three-day field survey by a coastal geomorphologist, archeologist and marine biologist was conducted to document the features and determine their origin. Nine clam terraces were surveyed. The field observations confirmed that: the ridges are comprised of boulder/cobblesized material, ridge crests are typically in the range of 1-1.5m above chart datum, sandflats are comprised almost entirely of shell fragments (barnacles and clams) and sandflats have very high shellfish production. There are an abundance of shell middens in the area (over 175) suggesting that the shellfish associated with the terraces were an important food source of aboriginal peoples. The origin of the ridges is unknown; they appear to be a relict feature in that they are not actively being modified by present-day processes. The ridges may be a relict sea-ice feature, although the mechanics of ridge formation is uncertain. Sand accumulates behind the ridge because the supply rate of the shell fragments exceeds the dispersal rate in these low energy environments. The high density areas of clam terraces correspond to high density areas of shell middens, and it is probable that the clam terraces were subjected to some degree of modification by aboriginal shellfish gatherers over the thousands of years of occupation in the region. (Document contains 39 pages

Enhancing Willingness to Communicate through Team Building: A Marriage of Theory and Practice

Closely related to the well-researched areas of motivation and language-learning anxiety is the area of willingness to communicate (i.e., WTC). Many researchers (e.g., Clément, Dörnyei, & Noels, 1998; Liu & Jackson, 2008; MacIntyre & Doucette, 2009) have conducted studies concerning the factors surrounding learners’ willingness or unwillingness to communicate in a second language. The emphasis of such research has been on causes and not on solutions. This paper, through a study of the existing literature, examines the causes of a lack of WTC. It then argues that some well-known techniques and methodologies, by promoting team building, are well suited to enhance WTC. The paper concludes that the traditional warmup activity, the case-study method, cooperative learning techniques, and task-based learning techniques, when implemented with team building in mind, may aid in increasing WTC

Supplementing Coursebooks--How, Why, and to What Effect: A Case Study

This article reports on a case study of one instructor’s use of supplementary materials in an English as a Foreign Language course in China. Starting with the notion that no coursebook can be perfect and that supplementary materials therefore should form part of an English course, the study employed qualitative research methods to analyze the types of supplements used, the instructor’s rationale behind his use of the supplements, and the students’ interpretations of the supplements. Class observations, semi-structured interviews with the teacher, and focus-group discussions with students allowed for the triangulation of data. Findings indicated that the instructor provided a variety of types of supplementary materials in order to cater to different learner needs (specifically, affective needs, language-learning needs, course-content needs). While findings also indicated that learners generally appreciated the instructor’s use of supplementary materials, significant mismatches between instructor goals and learner interpretations suggested that the purpose of the supplements was not always clearly defined. The article addresses these mismatches and provides suggestions for their future avoidance

College Students\u27 Perceptions of Cell Phone Use in Class

Since the turn of the century, cell phones have increasingly become prevalent within modern society. The widespread use of these mobile devices has proliferated in academic settings in recent years. Ownership of cell phones among college students has soared during the same period. This dissertation joins a growing conversation in education research about the challenges that cell phone use in the classroom has caused. I explored what college students’ experiences are with text messaging during class and how they perceive policies for cell phone use for the classroom. This research study was guided by six research questions: (1) What are college students’ general experiences with text messaging? (2) What are college students’ observations of cell phone use by others? (3) What are college students’ practices of cell phone use in the classroom? (4) What are college students’ experiences with issues related to cell phone use in the classroom? (5) What are college students’ perceptions about cell phone policies for class? (6) Do college students’ perceptions of appropriate cell phone policies for class vary by select demographic variables (age, gender, ethnicity, class standing, and community college experience)? A quantitative cross-sectional research design was utilized to describe college students’ perceptions of cell phone use during class and to identify what the perceptions of appropriate cell phone policies for class are among certain demographics of students. A web-based survey consisting of 28 questions was sent 264 undergraduate and graduate Political Science students with 43 (16%) responding. Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s chi-squared statistical test was used to analyze the data. The findings from this research revealed that perceptions of appropriate cell phone policies for class differ among certain demographic variables. Additionally, students think that they should be allowed to use their cell phones during class but agree that policies to govern the use of cell phone during class are needed