A critical study of motivation and social constructivism in the modern foreign languages classroom

This literature review explores the many ways in which a social constructivist model of learning and teaching may enhance students’ motivation to learn a second language (L2). Socio-psychological perspectives and research methodologies are considered, alongside the integrative/instrumental orientations of motivation and the social constructivist nature of L2 learning

When bilingualism meets autism: The perspectives and experiences of children, parents and educational practitioners

An increasing number of children on the autism spectrum are from linguistically diverse backgrounds. Despite a growing consensus among researchers that bilingualism is not detrimental to the social and linguistic development of autistic children, multilingual families are frequently advised by professionals to adopt a monolingual approach to raising their child. This multi-perspectival study set out to analyse and shed light on lived experiences of bilingualism in autism within familial and educational settings. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) as a methodological framework, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 bilingual autistic children aged between 7 and 14 in England and Wales, along with their parents (n=16) and educators (n=13). This thesis contributes a unique qualitative perspective to the nascent body of research investigating the relationship between autism and bilingualism. Results indicate that while all three groups reported positive attitudes towards multilingualism in theory, many participants were sceptical about its benefits in practice. First, most children in the sample minimised the importance of their home language, despite acknowledging the value of bilingualism more broadly. Second, some educational practitioners raised concerns that bilingualism may impede autistic children’s proficiency in their school’s language of instruction (i.e. English or Welsh). Third, almost half of families opted for a more monolingual approach to raising their child, citing concerns about the severity of their child’s symptoms and advice received by professionals as the primary reasons for their choice. Among the parents who adopted a more multilingual approach, the capacity to communicate with immediate and extended family members was reported as the principal factor driving their language decisions. The thesis concludes by calling for greater support to be available to multilingual families as they make difficult choices about which, and how many, languages to use with their child on the autism spectrum. Given the possible negative consequences of adopting a monolingual approach, advice to families should be responsive to changes in children’s linguistic, developmental and educational needs, and allow sufficient time for the child to develop as a bilingual. This is particularly important as some parents and educators stressed that, while bilingualism may be more challenging for the child in the short term, it was likely to yield greater benefits – both for the child and their wider family – in the long run

Five Minds Our Children Deserve: Why They’re Needed, How To Nurture Them

We describe the five minds that should be nurtured in all children to prepare them to become both good workers and good citizens of a complex, every-changing society. In light of the central role that digital media technologies play in such a society, we explore the way in which digital media affect the development and expression of the five minds, as well as the distinct challenges of cultivating each mind in a digital era. We then delineate the types of schools we believe are best suited to meet these challenges. In conclusion, we consider the pedagogical practices required to develop the five minds and the policies and practices that powerfully affect what happens within the classroom walls

Korea as a Future Cruise Market: Investigating Koreans’ Perceptions of Cruise Ship Travel

This study examines Koreans’ perceptions of cruise ship travel to ascertain the potential for future development. The purpose of the study was to investigate how Koreans perceive cruise ship travel. An understanding of Koreans’ perceptions is essential for developing and determining the potential of the Korean cruise market. Using survey data, the study investigated Koreans’ knowledge level, willingness, and desired travel patterns regarding cruise ship travel. Findings from the study will assist educators and practitioners in enhancing their comprehension of Koreans’ perceptions and behaviors concerning cruise ship travel

Senior Recital: Katie Baumgarten, viola

This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree Bachelor of Music in Performance. Ms. Baumgarten studies viola with Cathy Lynn.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1126/thumbnail.jp

Leaky Pipes, Leaky Wallet: A Look At OSU's Steam/Water Condensate Return System

Course Code: ENR/AEDE 4567One of The Ohio State University’s (OSU) goal is to reduce 5% potable water consumption per capita every five years and reset the baseline every five years thereafter.To achieve a 5% reduction in water consumption, H2 Block O’s research focuses on improving the efficiency of the steam condensate return system at McCracken Power Plant; a boiler plant that generates steam for 131 buildings on The Ohio State University’s campus. The motivation for this undertaking is to increase OSU’s water use rating with AASHE STARS, which is a tracking, assessment, and rating system used to measure sustainability among universities. The research objectives of this project include comparing McCracken’s current state to an efficient system, calculating a payback period analysis in order to weigh the decision-making process, and finally, the third objective is to make recommendations the university can embark on in the future to continue down a path of increased reduction in potable water consumption.Academic Major: Environment, Economy, Development, and Sustainabilit

The GoodWork Project: An Overview

The Good Project is a large scale effort to identify individuals and institutions that exemplify good work -- work that is excellent in quality, socially responsible, and meaningful to its practitioners -- and to determine how best to increase the incidence of good work in our society. This paper is a comprehensive description of the GoodWork Project

The Role of Music Therapy with Infants with Perinatal Brain Injury

Perinatal brain injury occurs in 5.14/1000 live births in England. A significant proportion of these injuries result from hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) in term infants and intracranial haemorrhage (IVH) or periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) in preterm infants. Standardised care necessitates minimal handling from parents and professionals to reduce the progression of injury. This can potentially increase parental stress through the physical inability to bond with their baby. Recent research highlights the ability of music therapy (MT) to empower parental bonding without handling, through sharing culturally informed personal music with their infant. This review therefore aimed to systematically evaluate the use of MT with infants diagnosed with perinatal brain injury in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Search terms were combined into three categories (audio stimulation (MT), population (neonates) and condition (brain injury), and eight electronic databases were used to identify relevant studies following PRISMA guidelines. Eleven studies using music or vocal stimulation with infants diagnosed with perinatal brain injury were identified and quality assessed using Cochrane ROB2, the ROBINSI Tool and the Newcastle Ottawa Scale. Studies used either voice as live (n = 6) or pre-recorded (n = 3) interventions or pre-recorded instrumental music (n = 2). Studies had two primary areas of focus: developmental outcomes and physiological effects. Results suggested the use of music interventions led to a reduction of infants’ pain scores during procedures and cardiorespiratory events, improved feeding ability (increase oral feeding rate, volume intake and feeds per day) and resulted in larger amygdala volumes than control groups. Additionally, MT intervention on the unit supported long-term hospitalised infants in the acquisition of developmental milestones. Vocal soothing was perceived to be an accessible intervention for parents. However, infants with PVL showed signs of stress in complex interventions, which also potentially resulted in an increase in maternal anxiety in one study. MT with infants diagnosed with perinatal brain injury can have positive effects on infants’ behavioural and neurological parameters and support parental involvement in their infants’ developmental care. Further feasibility studies are required using MT to determine appropriate outcome measures for infants and the support required for parents to allow future comparison in large-scale randomised control trials

The Effect of Ubiquitous Information on Algorithms

Recent advances in replicated epistemologies and scalable modalities have paved the way for Moore's Law. After years of essential research into write-back caches, we validate the compelling unification of IPv7 and expert systems, which embodies the technical principles of software engineering. In this paper, we concentrate our efforts on disproving that the much-touted decentralized algorithm for the visualization of IPv4 by Sun and Watanabe is in Co-NP

Parental Perceptions and Decisions Regarding Maintaining Bilingualism in Autism

Abstract: A growing body of evidence suggests that bilingual exposure does not negatively impact children on the autism spectrum. This study sought to illuminate parents’ perceptions and choices regarding maintaining bilingualism in autism. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 family members in England and Wales. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Although parents expressed positive attitudes towards bilingualism, these views were not always congruent with their language practices. Instead, several factors influenced decisions about language maintenance in autism, including the severity of the child’s autism, advice received, and the importance of English as the dominant societal language. This article calls for greater support for families in making language decisions that are suitable for the individual child and their family