Chinese National Identity And Minority Populations: The Case Of The Uighurs

Chinese national identity can be understood in three periods: socialist China (1949-1975), post socialist China (1975-2010), and China post-Deng (2010-2019). Policies towards Uighurs in the Xinjiang region can be compared over these three periods, demonstrating the continuities and discontinuities in Chinese national identity over time. These periods frame the response of the Uighurs to Chinese policy. Mao, Zedong Deng Xiaoping, and Xi Jinping are key elite figures in shaping Chinese national identity. The various Constitutions of China and white papers are used to understand how the elite in China view Chinese national identity. Chinese policies towards Uighurs have shifted in accordance to Chinese national identity and Chinese national identity has changed since 1949 to the present

PRICING STRATEGIES FOR ONLINE MULTIPLAYER GAMES

This dissertation examines the different pricing strategies available to online multiplayer game publishers. We develop mathematical models of the pricing decision that the publisher engages in and conduct a numerical experiment to identify critical parameters for the pricing decision. We also develop an agent based simulation to further examine the influence of these parameters on the dynamics between the publisher and consumers and make recommendations about the conditions under which certain pricing strategies are superior to others

"His love is real, but he is not" : examination of reality in Spielberg's AI: artificial intelligence

Steven Spielberg’s 2001 film AI: Artificial Intelligence, based on Brian Aldiss’ short story “Supertoys Last All Summer Long,” deals with important issues of reality and how artificial intelligence, known in the film as mechas, can have emotions and thoughts of their own, transcending the limitations imposed on them by their creators. Literary theories from postmodernist Jean Baudrillard to cyborg theorist Donna Haraway serve to illuminate and challenge Spielberg’s vision of the future, as well as show how these issues relate to the world today. The protagonist in AI, David, is a young mecha boy built with the ability to love its owner; in David’s case, Monica, his “mother.” David spends most of the film trying to become a real boy so Monica will love him as much as he loves her. The main issue of AI is whether or not David’s feelings are authentic or merely a construct implemented by his creator, Professor Hobby. Baudrillard’s Simulations suggests not only are our feelings simulated, but also our conception of reality as well. Haraway’s essay “A Cyborg Manifesto” argues that the confusion generated by the eroding boundaries between human and machine results in the rise of a cyborgian way of life. I make the case that David shares important similarities with cyborgs because of the humanity of his emotions and his need for love and acceptance from Monica. The possibility of an artificial creation with human feelings and desires raises questions about human interaction with mechas like David, challenging human conceptions of reciprocal love

Distinctive physical education teachers : personal qualities, perceptions of teacher education and the realities of teaching

This investigation described the: (a) personal qualities, (b) teaching realities, and (c) perceptions of teacher education of distinctive physical education teachers. A distinctive teacher was defined as one who stands out from the majority of colleagues with respect to: (a) sincere interest and enthusiasm in teaching, (b) genuine concern for pupils, and (c) self-study and continued striving to improve as a teacher. Subjects studied were six selected teachers of required physical education in public junior high and middle schools in the greater Boston area of Massachusetts. Subjects were in at least their fifth year of teaching. Teacher educators, who participated in a workshop to formulate and clarify indicators of teacher distinctiveness, identified the subjects. A pilot study was conducted to improve the research procedures

Inservice workshop for high school physics teachers : an evaluation

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the short-term and long-term changes in content knowledge of physics teachers who participated in a 5-day inservice workshop. The study examined the relationships between participants’ content knowledge changes and physics teaching experience, formal academic preparation, and materials development and teaching. The study also compared participants' performance on conceptual questions and analytical problems. The subjects consisted of 22 high school physics teachers who participated in an inquiry inservice workshop held at North Carolina State University in 1988. Analysis of the data consisted of comparisons between the pretest scores and both the short-term and long-term posttest scores to determine content knowledge changes in each of the physics topic areas studied. To test for statistical significance between pretest and posttests, a one-tailed dependent t test was used

Scapegoated, castaway, and forgotten: the dispensable principals of school turnaround

The blaring din of rhetoric surrounding school reform has become so loud that we rarely hear the sound of the school principal actually engrossed in the daily work of improving schools across the country. The purpose of this dissertation is to give voice to those principals who have been replaced as a result of this battle over how schools can be improved. Rather than focus on the muddled voices of politicians debating this topic, I have chosen to do as Casey (1993) does and present the untold stories of those on the front lines of this war on school reform in hopes of ". . . recreating the possibility of public debate which has actually been suppressed by national reports" (p. 3). As a result of the No Child Left Behind legislation, the school turnaround reform model, as outlined in the School Improvement Grant (SIG) guidelines, has become the model for improving student achievement across the country (GAO, 2011, p. 3). I focus the spotlight on principals who have been replaced due to federal, state, or local district efforts to improve failing schools. In Chapter I, I briefly provide the backdrop for the school improvement movement and explain my reasons for conducting this research along with the significance of this study to the body of work on educational leadership in low performing schools. This chapter includes my research questions along with a description of the theoretical framework used for this study. Included in this chapter is the definition of terms that may be unfamiliar to readers. Chapter II is a review of the literature on school turnaround that provides insight into SIG sanctions that led to the termination of many principals. These sanctions have served as a model for state and district turnaround efforts as well. Included in this same chapter is research on the effectiveness of the turnaround model and the practice of replacing principals for purportedly better ones. Chapter III focuses on the methodology used to conduct the study while Chapter IV includes the stories of the castaway principals and my analysis of the data collected. Chapter V represents my conclusions after analyzing the interview data along with suggestions for further study. I further explore the impact these practices have on the school leadership position, and implications for future policy at the district, state, and federal levels in this area

Determining the relationship of certain venereal diseases to speech and hearing pathology

The venereal diseases are a group of diseases currently thought to be transmitted through intimate contact with an infected person. Throughout their history, the diseases have afflicted the populace in varying ways. The field of speech and hearing alone has revealed certain pathological disorders attributed to venereal disease infection. There are five venereal diseases: syphilis, gonorrhea, chancroid, lymphogranuloma venereum, and granuloma inguinale. Gonorrhea (clap), caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, is of worldwide distribution and has the dubious distinction of being the most prevalent venereal disease. It is characterized by nonspecific mucopurulent (see glossary) inflammation, principally of the genital mucosal surfaces, with occasional septicemic involvement of the meninges, joints, and endocardium

The impact of competition on the ability of public schools to develop resiliency in abused and neglected children

"The dissertation will use an auto-ethnographical approach to the issues that surround the development of resiliency in abused and neglected children, with a focus on competition in schools and its effects on these children. An autoethnography is a genre of writing that features first-person accounts, aesthetic descriptions, dialogue, and self-consciousness to connect the personal and the cultural within a particular social context. Competition is best described as the elevation of one child over another, creating adversarial relationships that threaten cooperation and ideal learning conditions. Abused and neglected children's needs are not met in environments where they are forced to compete with children from more stable, nurturing homes. Comprising an estimated 10 to 15 percent of all students, abused and neglected children need communication and cooperation to establish resiliency, the network of protective factors that all need to overcome adversity. Because educational leaders and politicians never question the assumptions around competition, competitive practices such as awards ceremonies, high-stakes testing, athletics, and other forms of student differentiation are challenged. The reader is introduced to abused and neglected children from the author's perspective as an abused child and school administrator and asked to rethink how our competitive school system is leaving so many needy children behind. Support from numerous sources, pedagogical practices, teacher training, and curricular modifications are presented."--Abstract from author supplied metadata

Hear our stories: an examination of the external factors and motivating forces that help underprepared students succeed

Increasing the success rates of underprepared students remains a pressing concern in higher education - and rightly so. Bettinger and Long (2009) noted many students enter college unprepared to think critically and handle rigorous college-level work. Most of these students are members of historically underserved and underrepresented populations, which make the problem even more disturbing and difficult to tackle. At some institutions, nearly two thirds of African American and Hispanic students fail to graduate within six years (Carey, 2008). Other marginalized student groups such as Native Americans, first-generation college attendees, and those from low-socioeconomic backgrounds also disproportionately fail to complete college because of poor preparation, inadequate secondary schools, and limited financial resources (Cabrera, 2008; Guillory & Wolverton, 2008). This occurs despite ongoing efforts to eliminate the issue. One way colleges and universities have sought to improve retention and persistence of these students is through summer bridge programs. Although bridge programs vary from institution, many provide academic enrichment and intensive remediation for “high-risk” students the summer prior to their first year in college. Proponents of the programs believe they help raise student achievement and improve educational outcomes. However, what do summer bridge participants have to say? To what extent, if any, do they feel their participation in the program enhanced their educational abilities? This research project will utilize case study methodology to uncover the external factors bridge participants believed helped them to succeed in college

The decision process for the acquisition of capital equipment in teaching hospitals

Technological innovations have been the foundation of modern medical advances which have provided cures for some formerly incurable diseases. Reflecting this new technology, state-of-the-art equipment must be acquired by hospitals. However, greatly increased costs of acquiring as well as operating and maintaining this equipment have caused both public and professional concern. Therefore, the decision process for the acquisition of capital equipment has become increasingly important. That process, as conducted by teaching hospitals, is the subject of this study. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of the 419 hospitals with membership in the Council of Teaching Hospitals (COTH) of the Association of American Medical Colleges in order to gather data for a descriptive study