Targeting a Niche Market in Las Vegas Gaming Industry

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the most profitable Chinese group in the Las Vegas gaming market in order to develop a customized marketing strategy for the group

L1 translation as scaffolding in tutor talk: a case study of two Korean tutors

With the increasing popularity of the communicative approach in the mid-20th century, the use of the L1 was discouraged and stigmatized in foreign language education. Since the emergence of the sociocultural perspective, however, L1 use has been reconsidered as a key mediating tool for second language learning. Utilizing this sociocultural approach, this study examines how L1 translation is used in tutor-tutee talk during writing center appointments by analyzing the talk of two Korean tutors with their seven tutees. The analysis reveals that L1 translation not only helps the tutees clarify their intended meaning in their texts, but also serves as a successful tool for cognitively scaffolding tutee learning—in the forms of pump, hint, and prompt—by helping both the tutor and tutee negotiate meaning and arrive at a solution together. The results bring new insights regarding the use of L1 translation in tutor and tutee interaction by highlighting the usefulness of L1 translation as scaffolding for language learners, particularly when their language proficiency is not advanced. This study implies that the use of L1, in particular, L1 translation may contribute to L2 learners’ learning of English by facilitating their negotiations of meaning with their teachers as to finally arrive at mutual understanding of each other

The role of scoring in formative assessment of second language writing

This study examines how scoring with feedback in formative assessment affects learning in an English as a foreign language (EFL) writing classroom. Two EFL writing classes were compared: in one class, teacher feedback was given to students on initial drafts, and scores were given only at the end of the semester; in the second class, teacher feedback and scores were given to students on each draft throughout the semester. This study adopted a mixed-methods approach, including a statistical analysis to explore whether teacher feedback accompanied by scoring makes a difference in student writing, and observation, and interviews of focal students to examine how feedback with scores affects students’ perceptions and attitudes towards writing. The results reveal that the scoring class wrote more accurately than the non-scoring class and that the focal students in the scoring class were not only more aware of both their own and their classmates’ performances, but that they also made efforts to emulate the students they considered effective writers. This study implies that scoring can fortify the effects of feedback by motivating high achieving students to do their best in their writing assignments

Phytochrome-dependent coordinate control of distinct aspects of nuclear and plastid gene expression during anterograde signaling and photomorphogenesis

Light perception by photoreceptors impacts plastid transcription, development, and differentiation. This photoreceptor-dependent activity suggests a mechanism for photoregulation of gene expression in the nucleus and plastid that serves to coordinate expression of critical genes of these two organelles. This coordinate expression is required for proper stoichiometric accumulation of components needed for assembly of plastids, photosynthetic light-harvesting complexes and components such as phytochromes. Chloroplast-targeted sigma factors, which function together with the plastid-encoded RNA polymerase to regulate expression of plastid-encoded genes, and nuclear-encoded plastid development factors, such as GLK1 and GLK2, are targets of phytochrome regulation. Such phytochrome-dependent functions are hypothesized to allow light-dependent regulation, and feasibly tuning, of plastid components and function in response to changes in the external environment, which directly affects photosynthesis and the potential for light-induced damage. When the size and protein composition of the light-harvesting complexes are not tuned to the external environment, imbalances in electron transport can impact the cellular redox state and cause cellular damage. We show that phytochromes specifically regulate the expression of multiple factors that function to modulate plastid transcription and, thus, provide a paradigm for coordinate expression of the nuclear and plastid genomes in response to changes in external light conditions. As phytochromes respond to changes in the prevalent wavelengths of light and light intensity, we propose that specific phytochrome-dependent molecular mechanisms are used during light-dependent signaling between the nucleus and chloroplast during photomorphogenesis to coordinate chloroplast development with plant developmental stage and the external environment

Aesthetic and Value Judgment of Neotenous Objects: Cuteness as a Design Factor and its Effects on Product Evaluation.

From the perspective of evolutionary psychology, neoteny entails the specific appearance and traits of babies that tend to trigger protective behaviors by adults. Based on Lorenz (1970), five dimensions of neotenic cues were examined. The following exploratory study was designed to identify whether those determinants of perceived cuteness could be applied to abstract geometric forms. Participants were asked to design a cute rectangle by adjusting the size, proportion, roundness, rotation, and color of the figure. The outcome figures indicated a propensity toward forms that were relatively small, round-cornered, slightly tilted, and light-colored. Findings support the idea that smallness, roundness, tiltedness, and lightness of color can serve as determinants of perceived cuteness in artifact design. However, the evaluation of neotenic designs was mediated by the meaning of cuteness, and this pattern was supported by data collected in two countries, the United States and Korea. This cultural difference can be accounted for by an attitude toward youthfulness. Furthermore, cultural differences in aesthetic judgment of cuteness in design and its influence on product choice were investigated. The asymmetric dominance paradigm was adapted to understand how the cuteness of a product influences choice behavior among consumers. The study examined whether the introduction of a cute product would trigger an attraction, a compromise, or a polarization effect on existing products. The findings suggest a cultural dependence based on how cuteness is evaluated: the attraction effect of a cute decoy was reversed – i.e., in the U.S., the cute decoy seemed to attract the choice share of the cute product, while in Korea, the cute decoy contributed to an increase in the choice share of the non-cute product rather than the cute dominating product. The attraction, compromise, and polarization effects were more pronounced in the U.S. where cuteness was more negatively evaluated.PHDDesign ScienceUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/94009/1/sookie_1.pd

Promoting the Self-Determination of Students with Severe Cognitive Disabilities

This literature review explores five published articles focused on the promotion of self- determination of students with severe cognitive disabilities. The purpose of this literature review is to better understand the details of the interventions designed to support students with the most severe cognitive disabilities. Within this framework, data was collected to examine participants, settings, implementers, and results. All five studies reported positive outcomes for all students in the promotion of self-determination