Australian political discourse: Pronominal choice in campaign speeches

The intention behind language used by candidates during an election campaign is to persuade voters to vote for a particular political party. Fundamental to the political arena is construction of identity, group membership and ways of talking about self, others, and the polarizing categories of 'us' and 'them'. This paper will investigate the pragmatics of pronominal choice and the way in which politicians construct and convey their own identities and those of their political opponents within political speeches. Taking six speeches by John Howard and Mark Latham across the course of the 2004 federal election campaign, I look at the ways in which pronominal choice indicates a shifting scope of reference to creat pragmatic effects and serve political functions

The Somatic Experience of White Privilege: A Dance/Movement Therapy Approach to Racialized Interactions

This qualitative study examined the somatic experience of White privilege in participants who were committed to developing a nonracist White identity. It postulated that there are somatic cues and expressive signatures of White privilege that, once identified, could be addressed through basic dance/movement therapy interventions used at the intrapersonal level. Awareness of these cues may help White people navigate their privilege in racialized interactions thereby reducing further enactments of racism. Using Critical Race Theory and Whiteness Studies as conceptual frameworks and building on research exploring the impact of oppression on the body, this study sought to answer the following questions: (1) How do White people experience skin privilege? (2) What is the impact of sociocultural and institutional norms around race on the self-image, body language, and interoception of those who hold racial privilege? (3) What are the somatic markers of privilege? Interviews included verbal and non-verbal prompts designed to elicit information about how participants recognize and experience White privilege through sensation and movement. The non-verbal portions of the interviews were based on theoretical approaches from the field of dance/movement therapy. Data was analyzed using a constant comparative method with Helms’ White Racial Identity Development model as a frame of reference for sorting and coding. The eight themes that emerged were consistent with the literature on privilege while also providing additional information about its somatic components. They were: disorientation, marked by confusion and tension resulting from a disrupted worldview; self-structuring, demonstrated through the creation of internal lists that appeared to re-establish equilibrium; polarization in self and in relationship to others; describing privilege through contrast; self-consciousness, marked by embarrassment and self-deprecating humor; seeking affirmation from others; maintaining awareness through regular engagement with one’s privilege; and seeking wholeness or reintegration. Findings suggest the field of dance/movement therapy has existing approaches that could support White people in developing more racial stamina by supporting: increased racial self-awareness and the ability to witness oneself; tolerance for sensate experience including strong or uncomfortable feelings; access to a range of thoughts, movements, and responses; and empathy in racialized interactions. Potential applications include both clinical and educational settings

Social Capital Made Visible: a Case Study of Professional Learning Communities in Early Care and Education

Early care and education (ECE) services are necessary for a society because of a variety of ethical, economic, and developmental reasons. A well-developed field of practice is needed to ensure young children have access to high quality care and education settings. To promote a thriving profession, many are calling for the field of early care and education to increase the human capital, or the knowledge and skills gained through higher education and professional development, of those that work directly with young children and families. However, there exists a somewhat narrow theoretical basis for current professional development practices, particularly forms of ongoing professional development offered to those already working with young children. As professional development systems and specific programs are developed aimed at increasing the human capital of caregivers and teachers, I am proposing the importance of broadening professional development activities to include goals and delivery mechanisms based upon a theoretical understanding of the complex social systems and structures in which individuals develop. I call upon the theory of situated cognition which requires a shift from the isolated cognitive process of individuals to a highly contextualized process of learning; building a profession of competent caregivers and teachers is both about promoting the individual cognitive gains and the collective health of a social learning system of practitioners. Thus, the current study applied the sociological concept of social capital as a framework to explore a social system of ongoing professional development in ECE to illustrate how webs of social connections influence the learning and professional development process. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to study how social capital was experienced by those involved in the bounded social system of an ongoing professional development program offered to early childhood providers participating in a publically subsidized universal preschool program. Particular focus was given to the professional learning communities being introduced as a new opportunity within the overall professional development program. From a research stance as both a constructivist and critical adult, I sought to bring visibility to a largely invisible construct using the research question: How are the components of social capital experienced in the process of developing early childhood professionals? An in-depth statement of problem and rationale for the current study will be presented in chapter one. The second chapter presents a discussion about the three primary components of social capital; social networks, trust, and social resources and returns. Additionally, the second chapter will set the stage for the current study by describing how the concepts of social capital have been applied to the practice of education. Through the data and field experiences I gathered during the implementation of four different PLC groups, the reader is provided in the fourth chapter with a thick description and comprehensive analysis of how early childhood professionals experience the components of social capital. I explored three within-cases answering how the program design supported social interaction in a professional development setting, how the implementation of the PLCs fostered social learning experiences, and how teachers and directors ultimately experienced the components of social capital as a developing early childhood professional. As a result of the findings, four theoretical perspectives (developmental, asset-based, equity, and situating social learning) are presented and validated through the data as significant angles from which to see how the components of social capital currently do and potentially could operate in early childhood professional development settings. In the final chapter, I provide the reader a summary of the full study and a reflection upon my researcher stance as I engaged in the field of inquiry. I leave the reader with several primary interpretations from this case. First, social capital weaves through a variety of important constructs making visible unique aspects and considerations relevant to professional development settings for adult learners. Secondly, current professional development practices for early care and education professionals may over-emphasize what people need to learn versus how people need to learn. The study findings are further interpreted by integrating relevant literature for those designing professional learning communities, delivering professional learning communities, or those interested in the general activity of promoting the early childhood profession through ongoing professional development. In the end, the case study presented represents a relevant inquiry regarding how social networks, social trust, and social resources were conceived and experienced by people participating in the design, implementation, and activity of professional development for (and as) early childhood professionals

A Critical Analysis of the Utilization of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Psychotherapy with African American Clients

Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapeutic intervention designed to decrease distress associated with traumatic memories. EMDR has been validated and confirmed by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) as a primary treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and has been recognized as effective by the World Health Organization and the Department of Defense. Multiple studies reflect EMDR’s capacity to heal the brain from psychological trauma; thus, clients are able to immediately experience the benefits of psychotherapy that previously took years to obtain. However, despite EMDR’s efficacy, there are minimal references to diversity, culture or context in EMDR research and literature. EMDR protocol has no adaptations or recommendations for utilizing this approach with African American clients, promoting an antiquated one size fits all treatment orientation. Without consideration of the lived experiences of African Americans and context that includes acknowledgement of stigma, shame regarding help seeking and historical trauma, this lens obscures the relevance of identity, privilege, power and inclusion in treatment. Therefore, it is imperative to critically examine how EMDR treatment can be utilized to alleviate PTSD distress within a framework of oppression. The authors utilized an anti-oppressive, Critical Race theoretical perspective to examine four case studies of African American clients who received EMDR intervention to gain insight on the unique nuances that arise during treatment. Emphasis will be placed on critiquing the treatment protocol; the positionality of the clinician and clinical implications for future anti-oppressive practice with African American clients utilizing this model

Facilitation of student-staff partnership in development of digital learning tools through a special study module

A student-staff partnership was formed as part of a final year special study module to provide dental students the opportunity to work closely with faculty to produce high-quality e-learning resources in areas of the curriculum identified by the students as particularly difficult. The student-staff team identified the following themes as major influences on the success of the project: student-staff interaction, ownership, managing expectations, time pressures, and co-creation partnership benefits. This partnership resulted in a valuable learning experience for both the students and staff involved. The resource developed was evaluated by junior dental students in second and third year of the five year Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) degree programme at Glasgow Dental School and showed a high degree of acceptability by those in both groups. The quality assurance built into the process has resulted in an e-learning resource that has been incorporated directly into our flipped classroom model for pre-clinical skills teaching

Lincoln Memorial 1

Digital reproduction of stylized depiction of A. Lincoln statue at Lincoln Memorial, by Wendy Allen. Title at lower left: Lincoln Memorial 1 .https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/fvw-artifacts/3893/thumbnail.jp

Lincoln 54

Digital reproduction of stylized standing portrait of beardless A. Lincoln by Wendy Allen. Title at lower left: Lincoln 54 .https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/fvw-artifacts/3889/thumbnail.jp

Lincoln 78

Digital reproduction of stylized head and shoulders portrait of beardless A. Lincoln by Wendy Allen. Title at lower left: Lincoln 78 .https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/fvw-artifacts/3841/thumbnail.jp

Leadership learning design principles: Co-creating dialogic and critical pedagogy within cohort and community contexts

The purpose of this paper is to share our pedagogical evolution as graduate faculty in relationship with increasingly diverse cohort communities of early childhood professionals learning across the landscape of leadership roles engaged with young children, families, and other adults. The early childhood leadership program described in this paper offers a graduate certificate where annually, a cohort of 18-22 early childhood professionals from across Colorado in the United States learn together for 13 months. As faculty, we share a strong commitment to both learning about our teaching and to inviting student voices, the early childhood professionals, through dialogic processes in participatory study as we co-learn and grow our practices of learning and teaching. This paper introduces and explores four leadership learning design principles: (1) identity and agency, (2) socially constructed pedagogy, (3) contextually relevant learning experience, and (4) appreciative stance. As we go, the story will unfold around how we engaged cohort members of the 2019-2020 program year through initial survey reflections and then deepening our shared understanding of these leadership learning design principles through iterations of dialogue after the program was concluded. We end the paper with reflections on how this process of study has ultimately brought us to an awareness and eagerness to engage in relational forms of inquiry, placing student voices at the center with even more intention and depth