Broadening the Digital Humanities: The Vectors-CTS Summer Institute on Digital Approaches to American Studies

We propose to bring fifteen (15) scholars with strong interests in digital publication both in the fields of new media and in traditional areas of American Studies and Ethnic Studies to attend a four-week summer institute at the University of Southern California (USC) from mid-July to mid-August, 2011, that will explore how digital scholarship can address the needs of the changing fields of American Studies and Ethnic Studies. This summer institute will be administered by USC’s Center for Transformative Scholarship (CTS) and held at the Institute of Multimedia Literacy (IML), also the operational base for Vectors, the international electronic journal. The institute will be an introduction to key issues in the digital humanities within the context of American Studies and also a hands-on practicum in the creation of digital scholarship. The projects created will enrich participants’ understanding of the digital humanities and will model the field for other scholars in American Studies

Internal consistency reliability and construct validity of the Attitude toward Muslim Proximity Index (AMPI): a measure of social distance

The Attitude toward Muslim Proximity Index (AMPI) is a six-item scale that uses tolerance to different degrees of social distance to assess prejudice towards Muslims. It was tested on 1777 teenage school children from northern England who indicated their religion as either 'Christian' or 'no religion', and demonstrated good internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha = .81). The index was higher among pupils who supported the views of the British National Party and among those who believed that British Muslims should adopt Western culture; but lower among those who knew Muslims or had Muslim friends. The AMPI is a useful measure of Islamophobic attitudes that does not rely on responses to specific events or on detailed knowledge of the Muslim religion

Teaching and Learning in the Spanish as a Foreign Language Classroom

This portfolio is a compilation of the author’s beliefs about teaching and learning in the Spanish language classroom. It centers around the teaching philosophy statement emphasizing the author’s beliefs regarding the role of the teacher, the role of the students, and expectations in the second language classroom. Three research papers are included to support the teaching philosophy statement. The first paper highlight the importance of teaching communicatively in the foreign language classroom with a co-teacher. The second paper explains dual language immersion and its importance in Utah education. The last paper focuses on the teaching of pragmatics in the foreign language. Following the research perspectives, three annotated bibliographies highlight key sources the author read to learn about the major topics discussed in this Portfolio

Advocacy Coalitions in Iowa and Illinois: Examining Same-Sex Policy Subsystems

Literature on LGBT politics and rights has been limited. at best. Little information exists as to how coalitions form and build on successes and failures. Seeking to expand the body of research. this study examined the interest group coalitions active on either side of the highly divisive issue of same-sex marriage. Through a comparative case study, the research showed that at the subnational level many issues affect coalition success, including political culture, divisiveness, and in what arena policy change is occurring. Unsurprisingly, the study shows that perturbations in the subsystem led to the greatest response from coalitions, which led to the most change. Examination of policy subsystems exposed not only what actions coalitions engage in but also showed how group tactics evolve in response to subsystem shocks. This study provides a meaningful contribution to previous research within Advocacy Coalition Framework and Punctuated Equilibrium Theory

Social psychological concepts in the context of intercultural communication

Increased communication between people of different cultures has led to the development of the field of intercultural studies. The field is interdisciplinary in nature, as it draws from theories by scholars in other fields, one of which is social psychology. This dissertation examines aspects of social psychology that are particularly relevant to intercultural communication, as a greater understanding of certain social psychological concepts may increase the effectiveness of intercultural interaction. Central to the argument is the notion of the group, as group inclusion provides norms, roles, and social identities to its members. The relationship between group membership and identity is examined in detail, especially with respect to individuals’ sense of identity and how they relate to members of their in-groups and out-groups. The social comparison theory is an integral part of identity construal because when forming a social identity, people need to compare themselves to others who are not part of their in-groups. How people view members of their out-groups (and compare themselves against them) is related to stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. Group identity and the use of stereotypes are related to self-esteem, as there is a tendency to view in-group members as inherently superior to out-group members. While this dissertation focuses on social psychological factors that are important to intercultural communication, the psychological aspects of cross-cultural adaptation are briefly discussed, as they also have the potential to influence intercultural interaction. Contexts in which intercultural communication is most likely to take place are examined, focusing on the social psychological factors that underlie such communication. The role of the cultural marginal is also discussed, as people who are socialized into the periphery of two or more cultures develop a unique cultural perspective that, in recent years, has become a socially desirable view

Student-Athletes and Their Willingness to Contribute Financially in the Future to Eastern Illinois University Athletics

University. Find out more about the program. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Theses & Publications at The Keep. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master