Discord and Unity: Soviet Dissident Thought

GovernmentMaster of Arts (M.A.

Not by bread alone: a study in the Christian discipline of fasting

https://place.asburyseminary.edu/ecommonsatsdissertations/1050/thumbnail.jp

Signaling and Simulations in Sociolinguistics

Along with game theory, the emerging science of networks has given us a framework for analyzing social systems plausible to both intuition and implementation. As an interaction structure in computer simulation models, social networks provide a way to envision phenomena like information spread, dialect formation, and language change in a more robust way. In this sense a multitude of sociolinguistic issues are potential \u27objects of study\u27 for a) being delineated with methods from game theory and/or network theory and b) being analyzed by simulations of multi-agent interactions, with the goal of exploring the interplay between social factors and linguistic usage. In this sense we i) consider network structure as an important social variable; ii) depict the usage of computer simulations as an appropriate, valid, and powerful technique to analyze sociolinguistic issues; and iii) put a premium on game theory as a method for adequately modeling communicative behavior, with the conclusion that network theory & game theory in simulation models represents a powerful combination for the analysis of sociolinguistic phenomena. This makes it a crucial supplement towards enhancing current sociolinguistic experimentation and theories

Four-Year Graduates Attending Community Colleges: A New Meaning for the Term "Second Chance"

Students who enter community colleges after having successfully completed a four-year degree are growing in number. This paper details a qualitative study of four-year graduates who attended Central Piedmont Community College

A Critical Approach to Understanding ESL Learners' Expectations and Preferences in Tutoring Writing

ABSTRACT A CRITICAL APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING ESL LEARNERS‟ EXPECTATIONS AND PREFERENCES IN TUTORING WRITING by © Stephanie A. Quinley Master of Arts in Teaching International Languages California State University, Chico Fall 2011 Despite the increasing prevalence of English-as-a-Second-Language writing centers on university campuses, there is a lack of research addressing the cultural implications of tutoring students from other countries. This study aims to contribute to the research base by taking a critical look at tutoring Chinese and Saudi Arabian international students in writing, with the theoretical basis that their expectations and preferences of tutoring composition are influenced by the rhetoric and discourse styles of their home countries. From a review of the literature, hypotheses of the two culture groups‟ expectations and preferences are drawn. Actual student input is then collected and analyzed through a written questionnaire. The comparison-contrast of the literature and data reveal a mismatch between the expected outcomes and actual student input, indicating that the two culture groups are open to a „Western‟ approach to tutoring

The role of decomposers as recyclers in the biosphere

Thesis (M.S.)--Michigan State University. College of Natural Science, 1994Includes bibliographical references (pages 69-70

Giving voice to an embodied self: a heuristic inquiry into experiences of healing through vocal creativity

How is the voice healing? Over the past few decades, research has begun to uncover the therapeutic benefits of vocal practices. Research results have evidenced that different forms of vocal expression positively influence the quality of life of an adult emotionally, mentally, physically, psychologically, and spiritually. However, different theoretical approaches, different methods, and different samples have left a heterogeneous picture of the reported benefits. It remains unclear how individuals experience healing through vocal practices, nor do we know much about the qualities that characterise each practice. This research aims to explore how individuals experience healing and transformation through different vocal practices, including therapeutic voicework, creative singing, and performance singing. In this study, these vocal practices are grouped under the term ‘vocal creativity’. The research problem was formulated with the following question: What is the nature and meaning of experiences of vocal creativity, and what can these experiences tell us about the human voice’s potential for healing? To reveal the elements of each vocal practice, and the mechanisms behind individuals’ experiences of healing through the voice, this study adopts a heuristic methodology to yield in-depth findings. More specifically, a heuristic comparison study was undertaken to draw out features that characterise each practice and the therapeutic benefits different forms of vocal creativity have in common. As an additional way to gain knowledge and present key findings, I created songs and lyrical poems to access an embodied understanding of individuals’ experiences. To generate data, I engaged my experience of vocal creativity and conducted conversational interviews. Some of my autobiographical contributions were analysed integrating Process-Experiential Theory to produce a richer understanding of how I have healed and transformed through vocal creativity. The ten respondents of the conversational interviews were men and women, aged between 25-67 years old, from the United States, England, and Spain. The present study provides important insights into the significance of the voice for healing that may be useful for practitioners both within, and outwith, the arts therapies. Integration of vocal creativity and Process-Experiential Theory elaborates on Emotion-Focused Therapy and expands the theoretical base for vocal practices, suggesting that using the voice as an embodied and symbolic tool for emotion may assist in the facilitation of emotional processing, and in working with internal multiplicity. The study’s findings illuminate underlying qualities, processes, and mechanisms in experiences of vocal practices, and elucidate contexts and conditions that enabled or inhibited ways of healing through the voice, all of which are seldom addressed in current scholarship