ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Against Her Kind: The Phenomenom of Women against Women in Ovia Cult Worship
Author: Yakubu, Anthonia Makwemoisa
Date: 2014-10-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,African Culture,Folk Culture,Females,Conflict,Religious Factors,Religious Cultural Groups,Incidence,Mythology,Gender Issues,Gender Discrimination,Feminism,Gender Bias,Power Structure,Sex Role

This paper addresses the incidence of 'Women against Women' in Nigerian folklore. Much has been written on Nigerian folklore, but mainly from within the mortal axis, as reflected in many folktales that cut across different communities in Nigeria. However, it has been observed that this gender phenomenon extends to the supernatural realm, where gods and goddesses, especially the latter, seem to prefer members of the opposite sex as the objects of their attention and goodwill. This paper focuses on Benin mythology, with particular emphasis on the cult and festivals of the Bini goddess, Ovia. Of the origin stories of most of the gods and goddesses in Bini mythology, the &quot;Ovia&quot; cult is unique, as it provides a gender reason why membership is restricted to men. Adopting a psychoanalytical and feminist approach, the paper concludes that Ovia's deliberate exclusion of women re-echoes the negativity ascribed to women.
Addressing Common Concerns about Online Student Ratings of Instruction: A Research-Informed Approach
Author: Winer, Laura
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Academic Achievement,Student Evaluation of Teacher Performance,Foreign Countries,Questionnaires,Undergraduate Students,Comparative Analysis,Correlation,Intellectual Disciplines,Response Rates (Questionnaires),Rating Scales,Electronic Learning

Concerns over the usefulness and validity of student ratings of instruction (SRI) have continued to grow with online processes. This paper presents seven common and persistent concerns identified and tested during the development and implementation of a revised SRI policy at a Canadian research-intensive university. These concerns include bias due to insufficient sample size, student academic performance, polarized student responses, disciplinary differences, class size, punishment of rigorous instructor standards, and timing of final exams. We analyzed SRI responses from two mandatory Likert scale questions related to the course and instructor, both of which were consistent over time and across all academic units at our institution. The results show that overall participation in online SRIs is representative of the student body, with academically stronger students responding at a higher rate, and the SRIs, themselves, providing evidence that may moderate worries about the concerns.
Examining Success and Sustainability of Academic Writing: A Case Study of Two Writing-Group Models
Author: Olszewska, Kinga
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Academic Discourse,Sustainability,Case Studies,Student Writing Models,Collaborative Writing,Student Journals,Reflection,Interviews,Communities of Practice,Scholarship,Writing Skills,Skill Development,Higher Education,Success,Learner Engagement,Trust (Psychology),Feedback (Response),Group Dynamics

In contemporary higher education there is a growing demand for academics to increase their publication output. This requirement raises the question of how institutions can best support a sustainable academic writing culture, which is needed to challenge the assumption that all academics know how to write for publication. This case study examines two models used in a Faculty of Education to support writing groups for academic staff. From the analysis of reflective journals, interviews, and field notes, we identified four factors that influence the success of writing groups, as well as six conditions that support the development of sustainable academic writing. We have learned from the study that the success of a writing group is predicated on a collaborative practice that blends relational, communal, and institutional forms of sustainability in a purposeful, engaged, and reflexive way.
An Intersubjective Analysis of Engineering Leadership across Organizational Locations: Implications for Higher Education
Author: Rottmann, Cindy
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Engineering,Leadership,Higher Education,Engineering Education,Foreign Countries,Leaders,Leadership Effectiveness,Mixed Methods Research,Focus Groups,Semi Structured Interviews

Engineering leadership education has become increasingly popular over the past decade in response to national calls for educational change. Despite the growing popularity of the movement, however, reform efforts continue to be piecemeal in their delivery, driven largely by the priorities of program leaders who established them (Graham, 2012). If we as engineering educators wish to more systematically develop leadership skills in our students, we should begin by empirically examining and defining our phenomenon of interest: engineering leadership. Our article takes up this challenge by investigating how 82 engineers in five organizationally distinct roles define leadership and how their respective insights are shaped by their diverse organizational locations. After weaving together the perspectives of engineers in industry, human resource professionals, entrepreneurs, politicians and interns, we propose a poly-vocal definition of engineering leadership and identify practical implications for engineering leadership educators.
Who Stays and for How Long: Examining Attrition in Canadian Graduate Programs
Author: DeClou, Lindsay
Date: 2016-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Graduate Study,Regression (Statistics),Graduate Students,Student Attrition,Dropout Rate,Dropout Characteristics,Individual Characteristics,Student Characteristics,Withdrawal (Education),Academic Persistence,Time Perspective,Cohort Analysis,Longitudinal Studies,Telephone Surveys,Predictor Variables,Educational Policy,Statistical Analysis

Attrition from Canadian graduate programs is a point of concern on a societal, institutional, and individual level. To improve retention in graduate school, a better understanding of what leads to withdrawal needs to be reached. This paper uses logistic regression and discrete-time survival analysis with time-varying covariates to analyze data from the Youth in Transition Survey. The pre-entry attributes identified in Tinto's (1993) model of attrition are examined to help uncover who is most likely to withdraw from graduate school. A good academic background is shown to be the strongest predictor of entering graduate school. Upon entry, demographic and background characteristics, such as being married and having children, are associated with a reduced likelihood of completing. Policy recommendations at the department and institution level are provided as well as directions for future research.
A Comparative Study of Iranian EFL Teachers' versus Learners' Perceptions of High School English Textbooks
Author: Aghazadeh, Zahra
Date: 2014-08-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Questionnaires,Mixed Methods Research,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Textbook Evaluation,Textbook Content,High Schools,Instructional Material Evaluation,Correlation,Cohort Analysis,Usability,Teacher Attitudes,Student Attitudes

Textbooks play a very crucial role in the process of language teaching and learning. They affect the whole language learning/teaching process. The purpose of this study was to carry out an evaluation of English textbooks currently in use at high schools in Iran from teachers' and learners' points of view in a comparative way. To this end, the study employed a mixed methods design. The data were collected through questionnaires with 43 close-ended items consisting of nine different sections. The results showed that both the teachers and the learners believed that the high school English textbooks are highly ineffective in terms of actual activities, language functions section, pronunciation practice, physical make-up, reading texts, speaking and writing sections and are effective only in terms of vocabulary section, and grammatical points. It can be concluded that the English textbooks used in Iranian high schools cannot meet the Iranian learners' and teachers' needs and wants since they are grammar-based. The findings of this study can be used by the textbook designers in order to take account of the teachers' and learners' preferences and perceptions while designing new editions of the textbooks.
Dyslexic Children and Their Difficulties in Reading Persian Orthography
Author: Nesari, Shahram Jamali
Date: 2014-08-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Elementary School Students,Dyslexia,Children,Reading Difficulties,Indo European Languages,Orthographic Symbols,Reading Tests,Comparative Analysis,Word Lists,Syllables,Reaction Time,Error Patterns,Word Recognition,Difficulty Level,Phoneme Grapheme Correspondence,Language Processing,Monolingualism,Intelligence Tests,Females,Foreign Countries

This research investigated the word reading performance of Persian speaking dyslexic children through the use of a reading test. For this reason, 15 Persian elementary developmental dyslexic student with the mean age of 9.6, (SD= 1.5) and 15 Persian unimpaired elementary student with the mean age of 9.6 (SD= 1.4) were compared. The performance of the two groups was examined according to the effect of transparency variable. Participants were required to read a list of 32 one syllabic word and nonwords in order to compare the reaction times and error rates of reading transparent and opaque words and nonwords. Overall, the finding showed that dyslexic children encountered more problems in reading both transparent and opaque words than did unimpaired children. The finding also showed that reading the opaque words was harder than reading the transparent words for both groups. The results of this research show that specific charactristics of writing systems affect the word processing ability of individuals in the reading task.
A Comparative Study of Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies among Monolingual and Bilingual Iranian EFL Learners
Author: Keshavarz, Mohammad H.
Date: 2014-08-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Comparative Analysis,Metacognition,Reading Strategies,Bilingualism,Monolingualism,Indo European Languages,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Majors (Students),English Literature,Questionnaires,Undergraduate Students,Student Attitudes,Translation,Teacher Education,Self Evaluation (Individuals),Language Proficiency,Foreign Countries,Statistical Analysis

Some researchers argue that linguistic knowledge of one's native language facilitates the acquisition of additional languages (see, for example, Cenoz &amp; Valencia, 1994; Grenfell &amp; Harris, 2006; Hakuta, 1990; Keshavarz &amp; Astaneh, 2004). To contribute to this line of research, the present study investigated the probability of significant differences among monolingual and bilingual EFL learners in their awareness and perceived use of metacognitive reading strategies and in the subscales of these strategies (i.e., global, supportive, and problem-solving strategies). To achieve this goal, 100 Persian monolingual and 100 Azeri Turkish-Persian bilingual second-year university students, majoring in English Literature, ELT, and Translation with the age range of 20-28 participated in the study. Both groups completed the Metacognitive Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI) questionnaire. Participants' reading strategy use was determined by asking them to rate their self-perceived reading ability in reading English course books on a 5-point Likert scale. The results of data analyses revealed significant differences between monolingual and bilingual learners in the use of &quot;overall&quot; and &quot;global&quot; metacognitive reading strategies with bilingual learners having greater awareness of these two strategies. However, no significant difference was found between monolingual and bilingual participants in the use of &quot;problem-solving&quot; and &quot;supportive&quot; metacognitive strategies. This may be due to variables such as language proficiency level and attitudes towards reading that were not taken into consideration in the present study. Based on the results, it can be concluded that bilingualism enhances learners' overall awareness and use of metacognitive reading strategies. In conclusion, the findings indicated that monolingual learners, compared to bilinguals, were less aware of global and overall metacognitive reading strategies. Therefore, EFL teachers should try to increase monolingual students' awareness of such strategies and help them become, what Pressley &amp; Afflerbach (1995) call, &quot;constructively responsive&quot; readers.
Needs Analysis of Business English Undergraduates and the Implications to Business English Curriculum Design
Author: Li, Juan
Date: 2014-08-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Needs Assessment,Business English,English (Second Language),English for Special Purposes,Undergraduate Students,Curriculum Design,Educational Objectives,Textbook Selection,Teaching Methods,Student Surveys,Majors (Students),Learning Motivation,Occupational Aspiration,Student Needs,Educational Needs,Preferences,Expectation,Teacher Qualifications

Needs Analysis is a valuable and irreplaceable tool in the curriculum design of Business English courses. It ensures a focused and efficient curriculum design responsive to the learners' needs. This paper analyses the needs of Business English undergraduates and the information obtained may offer some helpful suggestions to the setting of the teaching goals, selecting textbooks and teaching methods and thus provide reliable guidance for the course designers.
Perception of Improving English Language Proficiency through Video Compositions among Male and Female Students of MRSM Kuala Krai
Author: Sha, Isolde Hon Pei
Date: 2014-08-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Language Proficiency,English (Second Language),Gender Differences,Video Technology,Protocol Analysis,Multimedia Materials,Statistical Analysis,Predictor Variables,Student Attitudes,Teaching Methods,Conventional Instruction,Preferences,Questionnaires,Likert Scales,College Second Language Programs,Learning Motivation,Student Improvement,Foreign Countries

Videos are very versatile. They can act as a tool for listening that enhances listening experience for our students. Other than that, the actions, gestures, emotions, settings, etc, that is observed by students in a video can provide significant visual stimulus for the practice and production of the English language. The study also considers the students perception of improving their English language proficiency through video composition. This research adopts a quantitative approach to establish relationships between variables and to explain the how they are related to each other. To this end, 110 students of Form 4 in MRSM Kuala Krai, Kelantan were involved in this study. Upon data collection, we analyzed the students' attitudes towards the conventional teaching classroom, video composition project, and also new teaching methodologies. Besides, we also discussed the significant difference between the perception of both male and female students of Form 4 in MRSM Kuala Krai, Kelantan.
The Phonetic Nature of Vowels in Modern Standard Arabic
Author: Salameh, Mohammad Yahya Bani
Date: 2014-08-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Semitic Languages,Modern Languages,Phonetics,Vowels,Native Speakers,Foreign Countries,Alphabets,Language Variation,Pronunciation,Classification,Dialects,Articulation (Speech),Morphology (Languages)

The aim of this paper is to explore the phonetic nature of vowels in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). Although Arabic is a Semitic language, the speech sound system of Arabic is very comprehensive. Data used for this study were elicited from the standard speech of nine informants who are native speakers of Arabic. The researchers used themselves as informants, they also benefited from three other Jordanians and four educated Yemenis. Considering the alphabets as the written symbols used for transcribing the phones of actual pronunciation, it was found that the pronunciation of many Arabic sounds has gradually diverged from the standard. The study also discussed several related issues including: The phonetic description of Arabic vowels, classification of Arabic vowels, types of Arabic vowels and distribution of Arabic vowels.
English Language Teaching in Malaysia: The Case for a Dual Track English Curriculum [Short Communication]
Author: Iber, George
Date: 2014-08-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English Curriculum,English (Second Language),Remedial Instruction,Educational Practices,Learning Experience,Barriers,Educational Change,Change Strategies,Second Language Instruction

It has been my privilege to work within the ELTC for a period of 10 months, learning about the English language problems and aspirations of the Ministry of Education. While tasked to work directly on a Remedial Instruction Module, it became apparent that the scopes of the initiatives in Malaysia are much more far reaching. In this paper I wish to convey my perspective in a way that may provide some lighthouse markers as the Malaysia Education Blueprint moves forward.
Identifying Intertextual Relations in Salinger's Story &quot;Franny and Zooey&quot;, Mehrjui's &quot;Hamoon&quot; and Kierkegaard's &quot;Fear and Trembling&quot;
Author: Amiri, Atefeh
Date: 2014-08-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Fundamental Concepts,Literary Devices,Literary Styles,Text Structure,Comparative Analysis,Correlation

This article aims at studying intertextuality in three different texts. These texts are: 1) Kierkegaard's &quot;Fear and Trembling&quot; 2) Salinger's &quot;Franny and Zooey&quot; and 3) Mehrjui's &quot;Hamoon&quot;. To this end, Genette's (1997) concepts and ideas have been adapted. The main concepts are intertextuality and its three types: obvious intertextuality, concealed intertextuality and implicit intertextuality. Based on these concepts and how Genette defines them, it is shown that intertextuality in these texts is implicit rather than obvious or concealed.
&quot;A Refusal of Strict Patterns of Interpretation&quot;: Metaphor, Narrative, and Literary Connections in Katherine Mansfield's &quot;The Fly&quot;
Author: Glotova, Elena
Date: 2014-08-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Figurative Language,Narration,Literary Genres,Fiction,Authors,Moral Issues,Ideology,Literature Appreciation,Ambiguity (Context),Literary Styles,Symbolic Language,World Views

This paper explores how narrative and metaphor combine to articulate the moral and ideological message in a short story &quot;The Fly&quot; by Katherine Mansfield. The research addresses some of the most popular interpretations of the story that demonstrate its ambiguity and intertextual connections. The story metaphorical language is compared with the metaphorical patterns that account for symbolism in a related short story &quot;Small Fry&quot; by Anton Chekhov. The paper argues that cognitive stylistic approach to narrative study can provide the necessary tools to explain the patterns of imagery that produce the story ambiguity. Personification as an important ontological metaphor generates patterns that rationalize the formation of symbolic individuality in existence.
A Historical Overview on the Concept of Validity in Language Testing
Author: Hamavandy, Mehraban
Date: 2014-08-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Language Tests,Concept Formation,Educational History,Construct Validity,Educational Practices,Educational Theories,Criticism,Hypothesis Testing,Theory Practice Relationship

This article provides an overview on language test validation theories, especially the Messickian view on construct validity and the way it's been translated into practice. First, a brief historical synopsis will be set forth, followed by recent views on test validity as advanced by Messick and Kane. The review goes on to lay out the similarities and differences between various validity conceptions, and concludes with their critical evaluation.
Learning Styles among TESL Undergraduates in University Putra Malaysia
Author: Mior Yusup, Farah Nabillah
Date: 2014-08-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Cognitive Style,Undergraduate Students,English (Second Language),Language Teachers,Second Language Instruction,Preferences,Active Learning,Reflection,Intuition,Perceptual Motor Learning,Visual Perception,Verbal Communication,Sequential Learning,Holistic Approach,Questionnaires,Statistical Analysis

Learning style is an individual's natural or habitual pattern of acquiring and processing information in learning situations. A core concept is that individuals differ in how they learn. This study focused on to look at a group of TESL undergraduates' preference in learning styles. The finding showed that the students have different kind learning styles in language learning. Most of them seem to have moderate preference on the active, sensing and global learning, mild preference on the reflective, intuitive, verbal and sequential learning and quite strong preferences for visual learning style. The finding of this study might help both educator and students in developing the pedagogical process and at the same time enhancing the effective learning and finally to improve themselves in the future.
Juggling with Indianness in the Gestation of Translation with Special Reference to the English Translation of a Hindi Story
Author: Priya, K.
Date: 2014-08-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Indians,Translation,Drama,Social Change,Foreign Countries,Role,Migration,Cultural Context,Indo European Languages

This paper is an attempt to look closely at the process of translating dramas with special reference to the Hindi story Aadmi ka Baccha (&quot;The Child of a Man&quot;) by Yashpal in India and the role and significance of prose transcreations in today's changing global scenario.
Reap &amp; Sow: A Mind Consist of Opinions Waiting to Emerge from Rejection
Author: Brown, Angela
Date: 2014-08-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Practices,Equal Education,Educational Attitudes,Bias,School Holding Power,Disadvantaged Youth,Economically Disadvantaged,Relevance (Education),Cultural Pluralism,Social Change,Educational Change,Role Models

The American education system is a complicated form of traditional biases that restrain personal interest to pursue an equal education. Our children cannot endure the public scrutiny that is failing in educational institutions, but should be replaced with a provision of hope.
Similarity between Turkish &amp; Akkadian Based on Rules of Inflective &amp; Agglutinative Languages
Author: Allili, Elsad
Date: 2014-08-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Semitic Languages,Diachronic Linguistics,Contrastive Linguistics,Language Role,Indo European Languages,Language Classification,Turkish,Verbs,Grammar

Akkadian, although a dead language, has left deep imprints on Semitic and some Indo-European languages, and has played an important role in the history of mankind. It is accepted as the ancestor of all the Semitic languages. Beginning from the era of Sargon I, it became the official language in a vast area from Anatolia to Egypt and to India. Akkadian was the &quot;Lingua Franca&quot; of the ancient world, and has passed on many words to other languages such as Persian, Sanskrit and Greek. Although, Assyriologists at present ignore it, the language spoken in the very early days of Akkad, in BCE XXVIII-XXIV, may have been an agglutinative language like today's Turkish or Magyar, rather than an inflective language like today's Arabic and all Syriac languages. Thus it may show parallelism with Turkish.