ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
A Structuralist Study of Chinua Achebe's Anthills of the Savannah
Author: Ononiwu, Mark Chitulu
Date: 2015-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Crime,Political Issues,Authors,Novels,African Culture,Literary Devices,Discourse Analysis,Semiotics,Imagery,Figurative Language,Text Structure

Major African writers have never stopped exploring the themes of corruption, radical struggles and political instability in their respective domains. One of these writers and his monumental classic, Chinua Achebe; &quot;Anthills of the Savanna&quot;, discusses these themes expertly and with utmost dexterity. The major task of this paper is not to discuss the themes, rather to study the underlying structures of signification as they are applied in the structure of the narrative. The researcher therefore, will attempt to identify the smallest meaningful units in the text and study their modes of combination with the sole aim of comprehending fully how the meaning and thematic content of this narrative is created instead of interpreting the actual meaning conveyed. Simply put, this study will take a deep incursion into the methods through which the author deftly gets these themes across to his audience.
Dialogism and Carnival in Virginia Woolf's &quot;To the Lighthouse&quot;: A Bakhtinian Reading
Author: Faizi, Hamed
Date: 2015-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English Literature,Novels,Twentieth Century Literature,Dialogs (Language),Literary Devices

Mikhail Bakhtin's dialogism in a novel promises the creation of a domain of interactive context for different voices which results in a polyphonic discourse. Instead of trying to suppress each other, the voices of the novel interact upon the other voices in a way that none of them tries to silent the other ones, and each one has the opportunity to express itself. In Virginia Woolf's &quot;To the Lighthouse&quot;, although some voices attempt to be more dominant, all are allowed to be heard and interact with the other ones. In this way Mrs. Ramsay acts like a link that helps to create a dialogic discourse by respecting the voices of all the other participants. Consequently a carnivalesque narrative discourse is established through which the voices that yield to be dominant, which is mainly Mr. Ramsay's voice, could not be established as a hierarchical position and even it loses its authoritative position as the other characters attend the dialogue in the context of the novel. The present article will take it to track the policies of dialogism and carnival in Woolf's novel and to search the production of meaning via the emergence and development of these policies. The activity in it of dialogism is the cause of unfinalizability which is the vital feature of dialogism that allows the permanent operation of dialogue upon the course of time and prevents the establishment of hierarchical positions of power. The article will also take to extrapolate the different phases in the creation of this sense of dialogism in the novel and especially highlighting the role of Mrs. Ramsay in the fabrication of such a sense.
Loss of Essential Humanity and Empathy as a Result of Exploitations in Blasphemy by Tehmina Durrani
Author: Mubarik, Asma
Date: 2015-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Empathy,Novels,Sexual Abuse,Family Violence,Gender Differences,Moral Values,Social Values,Islam,Ideology,Religious Factors,Qualitative Research

After &quot;My Feudal Lord&quot; in 1991, &quot;Blasphemy&quot; is the second major work by Tehmina Durrani; first published in 1998. This book has taken the world by storm since its publication. The novel is a disturbing and agonizing tale of physical and sexual abuse, domestic violence, gender disparity, deterioration of moral and social values, misrepresentation of Islamic ideology, hypocrisy of so called &quot;revered men of God&quot;, exploitation of the weak and the disappearance of humanity and loss of empathy as the result of all these evils.
Social Education Politics in a Europe of Inequalities
Author: Cortés, Javier Bascuñan
Date: 2013-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Politics of Education,Educational Policy,Social Structure,Democracy,Regional Characteristics,Public Opinion,Literature Reviews,Citizenship Education,Economic Development,Competition,Employment,Welfare Services,Social Justice

The aim of this research is to analyse some indicators which allow us to understand the current state of social education politics in Europe, with special reference to Spain. Some European and Spanish social and educational policies which try to confront the challenges of the current financial crisis are also explained. Some deficiencies, failures and contradictions attached to the process of the construction of European citizenship are pointed out. Some key topics which seem to foresee a deeper social and democratic crisis apart from the economic one are tackled. It is explained how the new forms of inequality evidence the failure of some of the important declarations of intent and objectives of the European Union. The subjection of social and democratic aspects to neoliberal economy--i.e. the negation of ideologies--is questioned. To conclude, some key topics are proposed as the central axis through which it could be possible to redefine the content of social education politics in Europe and Spain and to set the bases of a new democratic European citizenship.
Problems and Challenges for the Politics of Education before the Change of Prominence Experienced by Educational Actors
Author: Fernández-Soria, Juan Manuel
Date: 2013-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Politics of Education,Journal Articles,Literature Reviews,Active Learning,Neoliberalism,Accountability,School Choice,Student Evaluation,Barriers,Governance,State Action,Stakeholders

This paper deals with some of the problems that the Politics of Education has to face both as a subject and as a government action. Based above all on the literature appeared in specialized journals during the last five years, our attention is firstly focused on the concern for using an active methodology in the teaching of this subject which places students at the center of the teaching-learning process with the aim of encouraging their interest in its contents and inducing them to acquire civic competences. Secondly, the new but already deeply-rooted neoliberal conception of education is used to describe some of its policies, such as accountability, assessment and free choice of school. Our study finally stresses the change of prominence experienced by educational actors and calls researchers and teaching staff to face such challenges from an understanding of politics as a transforming action that seeks equality and social cohesion.
Evaluating the Representation of Cultural Elements in an In-Use EFL Textbook
Author: Bahrami, Nazli
Date: 2015-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Textbook Content,Content Analysis,Questionnaires,Teacher Attitudes,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Second Language Instruction,Western Civilization,Cultural Traits,Teaching Methods,Cultural Differences,Language Teachers,Observation,Statistical Analysis,Foreign Countries

The present study was an attempt to evaluate and specify teachers' perception of the cultural elements of Total English book series. Another objective was to study the techniques and strategies that teachers usually use in teaching these elements. To this end, a total of 50 male and female teachers working at Kish Language Institute in Esfahan participated in the study. A questionnaire adopted from Kilickaya (2004) was used for studying teachers' perception. It included 25 items about cultural elements. Some more cultural related options were added to the questionnaire later. An observation scheme was also used to observe teachers' activities in the classroom. After the analysis of the data, it was found that the &quot;Total English Series&quot; is biased as it promotes the western culture and values much more than other cultures. Moreover, the cultural elements were mostly incompatible with the L1 (Iranian) culture. Last but not least, it was found that the English teachers working in Kish Language Centers do not have a good command of target culture (L2), and use limited number of activates to introduce cultural elements of the books.
A Typology of Education Ballot Issues: 1906 to 2009
Author: Carpenter, Dick M., II
Date: 2013-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Educational Policy,Bond Issues,Democracy,State Policy,State Action,Voting,Educational Legislation,Policy Formation,Political Campaigns,Politics of Education,Qualitative Research,Educational Finance,Educational Facilities,Educational Change,Moral Issues,Equal Education

Almost half of the states in the United States allow citizens to make educational policy through ballot issues, a mechanism of direct democracy. Yet, no study has attempted analyze the educational ballot issue landscape, meaning little systematic attention has been paid to this important and increasingly influential form of educational policy making. This study identifies and classifies the types of state ballot issues considered by voters in the 24 states that allow for the creation of educational policy through direct democracy. Between 1906 and 2009, citizens voted on 206 education-related ballot issues. Among these, six types emerged: curriculum and instruction, equity, fiscal, infrastructure, morality, and reform. Ballot issues have been used most often for fiscal issues, followed by infrastructure, reform, morality, and curriculum and instruction. Across all types of ballot issues, voters rejected education initiatives by a wide margin: A little more than 66% failed at the ballot box. Nevertheless, it remains a popular method of grassroots educational policymaking--2000 to 2009 saw the most frequent consideration of education ballot issues.
Dynamic Systems Modeling in Educational System Design &amp; Policy
Author: Groff, Jennifer Sterling
Date: 2013-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Systems Development,Educational Methods,Educational Policy,Systems Analysis,Educational Change,Models,Educational Legislation,Federal Legislation,Class Size,Case Studies,Educational Planning,Design Preferences,Change Strategies

Over the last several hundred years, local and national educational systems have evolved from relatively simple systems to incredibly complex, interdependent, policy-laden structures, to which many question their value, effectiveness, and direction they are headed. System Dynamics is a field of analysis used to guide policy and system design in numerous fields including business and urban planning. Applying this tool to educational policy analysis offers insights into the hidden dynamics of the current system, and can be an invaluable tool in designing future scenarios. We explore underlying dynamics of the current US educational system using System Dynamics modeling, and offer an analysis of this tool and its practical application in the US educational system through a case study on the US state of Rhode Island in the 2007-2008 school year.
Global Politics and Education Systems: Towards Education Markets?
Author: Gil, Leoncio Vega
Date: 2013-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Global Approach,Politics of Education,Educational Policy,Educational Administration,Governance,Social Control,International Organizations,Commercialization,Educational Methods,Educational Practices

Our paper has as its first aim to highlight the fact that the approach on which studies about educational policies or the politics of education (the second concept being more widely used in social sciences) have been based so far involves returning to the stance posited by J.A. Maravall--a category composed of ideas, foundations, mind-set, ideology, etc.; in other words, politics as an idea. A second analytical category would be expressed by norms, legislation, actions, practices, etc., which represent politics as regulation (Dutercq, 2005). Despite placing our study within the management of both categories from a methodological point of view, our focus is more specifically placed on the second interpretation. Thus, new education policies break the &quot;methodological nationalism&quot; with a view to present standardized, mercantile and global discourses and practices as a demand of international education agencies. These global policies end, or begin, by building a social and practical network identified here as &quot;schooling market&quot; and expressed through private ownership of schools and governance (the social use of education practices), which operates with different degrees of intensity across international education systems.
Comparing and Deciding: A Historical Note on Education Policy
Author: Magalhães, Justino
Date: 2013-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Comparative Analysis,Decision Making,Educational Policy,Foreign Countries,Global Approach,Educational Assessment,Educational History

This article provides a &quot;lineage&quot; of decisions related to education policy which takes comparison as its motive, knowledge and method. A conceptual chain of world system, internationalization, convergence in education and globalization is briefly outlined. The paper examines decision-making in education policy according to agreement, mainstreaming and production criteria, taking Latin America as the linkage and the European Community as the construction. Reasoning and enlightenment are gathered in different fields of history: culture, economics, politics and education. The present paper applies a core structuring epistemology--culled from a variety of academic domains--with comparison and decision underpinning a complex rationale where time, space, materiality, knowledge, ideas, action, and evaluation all intersect.
A Study of Refusal Speech Act in Chinese Dating Programs--Take &quot;If You Are the One&quot; as an Example
Author: Wang, Yiwen
Date: 2015-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Speech Acts,Dating (Social),Foreign Countries,Pragmatics,Gender Differences,Oral Language,Discourse Analysis,Television,Programming (Broadcast)

Looking at the development of China dating programs, &quot;If You Are The One&quot; in Jiang Su satellite TV is the heated program drawing much attention from the public. There are some papers focusing on the dialogue in the program from the perspective of linguistic features or pragmatic function, but there are few papers on the refusal speech act in such programs. Based on the classified oral language data in the program, this paper studies the refusal speech act when male or female guest was asked to build a love relationship with someone. Under the guidance of the face theory (Brown &amp; Levinson), Politeness principle (Leech), we analyze the pragmatical difference of different refusal speech act. In addition, from the perspective of gender difference the study analyzes different refusal speech act patterns conducted by male and female guests in dating program and we find that men behave generally more direct while women are more euphemistic and polite in refusal speech act.
An Exploratory Study of the Language-Learning Style Preferences of Iranian EFL High School Students
Author: Ramezani, Afsaneh Effatdokht
Date: 2015-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,High School Students,Cognitive Style,Structured Interviews,Student Attitudes,Gender Differences,Auditory Perception,Kinesthetic Perception,Tactual Perception,English (Second Language),Second Language Instruction,Listening,Participation

This study explored the learning style preferences of 40 Iranian students at Marefat Iranian high school in Kuala Lumpur of which, 20 are females and 20 are males. To this end, this study used structured interview to elicit in-depth information from the students. The results of the study showed that learning style preferences of Iranian students were different according to their gender. Female students preferred auditory learning as their major learning style, while male students preferred kinesthetic more. Moreover, the findings revealed that kinesthetic learning was the least preferred learning style of the most female students, whereas the least preferred learning style of male students was tactile learning.
The Spectre of Educational Policy Spreads throughout Europe. Its Presence as a Discipline in Postgraduate Education
Author: Jiménez Eguizábal, Alfredo
Date: 2013-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Educational Policy,Graduate Study,Postsecondary Education as a Field of Study,Ethnography,Comparative Education,Ideology,Praxis,Sustainability,Educational Innovation,Educational Practices,Intellectual Disciplines,Accreditation (Institutions),Educational Assessment,Decision Making,Doctoral Programs,Educational Change,Norms,Values,Politics of Education,Marxian Analysis

The aim of this paper is to identify and analyse the ways educational policy is understood, taught and practiced as a training discipline at postgraduate level in the European context. We have validated its epistemological solvency through a quantitative, comparative and ethnographic study of its main features as a discipline--such as ideological and valorative component, praxis-oriented discourse or sustainable and plural normative proposals--found in a stratified sample of 20 countries, 112 universities and 170 training programmes. We also discuss the innovative and formative potential of educational policy to resolve the most contested pedagogical issues and design the educational system, specifying when, how and in which conditions it is constructed as an academic discipline. Among the findings stand out the accreditation and the assessment of the specific role of the values, actors, institutions, supranational decisions and public and curricular policies that shape up educational programmes at a European level, hence contributing to the disciplinary progress of educational policy as a pedagogical, normative, axiological and plural knowledge.
Problems and Challenges of Educational Policies in Latin America. The Argentina Viewpoint
Author: Muscará, Francisco
Date: 2013-07-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Educational Policy,Educational Practices,Educational Change,Equal Opportunities (Jobs),Equal Education,Educational Quality,Social Integration,Administrative Organization,Teaching (Occupation),Educational Finance,Elementary Secondary Education,Teacher Education,Educational Objectives

The objective of this article is to describe the most significant changes which are being carried out in Latin-American educational systems, taking Argentina as a point of reference. To that end, this comparative study tackles the following essential aspects: the principle of equal opportunities and social cohesion; decentralisation of educational systems at an institutional level; educational quality and equity problems; the career of teaching; and financial resources. The reforms carried out at university level have not been analysed, since their complexity exceeds the limits of this article. To conclude, we briefly mention the future goals which have been agreed by those responsible for education in diverse Latin-American countries.
The Concept of Khudi (The Self) in Iqbal's &quot;The Secrets of the Self&quot;
Author: Zeb, Aurang
Date: 2015-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Self Concept,Religious Factors,Spiritual Development,Psychological Needs,Security (Psychology),Interpersonal Relationship,Self Actualization,Islam,Poetry

This article is an attempt to study the concept of &quot;Khudi&quot; in Iqbal's &quot;The Secrets of the Self&quot; not only on theoretical grounds but also on account of its poetic expression. This research article focuses upon Iqbal's inventive doctrine of the self; and all the subsequent works of Iqbal supplemented and further refined this central concept. The dominant idea that Iqbal emphasizes is that knowing oneself is in fact an immediate perception of God. He focuses his attention on the individual &quot;I&quot;, thus shifting the emphasis from divine to human. The path of recognition of the self is the path that takes one to a contact with the Absolute. Iqbal's whole conception of the growth of the selfhood consists of three levels: (i)--the self and &quot;I am ness (intrapersonal); (ii)--the self and the other (interpersonal); (iii)--the self and God (transpersonal). The first level of the self and &quot;I am ness&quot; can be likened to the first (lowermost) level of psychological needs in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. At this level the self is just conscious of its own self. This &quot;I am ness&quot; marks the first awakening of the self. The self cannot think beyond itself until and unless the physiological needs are satisfied. The other level of &quot;the self and the other&quot; can be linked to psychological and social needs. After the station of the biological or physiological needs, the self yearns for security and stability. Here, at this level, the self is able to recognize the other that is to see oneself in the light of the other. When physiological and safety needs are fairly satisfied as Maslow suggests, &quot;People have belongingness and love needs--they feel the need that they belong somewhere instead of being transient or newcomers--&quot;(Hall 204). Relatedness is a need of belongingness, which starts from our natural ties with our mother and reaches to universal comradeship with all human beings. The third level of &quot;the self and God&quot; is the recognition of God--to see oneself in the light of God. This level can be linked to the &quot;Need of self-actualization&quot; in Maslow's theory. The development of the self does not take place in a void or seclusion. When a man is disconnected from his environments, his capacities remain underdeveloped. Iqbal's &quot;Perfect Man&quot; at the highest level of self-realization attains a spiritual power. The absorption of the Divine attributes makes the Perfect Man closer to God. So the self attains its highest goal by becoming deeply related to God, making possible a union of the temporal and the eternal. He then knows that the world has been created for him and he is for the world.
An Analysis of the Termination of Credit Business in Faulkner's &quot;The Hamlet&quot;
Author: Huang, Xiuguo
Date: 2015-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Novels,United States Literature,Credit (Finance),Social Change,Community Change

Flem's economic reformation especially his replacement of credit business by cash business in Varner's Store in &quot;The Hamlet&quot; marked the social transition from a more traditional, closer and bonded community to a rather detached, rational and mechanical commercial society. The description in &quot;The Hamlet&quot; to a certain extent revealed Faulkner's revulsion at the inhumanity embodied in Flem's success.