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The Impact of the First Language Usage for Chinese Undergraduate International Students
No full textEnglish as the “lingua franca” serves as a bridge across diverse nations, cultures, and economies and plays an important role in modern society, which has increased the number of English language learners around the world. In the United States, over 30% of international students are from China, with the majority being undergraduate students. A significant number of Chinese students need to enroll in English learning courses when they attend universities in the U.S. due to insufficient English language test scores. Chinese international students often incorporate their first language (L1) when they are learning English in the U.S. Therefore, understanding the unique challenges and strengths of their first language brought into English learning environments is critical to create effective instructional methods that are aligned with their needs.
This mixed-method study explored the impact of the utilization of the L1 of Chinese undergraduate international students in learning English. The study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, a seven-item survey was used to assess the perceptions of Chinese undergraduate international students about whether they consider their L1 as a beneficial tool in their English language learning. In the second phase, the focus shifted to an in-depth phenomenological exploration of the English learning experiences of six participants. Specifically, this phase discovered participants’ experiences with the usage of their L1, aiming to understand how the use of L1 impacts the comprehension and acquisition of English learning.
The findings from Phase I of this study revealed valuable data about Chinese undergraduate international students\u27 attitudes towards using L1 in their English learning process. Overall, the attitude was positive but complex, shaped by personal learning experiences, habits, and the strict English-only policy of their learning environment. Phase II further explored how L1 influences Chinese undergraduate international students’ English learning through interviews. Participants shared their English learning experiences with detailed examples, demonstrating that their L1 facilitated the learning of vocabulary, academic content, grammar rules, reading comprehension, writing tasks, group discussions, and communication with peers. Additionally, L1 usage enhanced participants’ confidence and provided emotional support while learning English. However, participants also expressed concerns about the potential negative impacts of over-reliance on L1. Moreover, participants shared their peers\u27 and instructors’ opinions on using L1 in English learning and how these opinions influenced their own use of L1. Lastly, participants mentioned strategies associated with L1 usage that they employed or that were recommended by their instructors in their English learning.
The results of this study indicate an overall positive attitude toward L1 usage in English learning among Chinese undergraduate international students and highlight how L1 positively influences their learning. These findings suggest the need to reconsider strict “English-only” policies in English learning settings. Furthermore, by acknowledging the strategies associated with L1 employed by participants, educators and instructors can incorporate teaching practices that utilize L1 to enhance student learning
Settler Colonialism and Refusal Through Indigenous Eyes
No full textThe educational system within the united states has benefited and continues to benefit from the structures and systems of settler colonialism. Yet, despite such colonizing goals of displacement, removal, and genocide, Indigenous Peoples are still here. This critical Indigenous qualitative research study sought to understand descriptions and interpretations of settler colonialism from the perspectives of Indigenous undergraduate students and how they have, refused settler colonialism while navigating their undergraduate journeys. Indigenous ways of knowing and ways of being were centered and cited in a manner that made this dissertation more than just a research study; it became a home where Indigenous brilliance, beauty, and power were honored and celebrated. The “data” was gathered from semi-structured individual and group sharing circles comprised of seven amazing Indigenous undergraduate students from five public and private colleges and universities across the southwestern region of the united states. In alignment with the Decolonizing Arts-based Methodology, developed by combining the brilliance of Decolonizing Methodologies with the creativity of Arts-based Research, descriptions and interpretations of settler colonialism and refusal were shared through seven data poems. Through poetic inquiry, the love and frustrations of being an Indigenous student are expressed and experienced furthering our own understandings of settler colonialism and refusal. The collegiate experiences of these seven amazing Indigenous undergraduate students remind us that they know what settler colonialism is and are capable of refusing settler colonialism throughout their educational pathways because of community, home, and family. Their experiences indicate a need for us as researchers, scholars, faculty, and university staff to develop further systems of support on college and university campuses that honor, affirm, and uplift Indigenous students and continue to support and cultivate the practices of refusal of Indigenous undergraduate students and their communities
Real Time PII Scanning
Get PDFThe increased amount of web applications and internet software solutions utilizing cloud frameworks has contributed to large data sets of system log messages being generated constantly. These messages may contain sensitive data, creating an additional security risk for the systems and contributing to the need for analysis of such large volumes of data in real time. Large commercial data monitoring systems can solve for these analysis requirements, but they can be costly. We present a solution to analyzing web application log data which ingests it, processes it and visualizes sensitive data found within in real time. Our solution utilizes an open source method for bulk data analysis and extraction of sensitive information, a digital forensics utility called Bulk Extractor. We focus specifically on Personally Identifiable Information (PII) artifacts present within log data as the targets for extraction. We call our solution the PII Scanner, and present prototype implementations of the scanner on the Amazon Web Services cloud platform, as well as results from tests performed on them to demonstrate their effectiveness and explore implementation options
Existential Advocacy: Lawyering for AI Safety and the Future of Humanity
No full textLawyers have played a central role in a wide range of social movements aiming to provide legal voice to marginalized communities. How might this tradition of social-change lawyering apply to the protection of future generations— a population that cannot advocate for themselves? This is a pressing question in the movement to mitigate “existential risk,” which refers to events that would foreclose a meaningful existence for future generations either through human extinction or irreversible trajectories of human suffering. Over the past two decades, an Oxford-based academic community has been researching existential threats that could arise from emerging technology, such as advanced artificial intelligence and engineered pandemics. These concerns have sparked the founding of dozens of non-profit organizations working to preserve the future of humanity. In just the past couple of years, this movement has entered the realm of law and politics, where it has already helped establish new legal mechanisms addressing AI safety, existential risk, and the rights of future generations. At the same time, the movement has faced criticism for shifting attention away from current social injustices.
This article presents the first empirical study of the legal wing of this movement. It asks how “existential advocates” approach the key questions faced by all social-change lawyers regarding: (1) efficacy, which is framed here as the question of how to impact such a large-scale, uncertain, and abstract issue; and (2) accountability, which is framed here as the question of how to faithfully represent the future generations who are silent stakeholders in the decisions we make today. Drawing on a qualitative study embedded in this community of legal advocates, the article describes the development of a distinct model of social-change lawyering—the “priorities methodology.” This model aims to maximize impact using formal processes for selecting goals and strategies while minimizing cognitive biases. The priorities methodology is an innovation within the tradition of social-change lawyering, although it faces some difficult points of tension when seeking to mobilize a broader movement of lawyers and other actors. The article concludes with recommendations for adapting this model as the existential risk community scales up and pursues more direct and high-profile legal interventions
Reconceiving Corporate Rights and regulation in the AI Era
No full textCan existing corporate governance principles properly guide the relationship between shareholders and directors as artificial intelligence (“AI”) plays an increasingly prominent role in corporate management, planning, and operations? Without a doubt, AI technologies allow corporations to enjoy enhanced efficiency and innovation. But the vast range of AI capabilities—from sophisticated data analytics to autonomous decision-making—raises profound questions about whether traditional governance principles remain sufficiently robust to cabin the proper development and deployment of such a powerful and rapidly evolving set of new technologies. Current corporate governance structures that focus on human actors and traditional business decision-making mechanisms seem ill-suited to address some of the novel legal questions that increased reliance on AI poses, especially considering the opacity regarding how AI technologies actually function. Because the existing fiduciary framework for corporate governance remains insufficiently supple to accommodate AI’s transformative impact on corporate practices and strategy, there is a pressing need to reconsider basic corporate governance principles.
Shaping appropriate corporate legal constructs to guide the development and dissemination of AI technologies will most likely require a multifaced approach involving new legislative enactments, reconsideration of existing common law principles, and regulatory reforms. Without this concerted approach, striking a sustainable balance between protecting the public interest and fostering innovation becomes far too precarious and uncertain. AI technologies offer incredible opportunities for economic growth, enhanced efficiency, and revolutionary innovation in the corporate realm. But enhanced reliance on algorithmic decision-making also raises troubling concerns regarding corporate accountability, transparency, and threats to important social and civic institutions. As a result, a holistic reconsideration of corporate rights and responsibilities seems essential to ensure a proper balancing between the manifold benefits AI advancements might produce and the continued integrity of public institutions and civic values. By examining the potential disconnect between AI advancements and current corporate governance standards, this Article uncovers the shortcomings of existing corporate jurisprudence and advances a set of principles for guiding the articulation of a more dynamic and responsible corporate governance approach to AI
Food Insecurity at the University of Denver: A Qualitative Exploratory Study to Identify Challenges and Opportunities for Improvements Around Food Insecurity on DU’s Campus
Get PDFThe purpose of this course-based research project was to understand students’ perceptions and opinions about student food insecurity on the University of Denver campus, identifying challenges and opportunities for improvement, with the hope that the results will support the DU community’s efforts to prevent and address food insecurity on DU’s campus
Pleading Failures in Monell Litigation
Get PDFThe doctrine of municipal liability in cases brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 has been extensively criticized, with widespread agreement that municipal liability claims are difficult for plaintiffs to win. Commentators generally blame stringent doctrinal and pleading standards for plaintiffs’ low rates of success.
This Article reveals another important contributing factor: the poor quality of many pleadings filed on behalf of civil rights plaintiffs. We present original empirical research documenting widespread pleading failures, or omissions of basic doctrinal elements. Our research demonstrates that pleading failures are common: an analysis of the complaint in every case that resulted in a federal appellate decision in 2019 reveals that 56.5% of complaints filed by represented parties failed to state the elements of any theory of municipal liability. In other words, 56.5% of municipal liability claims should have been dismissed by the judge for failure to successfully plead any theory of municipal liability.
The poor quality of civil rights complaints, while troubling, also offers an opportunity. Given that the current Supreme Court is unlikely to revise municipal liability doctrine, advocates would do well to focus efforts on improving the quality of complaints filed on behalf of civil rights plaintiffs. To this end, we identify areas in which complaints are particularly lacking and suggest ways to improve both the overall quality of attorney work product and the environment in which civil rights lawyering takes place
Comparative Study of Bystander Liability in the U.S. & the Iranian Legal Systems
No full textImagine that A has witnessed an incident in which B injures or kills C. It is undoubtedly painful to witness, but does it also follow that one can recover damages for suffering emotional distress as the result of witnessing the accident? The recognition of the tort of negligent infliction of emotional harm, also known as NIED, has been one of the ways that tort law has attempted to provide a remedy for the emotionally injured. Nevertheless, the relatively new tort has raised many questions. In the U.S. legal system, different criteria have been proposed over the years to allow for NIED liability. For example, the impact rule and the zone of danger have been amongst the most popular. This Article focuses on the latest exception which is the bystander liability and its evolution. It is the liability to a person who witnesses a person being injured or killed due to the carelessness of another person. This Article compares the U.S. common law precedent with Iran’s civil liability regime and concludes that bystander emotional harm can also be recognized as a valid cause of action for redressing this type of emotional harm in the Iranian legal system. Bystander liability comes with the caveat of close relationship between the bystander and the injured individual. As such, this requirement should be based on the norms of the community that may differ from one another