448 research outputs found
[Review of] Virginia Huffer, The Sweetness of the Fig: Aboriginal Women in Transition
No full textDuring 1970 and 1973, University of Maryland professor of psychiatry Virginia Huffer spent some time with the women of the Lardil and Kaiadilt tribes who live on Mornington Island in northern Australia\u27s Gulf of Carpenteria [Carpentaria]. Forced to accommodate increasingly to Western ways, these women struggle to maintain traditional linkages while they undergo modern change. This conflict between the past and the future, as well as the everyday realities of their existence, are presented through Huffer\u27s psychobiographical lens, primarily through the intervention and words of her chief informant, Elsie Roughsey, a cooperative, friendly, generous, and intelligent Lardil woman who is, in aboriginal terms, a good yarner. Elsie\u27s tribal name-Labbarnor- sweetness of the fig -gives the book its title. The work is essentially Elsie\u27s statements mixed with descriptive and analytical observations by the author and short treatments of interviews with nine older Lardil women, seven younger (teens through twenties) Lardil women, and seven Kaiadilt women
A Test for Multivariate Structure
No full textWe present a test for detecting `multivariate structure' in data sets. This procedure consists of transforming the data to remove the correlations, then discretizing the data and finally, studying the cell counts in the resulting contingency table. A formal test can be performed using the usual chi-squared test statistic. We give the limiting distribution of the chi-squared statistic and also present simulation results to examine the accuracy of this limiting distribution in finite samples. Several examples show that our procedure can detect a variety of different types of structure. Our examples include data with clustering, digitized speech data, and residuals from a fitted time series model. The chi-squared statistic can also be used as a test for multivariate normality. Key words and phrases: Chi-squared statistic, data-dependent cells, testing for independence, testing for multivariate normality, clustering, time series residuals. Corresponding Author: Fred W. Huffer, D..
Homelessness and the Muncie Mission : a visual ethnography
No full textThis thesis is a creative project combining anthropological research and photography in the form of a written text and a photographic essay, together creating a visual ethnography. First is the artist's statement and personal reflection that describes the motivation fueling this thesis as well as an explanation of the theory and methodology used in this thesis to discuss the homelessness situation in Muncie through the eyes of the Muncie Mission as well as the author. The history of anthropology and ethnography in the context of my project as an investigation into the daily life of the residents of the Muncie Mission and its relation to the homeless situation is then discussed. Next is the introduction of the process and methods used while creating the images and conducting the fieldwork. The photographs deliver insight into the Muncie Mission as a solution to the problem of homeless ness and other issues in Muncie, Indiana and providing evidence to support that the mission is more than a soup kitchen, but ultimately the images are to be interpreted by the viewer for their own sake.Thesis (B.?.)Honors Colleg
Diagnostics in Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Systems Using a Rule - Based System
No full textU of I OnlyRestricted to UIUC communit
Shadowboxing : Sylvester Stallone and British Film audiences
No full textEThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo
The Coconut Tree and the Computer Tiger: Information Technology in Traditional Pacific Societies
No full textThis literature review explores the extent to which Information Technology (IT) has affected the cultures of small traditional Pacific societies, with the South Pacific region as the point of focus. The assumption is that the educational systems of Pacific nations are in the developmental stage with the associated sophisticated technological applications. The thesis asks what if any, cultural challenges of adopting information technology have arisen? The review finds that traditional culture and information technology are in competition in the power stakes of human consideration, reflected in South Pacific indigenous academics seeking independence as researchers and acceptance in their own right. The realisation that culture and technology need to function together requires attaining academic freedom in the aftermath of post-colonial restrictions placed on the indigenous sociological and anthropological imagination. The first part examines the history of information technology generally, and the significance of work already done, providing a perspective of how the subject has developed and become established, assisting in the development and acquisition of the appropriate vocabulary. The review explains and describes the occurrence of information technology in the South Pacific, the effect of globalisation and shared knowledge through ethno-methodology, every day culture in action, describing the ways in which people make the sense they do and through the ways they communicate. In the second part the focus is on the detail of the commonsense character of everyday life and the practices by which they make their actions understandable by others. Scrutiny of how people do what they do provides an explanation of what those people do and why they do it in the way they do. Western form of governance is a reality, with nation building based on Western models of development. National independence and sovereignty with a wave of neo-colonialism and aid dependency led to economic globalisation, with resentment against value systems that erode indigenous values, producing a wave of re-indigenisation facilitated by the revolution known as information technology . There is a coherent body of Pacific thought, with a shared philosophy and ethic on the public agenda. In the material covered, elements standing out are the awareness among growing numbers of Pacific academics of the need for a genuine and far-reaching contextualisation, acknowledging the relevance and applicability of indigenous cultural values in contemporary settings. Second is the success of communities whose initiatives have followed familiar traditional ways they know and understand, reaping rewards. The region has development and governance failures in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Fiji to name a few; the national state of affairs in some countries is not encouraging. Where good development and governance are occurring, it is usually through the direct initiative of local communities using their knowledge base. The information upheaval is creating new opportunities in the lives of people from small traditional societies. Information Technology expands throughout the social structure of the Pacific in direct proportion to personal computer access literally at one's finger tips
The Solomon Islands School of Education Partnership: Aspirations, context and design in educational change.
No full textThis article provides a background and context for a project that linked the School of Education in Solomon Islands College of Higher Education (SOE) with an external partner to work together on institutional and educational change. The four and a half year Partnership was funded by the New Zealand Aid Programmei. Pre-service teacher education in Solomon Islands is mainly provided by the School of Education. For a number of years the school has faced many challenges in its attempt to offer quality pre-service teacher education. Some challenges were external, such as political instability and ethnic unrest, and some were internal, such as a need to address the school's aims, design of programmes, quality of teaching, learning and assessment and the professional development of academic staff. We explain how the partnership responded to challenges and evolved in a way that recognised the input of the School of Education staff and avoided the imposition of solutions by the external partner. The major aspirations and intentions of the Partnership are described along with indications of positive changes that led to an extension of the project. A major change in the school was the inclusion of a teacher education programme for some of the many untrained practising teachers in the Solomon Islands. It is pointed out, however, that there were risks and challenges that faced the Partnership over its duration. Some were outside the control of the partners and others could be addressed and improvements made, especially within the school using a collaborative approach. It is argued that issues remain and further impetus is needed to effect more lasting change
How does Culture Impact on Educational Leadership in Samoa?
No full textThe aim of this research was to explore the relationship between culture and the educational leadership of six secondary school principals in Samoa. Educational leadership is a bounded process and is subject to the cultural traditions and values of the society in which it is exercised. To date, no research has been undertaken on this topic in Samoa.
This qualitative study used a semi-structured interview process to gather data from the secondary school principals who had been principals for more than three years in government schools. It also sought to explore how professional development of the principals might be undertaken. The principals in this study were interviewed both face-to-face and by telephone.
The findings revealed that culture significantly impacted on their leadership. The matai culture was particularly influential. For example, respect, Christianity, role modelling and the importance of using the Samoan language to communicate within the school context were all influential. The findings also revealed the effective leadership styles applicable to Samoan school context in relation to indigenous cultural leadership. For example, inclusive/consensus/collaborative leadership style that is practiced in Samoan culture is effectively used by principals to lead schools. The organisational culture of the Ministry of Education Sports and Culture in Samoa (MESC) also considerably impacts on educational leadership. For example, the policies from the MESC sometimes contradict with the practice of the principals, such as the principal's practice of corporal punishment is a crime in the MESC and United Nation policies.
This research also revealed the gap between the western models of leadership and the Samoan indigenous cultural context and leadership practice by the principals. Therefore, all the principals involved in this study positively engaged with their Samoan cultural values and beliefs to lead schools effectively. However some Samoan indigenous cultural values and beliefs impact negatively on the education system. They need to be considered so as not to inhibit the development of educational leadership of Samoan principals. Today's education has grown rapidly in terms of technology therefore educational leaders must adapt and change their leadership. Principals must be professionally trained so that they would lead effectively.
According to Smith (1992, p. 9) To change education is to change societ
The first author takes it all? Solutions for crediting authors more visibly, transparently, and free of bias
No full textWith the seventh edition of the publication manual of the
American Psychological Association (APA), the APA style
now prescribes bias-free language and encourages accessibility even to non-academic audiences. However, even
with the newest guidelines, the way we credit authors in
psychology remains anachronistic, intransparent, and prone
to conflict. It still relies on a sequence-determines-credit
approach in the byline, which concurrently is contradicted
by the option to consider the last author as the position of
the principal investigator depending on the field or journal. Scholars from various disciplines have argued that relying on such norms introduces a considerable amount of
error when stakeholders rely on articles for career-relevant
decisions. Given the existing recommendations towards a
credit-based system, ignoring those issues will further promote bias that could be avoided with rather minor changes
to the way we perceive authorship. In this article, we introduce a set of easy-to-implement changes to the manuscript
layout that value contribution rather than position. Aimed at
fostering transparency, accountability, and equality between
authors, establishing those changes would likely benefit all
stakeholders in contemporary psychological science
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