scholarly journals A Critique on Discourse of Language Tests

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuçe Öztürk Karataş ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Practice ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Critical Perspective ◽  
High Stake ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Language Tests ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Large Scale Tests

In the 21st century, with the rise of the popularity of standardized or large-scale tests, their high-stakes have started to be apparent. High-stake tests are not new, but in most cases, their current use as social practice tends to shape individuals’ futures. Currently the new trend for their quality discussion aims to critically evaluate tests through the focus on their functions, use and power in their testing discourse, whereas traditionally what was included in this discussion was only their psychometric features. Regarding those tests as social practices, examining the functions, consequences and use of tests in their own discourses is at the heart of this new perspective. Driven by the tenet of such a critical perspective, this study aims to first provide a better understanding of ‘discourse of test’, and then describe the social dimensions comprising discourse of language tests. Finally, this study concludes with some suggestions for adapting a critical perspective to improve the discourse of tests and enhance their quality.

scholarly journals A Critique on Discourse of Language Tests

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuçe Öztürk Karataş
Keyword(s):  
Social Practice ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Critical Perspective ◽  
High Stake ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Language Tests ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Large Scale Tests

In the 21st century, with the rise of the popularity of standardized or large-scale tests, their high-stakes have started to be apparent. High-stake tests are not new, but in most cases, their current use as social practice tends to shape individuals’ futures. Currently the new trend for their quality discussion aims to critically evaluate tests through the focus on their functions, use and power in their testing discourse, whereas traditionally what was included in this discussion was only their psychometric features. Regarding those tests as social practices, examining the functions, consequences and use of tests in their own discourses is at the heart of this new perspective. Driven by the tenet of such a critical perspective, this study aims to first provide a better understanding of ‘discourse of test’, and then describe the social dimensions comprising discourse of language tests. Finally, this study concludes with some suggestions for adapting a critical perspective to improve the discourse of tests and enhance their quality.

scholarly journals Construction of Regional Logistics Weighted Network Model and Its Robust optimization: Evidence from China

Complexity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Lizhao Yan ◽  
Yi Wen ◽  
Kok Lay Teo ◽  
Jian Liu ◽  
Fei Xu
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Logistics Network ◽  
Regional Logistics ◽  
Logistics Networks ◽  
The Social ◽  
Weighted Model ◽  
New Perspective

In this paper, we construct a regional logistics model from a macroperspective. First, based on the gravity model, the index of logistics attraction between cities is established as the weight of the model, and hence the regional logistics weighted model is constructed. Next, we use the social network analysis method to analyze its structure and make specific recommendations for the construction of logistics networks. Finally, we analyze the model’s response to random attacks and deliberate attacks. From our study, it is found that when the failure nodes or edges reach a certain percentage, the regional logistics network will collapse on a large scale. Therefore, it is important to optimization the threshold of the regional logistics network. This clearly provides a new perspective for the study of the regional logistics networks.

Conclusion

2021 ◽  
pp. 177-180
Author(s):  
Carey Seal
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Social Background ◽  
Social World ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Critical Practice ◽  
Art Of Living ◽  
Philosophical Language ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Given

Seneca’s description of the social dimensions of philosophy, and his use of social background in clarifying and defending his conception of what philosophy is and can be, marks not a retreat from but rather a vindication and extension of the Socratic ideal of philosophy as a critical practice. Seneca does not simply encode social norms in philosophical language, but rather in his writings stages a subtle interplay between the two that shows both how philosophy necessarily takes its beginnings from an existing social world and how philosophy’s scrutiny of that world can yield challenging and unexpected conclusions. Seneca gives us a philosophy that is neither a complacent recapitulation of the given nor an arid abstraction decoupled from social practice, but rather a genuine art of living.

scholarly journals Freeride Skiing—Risk-Taking, Recognition, and Moral Boundaries

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustav Tøstesen ◽  
Tommy Langseth
Keyword(s):  
Risk Taking ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Risk Recognition ◽  
Social Conventions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Moral Boundaries ◽  
Clear Link ◽  
Insight Into

Freeride skiing is an activity that is, or at least can be, quite dangerous. Risk-taking in high-risk sports has usually been understood within a psychological framework. Building on Pierre Bourdieu's sociology, this article highlights the social dimension of risk-taking in freeride skiing by scrutinizing values within a freeride culture. A central question in this article is: what kind of actions are given recognition and credibility in freeride skiing? The findings show that there is a clear link between risk-taking and credibility and that risk-taking might be seen as a form of capital. However, risk-taking's link to recognition is not straightforward—it is limited by the skiers' skill level. To further develop our understanding of the social dimension of risk-taking we use Michelle Lamont's theory of symbolic boundaries. By expanding the Bourdieusian understanding of social practice with Lamont's work, we gain insight into how risk-taking is socially regulated by social conventions within a subculture. This means that we in this article describe three social dimensions of risk-taking: (1) The link between risk-taking and recognition, (2) The limits of the risk-recognition nexus, and (3) The moral boundaries of risk-taking.

scholarly journals Language Assessment for Immigration: A Review of Validation Research Over the Last Two Decades

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Don Yao ◽  
Matthew P. Wallace
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Test Validity ◽  
Language Assessment ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Language Tests ◽  
Assessment Use Argument

It is not uncommon for immigration-seekers to be actively involved in taking various language tests for immigration purposes. Given the large-scale and high-stakes nature those language tests possess, the validity issues (e.g., appropriate score-based interpretations and decisions) associated with them are of great importance as test scores may play a gate-keeping role in immigration. Though interest in investigating the validity of language tests for immigration purposes is becoming prevalent, there has to be a systematic review of the research foci and results of this body of research. To address this need, the current paper critically reviewed 11 validation studies on language assessment for immigration over the last two decades to identify what has been focused on and what has been overlooked in the empirical research and to discuss current research interests and future research trends. Assessment Use Argument (AUA) framework of Bachman and Palmer (2010), comprising four inferences (i.e., assessment records, interpretations, decisions, and consequences), was adopted to collect and examine evidence of test validity. Results showed the consequences inference received the most investigations focusing on immigration-seekers’ and policymakers’ perceptions on test consequences, while the decisions inference was the least probed stressing immigration-seekers’ attitude towards the impartiality of decision-making. It is recommended that further studies could explore more kinds of stakeholders (e.g., test developers) in terms of their perceptions on the test and investigate more about the fairness of decision-making based on test scores. Additionally, the current AUA framework includes only positive and negative consequences that an assessment may engender but does not take compounded consequences into account. It is suggested that further research could enrich the framework. The paper sheds some light on the field of language assessment for immigration and brings about theoretical, practical, and political implications for different kinds of stakeholders (e.g., researchers, test developers, and policymakers).

Accomplishing Change in Teaching and Learning Regimes

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Trowler
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Change Agents ◽  
Social Practice Theory ◽  
New Approach ◽  
The Social ◽  
Personal Histories ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Learning Issues

This book offers a new perspective on the professional world of higher education. Using social practice theory, it presents a practice sensibility rooted in concepts which illuminate teaching and learning contexts. The book takes the reader through the social processes occurring within higher education institutions which shape contexts and influence the direction of change; for leaders and managers, educational developers, change agents, and academics, this sensibility will help to identify the successful paths to changes for enhancement and the patterns of policy implementation likely to occur as teaching and learning is enhanced. For researchers of higher education, the practice sensibility offers new possibilities for meaningful research into teaching and learning issues. Teaching and learning regimes are a key focus of the book. As a family of practices performed by a workgroup in higher education over extended periods, they comprise a number of ‘moments’—characteristics derived from structural foundations which shape the workgroup’s practices and frameworks of meaning. These moments condition how teaching and learning is fundamentally understood, what its aims are thought to be, what is considered ‘normal’ practice, how individuals see themselves and others, and how power operates within the workgroup. The material context is significant in this, as are the backstories, personal histories, and institutional sagas. This book develops a completely new approach to Trowler’s concept of teaching and learning regimes. Using both his research and that of others in the field, it presents a more nuanced, fully developed, and sophisticated version of the concept which has great traction for empirical research, the management of change, and the enhancement of the student experience and learning outcomes.

Fakir Baykurt’un Almanya öykülerinde Türk göçmen çocukları

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-28
Author(s):  
Efnan Dervişoğlu
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
Main Theme ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Home Life ◽  
Literary Forms ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Life Education

Almanya’ya işçi göçü, neden ve sonuçları, sosyal boyutlarıyla ele alınmış; göç ve devamındaki süreçte yaşanan sorunlar, konunun uzmanlarınca dile getirilmiştir. Fakir Baykurt’un Almanya öyküleri, sunduğu gerçekler açısından, sosyal bilimlerin ortaya koyduğu verilerle bağdaşan edebiyat ürünleri arasındadır. Yirmi yılını geçirdiği Almanya’da, göçmen işçilerle ve aileleriyle birlikte olup işçi çocuklarının eğitimine yönelik çalışmalarda bulunan yazarın gözlem ve deneyimlerinin ürünü olan bu öyküler, kaynağını yaşanmışlıktan alır; çalışmanın ilk kısmında, Fakir Baykurt’un yaşamına ve Almanya yıllarına dair bilgi verilmesi, bununla ilişkilidir. Öykülere yansıyan çocuk yaşamı ise çalışmanın asıl konusunu oluşturmaktadır. “Ev ve aile yaşamı”, “Eğitim yaşamı ve sorunları”, “Sosyal çevre, arkadaşlık ilişkileri ve Türk-Alman ayrılığı” ile “İki kültür arasında” alt başlıklarında, Türkiye’den göç eden işçi ailelerinde yetişen çocukların Almanya’daki yaşamları, karşılaştıkları sorunlar, öykülerin sunduğu veriler ışığında değerlendirilmiş; örneklemeye gidilmiştir. Bu öyküler, edebiyatın toplumsal gerçekleri en iyi yansıtan sanat olduğu görüşünü doğrular niteliktedir ve sosyolojik değerlendirmelere açıktır. ENGLISH ABSTRACTMigration and Children in Fakir Baykurt’s stories from GermanyThe migration of workers to Germany has been taken up with its causes, consequences and social dimensions; the migration and the problems encountered in subsequent phases have been stated by experts in the subject. Fakir Baykurt’s stories from Germany, regarding the reality they represent, are among the literary forms that coincide with the facts supplied by social sciences. These stories take their sources from true life experiences as the products of observations and experiences with migrant workers and their families in Germany where the writer has passed twenty years of his life and worked for the education of the worker’s children; therefore information related to Fakir Baykurt’s life and his years in Germany are provided in the first part of the study.  The life of children reflected in the stories constitutes the main theme of the study.  Under  the subtitles of “Family and Home Life”, “Education Life and related issues”, “Social environment, friendships and Turkish-German disparity” and “Amidst two cultures”, the lives in Germany of children who have been  raised in working class  families and  who have immigrated from Turkey are  evaluated under the light of facts provided by the stories and examples are given. These stories appear to confirm that literature is an art that reflects the social reality and is open to sociological assessments.KEYWORDS: Fakir Baykurt; Germany; labor migration; child; story

Promoting Mass Movements- A New Perspective On Japanese Wartime Imperialism In Korea

2015 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Shinyoung Kim
Keyword(s):  
Extended Family ◽  
Direct Access ◽  
Mass Movements ◽  
Japanese Imperialism ◽  
Local Practices ◽  
The Social ◽  
Japanese Colonial ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Economic Bloc ◽  
Colonial Government

This article aims to explore the Japanese colonial government’s efforts to promote mass movements in Korea which rose suddenly and showed remarkable growth throughout the 1930s. It focuses on two Governor-Generals and the directors of the Education Bureau who created the Social Indoctrination movements under Governor-General Ugaki Kazushige in the early 1930s and the National Spiritual Mobilization Movement of Governor-General Minami Jirō in the late 1930s. The analysis covers their respective political motivations, ideological orientation, and organizational structure. It demonstrates that Ugaki, under the drive to integrate Korea with an economic bloc centered on Japan, adapted the traditional local practices of the colonized based on the claim of “Particularities of Korea,” whereas the second Sino-Japanese War led Minami to emphasize assimilation, utilizing the ideology of the extended-family to give colonial power more direct access to individuals as well as obscuring the unequal nature of the colonial relationship. It argues that the colonial government-led campaigns constituted a core ruling mechanism of Japanese imperialism in the 1930s.

Multiple-source Record Linkage in a Rural Industrial Community, 1680–1820

1994 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve King
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Multiple Source ◽  
Demographic Analysis ◽  
Ordinary People ◽  
Industrial Community ◽  
The Social ◽  
Broad Outline

Re-creating the social, economic and demographic life-cycles of ordinary people is one way in which historians might engage with the complex continuities and changes which underlay the development of early modern communities. Little, however, has been written on the ways in which historians might deploy computers, rather than card indexes, to the task of identifying such life cycles from the jumble of the sources generated by local and national administration. This article suggests that multiple-source linkage is central to historical and demographic analysis, and reviews, in broad outline, some of the procedures adopted in a study which aims at large scale life cycle reconstruction.

Bologna, My Love: Il Cinema Ritrovato

2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-79
Author(s):  
Carla Marcantonio
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Fairy Tale ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Francis Ford Coppola ◽  
The Social ◽  
Ongoing Project

FQ books editor Carla Marcantonio guides readers through the 33rd edition of Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival held each year in Bologna at the end of June. Highlights of this year's festival included a restoration of one of Vittorio De Sica's hard-to-find and hence lesser-known films, the social justice fairy tale, Miracolo a Milano (Miracle in Milan, 1951). The film was presented by De Sica's daughter, Emi De Sica, and was an example of the ongoing project to restore De Sica's archive, which was given to the Cineteca de Bologna in 2016. Marcantonio also notes her unexpected responses to certain reviewings; Apocalypse Now: Final Cut (2019), presented by Francis Ford Coppola on the large-scale screen of Piazza Maggiore and accompanied by remastered Dolby Atmos sound, struck her as a tour-de-force while a restoration of David Lynch's Blue Velvet (1986) had lost some of its strange allure.

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