Introduction: Vitality of Heritage Languages in the United States: The Role of Capacity, Opportunity, and Desire

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. i-viii
Author(s):  
Joseph Lo Bianco ◽  
Joy Kreeft Peyton
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
National Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Specific Context ◽  
Heritage Languages ◽  
Development Opportunity ◽  
Intergenerational Connections

A framework to examine vitality of languages in a specific context, developed by Francois Grin and elaborated by Joseph Lo Bianco, specifies that three conditions are necessary for language vitality and revitalization: Capacity Development, Opportunity Creation, and Desire (COD). This framework was developed as a tool to help communities and governments support regional and minority languages and to promote policy development at the national level related to language revitalization and use. The framework is used in this issue as a guide for examining the vitality of languages spoken in the United States as “heritage” languages, which are spoken by individuals who have home, community, and intergenerational connections with the languages as well as some proficiency in them.

Patient Autonomy, Capacity, and Consent

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Donnelly ◽  
Jessica Berg
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
National Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
National Standard ◽  
Legal Principles ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Human Rights Norms ◽  
Law And Legislation

This chapter explores a number of key issues: the role of competence and capacity, advance directives, and decisions made for others. It analyses the ways these are treated in the United States and in selected European jurisdictions. National-level capacity legislation and human rights norms play a central role in Europe, which means that healthcare decisions in situations of impaired capacity operate in accordance with a national standard. In the United States, the legal framework is more state-based (rather than federal), and the courts have played a significant role, with both common law and legislation varying considerably across jurisdictions. Despite these differences, this chapter identifies some similar legal principles which have developed.

Phonological Complexity: Bernese Swiss German in Ohio and Misiones

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Robert Klosinski ◽  
Andrew D. Hoffman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Language Change ◽  
The United States ◽  
Heritage Languages ◽  
Swiss German ◽  
Local Contact ◽  
Additional Reference ◽  
Phonological Complexity

Abstract This article investigates the notion of complexity as it applies to two phonological characteristics of Heritage Bernese Swiss German, namely /l/-vocalization and /nd/-velarization. We survey literature on the role of complexity in language change generally, as well as how it applies to heritage languages specifically. We then present findings from our study of two groups of Heritage Bernese speakers, one in the United States and one in Argentina, with additional reference to the local contact languages. Our findings suggest that the loss of /nd/-velarization in Misiones, Argentina is most likely the result of an internally-driven reduction of complexity. For both the Ohio and Misiones communities, however, /l/-vocalization has been maintained. We conclude by discussing the importance of research into language dyads beyond those in the United States as well as pursuing research on lesser-studied heritage languages.

Distance Education and the Role of the State: A Sweden/USA Perspective

2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrik Hansson ◽  
Paul Mihailidis ◽  
Carl Holmberg
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
United States ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Federal Policy ◽  
National Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
The State ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
State And Local

This study aims to comparatively explore the role of the state (federal policy) in distance-education initiatives in the higher education communities of Sweden and the United States. In a globalized context, education institutes now have the capabilities to provide education and educational resources more efficiently and to a wide-ranging and diverse audience. Within the education sector and distance education, the role of the state and federal policy becomes increasingly important, in terms of how distance-education platforms are developed and implemented in institutions of higher education. The first section of this article provides an overview of the United States and Sweden's current higher education and distance-education landscapes, focusing on the role of the state and federal policy with respect to the funding and overall aims of distance education. The development of distance education in Sweden is highly related to political goals and policies, the top down/domestic/‘inside’ approach. The governing body dictates the funding and policy for distance education, and implementation is left to the university body. In the United States, the landscape differs in that no one federal institution provides direct funding or unified guidelines for developing distance education, but universities are left to their own devices and capabilities for implementation. In Sweden, high ambitions and goals are set at the national level, but the educational organizations are changing only slowly. The pressures on the education organizations are high because of steadily decreasing funding and fewer and fewer staff in relation to students. In the United States, education functions primarily as a state and local responsibility. In conclusion, the article aims to exploit the differences between the two countries' role of the state (federal policy) in distance-education policy, and present a middle ground which would be most balanced for distance education, entailing some federal supervision with the allowance for a certain level of autonomy in regards to development, implementation, funding and longevity.

Predicting Community Adoption of Collective Impact in the United States: A National Scan

2020 ◽  
pp. 089976402096458
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie Boyer ◽  
Katherine R. Cooper ◽  
Shaun M. Dougherty ◽  
Rong Wang ◽  
Michelle Shumate
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
National Level ◽  
Collaborative Governance ◽  
The United States ◽  
Poverty Rate ◽  
Collective Impact ◽  
Spatial Proximity ◽  
Web Based ◽  
The Individual

Collaborative governance research examines the role of individuals, organizations, and partnerships within a community to understand why particular interorganizational networks emerge. We take a different tact, arguing that communities adopt collaborative governance models based upon exposure to the models and the individual and organizational resources in a community. We conducted a web-based national-level scan of communities in the United States ( N = 1,162) for the presence of one model of collaborative governance, education-focused collective impact. We found that spatial proximity, poverty rate, and individual resources each predicted the existence of collective impact in a U.S. county. Implications for collaborative governance research are drawn from the results.

scholarly journals The Role of Disability Groups in the Development and Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Levesque ◽  
Brynne Langford
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
The United States ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Implementation Processes ◽  
The United Kingdom

The neoliberal agenda has seen increased engagement of governments and disability organizations in policy making and implementation processes. Yet governments have been slow to address needed changes in disability policy over the last three decades questioning the role of disability organizations who have increasingly turned to rights-based claims on states. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which reaffirms in article 29 the full political participation of persons with disabilities is one such example. Unclear, however, is the role of disability organizations in the UN Convention’s development, ratification and implementation. Were disability organizations active and central actors in this process?  This article investigates this question in relation to three case studies:  Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. The story that emerges underscores the centrality of disability organizations in policy development during times of government disinterest or indifference. 

“It is the hardest to keep”: Kurdish as a heritage language in the United States

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 (237) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaffer Sheyholislami ◽  
Amir Sharifi
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Second Generation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Heritage Languages ◽  
The Us ◽  
First And Second Generation

AbstractThis article situates the Kurdish language within the diasporic context of the United States, and explores the roles that the language plays for the community. This is investigated through a mixed method encompassing literature and media reviews, interviews with community members and leaders, and a survey conducted among the Kurds in Southern California. The findings show that both first and second generation Kurds see their language not only as a symbol of their cultural identity and survival but a means of building and maintaining relations with each other, with other Kurds in the US, with relatives in the homeland, and also with their heritage. Nevertheless, members of the second generation think that language constitutes one of the most challenging cultural heritage elements to keep for many linguistic, socio-economic, cultural, and political reasons. The article concludes that there are no easy ways of maintaining minority languages like Kurdish much less transmitting them to future generations. The prospect for a promising future seems highly unlikely as long as heritage languages in the US are perceived as personal choices only, and the state does not assume responsibility for their maintenance let alone their transmission to future generations of newer immigrants.

Messaging “en Español”: The Impact of Spanish Language on Linked Fate Among Bilingual Latinos

2021 ◽  
pp. 194016122110508
Author(s):  
Barbara Gomez-Aguinaga
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Spanish Language ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Ethnic Media ◽  
Linked Fate ◽  
The Impact

While the number of U.S. residents who speak non-English languages at home is on the rise, little is known about the sociopolitical implications of exposure to minority languages among multilingual speakers in the United States. This study analyzes whether exposure to Spanish, a U.S. minority language, impacts perceptions of linked fate among bilingual Latinos, and if so, whether the consumption of ethnic media amplifies this effect. Through a population-based survey experiment among bilingual Latinos, this study finds that Latinos who are exposed to content in Spanish are more likely to report in-group linked fate than their counterparts exposed to the same message in English. Moreover, these effects are stronger among consumers of Spanish-language news. This study contributes to our understanding of the role of minority languages and ethnic media on pan-ethnic identities and highlights the importance of the growing linguistic diversity in the United States.

The Role of Gender and Sensation Seeking in Film Choice

2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 97-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Smita C. Banerjee ◽  
Kathryn Greene ◽  
Marina Krcmar ◽  
Zhanna Bagdasarov ◽  
Dovile Ruginyte
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Sensation Seeking ◽  
Negative Mood ◽  
Positive Mood ◽  
The United States ◽  
High Arousal ◽  
Subject Design ◽  
Happy Mood

This study demonstrates the significance of individual difference factors, particularly gender and sensation seeking, in predicting media choice (examined through hypothetical descriptions of films that participants anticipated they would view). This study used a 2 (Positive mood/negative mood) × 2 (High arousal/low arousal) within-subject design with 544 undergraduate students recruited from a large northeastern university in the United States. Results showed that happy films and high arousal films were preferred over sad films and low-arousal films, respectively. In terms of gender differences, female viewers reported a greater preference than male viewers for happy-mood films. Also, male viewers reported a greater preference for high-arousal films compared to female viewers, and female viewers reported a greater preference for low-arousal films compared to male viewers. Finally, high sensation seekers reported a preference for high-arousal films. Implications for research design and importance of exploring media characteristics are discussed.

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