Media Literacy Among Ex-Untouchables in a Networked Society

The caste system, which prescribed punishments for Dalits, is slowly eroding, but the atrocities against Dalits continue on a scale that makes Dalit travails seem extreme. Previous scholars have argued such oppression because of the lack of proper representation of Dalit atrocities in the mainstream media and space for Dalits to voice their concerns. In a networked society, Dalits are creating identities on online spaces. This chapter, hence, discusses Dalit empowerment from the lens of media literacy through a case study approach. Three case studies have been analysed and conceptualised along the lines of media literacy and networked society. Overall, this study reflects that media literacy assists streamlined development of the culture and ideologies with media, creative and communicative abilities, and critical thinking. Considering the absence of regulations or policies to ‘media educate' the school students, especially the minorities, this research creates an awareness and helps in policy establishment aimed towards implementing media literacy education curricula.

Literasi Media Melalui Video Podcast pada Kalangan Mahasiswa Yogyakarta

Video podcasts become one of the digital content included in a combination format, combined writing, video, and audio packed so that it becomes content distributed in digital format. The ease of accessibility of podcast video content makes it important to apply media literacy to remain critical of the message's various meanings in the content in the video podcast. This study aims to determine the level of media literacy through video podcasts among students of Communication Sciences Yogyakarta. The method used in this study is a descriptive quantitative method with the concept of measuring individual competence framework media literacy. Samples from this study were active students of Communication Sciences in 2019/2020 at Ahmad Dahlan University, Mercu Buana University Yogyakarta, and AMIKOM University Yogyakarta, with a total sample of 368 respondents. This study showed that the level of media literacy through video podcasts among students of Communication Science Yogyakarta is at a high level (advanced) with details of technical skills are in the advanced category of 80%, critical understanding ability at the advanced level of 86%. Communicative abilities are at the medium level of 59%. This shows that Yogyakarta communication students can use very high media, analyze excellent information, and participate and communicate actively through social media.

An Empirical Study on the Fossilization of English Language Learning in the Context of Multimedia Network Teaching

To carry out the pilot teaching of multimedia assisted teaching and self-learning mode of network platform for experimental class, the data analysis results obtained by using tools such as questionnaire survey show that:The multimedia network teaching environment has a great effect on the students’ vocabulary knowledge fossilization, but has little effect on the grammar knowledge fossilization; The fossilization of reading ability among the four communicative abilities of English language is alleviated obviously, and the self-assessed oral ability of students improves faster after the addition of oral English classes; It accelerates the ossification of writing and listening ability, but it is mainly caused by the characteristics of the network itself and improper learning methods of students.

Interpersonal Physiological Synchrony for Detecting Moments of Connection in Persons With Dementia: A Pilot Study

Interpersonal physiological synchrony has been successfully used to characterize social interactions and social processes during a variety of interpersonal interactions. There are a handful of measures of interpersonal physiological synchrony, but those that exist have only been validated on able-bodied adults. Here, we present a novel information-theory based measure of interpersonal physiological synchrony—normalized Symbolic Transfer Entropy (NSTE)—and compare its performance with a popular physiological synchrony measure—physiological concordance and single session index (SSI). Using wearable sensors, we measured the electrodermal activity (EDA) of five individuals with dementia and six able-bodied individuals as they participated in a movement activity that aimed to foster connection in persons with dementia. We calculated time-resolved NSTE and SSI measures for case studies of three dyads and compared them against moments of observed interpersonal connection in video recordings of the activity. Our findings suggest that NSTE-based measures of interpersonal physiological synchrony may provide additional advantages over SSI, including resolving moments of ambiguous SSI and providing information about the direction of information flow between participants. This study also investigated the feasibility of using interpersonal synchrony to gain insight into moments of connection experienced by individuals with dementia and further encourages exploration of these measures in other populations with reduced communicative abilities.

Exploring a systemic functional semiotics approach to understanding emotional expression in singing performance: Implications for music education

Engagement with songs through performance and analysis is a key component of music curricula worldwide. Music learning has a significant impact on a number of student competencies, including enhancing students’ communicative abilities as they learn to manipulate, express, and share sound in both voice qualities and lyrics. However, common analyses of singing performance rarely focus exclusively on voice quality, and there is no systematic framework which considers how emotional meaning in lyrics interacts with emotional meaning in voice quality. Drawing on systemic functional semiotics, this article proposes a unified theoretical framework for examining how emotional meaning is co-constructed in the voice and lyrics in singing performance. This framework provides a novel approach for discussing and teaching song analysis and performance. The framework will be illustrated through the analysis of the interaction between voice quality and lyrics in the song “Someone Like You” performed by Adele.

A Study into the Pyramid Discussion Approach with Pre-Service English Teachers in Japan

The main concern of this article is the nature and the role of an EFL classroom speaking activity, known as pyramid discussion, whereby learners progressively form larger groups as they carry out a series of discussions on certain topics. This research interest stemmed from my personal experiences as an English language teacher in the context of Japan in which the majority of the teachers still regard the act of teaching English as the presentation of compartmentalized knowledge, as opposed to the promotion of communicative abilities. In this article, I introduce an action research study into the employment of the pyramid discussion approach in an English Teaching Methods course at a Japanese university and illuminate the effectiveness of the approach on the students, who are pre-service English teachers, in the course. Data will detail how the approach could notably assist the participants in seizing communication opportunities in English and in holding positive attitudes toward their teacher, classmates, and themselves as learners and future teachers of English. Implications are provided as a conclusion

Evaluating and Enhancing Communication Skills in Four Adolescents with Profound and Multiple Disabilities

<p>Individuals with profound and multiple disability (PMD) experience more than one type of disability, typically severe to profound intellectual disability and significant motoric impairment. These complex impairments negatively affect many aspects of the person’s functioning, such as daily living, academic, and social skills. Persons with PMD will often experience fluctuating levels of awareness, and often have such severe communication deficits that they rely on the use prelinguistic behaviours (PLBs) to communicate. It is often difficult for those working with these individuals to identify preferences and behavioural states indicative of engagement and motivation. As a result, these individuals often experience social isolation and a lower quality of life. The purpose of this research project was to evaluate the overall level of functioning and communicative abilities of four adolescents with PMD and identify instructional procedures that might enhance their natural method of communication, such that they are more readily understood. This was achieved through assessment and intervention based methods. First, the repertoire of forms and functions of specific PLBs in four participants with PMD were identified. Then, circumstances under which behaviours indicative of alertness and engagement were assessed. Next, the author validated the function of specific PLBs used to request the continuation or access to preferred stimuli. Subsequently, three intervention case studies were implemented to strengthen and/or enhance the PLB requesting behaviours of three participants using microswitch technology and individualised instructional strategies. Results suggested that individuals with PMD can and do demonstrate consistent PLBs used to request access to preferred stimuli. Specific PLBs of three participants were strengthened and/or enhanced, with two of these participants able to use a microswitch to activate a speech generating device to produce a communicative request. Implications of these results are discussed in terms of the overall outcomes for each participant and the challenges of implementing a whole communication assessment and intervention approach for this population of learners.</p>

Evaluating and Enhancing Communication Skills in Four Adolescents with Profound and Multiple Disabilities

<p>Individuals with profound and multiple disability (PMD) experience more than one type of disability, typically severe to profound intellectual disability and significant motoric impairment. These complex impairments negatively affect many aspects of the person’s functioning, such as daily living, academic, and social skills. Persons with PMD will often experience fluctuating levels of awareness, and often have such severe communication deficits that they rely on the use prelinguistic behaviours (PLBs) to communicate. It is often difficult for those working with these individuals to identify preferences and behavioural states indicative of engagement and motivation. As a result, these individuals often experience social isolation and a lower quality of life. The purpose of this research project was to evaluate the overall level of functioning and communicative abilities of four adolescents with PMD and identify instructional procedures that might enhance their natural method of communication, such that they are more readily understood. This was achieved through assessment and intervention based methods. First, the repertoire of forms and functions of specific PLBs in four participants with PMD were identified. Then, circumstances under which behaviours indicative of alertness and engagement were assessed. Next, the author validated the function of specific PLBs used to request the continuation or access to preferred stimuli. Subsequently, three intervention case studies were implemented to strengthen and/or enhance the PLB requesting behaviours of three participants using microswitch technology and individualised instructional strategies. Results suggested that individuals with PMD can and do demonstrate consistent PLBs used to request access to preferred stimuli. Specific PLBs of three participants were strengthened and/or enhanced, with two of these participants able to use a microswitch to activate a speech generating device to produce a communicative request. Implications of these results are discussed in terms of the overall outcomes for each participant and the challenges of implementing a whole communication assessment and intervention approach for this population of learners.</p>

Association between Exposure to Particulate Matter during Pregnancy and Multidimensional Development in School-Age Children: A Cross-Sectional Study in Italy

Air pollutants can potentially affect the development of children. However, data on the effect of exposure to air pollution during pregnancy and developmental outcomes in school children are rare. We investigated the link between prenatal exposure to particulate matters smaller than 10 microns (PM10) and the development of school-age children in multiple domains. Cross-sectional data were collected in Italy between 2013 and 2014. Children aged between 5 and 8 years (n = 1187) were assessed on cognitive, communication, socio-emotional, adaptive, and motor developmental domains using the Developmental Profile 3 questionnaire. The monthly average concentration of PM10 during the entire fetal period was linked to the municipality of residence of the children. The increase in the prenatal PM10 was associated with a decrease in the cognitive score during the second (+13.2 µg/m3 PM10 increase: −0.30 points; 95%CI: −0.12–−0.48) and third trimesters of pregnancy (−0.31 points; 95%CI: −0.11–−0.50). The communicative domain was also negatively influenced by PM10 increases in the second trimester. The development of cognitive and communicative abilities of children was negatively associated with the exposure to PM10 during the period of fetal development, confirming that exposure to air pollution during pregnancy can potentially hinder the development of the brain.

THE LOGICAL STRUCTURE OF LINGUISTIC THEORY: البنية المنطقية للنظرية اللسانية: ستيفن ر. أندرسون، جامعة ييل

The object of inquiry in Linguistics is the human ability to acquire and use a natural language, and the goal of linguistic theory is an explicit characterization of that ability. Looking at the communicative abilities of other species, it becomes clear that our linguistic ability is specific to our species, undoubtedly a product of our biology. But how do we go about determining the specifics of this Language faculty? _here are two primary ways in which we infer the nature of Language from the properties of individual languages: arguments from the Poverty of the Stimulus, and the search for universals that characterize every natural language. Arguments of the first sort are not easy to construct (though not as difficult as sometimes suggested), and apply only to a tiny part of Language as a whole. Arguments from universals or typological generalizations are also quite problematic. In phonology, morphology, and syntax, factors of historical development, functional underpinnings, limitations of the learning situation, among others conspire to compromise the explanatory value of arguments from observed cross-linguistic regularities. Confounding the situation is the likelihood that properties found across languages as a consequence of such external forces have been incorporated into the Language faculty evolutionarily through the ‘Baldwin Effect.’ _e conflict between the biologically based specificity of the human Language faculty and the difficulty of establishing most of its properties in a secure way cannot, however, be avoided by ignoring or denying the reality of either of its poles.