The Pragmatic Functions of I think in Different Genres

The present paper aims to examine the occurrence of I think in different genres. A collected data of I think from graduate student research interview and objectivism group study within Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English (MICASE) is analyzed. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses are included and the selection tool Antconc 3.4.4 are adopted in the study. By using concordance, all the context including I think are collected. Meanwhile, some phrases (such as I think so, what I think, I think of, etc.) are deleted from the analysis. It is found that I think in different positions and with different collocations fulfill different pragmatic functions respectively. The phrase I think is very frequent in GSRI and OSG, which is due to the nature of the discourse, where the participants are engaged in the communication. From the perspective of syntax and collocation, a lot of examples are analyzed in details. It is found that the interpretation of I think cannot be reached without exploring its linguistic context. In addition, a more detailed observation of linguistic context of I think in OSG and GSRI is explored. Some epistemic certainty (certainly, really, etc.) are included in research interview, with the function of emphasis and deliberation. The study might help to reconsider the functions of I think in different genres.

Essentialism is the enemy of the good

Right after the spring semester ended, I was invited to do an ethics workshop for a Data Science for the Common Good graduate student research program [6]. It had been a week since George Floyd was killed by police [15], and weeks before Covid-19 related deaths had initially peaked in most parts of the U.S. Organizations, and then even retailers, started sharing anti-racism statements, promises, and in the case of Amazon, Black Lives Matter banners on their website. Press related to facial recognition technology and algorithmic decision making's increasingly troubling role in our criminal justice system had already began the reckoning within computer science [1], calling for a fundamental change in how computing professionals think. So, it shouldn't have been surprising that my lesson for these common-good minded, data-science inclined Ph.D. students could be stated simply as explaining the connection between the myth of objectivity and racism. The stop in the middle connecting a belief in objectivity to racism is a concept called essentialism.

Moving student research forward during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID--19 pandemic has impacted undergraduate and graduate student research. With the uncertainty right now, it is a challenge for faculty to offer clear guidance for how students can proceed with their research and capstone projects. In this brief editorial, we offer suggestions for moving student research forward during the COVID-19 pandemic.