Immigration, security and the public debate on US language policy : a critical discourse analysis of language attitudes in the United States of America

The narrative of the United States is of a "nation of immigrants" in which the language shift patterns of earlier ethnolinguistic groups have tended towards linguistic assimilation through English. In recent years, however, changes in the demographic landscape and language maintenance by non-English speaking immigrants, particularly Hispanics, have been perceived as threats and have led to calls for an official English language policy.This thesis aims to contribute to the study of language policy making from a societal security perspective as expressed in attitudes regarding language and identity originating in the daily interaction between language groups. The focus is on the role of language and American identity in relation to immigration. The study takes an interdisciplinary approach combining language policy studies, security theory, and critical discourse analysis. The material consists of articles collected from four newspapers, namely USA Today, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and San Francisco Chronicle between April 2006 and December 2007.Two discourse types are evident from the analysis namely Loyalty and Efficiency. The former is mainly marked by concerns of national identity and contains speech acts of security related to language shift, choice and English for unity. Immigrants are represented as dehumanised, and harmful. Immigration is given as sovereignty-related, racial, and as war. The discourse type of Efficiency is mainly instrumental and contains speech acts of security related to cost, provision of services, health and safety, and social mobility. Immigrants are further represented as a labour resource. These discourse types reflect how the construction of the linguistic 'we' is expected to be maintained. Loyalty is triggered by arguments that the collective identity is threatened and is itself used in reproducing the collective 'we' through hegemonic expressions of monolingualism in the public space and semi-public space. The denigration of immigrants is used as a tool for enhancing societal security through solidarity and as a possible justification for the denial of minority rights. Also, although language acquisition patterns still follow the historical trend of language shift, factors indicating cultural separateness such as the appearance of speech communities or the use of minority languages in the public space and semi-public space have led to manifestations of intolerance. Examples of discrimination and prejudice towards minority groups indicate that the perception of worth of a shared language differs from the actual worth of dominant language acquisition for integration purposes. The study further indicates that the efficient working of the free market by using minority languages to sell services or buy labour is perceived as conflicting with nation-building notions since it may create separately functioning sub-communities with a new cultural capital recognised as legitimate competence. The discourse types mainly represent securitising moves constructing existential threats. The perception of threat and ideas of national belonging are primarily based on a zero-sum notion favouring monolingualism. Further, the identity of the immigrant individual is seen as dynamic and adaptable to assimilationist measures whereas the identity of the state and its members are perceived as static. Also, the study shows that debates concerning language status are linked to extra-linguistic matters. To conclude, policy makers in the US need to consider the relationship between four factors, namely societal security based on collective identity, individual/human security, human rights, and a changing linguistic demography, for proposed language intervention measures to be successful.

Health care providers' perceptions of and attitudes towards induced abortions in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia : a systematic literature review of qualitative and quantitative data.

BACKGROUND: Unsafe abortions are a serious public health problem and a major human rights issue. In low-income countries, where restrictive abortion laws are common, safe abortion care is not always available to women in need. Health care providers have an important role in the provision of abortion services. However, the shortage of health care providers in low-income countries is critical and exacerbated by the unwillingness of some health care providers to provide abortion services. The aim of this study was to identify, summarise and synthesise available research addressing health care providers' perceptions of and attitudes towards induced abortions in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. METHODS: A systematic literature search of three databases was conducted in November 2014, as well as a manual search of reference lists. The selection criteria included quantitative and qualitative research studies written in English, regardless of the year of publication, exploring health care providers' perceptions of and attitudes towards induced abortions in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. The quality of all articles that met the inclusion criteria was assessed. The studies were critically appraised, and thematic analysis was used to synthesise the data. RESULTS: Thirty-six studies, published during 1977 and 2014, including data from 15 different countries, met the inclusion criteria. Nine key themes were identified as influencing the health care providers' attitudes towards induced abortions: 1) human rights, 2) gender, 3) religion, 4) access, 5) unpreparedness, 6) quality of life, 7) ambivalence 8) quality of care and 9) stigma and victimisation. CONCLUSIONS: Health care providers in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia have moral-, social- and gender-based reservations about induced abortion. These reservations influence attitudes towards induced abortions and subsequently affect the relationship between the health care provider and the pregnant woman who wishes to have an abortion. A values clarification exercise among abortion care providers is needed.

Learning Grammar : A study of upper secondary level students’ attitudes and beliefs concerning the learning of grammar

The communicative approach to language learning is widely taught in Western education, and yet its predecessor, the grammar-translation method, is still commonly employed in other parts of the world. In Sweden, the increasing popularity of the communicative approach is often justified by the high level of students’ communicative skills (Öhman, 2013). At the same time, students’ written texts and speech contain many grammatical errors (Öhman, 2013). Consequently, being aware of their tendency to produce grammatical errors, some students express beliefs regarding both the explicit and implicit learning of grammar (Sawir, 2005; Boroujeni, 2012). The objective of this thesis is to gain more knowledge regarding students’ beliefs concerning the learning of English grammar at the upper secondary level, in Sweden. With this purpose a survey was conducted in two schools in Sweden, where 49 upper-secondary English students participated. Qualitative and quantitative methods were applied to process the collected data. Despite some difference in the participants’ ages, there were many similarities in their attitudes towards the teaching and learning of grammar. The results show that the participants in both schools believe that only by applying both, explicit and implicit methods, can they obtain a high level of language proficiency. The results of this study can help teachers in planning different activities that enhance the students’ knowledge of grammar.

A General Approach Towards the Synthesis of Amido-Functionalized Biodegradable Polyesters

The thesis presented here describes methodologies to produce pendant group functionalized polyesters from amido-functionalized α-hydroxy acids. The synthetic methods used to produce the functionalized α-hydroxy acids are compatible with a wide array of functional groups, making this technique highly versatile. The synthesis of functionalized polyesters was investigated to develop polymers with properties that may improve the capabilities of existing biodegradable polyesters for applications in controlled release pharmaceuticals. Chemically modified a-hydroxy acids were synthesized by reacting glyoxylic acid with a primary or secondary amide. To demonstrate the utility of this reaction, fourstructurally dissimilar amide substituents were examined including 2-pyrrolidione, benzamide, acetamide and acrylamide. The reaction is synthetically simple, provides high yields and is uniquely flexible, functionalized monomer. The compatibility of this procedure with the collection of functional groups mentioned circumvents the need for syntheses. The amido-functionalized monomers were polymerized by two different techniques: melt polycondensation and solution polymerization. Melt polycondensation was conducted by heating the monomer past its melting temperature under reduced pressure. Oligomeric functionalized polyesters (= 800 g/mol) with low PDIs (= 1.05) were obtained by melt polycondensation. Melt polycondensation was not compatible with all of the synthesized monomers. Two of the monomers (containing benzamide and acrylamide functionalities) degraded before the polycondensation reaction occurred. Thermal gravimetric analysis confirmed that a process other than polyesterification was occurring, indicating that some amido-functionalized α-hydroxy acids cannot be synthesized in the melt.Solution polymerization was conducted to polymerize functionalized α-hydroxy acids that were incompatible with melt polycondensation. Several modified Steglich polyesterifications were tested including p-toluenesulfonic acid mediated and scandium (III) triflate catalyzed. Only oligomeric functionalized polyesters were formed bythis method. A number of possible side reactions including the formation of an N-acylurea and a cyclic polymer ring were possible. The utility of this procedure appears to be limited due to the complexity of the reaction and its inability to produce high molecular weight polymer.

Investigation of the effect of using data collection technology on students' attitudes to science instruction

The purpose of this project was to investigate the effect of using of data collection technology on student attitudes towards science instruction. The study was conducted over the course of two years at Madison High School in Adrian, Michigan, primarily in college preparatory physics classes, but also in one college preparatory chemistry class and one environmental science class. A preliminary study was conducted at a Lenawee County Intermediate Schools student summer environmental science day camp. The data collection technology used was a combination of Texas Instruments TI-84 Silver Plus graphing calculators and Vernier LabPro data collection sleds with various probeware attachments, including motion sensors, pH probes and accelerometers. Students were given written procedures for most laboratory activities and were provided with data tables and analysis questions to answer about the activities. The first year of the study included a pretest and posttest measuring student attitudes towards the class they were enrolled in. Pre-test and post-test data were analyzed to determine effect size, which was found to be very small (Coe, 2002). The second year of the study focused only on a physics class and used Keller’s ARCS model for measuring student motivation based on the four aspects of motivation: Attention, Relevance, Confidence and Satisfaction (Keller, 2010). According to this model, it was found that there were two distinct groups in the class, one of which was motivated to learn and the other that was not. The data suggest that the use of data collection technology in science classes should be started early in a student’s career, possibly in early middle school or late elementary. This would build familiarity with the equipment and allow for greater exploration by the student as they progress through high school and into upper level science courses.

Climate Variability and Extremes during the Past 100 Years

Large progress has been made in the past few years towards quantifying and understanding climate variability during past centuries. At the same time, present-day climate has been studied using state-of-the-art data sets and tools with respect to the physical and chemical mechanisms governing climate variability. Both the understanding of the past and the knowledge of the processes are important for assessing and attributing the anthropogenic effect on present and future climate. The most important time period in this context is the past approximately 100 years, which comprises large natural variations and extremes (such as long droughts) as well as anthropogenic influences, most pronounced in the past few decades. Recent and ongoing research efforts steadily improve the observational record of the 20th century, while atmospheric circulation models are used to underpin the mechanisms behind large climatic variations. Atmospheric chemistry and composition are important for understanding climate variability and change, and considerable progress has been made in the past few years in this field. The evolving integration of these research areas in a more comprehensive analysis of recent climate variability was reflected in the organisation of a workshop “Climate variability and extremes in the past 100 years” in Gwatt near Thun (Switzerland), 24–26 July 2006. The aim of this workshop was to bring together scientists working on data issues together with statistical climatologists, modellers, and atmospheric chemists to discuss gaps in our understanding of climate variability during the past approximately 100 years.

Experience and attitudes towards CAM--a survey of internal and psychosomatic patients in a German university hospital

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is popular in Germany. In a consecutive survey the experiences with CAM and the need for a CAM consultation among inpatients of the departments of cardiology (CL), gastroenterology (GE), oncology (OL) and psychosomatics (PS) of the University Hospital Freiburg (FUH) were questionned. Exclusion criteria were inability to understand the questions or a Karnofsky Index < 30%. Four hundred thirty-five patients were included. Three hundred and fifty patients, 100 each in the departments of CL, GE and OL, and 50 in PS answered the questionnaires. Eighty-five patients (20%) refused. Among the 350 patients 26% had previously visited a CAM physician and 19% had visited a CAM therapist (Heilpraktiker). Information about CAM was obtained mainly by television, radio and family members. Frequently used therapies for the current disease were physical training (21%), diet (19%), massage (19%), vitamins/trace elements (19%), herbs (13%), acupuncture (10%) and homeopathy (7%). The highest frequency of CAM use had PS patients, followed by GE, OL and CL patients. High effectivity (> or = 70%) for the current disease, rated on a scale of 4 degrees, had for CL patients physical exercise and massage, for GE patients herbal treatment and for OL patients diet. Physical exercise, diet, massage and herbal treatment generally had better ratings than homeopathy, acupuncture and vitamins. 65% would welcome a CAM center and 53% asked for a consultation about CAM at FUH. OL and GE patients had the strongest (58%), PS patients a lower (52%) and patients with cardiovascular diseases the lowest (43%) interest in a CAM consultation. Twenty-five percent believed, that CAM can help to cope better with their disease. Predictors for a positive attitude towards CAM were young age, aversion to chemical medications (Spearman correlation r = 0.22), desire to participate in therapeutic decisions (r = 0.29), motivation to change, if recommended, the life style (r = 0.31) and desire for a holistic treatment (r = 0.37).

Predictors of health care professionals' attitudes towards involvement in safety-relevant behaviours

BACKGROUND Patients can make valuable contributions towards promoting the safety of their health care. Health care professionals (HCPs) could play an important role in encouraging patient involvement in safety-relevant behaviours. However, to date factors that determine HCPs' attitudes towards patient participation in this area remain largely unexplored. OBJECTIVE To investigate predictors of HCPs' attitudes towards patient involvement in safety-relevant behaviours. DESIGN A 22-item cross-sectional fractional factorial survey that assessed HCPs' attitudes towards patient involvement in relation to two error scenarios relating to hand hygiene and medication safety. SETTING Four hospitals in London PARTICIPANTS   Two hundred sixteen HCPs (116 doctors; 100 nurses) aged between 21 and 60 years (mean: 32): 129 female. OUTCOME MEASURES Approval of patient's behaviour, HCP response to the patient, anticipated effects on the patient-HCP relationship, support for being asked as a HCP, affective rating response to the vignettes. RESULTS HCPs elicited more favourable attitudes towards patients intervening about a medication error than about hand sanitation. Across vignettes and error scenarios, the strongest predictors of attitudes were how the patient intervened and how the HCP responded to the patient's behaviour. With regard to HCP characteristics, doctors viewed patients intervening less favourably than nurses. CONCLUSIONS HCPs perceive patients intervening about a potential error less favourably if the patient's behaviour is confrontational in nature or if the HCP responds to the patient intervening in a discouraging manner. In particular, if a HCP responds negatively to the patient (irrespective of whether an error actually occurred), this is perceived as having negative effects on the HCP-patient relationship.

Environmental change within the Balkan region during the past ca. 50 ka recorded in the sediments from lakes Prespa and Ohrid

Abstract. Lakes Prespa and Ohrid, in the Balkan region, are considered to be amongst the oldest lakes in Europe. Both lakes are hydraulically connected via karst aquifers. From Lake Ohrid, several sediment cores up to 15m long have been studied over the last few years. Here, we document the first long sediment record from nearby Lake Prespa to clarify the influence of Lake Prespa on Lake Ohrid and the environmental history of the region. Radiocarbon dating and dated tephra layers provide robust age control and indicate that the 10.5m long sediment record from Lake Prespa reaches back to 48 ka. Glacial sedimentation is characterized by low organic matter content and absence of carbonates in the sediments, which indicate oligotrophic conditions in both lakes. Holocene sedimentation is characterized by particularly high carbonate content in Lake Ohrid and by particularly high organic matter content in Lake Prespa, which indicates a shift towards more mesotrophic conditions in the latter. Long-term environmental change and short-term events, such as related to the Heinrich events during the Pleistocene or the 8.2 ka cooling event during the Holocene, are well recorded in both lakes, but are only evident in certain proxies. The comparison of the sediment cores from both lakes indicates that environmental change affects particularly the trophic state of Lake Prespa due to its lower volume and water depth.

I like it because I (‘m) like You – measuring user attitudes towards information on Facebook

Limited in motivation and cognitive ability to process the increasing amount of information on their Newsfeed, users apply heuristic processing to form their attitudes. Rather than extensively analysing the content, they increasingly rely on heuristic cues – such as the amount of comments and likes as well as the level of relationship with the “poster” – to process the incoming information. In the paper we explore what impact these heuristic cues have on the affective and cognitive attitude of users towards the posts on their Newsfeed. We conduct a survey on based on a Facebook application that allows users to evaluate Newsfeed posts in real time. Applying two distinct panel-regression methods we report robust results that indicate that there is a certain relationship primacy effect when users are processing information: only if the level of relationship with the “poster” is low, the impact of comments and likes on the attitude is considered, whereby likes trigger positive, whereas comments – negative evaluations.

Predictors of healthcare professionals' attitudes towards family involvement in safety-relevant behaviours: a cross-sectional factorial survey study.

OBJECTIVES To investigate predictors of healthcare professionals' (HCPs) attitudes towards family involvement in safety-relevant behaviours. DESIGN A cross-sectional fractional factorial survey that assessed HCPs' attitudes towards family involvement in two error scenarios relating to hand hygiene and medication safety. Each survey comprised two randomised vignettes that described the potential error, how the family member communicated with the HCP about the error and how the HCP responded to the family member's question. SETTING 5 teaching hospitals in London, the Midlands and York. HCPs were approached on a range of medical and surgical wards. PARTICIPANTS 160 HCPs (73 doctors; 87 nurses) aged between 21 and 65 years (mean 37) 102 were female. OUTCOME MEASURES HCP approval of family member's behaviour; HCP reaction to the family member; anticipated effects on the family member-HCP relationship; HCP support for being questioned about hand hygiene/medication; affective rating responses. RESULTS HCPs supported family member's intervening (88%) but only 41% agreed this would have positive effects on the family member/HCP relationship. Across vignettes and error scenarios the strongest predictors of attitudes were how the HCP (in the scenario) responded to the family member and whether an error actually occurred. Doctors (vs nurses) provided systematically more positive affective ratings to the vignettes. CONCLUSIONS Important predictors of HCPs' attitudes towards family members' involvement in patient safety have been highlighted. In particular, a discouraging response from HCP's decreased support for family members being involved and had strong perceived negative effects on the family member/HCP relationship.

Development of a questionnaire measuring Attitudes towards Psychological Online Interventions–the APOI

BACKGROUND: Only a minority of people suffering from depression receive adequate treatment. Psychological Online Interventions (POIs) could help bridge existing treatment gaps and augment the effectiveness of current treatments. Apart from effectiveness, user acceptance of POIs must be achieved if such interventions are to be broadly implemented in existing health-care. Valid measurement tools examining attitudes towards POIs are lacking. Therefore, we examined the dimensionality of attitudes towards POIs, developed a novel questionnaire, the Attitudes towards Psychological Online Interventions Questionnaire (APOI), and gathered data to examine its reliability. METHODS: We recruited a sample of 1004 adults with mild to moderate depressive symptoms from a range of sources. We constructed a set of 35 items based on literature review as well as expert and patient queries. The initial items were subjected to an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in a randomly selected subsample. A final set of 16 items was subjected to a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to cross-validate the factor structure in a separate subsample. RESULTS: The EFA revealed four dimensions: "Scepticism and Perception of Risks", "Confidence in Effectiveness", "Technologization Threat" and "Anonymity Benefits". The model fit in the CFA was excellent relating to all applied indices (χ(2)=105.816, p=.651; SRMR=.042; RMSEA=.013; CFI=.994) and the APOI total scale showed acceptable to good internal consistency. CONCLUSIONS: Further research with the APOI might facilitate the development and dissemination of POIs and, ultimately, help improve the quality of care for people experiencing depressive symptoms.

On Voters' Attitudes Towards Unemployment Insurance Subsidies across Regions: A Canadian Simulation

The Canadian unemployment insurance program is designed to reflect the varying risk of joblessness across regions. Regions that are considered low-risk areas subsidize higher risk ones. A region's risk is typically proxied by its relative unemployment rate. We use a dynamic, heterogeneous-agent model calibrated to Canada to analyze voters preferences between a uniformly generous unemployment insurance and the current system with asymmetric generosity. We find that Canada's unusual unemployment insurance system is surprisingly close to what voters would choose in spite of the possibilities of moral hazard and self-insurance through asset build-up.

Physician attitudes on the HPV vaccine

The quadrivalent HPV vaccine was developed primarily for the prevention of cervical cancer. The vaccine, originally approved for females, was recently approved by the American Committee for Immunization Practices to be administered to males, allowing federal programs to pay for the vaccination for both males and females. However, uptake for this vaccination has been low. Studies show that physicians have great influence over whether or not parents decide to vaccinate their children. In this study, a survey was mailed out asking physicians about their attitude towards the HPV vaccination and what they believed to be the barriers to the vaccination of their patients. The analysis of the data included descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis in order to compare the differences in responses between male and female patients. The vast majority of physicians supported the vaccination of both females and males. However, the perceived barriers to vaccinating females differed from males, with physicians believing that parents' concern about sexual promiscuity was a greater barrier to vaccination in girls than boys (p=0.007). The other major significant difference in perceived barriers among physicians is the belief that physicians in general are less likely to promote the vaccination in males compared to females (p=0.01). Despite evidence to the contrary, it seems more patient education is needed regarding sexual promiscuity and its association with the HPV vaccine. There may also be a need for increased physician education regarding the use of the HPV vaccine for male patients.^