The Eliana Rivero Research Scholarship in Cuban Studies- Call for Applications from Graduate Students

This flyer promotes a call for applications from Graduate Students for the Eliana Rivero Research Scholarship in Cuban Studies. The scholarship provides one graduate student the opportunity to conduct research in Cuban studies- with special emphasis in the humanities- at the Cuban Research Institute. The deadline for applications is February 15, 2016.

Structural models for yttrium aluminium borate laser glasses: NMR and EPR studies of the system (Y(2)O(3))(0.2)-(Al(2)O(3))(x)-(B(2)O(3))(0.8-x)

The structure of laser glasses in the system (Y(2)O(3))(0.2){(Al(2)O(3))(x))(B(2)O(3))(0.8-x)} (0.15 <= x <= 0.40) has been investigated by means of (11)B, (27)Al, and (89)Y solid state NMR as well as electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) of Yb-doped samples. The latter technique has been applied for the first time to an aluminoborate glass system. (11)B magic-angle spinning (MAS)-NMR spectra reveal that, while the majority of the boron atoms are three-coordinated over the entire composition region, the fraction of three-coordinated boron atoms increases significantly with increasing x. Charge balance considerations as well as (11)B NMR lineshape analyses suggest that the dominant borate species are predominantly singly charged metaborate (BO(2/2)O(-)), doubly charged pyroborate (BO(1/2)(O(-))(2)), and (at x = 0.40) triply charged orthoborate groups. As x increases along this series, the average anionic charge per trigonal borate group increases from 1.38 to 2.91. (27)Al MAS-NMR spectra show that the alumina species are present in the coordination states four, five and six, and the fraction of four-coordinated Al increases markedly with increasing x. All of the Al coordination states are in intimate contact with both the three-and the four-coordinate boron species and vice versa, as indicated by (11)B/(27)Al rotational echo double resonance (REDOR) data. These results are consistent with the formation of a homogeneous, non-segregated glass structure. (89)Y solid state NMR spectra show a significant chemical shift trend, reflecting that the second coordination sphere becomes increasingly ""aluminate-like'' with increasing x. This conclusion is supported by electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) data of Yb-doped glasses, which indicate that both borate and aluminate species participate in the medium range structure of the rare-earth ions, consistent with a random spatial distribution of the glass components.

Eastwards / westwards: which direction for gender studies in the 21st century?

Eastwards / Westwards: Which Direction for Gender Studies in the XXIst Century? is a collection of essays which focus on themes and methods that characterize current research into gender in Asian countries in general. In this collection, ideas derived from Gender Studies elsewhere in the world have been subjected to scrutiny for their utility in helping to describe and understand regional phenomena. But the concepts of Local and Global – with their discoursive productions – have not functioned as a binary opposition: localism and globalism are mutually constitutive and researchers have interrogated those spaces of interaction between the ‘self’ and the ‘other’, bearing in mind their own embeddedness in social and cultural structures and their own historical memory. Contributors to this collection provided a critical transnational perspective on some of the complex effects of the dynamics of cultural globalization, by exploring the relation between gender and development, language, historiography, education and culture. We have also given attention to the ideological and rhetorical processes through which gender identity is constructed, by comparing textual grids and patterns of expectation. Likewise, we have discussed the role of ethnography, anthropology, historiography, sociology, fiction, popular culture and colonial and post-colonial sources in (re)inventing old/new male/female identities, their conversion into concepts and circulation through time and space. This multicultural and trans-disciplinary selection of essays is totally written in English, fully edited and revised, therefore, it has a good potential for an immediate international circulation. This project may trace new paths and issues for discussion on what concerns the life, practices and narratives by and about women in Asia, as well as elsewhere in the present day global experience. Academic readership: Researchers, scholars, educators, graduate and post-graduate students, doctoral students and general non-fiction readers, with a special interest in Gender Studies, Asia, Colonial and Post-Colonial Literature, Anthropology, Cultural Studies, History, Historiography, Politics, Race, Feminism, Language, Linguistics, Power, Political and Feminist Agendas, Popular Culture, Education, Women’s Writing, Religion, Multiculturalism, Globalisation, Migration. Chapter summary: 1. “Social Gender Stereotypes and their Implication in Hindi”, Anjali Pande, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. This essay looks at the subtle ways in which gender identities are constructed and reinforced in India through social norms of language use. Language itself becomes a medium for perpetuating gender stereotypes, forcing its speakers to confirm to socially defined gender roles. Using examples from a classroom discussion about a film, this essay will highlight the underlying rigid male-female stereotypes in Indian society with their more obvious expressions in language. For the urban woman in India globalisation meant increased economic equality and exposure to changed lifestyles. On an individual level it also meant redefining gender relations and changing the hierarchy in man-­woman relationships. With the economic independence there is a heightened sense of liberation in all spheres of social life, a confidence to fuzz the rigid boundaries of gender roles. With the new films and media celebrating this liberated woman, who is ready to assert her sexual needs, who is ready to explode those long held notions of morality, one would expect that the changes are not just superficial. But as it soon became obvious in the course of a classroom discussion about relationships and stereotypes related to age, the surface changes can not become part of the common vocabulary, for the obvious reason that there is still a vast gap between the screen image of this new woman and the ground reality. Social considerations define the limits of this assertiveness of women, whereas men are happy to be liberal within the larger frame of social sanctions. The educated urban woman in India speaks in favour of change and the educated urban male supports her, but one just needs to scratch the surface to see the time tested formulae of gender roles firmly in place. The way the urban woman happily balances this emerging promise of independence with her gendered social identity, makes it necessary to rethink some aspects of looking at gender in a gradually changing, traditional society like India. 2. “The Linguistic Dimension of Gender Equality”, Alissa Tolstokorova, Kiev Centre for Gender Information and Education, Ukraine. The subject-matter of this essay is gender justice in language which, as I argue, may be achieved through the development of a gender-related approach to linguistic human rights. The last decades of the 20th century, globally marked by a “gender shift” in attitudes to language policy, gave impetus to the social movement for promoting linguistic gender equality. It was initiated in Western Europe and nowadays is moving eastwards, as ideas of gender democracy progress into developing countries. But, while in western societies gender discrimination through language, or linguistic sexism, was an issue of concern for over three decades, in developing countries efforts to promote gender justice in language are only in their infancy. My argument is that to promote gender justice in language internationally it is necessary to acknowledge the rights of women and men to equal representation of their gender in language and speech and, therefore, raise a question of linguistic rights of the sexes. My understanding is that the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights in 1996 provided this opportunity to address the problem of gender justice in language as a human rights issue, specifically as a gender dimension of linguistic human rights. 3. “The Rebirth of an Old Language: Issues of Gender Equality in Kazakhstan”, Maria Helena Guimarães, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Portugal. The existing language situation in Kazakhstan, while peaceful, is not without some tension. We propose to analyze here some questions we consider relevant in the frame of cultural globalization and gender equality, such as: free from Russian imperialism, could Kazakhstan become an easy prey of Turkey’s “imperialist dream”? Could these traditionally Muslim people be soon facing the end of religious tolerance and gender equality, becoming this new old language an easy instrument for the infiltration in the country of fundamentalism (it has already crossed the boarders of Uzbekistan), leading to a gradual deterioration of its rich multicultural relations? The present structure of the language is still very fragile: there are three main dialects and many academics defend the re-introduction of the Latin alphabet, thus enlarging the possibility of cultural “contamination” by making the transmission of fundamentalist ideas still easier through neighbour countries like Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan (their languages belong to the same sub-group of Common Turkic), where the Latin alphabet is already in use, and where the ground for such ideas shown itself very fruitful. 4. “Construction of Womanhood in the Bengali Language of Bangladesh”, Raasheed Mahmood; University of New South Wales, Sydney. The present essay attempts to explore the role of gender-based language differences and of certain markers that reveal the status accorded to women in Bangladesh. Discrimination against women, in its various forms, is endemic in communities and countries around the world, cutting across class, race, age, and religious and national boundaries. One cannot understand the problems of gender discrimination solely by referring to the relationship of power or authority between men and women. Rather one needs to consider the problem by relating it to the specific social formation in which the image of masculinity and femininity is constructed and reconstructed. Following such line of reasoning this essay will examine the nature of gender bias in the Bengali language of Bangladesh, holding the conviction that as a product of social reality language reflects the socio-cultural behaviour of the community who speaks it. This essay will also attempt to shed some light on the processes through which gender based language differences produce actual consequences for women, who become exposed to low self-esteem, depression and systematic exclusion from public discourse. 5. “Marriage in China as an expression of a changing society”, Elisabetta Rosado David, University of Porto, Portugal, and Università Ca’Foscari, Venezia, Italy. In 29 April 2001, the new Marriage Law was promulgated in China. The first law on marriage was proclaimed in 1950 with the objective of freeing women from the feudal matrimonial system. With the second law, in 1981, values and conditions that had been distorted by the Cultural Revolution were recovered. Twenty years later, a new reform was started, intending to update marriage in the view of the social and cultural changes that occurred with Deng Xiaoping’s “open policy”. But the legal reform is only the starting point for this case-study. The rituals that are followed in the wedding ceremony are often hard to understand and very difficult to standardize, especially because China is a vast country, densely populated and characterized by several ethnic minorities. Two key words emerge from this issue: syncretism and continuity. On this basis, we can understand tradition in a better way, and analyse whether or not marriage, as every social manifestation, has evolved in harmony with Chinese culture. 6. “The Other Woman in the Portuguese Colonial Empire: The Case of Portuguese India”, Maria de Deus Manso, University of Évora, Portugal. This essay researches the social, cultural and symbolic history of local women in the Portuguese Indian colonial enclaves. The normative Portuguese overseas history has not paid any attention to the “indigenous” female populations in colonial Portuguese territories, albeit the large social importance of these social segments largely used in matrimonial and even catholic missionary strategies. The first attempt to open fresh windows in the history of this new field was the publication of Charles Boxer’s referential study about Women in lberian Overseas Expansion, edited in Portugal only after the Revolution of 1975. After this research we can only quote some other fragmentary efforts. In fact, research about the social, cultural, religious, political and symbolic situation of women in the Portuguese colonial territories, from the XVI to the XX century, is still a minor historiographic field. In this essay we discuss this problem and we study colonial representations of women in the Portuguese Indian enclaves, mainly in the territory of Goa, using case studies methodologies. 7. “Heading East this Time: Critical Readings on Gender in Southeast Asia”, Clara Sarmento, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Portugal. This essay intends to discuss some critical readings of fictional and theoretical texts on gender condition in Southeast Asian countries. Nowadays, many texts about women in Southeast Asia apply concepts of power in unusual areas. Traditional forms of gender hegemony have been replaced by other powerful, if somewhat more covert, forms. We will discuss some universal values concerning conventional female roles as well as the strategies used to recognize women in political fields traditionally characterized by male dominance. Female empowerment will mean different things at different times in history, as a result of culture, local geography and individual circumstances. Empowerment needs to be perceived as an individual attitude, but it also has to be facilitated at the macro­level by society and the State. Gender is very much at the heart of all these dynamics, strongly related to specificities of historical, cultural, ethnic and class situatedness, requiring an interdisciplinary transnational approach.

Reforms of the pre-graduate curriculum for medical students: the Bologna process and beyond.

For several years, all five medical faculties of Switzerland have embarked on a reform of their training curricula for two reasons: first, according to a new federal act issued in 2006 by the administration of the confederation, faculties needed to meet international standards in terms of content and pedagogic approaches; second, all Swiss universities and thus all medical faculties had to adapt the structure of their curriculum to the frame and principles which govern the Bologna process. This process is the result of the Bologna Declaration of June 1999 which proposes and requires a series of reforms to make European Higher Education more compatible and comparable, more competitive and more attractive for Europeans students. The present paper reviews some of the results achieved in the field, focusing on several issues such as the shortage of physicians and primary care practitioners, the importance of public health, community medicine and medical humanities, and the implementation of new training approaches including e-learning and simulation. In the future, faculties should work on several specific challenges such as: students' mobility, the improvement of students' autonomy and critical thinking as well as their generic and specific skills and finally a reflection on how to improve the attractiveness of the academic career, for physicians of both sexes.

The burnout syndrome and associated personality disturbances. The study in three graduate programs in Dentistry at the University of Barcelona

Objective: Determine the presence of"burnout" syndrome and characteristic personality patterns in the students and faculty of three graduate programs in Dentistry at the University of Barcelona: Department of Oral Surgery and Implantology, Department of Orthodontics and Department of Integrated Dentistry. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out in 78 dentists. The level of"burnout" was evaluated using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, socio-demographic variables and, finally, the personality test. Results: Oral surgeons constituted the group of highlevel"burnout". The profile of an individual with a propensity to"burn out" is a single man, with a median age of 27, that is in the first years of the graduate program and that combines studies with 30 hours of clinical practice and/or other work (p<0,05). Narcissistic and borderline are the types of personality most frequently found in the individuals that present"burnout" syndrome (p<0,05). Conclusions: In general, no high levels of"burnout" were registered in the studied population, only 2-3%, if applying strict definition of"burnout", and 10% if these criteria were amplified. We believe it is necessary to identify the individuals with a tendency towards"burnout", in order to establish preventive measures and avoid future negative behaviour at work as well as at the personal level.

Exploring the events that engage graduate students in transformative learning /

This research explored the events that engaged graduate students in transformative learning within a graduate program in education. This context was chosen because one objective of a graduate program is to facilitate critical thinking and transformative learning. The question ofhow adult learners perceive and experience learning steered the direction ofthis study. However, the purpose ofthis research was to study critical incidents that led to profound cognitive and affective changes as perceived by the graduate students. Specifically, the questions to be answered were what critical incidents happened to graduate students while in the Master ofEducation program, how were the incidents experienced, and what transformation resulted? The research design evolved over the course of a year and was highly influenced by previous empirical studies and criticisms oftransformative learning theory. The overall design was qualitative and phenomenological. A critical and interpretive approach was made to empirical data collected through a critical incident questionnaire and in-depth interviews. Inductive analysis allowed theory to be built from the data by making comparisons. New questions emerged and attention was given to social context, the passage oftime, and sequence ofevents in order to give meaning and translation ofthe participants' experiences and to build the interpretive narratives. Deductive analysis was also used on the data and a blending ofthe two forms of analysis; this resulted in the development ofa foundational model for transformative learning to be built.The data revealed critical incidents outside ofthe graduate school program that occurred in childhood or adult life prior to graduate school. Since context of individuals' lives had been an important critique of past transformative learning models and studies, this research expanded the original boundaries of this study beyond graduate school to incorporate incidents that occurred outside of graduate school. Critical incidents were categorized into time-related, people-related, and circumstancerelated themes. It was clear that participants were influenced and molded by the stage oftheir life, personal experiences, familial and cultural conditioning, and even historic events. The model developed in this document fiom an overview ofthe fmdings identifies a four-stage process of life difficulty, disintegration, reintegration, and completion that all participants' followed. The blended analysis was revealed from the description ofhow the incidents were experienced by the participants. The final categories were what were the feelings, what was happening, and what was the enviromnent? The resulting transformation was initially only going to consider cognitive and affective changes, however, it was apparent that contextual changes also occurred for all participants, so this category was also included. The model was described with the construction metaphor of a building "foimdation" to illustrate the variety of conditions that are necessary for transformative learning to occur. Since this was an exploratory study, no prior models or processes were used in data analysis, however, it appeared that the model developed from this study incorporated existing models and provided a more encompassing life picture oftransformative learning.

Exploring female graduate students' multifaceted and intersecting roles and identities in a complex educational milieu /

This qualitative phenomenological investigation explored six female Master of Education students' critical understandings of their identity and role negotiations, and their perceptions of environmental conditions that facilitated or impeded their identity explorations and negotiations within the institution. The interweaving of Feminist and Women's Development theories enabled the data to be examined under different, yet complementary, lenses. The data collection strategies included: four to five in-depth semistructured interviews, three take-home activities (involving identity mapping, object and metaphor identification, and strategy development), and the compilation of extensive interview notes as well as researcher reflections. The combination of a constant comparative method and a voice-centered method were used in tandem to analyze the data. Together they uncovered five emergent themes: (a) intricate understandings of key terms; (b) life-long learning and transformative pathways; (c) gender issues; (d) challenges, tensions, and possibilities; as well as (e) personal, professional, and educational implications. The findings underscored the possibility for both a singular static identity and dynamic multifaceted identities to exist in tandem, and the emergence of natural or logical identity intersections, as well as disjointed or colliding identity intersections. Ultimately, it is the continuous negotiation of internal and external spheres that contributes to the complexity and multidimensionality of graduate students' identities.

Concept analysis in social studies

This project was undertaken because of a need to analyse concepts in social science more specifically and sequence them more carefully in a social science program. Concepts have been identified vaguely on many curriculum documents or left in isolation from each other when they are specifically identified. The project's aim was to identify a method for analysing concepts and sequencing their teaching on some rational basis. Once the method for analysing concepts was identified a questionnaire was designed and administered to a random sample of students at the grade three, five and eight levels. The questionnaire attempted to measure their comprehension of specific social science concepts at several levels which became progressively more complex. The major hypothesis was that there would be a direct correlation between age and achievement on the questionnaire. The raw scores were seriated and correlated with the ages of the students using the rankdifference- squared method. For the majority of areas tested it was found that there was a significant correlation between age and achievement on the questionnaire. Variation in the correlation coefficients generated suggests that comprehension of social science concepts is not simply a function of age but is probably a function of several inter-related factors such as reading ability, skill in Basic Thinking Skills and age. Thirty students completed each test. There were three tests in the questionnaire.

Inclusive teaching practice in the Jewish day school: general studies teachers' experiences /

Little research has been done on inclusive education in the context of the Jewish day school general studies classroom. This qualitative case study research examines the inclusive teaching experiences of 2 general studies teachers in their respective grade 4 classrooms in 2 traditionally structured dual curriculum Jewish day schools. Data analysis of qualitative open-ended interviews, classroom observations, postobservation discxissions, and school and formal curriculum documents yielded understandings about the participants' inclusive practice and the challenges of the traditional Jewish day school structure. Eight themes that emerged related to understandings and questions about time limitations, an emphasis on efficiency, the day school structure, inclusion models, the need for increased teacher collaboration, and tension between curriculum-as-plan and curriculum-as-lived. Discussion of the findings suggests the need for further research in inclusion and integrated curriculimi in order to better understand possible restructuring of the traditional Jewish day school fi-om the time efficiency constrained dual curriculiun structure to a more flexible structure conducive of a meaningful and dynamic lived curriculum.

What Matters? : the full-time graduate students' perceptions of teacher effectiveness

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the full-time graduate students' perceptions of teacher effectiveness at the graduate school level, to identify how graduate students perceive effective and ineffective teachers, and specifically to discover the main dimensions of teacher effectiveness that graduate students perceive as most significant. This topic was investigated because, although the teacher has been deemed as a crucial component in the teaching process, there is no common agreement on the definition and measure of teacher effectiveness. Graduate students' perceptions of teacher effectiveness have not been given much attention. The research design was based on a ground theory approach. It utilized qualitative data through interviews, field notes, andjournals. The findings ofthis study revealed that teacher effectiveness is markedly influential to graduate students. There is no universally consented definition or measure of teacher effectiveness due to the multidimensionality of teaching and learning. Nevertheless, several major dimensions ofteacher effectiveness were discovered and highlighted in this study. Such dimensions include good command of subject matter, presentation skills, challenging and motivating students, rapport with students, learning environment, course demands, as well as assessment and feedback. It was hoped that the study would move towards developing a theory that contributes to the knowledge base of graduate students' perceptions of teacher effectiveness. It was anticipated that the results would provide first-hand information for the instructor to improve teaching; for the administrator to promote the effective educational experiences and student achievements. It was intended that the findings would lay a theoretical and empirical groundwork for future research.

Course/instructor evaluation : perspectives of part-time graduate students

This study explored 6 part-time graduate students' perspectives on course/instructor evaluation. The purpose was to explore whether a link exists between the evaluation for course and instructors as contained in the Faculty of Education courselinstructor evaluation form and the needs of part-time students enrolled in that program. The literature review provided contextual information concerning the 3 main subject areas based upon which the research questions were designed: learner needs in the context of part-time graduate students, courselinstructor eval~ation, and the potential lack of congruency between the 2. Using a semistructured interview process, participants identified criteria important or relevant to the evaluation process and incongruent with the course/instructor evaluation form. A qualitative research methodology using a grounded theory approach contributed to the theory on the nature of course evaluation instruments in a graduate program and addressed the notion of where power was situated within the evaluation process. Findings suggested that the concepts of relevance and the instructor's role that participants identified as important in their graduate learning experience were congruent with what they considered important components of the course/instructor evaluation form. Participants noted a lack of congruency between their expectations of a quality graduate learning experience and the format, content, intent, and timing of the evaluation process. The study confirmed that students did want a voice in the evaluation of their learning experience at both the course and program levels.

Emancipatory pedagogies in a grade 11 social studies classroom

This study aimed to uncover the incorporation of transformative pedagogies into the social studies curriculum. This educational approach aims to educate students about a variety of forms of oppression based on race, gender, sexuality, class, ethnicity, and culture, through the use of dialogue to uncover the students' understanding and personal experience with these concepts. This study examined the impact of discussing these topics in a grade 11 class of 22 White students (of various cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds). The teacher, Kelvin, and two of his students were interviewed and his class was observed on four occasions over a 2-week period. Based on the data I collected, I argue that a range of emancipatory teaching approaches should be used in critical classroom discourse. These different approaches emphasize the importance of critical thinking, the ability to recognize and combat oppression, the understanding and respect of different cultures, and the ability to recognize the impact of gender and sexuality on the past and present. These are life skills that extend beyond the curriculum (Freire, 1970; Giroux, 1988; hooks, 1994). This study fills a theory to practice gap in the research literature on transformative practice within Canadian contexts. The findings are important for several reasons. Firstly, they illustrated how the teacher's ideology and personal history affect hislher teaching and learning philosophies and approach to teaching. This has implications for the overall classroom environment, what students learn, and how teachers are trained. Secondly, this study provided a glimpse of what transformative pedagogy could look like from a pragmatic standpoint and demonstrated the complexity of using these multiple approaches in the classroom.