David and Esther : from Julius Nathanson's production "David and Esther" ; a musical romance ; as sung by Julius Nathanson and Ola Lillith

music by Illia Trilling. Lyrics by Chaim Tauber. Libretto by Louis Freiman

Sociodemographic characteristics as predictors of successful smoking cessation among a group of Hispanic Spanish speaking smokers

Few studies have examined predictors of smoking abstinence among Hispanic groups. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the relations of sociodemographic characteristics and smoking related factors with smoking abstinence among a group of Hispanic Spanish speaking smokers. This study utilized previously collected data from Hispanic Spanish-speaking smokers (N = 246) who participated in a study entitled Smoking Cessation Services for Hispanic Smokers in Texas. ^ The first study examined sociodemographic characteristics and smoking related mechanisms that predicted smoking abstinence among this group. Two of the characteristics were related to smoking abstinence, marital status and acculturation level. Being unmarried increased the likelihood of being abstinent at the 12 week assessment (OR = 1.80). Those in the high acculturation group were twice as likely to be abstinent (OR = 2.24). Of the smoking related mechanisms, those with higher positive reinforcement expectancies were less likely to be abstinent (OR = .86), as were those with a higher level of affiliative attachment (OR = .86), a higher level of craving (OR = .78) and a higher tolerance to the effect of smoking (OR = .74). The second study was to examine the relationship of objective measures of socioeconomic status (SES) (income, education, or employment) with smoking abstinence among this group. This study also compared the relationship of a subjective measure of SES (Social Status Ladder) to smoking abstinence. None of the objective measures of SES were related to smoking abstinence at the 12 week assessment. The subjective measure of SES did predict smoking abstinence (OR = 1.9) indicting that those that rated themselves ≤4 on the SES scale were more likely to be abstinent. ^ Although this group was recruited using various methods across the state of Texas, the fact that they preferred to interact with the counselor in Spanish may limit the study findings. The results of this study highlight the need for research to examine specific subgroups of people and understand the special circumstances that influence their health behaviors. Furthering our knowledge of the relations between sociodemographic characteristics and smoking cessation could lead to interventions that reduce disparities in smoking cessation. ^

The Spanish translation, cultural adaptation and validation of the Powe Fatalism Inventory

Background/significance. The scarcity of reliable and valid Spanish language instruments for health related research has hindered research with the Hispanic population. Research suggests that fatalistic attitudes are related to poor cancer screening behaviors and may be one reason for low participation of Mexican-Americans in cancer screening. This problem is of major concern because Mexican-Americans constitute the largest Hispanic subgroup in the U.S.^ Purpose. The purposes of this study were: (1) To translate the Powe Fatalism Inventory, (PFI) into Spanish, and culturally adapt the instrument to the Mexican-American culture as found along the U.S.-Mexico border and (2) To test the equivalence between the Spanish translated, culturally adapted version of the PFI and the English version of the PFI to include clarity, content validity, reading level and reliability.^ Design. Descriptive, cross-sectional.^ Methods. The Spanish language translation used a translation model which incorporates a cultural adaptation process. The SPFI was administered to 175 bilingual participants residing in a midsize, U.S-Mexico border city. Data analysis included estimation of Cronbach's alpha, factor analysis, paired samples t-test comparison and multiple regression analysis using SPSS software, as well as measurement of content validity and reading level of the SPFI. ^ Findings. A reliability estimate using Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.81 for the SPFI compared to 0.80 for the PFI in this study. Factor Analysis extracted four factors which explained 59% of the variance. Paired t-test comparison revealed no statistically significant differences between the SPFI and PFI total or individual item scores. Content Validity Index was determined to be 1.0. Reading Level was assessed to be less than a 6th grade reading level. The correlation coefficient between the SPFI and PFI was 0.95.^ Conclusions. This study provided strong psychometric evidence that the Spanish translated, culturally adapted SPFI is an equivalent tool to the English version of the PFI in measuring cancer fatalism. This indicates that the two forms of the instrument can be used interchangeably in a single study to accommodate reading and speaking abilities of respondents. ^

Use of cognitive interviewing in the development of a Spanish language genetic knowledge instrument

Study purpose. Genetic advances are significantly impacting healthcare, yet recent studies of ethnic group participation in genetic services demonstrate low utilization rates by Latinos. Limited genetic knowledge is a major barrier. The purpose of this study was to field test items in a Spanish-language instrument that will be used to measure genetic knowledge relevant to type 2 diabetes among members of the ethnically heterogeneous U.S. Latino community. Accurate genetic knowledge measurement can provide the foundation for interventions to enhance genetic service utilization. ^ Design. Three waves of cognitive interviews were conducted in Spanish to field test 44 instrument items Thirty-six Latinos, with 12 persons representative of Mexican, Central and South American, and Cuban heritage participated, including 7 males and 29 females between 22 and 60 years of age; 17 participants had 12 years or less of education. ^ Methods. Text narratives from transcriptions of audiotaped interviews were qualitatively analyzed using a coding strategy to indicate potential sources of response error. Through an iterative process of instrument refinement, codes that emerged from the data were used to guide item revisions at the conclusion of each phase; revised items were examined in subsequent interview waves. ^ Results. Inter-cultural and cross-cultural themes associated with difficulties in interpretation and grammatical structuring of items were identified; difficulties associated with comprehension reflected variations in educational level. Of the original 44 items, 32 were retained, 89% of which were revised. Six additional items reflective of cultural knowledge were constructed, resulting in a 38-item instrument. ^ Conclusions. Use of cognitive interviewing provided a valuable tool for detecting both potential sources of response error and cultural variations in these sources. Analysis of interview data guided successive instrument revisions leading to improved item interpretability and comprehension. Although testing in a larger sample will be essential to test validity and reliability, the outcome of field testing suggests initial content validity of a Spanish-language instrument to measure genetic knowledge relative to type 2 diabetes. ^ Keywords. Latinos, genetic knowledge, instrument development, cognitive interviewing ^

Spanish dequeísmo : a case study of subjectification

El objeto de estudio de este trabajo es la subjetivización, es decir el proceso por el cual los hablantes pasan con el paso del tiempo a atribuir significados a expresiones que codifican sus perspectivas y actitudes. Dicho proceso ha sido definido como “el mecanismo más penetrante en el cambio semántico" (Trauggot y Dasher 2001:30). Un caso muy conocido de variación dialectal en la gramática del español es el dequeísmo, el cual puede explicarse en términos de la subjetivización. El trabajo respalda dicha hipótesis a través de un análisis contrastivo de datos reunidos a través de un corpus computarizado. En primer lugar se bosqueja la evolución del dequeísmo desde el español medieval hasta el español contemporáneo, lo que prueba un creciente grado de subjetivización dado por un cambio concomitante que muestra una evolución desde un alto a un bajo grado de compromiso del hablante respecto al grado de veracidad de la proposición. En segundo lugar, se analiza la posibilidad de hacer un reanálisis categorial de la preposición “de", la que ha pasado de ser utilizada como marcador espacial a un marcador modal abstracto en subordinadas dequeístas. Los resultados nos permiten reflexionar no sólo sobre la evolución de las proposiciones dequeístas sino también sobre la relación entre cambio semántico y gramaticalización.

Algunas notas sobre la poética del género popular : a propósito del Romance elegíaco de Fray Luis de Miranda

Fil: Calderón de Cuervo, Elena. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo

A metadiscursividade no romance, um erro emocional, de Cristovão Tezza

A metadiscursividade faz-se presente nas obras literárias como um mecanismo discursivo que ajuda a entender o fazer literário do autor e a estabelecer interaçao com o leitor. Os estudos linguístico literários interessam-se pela metadiscursividade que os escritores constroem em suas obras e pelas explicaçoes que eles dao ao seu modo de criaçao. O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar o metadiscurso no romance Um erro emocional, de Cristovao Tezza, à luz dos estudos de Borillo (1985) e Koch (2008) sobre a metadiscursividade e das reflexoes de Bakhtin (1992) sobre o romance. Esse pensador da linguagem considera o romance o gênero dos gêneros e mostra que a obra romanesca aceita diferentes formas de expressao linguística, contempla o entrecruzar de vozes sociais e acolhe uma grande diversidade de estilos. Ao refletir sobre o romance, o filósofo russo eleva-o a uma categoria literária superior em relaçao a outros gêneros, pelo seu caráter de inconclusibilidade e exigência de renovaçao formal permanente. Espera-se com este trabalho, verificar aproximaçoes entre as reflexoes bakhtinianas e a metadiscursividade no fazer literário de Cristovao Tezza, no romance Um erro emocional

El romance y su empleo ideológico : El caso de "La tierra de Alvargonzález" de Antonio Machado

La poesía según Machado debe hacer manifiesto el fluir temporal y la interacción del poeta con su época a partir de un código simple, lo que implica el rechazo de toda pretensión aristocratizante. El pueblo debe ser el receptor privilegiado. Es por esto que aboga por el uso de una "palabra integral", próxima al lenguaje hablado y por el empleo de formas estróficas de clara raigambre popular. Tal es el caso de "La tierra de Alvargonzález", que remeda la primaria función cultural de cualquier narración tradicional: la de ser ejemplos de vida. El deseo de dignificar cierta veta vulgar del romancero, los romances de ciego o pliegos de cordel, que -no olvidemos- son importaciones de la cultura letrada, se cifra en un lenguaje complejo en su factura, mas no en su comprensión, que combina motivos y estrategias de tradición popular con símbolos de procedencia modernista. En la profundización ?modernizadora? de algunas de sus posturas ideológicas, anuda el uso de un molde estrófico de tradición oral, el romance, con una serie de reflexiones de carácter noventaiochista. De este modo, el arte no es sólo expresión estética, sino -como querían los hombres de la generación del 98- un bastidor en el que se enhebran también cuestiones de índole histórica y social

Cultura popular y poesía narrativa medieval: contactos productivos

El presente artículo propone focalizar la pertinencia de la configuración teórica del concepto de literatura y cultura popular para el estudio de la poesía narrativa medieval en su pasaje del universo de la oralidad al de la escritura, y de la escritura manuscrita a la imprenta. Los ejemplos serán aportados a su vez por los géneros narrativos paradigmáticos medievales, la épica y el romancero, en el dominio lingüístico específico del castellano.