Search results for "social sciences ."
showing 10 items of 1661 documents
Reflections on the Significance of Images in Genocide Studies: Some Methodological Considerations
2018
Social practices such as massacres, mass violence and the extermination of entire populations are not a historical novelty. Indeed, when Raphael Lemkin coined the term genocide in 1944 he was but giving a new name to an old crime.1 Such phenomena have been witnessed by humanity since Ancient times and historians, as well as artists and writers, have utilized every tool at their disposal to find ways to depict them and impress upon their audience the impact they had. Insofar as these are extreme phenomena that challenge the very notion of our humanity, such events inevitably test as well the limits of representation. Eyewitness accounts, historical narrations, philosophical observations, and…
The development of a suite of computer-based diagnostic tests based on the Common European Framework
2005
DIALANG is an on-line language assessment system, which contains tests in 14 European languages and is based on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). It is the first major testing system that is oriented towards diagnosing language skills and providing feedback to users rather than certifying their proficiency. This article describes the contents of Version 1 of DIALANG and the way in which the system works. This is followed by an account of the development of DIALANG tests and of the pilot testing and standard setting procedures. The results of the first analyses of items and self-assessment statements, and of the standard setting procedures, are reported. The article focuses…
Discursive construction of a high-stakes test: the many faces of a test-taker
2006
As part of a larger project, we studied how a foreign language test got discursively constructed in the talk of upper-secondary-school leavers. A group of students were asked to keep an oral diary to record their ideas, feelings and experiences of preparing for and taking the test over the last spring term of school, as part of a high-stakes national examination. In addition, they took part in discussions either in pairs or groups of three after having learned about the final test results. After transcribing the data, drawing on a form of discourse analysis originally launched by a group of social psychologists, we identified (at least) four interpretative repertoires in the students’ acco…
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FOREIGN LANGUAGE ENJOYMENT AND GENDER AMONG SECONDARY GRAMMAR SCHOOL STUDENTS
2018
In the context of second language acquisition, foreign language enjoyment (FLE) is a relatively new concept. For that reason, none of the few research carried out in the field thus far has been focused on whether gender might be an important determinant of either a high or a low level of FLE. Thus, the purpose of the present paper was to examine the influence of FLE on learning English as a foreign language, as well as to investigate this relationship from the perspective of gender. The results of this study revealed that there are no statistically significant differences between males and females in FLE, while such differences are found in terms of the sources of FLE each gender perceives …
Examining the role of religion in a family setting: religious attitudes and quality of life among parents and their adolescent children
2016
The study examined the role of religion in a family setting by evaluating relationships between religious attitudes and quality of life among parents and their adolescent children. Previous research suggested that religious beliefs and behavior play an important role in shaping family relations and their members’ well-being. The group of 465 parents and adolescents completed four scales measuring religiousness, quality of life, and satisfaction with life. Results using correlational analyses and cluster comparisons showed that religiousness had a significant effect on both subjective quality of life dimensions and satisfaction with life among parents and adolescents. Individuals characteriz…
Reflexive Modernization and the Disembedding of Jūdō from 1946 to the 2000 Sydney Olympics
2004
This article considers some of the sociologically significant changes to jūdō in its process of transformation from a Budō based martial art into a modern competitive spectator sport. Taking the period of time from 1946 until the Sydney Olympics, an examination is undertaken using Giddens’s notion of reflexive modernization in which key aspects of the original jūdō are disembedded or ‘lifted out’ of the practice. They are then re-embedded with western structures, practices and meanings. Central themes to emerge from this analysis are the social forces of internationalization, institutionalization and commodification of jūdō over this period, each of which contributes to a reflexive moderni…
Consideraciones sobre los efectos electorales de los atentados terroristas del 11-M
2004
Tras cuatro días de extraordinaria tensión, de clara sobre-exposición informativa del público, derivada de su interés por adquirir información, de continuo debate ciudadano y de enorme crispación política, los ciudadanos españoles votaron el 14 de Marzo de 2004 en un contexto de absoluta incertidumbre. Parecía probable que la resolución parcial de la crisis por conocer la autoría de los atentados del 11-M beneficiara electoralmente al PSOE, pero no cabía descartar reacciones de signo contrario del electorado (agrupamiento en torno al Gobierno vigente para buscar seguridad o respuesta a los excesos, reales o supuestos, de la oposición política y los ciudadanos que protestaron el 12 y el 13 d…
Programas Educativos Universitarios Para Mayores: Evaluación de su Impacto en la Autopercepción del Apoyo Social y la Salud Mental
2015
Some studies indicate that university programs for older adults can have a positive impact on the participants perceptions of social support and health. However, those studies fail to evaluate these variables with standardized measurement instruments and control groups, both within and outside the program. This study used an experimental group and two control groups that were evaluated at two different moments, using standardized instruments. The results did not confirm the expected beneficial effects of the programs. Thus, it is necessary to continue in-depth research along these lines and explore the effect of socio-affective variables in longitudinal studies. Alguns estudos indicam que o…
Aquinas, education and the theory of illumination
2020
The CoVid-19 pandemic has profoundly disrupted schooling and education more generally through the shift from face to face teaching in classrooms and lecture theatres to an online mode of teaching a...
Materiales didácticos digitales y coronavirus en tiempos de confinamiento en el contexto español
2020
In this paper, a description and analysis of the main proposals of didactic materials that have been elaborated on COVID-19 (coronavirus) directed to a child and youth public available on the network in the Spanish context was made. In the first part of the paper we reflect on the reasons and needs that have justified the appearance and development of these resources. Subsequently, we present the search process carried out mainly through the Google search engine and the final selection of the materials considered. Next, a descriptive analysis of the materials was carried out using an elaborated ad hoc matrix that integrates 5 dimensions. As a general conclusion, we highlight the diversity o…