Series Of Reflections Research Articles

Research Related to Teaching Chinese Language and Culture in U.S. Classrooms: A Guide to Teaching Foreign Languages in U.S. Elementary and Secondary Schools

Language and Children: A Guide to Teaching Foreign Languages in American Elementary and Secondary Classrooms is a classic second language teaching series co-authored by two language educators, Helena Cotton and Carol Ann Dahlberg. The book reflects the latest advances in language classroom research and is the only comprehensive guide to foreign language classroom methods for K-12 and college students, using language learning objectives as the guiding principles for classroom rules and instruction. [Cheng Liang: "The Golden Key to Second Language Acquisition: A Review of the American Guide to Teaching Foreign Language in Elementary and Secondary Schools," Journal of Jiamusi Vocational College, 2019 (05)] Through careful reading, I have gained deeper thoughts and knowledge about various aspects of immersion teaching, teaching integration of language and culture, and teaching communication. Because I am very interested in "how to realize the organic integration of language and culture teaching in second language teaching classrooms," I focused on Chapter 9, "Experiencing Culture in the Classroom: Interaction of Language, Culture and Curriculum," and came up with a series of reflections, including insights into children's cultural teaching, academic associations, thoughts on overseas Chinese cultural I have a series of reflections, including insights on teaching children's culture, academic associations, thoughts on teaching Chinese culture overseas, and reflections on some of the contents of the book.

A reflective practice group tutorial series for medical students.

A reflective practice group tutorial series for medical students.

Nonstationary seismic reflectivity inversion based on prior-engaged semisupervised deep learning method

Reflectivity inversion methods based on a stationary convolution model are essential for seismic data processing. They compress the seismic wavelet, and by broadening the bandwidth of seismic data, they assist the interpretation of seismic sections. Unfortunately, they do not apply to realistic nonstationary deconvolution cases in which the seismic wavelet varies as it propagates in the subsurface. Deep learning techniques have been proposed to solve inverse problems in which networks can behave as the regularizer of the inverse problem. Our goal is to adopt a semisupervised deep learning approach to invert reflectivity when the propagating wavelet is considered unknown and time-variant. To this end, we have designed a prior-engaged neural network by unrolling an alternating iterative optimization algorithm, in which convolutional neural networks are used to solve two subproblems. One is to invert the reflectivity, and the other is to estimate the time-varying wavelets. In general, it is well known that, when working with geophysical inverse problems such as ours, one has limited access to labeled data for training the network. We circumvent the problem by training the network via a data-consistency cost function in which seismic traces are honored. Reflectivity estimates also are honored at spatial coordinates in which true reflectivity series derived from borehole data are available. The cost function also penalizes time-varying wavelets from varying abruptly along the spatial direction. Experiments are conducted to find the effectiveness of our method. We also compare our approach to a nonstationary blind deconvolution algorithm based on regularized inversion. Our findings reveal that the developed method improves the vertical resolution of seismic sections with noticeable correlation coefficient improvements over the nonstationary blind deconvolution. In addition, our method is less sensitive to initial estimates of nonstationary wavelets. Moreover, it needs less human intervention when setting parameters than regularized inversion.

The Interim Characteristics of Large-Scale Online Education at Chinese Institutions of Higher Education—An Empirical Study Based on a Questionnaire Survey of Students, Instructors, and Administrative Personnel

In order to fully comprehend the state of online education at institutions of higher education in China during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the Online Education Task Group of the Center for Teaching and Learning Development at Xiamen University conducted a questionnaire survey of the state of online education, and a total of 334 institutions of higher education, 13,997 instructors, and 256,504 students participated in this survey. The results of the survey showed that large-scale online education in China met or even exceeded the expected goals for the first time, in a successful round of online educational practices, with important value as a reference for informatization construction at institutions of higher education in the post-pandemic era and the achievement of hybrid online-offline education. However, due to being “compelled” by the pandemic, this round of large-scale online education left behind many interim characteristics of this specific period of time in a number of areas, including the preparation of instructors and students for online education, support by education platforms, the technical services of education platforms, online services provided by schools, online education models and characteristics, outcomes in online education, the primary factors influencing outcomes in online education, existing problems in online education, the challenges faced by instructors and students in online education, and recommendations by instructors and students for improvements to online education. From a long-term perspective, these interim characteristics leave room for a series of reflections on subsequently continuing to deepen educational reforms. In the face of these interim characteristics having overtones of an “emergency response,” from the perspective of informatization construction in education in the post-pandemic era, this article proposes five relationships that must be properly handled: the relationship between the resources allocated to online education by programs and by the market; the relationship between hard development and educational concepts; the relationship between equity and efficiency; the relationships between different agents’ understandings and practices; and the relationship between domestic practices and international experiences.

Likelihood-Ratio-Based Recovery for Seismic Reflectivity Series

This article proposes a likelihood-ratio-based method for recovering sparse reflectivity series from noisy seismic signals. Unlike the existing methods, the proposed method is specifically developed to be adaptive to the variance of the observational noise. This enhances the robustness of the reflectivity series recovering, as shown experimentally. The proposed method is briefly summarized as follows: First, the convolutional model of seismic signals is reformulated as a discrete-time linear system. In this linear system, the nonzero reflectivity impulses are treated as abrupt state changes with unknown magnitudes occurring at unknown times. Second, a Kalman filter is applied to the linear system without considering the changes. Third, the likelihood ratio as a function of both the magnitudes and occurring times is evaluated by using the Kalman filtering innovations. Fourth, the magnitudes and occurring times of the changes are estimated by alternately fixing one parameter and maximizing the ratio with the other parameter. Finally, the reflectivity series are reconstructed from the estimated magnitudes and occurring times of the changes. Experimental results verified the reliability of the reflectivity series recovery from noisy seismic traces.

The beginning of time-frequency analysis.

The Reflections series takes a look back on historical articles from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America that have had a significant impact on the science and practice of acoustics.

Review: Free Zone Scientology: Contesting the Boundaries of a New Religion, by Aled Thomas

Review: <i>Free Zone Scientology: Contesting the Boundaries of a New Religion</i>, by Aled Thomas

When the Modern Was the Tradition: Carlo Mollino at Sestriere and His Last Unpublished project (1973)

The Alps have often been considered a laboratory for architectural modernity. Buildings there were a litmus test to reveal the attitudes of 20th-century architects towards design. When Carlo Mollino designed a project for a Club Med hotel in Sestriere in 1973, which was neither built nor published, he was at the end not only of his career but also of an important era for architecture that had begun just after World War II and ended in the economic crisis of the early 1970s. During this time, a debate on modern architecture acquired a new and increasingly important focus on context; Alpine architecture was at the forefront. The Club Med design was the culmination of Mollino's series of reflections on modernism. In the 1950s, he conceived of buildings for a sophisticated public, and his final project was a megastructure for mass tourism. The ski-resort town of Sestriere, founded by the Agnelli family in the early 1930s, was created for the consumption of nature by the masses, just as the Agnelli family produced Fiat cars for mass consumption. It was the first resort town where rationalism, speed, mass consumption, and the dominion of man over nature were the focus of urban and architectural design. Mollino's Club Med design was for a hotel that would be a machine for tourist consumption in the mountains. The project was one of the last examples of a way of consuming the Alps that vanished in subsequent years.&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;

CiviAct: Negotiating ‘fields of paradox’ in anti-racist university community partnerships

This article introduces and critically reflects upon the development of CiviAct – a multi-agency project that partners six anti-racist activist organisations and two universities in the North of England. CiviAct seeks to support and realise the benefits of youth and community-led civic action. It does this by: (i) financially resourcing the work of six anti-racist activist organisations; (ii) connecting those organisations with each other to create new opportunities for co-learning; and (iii) exploring new models of community-led university partnership. Based on insights derived from a 12-month development period (conducted throughout the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic) we examine points of tension, manifested at the intersections between community partners, universities and project funders. Extending Strier’s discussion of university-community partnerships (UCP) as ‘fields of paradox’, we outline the complexities of collaborative working within a UCP that seeks to adhere to the priorities of anti-racism and an ethic of love. In doing so this article surfaces the burden of boundary work undertaken by both academic partners seeking to prioritise knowledge and anti-racist practices beyond the academy, and community activists, who are expected to conform with institutional standards that may have little relevance to their practice. The article contributes a series of reflections that may be of use to other activist researchers engaged in UCP.

Participatory design for democratic innovation: participation requests and community empowerment in Scotland

Over the last decade, a growing body of research has explored the potential of applying design approaches within policymaking, resulting in the emergence of a novel practice, termed ‘design for policy’. While largely successful, questions remain regarding the specifics of the design for policy process. In this, key points of contention relate to the way government-citizen deliberation and collaboration is framed (i.e., who gets to participate in design for policy initiatives and how), as well as the of the role of design within the process (i.e., is it a means of problem-solving or problem-framing). Responding to these challenges by examining the potential of a specific design approach—Participatory Design (PD)—in design for policy, the present article turns to the Scottish policymaking context. Here, we present a case study of a project titled Social Studios, which explored how PD might enable communities to better approach Participation Requests (PRs)–a mechanism within the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act (2015) that allows groups to engage with public authorities on local issues relating to infrastructure and services. From an initial overview of the context of the study, we describe its methods, process and, finally, its outcome—a bespoke ‘PR Toolbox’. The article then closes with a series of reflections on the broader potential of PD in the context of design for policy.

Utilizing Critical Perspectives in Nonprofit Management Education: Implementation and Insights From an Online Course

This study investigated the effects of utilizing critical pedagogy and perspectives in a course on nonprofit management. A description of the course and assessment approach is provided, followed by the results of a series of surveys and student reflections gathered from students electing to participate in this research project. Quantitative and qualitative results are presented from the various data collection tools, with insights into how each collection tool tells a unique story. The qualitative data provide insights into student engagement with the material and their appreciation for an alternative approach to learning how to manage nonprofit organizations.

Rayleigh limit extended: Scattering from a fluid sphere.

The Reflections series takes a look back on historical articles from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America that have had a significant impact on the science and practice of acoustics.

An Innovative and Comprehensive Approach to Nursing Workforce Sustainability in Nova Scotia.

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed long-standing deficiencies with existing nurse recruitment and retention approaches, resulting in critical shortages of nursing capacity that are set to worsen without appropriate action. Decades of evidence and experience suggest that a multi-pronged approach that fosters an enabling and supportive work environment for nurses across all stages of their working lifespan will be required to build a more sustainable nursing workforce. This paper demonstrates Nova Scotia's innovation in creating a comprehensive, evidence-informed approach to nursing workforce planning and management, including key strategic areas of action related to (1) facilitating entry into the workforce, (2) investing in the active workforce and (3) enhancing support for and managing attrition of the workforce. This paper also offers nursing leaders a series of reflections on current learnings in the implementation of this innovative and person-centred approach to nursing workforce sustainability. Recognizing the pressing need for action, Nova Scotia Health and provincial leaders have and are implementing strategic innovations to enhance the nursing workforce. These include: (1) investment in organizational capacity for evidence-based innovation, (2) development of collaborative relationships between both internal stakeholders and community partners and (3) creation of mechanisms for meaningful engagement and co-design of locally relevant innovative solutions.

FIVE SUGGESTIONS FOR AN ASPIRING COMPOSITION TEACHER: TOWARDS AN INCLUSIVE COMPOSITIONAL PEDAGOGY

AbstractThis article takes a recent interview with Chaya Czernowin, ‘5 Things Harvard's Chaya Czernowin Suggests You Do as an Aspiring Composer’, as a point of departure for a series of reflections on compositional pedagogy focusing specifically on inclusion. It proposes a less restrictive definition of a ‘composer’ and a decentring of career expectations in favour of embracing a range of creative sound-making practices. It goes on to underline the importance of transnational and transcultural perspectives, of experimentation and the risk of failure, and of listening skills that transcend style and culture. In these latter two sections, specific classroom techniques are cited: Maria Chavez's creative workshop on failure, and Thea Musgrave's ‘critique’ sessions, in which students listen critically to compositions without prior knowledge of their title or author. The final section addresses the question of evaluation, positing that lowering the stakes of individual assessments encourages students to branch out and take risks. It also calls into question the weight given to forms of evaluation, such as recommendation letters, that may pose particular problems of bias. In the conclusion, it looks to recent decolonisation movements in music for models of structural changes that could help to enact the essay's propositions.

Exploring unheard voices: Best practices in interviewing women prosumers in Indian subsistence contexts

AbstractA growing body of literature is focused on subsistence markets and how marketing interventions can increase well‐being for those whose daily existence is a struggle to ensure access to necessities of life. To understand the lifeworld of those living at the subsistence level, interviews are favored as a data collection tool. This methodological paper examines interviewing in the subsistence context with a focus on women whose lived experiences are affected by the intersection of gender, power imbalance, and culture. The study context is India. Specifically, we draw upon data from three previous author‐conducted academic studies and conduct a reflective analysis that leads to a series of reflections and recommendations for the interview process. This paper calls for more work to be done in the area and raises the need for a new research paradigm rather than reliance on western‐oriented approaches that may not fit the context.

“Belonging” in a Religious Congregation Called to the Peripheries

Abstract: What is the interplay between identity, belonging, and the peripheries? In this article, Patrick Sean Moffett, CFC explores in broad strokes some of the changes affecting religious life since Vatican II, then brings to bear psychological tools to analyze changing notions of belonging, and concludes with a series of reflections on belonging and the structures of religious life.

The application of acoustics to heat engines and refrigerators.

The Reflections series takes a look back on historical articles from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America that have had a significant impact on the science and practice of acoustics.

Interreligious Heroes: Role Models and Spiritual Exemplars for Interfaith Practice ed. by Alon Goshen-Gottstein

Reviewed by: Interreligious Heroes: Role Models and Spiritual Exemplars for Interfaith Practice ed. by Alon Goshen-Gottstein Christoffer H. Grundmann Interreligious Heroes: Role Models and Spiritual Exemplars for Interfaith Practice. Edited by Alon Goshen-Gottstein. Interreligious Reflections Series. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2021. Pp. 442. $49.00, cloth; $39.00, paper. This book is a collection of essays published on the occasion of the seventieth birthday of Israeli Orthodox Rabbi David Rosen, hailed by the volume’s editor as “Judaism’s first and only interreligious ambassador” (p. 401). Gifted with remarkable personality traits—including being hospitable, able to build genuine trust, and able to communicate well across religious divides—Rosen gained an international reputation while heading the Anti-Defamation League’s Jerusalem office of interreligious relations from 1985 to 2001 and, subsequently, becoming director of interreligious affairs for the American Jewish Committee while simultaneously serving as “honorary advisor on matters of interfaith” to the Chief Rabbinate (p. 387). The forty-three essays are bookended by the editor’s introduction, which explains the origin of the project and its design and structure, and his conclusion, which highlights insights gained from the articles, [End Page 616] followed by the endnotes and brief remarks about the contributors, all of whom are “friends of David” (p. 2). Goshen-Gottstein also contributed a piece about the Dalai Lama. This is a very personal volume, not just regarding acquaintanceship but also regarding the very content of the pieces, because authors were asked to write about “a figure who inspire[d]” their own “interfaith work”(p. 3) Thus, the book reads almost as a “Who’s Who” of interreligious dialogue past and present at “the high end of the interfaith arena” (p. 379), as the numerous high-profile authors and senior religious dignitaries (cardinals, rabbis, ulama presidents, acharyas, swamis, archbishops) indicate, many of whom are also members of the Jerusalem-based Elijah Interfaith Institute. Averaging eight pages in length (except for a longer piece written by the honoree’s spouse Sharon), the contributions come with a portrait of the person or persons presented, save for the one about “The Anonymous Hero” by William Vendley of the World Conference of Religions for Peace. The fact that Christian, especially Roman Catholic, contributors predominate is owed to the longstanding engagement of Rosen with the Vatican, causing someone to dub him “the pope’s rabbi” (p. 387), a quip not unjustified because the honoree was once considered to become Israel’s first ambassador to the Vatican state. What makes reading this book so exiting is to see how almost all writers testify with affection to their personal role models for involvement in interreligious/interfaith dialogue and practice, some taking their inspiration from individuals outside of their own faith tradition. A Muslim writes about a Christian (A. Abadi about Hans Küng); Jews write about a Palestinian Muslim (Rabbi M. Melchior about Sheikh Abdulla Nimer Darwish) and about a Hindu (Rabbi D. Sperber about Swami Dayananda Saraswati); and Christians write about a Buddhist (S. B. King about Thich Nhat Hanh) and a Muslim (Archbishop R. Williams about Akbar Ahmed). What is also interesting to note is that, in nearly all presentations, the specificity of each religious tradition of the authors remains discernible. This diversity makes for a very rich, colorful florilegium and fitting tribute to yet another “interreligious hero.” It is also a captivating showcase of why and how one should engage in interreligious dialogue. It motivates joining with “faithful presence” (p. 250) in “the dance of dialogue” (pp. 238 and 25 ff.), the rhythm of which is set by honest, authentic encounters of people firmly rooted in their faith tradition who desire to communicate judiciously with others of the “family of believers” (p. 220) about the Unfathomable—once one realizes the limitations of any human comprehension of the truly Ultimate and [End Page 617] recognizes responsibility for joining hands in fostering global peace and care of the environment. Christoffer H. Grundmann Tūbingen, Germany Copyright © 2022 Journal of Ecumenical Studies

Dynamical Stabilization of Multiplet Supercurrents in Multiterminal Josephson Junctions.

The dynamical properties of multiterminal Josephson junctions (MT-JJs) have attracted interest, driven by the promise of new insights into synthetic topological phases of matter and Floquet states. This effort has culminated in the discovery of Cooper multiplets in which the splitting of a Cooper pair is enabled via a series of Andreev reflections that entangle four (or more) electrons. Here, we show that multiplet resonances can also emerge as a consequence of the three-terminal circuit model. The supercurrent appears due to correlated phase dynamics at values that correspond to the multiplet condition nV1 = -mV2 of applied bias. Multiplet resonances are seen in nanofabricated three-terminal graphene JJs, analog three-terminal JJ circuits, and circuit simulations. The stabilization of the supercurrent is purely dynamical, and a close analog to Kapitza's inverted pendulum problem. We describe parameter considerations that optimize the detection of the multiplet lines both for design of future devices.

The milieu of buried stimuli: Relational theory and literary studies

In this series of reflections on the ways in which psychoanalytic theory has influenced his teaching, the author focuses on a change that began to take place around the time of his encounter with relational psychoanalytical theory. At the heart of that change was a shift in the direction of processual thinking and emotional presence, guided by several contemporary theorists but most importantly by Christopher Bollas. By showing how that shift altered his approach to Alain Resnais's Night and Fog and the works of Herman Melville, and how it led to the development of a course called “Race and Relationality,” the author suggests that relational theory, broadly conceived, can make it possible for literary critics to stay in touch with the bit-by-bit process of experiencing texts. In the midst of that process, we are in a state of consciousness that is much different from the state in which we analytically sort and interpret, and in that dim, intermixing milieu, we can come to know things that we would not otherwise have known.