No description available.

Peu d'études ont examiné les résultats en sciences dans les programmes d'immersion française, malgré les différences entre les élèves de cette filière et leurs homologues du programme anglais régulier en termes de statut socio-économique moyen et de sexe - qui se sont tous deux avérés avoir un impact sur les résultats scolaires. Le rapport du PPCE (Programme pancanadien d'évaluation) 2013, Rapport de l'évaluation pancanadienne en science, en lecture et en mathématiques, a identifié six prédicteurs non cognitifs de la réussite scolaire en sciences chez les élèves de 8e année. Ces prédicteurs comprennent l'attitude à l'égard de la science, l'évaluation personnelle de ses aptitudes en sciences, l'expérience antérieure des sciences, l'importance des sciences au regard des objectifs de l’élève et de la société, la compréhension de la nature des sciences et des méthodes scientifiques, et la tendance au fatalisme (corrélé négativement avec la réussite). Nous avons cherché à déterminer si des différences dans ces attitudes, valeurs et expériences d'apprentissage existent entre les élèves des écoles anglophones qui étudient en immersion française et ceux qui étudient dans le programme régulier (anglais) au Canada. À partir de ces données du PPCE 2013, des comparaisons entre groupes ont été effectuées en utilisant l'ANCOVA pour contrôler le sexe et les indicateurs de statut socio-économique, suivies d'une régression logistique binaire. En plus de trouver des écarts significatifs dans les résultats scientifiques entre les deux groupes, nous avons identifié des différences significatives entre les scores moyens pour l'importance des sciences au regard des objectifs de l'élève et de la société et la compréhension de la nature des sciences et des méthodes scientifiques. Nous avons également constaté que sur les six variables présentées par le PPCE 2013 les seuls prédicteurs de la réussite en sciences n'étaient que l'Attitude de l'élève à l'égard des sciences, les Expériences antérieures des sciences et la Tendance au fatalisme, la variable de contrôle Nombre de livres à la maison présentant également un pouvoir prédictif significatif pour la réussite. La discussion tient également compte des différences de sexe et des différences socio-économiques entre ces deux programmes, en considérant celles-ci et d'autres raisons possibles pour expliquer les différences entre les groupes et leur rôle dans l'écart de réussite en sciences ainsi que les différences d'attitude, de valeurs et d'expériences antérieures des élèves explorées par cette analyse. / Few studies have examined science achievement in French immersion programs, despite the differences between students in French Immersion and their English stream counterparts in terms of their average socioeconomic status and gender –which have both been shown to impact academic achievement. The PCAP (Pan-Canadian Assessment Program) 2013 Report on the Pan-Canadian Assessment of Science, Reading, and Mathematics identified six non-cognitive predictors of academic achievement in science among 8th-grade students. These predictors include attitude toward science, science self-efficacy, experience with science in early years, the value of science to the goals of the student and to society, the understanding what science is and how it is done, and tendency to fatalism. We sought to determine whether differences in these attitudes, values, and learning experiences exist between students who study in French immersion and those in the English stream in anglophone schools across Canada. Using these PCAP 2013 data, between-group comparisons were made using analysis by covariance (ANCOVA) to control for gender and indicators of socio-economic status, followed by a binary logistic regression, controlling for the same. Beyond identifying significant gaps in science achievement between the two groups, we identified statistically significant differences between the mean scores for Importance of science and Comprehension of the nature of science and scientific methodologies. We also found that, of the six variables presented by the PCAP 2013, significant predictive power with regards to success in science was only present for Attitude toward science, Previous experiences with science, and Tendency to fatalism, with the control variable Number of books at home also presenting significant predictive power for success. The discussion takes gender and socioeconomic differences between these two anglophone sub-populations into account while considering and other possible reasons as explanation for the between-group differences and their role in the science achievement gap as well as the differences in attitude, values and previous experiences of students explored through this analysis.

In the United States, Indigenous language loss is the result of colonization and deliberate eradication by government policies. Many tribal communities engage in activities to curb language shift, including language reclamation or revitalization to restore the vitality of Indigenous languages. Schools for Indigenous children, once the setting for the destruction of their Indigenous identity and language, have increasingly become the medium for language reclamation. Numerous school-based programs have effectively renewed language use, including those in the Hawaiian, Yup’ik, and Navajo language communities (Holm & Holm, 1995; Wilson & Kamanā, 2011; Wyman et al., 2010). Though school-based programs may increase students’ vocabulary knowledge, many more factors affect their decisions to speak the language and bring it into use. This study investigated students’ experiences in a school-based Choctaw language restoration program and the factors that affected their decisions to speak Choctaw. This qualitative case study examined 21 third-grade students’ experiences through focus group interviews and further explored the data through classroom observations and teacher interviews. Two-cycle coding was used to identify patterns and themes. The data revealed characteristics of the language program based on student experiences. These characteristics were discussed through a conceptual framework of the commonalities of strong language reclamation programs. Additional findings included student descriptions of the factors affecting their decisions to speak Choctaw, both in and outside the school program. These findings echo the characteristics of strong language reclamation programs outlined in the conceptual framework. Specifically, those programs are characterized by the following: (a) acknowledgment of the important position of the language, (b) alignment with community values and goals, (c) dedicated time to immersing learners in the language, (d) attention to verbal and written literacy in the Native language, and (e) a focus on culture and pride in identifying with Native heritage. Additionally, student descriptions of their language choices revealed conditions that promoted or deterred their choices to speak the language. Further research is needed to better understand students’ motivation to speak the Indigenous language. This knowledge can inform school-based programs, allowing them to influence conditions for positive language choices.

UA Open Access Publishing Fund / Introduction: Language and cultural barriers are detriments to quality health care. In acute medical settings, these barriers are more pronounced, which can lead to poor patient outcomes. Materials and methods: We implemented a longitudinal Spanish-language immersion curriculum for emergency medicine (EM) resident physicians. This curriculum includes language and cultural instruction, and is integrated into the weekly EM didactic conference, longitudinal over the entire 3-year residency program. Language proficiency was assessed at baseline and annually on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale, via an oral exam conducted by the same trained examiner each time. The objective of the curriculum was improvement of resident language skills to ILR level 1+ by year 3. Significance was evaluated through repeatedmeasures analysis of variance. Results: The curriculum was launched in July 2010 and followed through June 2012 (n=16). After 1 year, 38% had improved over one ILR level, with 50% achieving ILR 1+ or above. After year 2, 100% had improved over one level, with 90% achieving the objective level of ILR 1+. Mean ILR improved significantly from baseline, year 1, and year 2 (F=55, df =1; P,0.001). Conclusion: Implementation of a longitudinal, integrated Spanish-immersion curriculum is feasible and improves language skills in EM residents. The curriculum improved EM-resident language proficiency above the goal in just 2 years. Further studies will focus on the effect of language acquisition on patient care in acute settings

Today in 2015 the game industry grows and games become more advanced. This leads to that the ways interactive media such as games portray their narrative are also improving. Therefore we chose to examine what factors affected how five experienced gamers viewed the narrative in the game Dear Esther (The Chinese Room, 2012) the first time they played it. The investigation used stimulated recall in order to collect data and the data were analysed with the help of the EPP methodology. Our study showed there was a diversity in how the game’s narrative was perceived and that a number of factors affected the interpretations of the narrative. These factors were organised in four categories: exploration, feeling and atmosphere, player experience, and identification with the player character and theories around the narrative. A fifth category evaluation of the storytelling, described the player’s thoughts about the way the narrative was told. Our main conclusion was that the factors affecting the way players perceived the narrative of the game varied much depending on who played the game and what their regular experience of games were. For example some were more affected by environment and monologue while others was more affected by earlier experiences of how games used to work. The respondent’s perception of the game narrative were also affected by their own thoughts and theories around the narrative and what might have happened. We could also see there were several different thoughts and opinions on how the narrative style of the game worked and three participants thought it worked well. / Idag 2015 publiceras fler och mer avancerade spel än någonsin tidigare. Hand i hand med denna utveckling borde också utvecklingen av de narrativ som spel kan berätta gå. Därför undersöker vi i denna uppsats vilka faktorer som påverkade uppfattningen av narrativet i Dear Esther hos fem spelvana personer som tidigare inte spelat spelet. Undersökningen gjordes med hjälp av stimulated recall och data analyserades med hjälp av EPP-metoden. Vår studie visade på en stor spridning av upplevelserna och en mängd faktorer som påverkade upplevelsen av narrativet. Dessa faktorer delade vi in i olika kategorier. Dessa var Utforskning, Känslor och stämning, Spelarvana samt Identifikation med berättarkaraktären och teorier kring narrativ. En femte kategori kallad Värdering av berättartekniken beskrev hur spelarna uppfattat spelets berättarteknik. Den främsta slutsatsen vi kan dra är att de faktorer som påverkade hur respondenterna uppfattade Dear Esther och dess narrativ varierade mycket beroende på vem som spelade. Vissa av respondenterna påverkades mer av omgivningar och monologer, medan andra påverkades mer av sin egen vana och insikt i hur spel bör fungera. Alla påverkads dock mycket av sina egna tankar känslor och teorier kring vad som en gång hänt. Vi kunde också se att det fanns olika tankar och åsikter angående hur berättartekniken i spelet ansågs fungera och tre av respondenterna ansåg att det fungerade bra.

The semiconductor industry is continually challenged to maintain the trend identified in 1965 by Gordon Moore of increasing the density of transistors on an integrated circuit. These advances have been achieved by increasing the resolution that can be printed with photolithography, traditionally by decreasing the exposure wavelength. Decreasing the exposure wavelength from 193 nm, the current state of the art, presents significant technical challenges. To circumvent these challenges, resolution can be increased by enabling increases in numerical aperture (without changing the exposure wavelength), using immersion lithography. In immersion lithography, the air gap between the photoresist-coated wafer and lens is replaced with a high refractive index fluid. Immersion lithography has been demonstrated with water as the immersion fluid. With water immersion lithography at 193 nm, the maximum resolution that can be printed can be decreased from 65 nm to 45 nm. To enable further resolution increases, immersion fluids with a higher index than water are needed. The requirements for next generation high index fluids are: an index of refraction higher than water, high transparency, and physical properties similar to water. A variety of methods to identify a high index fluid were completed. First, the optical properties of aqueous solutions of metal cations with varying anions were tested. A series of linear, cyclic, and polycyclic alkanes were also studied, since saturated systems have electronic transitions at wavelengths less than 200 nm, to provide the necessary transparency at 193 nm. Large alkane groups were also incorporated into either the cation or anion of a salt to develop an aqueous solution with the optical properties of a saturated hydrocarbon. In addition to these empirical surveys, a modeling approach was used to develop “designer” absorbance spectra that would correspond to fluids with a high index and low absorbance at 193 nm. Additionally, in Appendix D, the results of an electrochemical study of the diffusion coefficient of ferrocene methanol in poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate hydrogels of varying molecular weight and water content will be presented. The results of these mass transport studies can be used to qualitatively understand the mass transport characteristics of additional species in the hydrogel. / text

This master thesis examines commercial video games and their relation to the concept of immersion and realism. Games as a communicative medium is quite a new area of interest within rhetorical research in Sweden. Most of the research conducted has, however, been focused on gaming and formation on opinion – games that explicitly tries to persuade the player, unlike commercial games that focus on entertainment, that is. But that does not mean that commercial games cannot influence us. From time to time we can read about video games in the press and the discussions they generate. Most recently, China has banned the Swedish video game Battlefield 4 when Chinese government officials was claiming that the game portrays the Chinese military in an unfair manner. Thus we seem to ascribe meaning to the things that happen to us in the digital world, and that what happens in the digital world also has effects in the physical world, which the example clearly implies. With all the advanced gaming consoles today, I often find that game journalists and game developers in many contexts are talking about realism and immersion as two concepts that make up a good gaming experience. But what is realism and immersion: what does it mean and how do they relate to each other, and what kind of rhetorical impact do they really have on the player in the game? Although there is more research about commercial games and rhetoric in an international context, there is no one to my knowledge that has been exploring the concept of immersion and realism in games in this way. In this essay I argue that it is crucial to understand immersion and realism in order to fully understand the video game medium and its persuasive aspects. By examining three popular games Battlefield 4, Grand theft auto V, and The last of us, and by applying the theories of Nelson Goodman and Kenneth Burke to my examination, my aim is to increase the understanding of the effect of realism and immersion in games. I find that there are several ways that rhetoric can help us in understanding the two concepts. Both realism and immersion could be seen as something that enables the creation of identification within the realms of gaming. My suggestion is that we should understand realism as something that is enabled by the use of symbols and that it is enabled through the use of procedures in gaming. While my other suggestion is to perceive immersion as something that transfer the player from the couch and into the game world through argumentation and narrative. Both realism and immersion is something that make the player feel that he or she is one with the characters, the events and the story in the game.

This study explores how U.S. college students experience integrative and instrumental motivation and how their sociolinguistic identity is understood, represented and constructed through their multiple experiences learning French as a Foreign Language (FFL) in an intensive Summer French Language Immersion Programs (SFLIPs). The results of the study demonstrate that participants who exhibited the most characteristics in connection to integrative motivation were the ones who took full advantage of the opportunities of being immersed in an environment in which exposure and production of the target language were maximized. The study demonstrates how participants’ lived experiences affect the way they construct their identity, how integrative motivation plays a key role in this construction and addresses a gap in literature by specifically adressing the themes of motivation and identity in the context of intensive French immersion in the U.S.

Virtual Reality (VR) can potentially transport the user to another world. Outside of VR, musical soundtrack is usually placed outside of the scene, referred to as non-diegetic sound. In VR, this could potentially break immersion. Other ways to implement music have to be tested. A test was created consisting of three scenes with a wide selection of “listening modes”, or musical configurations. The listening modes ranged from non-diegetic stereo music via headphones to diegetic, played from speakers inside the VR spaces. 10 respondents played through the scenes in VR, experiencing every listening mode. Respondents then replied to a questionnaire gathering their thoughts on their experience. Results showed that immersion improved the more the experience corresponded to expectations from outside of VR. Non-diegetic listening modes were considered less immersive than diegetic listening modes. This study lays a basic foundation for further research on music in VR with initial guidelines for proper implementation.

My thesis exhibition consists of a series of mixed media paintings and sculpture derived through experimentation with materials. I have appropriated alchemical processes to describe and generate the abstract landscape. The work emphasizes process and chemical reactions and is comprised of fluid fortuitous marks, free of conscious control, that work in tandem to create deep space that invites immersion and tempts interaction. The viewer is both an integral component of the piece and a foreign sightseeing entity, removed from the known world and placed in a bizarre offshoot.