Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Los Angeles, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 307-336).

Abstract not available.

Abstract not available.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2006. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 44-06, page: 2512.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-79).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-79). Also available in print.

This thesis aims to present and reflect on a collection of research that has informed and shaped pedagogical and andrological praxis across the two decades since pioneers launched the first online news sites onto the World Wide Web, thereby setting off what is frequently described as a revolution in journalism. It makes a case for revisiting core principles of systems thinking to develop a holistic approach to reflecting on changing journalistic realities. A critical systems heuristic is then operationalised to consider how the diverse work in this portfolio reconsiders journalistic parameters in newsroom, boardroom and classroom situations that are both distinct and interrelated. In doing so it illustrates how a commitment to social and cultural fluidity can enable researchers to constructively engage with role players inside and outside of academic interpretative communities. Furthermore, in its suggestions for further research this study adds its voice to other calls for journalism scholars to extend the boundaries of their concern beyond the academy and to generate insights that empower individuals and impact on industry - to the ultimate benefit of society.

Intercultural learning in UK tertiary education is largely operationalised as a universal or implied term. The focus generally is on the internationalisation of the curriculum, which has mainly developed in response to the recruitment drive of international students to local campuses over the last two decades. Within this market-centric context, a stronger educational rationale has been advocated, which in recent years has promoted a ‘pedagogy of recognition’ (Caruana and Spurling, 2007, p. 66), rejecting international students’ automatic assimilation to the prevalent socio-academic culture. Although international students are regarded as ‘a resource for learning’ in this context (Ryan, 2011, p. 633), a praxis grounding of how to facilitate this ostensibly more progressive approach is not readily apparent. In this research project with international students and staff at my former workplace, a private tertiary education college in London, I investigated in what ways cultural diversity is understood and interpreted pedagogically. The research aim was to explore what constitutes lived experiences of intercultural learning, in order to inform my praxis choices with regard to a pedagogy of recognition. A bricolage approach, comprising critical pedagogic theory and hermeneutic phenomenological methodology, was adopted to facilitate the project embedded within this distinct socio-economic educational context, further involving 52 online questionnaires and 38 semi-structured interviews with international students and staff of the college during summer 2013. The research contributes to current internationalisation discourse by proffering a theory/practice understanding of a pedagogy of recognition with regard to fostering intercultural learning. It identifies the importance of including an embodied dimension in pedagogic praxis, whereby intercultural learning among participants is approached with reference to a safety/risk axis. Specifically, it suggests alerting students to learning opportunities that might be realised from intercultural interactions without predetermining these, considering that intercultural learning is always more complex than teachers’ rationales and deeply ingrained in students’ own life projects and the wider political arena. Consequently, I argue that possibilities for human creativity among learners, rather than mere celebration of cultural diversity or assumed shared outcomes, become available.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

The German /r/ sound is one of the most difficult sounds for American English (AE) speakers who are learning German as a foreign language to produce. The standard German /r/ variant [/R/] and dialectal variant [R] are achieved by varying the tongue constriction degree, while keeping the place of articulation constant [Schiller and Mooshammer (1995)]. The close articulatory proximity of these allophones provides an opportunity for testing the relationship between perception and production in L2 sound acquisition. / The aim of this dissertation is to investigate how well native German speakers, experienced AE speakers, and inexperienced AE speakers can discriminate and produce the difference between the uvular fricative [/R/] versus the uvular trill [R]. Predictions of the Speech Learning Model (SLM) framework will be used to predict English speakers results (Flege, 1995). Native German speakers participated in an imitation study and discrimination experiment. Two groups of AE subjects performed the same experiments in addition to a categorization test. The production studies revealed that native speakers can reliably produce the difference between uvular trills and fricative. / However, significant variation in trill production was observed among native German participants. Production scores among experienced AE speakers were more varied relative to native speakers, while inexperienced AE speakers achieved the lowest production scores. All three subject groups performed similarly well on the discrimination test, indicating that all three groups are presumably relying on the same acoustic cues to distinguish [R ] vs. [/R/]. Outcomes of the perception experiment confirmed that experienced AE listeners were more consistent and confident in their 'foreign r' category selection than inexperienced AE listeners. / Subsequent Spearman rank correlation analysis revealed a significant relationship between uvular fricative production scores and categorization/discrimination scores for experienced AE speakers, but not for the uvular trill. No significant relationships emerged for the uvular trill and uvular fricative among the group of inexperienced AE subjects. Outcomes for each L2 subject group are discussed with respect to predictions made by the SLM.