Shopping for Handbags

My personal shopper has been buying Coach handbags for me so he thinks that I am a lifetime fan of Coach -_- 

These medium-sized square handbags do not fall nicely on a petite frame. I don't know about you but I am not a fan of slouchy bags. I need structure.  

 

We gave these huge square bags with the Michael Kors logo a pass...actually, they were a total fail.

Michael Kors Shoulder  and Laptop bag?

Later, the personal shopper sent back photos of these zipper purses (US$169), which would work on a date night. 

I need a tote bag for books, dude! And the 13 inch or 15 inch laptop...

Eventually, the personal shopper spotted the said bag and asked the stylish sales assistant to hold up the two Michael Kors bags just for me to estimate the size of the bag against a female frame. 

As you can see, the black drawstring tote bag on the right is not visible and so my eye focused on that ugly bag on the left. 

 

Sadly, I do not own that elegant Michael Kors tote drawstring bag :(

And that's the end of the story of Michael Kors designer handbags and me. 

 

If you're hunting for an MK bag for college, check out Large Leather Tote Handbag

 

Here's the review from a satisfied customer on Amazon:

"I can easily fit a 13' laptop with 2 folders and 3 legal pads in the laptop sleeve. The little pockets inside make organizing easy and it holds a lot of weight. I drop water bottles in it in the morning walking into the office and easily get the bag to 25lbs.

Communication Studies

The National Association of Colleges and Employers reports, after surveying several hundred companies, that oral communication ranked as the number one most sought after skill when hiring employees—teamwork and interpersonal skills were ranked closely behind.

Effective communicators are more likely to have satisfying interpersonal relationships, better able to resolve conflict, and more capable of sparking social change.

Associate of Arts Degree for Transfer in Communication Studies

City College San Francisco appeared no. 1 in my Google search for communication studies.

(that guarantees you acceptance to SFSU or CSU East Bay)

Communication Studies majors learn the theory and principles behind the communication process and acquire skills needed to effectively communicate with others-both within and across cultural boundaries-in a variety of public, professional, and interpersonal settings.

Students learn how to analyze audiences and craft messages that work well within these contexts as well as develop organizational, critical thinking, research, and listening skills. Students completing this major typically transfer into a broad array of communication studies majors.

Learning Outcomes 

Upon completion of this degree, students will be able to:

• Articulate an understanding of the way humans manage and contextualize symbolic behavior and how communication practices shape realities and develop civic, social and environmental awareness.
• Identify and use culturally competent communication practices and effectively communicate diverse cultural understandings.
• Manage speaking anxiety to furnish confident and effective verbal presentations with presentation aids.
• Apply advanced critical thinking skills to structure diverse, logical, credible, and well researched arguments that address complex problems.
• Critique the communication practices of others in order to develop critical listening skills that further the constructive exchange of ideas.

Communication Studies AA-T MAJOR COURSES (18 units total)

Required Courses (9 units)

CMST 1A	Elements of Public Speaking	3 units
CMST 5	Intercultural Communication	3 units
CMST 20	Interpersonal Communication	3 units

Choose 1 of the following courses (3 units)

CMST 3	Argumentation and Debate	3 units
CMST 4	Small Group Communication	3 units

Choose 1 of the following courses (3 units)

CMST 7	Oral Interpretation of Literature	3 units
CMST 38	Intercollegiate Forensics	3 units

Choose 1 of the following courses (3 units)

CMST 2	Introduction to Rhetorical Criticism	3 units
ENGL 1B	Reading, Writing, and Critical Thinking about Literature	3 units
ENGL 1C	Advanced Composition	3 units

* Note that in addition to the major courses listed above, students must also satisfy general education (CSU GE or IGETC) requirements. 18 Major units + 39 G.E. units + 3 Elective units = 60 units total are required to earn the degree. See Associate Degree Graduation Requirements for more information.

Communication Studies at University of Otago

Communication studies is a study of how we communicate differently to various audiences/users and communities. It understands that communication is social, political, and media-based, and occurs in different contexts.

Communication studies is an interdisciplinary major that consists of a number of interrelated sub-fields:

- popular communication - 

- science communication,

- health communication,

- political communication (including the study of news and journalism) ​, and

- philosophy of communication.

Each subfield explains specific communication problems, but they are linked by a shared set of overlapping academic debates that include: 

• qualitative and quantitative methods (including the effects tradition and audience studies - Oxford Bibliographies), 
• critical theory, 
• cultural studies, 
• textual analysis, 
• history, 
• creative industries, and 
• media theory (media ecologies and medium theory).

We thus aim:

1) to introduce students to as many of the subfields as possible to explore how communication is shaped by and shapes society;

2) for students to develop research skills and an overview of key theoretical and methodological debates on historical and contemporary communication practices and technologies;

3) for students to develop a working knowledge of the globalised and digitised dynamics of contemporary communication;

4) for students to develop a critical understanding of communication technologies and associated practices as key sites for the operation of capitalism and public policy, the mediation of everyday life, the governance of populations, and the production of cultural identity.

University of Twente in Enschede, The Netherlands.

We published the (unchanged list of) theories online for 15 years, until 2019. The website is offline now, but due to a lot of interest in this list of theories we keep the original 2003/2004 collection available for the public in this document. In the past, this theory overview website had 1,5 million (!) visitors a year.

The theories presented here are related to communication. Students can use these theories as a rich source for a better understanding of the theoretical fieldwork of communication. Choosing a theory for an assignment or report is made easier, since you are able to ‘browse’ through the different theories. All theories which are selected are used in the courses of communication studies. Stay critical when you use a theory, because theories are subjectively measured. A lot of theories are mentioned below, make your own judgment about which theories are most helpful and think why they are helpful.

--------------------------*************-------------------------------

References: 

- communication models & notes from Madras University

- Applying Communication Theory for Professional Life

Communication Studies or Film Studies?

1. (Source: The University of North Carolina Wilmington (ranked 8th in the nation on the U.S. News & World Report list of “2019 Best Online Bachelor’s Programs,”).

Common Ground

Both programs have at least three things in common:

1. First, they share a common set of technologies and software. Both shoot projects in digital video. Both use Adobe Creative Suite for manipulation of digital images, in particular, Adobe Premiere for video editing.

2. Second, they both address the genre of documentaries. Documentaries blend the interests of both “news” and “narrative” in compelling ways and consequently are of interest to both departments.

3. Finally, both departments are “studies” departments: Communication Studies and Film Studies. Those labels indicate that issues such as history, criticism and theories matter and form the context for the study of any particular skills. Neither department is attempting to compete with Full Sail or other technical training institutes. Critical thinking and application of theory to practice are critical to success in FST and COM.

Communication Studies

Students will create public service announcements (PSA), news and sports

programming, interview and entertainment programs, training videos, short form documentaries and informational and promotional videos. The COM program is holistic and embraces its heritage as a liberal art, social science and craft. Each tradition informs our emphasis on versatility.

Students are expected to learn and apply a broad range of communication skills and concepts (e.g., interpersonal, collaborative and persuasive communication, etc.), while pursuing mastery of video production. Even within our digital production sequence, versatility is stressed.

Students participate in the entire digital media creation process from client interviews, research, storyboarding, lighting, digital video and audio capture, performance, editing and more.

Students carry out a variety of roles within their production teams even as they identify and refine their preferred specialization.

Faculty of Arts at University of Auckland

1. In Comparative Literature we study literature across national and cultural boundaries, chronological periods and academic disciplines.

Comparative Literature explores topics such as:

• the social and psychological functions of storytelling
• concepts of tragedy
• the relationship between literature and the visual arts
• literature depicting cross-cultural encounters.

The postgraduate programme in Comparative Literature
Our postgraduate programme is the only one of its kind in New Zealand in that it requires students to study the literatures of two or more cultures in their original languages. Students with a background of two languages and literatures can study within a broad, comparative framework and research across different cultures and disciplines. The PhD programme in Comparative Literature is particularly strong, with students from many different countries.

2. Students who major in Asian Studies will acquire:

An awareness and appreciation of cultural differences and norms within Asia and beyond.
An ability to interact sensitively with the target culture/s.
A sense of appreciation of the literature, cinema and other forms of cultural expression in the target cultures and/or an understanding of the histories and social and political cultures of the Asian regions studied, including an appreciation of their interactions, past and present, depending on specialisation.
Familiarity with a number of basic theoretical apparata commonly used in the academic study of Asian cultures
A strong foundation for further study, including the possibility of graduate study both in New Zealand and overseas, which is enhanced with familiarity with an Asian language, either a major/minor in that language or as a fluent speaker and reader of that language.
Students who major in Chinese, Japanese and Korean programmes in which language acquisition is an inherent component will acquire:

A strong foundation that includes: linguistic knowledge; various communication strategies; social/cultural knowledge of the target language; knowledge and skills relating to intercultural communication; skills for autonomous learning; ability/readiness to apply one’s knowledge in new situations; and ability to express one’s opinion with a clear personal cultural/multicultural perspective.

This foundation allows graduates to further develop their target language/cultural proficiency with confidence and autonomy.
An awareness and appreciation of cultural differences.
An ability to function effectively within the target culture.
An awareness and appreciation of the histories and social and political cultures of the Asian cultures studied.
A sense of appreciation of a range of forms of cultural expression in the target culture.
A foundation for further study, including the possibility of graduate study both in New Zealand and overseas, which is enhanced by an accompanying a major/minor in Asian Studies.

3. Postgraduate study and research

Study opportunities

You can study Translation through the following programmes:

Postgraduate Diploma in Translation Studies
Master of Arts in Translation Studies
Master of Professional Studies in Translation
Doctor of Philosophy in Translation

You can only take English and one other language as part of the formal academic study programme, but of course the skills that you will have acquired through the study of translation practice can be applied to any additional languages in your professional career.

Career opportunities in Translation
You could use your qualification in Translation Studies to work as a freelance translator or as an in-house translator for an organisation, company or government agency.

Over time you will most likely specialise in a specific subject area, such as software localisation (translating software for a regional market), technical translation in a variety of fields (eg, automotive, medical, legal), literary translation or website translation.

Translation associated with business and trade is currently in high-demand in the global market.

Meet some of our students and graduates.

Career opportunities in Interpreting
You could use your qualification in interpreting to work with government agencies, refugee and migrant organisations or with the judicial and health systems. There may also be opportunities in the diplomatic field for highly skilled interpreters.

Most interpreting work in New Zealand belongs to the area of community interpreting, i.e. it satisfies the needs of ethnic communities (for example in hospitals or courts). As an interpreter, you can help other New Zealanders to participate and be fairly represented in society and be part of a profession that is vital to New Zealand's involvement in the international community.

The PhD
The PhD is an opportunity to engage in advanced research.

Research opportunities

• Process-oriented research, especially with regard to the use of electronic tools and resources
• Information literacy for translators and interpreters
• Translator and interpreter training
• Translation technology
• Translation and politics (only for English, Spanish and German)
• Interpreting-process research
• Cultural aspects of interpreting
• Literary translation (especially cultural and post-colonial approaches as well gender-related topics; only for Chinese)
• Sociological aspects of translation (primarily for Chinese)

Please note: We will only consider proposals for empirical studies. Also, we are currently only able to provide supervision in the following languages: French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean.

Research methodology

Content Analysis - Quantitative

I had a discussion with four PhD candidates yesterday:

ALMOST EVERY ONE OF THEM CHANGED THE TOPIC & RESEARCH METHOD OF THEIR RESEARCH

1) Experiment

A mature student who is in the final leg of his thesis - he's pysching himself up for the viva voce - experimental - he's comfortable with experiments and he'll stick to them. Old school. GRADUATED.

2) Experiment

A 36 year old student who's finished Chapters 1 and 2 and - qualitative - he'd taken this path since he did a lot of experiments during his master's program. 

3) Quantitative

A 38 year old student who has just presented his first conference paper, is working on a publication now and is possibly in the final chapter of his thesis. - a case study - he found this method interesting and if you had a discussion with him, you'd be enthusiastic too. He's the one who's urged me to take up a PhD. GRADUATED :)

4) Quantitative

A 35+ year old lady. She's finished her final draft and she shared how she'd chosen culture only to revert to a technology-based topic. Her friend #3 also did the same thing for his case study.

Met up with my co-supervisor and shared with her the area of research for my upcoming journal article.

She's pretty excited because I have found something that is:

1) tech-related 

2) education-related

3) relevant - a language-learning problem but should I focus on adolescents or adult students?

4) novel? I need to do a literature review to see if it will be a contribution to research (edu tech?).

5) Research methodology 

I ran an experiment for my master's and I dreaded the section on Data Analysis (mind-boggling)

I do not want to stare at words, words, words so definitely NOT any branch of linguistics again i.e. semantics, morphology or syntax.

Due to this, I am more inclined towards a content analysis? Literary analysis? 

Referring to this handout on AN INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH IN LINGUISTICS, APPLIED LINGUISTICS, AND LITERATURE

This is a compulsory introductory course to doing research in the areas of linguistics, applied linguistics to teaching/acquisition, and literature. It will equip students with the basic theoretical and practical knowledge to help them tackle their final MA dissertation.
The course will also set the foundations for other advanced courses in the three research areas.

Assessment criteria: 

Criteria are based on the degree of achievement of the learning
outcomes.
 

Assessment procedure

1. 30%: Readings and participation: Students are expected to do set readings, attend classes and participate actively. 

  2. 70%: Assignment and practical exercises:
 Written practical exercises: students will be required to prepare a set of practical exercises based on the learning outcomes. (30%)
 Oral presentation / written assignment: students will be required to apply
practically the learning outcomes acquired during the course to one of their
chosen areas of interest (linguistics, applied linguistics, literature). In particular, students will prepare a brief research project on one of their chosen areas with a view to get some basic training prior to their MA dissertation. (40%)  

Regarding assessment in (2b), students will be divided into 3 groups according to their interest areas (linguistics, applied linguistics, literature). Each lecturer will deal with this part of the assessment according to their area of expertise. 

*sociolinguistics 

 - the descriptive study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used, and society's effect on language. Register For example, when speaking in a formal setting, an English speaker may be more likely to use features of prescribed grammar than in an informal setting—such as pronouncing words ending in -ing with a velar nasal instead of an alveolar nasal (e.g. "walking", not "walkin"), choosing more formal words (e.g. father vs. dad, child vs. kid, etc.), and refraining from using words considered nonstandard, such as ain't. * an interesting area of study 

 

 APPL8400 Language for Specific Purposes 

This unit provides an introduction to major issues in language for specific purposes. The focus is on analysis of the socio-cultural contexts associated with business, professional and vocational areas and the specific characteristics of both oral and written text types associated with them. Such information is essential in evaluating appropriate materials and assessment tasks for teaching language for specific purposes. We consider the implications of globalisation for communication, the impact of new technologies and new approaches to learning and teaching language. Students will have the opportunity to specialise in particular vocational or professional areas in assignments. On successful completion you will be able to 2. Apply appropriate theoretical understandings to practical issues related to teaching LSP 3. Apply principles of needs analysis and discourse analysis to analyzing specific language learning contexts and specific contexts of language use. 4. Apply an understanding of the features of oral and written texts associated with particular professions and business and vocational contexts to the selection and development of appropriate curricula, materials and assessment practices in the context of teaching LSP 5. Reflect on an LSP context of interest and evaluate the merits of different approaches to researching that site. 

Pragmatics 

Pragmatics a subfield of linguistics and semiotics that studies the ways in which context contributes to meaning. Pragmatics encompasses speech act theory, conversational implicature, talk in interaction and other approaches to language behavior in philosophy, sociology, linguistics and anthropology.[1] Unlike semantics, which examines meaning that is conventional or "coded" in a given language, pragmatics studies how the transmission of meaning depends not only on: i) structural and linguistic knowledge (grammar, lexicon, etc.) of the speaker and listener but also on ii) the context of the utterance,[2] iii) any pre-existing knowledge about those involved, the inferred intent of the speaker, and other factors.[3] In that respect, pragmatics explains how language users are able to overcome apparent ambiguity since meaning relies on the manner, place, time, etc. of an utterance.[1][4] The ability to understand another speaker's intended meaning is called pragmatic competence.[5][6][7] 20 credit points from   

APPL8110 Pragmatics and Intercultural Communication 

This unit equips participants with the tools for analysis of how meaning is constructed in context through spoken and written language. The content includes speech act theory; politeness and face; the cooperative principle and implicature; relevance theory; cultural scripts; and metaphor. There is an emphasis on analysing how communication operates in different cultural contexts, and on accessing and interpreting current research. 

 Communication in social and institutional contexts, language in the media, and practical implications for language learning and translating/interpreting are explored. On successful completion you will be able to 

1. Identify examples of successful and unsuccessful cross-cultural communication and use pragmatic theories to explain the reasons 

2 Analyse examples of authentic discourse using speech act theory, politeness theory and theories of implicature. 

3. Make judgements about the types of analysis that are most suitable for researching particular types of discourse. 

4. Evaluate current research in pragmatics in an area of personal or professional interest. 

5. Reflect on how intercultural competence operates in your own personal and/or professional contexts 

6. Apply theories of pragmatics in order to conduct research in an area of personal or professional interest.

Brief course outline:

1. Introduction Getting organized as a researcher  

Areas of study: linguistics, applied linguistics and literature  

2. Research methods in linguistics Introduction: Areas of study and project ideas in Linguistics Techniques for collecting data in Linguistics Tools for data analysis and project writing in Linguistics 

3. Research methods in literature 

Introduction: literary theory, literary criticism and literary analysis  

Locating, using and synthesizing information in Literary Studies 

Writing a literary dissertation 

4. Research methods in applied linguistics  

Introduction: logistics and project ideas in Applied Linguistics  

Experimental Design and Learner Corpora in Applied Linguistics Data and 

Data collection and analysis in Applied Linguistics  

 

References

Bennet, A. & Royle, N. (2009). An Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory. Harlow: Longman. Barlow. (2005). Computer-based analysis of learner language. In R. Ellis & G. P. Barkhuizen (Eds.), Analysing learner language (pp. 335–357). 

Oxford University Press. Brown, J. D., & Rodgers, T. S. (2002). Doing Second Language Research. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 

Da Sousa Correa, D. & Owens, W.R. (eds.) (2009). The Handbook to Literary Research. London: Routledge. 

Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research Methods in Applied Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Dörnyei, Z. (2003). Questionnaires in Second Language Research: Construction, Administration and
Processing. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Chaudron, J. (2003). Data collection in SLA research. In C. Doughty & M. Long (eds.), The Handbook of Second Language Acquisition (pp. 717-761). Oxford: Blackwell. 

Faerch, C., & Casper, G. (eds.) (1987). Introspection in Second Language Research. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Gass, S. M., & Mackey, A. (2007). Data Elicitation for Second and Foreign Language Research.
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Granger, S. (2008). Learner corpora. In A. Lüdeling & M. Kytö (Eds.), Corpus Linguistics: An International Handbook (pp. 259–275). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 

Granger, S. (2009). The contribution of learner corpora to second language acquisition and
foreign language teaching. In K. Aijmer (Ed.), Corpora and Language Teaching.
Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 

Klarer, M. (2004). Introduction to Literary Studies. London: Routledge. 

Mackey, A. & Gass, S. M. (2005). Second Language Research: Methodology and Design. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. 

McEnery, T. & Hardie, A. (2012). Corpus Linguistics. Method, Theory and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 

Porte, G.K. (2002). Appraising Research in Second Language Learning: A Practical Approach to Critical Analysis of Quantitative Research. Amsterdam & Philadephia: Benjamins. 

Seliger, H. W. & Shohamy, E. (1989). Second Language Research Methods. Oxford: Oxford  University Press. 

Wray, A. & Bloomer, A. (1998) Projects in Linguistics. A practical guide to researching
language. London: Arnold.  

Conceptual Framework vs Theoretical Framework

Happy New Year 2018!!!

Remember the conference paper that I presented way back in 2015? 

Q1. What's my Conceptual Framework? (a PhD student)

Here are some useful links and a simple definition:

"The conceptual framework steers the whole research activity. 
The conceptual framework serves as a “map” or “rudder” that will guide you towards realizing the objectives or intent of your study."

A conceptual framework represents the researcher’s synthesis of literature on how to explain a phenomenon. It maps out the actions required in the course of the study given his previous knowledge of other researchers’ point of view and his observations on the subject of research.

In other words, the conceptual framework is the researcher’s understanding of how the particular variables in his study connect with each other. Thus, it identifies the variables required in the research investigation. It is the researcher’s “map” in pursuing the investigation.

As McGaghie et al. (2001) put it: The conceptual framework “sets the stage” for the presentation of the particular research question that drives the investigation being reported based on the problem statement. 

The problem statement of a thesis presents the context and the issues that caused the researcher to conduct the study.

Source: SimpleEducateMe

Below is an example of a conceptual framework presented by Cornillie (2017) below:

...the state of affairs in the fields of second language acquisition and educational psychology shows that the effects of corrective (negative) feedback (CF) are not univocal, and suggests that the effectiveness of Corrective Feedback in digital game-based language learning is likely to depend on the following factors (see Figure 1):

i) the type of CF (‘explicit’ or ‘implicit’),
ii) how ‘learning’ is measured (as the development of explicit or implicit L2 knowledge), and
iii) individual differences related to learners’ receptivity to CF, namely perceived usefulness of CF and intrinsic motivation.

 

Q2. What's your Theoretical Framework? 

(same PhD student)

The conceptual framework lies within a much broader framework called theoretical framework.

The theoretical framework are the support from time-tested theories that embody the findings of many researchers on why and how a particular phenomenon occurs.

Here are more resources on how to WRITE the theoretical framework for a PhD thesis:

1. Uni Southern California Library Guides
2. Theoretical framework and conceptual framework 

P/S Now I realize why I'm stumped in my graduate studies because the earlier two questions were posed by a PhD student who was fixated on his PhD dissertation but I was presenting a research paper!

The established researcher asked questions that were related to a research paper. Duh.