Tag: Indigenous Languages

Abstract

Studies have shown that speakers of New Englishes borrow interjections and other linguistic forms from their indigenous languages to express what they feel, think, want, believe or know at a particular moment. In this paper, the use and pragmatic functions of four of such local interjections, ei, ehe, eh and eish, in Ghanaian English on online platforms are examined. The data analysed were obtained from Global Web-Based English corpus (GLoWbE). The findings of the study show that these four interjections from indigenous Ghanaian languages are used in various contexts for a variety of reasons which include expressing pain, surprise, fear, concern about something, or a sudden recall of information. Also, the findings establish that the interjections may have varied spellings characterised by letter repetitions aimed at highlighting the intensity of the emotions expressed by users.

Abstract

This study explores the impact of inclusive education on the educational outcomes of students without Special Educational Needs (non-SEN) in Peru, utilizing official Ministry of Education data and implementing cross-sectional regression analyses. Inclusive education is a complex issue that, without appropriate adaptations and comprehensive understanding, can present substantial challenges to the educational community. While prior research from developed nations offers diverse perspectives on the effects of inclusive education on non-SEN students, limited evidence exists regarding its impact in developing countries. Our study addresses this gap by examining inclusive education in Peru and its influence on non-SEN students, thereby contributing to the existing literature. Our findings reveal that, on average, the presence of SEN students in regular classrooms does not significantly affect their non-SEN counterparts. However, we uncover heterogeneous results contingent on the specific type of SEN and students’ academic placement. These results emphasize the importance of targeted resources and parental involvement in facilitating successful inclusive education, particularly for specific SEN types. In summary, this study underscores the need for tailored strategies and additional resources to foster the success of inclusive education and calls for further research in this field to expand our understanding and enhance educational policy.

Abstract

Movies have been important in our lives for many years. Movies provide entertainment, inspire, educate, and offer an escape from reality. Movie reviews help us choose better movies, but reading them all can be time-consuming and overwhelming. To make it easier, sentiment analysis can classify movie reviews into positive and negative categories. Opinion mining (OP), called sentiment analysis (SA), uses natural language processing to identify and extract opinions expressed through text. Naive Bayes, a supervised learning algorithm, offers simplicity, efficiency, and strong performance in classification tasks due to its feature independence assumption. This study evaluates the performance of four Naïve Bayes variations using two vectorization techniques, Count Vectorizer and Term Frequency–Inverse Document Frequency (TF–IDF), on two movie review datasets: IMDb Movie Reviews Dataset and Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews. Bernoulli Naive Bayes achieved the highest accuracy using Count Vectorizer on the IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes datasets. Multinomial Naive Bayes, on the other hand, achieved better accuracy on the IMDB dataset with TF–IDF. During preprocessing, we implemented different techniques to enhance the quality of our datasets. These included data cleaning, spelling correction, fixing chat words, lemmatization, and removing stop words. Additionally, we fine-tuned our models through hyperparameter tuning to achieve optimal results. Using TF–IDF, we observed a slight performance improvement compared to using the count vectorizer. The experiment highlights the significant role of sentiment analysis in understanding the attitudes and emotions expressed in movie reviews. By predicting the sentiments of each review and calculating the average sentiment of all reviews, it becomes possible to make an accurate prediction about a movie’s overall performance.

Abstract

Objectives

Methods for enumeration and population-based health assessment for First Nations, Inuit, and Metis (FNIM) living in Canadian cities are underdeveloped, with resultant gaps in essential demographic, health, and health service access information. Our Health Counts (OHC) was designed to engage FNIM peoples in urban centres in “by community, for community” population health assessment and response.

Methods

The OHC methodology was designed to advance Indigenous self-determination and FNIM data sovereignty in urban contexts through deliberate application of Indigenous principles and linked implementation strategies. Three interwoven principles (good relationships are foundational; research as gift exchange; and research as a vehicle for Indigenous community resurgence) provide the framework for linked implementation strategies which include actively building and maintaining relationships; meaningful Indigenous community guidance, leadership, and participation in all aspects of the project; transparent and equitable sharing of project resources and benefits; and technical innovations, including respondent-driven sampling, customized comprehensive health assessment surveys, and linkage to ICES data holdings to generate measures of health service use.

Results

OHC has succeeded across six urban areas in Ontario to advance Indigenous data sovereignty and health assessment capacity; recruit and engage large population-representative cohorts of FNIM living in urban and related homelands; customize comprehensive health surveys and data linkages; generate previously unavailable population-based FNIM demographic, health, and social information; and translate results into enhanced policy, programming, and practice.

Conclusion

The OHC methodology has been demonstrated as effective, culturally relevant, and scalable across diverse Ontario cities.

Abstract

Arctic regions are warming significantly faster than other parts of the globe, leading to changes in snow, ice and weather conditions, ecosystems and local cultures. These changes have brought worry and concern and triggered feelings of loss among Arctic Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Recently, research has started to address emotional and social dimensions of climate change, framed through the concept of ecological grief. In this study, we examine sociocultural impacts of climate change and expressions of ecological grief among members of reindeer herding communities in the Sámi Homeland in Finland. Results indicate that ecological grief is felt in connection to major environmental concerns in the area: changes in winter weather and extreme weather events, Atlantic salmon decline and land use changes, which all have cultural and social consequences. Our results indicate that ecological grief is strongly associated with ecological losses, but also with political decisions regarding natural resource governance.

Abstract

Assimilation is a central phenomenon in phonology, yet there is little consensus on either its representation or computation. In particular, the empirical distinction between spreading (feature sharing) and correspondence (feature copying) is disputed. In this paper, I identify novel diagnostics from two interacting assimilation processes in San Francisco del Mar Huave (isolate: Mexico). First, vowel-copy epenthesis displays a previously unattested blocking pattern that is problematic for spreading, but predicted by feature-copying approaches like Agreement By Correspondence. Second, in CV agreement, I argue that only feature sharing driven by Dep and Specify constraints can insightfully account for the role of underspecification, which produces a range of directionality effects. Huave shows that both spreading and correspondence are needed in phonological theory, and also demonstrates that monolithically assimilation-mandating constraints like Agree can be decomposed to derive assimilation from the interaction of more elementary, independently motivated principles of markedness and faithfulness.

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of the present study was to analyze the frequency of the piroplasmids in blood from dogs and ticks recovered from these animals in Teresópolis city, located in the mountain region of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. In addition to the clinical and hematological profile.

Methods

A total of 400 dogs attended in a veterinary clinic in this city between 2020 and 2021 were included. The blood was collected from the dogs, along with ticks and information on these dogs was obtained through a questionnaire applied to the owners. Thin-smear analyses and complete blood counts were performed. All forms characteristic of piroplasmids were measured and classified morphologically. The blood was also subjected to PCR assays based on the genes 18S rRNA and hsp70. In addition, the ixodid ticks were classified morphologically and subjected to PCR for piroplasmids research. The amplified products were sent for gene sequencing.

Results

Piroplasmids were detected in 2.3% of the dogs. The variables statistically associated with infections in these animals were hemorrhage/bleeding, jaundice, anisocytosis, activated monocytes and macroplatelets (p ≤ 0.05). Piriform, ring-shaped, oval and aberrant structures were viewed in erythrocytes, neutrophils and monocytes, with lengths greater than and less than 2.5 µm. The nine positive samples from these dogs were characterized as due to Rangelia vitalii. However, one sequence from B. vogeli was detected in a single adult specimen of R. sanguineus.

Conclusion

Although circulation of two species of piroplasmids potentially infective for domestic dogs has been observed in the mountain city of Rio de Janeiro, infection due to R. vitalii was mostly seen in the dogs of the present study.

Abstract

Background

There is evidence to suggest that undocumented, unaccompanied migrant youths confront emotional and physical hardships while working in the U.S. agriculture industry. However, little is known about the type of support available to these youths that could protect them from negative developmental outcomes.

Objective

This qualitative research was designed to explore Guatemalan migrant youths’ available support types, expectations of coming to the U.S. for work, and the life lessons learned from being undocumented, unaccompanied minors in the agriculture industry.

Methods

A total of 10 unaccompanied Guatemalan youths (age range 15–17 years, Mage = 16.4 years; 100% male; 100% undocumented) participated in individual semi-structured audio-voice-recorded interviews in the Southeast. Interview responses were transcribed, coded, and analyzed.

Results

Thematic analysis yielded three primary interconnected themes: (1) “Coping and managing sadness by reaching out to others,” (2) “I have a dream but then, reality hits,” and (3) “Life lessons for future migrants.”

Conclusion

Findings suggest that despite their vulnerable social position, Guatemalan migrant youth in U.S. agriculture displayed an optimistic attitude, exercised persistence, and developed resourcefulness. Besides these competencies, youth possessed social networks with left-behind families, developed and leveraged new social ties to “manage sadness,” and built a tight-knit community away from their countries of origin.

Abstract

Background

Gay, bisexual, and cis-gender men who have sex with men (GBMSM) face severe consequences, especially within stigmatized environments. However, very little is known about the experiences of GBMSM living in slums in SSA and Ghana. This study investigates the experiences of stigma, victimization, and coping strategies and proposes some interventional approaches for combating stigma facing GBMSM in slum communities.

Methods

We engaged GBMSM living in slums in two major Ghanaian cities. We used a time-location sampling and collected data through in-depth individual interviews. Two major themes emerged from the study: (1) insecurities and criminalization of GBMSM activity, and (2) GBMSM coping strategies.

Results

Findings show GBMSM experienced negative attitudes from the community due to their sexual behavior/orientation. GBMSM also developed coping strategies to avert negative experiences, such as hiding their identities/behavior, avoiding gender non-conforming men, and having relationships with persons outside their communities.

Conclusion

We propose interventions such as HIV Education, Empathy, Empowerment, Acceptance, and Commitment Therapy as possible measures to improve the experiences of GBMSM living in Ghanaian slum communities.

Abstract

In many countries the growth of significant regional economic disparities has created a geography of discontent. Looking at left-behind places in less developed countries is critical because of the wider economic, social, and political consequences. One example of political discontent due to acute inequalities is the Zapatista movement in the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico in 1994. Combining elements from the literature on left-behind places and place-based policies with elements of political economy, this article analyses place-based strategies for inclusive and sustainable development as implemented by Mexico’s current federal government. In contrast to previous federal administrations, strategic projects for disadvantaged regions are considered a national security priority. With the slogan ‘For the good of all, the poor come first’, the president promised to govern for everyone but to prioritise the most impoverished and vulnerable. However, these projects have been accused of endangering sustainable development. This article argues that those policies have been agreed in a political-economic scenario of struggle in which they are considered as either popular and progressist, or populist.