Learning theory and the symbolic processes.

T h e r e is a g r o w i n g i n t e r e s t in t h e u s e of a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l t e c h n i q u e s in e d u c a t i o n a l a n d p s y c h o l o g i c a l r e s e a r c h . T h e b a c k g r o u n d s of m a n y r e s e a r c h e r s , h o w e v e r , c o n t a i n l i t t l e t r a i n i n g in or e x p e r i e n c e w i t h t h i s k i n d of r e s e a r c h , a l so ca l l ed q u a l i t a t i v e , p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l , o r e t h n o g r a p h i c . B e c a u s e e t h n o g r a p h i c m e t h o d o l o g y d i f f e r s s i g n i f i c a n t l y f r o m t h e r e s e a r c h a p p r o a c h e s m o r e c o m m o n l y u s e d in e d u c a t i o n a n d p s y c h o l o g y , i t is i m p o r t a n t to c l a r i f y i t s r a t i o n a l e a n d i t s d a t a c o l l e c t i o n p r o c e s s e s . I t is e s s e n t i a l to u n d e r s t a n d t h e w a y s in w h i c h e t h n o g r a p h i c a p p r o a c h e s d i f f e r f r o m o t h e r a p p r o a c h e s b e c a u s e t h e y r e p r e s e n t f u n d a m e n t a l l y d i f f e r e n t c l a i m s a b o u t t h e n a t u r e of h u m a n b e h a v i o r a n d t h e b e s t w a y s of c o m i n g to u n d e r s t a n d it . We p r o p o s e , t h e r e fo re , to r e v i e w t h e d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n t h i s k i n d of r e s e a r c h a n d t h e t e c h n i q u e s m o r e f a m i l i a r t o m o s t r e s e a r c h e r s b y e x p l a i n i n g t h e r a t i o n a l e b e h i n d i t s u s e a n d b y d i s c u s s i n g s o m e o f t h e p roc -

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A Review of the Use of Ethnographic Techniques in Educational Research.

The psychologist looks at language

Popular discussions of the internal management of the U.S. House of Representatives in the present era generally give great weight to the ubiquity and arbitrariness of the seniority system as a significant determinant of outcomes there. Careful attention to the scholarly literature, however, should long since have modified this view. For it appears that except for relatively unimportant matters such as the allocation of office space on Capitol Hill, the criterion of seniority is generally intermingled in House decision-making with a great many other crite ria of choice, and the business of choosing is not automatic, but remains in the hands of persons having some considerable discretion. This, apparently, is the case with respect to such decisions as the allocation of Capitol Hill patronage, the initial assignment of Representatives to committees, the distribution of responsibilities within committees, and the choice of party leaders. The one important area in which seniority seems to play a role of overwhelming significance is in the matter of succession to the chairmanship of committees; this is in turn governed by the custom (not a formal rule) of seniority that guarantees members reappointment to committees at the opening of each new Congress, in rank order of committee service. It is the growth of this method of selecting committee chairmen in the House that is the subject of this paper.

The Growth of the Seniority System in the U.S. House of Representatives

What distinguishes this book is its broad, yet thorough, view of theory, process, and research on adult second-language reading. Offering extensive discussions of upper-register second-language texts (both expository and narrative) that adult second-language readers encounter daily across the globe, it also presents an assessment schema for second-language text comprehension as well as for the assessment of teaching.
 Understanding Advanced Second-Language Reading: 



includes languages other than English in the discussion of second language reading
is firmly anchored in a theory of second language reading ─ the concept of compensatory processing
emphasizes the multi-dimensionality and dynamic nature of L2 reading development
focuses on comprehension of upper-register literary texts 
balances theory and instructional practices.
Filling the need for a coherent, theoretically consistent, and research-based portrait of how literate adolescents and adults comprehend, and learn to comprehend, at greater levels of sophistication and whether that ability can be enhanced by instruction, this is a must-have resource for reading and second-language researchers, students, and teachers.

Donald D. Walsh

Papers

The Story of Language

Baroque and Rococo in Latin America

Ecuador: Constitutions and Caudillos

el mundo es ancho y ajeno

Life in a Mexican Village: Tepoztlán Revisited@@@Life in a Mexican Village: Tepoztlan Revisited