Globalization Helps Preserve Endangered Languages

Globalization Helps Preserve Endangered Languages. YaleGlobal. Mark Turin. December 3, 2013.

Tools of globalization like the internet, so often blamed for homogenizing the world, are also encouraging diverse lingual communities to connect and even revitalize their endangered languages. “Linguists estimate that of the world’s remaining 6,500 languages, up to half will no longer be in regular use by the end of this century,” notes Mark Turin, linguist and anthropologist. Many are indigenous languages, which “function as vehicles for the transmission of cultural traditions, environmental understandings and knowledge about medicinal plants, all at risk when elders die and livelihoods are disrupted.” Turin describes linguists’ efforts to compile archives of digitized audio, visual and other documents to ensure that these languages and the cultures they reflect do not simply vanish, their contributions going unforgotten. Globalization is often more process than intent, and the real force behind cultural homogenization, Turin maintains, is unbending beliefs reinforced by monolingualism. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

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Is Anyone Listening? Does US Foreign Assistance Target People’s Top Priorities?

Is Anyone Listening? Does US Foreign Assistance Target People’s Top Priorities? Center for Global Development. Ben Leo. December 2, 2013.

The United States government has made repeated declarations over the last decade to align its assistance programs behind developing countries’ priorities. By utilizing public attitude surveys for 42 African and Latin American countries, the paper examines how well the US has implemented this guiding principle. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 36 pages, 1.45 MB].

Early Education for Dual Language Learners: Promoting School Readiness and Early School Success

Early Education for Dual Language Learners: Promoting School Readiness and Early School Success. Migration Policy Institute. Linda M. Espinosa. November 2013.

The report profiles the population of young Dual Language Learners (DLLs), who represent nearly one-third of all U.S. children under age 6, outlining their school readiness and patterns of achievement. It evaluates the research on early care and education approaches that have been shown to support higher levels of language and literacy development and achievement for this child population, most but not all of whom are children of immigrants. Assessing the features of high-quality programs that have been shown to improve school readiness among the DLL population, the author finds there are a number of readily implementable practices that can be put into effect. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 33 pages, 2.79 MB].

The Immigrant Workforce in Germany: Formal and Informal Barriers to Addressing Skills Deficits

The Immigrant Workforce in Germany: Formal and Informal Barriers to Addressing Skills Deficits. Migration Policy Institute. Stefan Speckesser. November 2013.

While immigrant workers in Germany face relatively few formal barriers to access training, the country’s highly institutionalized and regulated workforce development system creates a number of informal barriers, in part as a result of the central role of employers and occupational associations in the system.  [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 31 pages, 970.55 KB].

The Deepest Learners: What PISA Can Reveal About the Learning that Matters

The Deepest Learners: What PISA Can Reveal About the Learning that Matters. Alliance for Excellent Education. Robert Rothman. December 3, 2013.

The report reveals that the United States struggles to produce top performers in reading, math, and science at the rates of its international peers. These students, who the report calls the “deepest learners,” demonstrate the deep understanding of content and the ability to apply knowledge to solve problems, think critically, and communicate effectively. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 21 pages, 996.62 KB]

Enhancing Value Chains

Enhancing Value Chains. Center for Strategic & International Studies. Matthew P. Goodman. November 26, 2013.

Economic integration has been a focus of Asia-Pacific affairs for the last quarter century. To support and strengthen economic ties, governments in the region have pursued an array of integration initiatives, from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum launched in 1989 to bilateral and regional trade negotiations currently underway. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

[PDF format, 34 pages, 1.90 MB].

To End Our Days: The Social, Legal and Political Dimensions of the End-of-Life Debate

To End Our Days: The Social, Legal and Political Dimensions of the End-of-Life Debate. Pew Research Religion & Public Life Project. November 21, 2013.

In recent years, questions concerning the end of life have become the subject of intense public debate and disagreement. Legislatures and courts, religious leaders and scientists, citizens and patient advocates have all weighed in on issues ranging from whether the terminally ill should have the right to take their own lives to how much treatment and sustenance those in the last stages of life should receive. Much of the controversy centers on physician-assisted suicides, called “aid in dying” by some supporters, in which a terminally ill patient is able to end his or her own life with the help of medical professionals. In the last 20 years, four states, Oregon, Washington, Montana and Vermont, have legalized physician-assisted suicide, and at least a half dozen others have considered the issue. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

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