Journal of Academic Perspectives

Volume 2013 No. 1

Complexity in Parental Choice of Language of Instruction: The Case of Russian Speakers in Estonia

Raija P. Kemppainen, Dar Al-Hekma College, Saudi Arabia, Scott E. Ferrin, Brigham Young University, US, and Mart Rannut, Integration Uuringute Institute, Estonia

“Of Things that Are Not and That Should Be”: Aesthetic Decadence in Charles Baudelaire’s Paris Spleen, Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray and Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Sign of the Four

Barbara Lekatsas, Hofstra University, US

“Matching the Sentiments of My Heart”: The Cost of Women’s Leadership in Charlotte Rogan’s The Lifeboat

Heather Ann Levy, Western Connecticut State University, US

Sugar and Spice, and Everything Nice: A Brazilian Reading of Jane Eyre

Sandra Sirangelo Maggio, Luciane Oliveira Müller, and Valter Henrique Fritsch, The Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

A Contemporary Psychological Perspective on Gambling and Co-dependency in the Works of Charles Dickens

Rockey Robbins and Wiley Harwell, University of Oklahoma, US

The Victorian-Dickens Era: In the Name of Capitalism; Colonies, Convicts, Charities, and Royals-in-Training

Michelle St Jane and Maria Humphries, University of Waikato, New Zealand

Complexity in Parental Choice of Language of Instruction: The Case of Russian Speakers in Estonia

Raija P. Kemppainen, Dar Al-Hekma College, Saudi Arabia, Scott E. Ferrin, Brigham Young University, US, and Mart Rannut, Integration Uuringute Institute, Estonia

The research corpus tends to lack research into factors affecting the choices of parents of language minority students in educational systems. While linguistic and cultural backgrounds of the choice are significant, it is fundamental to examine beyond them. This paper presents a suggestion for a holistic model of a parental school language choice intended to explain relevant factors in the choice. The paper tries to answer questions related to the influence of contextual, sociolinguistic, and school choice factors together with parental beliefs of second language acquisition on parents' choice of language of instruction.
No empirical data was collected for this investigation; instead, the paper is based on a review of international research as well as research and observation on choice o
kemppainen.pdf
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“Of Things that Are Not and That Should Be”: Aesthetic Decadence in Charles Baudelaire’s Paris Spleen, Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray and Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Sign of the Four

Barbara Lekatsas, Hofstra University, US

In The Decay of Lying (1889), Oscar Wilde delivers a spirited attack against Realism and predicts that one day, “Facts will be regarded as discreditable…and Romance, with her temper of wonder, will return to the land…singing of beautiful and impossible things, of things that are lovely and that never happened, of things that are not and that should be” (35). Realism, which Wilde treats as the antithesis of art, brought the metropolis and all its class divisions to light, exposing an undercurrent of criminality in just about every sphere of society, yet honing the journalistic skills of writers who could actually earn money writing for journals, as was the case of Baudelaire, Wilde, and Conan Doyle. In this presentation, I will examine the philosophy of Decadence reflected in Paris
lekatsas.pdf
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“Matching the Sentiments of My Heart”: The Cost of Women’s Leadership in Charlotte Rogan’s The Lifeboat

Heather Ann Levy, Western Connecticut State University, US

Leadership is generally thought to be a positive attribute in many societies and yet frequently when women assume a leadership position they suffer undesirable and even harsh consequences. Charlotte Rogan’s debut novel The Lifeboat examines the leadership styles of three female castaways and the legal, moral and social consequences of their decision to oust a tyrannical male leader who threatens the safety and lives of his reluctant followers. The Lifeboat argues that only armed resistance can overthrow dictatorships. It also advocates that effective leadership must be informed by compassion, practical concern and unwavering assertiveness. Rogan suggests that it is possible to survive natural catastrophes only if women are prepared to meet threats with violent resistance if necessary. L
levy.pdf
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Sugar and Spice, and Everything Nice: A Brazilian Reading of Jane Eyre

Sandra Sirangelo Maggio, Luciane Oliveira Müller, and Valter Henrique Fritsch, The Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

In 2012 the novel Jane Eyre was studied by a group of undergraduate English Literature students from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil. Negotiation was needed on the part of the teachers so that a number of reception issues could be managed and the experiment eventually be deemed successful. To set the tone of this exercise, the group borrowed a metaphor from Umberto Eco, and compared literature to some woodland where every reader can enter, provided they carry a rucksack. The better equipped the rucksack is, the longer the readers can stay in the woods. Therefore, the group determined to learn as much as possible about the historical and cultural aspects of Victorianism, so that they could carry heavier rucksacks and profit as much as possible from their journey, beco
Maggio_Müller_Fritsch.pdf
Adobe Acrobat document [372.2 KB]

A Contemporary Psychological Perspective on Gambling and Co-dependency in the Works of Charles Dickens

Rockey Robbins and Wiley Harwell, University of Oklahoma, US

This article considers Dicken’s depictions of characters who are gamblers and their helpers in The Old Curiosity Shop, Nicolas Nickeby, and Hard Times in terms of an interplay between literary criticism and contemporary psychological research and theory. Dicken’s characters both match and mismatch psychological perspectives about gambling pathology and co-dependency, demonstrating a fairly solid understanding of the topics and at the same time opening space for new perspectives for consideration regarding these disorders. In addition, the growth of Positive Psychology and a growing interest in Emotional Intelligence may provide a basis from which Little Nell can re-gain some of her mid-19th century integrity.
The goal of the writers for this paper is to describe the complexities
Robbins.pdf
Adobe Acrobat document [260.1 KB]

The Victorian-Dickens Era: In the Name of Capitalism; Colonies, Convicts, Charities, and Royals-in-Training

Michelle St Jane and Maria Humphries, University of Waikato, New Zealand

Capitalism, initially promoted as an economic means to emancipation from feudal control, was increasingly considered as an ideology of exploitation by its critics. This system of trade and exchange might be viewed paradoxically as a unifying force in Victorian England. Together with the spiritual emancipation sought by the Protestants, the economic liberalism of the Victorian era provided opportunities to challenge the feudal powers of Royalty. In its early formation, however, this entrepreneurial spirit could be harnessed by Royalty to connect several seemingly disparate elements of the then growing British Empire: the governance of far-flung colonies, the management of convicts, the need for charities to attend to the growing poverty, the tolerance of emerging critics such as Charles Dic
st.jane.pdf
Adobe Acrobat document [377.2 KB]

Volume 2013 No. 1

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