Talk on new media in 17th century England.

Paper abstract

This paper provides novel evidence on the causal effect of parents’ involvement at school on
pupils’ cognitive and non-cognitive skills. Furthermore, it shows how the impact of more
involved parents on their children is amplified at the class level by peer group interaction. We
build on a large scale controlled experiment run in a French deprived educational district,
where parents of middle-school children were invited to participate in a low-cost program of
parent-school meetings on how to get better involved in their children’s education. At the end

This presentation explores how beginning learners of Spanish perform opening and closing sequences during two videoconferencing exchanges. Data were analyzed using Conversation Analysis and several patterns of interaction were identified. Discussion will focus on description of these interactional patterns and on pedagogical implications.

Marta Tecedor Cabrero, candidate for the Spanish Lecturer/Coordinator position will be on campus January 23rd and 24th.

Do you know how to prove how well you speak Japanese, Chinese or Korean? Come learn about the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI), one of the most recognized proficiency tests in the U.S., and how to show off your abilities for scholarships, jobs and more! Hear from Pitt instructors and students who have taken the OPI and see a sample interview in Japanese and Chinese.

Gap year before grad schoo? Need to gain "real world" experience? Learn about working overseas after graduation! This workshop features real life experiences from Pitt alumni teaching in China, Chile, Japan and France. Learn how to prepare for ESL experiences at Pitt and where to look for jobs.

Special lecture and reception. Light refreshments will be served!

The final film in the Pittsburgh Film Series is Summer Wars (2009), directed by Mamoru Hosoda. Although math whiz Kenji Koiso is a social zero, his avatar flourishes in the online space of Oz -- until he accepts an e-mail request to solve a thorny equation, creating a conduit between the real and virtual worlds that may destroy both.

All films are free and open to the public! Screened in Japanese with English subtitles. More info, including maps and film trailers, at www.tinyurl.com/animepgh

Mark Lynn Anderson is an associate professor of Film Studies in the Department of English at the University of Pittsburgh. He is interested in the relations between media institutions and radical democracy, and has published essays on star scandals, media censorship, and early film education. His forthcoming book, Twilight of the Idols, examines the relations between early Hollywood stardom and the human sciences.

The Pittsburgh Anime Film Series continues with Memories (1995), directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. Memories is made up of three separate science-fiction stories. In the first, "Magnetic Rose," four space travelers are drawn into an abandoned spaceship that contains a world created by one woman's memories. In "Stink Bomb," a young lab assistant accidentally transforms himself into a human biological weapon set on a direct course for Tokyo. The final episode, "Cannon Fodder," depicts a day in the life of a city whose entire purpose is the firing of cannons at an unseen enemy.

Returning to Pittsburgh is the "Pittsburgh Anime Film Series," this year featuring theatrical films from Japan. The series kicks off with 5 Centimeters Per Second, directed by Makoto Shinkai (2007). Told in three interconnected segments, we follow a young man named Takaki through his life as cruel winters, cold technology, and finally, adult obligations and responsibility converge to test the delicate petals of love.