The troubled Freshman EFL/ESL writing instruction needs a curricular framework to secure student transition and stabilize instruction to new learning of some writing knowledge in order for them to write with valuable ideas. Based on a longitudinal ethnographical case study of the classroom practice with a first-year English writing course, this article wrestles with the matter of topic familiarity and critical-thinking skills of argumentation. The discursive analysis of the instructional practice and the actual written texts from student writing assignments of paragraphs and short-essays recommends a freshman writing curriculum to act on critical classroom instruction with actual writing knowledge, yet to base it on topic familiarity. Because topic familiarity not only facilitates critical thinking of original facts or concrete evidence for new ideas in creating writing content, but also embraces students’ new learning with genre perspectives on techniques of typographical structures with argumentation mechanisms. This study obliges writing educators to strike a balance act on freshmen’s writing curriculum with topic familiarity and critical writing skills, not only to regulate instruction in preparing freshman students for writing penetrating essays, but also educating them to be critical future writers.

On August 14, 2019, Greta Thunberg sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to attend the United Nations Climate Summit in New York City. The purpose of this study was to explore the messaging behind youth Cyber activist Greta Thunberg’s Instagram account during her journey. We used an arts based visual content analysis approach and the following research questions guided the study: a) How did Thunberg share her climate activist journey with her Instagram followers? and b) How did Thunberg’s Instagram followers respond to posts she made during her climate activist journey? We collected posts from August 14 to 28, 2021. Images, captions, and the first ten comments of the posts shared by Thunberg’s Instagram account were qualitatively coded. Themes that emerged from the arts-based visual and textual analysis included: 1) Thunberg shared her experience through journey storytelling and voiced ongoing activism and 2) Thunberg’s audience members’ top comments indicated a primarily negative response to her journey. We highlight themes from the posts and discuss implications for online cyber activists and communication professionals.

Introduction: This study explores the utilization modern and emerging technologies in social work as efficacious interventions for traditionally oppressed, marginalized, and isolated populations. Methods: This study uses a dialogic approach to explore literature on traditional interventions, modern technologies, and emerging technologies. The discussion centers around two research questions: What are the current emerging technologies? How can current emerging technologies differ in their approaches to address the previously perceived lack of modern technologies’ necessary social tools and contexts to act as suitable alternatives to traditional social exchanges and interactions? Findings & Implications: The solutions that emerging technologies offer far outweigh the challenges surrounding access, cost, and fear. For social workers, the potential to use emerging technologies to correct social injustices are boundless. The implications for emerging technologies are broad and include reducing barriers to mental health services, providing a more intuitive and realistic experience, and mitigating the impact of disabling conditions. For many Americans, emerging technologies will come to act as efficacious interventions for a myriad of issues. Future research in social work should focus on innovative technological interventions that can mitigate serious disabling conditions, and the plethora of social issues where emerging technologies can intersect and intercede social injustices.

Due to development obstacles in the western region of Germany, after taking office in 1996, Voigt adopted the “eastward” strategy, using the eastern region as a breakthrough point. The National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) rapidly expanded its membership by opening its doors to far-right organizations, attracted a large number of young activists through effective propaganda and mobilization, and enhanced the activism and organizing ability of its cadres through a series of large-scale activities. Relying on the dense grass-roots organization, the NPD has carried out meticulous community work, closely connected with voters, and successfully built up an image of being a pro-people and “normal party”, which has laid a solid foundation for its success in the elections of the local councils and the state parliaments. However, by deploying a large number of its cadres and core organization in the East, where its electoral successes have almost invariably been achieved, the NPD has gradually degenerated into a “regional party” and an “eastern party”.