Lard-eaters, gay-ropeans, sheeple and prepositions: lexical and syntactic devices employed to position the other in Russian online political forums

The study focuses on the linguistic means employed by Russians in online political message boards to position both the political self and the political other in a time of crisis. It investigates how insults and the prepositional choice of either v/na + Ukraine were used to demarcate socio-political identity boundaries. The paper highlights the typologically different insults used by each group to position the other politically and then proceeds to examine how prepositional choice is employed to position the political self. Data were gathered from two online news platforms – svoboda.org and slon.ru – dating from the beginning of February 2014 to the end of March 2014 and focus on the discourse of two polarised political groups of commenters – pro-Kremlin and anti-Kremlin. It is a mixed methodological approach drawing on comments posted in response to 361 articles by 476 separate posters. The data are subsequently analysed according to positioning theory within the paradigm of computer-mediated discourse

Miscommunication between Aboriginal Students and their Non- Aboriginal Teachers in a Bilingual School

A crucial question in cross-cultural education is how to bridge the cultural and linguis- tic differences between home and school so that a child’s identity can be supported without limiting his or her chances of academic success (Eades, 1991). Various models of bilingual education have been implemented in Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory of Australia but the implementation of such programmes is often far from ideal. In the school where this ethnographic study was conducted, miscom- munication between Aboriginal students and their non-Aboriginal teachers was found to be commonplace. Even by late primary school, children often did not comprehend classroom instructions in English. In addition, many students attended school irregu- larly, and many had a history of mild hearing loss due to otitis media (middle ear infection) which is highly prevalent in Australian Aboriginal communities. Cultural differences in communication were not easily differentiated from hearing-related communication problems by non-Aboriginal educators. These difficulties were exac- erbated by the lack of specialist support and appropriate training for teachers in cross-cultural communication and ESL teaching. Although the Aboriginal teaching assistants were often effective in minimising communication breakdown, the extent of miscommunication severely inhibited the children’s education when English was the language of instruction and interaction. The problem identified is one that should be of major concern to all concerned with Aboriginal education

Les permis d’émission et les charges : efficacité et substituabilité

Cet article examine l’effet des technologies polluantes sur l’efficacité de l’échange des permis d’émissions. Nous démontrons que la capacité des entreprises à substituer les polluants, lorsqu’il y a absence de marché pour certains d’entre eux, fera probablement obstacle à l’efficacité dynamique normalement attribuée aux instruments de marché. Il est à noter que le régulateur dispose d’une mesure qui lui permet d’évaluer l’ampleur de ce problème. Par ailleurs, on examine la façon dont le gouvernement peut s’approprier la rente provenant de l’échange de permis alloués gratuitement. Nous comparons les effets de quatre méthodes d’appropriation de rente, soit une surcharge sur le prix des permis d’émission, une charge sur les profits, une charge sur le produit et une charge sur le transfert des permis d’émission. On démontre que ces méthodes d’appropriation de rente ont des effets différents sur l’efficacité des permis d’émission transférables. L’analyse de ces méthodes est faite dans un contexte où le régulateur fait face à de l’information imparfaite et où les entreprises peuvent substituer les polluants.This paper examines how the pollution generating technologies of firms affect the efficacy of tradeable emission permits. It is shown that the ability of firms to substitute among pollutants whenever markets are missing for a subset of pollutants is likely to prevent the dynamic efficiencies normally attributed to market based instruments. We argue that regulators have a readily implementable rule for assessing the extent of this problem. The paper also examines how the government may capture the scarcity rent that accrues to tradeable permits allocated gratis. We compare the effects of four possible methods of rent capture: an emissions permit rental charge, profit charge, output charge, and an emissions permit transfer charge. These methods of rent capture are shown to have different impacts on the efficiency of tradeable emission permits. The methods of rent capture are also examined whenever the regulator faces imperfect information and firms can substitute among pollutants

Comparative Efficiency Assessment of Primary Care Models Using Data Envelopment Analysis

This paper compares the productive efficiencies of four models of primary care service delivery in Ontario, Canada, using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method. Particular care is taken to include quality of service as part of our output measure. The influence of the delivery model on productive efficiency is disentangled from patient characteristics using regression analysis. Significant differences are found in the efficiency scores across models and within each model. In general, the fee-for-service arrangement ranks the highest and the community-health-centre model the lowest in efficiency scoring. The reliance of our input measures on costs and number of patients, clearly favours the fee-for-service model. Patient characteristics contribute little to explaining differences in the efficiency ranking across the models.Productive Efficiency; DEA; Primary Health Care

Les permis d’émission et les charges : efficacité et substituabilité

This paper examines how the pollution generating technologies of firms affect the efficacy of tradeable emission permits. It is shown that the ability of firms to substitute among pollutants whenever markets are missing for a subset of pollutants is likely to prevent the dynamic efficiencies normally attributed to market based instruments. We argue that regulators have a readily implementable rule for assessing the extent of this problem. The paper also examines how the government may capture the scarcity rent that accrues to tradeable permits allocated gratis. We compare the effects of four possible methods of rent capture: an emissions permit rental charge, profit charge, output charge, and an emissions permit transfer charge. These methods of rent capture are shown to have different impacts on the efficiency of tradeable emission permits. The methods of rent capture are also examined whenever the regulator faces imperfect information and firms can substitute among pollutants. Cet article examine l’effet des technologies polluantes sur l’efficacité de l’échange des permis d’émissions. Nous démontrons que la capacité des entreprises à substituer les polluants, lorsqu’il y a absence de marché pour certains d’entre eux, fera probablement obstacle à l’efficacité dynamique normalement attribuée aux instruments de marché. Il est à noter que le régulateur dispose d’une mesure qui lui permet d’évaluer l’ampleur de ce problème. Par ailleurs, on examine la façon dont le gouvernement peut s’approprier la rente provenant de l’échange de permis alloués gratuitement. Nous comparons les effets de quatre méthodes d’appropriation de rente, soit une surcharge sur le prix des permis d’émission, une charge sur les profits, une charge sur le produit et une charge sur le transfert des permis d’émission. On démontre que ces méthodes d’appropriation de rente ont des effets différents sur l’efficacité des permis d’émission transférables. L’analyse de ces méthodes est faite dans un contexte où le régulateur fait face à de l’information imparfaite et où les entreprises peuvent substituer les polluants.

The interaction between duration of study abroad, diversity of loci of learning and sociopragmatic variation patterns: a comparative study

Whilst the field of Interlanguage Pragmatics has produced a rich and diverse literature in recent years, one area that requires more attention is the acquisition of sociopragmatic variation or the ability to vary language output in a way that is congruent with the situation. With the aim of filling that gap, the current study explores the interplay between duration of SA and sociopragmatic variation patterns in three groups of highly-advanced non-native speakers of English. It does so through the paradigm of Loci of Learning – that is the study of the intensity and diversity of micro-learning contexts that learners may encounter. In order to examine the correlation, a two-fold study was conducted. Firstly a language contact profile (LCP) questionnaire was completed, which provided detailed data regarding the duration of SA experiences and the diversity of loci of learning to which the participants had access. Three groups were then formed and participants were put into dyads to enact the speech act of asking for advice in two socially-differentiated situations. The performance data were subsequently analysed, using a discursive practice framework, to show how differential duration of SA and the consequent differential interaction with loci of learning shape learners’ patterns of sociopragmatic variation vis-à-vis the strategies of conventionalization and directness as well as the substrategies of solidary and non-solidary moves. Results indicate that those who have spent more than one year in SA have access to a wider range of loci of learning and as a result index sociopragmatic variation via a wider and more complex range of (sub) strategies

The impact of learning context on the acquisition of sociopragmatic variation patterns in non-native speaker teachers of English

The study is a cross-linguistic, cross-sectional investigation of the impact of learning contexts on the acquisition of sociopragmatic variation patterns and the subsequent enactment of compound identities. The informants are 20 non-native speaker teachers of English from a range of 10 European countries. They are all primarily mono-contextual foreign language learners/users of English: however, they differ with respect to the length of time accumulated in a target language environment. This allows for three groups to be established – those who have accumulated 60 days or less; those with between 90 days and one year and the final group, all of whom have accumulated in excess of one year. In order to foster the dismantling of the monolith of learning context, both learning contexts under consideration – i.e. the foreign language context and submersion context are broken down into micro-contexts which I refer to as loci of learning. For the purpose of this study, two loci are considered: the institutional and the conversational locus. In order to make a correlation between the impact of learning contexts and loci of learning on the acquisition of sociopragmatic variation patterns, a two-fold study is conducted. The first stage is the completion of a highly detailed language contact profile (LCP) questionnaire. This provides extensive biographical information regarding language learning history and is a powerful tool in illuminating the intensity of contact with the L2 that learners experience in both contexts as well as shedding light on the loci of learning to which learners are exposed in both contexts. Following the completion of the LCP, the informants take part in two role plays which require the enactment of differential identities when engaged in a speech event of asking for advice. The enactment of identities then undergoes a strategic and linguistic analysis in order to investigate if and how differences in the enactment of compound identities are indexed in language. Results indicate that learning context has a considerable impact not only on how identity is indexed in language, but also on the nature of identities enacted. Informants with very low levels of crosscontextuality index identity through strategic means – i.e. levels of directness and conventionality; however greater degrees of cross-contextuality give rise to the indexing of differential identities linguistically by means of speaker/hearer orientation and (non-) solidary moves. When it comes to the nature of identity enacted, it seems that more time spent in intense contact with native speakers in a range of loci of learning allows learners to enact their core identity; whereas low levels of contact with over-exposure to the institutional locus of learning fosters the enactment of generic identities

“What slowly kills me and frustrates me is …” Study Abroad during Covid-19: Student Narratives of Space, Language Contact and Individual Agency

International Student Mobility (ISM) has always been positioned as a desirable element of the student experience and is portrayed as beneficial in terms of the expansion of linguistic repertoires, increased awareness of interculturality, and the acquisition of transferable skills for long-term career prospects. However, while the opportunities for student mobility proliferated over the last three decades (Calderon 2018), ISM has been hugely disrupted by COVID-19 with many programmes pivoting to online, campuses essentially closing and restrictions placed on movement and access to spaces. While the impact of this on the number of students travelling has been negative (de Wit/Marinoni 2021), the pandemic also had repercussions for those who decided to embark on international mobility as it has affected the where, who, why, and how of interaction during the sojourn. In light of this, this study explores, from a longitudinal, narrative inquiry perspective, the experiences of eight Study Abroad/International students for whom language development was a major catalyst for participating in a student mobility programme. Previous research has highlighted that linguistic gains are often predicated on exposure to intense and diverse social interactions while abroad (Dewey et al. 2013; Baten 2020). Given the unique nature of the pandemic, the current study broadens the scope of traditional research by illuminating, following Benson (2021a), how differential interaction with physical and socially-constructed spaces impacted not only language development but also learner agency