40,524 research outputs found
Balancing language planning and language rights: Catalonia's uneasy juggling act
In the 1980s, language planning in Catalonia was carried out against a background of general consensus that major language recovery measures were needed in order to improve the linguistic and sociolinguistic situation of Catalan. Demographic and social conditions favoured language reforms aimed at making Catalan the official language of the autonomous region of Catalonia, promoting its use in public and in the education system. Non-Catalans, too, supported these language policies as the use of Castilian (Spanish) was not restricted. This paper discusses the language planning measures resulting from the 1998 Law of Catalan. Catalonia seems to have reached a point where language recovery and language promotion come up against an evolving sociolinguistic situation marked by changed demographic conditions and social attitudes. The debate about the 1998 Law of Catalan demonstrates that popular consensus can no longer be relied upon. Instead, conflicting views are being voiced as the promotion of Catalan above Castilian has come to be seen as an infringement of the language rights of non-Catalans. Public discourse has become more polemical, bipartisan and politicised. The question arises as to how far a region within a multilingual member state of the EU can go in promoting monolingual language policies
Towards a description of trilingual competence
Most studies involving trilingualism have been carried out within the theoretical framework of bilingualism research. No attempt has been made to delimit trilingualism as a concept in its own right, and often it has been assumed to be an extension of bilingualism. In young children, trilingual language acquisition largely follows the path of bilingual acquisition. With regard to language behavior there are again similarities, but certain differences can be observed. As an overview of studies of individual trilingualism, the present article aims to provide a framework for the discussion. Models of bilingual language competence serve as a starting point to an investigation of possible defining features of trilingual competence. Of particular interest are the pragmatic component of language competence; the trilingual's ability to make appropriate linguistic choices in monolingual/bilingual/ trilingual communication modes; and observed codeswitching. The question of how and when a trilingual's languages become activated or deactivated leads to a consideration of language processing and metalinguistic awareness. In the absence of research involving trilinguals, bilingual models are examined with a view to pointing out possible similarities and differences. It is suggested that these are both of a quantitative and qualitative kind, and therefore trilingual competence is distinct from bilingual competence
The evolution of trilingual code-switching from infancy to school age: the shaping of trilingual competence through dynamic language dominance
This article reports on a study of the code-switches produced by two children who acquired their three languages in early childhood. We compared formal and functional aspects of their switches recorded at two different stages of their development. Of particular interest was the consideration of sociolinguistic variables that have intervened in the childrenâs environment. We undertook a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the childrenâs code-switches to ascertain the frequency of switching, the use of each of the three languages employed for switching and the linguistic complexity of the switches. We assumed that the sociolinguistic conditions that changed the linguistic landscape in which these children operated would be reflected not only in the development of each of their languages, but also in the kind of switches that they produced. We tried to establish whether it is the case that certain forms and functions of code-switches constitute a "core" of trilingual language behaviour while others are prone to change. Ultimately, our aim was to gain an insight into the specific trilingual language production processes over a given period of time that can shed light on the development and nature of trilingual competence
'TIDieR-ing up' the reporting of interventions in stroke research:The importance of knowing what is in the 'black box'
Evidence-based interventions cannot be provided unless there is a clear understanding of what the intervention is. Many published randomized trials, systematic reviews, and guidelines contain incomplete intervention descriptions. For non-pharmacological interventions, such as stroke rehabilitation, the reporting is particularly poor. Contributors to this problem include lack of attention to this issue and awareness of what constitutes a complete intervention description by authors, reviewers, journals, and editors. Part of the solution is for authors to follow guidance about how to describe interventions, such as the Template for Intervention Description and Replication statement. Improving stroke interventions reporting will remove one of the current barriers to evidence-based care. </jats:p
Inelastic relaxation and noise temperature in S/N/S junctions
We studied electronic relaxation in long diffusive superconductor / normal
metal / superconductor (S/N/S) junctions by means of current noise and
transport measurements down to very low temperature (100mK). Samples with
normal metal lengths of 4, 10 and 60 micrometer have been investigated. In all
samples the shot noise increases very rapidly with the voltage. This is
interpreted in terms of enhanced heating of the electron gas confined between
the two S/N interfaces. Experimental results are analyzed quantitatively taking
into account electron-phonon interaction and heat transfer through the S/N
interfaces. Transport measurements reveal that in all samples the two S/N
interfaces are connected incoherently, as shown by the reentrance of the
resistance at low temperature. The complementarity of noise and transport
measurements allows us to show that the energy dependence of the reentrance at
low voltage is essentially due to the increasing effective temperature of the
quasiparticles in the normal metal.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to be published in EPJ
A guide to performing a peer review of randomised controlled trials
Peer review of journal articles is an important step in the research process. Editors rely on the expertise of peer reviewers to properly assess submissions. Yet, peer review quality varies widely and few receive training or guidance in how to approach the task. This paper describes some of the main steps that peer reviewers in general and, in particular, those performing reviewes of randomised controlled trials (RCT), can use when carrying out a review. It can be helpful to begin with a brief read to acquaint yourself with the study, followed by a detailed read and a careful check for flaws. These can be divided into âmajorâ (problems that must be resolved before publication can be considered) and âminorâ (suggested improvements that are discretionary) flaws. Being aware of the appropriate reporting checklist for the study being reviewed (such as CONSORT and its extensions for RCTs) can also be valuable. Competing interests or prejudices might corrode the review, so ensuring transparency about them is important. Finally, ensuring that the paperâs strengths are acknowledged along with a dissection of the weaknesses provides balance and perspective to both authors and editors. Helpful reviews are constructive and improve the quality of the paper. The proper conduct of a peer review is the responsibility of all who accept the role
Aspects of the conformal operator product expansion in AdS/CFT correspondence
We present a detailed analysis of a scalar conformal four-point function
obtained from AdS/CFT correspondence. We study the scalar exchange graphs in
AdS and discuss their analytic properties. Using methods of conformal partial
wave analysis, we present a general procedure to study conformal four-point
functions in terms of exchanges of scalar and tensor fields. The logarithmic
terms in the four-point functions are connected to the anomalous dimensions of
the exchanged fields. Comparison of the results from AdS graphs with the
conformal partial wave analysis, suggests a possible general form for the
operator product expansion of scalar fields in the boundary CFT.Comment: 31 pages, LaTeX, accepted for publication in ATM
Integrating across memory episodes: Developmental trends
Memory enables us to use information from our past experiences to guide new behaviours, calling for the need to integrate or form inference across multiple distinct episodic experiences. Here, we compared children (aged 9-10 years), adolescents (aged 12-13 years), and young adults (aged 19-25 years) on their ability to form integration across overlapping associations in memory. Participants first encoded a set of overlapping, direct AB- and BC-associations (object-face and face-object pairs) as well as non-overlapping, unique DE-associations. They were then tested on these associations and inferential AC-associations. The experiment consisted of four such encoding/retrieval cycles, each consisting of different stimuli set. For accuracy on both unique and inferential associations, young adults were found to outperform teenagers, who in turn outperformed children. However, children were particularly slower than teenagers and young adults in making judgements during inferential than during unique associations. This suggests that children may rely more on making inferences during retrieval, by first retrieving the direct associations, followed by making the inferential judgement. Furthermore, young adults showed a higher correlation between accuracy in direct (AB, BC) and inferential AC-associations than children. This suggests that, young adults relied closely on AB- and BC-associations for making AC decisions, potentially by forming integrated ABC-triplets during encoding or retrieval. Taken together, our findings suggest that there may be an age-related shift in how information is integrated across experienced episodes, namely from relying on making inferences at retrieval during middle childhood to forming integrated representations at different memory processing stages in adulthood
Self-phase modulation of a single-cycle terahertz pulse by nonlinear free-carrier response in a semiconductor
We demonstrate the self-phase modulation (SPM) of a single-cycle THz pulse in
a semiconductor, using bulk n-GaAs as a model system. The SPM arises from the
heating of free electrons in the electric field of the THz pulse, leading to an
ultrafast reduction of the plasma frequency, and hence to a strong modification
of the THz-range dielectric function of the material. THz SPM is observed
directly in the time domain. In the frequency domain it corresponds to a strong
frequency-dependent refractive index nonlinearity of n-GaAs, found to be both
positive and negative within the broad THz pulse spectrum, with the
zero-crossing point defined by the electron momentum relaxation rate. We also
observed the nonlinear spectral broadening and compression of the THz pulse.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure
Poor description of non-pharmacological interventions:Analysis of consecutive sample of randomised trials
Objectives To evaluate the completeness of descriptions of non-pharmacological interventions in randomised trials, identify which elements are most frequently missing, and assess whether authors can provide missing details. Design Analysis of consecutive sample of randomised trials of non-pharmacological interventions. Data sources and study selection All reports of randomised trials of non-pharmacological interventions published in 2009 in six leading general medical journals; 133 trial reports, with 137 interventions, met the inclusion criteria. Data collection Using an eight item checklist, two raters assessed the primary full trial report, plus any reference materials, appendices, or websites. Questions about missing details were emailed to corresponding authors, and relevant items were then reassessed. Results Of 137 interventions, only 53 (39%) were adequately described; this was increased to 81 (59%) by using 63 responses from 88 contacted authors. The most frequently missing item was the âintervention materialsâ (47% complete), but it also improved the most after author response (92% complete). Whereas some authors (27/70) provided materials or further information, other authors (21/70) could not; their reasons included copyright or intellectual property concerns, not having the materials or intervention details, or being unaware of their importance. Although 46 (34%) trial interventions had further information or materials readily available on a website, many were not mentioned in the report, were not freely accessible, or the URL was no longer functioning. Conclusions Missing essential information about interventions is a frequent, yet remediable, contributor to the worldwide waste in research funding. If trial reports do not have a sufficient description of interventions, other researchers cannot build on the findings, and clinicians and patients cannot reliably implement useful interventions. Improvement will require action by funders, researchers, and publishers, aided by long term repositories of materials linked to publications
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