Resolving a gender and language problem in women’s leadership:consultancy research in workplace discourse

This article considers the contribution that consultancy research might make to resolving communication problems that women have identified in their leadership practices. Within the intersecting fields of gender and language and workplace discourse, consultancy research-that is, practitioner-commissioned research to resolve work-related, communication problems-is still uncommon. This article presents a study of Monika, a senior leader in an engineering company, who commissioned me to find out why she was experiencing communication problems with her teams. By using interactional sociolinguistic analysis, I was able to show Monika how her authority was being resisted on gendered, linguistic grounds. In making the case for more consultancy research, I discuss how we might use insights from discourse analysis to offer guidance to practitioners seeking our help

Recognition of Lyso-Phospholipids by Human Natural Killer T Lymphocytes

Natural killer T (NKT) cells are a subset of T lymphocytes with potent immunoregulatory properties. Recognition of self-antigens presented by CD1d molecules is an important route of NKT cell activation; however, the molecular identity of specific autoantigens that stimulate human NKT cells remains unclear. Here, we have analyzed human NKT cell recognition of CD1d cellular ligands. The most clearly antigenic species was lyso-phosphatidylcholine (LPC). Diacylated phosphatidylcholine and lyso-phosphoglycerols differing in the chemistry of the head group stimulated only weak responses from human NKT cells. However, lyso-sphingomyelin, which shares the phosphocholine head group of LPC, also activated NKT cells. Antigen-presenting cells pulsed with LPC were capable of stimulating increased cytokine responses by NKT cell clones and by freshly isolated peripheral blood lymphocytes. These results demonstrate that human NKT cells recognize cholinated lyso-phospholipids as antigens presented by CD1d. Since these lyso-phospholipids serve as lipid messengers in normal physiological processes and are present at elevated levels during inflammatory responses, these findings point to a novel link between NKT cells and cellular signaling pathways that are associated with human disease pathophysiology.</p

Communicative competence and institutional affiliation: interactional processes of identity construction by immigrant students in Catalonia

The growing presence of children of immigrant families in the public school system in the bilingual region of Catalonia provides us with an opportunity to study how young multilingual and multicultural speakers construct their social competencies and their identity within the specific context of a gate-keeping social institution such as the school. The study reported in this paper approaches language learning as a process of socialisation that involves not only learning how to make sense of linguistic signs but also learning how to enact different social roles in particular institutions. The analysis focuses on the interactional profiles of two immigrant students in two types of communicative activities that are representative of the school context: responding to questions from an adult and cooperating with a peer in the resolution of a learning task. By shifting the focus of analysis from a decontextualised notion of communicative competence to the notion of 'institutionally affiliated communicative competence' and concentrating on issues such as the (1) the relationship between knowledge and participation, (2) language choice inside and outside school and (3) definitions of correctness in language use, the study reveals how the two students construct a highly 'affiliated' identit

Home media and science performance:A cross-national study

This study examines the effects of media resources in the parental home on the science performance of 15-year-old students. It employs data from the 2006 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) containing information on 345,967 respondents from 53 countries. Results show that media assets in the family home are indeed meaningful for children’s science performance, as a beneficial resource but also as a disadvantage. A positive reading climate in the parental home and the availability of computers benefits science performance. However, a television-rich home seems to hinder children’s school success. Furthermore, results indicate that, compared to less developed countries, in more modernized societies parental reading investments are even more beneficial to their children’s science performance, whereas a television-rich parental home is even more disadvantageous

Teaching Writing: a situated dynamic

publication-status: Publishedtypes: ArticleThe paper is theoretically grounded in Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) which holds that human development is founded within participation in social and cultural practices. In particular, the teaching of literacy is shaped not only by the curriculum as designated by policy makers and the institution in which it is located but also by the individuals’ understanding of what literacy and learning involves and how they act to achieve their goals. The paper explores data from a project that investigated the relationship between classroom talk and the teaching of writing in six early years classrooms. Participants’ own understandings of teaching and learning need to be taken into account by researchers and policy makers. CHAT has been used to explore the dynamic relationship between activity at societal, institutional and individual levels. It is argued that researchers and policy makers need to take account of the wider socio-cultural context in planning and evaluating curriculum development initiatives

The impact of language barriers on trust formation in multinational teams

This study systematically investigates how language barriers influence trust formation in multinational teams (MNTs). Based on 90 interviews with team members, team leaders, and senior managers in 15 MNTs in three German automotive corporations, we show how MNT members’ cognitive and emotional reactions to language barriers influence their perceived trustworthiness and intention to trust, which in turn affect trust formation. We contribute to diversity research by distinguishing the exclusively negative language effects from the more ambivalent effects of other diversity dimensions. Our findings also illustrate how surface-level language diversity may create perceptions of deep-level diversity. Furthermore, our study advances MNT research by revealing the specific influences of language barriers on team trust, an important mediator between team inputs and performance outcomes. It thereby encourages the examination of other team processes through a language lens. Finally, our study suggests that multilingual settings necessitate a reexamination and modification of the seminal trust theories by Mayer, Davis and Schoorman (1995) and McAllister (1995). In terms of practical implications, we outline how MNT leaders can manage their subordinates’ problematic reactions to language barriers and how MNT members can enhance their perceived trustworthiness in multilingual settings