Why embed multilingualism into university practices?

This paper draws on my experiences with language in English and non-English-speaking universities, minority language education research (Migge et al. 2010) and on a survey-based research project on linguistic diversity at a major Irish university (Lucek & Migge ms). • Universities worldwide are under pressure to internationalise but there is a lack of clarity about what it means. • Internationalisation is interpreted to mean exposure to diversity.• Universities generally try to achieve internationalisation by encouraging students to spend one or more semesters at a foreign institution and by hiring foreign staff. • In terms of language, internationalisation is generally limited to discussions about access to English and the role of English. • Local academic staff and students are traditionally not seen as playing an integral role in internationalisation when at home. • Recommendation: a socially sustainable approach to internationalisation requires a bottom up approach: it must involve raising awareness about local and global diversity & its multifaceted origins through the core curriculum. • Recommendation: language is a central ‘tool’ for raising awareness about diversity and experiencing diversity

Migrant mothers and the geographies of belonging

Much academic research on migrant mothers focuses on mothers who are separated from their children, often through their integration into global care chains, or on mothers within the context of family migration. This paper argues that co-resident migrant mothers’ experiences provide an important window on the complexities of the migration experience. Using a specific case study of Ireland, and drawing from a broader longitudinal research project that focuses on recent migrants, the paper explores migrant mothers’ understandings and experiences of belonging and not- belonging. We argue that structural obstacles and cultural understanding of care actively conspire to undermine migrant mothers’ potential to develop place- belongingness. Interviewees’ discussions of their status as full-time mothers were often framed through images of ideal motherhood, but equally highlighted how the absence of affordable childcare and family members isolates them and prevents them from creating a sense of belonging outside of the process of mothering and the home

Migrants and healthcare: investigating patient mobility among migrants in Ireland

Drawing on detailed interviews with 60 recent migrants to Ireland, we discuss the extent and nature of patient mobility. The paper is framed by the typology of patient mobility outlined by Glinos et al (2010), which highlights patient motivation and funding. We pay particular attention to four key areas: availability of health care for migrants living in Ireland; affordability of care as a push factor for patient mobility; how migrants’ perceptions of care affect their decision about where to avail of care; and the impact of familiarity on patient mobility. We provide empirical support for this typology. However, our research also highlights the fact that two factors – availability and familiarity – require further elaboration. Our research demonstrates the need for greater levels of awareness of culture specificity on the part of both migrants and healthcare providers. It also highlights the need to investigate the social and spatial activities of migrants seeking health care, both within and beyond national boundaries

Earlier Caribbean English and Creole in Writing

In research on Creoles, historical written texts have in recent decades been fruitfully employed to shed light on the diachronic development of these languages and the nature of Creole genesis. They have so far been much less frequently used to derive social information about these communities and to improve our understanding of the sociolinguistics and stylistic structure of these languages. This paper surveys linguistic research on early written texts in the anglophone Caribbean and takes a critical look at the theories and methods employed to study these texts. It emphases the sociolinguistic value of the texts and provides some exemplary analyses of early Creole documents

Prädiktive Faktoren von Gewichtsveränderungen nach einer Tabakentwöhnung

Einleitung: Tabakentwöhnung geht in vielen Fällen mit einer Gewichtszunahme einher. Eine solche Gewichtszunahme ist ein Prädiktor für einen Rückfall. Die Sorge an Gewicht zuzunehmen kann zudem ein Grund dafür sein, gar nicht erst mit einer Tabakentwöhnung zu beginnen. Forschungsbedarf besteht bezüglich der Einflussfaktoren auf die langfristige Gewichtsentwicklung. Fragestellung: In einer Studie mit dem Titel „Therapiestudie zur vergleichenden Wirksamkeit eines kognitiv-verhaltenstherapeutischen und eines hypnotherapeutischen Tabakentwöhnungsprogramms“ (Studienleiter: Prof. Dr. A. Batra, Universitätsklinikum Tübingen) wurden ein verhaltenstherapeutisches und ein hypnotherapeutisches Tabakentwöhnungsprogramm hinsichtlich der langfristigen Rauchabstinenz in einer bizentrischen, prospektiven, kontrollierten und randomisierten Studie miteinander verglichen. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es herauszufinden, welche soziodemographischen, rauchanamnestischen und therapeutischen Faktoren einen Einfluss auf Gewichtsveränderungen von Personen haben, die gerade eine professionell unterstützte Tabakentwöhnung durchlaufen oder bei denen bereits eine solche erfolgt ist. Methoden: Prüfzentren waren die Universitätsklinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie Tübingen und die Universität Hamburg, Arbeitsgruppe Gesundheitspsychologie und Rehabilitation. An der Studie nahmen N= 360 Personen (je n=180 pro Versuchsarm) teil. Der Einfluss verschiedener Variablen auf die Gewichtsveränderungen der Probanden wurde anlässlich der 1-Monats und die 12-Monats-Katamnese ausgewertet. Neben einfachen t-Tests und Korrelationen wurden zwei Regressionsanalysen zur Identifizierung von Prädiktoren der Gewichtsveränderungen gerechnet. Das Signifikanzniveau wurde mit p=0.05 festgelegt. Ergebnisse: Die Untersuchung zeigte eine mediane Gewichtszunahme der Probanden von 2,3 kg nach 1 Monat und 5,4 kg nach 12 Monaten (42,6 % der Gesamtgewichtszunahme fand im ersten Monat nach Beendigung der Tabakentwöhnungstherapie statt). Bei der 1-Monats-Katamnese wurde eine signifikant erhöhte Gewichtszunahme bei den älteren Personen um durchschnittlich 0,93 kg (p = 0,035) erzielt. Trotz fehlender Signifikanzen scheinen zur 1-Monats-Katamnese ein höherer FTND-Wert (p = 0,309) und ein höherer Zigarettenkonsum (p = 0,286) mit einer vermehrten Gewichtszunahme zu korrelieren. Ein höherer Schulabschluss (p = 0,169) scheint eine geringere Gewichtszunahme als Folge zu haben. Zum Zeitpunkt der 12-Monats-Katamnese zeigen ein höherer Schulabschluss (p = 0,666) und ein höherer Zigarettenkonsum (p = 0,504) eine geringere, ein höherer FTND-Wert (p = 0,199) eine vermehrte Gewichtszunahme. Das Hypnotherapieprogramm geht im Vergleich zu dem verhaltenstherapeutischen Programm zu beiden Messzeitpunkten mit einer vermehrten Gewichtszunahme einher (KAT 1: p = 0,218 und KAT 12: p = 0,623). Diskussion: Die vorliegende Studie zeigt, dass nach einer Tabakentwöhnung eine Gewichtszunahme wahrscheinlich ist. Zusätzlich konnte bestimmten Variablen ein unterschiedlicher prädiktiver Wert hinsichtlich der Gewichtsveränderung zugeschrieben werden. Solche prädiktiven Faktoren sollten in weiteren Studien genauer untersucht werden, um in Zukunft eine individuellere Therapie zu ermöglichen und Risikogruppen gezielt auf Möglichkeiten zur Prävention hinweisen zu können

Putting Matawai on the Surinamese Linguistic Map

The creoles of Suriname have figured prominently in research on creole languages. However, one variety, Matawai, has to date remained completely unresearched. This paper attempts to address this lacuna. It discusses its history and selected areas of grammar in order to assess the place of Matawai among its sister languages and its development. The linguistic analysis draws on recordings from 2013 and the 1970s. The paper provides evidence to support the view that Matawai is most closely related to Saamaka. However, there are also features that are unique to Matawai and those that appear to be due to either patterns of language contact with the other creoles of Suriname or common inheritance. The paper argues that systematic corpus-based analysis of lesser-used varieties provides new insights into existing debates.University College DublinSeDyLOS

Getting On: From Migration to Integration - Chinese, Indian, Lithuanian and Nigerian Migrants' Experiences in Ireland

Until very recently, debate about immigration policies in Ireland has focussed on questions of who, how many and what kinds of migrants can come. In Ireland, we are now seeing a shift in the discussion to concerns about how people can ‘integrate’ into an increasingly diverse Irish society. We are beginning to consider what our integration policies and framework should focus on. We are starting to realise that, when immigrants settle in a country, they have to find opportunities to ‘belong’ and participate in that country. We realise that this is as true in the practical sense (for example, in relation to employment) as in the social, political, and cultural sense. The Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI) has been working directly with migrants in accessing their social and legal rights since our inception. Through our work, we see the barriers that migrants face in relation to economic, social, political and cultural integration in Ireland. We see on a daily basis how our immigration system can assist or prevent a migrant’s capacity to integrate or participate in Irish society at varying levels. Last year, 10,000 migrants sought information and support from the ICI. They shared experiences of problems and challenges, arising through navigating Ireland’s immigration system. Their experiences show how access to secure residency, access to family life, adequate healthcare, housing, education and employment are so often linked to one’s immigration status. Their stories demonstrate how all of these factors can act as barriers or facilitators of integration. The Irish Government is presently developing an ‘integration strategy’ for immigrants. It is in this context that the ICI wanted to further explore issues that arise through our services and work in supporting migrant communities. The ICI commissioned this study to further document the immigration and integration experiences of four nationalities, working with members of the Chinese, Indian, Lithuanian and Nigerian communities. We wanted to explore how the immigration experience of the research participants influenced their integration experience. We wanted to look at key indicators for measuring integration internationally and how these could be adapted to the Irish context. We wanted to investigate how these proposed indicators could be measured against the experiences of these key migrant communities living and contributing to Irish society. In this report, Chinese, Indian, Lithuanian and Nigerian nationals tell their migration stories. We see clearly how their migration experiences and outcomes influence their integration experiences in Irish society. Whilst the stories are different, there are common threads throughout, highlighting key considerations for us in this work in the future. For all of us, the test of the success of Ireland’s developing migration system and integration framework will be our cohesiveness as a society, with opportunity for full participation and equal outcomes for all its members. This is the right moment for Ireland to develop comprehensive integration policies and procedures to ensure that the positive migration experience is sustained. Although as a society we are new to the migration experience, we can benefit from promising practices in countries with a history of migration. To be successful in our integration policies, we must ensure that we take a holistic approach and consider the impact of related immigration and social policies. The ICI would like to thank the Migration and Citizenship Research Initiative’s researchers, the postgraduate researchers, and the community researchers for their work, and the participants who shared their experiences. In conclusion, we invite the Minister for Integration and the Office of the Minister for Integration to consider the findings and recommendations as they develop an integration framework for Ireland

Functions and uses of now in the speech of newcomers to Ireland

The last roughly twenty years have seen a steady rise in research on varieties of English as spoken in Ireland. One line of research that has been particularly fruitful is the corpus-based investigation of pragmatic aspects of varieties of Irish English. While early work in this area dealt with hedging phenomena, more recent research has explored a range of issues such as politeness strategies and relational work in different interactional contexts, the uses, meanings and functions of silence and mitigation, vocatives, different types of questions and discourse markers