The Future of Business Discourse Teaching

This chapter will:; ; ; Explore ways in which new media and digital technologies are shaping business communication and highlight the importance of digital communicative competence for learners and teachers;; ; ; Discuss ways in which the digital workplace can be brought into the business discourse classroom;; ; ; Discuss the role of Business English and other business languages in international business and what this means for business discourse teaching;; ; ; Consider how the multicultural workplace can inform business discourse teaching;; ; ; Provide a case study that illustrates some of the above developments, together with a set of tasks appropriate for the business discourse classroom, and a set of further readings

Research Methodologies and Business Discourse Teaching

This chapter will:; ; ; Define English for specific purposes and indicate the specific ways in which it has been influential on business discourse teaching;; ; ; Discuss the most relevant approaches to genre analysis that have been used in business discourse teaching;; ; ; Explore the most relevant approaches to critical discourse analysis and organizational rhetoric for business discourse teaching;; ; ; Identify the most relevant aspects of multimodal discourse analysis for business discourse teaching;; ; ; Provide a case study that illustrates the use of one approach to business discourse teaching, showing how practitioners can incorporate it into their classroom- or consultancy-based ideas

Impact of Aetiological Treatment on Conventional and Multiplex Serology in Chronic Chagas Disease

The main criterion for treatment effectiveness in Chagas Disease has been the seronegative conversion of previously reactive serology, generally achieved many years post-treatment. The lack of reliable tests to ensure parasite clearance and to examine the effect of treatment is the main difficulty in evaluating treatment for chronic Chagas disease. Decreases of conventional and non-conventional serological titers can be useful tools to monitor the early impact of treatment. We serially measured changes in antibody levels, including seronegative conversion as well as declines in titers in 53 benznidazole-treated and 89 untreated chronically T. cruzi-infected subjects. Seronegative conversion as well as decreases of titers was significantly higher in treated compared with untreated patients. A strong concordance was found between decreases of titers of conventional and non-conventional serologic tests post-treatment, reaffirming the findings. When seronegative conversion plus decreases of titers were considered altogether, the impact of treatment was higher, in a shorter follow-up period than previously considered. New tools for monitoring the effectiveness of treatment of chronic Chagas disease are necessary, and the results showed in this study is a contribution to researchers and physicians who assist patients suffering from this disease

Sucrose in the concentrated solution or the supercooled “state” : a review of caramelisation reactions and physical behaviour

Sucrose is probably one of the most studied molecules by food scientists, since it plays an important role as an ingredient or preserving agent in many formulations and technological processes. When sucrose is present in a product with a concentration near or greater than the saturation point—i.e. in the supercooled state—it possesses high potentialities for the food industry in areas as different as pastry industry, dairy and frozen desserts or films and coatings production. This paper presents a review on critical issues and research on highly concentrated sucrose solutions—mainly, on sucrose thermal degradation and relaxation behaviour in such solutions. The reviewed works allow identifying several issues with great potential for contributing to significant advances in Food Science and Technology.Authors are grateful for the valuable discussions with Teresa S. Brandao and Rosiane Lopes da Cunha during this research. Author M. A. C. Quintas acknowledges the financial support of her research by FCT grant SFRH/BPD/41715/2007

How non-native English-speaking staff are evaluated in linguistically diverse organizations: A sociolinguistic perspective

The aim of this paper is to examine the effects of evaluations of non-native speaking staff?s spoken English in international business settings. We adopt a sociolinguistic perspective on power and inequalities in linguistically diverse organizations in an Anglophone environment. The interpretive qualitative study draws on 54 interviews with non-native English-speaking staff in 19 UK business schools. We analyze, along the dimensions of status, solidarity and dynamism, the ways in which non-native speakers, on the basis of their spoken English, are evaluated by themselves and by listeners. We show how such evaluations refer to issues beyond the speaker?s linguistic fluency, and have consequences for her or his actions. The study contributes to the literature on language and power in international business through offering fine-grained insights into and elucidating how the interconnected evaluative processes impact the formation and perpetuation of organizational power relations and inequalities. It also puts forward implications for managing the officially monolingual, yet linguistically diverse organizations

Sexual transmission of American trypanosomiasis in humans : a new potential pandemic route for Chagas parasites

Background: the Trypanosoma cruzi infection endemic in Latin America has now spread to several countries across four continents; this endemic involves triatomine vector-free protists. We hypothesised that the sexual transmission of T. cruzi contributes to the ongoing spread of Chagas disease. Objectives: a short-term longitudinal study was conducted to evaluate this hypothesis. Methods: the study population comprised 109 subjects from four families, among whom 21 had been diagnosed with acute Chagas disease by direct parasitological analysis. Blood mononuclear cells and serum samples were obtained from each study subject once per year for three consecutive years. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and indirect immunofluorescence serological examinations were used to detect specific T. cruzi antibodies. Polymerase chain reaction of T. cruzi DNA revealed 188-nucleotide bands, which hybridised to a specific radiolabelled probe and were confirmed by cloning and sequencing. Results: three independent assessments at different time points revealed T. cruzi nuclear DNA footprints in 76% (83/109) of the study population with active infection. In contrast, the ELISA and indirect immunofluorescence assays detected the T. cruzi antibody in 28.4% (31/109) of the study samples. Moreover, the semen from 82.6% (19/23) of subjects people revealed harboured the 188- bp base pair T. cruzi footprint. Interestingly, the ejaculates of nuclear DNA-positive Chagas patient transmitted the T. cruzi upon peritoneal injection or infusion in the vagina of mice, and amastigotes were detected in the skeletal muscle, myocardium, vas deferens, and uterine tube. Main conclusions: T. cruzi infections can be transmitted from females or males to naïve mates through intercourse, and progeny showed discrepancies between the ratios of nuclear DNA footprints and specific antibody that can be explained by the tolerance attained during early embryo growth. Additional studies are needed to develop drugs to eradicate the infections. Additionally, the importance of a vigorous education, information, and communication program to prevent sexually transmitted Chagas disease in humans cannot be underemphasised

Discourse, knowledge creation and communities : a view from Italy

This paper focuses on the role of discourse in efforts to enhance knowledge creation and knowledge sharing in selected organizational contexts that bring together members of different professional communities. It first examines the role of discourse and communication in Eni's knowledge management programs. The energy company based in Italy has developed special programs in the field of knowledge management, in particular by setting up \u201cPractice Communities\u201d with the goal of making tacit knowledge explicit. The paper analyses the discursive strategies and practices used in a set of documents and resources available on the corporate website in English and in Italian to represent knowledge and the company\u2019s knowledge-related initiatives. It also draws on supplementary data in the form of semi-structured interviews with individuals involved in Eni\u2019s knowledge management programs and the Eni Corporate University, which covers what the company refers to as the whole \u201cknowledge cycle\u201d, from planning the requirements of critical skills to the construction of integrated academic curricula in cooperation with universities in Italy, up to the selection of new talents and their training during their professional lives. A qualitative approach is used, with methods drawn from discourse analysis and pragmatics. The second part of the paper is dedicated to organizations and associations of producers of wines and foods based in Lombardy, Italy. It draws on the author\u2019s collaboration with several associations and her ongoing research in the agro-food industry. Regional associations of wine producers and the individual businesses they represent are currently facing the challenges of innovation and knowledge sharing. Internationalization has taken on importance: local and regional governments and agencies are also participating in this process, as are other local firms. In this scenario, boundaries between various types of organizations are becoming more blurred in promoting events, research, and other initiatives. At times, companies need to compete as well as collaborate, since producing and promoting their products also calls for enhancing quality at a regional level and promoting local elements strategically. To investigate issues of expertise and knowledge sharing, the paper draws on interviews with professionals involved in regional associations of wine producers and producers of local foods and wines. The paper also analyzes the strategies and discursive practices used in media reports and promotional materials to represent different aspects of local products. It gives attention to representations of innovation, expertise and internationalization as well as local culture, traditions and the natural environment. A qualitative approach is used, with methods drawn from discourse analysis and pragmatics, focusing in particular on evaluative language, personal pronouns, and participation framework

Communicating Within and Across Professional Worlds in an Intercultural Setting

This paper investigates spoken interactions mainly in English during a specific event involving participants from different linguistic, cultural and professional backgrounds. The event, a winery visit, was organized within a wider three-day international convention on the Nebbiolo grape, which took place in northern Italy in early 2004 and brought together wine producers from Italy, the U.S., Australia, South Africa and Switzerland. Other participants included vineyard owners, journalists, researchers, experts on viticulture and wine from around the world, and members of the local community. Data for the present paper consist of audio recordings of one of the winery visits organized as part of the convention. During the visit, interactants from Italy, the U.S. and Croatia used English and some Italian. The interactants from Italy and the U.S. were wine producers, while those from Croatia consisted of three journalists and a wine producer with an interpreter. The analysis focuses on the use of evaluation (Thompson / Hunston, 2000) and specialised lexis concerning grape growing, wine making and wines, with attention given to knowledge already shared by interactants and the linguistic means with which they build shared knowledge and common ground. Attention is also given to switches between English and Italian and the use of Italian terms during discussions in English