Navigating the London-French Transnational Space: The Losses and Gains of Language as Embodied and Embedded Symbolic Capital

In this article, an interdisciplinary lens is applied to French migrants’ reflections on their everyday language practices, investigating how embodied and embedded language, such as accent and London-French translanguaging, serve as both in-group and out-group symbolic markers in different transnational spaces. Key sociological concepts developed by Pierre Bourdieu are deployed, including field, habitus, hysteresis and symbolic capital, to assess the varying symbolic conversion rates of the migrants’ languaging practices across transnational spaces. A mixed-methodological and analytical approach is taken, combining narratives from ethnographic interviews and autobiography. Based on the data gathered, the article posits that the French accent is an embodied symbolic marker, experienced as an internalised dialectic: a barrier to inclusion/belonging in London and an escape from the symbolic weight of the originary accent in France. Subsequently, it argues that the migrants’ translanguaging functions as a spontaneous insider vernacular conducive to community identity construction in the postmigration space, but (mis)interpreted as an exclusionary articulation of symbolic distinction in the premigration context. Finally, the article asks whether participants’ linguistic repertoires, self-identifications and spatialities go beyond the notion of the ‘cleft habitus’, or even hybridity, to a post-structural, translanguaging third space that transcends borders

The Material Dynamics of a London-French Blog: A Multimodal Reading of Migrant Habitus

Through a fine-grained reading of a London-French blog, this article aims to shed light on the lived experience of the French community in London. The ethnosemiotic conceptual framework brings together ethnographic and semiotic schools of thought, focusing in particular on Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of habitus and Gunther Kress’s multimodal social semiotic analytical model. Habitus is broken down into its material manifestations of habitat, habit and habituation, all displayed in the blog and revealing of the blogger’s identity and positioning within the migration setting. As all modes are considered to be of equal semiotic potential, equivalent emphasis is placed on the multiple modes of meaning-making present in the blog, such as layout, colour, typography and language. By examining the dynamic relationships between blogger and audience, subjectivity and objectivity, on-line and on-land habitus, and intermodal dynamics themselves, through the prism of multimodality, hidden facets of the blogger’s cultural identity and sense of community belonging within the diasporic context begin to materialise

The French in London on-land and on-line: an ethnosemiotic analysis

This thesis challenges traditional international migration studies which focus on macro-level drivers or the end-point of the migration trajectory, and instead investigates the subtle forces within the “third-space” (Ingram & Abrahams, 2016:140, citing Bhabha, 1994), which here encompasses both the physical and virtual transnational environments inhabited by the French community in London. By combining innovative digital methods with ethnographically oriented data collection techniques, such as immersion, in-depth interviews and focus groups, the thesis reveals the inherently “messy” sociocultural complexities of being an EU migrant in London at the beginning of the 21st century. Taking Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of habitus (1972 [2000]; 1994; 1996; 2005) as its principal theoretical underpinning and drawing on his ethnographic and sociological works, the study scrutinises the narratives of a diverse group of French Londoners between 2010 and 2015. The overarching research question posed is how, holistically, participants experience France-London mobility, and spans three main areas: 1) France, or the originary social field; 2) the London home/habitus; and 3) the on-line French “diasberspace”. Beginning with the first of these, the thesis seeks to ascertain, through Bourdieu’s notion of symbolic violence (1993; Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1992), which social forces lie hidden beneath the veneer of reasoned migration decision-making and serve as tacit, yet potent, mobility drivers. Secondly, based on the hypothesis that habitus overlaps with the definition of “home” in English, the thesis asks how home is (re)constructed by the London-French research participants within the diasporic field. By sub-dividing the conception into its component parts of habitat (spatial mapping and material culture), habits (quotidian practices) and habituation (unsuspecting attitudinal change), questions pertaining to how, where and the extent to which participants identify with London as “home”, or conversely remain embedded in the “homeland”, are addressed. In addition, the thesis investigates the reasons behind the privileged position occupied by the French community in the London social space. It therefore draws connections between past and present forms and functionalities of symbolic/cultural capital (Bourdieu, (1979a, 1980b), together with linguistic capital/habitus (Bourdieu, 1982 [2001]), examining the differing symbolic value of embodied and articulated language in France and London. Finally, recognising that migration today involves less acute separation from the homeland than in previous generations due to the virtual proximity afforded by the Internet, this third part of the thesis assesses how home, belonging, identity, positioning and symbolic violence are depicted in the on-line “diasberspace”. In order to provide a stable analytical platform conducive to iterative consultation, the author has curated a Special Collection of community Web resources in the UK Web Archive, laying the foundations for a theory of selective thematic Web archiving. An innovative “ethnosemiotic” paradigm, combining Bourdieu’s ethnographic principles and the multimodal social semiotic approach advocated by Gunther Kress (2010), is thus given practical application. Furthermore, the ensuing fine-grained reading of the London-French digital objects serves as a convincing on-line/on-land triangulation mechanism for the doctoral research project as a whole, and contributes to the rich, multi-layered analysis of London’s contemporary French population

New Directions in Digital Modern Languages: Introduction

In this article, the editors introduce the Digital Modern Languages Special Collection that results from an open call that sought out new and emerging research at the intersection of Modern Languages and digital culture, media and technologies. They explain the intentionally wide-ranging and transdisciplinary scope of the Collection, which reflects an openness to the many ways Digital Modern Languages research is practised. The Collection also includes research on a wide range of geographical and linguistic contexts, reflecting wider calls to move beyond the limited range of languages traditionally associated with “Modern Languages”. Through this combined transdisciplinary and cross-languages focus, the Collection seeks to contribute to the broader strategic identity transformation of the wider field

Invest to Save: Report and Recommendations of the NSF-DELOS Working Group on Digital Archiving and Preservation

Digital archiving and preservation are important areas for research and development, but there is no agreed upon set of priorities or coherent plan for research in this area. Research projects in this area tend to be small and driven by particular institutional problems or concerns. As a consequence, proposed solutions from experimental projects and prototypes tend not to scale to millions of digital objects, nor do the results from disparate projects readily build on each other. It is also unclear whether it is worthwhile to seek general solutions or whether different strategies are needed for different types of digital objects and collections. The lack of coordination in both research and development means that there are some areas where researchers are reinventing the wheel while other areas are neglected. Digital archiving and preservation is an area that will benefit from an exercise in analysis, priority setting, and planning for future research. The WG aims to survey current research activities, identify gaps, and develop a white paper proposing future research directions in the area of digital preservation. Some of the potential areas for research include repository architectures and inter-operability among digital archives; automated tools for capture, ingest, and normalization of digital objects; and harmonization of preservation formats and metadata. There can also be opportunities for development of commercial products in the areas of mass storage systems, repositories and repository management systems, and data management software and tools.

Charge Transfer and Tunable Ambipolar Effect Induced by Assembly of Cu (II) Binuclear Complexes on Carbon Nanotube Field Effect Transistor Devices

International audienceAssembly of paramagnetic Cu2 complexes with a Schiff base scaffold possessing extended electron delocalization together with a quasi-planar structure onto carbon nanotubes induces a diameter-selective charge transfer from the complex to the nanotubes leading to an interestingly large and tunable ambipolar effect. We used complementary techniques such as electron paramagnetic resonance, absorption spectroscopy, and photoluminescence to ensure the success of the assembly process and the integrity of the complex in the nanohybrid. We carried out density functional theory type calculations to rationalize the experimental results,evidencing the selective enhanced interaction of the metal complexes with one type of nanotube

Xq27 FRAXA locus is a strong candidate for dyslexia: evidence from a genome-wide scan in French families.

Dyslexia is a frequent neurodevelopmental learning disorder. To date, nine susceptibility loci have been identified, one of them being DYX9, located in Xq27. We performed the first French SNP linkage study followed by candidate gene investigation in dyslexia by studying 12 multiplex families (58 subjects) with at least two children affected, according to categorical restrictive criteria for phenotype definition. Significant results emerged on Xq27.3 within DYX9. The maximum multipoint LOD score reached 3,884 between rs12558359 and rs454992. Within this region, seven candidate genes were investigated for mutations in exonic sequences (CXORF1, CXORF51, SLITRK2, FMR1, FMR2, ASFMR1, FMR1NB), all having a role during brain development. We further looked for 50 UTR trinucleotide repeats in FMR1 and FMR2 genes. No mutation or polymorphism co-segregating with dyslexia was found. This finding in French families with Dyslexia showed significant linkage on Xq27.3 enclosing FRAXA, and consequently confirmed the DYX9 region as a robust susceptibility locus. We reduced the previously described interval from 6.8 (DXS1227–DXS8091) to 4 Mb also disclosing a higher LOD score

Ethnography and Modern Languages

While rarely explicitly recognized in our disciplinary frameworks, the openness and curiosity on which Modern Languages in the UK is founded are, in many ways, ethnographic impulses. Ethnographic theories and practices can be transformative in relation to the undergraduate curriculum, providing an unparalleled model for experiential and holistic approaches to language and cultural learning. As a form of emplaced and embodied knowledge production, ethnography promotes greater reflexivity on our geographical and historical locations as researchers, and on the languages and cultures through which we engage. An ethnographic sensitivity encourages an openness to less hierarchical and hegemonic forms of knowledge, particularly when consciously seeking to invert the traditional colonial ethnographic project and envision instead more participatory and collaborative models of engagement. Modern Languages scholars are at the same time ideally placed to challenge a monolingual mindset and an insensitivity to language-related questions in existing ethnographic research located in cognate disciplines. For Modern Languages to embrace ethnography with credibility, we propose a series of recommendations to mobilize these new research and professional agendas

Tuning bilayer twist using chiral counterions

From seashells to DNA, chirality is expressed at every level of biological structures. In self-assembled structures it may emerge cooperatively from chirality at the molecular scale. Amphiphilic molecules, for example, can form a variety of aggregates and mesophases that express the chirality of their constituent molecules at a supramolecular scale of micrometres (refs 1-3), Quantitative prediction of the large-scale chirality based on that at the molecular scale remains a largely unsolved problem. Furthermore, experimental control over the expression of chirality at the supramolecular level is difficult to achieve(4-7): mixing of different enantiomers usually results in phase separation(18). Here we present an experimental and theoretical description of a system in which chirality can be varied continuously and controllably ('tuned') in micrometre-scale structures. we observe the formation of twisted ribbons consisting of bilayers of gemini surfactants (two surfactant molecules covalently linked at their charged head groups). We find that the degree of twist and the pitch of the ribbons can be tuned by the introduction of opposite-handed chiral counterions in various proportions. This degree of control might be of practical value; for example, in the use of the helical structures as templates for helical crystallization of macromolecules(8,9).Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62619/1/399566a0.pd

<i>Gaia</i> Data Release 1. Summary of the astrometric, photometric, and survey properties

Context. At about 1000 days after the launch of Gaia we present the first Gaia data release, Gaia DR1, consisting of astrometry and photometry for over 1 billion sources brighter than magnitude 20.7. Aims. A summary of Gaia DR1 is presented along with illustrations of the scientific quality of the data, followed by a discussion of the limitations due to the preliminary nature of this release. Methods. The raw data collected by Gaia during the first 14 months of the mission have been processed by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC) and turned into an astrometric and photometric catalogue. Results. Gaia DR1 consists of three components: a primary astrometric data set which contains the positions, parallaxes, and mean proper motions for about 2 million of the brightest stars in common with the HIPPARCOS and Tycho-2 catalogues – a realisation of the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS) – and a secondary astrometric data set containing the positions for an additional 1.1 billion sources. The second component is the photometric data set, consisting of mean G-band magnitudes for all sources. The G-band light curves and the characteristics of ∼3000 Cepheid and RR-Lyrae stars, observed at high cadence around the south ecliptic pole, form the third component. For the primary astrometric data set the typical uncertainty is about 0.3 mas for the positions and parallaxes, and about 1 mas yr−1 for the proper motions. A systematic component of ∼0.3 mas should be added to the parallax uncertainties. For the subset of ∼94 000 HIPPARCOS stars in the primary data set, the proper motions are much more precise at about 0.06 mas yr−1. For the secondary astrometric data set, the typical uncertainty of the positions is ∼10 mas. The median uncertainties on the mean G-band magnitudes range from the mmag level to ∼0.03 mag over the magnitude range 5 to 20.7. Conclusions. Gaia DR1 is an important milestone ahead of the next Gaia data release, which will feature five-parameter astrometry for all sources. Extensive validation shows that Gaia DR1 represents a major advance in the mapping of the heavens and the availability of basic stellar data that underpin observational astrophysics. Nevertheless, the very preliminary nature of this first Gaia data release does lead to a number of important limitations to the data quality which should be carefully considered before drawing conclusions from the data