Casimir effect for the sphere revisited

In a recent work Brevik \emph{et al.} have offered formal proofs of two results which figure prominently in calculations of the Casimir pressure on a sphere. It is shown by means of simple counterexamples that each of those proofs is necessarily incorrect.Comment: 4 pages, no figures, to be published in Physics Letters

Ascertaining The Growth Of A Company A System Dynamics Approach

Business is often about creating change for other businesses. At times, these changes affect only the company and at other times they affect the entire industry. There is a time in the life of a business when its fundamental way of functioning is questioned and is subjected to change. That change can mean an opportunity to rise to new heights, or it might even signal the beginning of the end. This fundamental change in any business is known as an inflection point. Understanding the nature of its inflection point and responding to that point suitably will help to safeguard a company\u27s growth. So today\u27s managers, when faced with such changes, have to be equipped with the adequate tools to guide the company out of troubles and to place it in a position where it can prosper. The fundamental changes can be scrutinized by studying the internal dynamic behavior of the system. Therefore, the managers are required to be systems thinkers so that they can study the internal dynamic behavior of the company and maneuver the inflection point successfully. System dynamics is an effective tool, which helps the managers to understand the structure and internal dynamic behaviors of a large and complex system. System dynamics models are developed to assist the management to navigate its way through the inflection point. This thesis focuses on how system dynamics model-analysis and model based policy development process can help a company to overcome an inflection point. Further enhancements and calibrations can be done to the model to provide industry specific solutions

A survey of factors contributing to language change in English, with special reference to lexical change

The purpose of this paper is to create awareness among language users of the need to be current with our knowledge of lexis. Older and contemporary dictionaries as well as popular reading materials were used to investigate lexical change.It was found that certain lexical items had acquired additional meaning. Some were gradually being replaced by others. There was variation between varieties of English. Some were becoming old-fashioned in the modern context. Words which were considered formal are also being used casually. Certain vocabulary items were unpredictable in meaning. It was also found that there were many euphemistic, non-sexist and new coinages

Awareness of contemporary lexical change for professional competence in English language education.

Influential languages such as English reinvent themselves and prosper. The ongoing developments taking place in such dynamic languages make it imperative for language users to be up-to-date and be familiar with the changes affecting the language they are professionally involved with, more so those involved with its instruction. Languge change, especially lexical change, may be observed from various sources

The contribution of languages of Muslim-majority speakers to English vocabulary

The English language owes a debt of gratitude to numerous languages, those with whom the British colonizers came into contact through colonization and trade, and also with those whose languages are spoken by a large number of people. Examples of the former are Bengali, Hindi, Hausa, Malay and Urdu. The examples of the latter are Arabic, Mandarin, Persian and Turkish. When we think of the Muslim contribution to the vocabulary of English, it is mostly Arabic, Persian and Turkish that comes to one‟s mind. Not much is known about the lexical items from Swahili, Fulani, Wolof and Tatar, for instance. This study is an attempt to discover the various vocabulary items from languages of Muslim-majority speakers that have found their way into the international lingua franca and thus used internationally and regionally. Their use is authenticated through influential dictionaries and online content. A sizeable number of such words have indeed become part of English and are used in the print and electronic media. These words, though from the sources of Muslim-majority languages are used by both speakers who use English as their primary and secondary language. These words fill a lexical gap experienced in the English language which has only become richer, not poorer, by lexical borrowing of the languages in question

The language of Islamophobia in internet articles

Islamophobia, the hatred for and fear of Islam and Muslims, manifests itself physically, politically, culturally and linguistically, besides in other forms. From the linguistic perspective, many words have been coined to perpetuate prejudices against Muslims and Islam. Islam and Muslims are often found in collocational use in the most derogatory and irresponsible way. Islamophobic terms from the internet have been identified for a rational and objective discussion to combat Islamophobic discourse

Survival of the minority Kristang language in Malaysia

Kristang, also known as Malaccan Portuguese Creole, is spoken by a microscopic minority of Catholic Christians who are descendants of Portuguese colonizers and Asian settlers in Malacca, a famed port which was coveted by major European powers. Because the very small size of the Kristang community, the language is struggling to survive.Its lexifier is mostly Portuguese as it was used then,with some Malay vocabulary. The minority language may yet be maintained, thanks to the perseverance of the remaining members and the Government which recognizes their distinct identity