Real and strongly real classes in PGL<i>_n(q)</i> and quasi-simple covers of PSL<i>_n(q)</i>

We classify the real and strongly real conjugacy classes in PGLn(q), PSLn(q) and all quasi-simple covers of PSLn(q). In each case we give a formula for the number of real, and the number of strongly real, conjugacy classes. This is a companion paper to [Gill and Singh, J. Group Theory, May 2011, 14:3, pp.437-459] in which we classified the real and strongly real conjugacy classes in GLn(q) and SLn(q)

In conversation with Professor Jonathan Rix

Professor ‘Jonty’ Rix holds the chair of Participation and Learning Support at the Open University. Jonty's research interests include policies, practices and language that facilitates inclusion. His work explores diverse perspectives and models that promote thinking about the aim and fundamental purpose of education which is central to his philosophy …. ‘it’s not just about changing systems’ (Rix, 2016). I had the opportunity of spending a couple of very enjoyable hours ‘in conversation’ with Professor Rix. The aim was to discuss his latest book, ‘Must Inclusion be Special?’ but our discussion quickly moved into an interesting exploration of his realistic vision for educational change which I endeavour to capture here along with offering some insights into his book

“Drugs, traffic, and many other dirty interests”: metaphor and the language learner

Research into metaphor in foreign language teaching has primarily focused on the comprehension process, with little if any attention being paid to its effect on students' spoken and written production. While the learning and storing of vocabulary has been shown to be made more effective when extended meanings are signalled by the teacher (Boers 2000; Charteris-Black 2002; Deignan et al. 1997; Holme 2004), much less can as yet be said about the ways in which language learners incorporate figurative language into their normal productive repertoire. Danesi (1994) argues that "conceptual fluency" is fundamental if students are to achieve naturalness in their language production. But linguistic fluency is not created from concepts alone: there is no guarantee that knowledge of the underlying idea will result in the reproduction of lexicogrammatical patternings that are both meaningful and acceptable to a target language audience. When learners produce metaphorical language, they overwhelmingly adhere to concepts that they find familiar. The stock phrases and dead metaphors that advanced students use when writing discursive and argumentative texts are heavily influenced by the conventional conceptualisations shared by their L1, with expressions drawing on L2-specific concepts rarely appearing. When these concepts do appear, they are often presented in ways which are unfamiliar and strange to the native ear, as in this exploitation of the idiomatic expression "to fly the nest": "In the very near future male migrant birds start looking for their new nests for leaving from their parents". Language users - both natives and learners - are often unaware of the dead metaphors contained in conventional figurative expressions. Although it is often possible to identify the metaphorical motivation of such expressions when they are observed in isolation, corpus-based analysis of their use in context suggests that the figurative meaning tends to remain inactive in everyday language use (Philip 2004). It is perhaps because of this relative unawareness of metaphor that students produce such characteristic phraseological oddities as the one contained in the title to this paper. If conceptual mapping from L1 to L2 is incomplete, or the L2 concept unfamiliar, the fluency of production will inevitably be disrupted. But the data analysed so far in this study suggests that concepts can be perfectly in place, but not expressed effectively for purely phraseological reasons, which raises the question of how concept and phraseology interact to create meanings which natives find acceptable. Which exerts the stronger force: collocation or conceptualisation? This paper will discuss the figurative language produced by a group of advanced learners of English in Italy, comparing their conceptual and phraseological fluency with general reference corpora in both Italian and English (CORIS - Corpus di Italian Scritto, University of Bologna, and the Bank of English Online - HarperCollins publishers), with a view to addressing the relationship between concept and wording

Urban-rural linkages enhancing European territorial competitiveness: background paper

This background paper provides the context for the seminar on urban-rural linkages enhancing European territorial competitiveness, to be held by DG REGIO on 17th September 2008. This seminar forms part of an ongoing debate at European level on the importance of urban-rural linkages for territorial competitiveness, and on appropriate support mechanisms to assist these developments in Member States

Not all creatives are created equal

Revelations of sexual harassment, sexism and unequal pay in film and broadcasting have called ‘time’s up’ on the myths of egalitarianism that circulate about the creative sector, argues Rosalind Gill

The government’s plans to place a levy on early student loan repayments will change little and add an unnecessary layer of complexity to the system

The government’s changes to how undergraduate education is financed means that those who earn more will pay a higher rate of interest repayments. Concerned that the most affluent will simply repay their fees early to avoid paying this higher interest, the government is considering introducing a levy on early repayments. Gill Wyness argues that this policy is unnecessary. There is very little evidence that higher earning graduates are repaying their loans early to escape interest payments, and the proposals will only add complexity and actually undermine the progressive nature of the system

On a conjecture of Degos

In this note we use a result of Kantor to prove a conjecture of Degos. Specifically we prove the following: let $\mathbb{F}$ be a finite field of order $q$ and let $f, g\in\mathbb{F}[X]$ be distinct polynomials of degree $n$ such that $f$ is primitive, and the constant term of $g$ is non-zero. Then $=\mathrm{GL}_n(q)$.Comment: 6 pages. This version includes a sketch-proof of a result of Kantor. The article will appear in Cah. Topol. G\'eom. Diff\'er. Cat\'e

Property Claims in GM and Non-GM crops

Conceptualising the ongoing conflict over GM versus non-GM crops in the frame of property rights one can see that economic valorisation dynamics and aspirations are working on both sides, within two differently evolving agri-food paradigms, with biotechnology companies propagating intellectual property rights on seeds and crops within a productivist strategy, and with retailer chains, NGOs, farmer associations claiming generic names and labels as public property rights on identity preserved crops within a consumerist strategy. The analysis shows that the direction and strength of the dynamics depends much on the physical intricacies and the social relations which are implicated in these two types of intangible property. As the development of the intangible property rights lies at the heart of postindustrial knowledge economies, the study of the GM conflict is also instructive for understanding social change in the agri-food sector and in the society more generally