The teaching of pragmatics is often neglected in foreign language classes despite the wellknown importance of pragmatic competence. No matter how well a learner masters thetarget language, errors of a pragmatic nature may lead to major communicative failure orturbulence. Both studies in language teaching and current language educational laws inSweden (following the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) pointtowards the necessity for the learner to be pragmatically proficient. Following these lines,textbooks are expected to mirror curricula and educational laws. The present study aimsto address this very issue and investigates the pragmatic content of ELT books in Swedenwith a specific focus on lower and upper secondary school (year 6, 9 and last year ofupper secondary school). The study has as its primary data set three ELT books from thesame publisher and extensively used in Swedish schools, namely Good Stuff Gold A,Good Stuff Gold D, and Blueprint C 2.0. The presence of pragmatic content isinvestigated through the method of content analysis of the textbooks focusing on threespeech acts - greetings, requests, and refusals. The first part of the study is complementedby semi-structured interviews complemented with two teachers of English in Sweden.The findings point to considerable differences in the representation of the three speechacts in the books, with regression from lower to higher levels, and the interviews with theteachers reveal that teachers' complementary activities often compensate for the lack ofpragmatic content in the books. The findings from the present study reveal shortcomingsof the selected textbooks omitting important information, something that might hinderstudents from developing communicative competence. The findings of the present studyhave the potential to inform the practices of teaching professionals in their efforts to teachpragmatic competence.

No description available.

<p>Sepsis and septic shock are life-threating conditions, which resulted from a continuum of the body’s response to overwhelming infection. Elimination of bacteria through antibiotics is not sufficient, because the host is still left with a large amount of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) that prevents the host immune system from returning to normal homeostasis. Synthetic LPS antagonists that can bind to LPS via electrostatic and/or hydrophobic interactions cause systemic toxicities. Moreover, LPS elimination alone may not address already established complications of sepsis. To address these challenges, we propose to develop nanoparticle formulations of LPS antagonists (D-TZP) that can be delivered systemically. Specifically, cholecalciferol (vitamin D) was encapsulated in a self-assembly of tannic acid/Fe³⁺ coordination complex (pTA) capsule, forming a core that could be surface-modified with LPS adsorbents, such as low molecular weight succinylated chitosan (LMZWC) and polymyxin B (PMB). D-TZP suppressed pro-inflammatory effects of LPS on the engineered human monocytes with significantly less cytotoxicity than free PMB at the equivalent dose. D-TZP increased the maximum tolerated dose of PMB by both intraperitoneal and intravenous administration. In the LPS-induced mouse model of sepsis, systemic administration of D-TZP immediately after LPS challenge neutralized the lethal effect of LPS. D-TZP also reduced the mortality of mice when given 2 h after the LPS challenge. D-TZP inhibited the mortality in the cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced bacteremia mouse model when given IV 2 h after the insult. In the CLP model, the D-TZP-treated animals also showed lower levels of both TNF-α and IL-10 cytokines as well as D-dimer levels, reflecting the attenuation of disseminated intravascular coagulation, compared to the vehicle-treated control group. Collectively, these results support that the D-TZP is a safe and effective systemic intervention of sepsis.<br></p>

<p>Workplace bullying is a major global issue which has received a lot of recognition because of its negative effects on victims’ health and work productivity. There have been many attempts to mitigate the effects of workplace bullying, leading researchers to extensively study the phenomenon in various contexts and relationships. Information on workplace bullying in the academic context, precisely relationships between academic advisors and graduate student advisees, is however, lacking. This study aimed at filling in the gap by seeking information about communicative behaviors from advisors that graduate advisees characterized as bullying, and common responses graduate advisees resorted to in the face of adversity. We also sought to understand why advisees may have responded to maltreatment in specific ways. We, therefore, proposed a working model which hypothesized a relationship between advisor negative acts, commitment levels of advisees, and advisee responses. Using Amazon’s Mechanical (MTurk) to recruit our sample, participants filled out a survey which included a few demographic questions, the revised version of the Negative Acts Questionnaire (NAQ-R) to measure advisor negative acts, the Exit-Voice-Loyalty-Neglect (EVLN) typology to measure advisee responses, and the Investment Model Scale (IMS) to measure advisee commitment levels to the work relationship with advisors. We verified the reliability and validity of the scales adopted for this study and ran some correlation and mediation analyses to answer our research questions and test our hypotheses. From our findings, we learned that most advisees reported personal insults occurring more frequently in their work relationships with advisors. Advisees also reported a high commitment to the work relationships with their advisors, despite maltreatment, and often responded by adopting the voice or neglect strategy. Findings from this exploratory study imply there is more information to be sought on workplace bullying between advisees and advisors in academic contexts.</p> <br> <p> </p>

[pt] Esse artigo argumenta como a securitização do narcotráfico influenciou o chefe do poder executivo Wilson Witzel, como ator securitizador a construir uma política pública de segurança que não engloba todos os habitantes do estado do Rio de Janeiro e por meio dos seus atos de fala pode-se identificar quem está inserido e excluído do objeto referente a ser protegido. Os efeitos da linguagem nos discursos como uma prática social serão obtidos por meio do mapeamento de significados feitos através da análise de discurso. Portanto, ao securitizar o narcotráfico, o governador estimula a letalidade da polícia fluminense, trata seus resultados como sinônimo de eficiência para os seus apoiadores e alarga a barreira entre os cidadãos da cidade, ao excluir os moradores das favelas do objeto referente e da audiência por causa das suas características físicas e ocupação geográfica. / [en] This paper argues how the securitization of drug trafficking influenced the state governor, Wilson Witzel, as a securitizing actor to build a public security policy that does not include all inhabitants of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Through his act of speech it is possible to identify who is inserted and excluded from the referent object of protection. The effects of language in speech as a social practice will be obtained by mapping meanings made through discourse analysis. Therefore, by securitizing drug trafficking, the governor encourages the lethality of the Rio de Janeiro police, treats its results as a synonym of efficiency for its supporters and widens the barrier between the citizens of the city, by excluding the residents of the favelas from the referent object and the audience for because of their physical characteristics and geographical occupation.

I denna rapport genomfördes en studie på fem folkbibliotek* i Stockholmsregionen, där bibliotekensomgivning och deras inre fysiska miljö undersöktes. Studien utfördes genom att besöka biblioteken där enbesiktning utfördes med hjälp av ett protokoll skapat utifrån teoretiska principer om situationellbrottsprevention och Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED). Syftet med studien är attbedöma om, och hur biblioteken anpassats och följer principerna för brottsförebyggande design enligt CPTED.Resultatet från protokollet analyserades med hjälp av kalkylblad och diagram i staplar och i procent. För attjämföra biblioteken samlades resultaten för de olika kategorierna i en tabell där alla kategorier adderades förvarje bibliotek. Resultaten visade att bibliotek B har flest brottsförebyggande egenskaper enligt CPTED ochatt bibliotek E har minst. Även om samtliga bibliotek följer CPTED-principerna till viss del, är denyrenoverade biblioteken mer i linje med CPTED-principerna än äldre bibliotek. Således kan en viktig slutsatsdras, vilket är att säkerhets- och situationsbrottsförebyggande perspektiv i planeringen blir en integrerad delav arkitekternas sätt att planera och rusta upp befintliga folkbibliotek. *För att undvika stigmatisering döptes de fem folkbiblioteken i Stockholmsregionen om till biblioteken A-E. / In this study, a fieldwork was carried out in five public libraries* in the Stockholm region, where the librariessurroundings and their internal physical environment were investigated. A fieldwork was executed by visitingthe libraries where an inspection was carried out using a protocol created based on theoretical principles ofsituational crime prevention and Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED). The aim of theinvestigation was to assess whether and how the environment of the libraries promotes safety conditions forvisitors. The collected data was analyzed using spreadsheets and diagrams in bars and in percentages. In orderto compare the libraries, results were tabulated for the equal categories and added together for each library.Findings showed that library B contains most of crime prevention properties according to CPTED principlesand that library E, the least. Although all five libraries follow to some extent CPTED principles, newlyrenovated ones are more aligned with CPTED principles than older libraries. Thus, an important conclusioncan be drawn is that safety and situational crime prevention perspectives in planning are becoming an integralpart of the way architects plan and refurbish existent public libraries. *To avoid stigmatization, the five public libraries in Stockholm region were renamed as libraries A-E.

[ES] El estudio presentado en esta tesis gira en torno a la implementación de proyectos de telecolaboración para la adquisición de la competencia pragmática y la competencia comunicativa intercultural (CCI) de estudiantes hispanohablantes. En particular, el objetivo es demostrar cómo estas competencias están inextricablemente relacionadas, y una no puede ser adquirida sin la otra. Por esta razón, los participantes del estudio aquí presentado fueron estudiantes de ingeniería aeroespacial, ya que es probable que participen en diálogos interculturales en sus futuras vidas profesionales. La falta de estas dos competencias podría resultar en malentendidos culturales que a su vez podrían afectar su carrera profesional. Para fomentar la competencia pragmática y la CCI de los participantes, se coordinaron tres proyectos telecolaborativos de seis semanas cada uno. El primero fue con hablantes del inglés como primera lengua (L1) o hablantes expertos de la Universidad de Bath (Reino Unido), el segundo con hablantes del inglés como L1 o hablantes expertos de la Universidad de Hawái (EE. UU.), y el tercero con hablantes del inglés como L1 de la Universidad de Morgan State (EE. UU.). Para probar la validez de la implementación de estos tres proyectos se estableció un grupo de control que no participó en ningún encuentro telecolaborativo. Los participantes de los tres intercambios interculturales participaron tanto en sesiones síncronas como asíncronas. En las primeras, los estudiantes realizaron una serie de juegos de rol centrados en el acto de habla de las disculpas, desarrolladas a través de Zoom. Por otra parte, las segundas consistieron en dos debates culturales llevados a cabo en la red social MeWe. Los estudiantes del grupo de control realizaron los juegos de rol con sus compañeros y compañeras de clase en un entorno tradicional, cara a cara, pero no participaron en ningún debate cultural. Los datos se recogieron a través de estas tareas, por medio de pre- y post-test sobre las disculpas, un cuestionario de final de proyecto, y una presentación final que prepararon los tres grupos experimentales. Se adoptó un enfoque de métodos mixtos. Los resultados demuestran que los tres grupos de estudiantes que participaron en los proyectos de telecolaboración excedieron a aquellos del grupo de control en cuanto a la adquisición de disculpas. A pesar de que los resultados pragmáticos no fueron estadísticamente significativos, los estadísticos descriptivos revelaron que los tres grupos mejoraron de pre- a post-test. En particular, el primer grupo obtuvo mejores resultados que los demás. Además, se identificaron ejemplos de desarrollo de la CCI. Los resultados también demuestran que existe una relación empírica entre los logros obtenidos en cuanto a competencia pragmática y CCI, demostrando así la fuerte unión existente entre estas dos competencias. / [CA] L'estudi presentat en aquesta tesi gira al voltant de l'aplicació de projectes telecol·laboratius i l'adquisició de la competència pragmàtica i la competència comunicativa intercultural (CCI) d'estudiants hispanoparlants. En concret, l'objectiu és demostrar com aquestes dues competències estan inextricablement relacionades, i una no pot ser adquirida sense l'altra. Per aquesta raó, els participants de l'estudi presentat ací eren estudiants d'enginyeria aeroespacial, ja que és probable que participen en diàlegs culturals en les seues futures vides professionals. La manca d'aquestes dues competències podria resultar en malentesos culturals que, alhora, podrien afectar les seues carreres professionals. Per a fomentar la competència pragmàtica i la CCI dels participants, es van coordinar tres projectes telecol·laboratius de sis setmanes cadascun. El primer va ser amb parlants d'anglès com a primera llengua o parlants experts de la Universitat de Bath (Regne Unit), el segon amb parlants d'anglès com a L1 o parlants experts de la Universitat de Hawaii (EE.UU.), i el tercer amb parlants d'anglès com a L1 de la Universitat de Morgan State (EE.UU.). Per a testar la validitat de la implementació d'aquests tres projectes, es va establir un grup de control que no va participar en cap encontre telecol·laboratiu. Els participants dels tres intercanvis interculturals van participar tant en sessions síncrones com asíncrones. En les primeres els estudiants van realitzar una sèrie de jocs de rol centrats en l'acte de parla de les disculpes, i es van desenvolupar a Zoom. D'altra banda, les segones consistien en dos debats culturals realitzats a la xarxa social MeWe. Els estudiants del grup de control van realitzar els jocs de rol amb els seus companys i les seues companyes en un entorn tradicional cara a cara, però no van participar en cap discussió cultural. Les dades es van recollir a través d'aquestes tasques, així com pre- i post-test sobre les disculpes, un qüestionari de final de final de projecte, i una presentació final que van preparar els tres grups experimentals. Es va adoptar un enfocament de mètodes mixts. Els resultats demostren que els tres grups d'estudiants que van participar en projectes de telecol·laboració van excedir els del grup de control quant a l'adquisició de disculpes. Encara que els resultats pragmàtics no siguen estadísticament significatius, els estadístics descriptius revelen que els tres grups de control van millorar de pre- a post-test. En concret, el primer grup va obtindre millor resultats que els altres. A més, es van identificar casos de desenvolupament de la CCI. Les troballes també demostren que existeix una relació empírica entre els guanys obtinguts quant a competència pragmàtica i CCI, la qual cosa demostra la forta connexió entre aquestes dues competències. / [EN] The study presented in this dissertation revolves around the application of telecollaboration projects for the acquisition of Spanish-speaking students' pragmatic competence and intercultural communicative competence (ICC). In particular, it aims to demonstrate how these two competences are inextricably interrelated, and one cannot be acquired without the other. For this reason, participants of the study presented here were aerospace engineering students since they are likely to engage in intercultural dialogue in their future professional lives. Lack of these two competencies could result in cultural misunderstandings which could, in turn, affect their professional careers. In order to foster participants' pragmatic competence and ICC, three different six-week telecollaboration projects were coordinated. The first was with first language (L1) or highly proficient English speakers from the University of Bath (UK), the second with L1 or highly proficient speakers from the University of Hawai'i (US), and the third with L1 English speakers from Morgan State University (US). In order to test the validity of the implementation of these three projects, a control group which did not take part in any telecollaborative encounter was set. Participants of the three intercultural exchanges engaged in both synchronous and asynchronous sessions. In the former students carried out a series of role-plays centred on the speech act of apologies, and were held on Zoom. On the other hand, the latter consisted of two cultural discussions conducted on the social network MeWe. Students in the control group carried out the role-plays with their classmates in a traditional face-to-face setting but did not engage in any cultural discussions. Data was gathered through these tasks, as well as pre- and post-test on apologies, a final project questionnaire, and a final presentation carried out by the three experimental groups. A mixed-methods approach was adopted. The results demonstrate that the three groups of students who participated in the telecollaboration projects outperformed those in the control group in terms of apologies acquisition. Although pragmatic results were not statistically significant, the descriptive statistics revealed that the three groups improved from pre- to post-test. In particular, the first group obtained better results than the others. Besides, instances of ICC development were identified. The findings also demonstrate that there is an empirical relationship between the gains obtained in terms of pragmatic competence and ICC, thus showing the strong connection between these two competences. / Di Sarno García, S. (2023). The Acquisition of Pragmatic and Intercultural Communicative Competences through Telecollaboration [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/198860

[ES] Esta investigación explora la naturaleza discursiva de los muros fronterizos contemporáneos, así como su vínculo con la construcción del relato de la migración contemporánea. Para ello adoptamos enfoques, conceptos y técnicas provenientes de cinco campos de estudio: la sociología, la historia, la filosofía, el arte y la sociosemiótica. Iniciamos nuestro trabajo introduciendo la noción de «fronterización», propuesta por los investigadores Henk Van Houtum y Ton Van Naerssen. Complementamos esta perspectiva con las nociones de «otredad», «raza», «vigilancia» y «globalización», propuestas por autores como Byung-Chul Han, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Zygmunt Bauman y David Lyon. Posteriormente, nos adentramos en el campo de la sociosemiótica, del cual tomamos prestada la metodología propuesta por Oscar Steimberg para realizar un análisis discursivo de cinco muros fronterizos contemporáneos que constituyen nuestros casos de estudio. Estos son: 1) Prototipos del muro entre Estados Unidos y México, 2) Muro entre Marruecos y el Sahara Occidental, 3) Muro entre Marruecos y España, 4) Muro entre Turquía y Siria, 5) La gran muralla europea: muros de los Balcanes, del Báltico y del Ártico. A través de este análisis identificamos rasgos retóricos, enunciativos y temáticos, a partir de los cuales hallamos reiteraciones discursivas que nos posibilitan identificar repertorios genérico-estilísticos que permiten comprender los discursos que prevalecen en los muros contemporáneos, así como las ideas de mundo que estos comunican. Finalmente, contrastamos estos discursos con un repertorio de temas identificados en la obra de cinco artistas contemporáneos, quienes cuestionan el posicionamiento frente al «otro» en un contexto marcado por el endurecimiento de las fronteras y el levantamiento de vallas y muros fronterizos. Estos artistas son: 1) Ai Weiwei, 2) Rubén Martín de Lucas, 3) Mona Hatoum, 4) el colectivo C.A.S.I.T.A. y 5) Francis Alÿs. / [CA] Aquesta investigació explora la naturalesa discursiva dels murs fronterers contemporanis, així com el seu vincle amb la construcció del relat de la migració contemporània. Per a això adoptem enfocaments, conceptes i tècniques provinents de cinc camps d'estudi: la sociologia, la història, la filosofia, l'art i la sociosemiòtica. Iniciem el nostre treball introduint la noció de «fronterització» proposta pels investigadors Henk Van Houtum i Ton Van Naerssen. Complementem aquesta perspectiva amb les nocions de «alteritat», «raça», «vigilància» i «globalització», propostes per autors com Byung-Chul Han, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Zygmunt Bauman i David Lyon. Posteriorment, ens endinsem en el camp de la sociosemiòtica, de la qual prenem prestada la metodologia proposada per Oscar Steimberg per a realitzar una anàlisi discursiva de cinc murs fronterers contemporanis que constitueixen els nostres casos d'estudi. Aquests són: 1) Prototips del mur entre els Estats Units i Mèxic, 2) Muro entre el Marroc i el Sàhara Occidental, 3) Muro entre el Marroc i Espanya, 4) Muro entre Turquia i Síria, 5) La gran muralla europea: murs dels Balcans, del Bàltic i de l'Àrtic. A través d'aquesta anàlisi identifiquem trets retòrics, enunciatius i temàtics, a partir dels quals trobem reiteracions discursives que ens possibiliten identificar repertoris genèric-estilístics que permeten comprendre els discursos que prevalen en els murs contemporanis, així com les idees de món que aquests comuniquen. Finalment, contrastem aquests discursos amb un repertori de temes identificats en l'obra de cinc artistes contemporanis, els qui qüestionen el posicionament enfront del «altre» en un context marcat per l'enduriment de les fronteres i l'alçament de tanques i murs fronterers. Aquests artistes són: 1) Ai Weiwei, 2) Rubén Martín de Lucas, 3) Mona Hatoum, 4) el col·lectiu C.A.S.I.T.A. i 5) Francis Alÿs. / [EN] This research explores the discursive nature of contemporary border walls and their ties to the construction of the contemporary migration narrative. To do so, we adopt approaches, concepts, and techniques drawn from five fields of study: sociology, history, philosophy, art, and socio-semiotics. We begin our work by introducing the notion of «bordering», proposed by researchers Henk Van Houtum and Ton Van Naerssen. We complement this perspective with the notions of «otherness», «race», «surveillance», and «globalization», proposed by authors such as Byung-Chul Han, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Zygmunt Bauman, and David Lyon. Subsequently, we delve into the field of socio-semiotics, from which we borrow the methodology proposed by Oscar Steimberg to conduct a discursive analysis of five contemporary border walls that constitute our case studies. These are: 1) Prototypes of the wall between the United States and Mexico, 2) The Moroccan wall in Western Sahara, 3) The wall between Morocco and Spain, 4) The wall between Turkey and Syria, 5) The great European wall: walls of the Balkans, the Baltic, and the Arctic. Through this analysis, we identify rhetorical, enunciative, and thematic features, from which we find discursive reiterations that make it possible to identify generic-stylistic repertoires allowing us to understand the discourses that prevail on contemporary walls and the ideas of the world they communicate. Finally, we contrast these discourses with a repertoire of themes identified in the work of five contemporary artists who question the positioning towards the «other» in a context characterized by the hardening of borders and the raising of fences and border walls. These artists are: 1) Ai Weiwei, 2) Rubén Martín de Lucas, 3) Mona Hatoum, 4) the collective C.A.S.I.T.A., and 5) Francis Alÿs. / Urrea Montoya, M. (2023). Muros y fronteras. Aproximaciones discursivas y artísticas al relato de la migración contemporánea [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/198899

No description available.

In dialogue with Critical perspectives in the field of Forced migration, this thesis aims to explore the spaces of „irregularity‟ regarding unaccompanied minors living non-status in the city of Malmö. With a theoretical departure in the ontological ideas of Hanna Arendt and Giorgio Agamben, the perspective of the Autonomy of Migration, and the concepts of „Acts of Citizenship‟, the thesis argues that these spaces are structured by multiple mechanisms of control, such as deportability, racism, poverty and precarity. In addition, the thesis investigates how these structures of control are contested by the minors. As the „irregular‟ subject in its presence challenges the Nation-state „order‟, the study argues that all her or his acts must be interpreted as confrontations. Hence the study aims to highlight the claims of rights and freedoms performed, not only by the minors themselves but also by the social networks surrounding them. The research is built upon fieldwork with non-status minors, asylum rights activists and semi-grass root actors in the spring of 2011 in the city of Malmö. Influenced by Methodological and Epistemological perspectives of Critical Ethnography and Action Research, the thesis also contains a normative requisite to deconstruct and question hegemonies and marginalizing structures.