Design of ISD-1: an instrument for social diagnosis in care homes for older persons*

This article describes the design process and main features of an instrument developed for use in the specialist area of intervention in care homes for older persons. The essential aim of ISD-1 (instrument for social diagnosis) is to permit the correct formulation of social diagnoses and to standardise and define the professional language used by social workers. Its content has been organised into 4 dimensions of social diagnosis, divided into 15 sub-dimensions containing 83 diagnostic categories. This work was performed in Spain, in the 24 care homes of the Madrid Social Care Agency of the Community of Madrid, involving the participation of the 40 social workers practising in these centres. ISD-1 is an easily understood and used tool, of potential use for social workers practising in care homes for older persons and capable of being adapted for use in other institutional environments, as well as being capable of adaptation and translation for its application in other countries.     

What makes a Gael? Identity,language and ancestry in the Scottish Gàidhealtachd

Scholars know far less about ‘national identity’ than ‘nations’ and ‘nationalism’. The authors argue that the concept is sociologically important and briefly discuss its relationship with language. They examine empirically how people living in the Gàidhealtachd, the area of Scotland associated with Gaelic language and culture, whether they are Gaelic speakers or not, whether incomers or not, go about their territorial identity business. The article shows how respondents’ Gaelic identity relates to their British and Scottish identity; how people living in the Gàidhealtachd assess putative claims to a Gaelic identity based variously on language, residence and ancestry; and how they see the balance between ‘cultural’ and ‘political’ elements in Gaelic. The authors argue that to study ‘what makes a Gael?’ highlights the key role territorial identity plays in connecting social structure to social action, and also that identity provides a set of meanings and understandings through which people experience social structure and feel empowered to act.     

立法语言的语体(下)

立法语言是准确表达立法意图、立法目的和体现立法政策的一种专门载体,比一般的语言文字严谨、规范、简洁、通俗、明确。法律文本大到行文成篇,小至遣词用字,都应当予以足够的重视,要求既符合作为法律行业特殊语体的习惯和规则,也要符合国家通用语言文字(普通话)的语法、语义要求。根据我国立法文本的用字和用词、立法语言的口语以及立法语言的外来词等方面的统计、分析和研究,我们发现立法语言具有通用语言文字和特殊行业语言的双重特点,自然也要接受、符合通用语言文字和法律行业语言的双重规范。     

《十八大报告》中模糊语言的翻译

由于语言自身的特点和语境的需要，政治文本中有大量的模糊表达法。如何翻译这些表达法，对于提高译本的可接受性及准确传达说话人的意思、实现交际目的，具有重要意义。本文将模糊语言分为模糊句子、模糊限制语、模糊词语三种类型，分析中央编译局提供的《十八大报告》英文译本，发现每一种类型的模糊语都有多种译法，但总体原则是让译文符合译入语习惯和实现说话人的交际意图。     

歧义容忍度对外语语言水平和外语阅读成绩的影响

为探讨歧义容忍度对外语语言水平和外语阅读成绩的影响,对高、低歧义容忍度组在外语语言水平和外语阅读成绩上的差异进行了比较。结果表明：歧义容忍度直接影响外语语言水平和外语阅读成绩,还通过外语语言水平间接影响外语阅读成绩;高、低歧义容忍度纽的学生在外语语言水平和外语阅读成绩上均有显著性差异。     

Assessment of study abroad outcomes in Chinese as a second language: gains in cross-cultural adaptability,language contact and proficiency

Participants were 109 American college students studying Chinese in a study-abroad programme in Beijing. Following Kelley and Meyer, intercultural competence was defined as cross-cultural adaptability involving four dimensions (emotional resilience, flexibility/openness, perceptual acuity and personal autonomy) and was measured with a survey. A language contact questionnaire was used to document the amount of time spent on social activities. Language proficiency was measured with a standardised Chinese test. Results revealed that intercultural competence and language contact combined explained 37.7% of the proficiency gains. Language contact had direct effects on proficiency, but intercultural competence had indirect effects, mediated by language contact.     

Attachment Disturbances Delay Language Acquisition in Internationally Adopted Children

Cross-sectional research on internationally adopted children has indicated an association between early attachment disturbances and language deficits. Raaska et al. (2013 Raaska, H., Elovainio, M., Sinkkonen, J., Stolt, S., Jalonen, I., Matomäki, J., … Lapinleimu, H. (2013). Adopted children's language difficulties and their relation to symptoms of reactive attachment disorder: FinAdo study. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 34(3), 152–160.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) have speculated that this relationship is likely bidirectional. In an attempt to elucidate the causal relationship between these two risk factors, the attachment disturbances and language skills of 44 internationally adopted children were assessed in a cross-lagged structural equation model. Greater attachment disturbances at wave 1 predicted less gain in language by wave 2. In contrast, language at wave 1 was not predictive of attachment disturbances at wave 2. These results suggest that early attachment problems may present an important risk for later language development and should be an immediate and primary focus of post-adoptive intervention for families adopting internationally.     

Fighting words? Joning as conflict talk and identity performance among African American preadolescents

This study examines how preadolescent African American students in Washington, D.C., used a linguistic practice called ‘joning,’ a style of verbal play similar to ritual insults, in peer interactions. Sociolinguists have focused on how children socialize each other into vernacular styles appropriate for peer group use but often assume that they disalign with social and linguistic norms for classroom behavior. Drawing from a nine‐month ethnographic study that the author conducted in an after‐school program, this article analyzes the structure and function of joning as a vernacular style of African American Vernacular English and its uses in constructing classroom identities. Joning often facilitated student learning, but it was perceived as a socially and physically risky linguistic practice because of its uses as conflict talk in the local community. Focusing on preadolescence as a key stage of language socialization, this article shows how minority students modify peer‐learned linguistic practices to pursue academic success on their own terms.     

Infusing Career Development to Strengthen Middle School English Language Arts Curricula

An approach is presented for strengthening middle school standards‐based English language arts (ELA) classroom instruction by infusing theory‐ and research‐supported career development constructs and practices. Over an 8‐week period, 90 urban 7th graders participated in an integrated ELA–career development curriculum. Career agency emerged as an important construct for students. It was related to key markers of ELA achievement (i.e., standardized test scores, grades, and positive change in 6th‐ to 7th‐grade test scores) and elaborated on in nuanced ways by students in their written narratives. Four themes related to career agency were identified in student writings: time perspective, challenges of self‐direction, career development, and social and emotional development. Advantages for students and schools related to synergy, scale, and sustainability are discussed.     

National Language Capacity in Global Competition

The term national language capacity refers to the sum total of a nation’s ability to grasp linguistic resources, provide language services, deal with linguistic issues, develop the language, and related tasks. Key capacities include the possession of linguistic resources, utilization of language and language services, development and use of linguistic resources, the language of the members of the nation, reserves of linguistic talent, language management, development of language enterprises and linguistic influence. The development of informatization has made national language capacity an important part of national strength. It is hard power as well as soft power, playing a very important role in social progress and cultural inheritance, in promoting economic development and technological innovation, and in protecting a country’s national security and international development.