New methods of College English Teaching on ＂after 90＂ students

Since 2008, almost all universities have met the ＂after 90＂ students. The so-called ＂after 90＂s were born in 1990s when Chinese economy developed rapidly and smoothly. Due to the special growing background, the after 90s have their unique characters in all aspects compared with the former students. Their requirements on Enghsh study are also supposed to be different. Thus adopting a newteaching mode to arouse the students＂ interests and motivation in English study has become necessary. In this passage, several feasible suggestions on college English teaching methods will be analyzed based on the distinctive characters of ＂after 90＂s, by which students＂ ideal study effect would be achieved.     

Evidence-based librarianship (EBL) in e-resources acquisition: How concerned are librarians?

E-resources acquisition is a prevalent topic in the global economic crisis. To ensure the continuity of e-resources, librarians venture into various approaches, including evidence-based librarianship (EBL). This study reports librarians' concerns about EBL implementation during the acquisition process. The Concern-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) tools, including the modified Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ) and the Quick Scoring Device, were used to measure the individual librarian stages of concern. The results indicate that the scores for librarians' concerns are at the peak in stage 2 (Self), followed by stage 5 (Collaboration), stage 3 (Management), stage 1 (Informational), and stage 6 (Refocusing), with the lowest score at stage 0 (Unconcern). The findings demonstrate that librarians are more concerned about how EBL implementation could affect themselves (as in Stage 2 (Self)) in performing their tasks as librarians. The results are significant in providing perspectives on individual librarians' sensitivity to EBL implementation as an innovation in their work processes.     

Male/female language differences and effects in same‐sex and mixed‐sex dyads: The gender‐linked language effect

Ninety‐six university students (48 males, 48 females) were randomly assigned a partner (whom they did not know well), forming two dyad conditions: (a) same‐sex, and (b) mixed‐sex. The 48 dyads were audiotape‐recorded in 20‐minute problem solving interactions, from which 300‐word language samples were transcribed for analysis. In Study 1, 9 trained observers coded 12 language variables previously shown to distinguish male from female language use. Discriminant analysis results demonstrated that a weighted combination of 8 variables could differentiate male from female interactants: male indicators—interruptions, directives, and conjunctions/ fillers begin sentence; female indicators—questions, justifiers, intensive adverbs, personal pronouns, and adverbials begin sentence. An analysis of variance of individuals’ gender discriminant function scores showed greater differences in gender‐linked language behavior in same‐sex than in mixed‐sex dyads. In Study 2, 231 naive observers rated the 96 interactants, using the Speech Dialect Attitudinal Scale. MANOVA results showed that in same‐sex dyads, female interactants were rated higher on Socio‐Intellectual Status and Aesthetic Quality, but no gender difference was found on Dynamism. However, in mixed‐sex dyads, men were rated higher on Aesthetic Quality, whereas women were rated higher on Dynamism. Taken together, the analyses of the objective language data and the subjective attributional data provide partial support for the Gender‐Linked Language Effect in same‐sex dyads and for the attenuation of that effect in mixed‐sex dyads.     

Scholarly management research in Spanish language: A bibliometric analysis (2000–2010)

In this article, the authors analyze the characteristics of the vernacular management literature in Spanish-speaking countries and examine what factors can explain the differences observed in the production of these countries. The results indicate that management research has gained ground in the last decade, as revealed by the apparition of new journals and the number of articles published. The article also shows that Spain has a different profile of published articles than that of the other countries, as its production is mostly composed of empirical-quantitative articles. Finally, a negative binomial regression model suggests that the countries' scientific output is positively associated with their level of economic development and the size of their economies.     

Is there Lingua Franca in informal scientific communication? Evidence from language distribution of scientific tweets

Language distribution in scientific communication reflects the influence of different languages on science in global perspective. The study, based on over 450 thousand scientific tweets of all publications indexed by Scopus in June 2015, reveals the language distribution in informal scientific communication. Moreover, this result is compared with the language distribution in formal scientific communication reflected in scientific publications. Results show: (1) The language of scientific tweets is concentrated in English (91%), Japanese (2.4%) and Spanish (1.7%), while the language of scientific publications is concentrated in English (90.6%), Chinese (5%) and German (1.1%). (2) Both scientific tweets and scientific publications present disciplinary differences in language distribution, reflecting the different amount of attention that authors of different languages have on certain disciplines. (3) Except Saudi Arabia, investigated countries all over the world, regardless of whether their native language is English or not, all have English scientific tweets in the dominant position. For the vast majority of these countries, the native language scientific tweets only rank the second position. (4) Overall, 26% of tweeters use more than one language to tweet scientific products, while 49% of scientific tweeters tweet everything in English only. The results indicate that English has undoubtedly become the lingua franca in informal scientific communication.     

Eisenhower's ‘atoms for peace’ speech: A case study in the strategic use of language

This article examines the speech “Atoms for Peace,”; delivered by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 8, 1953. The author demonstrates how a complex rhetorical situation resulted in the crafting and exploitation of a public policy address. Far from serving as a precursor to nuclear disarmament, the speech functioned to bolster the international image of the United States as a peacemaker, to warn the Soviets against a preemptive nuclear strike, and to alert the American public to the dangers of a nuclear exchange.