Modular exaptation: A missing link in the synthesis of artificial form

Exaptation, the cooption of existing technologies for emergent functions, is an important but neglected mechanism for innovation. Exaptation may enable an existing technology to (a) construct a new technological niche, (b) enter into a preexisting niche, or (c) transform the internal architecture of an artifact without changing its function.     

语言顺应论观照下的二外法语教学

全球经济一体化进程的加快使得社会需要更多熟练掌握多门语言技能的外语人才,众多高校开设了第二外语课程。二外法语因其民族文化、历史因素受到众多学生青睐,但其教学却不甚理想,存在不少问题。本文从语言顺应论的视角出发,探讨在二外法语教学中,通过顺应学生的物理世界、社交世界和心理世界来实现教与学的语言交际功能,解决法语教学中的问题。     

中美公共图书馆英文网站跨文化适应度的比较研究

论文采用内容分析法与在线问巷调查法相结合的研究方法,从跨文化角度研究网站可用性,分析了中关图书馆英文网站产生差异的原因在于：权力距离和个人主义／集体主义维度上有明显差异,而且差异非常显著。该文为图书馆网站跨文化设计提供理论支持,藉此提升网站的可用性。     

Social Networking and Cultural Adaptation: A Theoretical Model

This paper demonstrates a theoretical model for the influence of social networking on cultural adaptation. Through the integration of cultivation theory and ethnic group vitality, this model proposes social networking affects immigrants’ interactions with the dominant culture as well as in-group communication.     

Editor's Statement: On (Not) Feeling Rebellious

Abstract

This study is a mixed methods analysis of how French-Muslims respond to a French law banning the wearing of religious symbols in French public schools. In summer 2007, 356 French-Muslims were surveyed, and 20 of those Muslims were interviewed for this analysis. The statistical analysis reveals religiosity to be a significant predictor of French-Muslims’ negative sentiment toward la Loi 2004-228, the ban on the wearing of religious symbols in French public schools. In the interviews, French-Muslims express how they perceive la Loi 2004-228 as stifling Islamic religious identity and freedom, and leading to religious and political struggles in France. The paper concludes with a discussion of how the current situation in France represents a struggle over assimilation and how the issue of and controversy over Muslim immigration has spread throughout the European Union.     

《雾都孤儿》中非对等权势关系间冲突话语的顺应性分析

人们在交际中进行的有意识或无意识的语言选择都是对交际语境和语言语境做出的顺应.权势作为交际语境的构成部分,它是产生冲突话语和制约冲突话语回应策略的语境因素,同时体现了交际双方直接的关系.《雾都孤儿》中非对等权势间冲突话语的产生就是因为交际双方违反了顺应论中对语境关系的顺应,忽略了交际语境中的物理世界、社交世界和心理世界.了解冲突话语产生的原因,对自身角色有正确的认知,非对等权势间才能相互理解和沟通,从而减少冲突的发生.     

A Multiple Discourse Approach to Health Communication: Translational Research and Ethical Practice

Experiences with the pursuit of health communication research are discussed in terms of barriers and facilitators to conducting this work. These experiences are considered for generalizable principles relating to the conduct of translational research. The importance of acknowledging the values and agendas which underlie the pursuit of translational research is emphasized. The contributions of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to pursuits of translational projects are acknowledged. Finally, the need for communication scholars to participate in interdisciplinary endeavors is advanced as a goal with benefits for sharing the field's theory and research insights, and to expand our own knowledge about other disciplines.     

Refining a theory of cross-cultural adaptation: an exploration of a new methodological approach to institutional completeness

The current study explored a whole-network approach to measure the impact of institutional completeness at an individual-level with regards to [Kim, Y. (2001). Becoming intercultural: An integrative theory of communication and cross-cultural adaptation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.] a theoretical model of cross-cultural adaptation. A new construct of ‘ethnic entrainment’ was proposed as a way to bridge the different levels of theoretical constructs in the model. The analytical challenge of verifying the influence of institutional completeness (a group-level construct in the model) on individuals’ communication patterns was partially overcome in this study by measuring the degree of one's structural embeddedness in various ethnic community networks (i.e. information, emotional support, and tangible help exchange networks). A community member survey (N?=?172) was utilized to construct social networks of a Korean immigrant community. The research tested hypotheses generated from Kim's theorems on the relationships between ethnic group strength and host/ethnic interpersonal/mass communication. Three out of five hypotheses were supported through hierarchical regression analyses.     

不同体裁的英语写作中模糊限制语的使用研究

模糊限制语影响到话语的语用结构和功能.通过学生在英语写作中使用模糊限制语的频率和类型的调查分析,结合Jef. Verschueren提出的顺应理论,指出学生在不同体裁的作文中使用模糊限制语的频率和类型不同主要是为了顺应一定的社会规约、具体场合、以及读者的心理世界, 从而更好地表达自己的思想.