English-speaking Nations Research Articles

The expression and recognition of emotions in the voice across five nations: A lens model analysis based on acoustic features.

This study extends previous work on emotion communication across cultures with a large-scale investigation of the physical expression cues in vocal tone. In doing so, it provides the first direct test of a key proposition of dialect theory, namely that greater accuracy of detecting emotions from one's own cultural group-known as in-group advantage-results from a match between culturally specific schemas in emotional expression style and culturally specific schemas in emotion recognition. Study 1 used stimuli from 100 professional actors from five English-speaking nations vocally conveying 11 emotional states (anger, contempt, fear, happiness, interest, lust, neutral, pride, relief, sadness, and shame) using standard-content sentences. Detailed acoustic analyses showed many similarities across groups, and yet also systematic group differences. This provides evidence for cultural accents in expressive style at the level of acoustic cues. In Study 2, listeners evaluated these expressions in a 5 × 5 design balanced across groups. Cross-cultural accuracy was greater than expected by chance. However, there was also in-group advantage, which varied across emotions. A lens model analysis of fundamental acoustic properties examined patterns in emotional expression and perception within and across groups. Acoustic cues were used relatively similarly across groups both to produce and judge emotions, and yet there were also subtle cultural differences. Speakers appear to have a culturally nuanced schema for enacting vocal tones via acoustic cues, and perceivers have a culturally nuanced schema in judging them. Consistent with dialect theory's prediction, in-group judgments showed a greater match between these schemas used for emotional expression and perception. (PsycINFO Database Record

Book Thieves: Theft and Literary Culture in Nineteenth and Twentieth-Century Australia

Book thieves were a familiar figure to the reading public of Australia and other English-speaking nations during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Their exploits were covered in books about books, library and medical journals, and in newspapers that reported their appearances in court, and treated them as a humorous oddity in other coverage. This article examines the historic concerns and assumptions about book thieves, as well as what these tropes reveal about prevailing discourses regarding thieves more generally. The book thief – invariably constructed in the popular imagination as a middle-class male – was a classed and gendered figure, one at odds with contemporary understandings of theft as an act committed by members of an uncultured criminal class. By scrutinizing the development of popular conceptions of the book thief as an entity clearly distinguishable from the ordinary thief, I demonstrate the centrality of literacy and literary culture to how thieves themselves were read.

Religious, Constitutional Laws and Literature of English-Speaking Nations

Religious, Constitutional Laws and Literature of English-Speaking Nations

Attitudes to physical punishment of children are changing

Physical punishment has been a part of childhood around the world, yet its use, and State sanctioning of its use, is problematic.1–4 In 2007, after years of community advocacy, parent...

Private schooling and admission to medicine: a case study using matched samples and causal mediation analysis

BackgroundAre applicants from private schools advantaged in gaining entry to degrees in medicine? This is of international significance and there is continuing research in a range of nations including the USA, the UK, other English-speaking nations and EU countries. Our purpose is to seek causal explanations using a quantitative approach.MethodsWe took as a case study admission to medicine in the UK and drew samples of those who attended private schools and those who did not, with sample members matched on background characteristics. Unlike other studies in the area, causal mediation analysis was applied to resolve private-school influence into direct and indirect effects. In so doing, we sought a benchmark, using data for 2004, against which the effectiveness of policies adopted over the past decade can be assessed.ResultsPrivate schooling improved admission likelihood. This did not occur indirectly via the effect of school type on academic performance; but arose directly from attending private schools. A sensitivity analysis suggests this finding is unlikely to be eliminated by the influence of an unobserved variable.ConclusionsAcademic excellence is not a certain pathway into medicine at university; yet applying with good grades after attending private school is more certain. The results of our paper differ from those in an earlier observational study and find support in a later study. Consideration of sources of difference from the earlier observational study suggest the causal approach offers substantial benefits and the consequences in the causal study for gender, ethnicity, socio-economic classification and region of residence provide a benchmark for assessing policy in future research.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12909-015-0415-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

ENGLISH AS AN INTERNATIONAL LINGUA FRANCA: WHO OWNS ENGLISH TODAY?

Статья посвящена актуальной проблеме использования английского языка в качестве языка международного общения. Эта проблема особенно важна в связи с тем, что процесс глобализации мирового пространства невозможен без наличия языка, на котором могли бы общаться все люди планеты. Авторы статьи раскрывают сущность понятия «мировой язык», ссылаясь на определение этого термина в целом ряде лингвистических словарей и справочников, а так в работах О.С. Ахмановой. Они выявляют причины, приведшие к тому, что английский язык приобрел статус глобального. Вслед за Дэвидом Кристалом определяют три пути, которые могут привести к тому, что язык приобретет статус глобального. Авторы статьи отмечают, что английский язык имеет все качества, чтобы быть «мировым языком». В статье раскрываются особенности использования английского языка в качестве международного. Приводится статистика количества людей, говорящих в мире на английском языке. О.Р. Жерновская, А.И. Латышева и Н.С. Лобанова отмечают, что английскому языку сопутствовала историческая удача. В настоящее время он надежно закрепился в языках стран мира. Процесс глобализации, затрагивающий напрямую английский язык, несет за собой целый ряд преимуществ, но в то же время вызывает к жизни ряд проблем, актуальных как для людей, использующий английский язык в качестве иностранного, так и для носителей английского языка. Статья написана доступным научным языком, все положения и выводы обоснованы; может представлять интерес для широкого круга читателей. Статья в полной мере соответствует требованиям, предъявляемым к научным работам, и может быть рекомендована к публикации в научных журналах, в том числе в журналах из перечня ВАК.

The Power of Weakness: Review of the book by Mark Neville and Jamie Hacker Hughes “Battle Against Stigma”

Jamie Hacker Hughes and Mark Nevilles two-volume tome, Battle Against Stigma, published by Grafos of Barcelona in 2014, is a far from typical study of the psychological effects of combat on the participants. Several factors make this work a highly original one.The first is that it is a collaboration by specialists from very different fields. The co-authors are Jamie Hacker Hughes, renowned British military psychologist and president of the British Psychological Society, and Mark Neville, a photojournalist who accompanied units of the British Army on patrol in Afghanistan.The first volume features selected photographs by Neville taken in 2010 in the Afghan province of Helmand. Panoramic pictures from the field of battle are accompanied by a short, succinct commentary that illuminates the psychological aspect of war. British officers and soldiers in the conflict zone add their own sincere and candid testimony of the feelings, impressions, impulses and moods they experience while on duty in a combat zone. The vivid, detailed descriptions of military life combine with the photographic record to give the reader the opportunity to view the psychology of war in 3D, so to speak. The effect is akin to being an actual witness of the reported events. The second volume of the book is written by J. H. Hughes, and follows on logically from Nevilles multi-sourced, three-dimensional, dynamic view of the war. Hughes writes of how the specific conditions of this conflict - fought thousands of miles away in a foreign land where the geography, climate, and culture are all vastly different from those at home -- can greatly affect the mental state and psychological wellbeing of those serving in the military.The second factor that makes the work unique is the diversity of those who gave their testimony. Among those sharing their thoughts and views are specialists from many branches of the military plus a wide range of civilian experts as well as ordinary citizens. There is academic opinion from Professor J. H. Hughes on psychological trauma and the issue of stigma; there are contributions from ordinary soldiers like Simon Peacock, Mike Flynn, reservist Jack Wood, plus officers such as Major Chris Hunter and Colonel Stuart Tootal and others, reflecting on their own experiences in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are the thoughts of veteran's family member Marianna Oddysseos, charity worker Walter Busuttil and mental health specialist Wendy Frappell-Cooke, etc.The third factor is that the book analyses a problem that is particularly acute for veterans of active service with the armed forces of many English-speaking nations, particularly the USA, Canada, Australia and the UK. That problem is the stigma attached to former combatants who have suffered psychological trauma.The authors describe stigma as the process whereby those who display certain unusual behavior or personality traits encounter exclusion and discrimination by society.The book tells us how modern warfare has a high potential to inflict psychological trauma on the participants. A British soldier embarking on a single six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan faces a one-in-four chance of being killed or wounded. Judging by the testimony of these combatants, it demands considerable levels of courage to fight against a skilled, resourceful and often unseen enemy across terrain littered with improvised explosive devices. The risks faced by the soldier and his comrades and the constant fear which hovers throughout the murky days, nights, months and even years, subsequently lead to feelings of inadequacy' such as guilt, despair, loneliness, confusion, shame and rejection. This in turn can sometimes result in deteriorating health, difficulties in finding or holding down a job, or problems in relationships with friends and family.Almost every combatant will experience some kind of psychological problem stemming from the stress of engaging in battle. …

The United States and Democracy in Africa:Discrepant Orientations of Anglophone and Francophone Africa Toward Democratic Practices (Good Governance, Administrative Reforms and Human Rights)

President Obama’s first trip to Africa [as US President] in July 2009 took him to Ghana. The U.S. President made Ghana his first stop on the continent because he was probably highly impressed by the institutionalization of democratic processes in the country. While in Ghana, the president highlighted that country's commitment to peaceful democratic transition and establishment of effective governance practices. Obama also called on other African leaders to follow the example of Ghana by creating democratic institutions, embracing good governance practices, and showing respect for the human rights of their citizens. The recently concluded U.S.-Africa Summit (August 6-7, 2014) convened by President Obama in Washington, D.C. was no doubt initiated to advance the political agenda of his 2009 visit to Ghana, and also to establish stronger economic and cultural ties with Africa. The 2014 summit brought together an unprecedented number of African leaders to Washington, D.C. for a two day conference that covered a broad array of topics ranging from health Care, trade and investments, security and terrorism, to good governance, democratic institutions and human rights. A partnership between the United States and Africa is important and strategic because both partners must work together in order to function effectively in a complex global environment that is increasingly plagued by terrorism, political instability, devastating public health epidemics, economic inequalities, poor governance and the failure to effect credible administrative reforms in a number of African nations. This paper proposes to examine the content of U.S. support for the establishment of democratic institutions and good governance practices in Africa against the backdrop of the inability, unwillingness, or failure of some African nations to fully embrace the processes upon which such US support is supposed to be predicated. It is apparent that The Anglophone nations in West, East and South Africa have been more responsive to the political practices advocated by the United States and are in fact reforming their administrative processes and procedures, while most Francophone nations in West and Central Africa are content with the status quo. Why is there a discrepancy between the English-speaking and French-speaking African nations toward embracing democratic and good governance practices? It is to answering this question that this paper aspires to accomplish through a comparative analysis of the performance records of a select number of Anglophone and Francophone states in West and Central Africa. How have these English (Ghana, Botswana, South Africa) and French-speaking( Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and the Democratic Republic of Congo) countries fared since President Obama first acknowledged the great strides made by Ghana during his 2009 visit?

Disempowered, passive and isolated: how teenage mothers' postnatal inpatient experiences in the UK impact on the initiation and continuation of breastfeeding.

Teenage mothers in the UK and other developed English-speaking nations are among those least likely to breastfeed. Evidence suggests more young mothers intend to breastfeed than actually start, indicating that their post-birth experiences militate against initiating breastfeeding. We aimed to explore how the inpatient experiences of a group of young women who gave birth as teenagers influenced their feeding decisions and experiences, and ascertain their ideals for breastfeeding support. Six focus groups or interviews were conducted with 15 women aged 16-20 who had intended to breastfeed or breastfed. Women were recruited from teenage parent groups in Oxfordshire, UK. Ethical approval was obtained from the relevant authorities. Data were analysed inductively using a thematic approach. Three overriding themes of 'postbirth experience on Labour Ward: disempowered and passive'; 'the postnatal ward: alien, alone and exposed'; and 'being there: a need for relational support' were identified. Sub-themes on Labour Ward were 'feelings at birth: 'so tired and so dazed'; 'deliver, stitch, dress'; and 'initiating feeding'. Participants described care that followed set routines, discouraging their initiating breastfeeding by compounding feelings of dependence and encouraging a passive role as midwives took control, often deciding when and how babies should be fed. Sub-themes on the postnatal ward were 'an alien environment'; 'feeling exposed and judged'; and 'miscommunications'. The young mothers' breastfeeding support requirements reflected those known to be desired by older women, but they particularly wanted guidance and esteem support to be provided by a health professional, while looking to their peers for emotional support.

Challenging the hegemony of English in African education and literature: The case of Zimbabwe

The struggle against the hegemony of English in the education system and literary practice in Africa became vigorous from the late 1950s and the early 1960s when the British colonies of Africa began to attain political independence. This article uses Zimbabwean university education and literary practice to discuss the approaches which have so far been used by African people in that struggle. The effectiveness of those approaches are considered using different scholarly research findings and drawing examples from what happened and/or is still happening in Zimbabwe and relating it to what is happening in other African and non-African countries. Furthermore, the article explores the effectiveness of those approaches from an understanding that the hegemony of the English language is closely linked to superpower politics in general. Superpower politics has a direct and an indirect influence on the manner in which Zimbabweans and Africans in general choose languages of university education and literary creation. The article concludes that, as long as world politics is superpower politics, and as long as the superpower is an English-speaking nation, the hegemony of English will remain a force to be reckoned with in Zimbabwe's university education and literary practice.

A Study on Legislative Examples related to Education Welfare and Student Safety of the United States and English-speaking nations

A Study on Legislative Examples related to Education Welfare and Student Safety of the United States and English-speaking nations

Linguistic Support for Non-Native English Speakers: Higher Education Practices in the United States

Higher education institutions in English-speaking nations host significant populations of non-native English speakers (NNES), both international and resident. English language proficiency is a critical factor to their success. This study reviews higher education practices in the United States related to this population. Findings indicate weaknesses in how institutions identify NNES, measure their English language skills, and track their success. These issues must be addressed to support the needs of this population, fully benefit from their contributions, and achieve educational parity

The creation of learner-centred dictionaries for endangered languages: a Rotuman example

This article examines the creation of dictionaries for endangered languages (ELs). Though each dictionary is uniquely prepared for its users, all dictionaries should be based on sound principles of vocabulary learning, including the importance of lexical chunks, as emphasised by Michael Lewis in his Lexical Approach. Many of the decisions that a lexicographer needs to make when creating an EL dictionary are discussed here, with information about how each issue was handled in the creation of an online dictionary of Rotuman, which is an Oceanic language, the majority of whose members live in diasporic communities in English-speaking nations. This article argues for the necessity of training EL members in how to use their dictionary.

Transplant Recipients' Experience of Participation at the World Transplant Games in Gothenburg 2011: A Study of Psychological Well-being

The World Transplant Games (WTG) is a biennial worldwide sporting event. Most published research relating to WTG has focused on medical issues. However, few studies have examined factors such as psychological wellbeing in sport for this group. The purpose of this study is to provide a description of the English-speaking participants at the WTG and analyze five research questions linked to how (1) health, (2), satisfaction with sports participation (3), perceived com- petence, (4) health as a benefit of sport participation (5), and impaired health as a cost of sports participation, are related to psychological factors in sports. There were a total of 253 participants with a mean age of 43.6 years, originating from seven English-speaking nations. Four validated psychological questionnaires were used, as well as a screening of back- ground data of the group. The main characteristics of the English-speaking population were university educated middle age men with kidney transplants, who had participated in athletics at a rather high competitive level before the transplant. The main statistical findings particularly showed that satisfaction with sport participation, perceived health and health as a benefit were the dependent variables that explained most of the variance in the analysis. In conclusion, perceived compe- tence, enjoyment and health seem to be critical psychological factors that essentially act as prime motivating factors be- hind participation in games such as WTG, and ultimately lead to a sense of psychological well-being among the partici- pants. Finally, there is a discussion of future research, as well as the practical value of the results.

Another Week, Another Scandal: Immigration Dilemmas

Immigration regulations for international students seem to be changing somewhat unpredictably of late, in major receiving countries. In several English-speaking nations, immigration regulation has become a significant policy issue, and international students are the frequent focus of recent crackdowns. These changes have the potential for altering the landscape of global student flows and might even slow the increases in student numbers of the past two decades. In this context, the expansion of recent years might actually have been a temporary “bubble."

Patrice Corriveau: Judging homosexuals: a history of gay persecution in Quebec and France

In this book, translated and updated from the French language original, Patrice Corriveau compares the changing state response to same-sex sexuality in France and Quebec, from Antiquity to the present day. Corriveau’s book focuses primarily on the regulation of gay man in these jurisdictions using criminal prohibitions. This is by far the most interesting and useful aspect of the book’s discussion. However, the last few sections also consider recent shifts in both countries towards the legal recognition of same-sex partnerships (in the form of equal marriage in Canada and the PACS system in France). In general, the book is a valuable addition to the social–historical literature on gay male sexuality and should be of considerable interest to scholars working in the field of gay male historiography. It will be especially useful to those with an interest in the French-speaking world. It also complements and contextualises those studies which have focused specifically on English-speaking nations, such as Jeffrey Weeks’ magisterial work on the regulation of same-sex sexuality in Britain. The criminal regulation of homosexuality in both France and Quebec follows a trajectory that will be largely familiar to scholars in other jurisdictions in the Western English-speaking world. For example Corriveau compares the relative cultural acceptance of sex between men in ancient Greece and Rome—at least under certain conditions of class and conduct—with the increasingly punitive response to homosexual behaviours in the European Middle Ages. In France as elsewhere this change seems to reflect the growing influence of early Christianity and its preoccupation with the sinfulness of non-procreative sexuality. Like Britain and other European countries state-sponsored persecution was exported subsequently to France’s overseas possessions from the seventeenth century, including the North American colony of New France.

Teenagers’ web questions compared with a sexuality curriculum: an exploration

Background: Teenagers need information about their changing bodies. Many young people do not receive adequate or accurate puberty/sexuality education from their parents or school, so many teenagers are going online to have their sexuality questions answered. Purpose: This research examines teenagers’ web questions on sexuality, and an example of the puberty and sexuality education content that some may learn in school. It looks for evidence of heteronormative conceptualisations of gender and sexuality, using a theoretical framework based on the Four Discourses of Sexuality Education. Sample: This includes the web questions (n = 200) of an evenly gendered sample of 13–15‐year-old students (n = 180) from four English-speaking nations, namely UK, USA, Canada and Australia, selected from a reputable puberty/sexuality education site, and, for comparison, an example of an age-representative public school Health and Physical Education (HPE) puberty/sexuality education curriculum. Method: A gendered and narrative-thematic Content Analysis was undertaken, using the Four Discourses theoretical framework, on the students’ sexuality web questions, and also on the school HPE curriculum. Results: The discourse of Victimisation was evident in nearly half of all students’ web questions, and over a third of the HPE curriculum. The discourse of Individual Morality was present in a quarter of both students’ questions and the curriculum, while the discourse of Desire was evidenced in a fifth of students’ questions and almost a third of curriculum content. Somewhat surprisingly, the discourse of Violence was present in 9% of exclusively female students’ web questions, and in 12% of the curriculum. Conclusion: It is recommended that the sampled HPE curriculum, and similar curricula in these sampled students’ countries, need explicitly to address gender differences in students’ metacognition and conceptualisations of puberty and sexuality. This may enable students to embrace their entitlement to sexual subjectivity, in education and across the lifespan, thus helping to ensure students’ healthy, positive and purposeful life outcomes.

Evolution in the Caribbean Classroom: A critical analysis of the role of biology teachers and science standards in shaping evolution instruction in Belize

A survey of the literature on evolution instruction provides evidence that teachers’ personal views and understandings can shape instructional approaches and content delivered in science classrooms regardless of established science standards. This study is the first to quantify evolutionary worldviews of in-service teachers in the Caribbean, specifically in Belize, an English-speaking nation with a high school system guided by a regional biology syllabus and strict standardized tests. Using the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) instrument and knowledge test, we investigated (1) the current level of acceptance and understanding of evolution as given by 97% of high school biology teachers in Belize; (2) the factors associated with acceptance and understanding of evolutionary theory. With an average MATE score of 64.4 and a mean knowledge score of 47.9%, Belizean teachers were classified as having both ‘Low Acceptance’ and ‘Low Understanding’ of evolutionary theory. A positive correlation was found between teacher acceptance and understanding of evolution. A review of the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate biology syllabus suggests that evolution plays a minimal role in the high school biology classroom. We believe that Belize presents a unique opening for future training on evolution instruction since 57% of the biology teachers self-proclaim to be unprepared to teach evolution. The results of this study have implications for policy, practice and research with teachers’ acceptance, understanding and confidence in teaching evolution serving as important predictors for instructional approaches used in the biology classroom.

Teachers' classroom assessment practices and fourth-graders' reading literacy achievements: An international study

This study, through multilevel analyses of the data of four English-speaking nations (i.e., Canada, England, New Zealand and the United States) from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2001 database, investigated the relationship between teachers' uses of various types of classroom assessments and their fourth-graders' reading literacy achievement, reading self-concept, and attitudes toward reading. The results showed varied outcomes associated with teachers' uses of different types of assessments (multiple-choice items, short-answer and paragraph writing, and oral communication) across countries and across aspects of student reading achievement. Implication of the study and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Keep it simple: fuzzy IP law for fuzzy folk

For the most part, we live our lives in a world of calculation, estimation and approximation. The vast amount of data that we possess or acquire and are expected to process, the number of decisions we make and the quantity of law which, whether we know it or not, affect our every move, make us as dependent on our intuition as on our intellects. In our everyday private lives, we understand and accept that this is so. That is why we do not travel precisely within the speed limits laid down for us, do not make exact calculations as to whether and when we can pay for each item purchased on a credit card, and do not take legal advice before shaking a stranger’s hand or kissing a proffered cheek as to what level of response might incur civil liability. In short, if our conduct generally falls within a fuzzy and ill-defined category of normality, we forget about it and concentrate our attention on more important things. The great divide between common law and civil law traditions is instructive because it suggests that, in legislative terms, those who live within the civilian culture are comfortable to be guided by general principles, to which they adhere unless and until new principles, legislatively enacted or judicially articulated, nudge them into a different direction. The common law tradition, which is perhaps more focused on the precise meanings of words than on their general drift, has however produced two great English-speaking nations populated by those who, while, abjuring the literal interpretation of statutes and precedents, are magnetically attracted to literalism and cannot literally get it out of their system. This divide is found in intellectual property law where, in the United States, each word of a legislative draft becomes a battleground over which battles economic, political, cultural and semantic are fought, the contestants each invoking the terms of a constitution which are expressed in terms of principle which warmly accommodate a variety of conflicting positions. It is also found in the European Union, where the relatively spare and principled prose of harmonising directives, nourished by the fertile pronouncements of their respective recitations, is accommodated in the national law of civil jurisdictions with greater ease and at less length than in common law lands, where the notion that Parliament means what it says —and means to be silent over that which it does not say —remains deep-rooted. Copyright and patent law both furnish food for thought in this context. In the United States, in Canada and in the United Kingdom there has been continued tension as to the correct dividing line between copyright infringement and the fair use by one person of another person’s copyright-protected work. This has generated proposals for legislative reform, legal and economic reviews, litigation and furious lobbying. In similar vein neither the passage of the America Invents Act, nor the declaration that an acceptable solution has been found for the one-Europeone-patent question, has led to debate dying down. Rather, it has shifted it from one set of issues to another.