Informal Contexts Research Articles

Are Stylistic Neologisms More Neological? A Corpus-Based Study of Lexical Innovations of Women and Men

To deepen on the study of the concept of neologicity, an exhaustive review of the literature was carried out. Once the different parameters related to this concept were isolated, we realized that some of them were also used to determine the communicative function of neologisms. For this reason, first, we correlated the objective criteria to classify neologisms as prototypical of the denominative or the stylistic function with the parameters related to the neological quality. Second, we defined new criteria, both linguistic and chronological, to broaden the scope of our analysis. Afterwards, all the criteria were applied to a corpus of neologisms from newspaper articles and journalistic blogs in Spanish written by women and men. The results confirmed that neologisms with stylistic features tend to be more neological than denominative neologisms. Consequently, they are usually less frequent lexical units used in general or informal contexts. In addition, they tend to be the result of unproductive word formation rules that might contain subjective linguistic components and also tend to be more recent.

Cognitive-motivational engagement in ICT mediates the effect of ICT use on academic achievements: Evidence from 52 countries

Despite huge investment of information and communication technology (ICT) in schools across the world, recent studies showed its non-positive association with academic achievement. While educators or policymakers may doubt the contribution of ICT in education, few studies examined the indirect effect of ICT use on academic achievement via ICT-related dispositions, such as students' perceived autonomy, competence, and interest in ICT (cognitive-motivational engagement in ICT). Guided by self-determination theory (SDT) and related literature, we hypothesized a three-level structural equation model to examine the interplay between ICT use, cognitive-motivational engagement in ICT, and academic achievement based on 15-year-old secondary students from 52 countries in the PISA 2018. The results showed cognitive-motivational engagement in ICT exerted a positive mediating effect between ICT use and academic achievement at the student and school levels, indicating ICT use exerted an indirect positive effect on academic achievement, and satisfaction of students' basic psychological needs in a specific area such as ICT is likely to promote their optimal functioning in other areas such as learning. Hence, students should be provided more opportunities to orchestrate technologies in formal and informal contexts helps develop their self-determination, discernment, and self-regulation in ICT use, and thereby creating the conditions in which better learning outcomes are more likely to occur. These findings also deepen our understanding of SDT and provide a guiding framework for educators to design pedagogies that can better address students’ ICT-related psychological needs. Finally, this study shows that a quadratic term should be modeled when examining the relationship between ICT use and academic achievement.

The detriment that error production creates is affected by non-L1 speakers’ linguistic group membership

Abstract We present three studies that investigate the effect of group-level language ability expectations on language ability judgements. Study 1 identifies expected English-language ability levels that native English speakers’ have for a number of non-native English-speaker groups. Based on the results, two text-based written-guise studies were conducted investigating the level of detriment that grammatical and lexical/typographical errors created on English-language ability ratings for different author guises (Swedish, Chinese, English) in formal (Study 2) and informal contexts (Study 3). In both contexts, grammatical errors produced by the guise representing the lower-ability non-L1 group were overlooked, while the same errors produced by the other guises significantly lowered the ability ratings. Our results coincide with the idea of the ‘sympathetic native speaker’ and expand it, suggesting that expected language level based on linguistic group membership inversely affects the level of sympathy/tolerance demonstrated. We link this to possible pedagogical implications.

Host communities’ infrastructural development expectations of multinational mining companies in Ghana’s mining industry

ABSTRACT This paper, through an ethnographic research approach, examines the infrastructural development expectations that host communities have of multinational mining companies (MNMCs) and how these expectations influence corporate-community relationships in two of Ghana’s mining districts. Using data triangulation from multiple stakeholder perspectives, two MNMCs ranked among the ten best corporate social responsibility firms in the world are studied to explore how and why these expectations impact corporate-community relationships. Theoretically, the paper argues that the Ubuntu philosophy (culture) of the rich sharing their wealth with the underprivileged in society influences community expectations. These expectations, in turn, affect social legitimacy of companies. It therefore emphasizes the need to consider the informal context when using institutional and stakeholder theory to examine corporate social responsibility (CSR) in African countries. By this, the paper contributes to the reorientation of stakeholder theory from a firm-centric to community-centric focus. Managerially, the paper suggests that multinational companies coming to Africa’s mining communities need to understand this cultural norm and set aside enough resources to provide infrastructure projects in host communities to enhance corporate-community relations.

Towards a model of evaluation, validation and maintenance of competences acquired in a non-formal context. The case of Improteatro, Scuola Nazionale di Improvvisazione Teatrale

The topic concerning both identification, recognition, evaluation and validation of the competences acquired in non-formal and informal contexts, as well as the link with those acquired in formal contexts, has assumed increasing centrality in the last fifteen years in the European and national debate. Within this debate, also with reference to the Italian regulatory framework of Law no. 4 of 2013, the Scuola Nazionale di Improvvisazione Teatrale – Improteatro – has embarked on a path of participatory research-action in order to define both training standards aimed at qualifying the training activities of theatrical improvisation and professional standards aimed at make explicit and maintain the competences of the performers- professional trainers belonging to the organization. This process therefore has intended to strengthen the professional community of Improteatro by qualifying their internal professionalism and the training activities of theatrical improvisation. Starting from the discussion of the normative, theoretical and methodological framework and of the first results produced, the paper aims to offer a methodological and operational contribution for organizations intending to start processes such as the one presented here.

“Kolori, Sirkuli”: Semantic Relations of the Indigenized English Lexemes in Cebuano

This study investigated the use of indigenized English lexemes (IELs) in Cebuano, specifically focusing on the Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Language Education (MTB-MLE) Sinugbuanong Binisaya textbooks. These IELs have been prevalent despite the existence of the equivalent words and language policy being enforced. Specifically, this study sought to: identify the linguistic features of the IELs; determine the semantic relations associated with the IELs; and explore how Cebuano IELs reflect the cultural norms of its users. A qualitative research design was employed, utilizing textual analysis and thematic analysis. The findings reveal notable phonological and morphological features in the IELs. Phonologically, insertion, deletion, and substitution processes were observed, while morphologically, changes in the inflectional affixes of verbs were highlighted, specifically through the use of the common affixes gi, i-, -i, and nag-. Furthermore, the IELs exhibit various semantic relations that include contrasts, similarities, class inclusion, case relations, and part-whole relationships. Finally, emergent themes demonstrate how IELs in Cebuano reflect the cultural norms of its users, encompassing preferences in teaching styles, classroom observations involving IELs, teaching goals and intentions, thoughts and attitudes, and challenges encountered with the MTB-MLE program. The study concludes that language borrowing offers functional advantages and remains essential even in the teaching of a mother tongue such as Cebuano. Future studies could explore IELs in informal contexts such as magazines, advertisements, and social media, investigate the semantic changes of IELs in Cebuano, and conduct longitudinal studies on the effects of the MTB-MLE program on its learners.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation of the left middle frontal gyrus modulates the information people communicate in different social contexts

Neocortical structures of the left frontal lobe, middle frontal gyrus (MFG) in particular, have been suggested to be linked to the processing of punishing and unpleasant outcomes in decision tasks. To assess the role of left MFG (lMFG) in communicative decisions, we used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to inhibit its function during communicational exchanges under two types of social contexts: formal and informal. Three groups of participants received an offline 1-Hz inhibitory rTMS of lMFG, right MFG as an active control site, or lMFG sham/placebo TMS as a passive control condition. Participants’ task included answering difficult general-knowledge questions, rating their confidence in their answers’ correctness, and, finally, deciding if they would report or withhold these answers in formal and informal social contexts. There were significantly more reported than withheld answers in the informal context in all groups. The formal context showed no differences between reported and withheld answers in both control conditions, while, crucially, real rTMS of lMFG produced a different pattern, with more withheld than reported answers. Thus, lMFG inhibition seems to result in more rational decisions made only in formal communication contexts, where there is a perception of a certain pressure or possible negative outcomes. In informal social contexts and in the absence of negative consequences the pattern of answers did not change, regardless of the reporting strategy or the TMS protocol used. These results suggest selective context-dependent involvement of the lMFG in decision-making processes during communicational exchanges taking place under social pressure.

An analysis of slang words in the “Green Book”, a movie directed by Peter Farrelly

This paper aims to describe types of slang words, meanings, and reasons for using slang words in the Green Book movie directed by Peter Farrelly. The characters in the Green Book movie use slang words in their daily or informal contexts. The researchers used qualitative methods in this research process. The technique used in the data collection part was by using the observational method where the researchers observed the data collection in the form of scripts in the Green Book movie. Based on the data collection, there are 118 slang words found in this movie. The researchers concluded that there are three findings. The first finding is type of slang word where there are 4 types of slang words used by characters in the Green Book movie, such as fresh and creative, imitative, flippant, and clipping. Then, the second finding is the meaning of each slang word used by the characters in the Green Book movie. While, the third finding is the reason for using slang words where there are 7 reasons for using slang words, such as to address, to form intimate atmosphere, to initiate relax conversation, to express impression, to show intimacy, to reveal anger, and to express humiliation. This research is expected to broaden our knowledge about the slang words used in America and to widen our understanding about the application or use of slang words slang for daily life for speakers who are interested in using and learning slang words.

Digital Media Domestication and Job Paths Among Older People: An Ethnographic Investigation

While it is true that ageing dramatically affects the sustainability of welfare systems, increasing life expectancy in most Western countries is also seen as an opportunity to live longer and better: The healthiest older people are also the most dynamic in terms of work activity and social and cultural capital. In this debate, media and communication technologies are often seen as tools to enable older people to age actively, thanks to their potential for inclusion. The empowerment of older people through the use of communication technologies is strongly influenced by the social and family context in which digital media are used and by the formal and informal contexts in which their use is learned. Starting from this context, this article investigates the relationship between career paths and the use of digital media among older people. We conducted 20 in-depth interviews and ethnographic sessions with Italian internet users aged over 65. The results show how their current condition (retired or employed) and the job previously held have a fundamental impact in both the processes of domestication of technologies and internet use, but also in the structuring of the home itself and the positioning and use of technologies in the domestic space of older people.

Editorial Technologies for Data-Driven Interventions in Smart Learning Environments

Smart Learning environments (SLEs) are defined [1] as learning ecologies where students engage in learning activities, or where teachers facilitate such activities with the support of tools and technology. SLEs can encompass physical or virtual spaces in which a system senses the learning context and process by collecting data, analyzes the data, and consequently reacts with customized interventions that aim at improving learning [1]. In this way, SLEs may collect data about learners and educators’ actions and interactions related to their participation in learning activities as well as about different aspects of the formal or informal context in which they can be carried out. Sources from these data may include learning management systems, handheld devices, computers, cameras, microphones, wearables, and environmental sensors. These data can then be transformed and analyzed using different computational and visualization techniques to obtain actionable information that can trigger a wide range of automatic, human-mediated, or hybrid interventions, which involve learners and teachers in the decision making behind the interventions.

Informal Work and the Appropriation of Social Reproduction in Home-Based Work in India

Home-based work is among the largest forms of employment in the informal economy in India and is overwhelmingly represented by women. Employing a social reproduction framework that reframes what is counted as labor, this article asks how women’s unpaid work activities are appropriated as labor in subcontracted home-based work. Applying this analytical framework, it becomes clear that domestic work in the home, often completed by women, is needed and exploited in this production process as a result of gendered constructs of care. The contribution considers how unpaid work is directly appropriated by capital as surplus value. The context of informal work is key here because of the irregular and fragmented production process, the space where work occurs, and the use of unpaid family workers. The goal of this research is to offer empirical evidence that broadens analytical perspectives to account for the context of informality in the Global South. HIGHLIGHTS Subcontracted home-based work in India relies on a gendered, fragmented, and precarious labor force. Unpaid caregiving and household work directly contributes to profit-making. Western analytical concepts of the economy need to be reexamined in the context of the postcolonial informal economies. Research tools that measure economic participation need to capture how unpaid activities directly or indirectly contribute to economic processes.

The emerging phenomenon of L2 vlogging on Bilibili: characteristics, engagement, and informal language learning

The rise of digital technology has provided new opportunities for language learning, extending beyond traditional classroom instruction. Video projects have emerged as an effective tool in foreign language education, yet research on self-initiated and regulated video production for language learning is scarce. This study investigates the phenomenon of vlogging in Spanish as a second language on the Chinese video sharing platform Bilibili, by analyzing 134 Chinese-produced Spanish-language vlogs. The study aims to understand the vlogs’ characteristics, the vloggers’ profile, and the ways they utilize the genre for learning Spanish. Through qualitative virtual ethnography, the study uncovers the presence and learning engagement of Spanish L2 vlogs on Bilibili. The results reveal a diverse range of vlogs, including daily life experiences and adaptations of popular YouTube trends, primarily produced by university students with advanced editing skills. Vloggers incorporate knowledge from both formal education (e.g., the Spanish textbook widely used in China, Español Moderno) and informal contexts. In addition to practicing oral Spanish, L2 vloggers use various forms of writing, including Spanish subtitles and Chinese translation, and mobilize multimodal resources, such as danmu comments for overlaying corrections. Vloggers also adopt discursive strategies for community interaction, such as self-deprecating metalanguage, feedback solicitation, and metalinguistic reflections. The study highlights the potential of video-sharing platforms like Bilibili as tools for language learning, reveals different learning styles in digital environments (self-supervised and interaction-oriented learning), and indicates the direction of integrating daily vlogs and multilingual subtitles into language curricula, emphasizing students’ agency, self-directed digital learning, and transmedia literacy development.

Accusation Is Not Proof: Procedural Justice in Psychology

In this article, we explicate a relatively ignored construct in clinical science—procedural justice. Procedural justice is concerned with adjudicative processes in which norms are applied to particular cases in which there is an allegation of some transgression. Psychologists often value social justice, but there can be no social justice without procedural justice. Procedural-justice concerns arise in a wide variety of interpersonal contexts, including diagnoses, administrative adjudications such as ethics complaints or Title IX hearings, conflicts clients experience with others, and more informal contexts such as gossip. Exemplars of problematic procedural justice relevant to psychologists are described. We argue that there are five general dimensions of procedural justice (epistemic, ethical, subjective, legal, and pragmatic) and 20 specific principles of procedural fairness. Suggestions for improved practice and future research are provided. Procedural justice exemplifies values embodied in the late Scott Lilienfeld’s work and life.

The effect of mobile‐assisted learning in real language attainment: A systematic review

AbstractBackgroundAs more people around the globe become immigrants or refugees, an increasingly popular subsection of research has aimed to investigate how these populations use mobile‐assisted language learning (MALL) to learn the language(s) of the host country.ObjectivesThis study examines how the language learning, inclusion and self‐regulation are moderated by MALL different methods in immigrants and foreigners (with different backgrounds) regarding two settings (foreign language and second language).Materials and methodsWe desired to explore whether MALL results in better language learning for foreigners, refugees and immigrants compared to traditional methods (physical tools) and how various factors affect MALL, such as whether MALL is utilized in a formal versus informal context. Hence, this article conducts a systematic review through a meta‐analysis and thematic analysis of 17 total quantitative and qualitative studies regarding MALL research on immigrants and refugees.Results and ConclusionsOur results suggested that the MALL method is in general beneficial for second or foreign language learning, but with limitations based on the individual learner (motivations, demographics, etc.) and sociocultural factors, especially within informal contexts (e.g. fear of being seen as an immigrant when using a mobile learning app). Considering the variables that affect MALL that we observed and discussed in our review, we suggest more attention to the specific needs and potential issues refugees and immigrants may encounter when using MALL in order to create mobile applications that best aid this population in learning the host country's language(s), thus making resettlement an easier process.

The Collective Imaginary of Romglish in Cyberspace and Face-To-Face Interactions

"The Collective Imaginary of Romglish in Cyberspace and Face-to-face Interactions. The activity of Romanian users in digital spaces oftentimes exhibits a dynamic code containing Romglish (the combination of Romanian and English features), which also reverberates in offline discourses and has an ongoing boomerang effect between offline and online interactions. By means of a survey, this paper investigates the Romanian collective imaginary which is set in the linguistic data. As the Romanian language constitutes a matrix in which English and Globish (a simplified pragmatic form of English) are embedded and they become part of a new dynamic code, destined to be changed at all levels (lexical, morphological, and syntactical), Romanian native speakers’ perception of Romglish is an important dimension. As such, this paper will analyse how individuals perceive their personal use of Romglish online and in face-to-face interactions: the use of the code created, the preferences and mechanisms of linguistic choices and linguistic creativity, the frequency of code-switching and code-mixing both in formal and informal contexts, and the degree of universality of the code used. The findings will provide insight not only specific to the aspects of the Romglish, but also related to the cognitive processes involved and the reasons which trigger such processes. Keywords: collective imaginary, Romglish, Globish, cognitive processes, online and offline interactions "

Considerente pentru un mecanism național de validare a rezultatelor învățării pe tot parcursul vieții în contexte non-formale și informale

The article addresses lifelong learning in non-formal and informal contexts. It specifies the role of the key competences system as a referential for directing lifelong learning in formal, non-formal and informal contexts. The significance and particularities of non-formal and informal learning and their value for the development of the human personality are highlighted. Special emphasis is placed on new European trends in facilitating lifelong learning, in particular the value of personal accounts and micro-credentials for motivating adults for lifelong learning. It also, describes the problems/blocks to recognition and validation of learning outcomes in non-formal and informal contexts. In the same context, the experience of the Republic of Moldova in the field of creating and strengthening the mechanism of validation of knowledge, skills and competences acquired in non-formal and informal learning contexts is presented, to which the author of the article contributes directly.

Waste picking as social provisioning: The case for a fair transition to a circular economy

Implementing a circular economy in Latin America can be the opportunity to include waste pickers and other informal workers in a regenerative economic model. This study performed in-depth interviews with female waste picker leaders from Ecuador and Colombia. The results suggest that the modifying effect of becoming part of an association, rooted in social provisioning communities, enables exchange of materials and training while also creating social safety nets for circular economy activities to function in informal contexts. A set of 9Rs for a fair transition to a circular economy are proposed to guide policy and practice based on demands for dignity, care-work counting, and environmental justice fostering what has worked and correcting the oppression that has accompanied the linear economy.

A Study on the Learning Life Histories of Vietnamese Graduate Students Majoring in Korean Language

The study aims to understand personal changes experienced through Korean language learning and the significance of these changes to members of the new Korean Language and Culture Community by examining the life histories of foreign graduate students majoring in Korean language education and Korean literature. To this end, six Vietnamese students who are studying at a graduate school specializing in Korean language participated in this study and their life histories were examined, focusing on the development of their identities. The analysis focused on the (re)construction of identity in the learning processes of participants and showed that participants achieved complex identity development by learning and using Korean in various formal and informal contexts. In this study, changes were described in terms of improving Korean language skills, changing the self-image during early adulthood, and personal growth.

What Keeps Teachers Engaged during Professional Development? The Role of Interest Development

Interest influences adults’ and young learners’ learning in formal and informal contexts. Although interest and interest development frameworks have been used in research on student-learning, they are not used in teacher-focused research, especially as “outcomes” of teacher professional development (PD) activities. In this study, we used interest development as the outcome of PD in computer science (CS) and investigated the factors that influenced teachers’ (n = 5) interest development toward CS using various data sources and analysis methods. We found that interest development is (a) varied, (b) influenced by self-relation, knowledge, and affect, (c) associated with reengagement with PD activities, and (d) it can be captured using computational text analysis methods and online log data.

Gendered Neologisms Beyond Social Media: the Current Use of Mansplaining

The word mansplaining, which is a linguistic blend of man and explaining, is one of the examples of a trend in the English language of creating gendered neologisms – blends and compounds that add an aspect of gender to the meaning of already existing words that originally are gender-neutral (or appear to be). So far, the linguistic research on this phenomenon has focused on analysing them in informal context of social media (see Bridges 2017, Lutzky and Lawson 2019) or crowd-sourced dictionaries (see Foubert and Lemmens 2018). Nonetheless, with the growing popularity, some gendered neologisms, including mansplaining, start being used in outside social media, in more formal contexts. This study presents the place of mansplaining in the current linguistic landscape through looking at its definitions presented in traditional dictionaries and how it is used outside of social media – in what grammatical forms and in what contexts.