Language Journals Research Articles

Predatory and Legitimate Open Access Journals in Language and Linguistics: Where do they Part Ways?

This study aimed to identify editorial features that can distinguish predatory and legitimate open access journals in the discipline of language and linguistics. Fifty-six journals from the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and an equal number of journals from Beall’s updated list of potential predatory journals (PPJs) were selected for a close examination. Analyses showed that these two groups of journals differed markedly in a large number of editorial features: certain publication frequencies, contact address and contact information, mean number of articles published per year, specialized focus, mean peer review time, claimed adoption of peer review, submission mode, listing of editor(s)-in-chief, relevance of their expertise, mean number of editorial board members, availability of the guide for authors and aims/scope sections, an APC for open access, mean APC, claimed indexation by DOAJ, provision of ethical guidelines and publishing policies, and presence of DOIs. Nevertheless, they did not differ significantly with regard to mean years of editorial activity, mention of average peer review time, mention of acceptance rate, mean number of editorial board members, mean number of editors, listing of editorial boards, claimed indexation by Google Scholar/ERIC/Scopus/Web of Science, COPE membership, and availability of ISSNs. These findings point to distinguishing editorial features that language and linguistics scholars need to consider when they look for legitimate open access journals to disseminate their research.

Combatting Exclusionary Language Practices in Science Publishing: A DEI Concern

Over the last few decades, English has become the dominant language of science. It offers a platform for communication across countries and knowledge-building processes.1 The mantra of “publish or perish” in the academic community is well known, and many are under increasing pressure to publish in high-profile journals, which are mostly English-language journals.2,3 Academics are expected to publish in English regardless of whether this is their mother tongue, or even what region their research was conducted in. As a result, non-native English speakers invest considerably more time and effort in honing their academic writing skills in a language that is not their own. While many non-native English speakers can meet or exceed the writing skills of their native English speaking counterparts, the extra effort required to reach that level places them at a significant disadvantage. In this context, your success as an academic appears to be contingent on your ability to write in English. However, navigating the Anglophone scientific publishing world can be stressful and can cause anxiety for many non-native English speakers. Academics that choose an alternative route and publish in non-English language journals are at a disadvantage as their work is often cited less and overlooked in the international community,4 but ignoring non-English literature and scientific advancements in other countries creates biases in research. Furthermore, ignoring research published in other languages also contributes to incomplete scientific understanding and hinders international collaborations on global challenges such as climate change and pandemics.1,4 English-Only Compounds Inequities The crude construction of the […]

A matter of time: A systematic scoping review on a potential role of the circadian system in binge eating behavior.

BackgroundEmerging research suggests that food intake timing, eating behavior and food preference are associated with aspects of the circadian system function but the role that the circadian system may play in binge eating (BE) behavior in humans remains unclear.ObjectiveTo systematically evaluate the evidence for circadian system involvement in BE behavior.MethodsSystematic searches of PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus were performed for reports published from inception until May 2020 (PROSPERO Registration CRD42020186325). Searches were conducted by combining Medical Subject Headings related to the circadian system, BE behavior, and/or interventions. Observational and interventional studies in humans with BE behavior published in peer-review journals in the English language were included. Studies were assessed using quality and risk of bias tools (AXIS, ROB 2.0, or ROBINS).ResultsThe search produced 660 articles, 51 of which were included in this review. Of these articles, 46 were observational studies and 5 were interventional trials. Evidence from these studies suggests that individuals with BE behavior tend to have more food intake, more binge cravings, and more BE episodes later in the day. Hormonal and day/night locomotor activity rhythm disturbances may be associated with BE behavior. Furthermore, late diurnal preference (“eveningness”) was associated with BE behavior and chronobiological interventions that shift the circadian clock earlier (e.g., morning bright light therapy) were found to possibly decrease BE behavior. Substantive clinical overlap exists between BE and night eating behavior. However, there is a significant knowledge gap regarding their potential relationship with the circadian system. Limitations include the lack of studies that use best-established techniques to assess the chronobiology of BE behavior, heterogeneity of participants, diagnostic criteria, and study design, which preclude a meta-analytic approach.ConclusionCurrent evidence, although limited, suggests that the circadian system may play a role in the etiology of BE behavior. Further mechanistic studies are needed to fully characterize a potential role of the circadian system in BE behavior. A chronobiological approach to studying BE behavior may lead to identification of its neurobiological components and development of novel therapeutic interventions.Systematic review registration[https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42020186325], identifier [CRD42020186325].

Prompting heritage-language engagement in English-speaking Maltese families, via a family language programme intervention

This qualitative, exploratory research study is positioned within the field of Family Language Policy (FLP). Contextualised in bilingual Malta, where Maltese is the majority language, the study inquires into the effects of a plurilingual family language programme on the language ideologies within English-speaking Maltese families. The programme was followed by four such families over a four-week period, during which data were collected via the participants’ weekly entries into semi-structured family language journals. Upon the programme’s completion, a second set of data was collected via one-off, semi-structured, family focus group interviews, for the purpose of triangulation. The findings highlight interrelated issues across the macro, meso and micro levels of language ideology, contributing to existing research by postulating the potential of a family language programme to prompt ideological shifts in support of heritage-language engagement, transmission and maintenance.

Action learning and healthcare 2011–2022

ABSTRACT This paper provides a review of the use of action learning in healthcare organisations, or by healthcare professionals, in the past decade, as evidenced in peer-reviewed journals. Action learning has a long history in healthcare and is perhaps particularly suited to an environment where wicked problems abound, where professional development is prized, and where many of the professions subscribe to reflective practice as a vehicle of development. A systematic search for literature in peer-reviewed English language journals was undertaken, followed by a process of pursuing references from the publications revealed by that search. Papers that provided accounts or evaluations of programmes and projects that included action learning were analysed. Common themes concerning purposes, processes, benefits and challenges were identified. Action learning was used for three purposes in the projects and programmes: to improve an aspect of healthcare services; to develop skills of the participants; to enhance collective capability. Whilst in some cases the intention was to achieve all three beneficial outcomes, it was apparent that in the majority of examples one or another of these purposes was prioritised as the principal aim of the programme or project.

Daily Living Subjective Cognitive Decline Indicators in Older Adults with Depressive Symptoms: A Scoping Review and Categorization Using Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF).

(1) Background: This scoping review identifies subjective cognitive decline (SCD) indicators in ADLs and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) in older adults with depressive symptoms using the WHO International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF). (2) Methods: We searched Medline via Ebscohost, Pubmed, and PsycINFO for articles published on activities of daily living (ADL) indicators of SCD in older adults with depressive symptoms, published in English language journals from January 2011 to November 2021. Following the flow diagram, 2032 titles and abstracts were screened for relevance based on the Population, Concept, and Context inclusion and exclusion criteria. (3) Results: Eight articles provided evidence about the ADL indicators of SCD in older adults with depressive symptoms. The analysis yielded indicators based on low and high cognitively demanding tasks assessed on five different scales. Framed on the ICF categorization and coding system, the SCD-ADL indicators are personal care, mobility, and general tasks and demands; SCD-IADL indicators are mobility, general tasks and demands, learning and applying knowledge, domestic life, communication, major life areas, and community, social, and civic life. (4) Conclusion: Highly cognitively demanding activities present more difficulties for individuals with SCD, making IADLs a stronger predictor of SCD than ADLs.

ANALISIS WACANA KRITIS MODEL FAIRCLOUGH DALAM BERITA BANJIR LIPUTAN6 SCTV DAN KABAR SIANG TVONE

The development of information technology affects electronic media as an intermediary tool in providing and receiving information. An information that is packaged in the form of news in electronic media, especially television has several similarities and differences with other television stations of course with a similar news focus. The purpose of this study is to find out and analyze the language of journalism, both flood news on SCTV and on tvOne. In this study, using the method of listening to the technique of noting through the flow of the stages of data collection, classification, and data analysis. The data of this study were analyzed using the theory of Critical Discourse Analysis (AWK) Fairclough model with the details of the discussion, namely microstructural analysis, mesostructural analysis, and macrostructural analysis. Based on the results of the discussion, it was found that the two flood news had several similarities in terms of what was expressed in terms of the word submerged which is a representation of flooding. In addition, there is a message for people affected by flood events to be more alert and alert. From this research, it can be concluded that journalistic language in news has a high dominance of news content in addition to looking at external aspects outside the news.

Getting the whole story

Historical research involves the construction of competing narratives around complex historical events. Getting the whole story requires having access to these narratives, which can be a challenge when the coverage of historical research in widely used databases is incomplete or biased. This paper investigates to what extent journals indexed in two historical research databases, namely Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life, are covered by the Web of Science and Scopus, as well as the national and linguistic biases in that coverage. Results show a much higher coverage of historical research in Web of Science than Scopus. However, both databases disproportionately favour indexing English language journals and journals published in the United States and the United Kingdom. That raises questions about how these imbalances in journal coverage may lead to biases in the narratives to which readers are exposed when they limit their sources to those included in large, multidisciplinary databases.

Manifestations of syntactic extension in using nominal sentences in the media language of Twitter "General WAS account on Corona virus"

The present study addressed a number of concepts in the introduction including extension, journalistic language, Twitter, and Corona virus. The first part of the paper dealt with syntactic extension exemplified by the use of indefinite nouns in the initial position in a sentence and omitting the sentence subject (theme) based on criteria approved by syntacticians. The second part addressed the different forms of syntactic extension manifested in using verbal clauses and quasi-proposition as sentence rheme, relating these forms to the syntactic rules approved by early syntacticians. By examining these phenomena, and adopting Aljorjani’s Theory of Construction, the paper sought to investigate the relationship between using this kind of language and the intended meanings, and to highlight the rhetorical purposes the WAS account seeks to achieve. The study was applied to a sample of 606 tweets based on syntactic and organizational criteria approved by the account. The study confirmed that syntactic extension in the study sample produced a number of linguistic constructions because languages are subject of changes over time. These constructions need to be examined so as to accept or reject them based on the approved grammatical rules.

Supporting English non-dominant language authors’ efforts to publish: perspectives from the editors-in-chief of highly recognised journals in Mathematics Education

In this article, we document the support provided by highly recognised journals in Mathematics Education in response to the challenges faced by English non-dominant language (EnDL) authors when they attempt to publish in English. To address this issue, we first conducted a synthesis of research literature related to those influences that direct EnDL authors’ publication efforts towards English language journals and the associated challenges that result. Second, we gathered survey and interview data from participant editors-in-chief of leading journals in Mathematics Education about the support, enacted and planned, provided by their journal for EnDL authors and associated challenges. Finally, we discuss the findings of the study from the perspective of heteroglossia. Findings indicate that while a range of initiatives have been employed to support EnDL authors, current journal policies lag somewhat behind the plans of editors-in-chief, which have been limited, to date, by available resources.

Stylistic characterization of the adjectival metaphor in La Semaine Africaine

This article examines the stylistic characterisation of adjectival metaphor in journalistic expression. The aim is to analyse three functional contexts of adjectives that create a particularity of style in journalists' writing: the art of criticizing, representing and characterizing current events and facts. In order to deal with adjectives, we have used a corpus collected in the Semaine Africaine. Thus, the aim is to show that adjectival metaphor has a descriptive and persuasive motivation and that it generates stylistic effects in journalistic language. In the application of pragmatics, our results showed that adjectival metaphor offers journalists an expressive, aesthetic, sincere and photographic style and that it becomes a practice of argumentation in the Congolese written press.

ADOPTION OF DIGITAL MEDIA BY AFRICAN LANGUAGE PRINT NEWSPAPERS: THE CASE OF ISOLEZWE

Digital media have transformed media’s news gathering, production and news dissemination traditions. However, African language newspapers’ use of digital media has been overlooked and understudied. Therefore, this study explores the adoption of digital media by Isolezwe, a South African indigenous language newspaper that publishes in IsiZulu. Data were gathered using the interview and observation methods. Deploying strands drawn from media convergence and diffusion of innovation theories, the study shows the convergence of African language print media and digital media, and advancement of African language newspapers towards increasing their digital and social media presence. This development has positively enhanced Isolezwe’s journalistic functions of newsgathering and dissemination. The study provides insights into understanding African language journalism in the context of the advancement of digital and communication technologies. Findings from this research show that Isolezwe has expanded its digital presence to social media. Over and above the online version, Isolezwe is also actively engaged on Twitter and Facebook which are the two most popular social networking sites in South Africa. The platforms are strategically deployed for newsgathering and news dissemination purposes. This is a timely contribution to existing scholarship on the adoption of digital media by indigenous languages newspapers in South Africa in particular and Africa in general. The study also provides insights into understanding African language journalism in the context of the advancement of digital and communication technologies.

Where predatory and mainstream journals differ: A study of language and linguistics journals

AbstractThis study examined editorial differences between potential predatory and mainstream journals in the discipline of language and linguistics. A keyword search of the relevant journals on Beall's updated list of potential predatory journals led to a sample of 66 journals. An equal number of journals were selected from those indexed by Web of Science (WoS) via stratified random sampling. Analyses showed that the two groups of journals did not differ in terms of certain publication frequencies, mean number of annual articles, mention of peer review time, availability of the author guides and aims/scope sections, absence of editorial boards, mean number of editorial board numbers, article processing charge (APC) for open access, claimed indexation by ERIC and DOAJ and availability of ISSNs. However, these two groups of journals differed markedly in terms of contact information, years of editorial activity, certain publication frequencies, specialized focus, mention of acceptance rate, mean peer review time, claimed adoption of peer review, submission mode, listing of editors‐in‐chief, relevance of their expertise, mean number of editors, relevance of the editorial board members' expertise, mean APC, claimed indexation by Google Scholar/Scopus/WoS, reporting of fake impact factors, provision of Index Copernicus Value, claimed COPE membership, availability of ethical guidelines and various policies and existence of DOIs. These differences can be used as warning signs that a journal may not be legitimate.

English for Specific Purposes Research and Practice in the Past 20 Years (2001-2020) in China: A Literature Review

This paper reviews the literature on English for Specific Purposes (ESP) research in 15 CSSCI foreign language journals in China’s CNKI database over the last two decades. The data have been quantified and visualized with Citespace. This paper analyzes research advances and themes, and then puts forward suggestions based on the current situation of college English teaching in China. The findings reveal that: 1) ESP publications have shown a rising trend during the past 20 years; 2) The study of ESP in academic dissertations is mainly at the MA level; 3) ESP research focuses on such issues as relationships between ESP and college English, academic English, corpus and teaching modes; 4) The dominant method of ESP research in China is non-empirical while more and more empirical studies have emerged since 2011. This study also critically analyzes the research limitations and recommendations of the ESP study.

Dzienniki, tom I, lata 1944–1960 [Diary, vol. 1, 1944–1960

<i>Dzienniki, tom I, lata 1944–1960</i> [Diary, vol. 1, 1944–1960

Co‐authoring with undergraduate students: An emerging process from the semi‐periphery of the world of science

AbstractUndergraduate students benefit from writing for publication and co‐authoring with faculty, who in turn find value in collaborating with students. Yet, compared to graduate students and novice researchers, undergraduates are rarely in the focus of research and practice around scholarly writing and co‐authorship. Furthermore, this limited knowledge is primarily, if not exclusively, produced by scholars in countries that dominate the international publication landscape. How faculty and undergraduates from countries in the semi‐periphery of the world of science collaborate to co‐author scholarly publications is not clear. This paper describes a process that has led to publishing articles with undergraduate students in the semi‐periphery in English language journals indexed in Web of Science (SSCI), Scopus, and the AJG guide. The process consists of two phases that differ across such dimensions as goals, length, key steps, and contributors' roles. The process demonstrates that collaboration with talented undergraduates is not different from co‐authoring with novice and experienced scholars in its final outcome, a high‐quality article, and its process of creative ideation, rigorous execution, and collective contribution. I discuss how journal editors, universities, and other researchers in the semi‐periphery could change the ways in which they approach publication collaborations with undergraduate students.

Role of Physiotherapy in Managing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is the most widespread form of diabetes and is becoming a global burden. This disorder distresses almost all of body systems leading to a number of complications such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetic peripheral neuropathy, diabetic nephropathy, musculoskeletal disorders and lower limb amputations which in turn increase the rate of mortality and impoverished life's quality. This beseeches for better treatment methods, but the pharmacological approaches are limited by their adverse effects. In that context physiotherapy is an emerging non-pharmacological approach. The objective of this review was to systematically review the current evidence on role of physiotherapy in type 2 diabetes patients. A comprehensive search of literature published between 2010 to 2021 was conducted using; PubMed, ScienceDirect and PEDro databeses. 34 RCTs determining the role of different physiotherapy interventions published in peer reviewed English language journal were included in this review. Studies with less than 20 participants and conducted in age less than 18 years were excluded. This review was conducted in compliance with PRISMA guidelines. Study quality was assessed using PEDro scale; data on participant and intervention characteristics, outcome measures and treatment outcomes were extracted based on PICO framework by one reviewer under the supervision of another reviewer. The quality of trials as per PEDro was a mean score of 6. Overall, these studies evaluated the role of physiotherapy interventions such as exercise therapy, electrotherapy and other new and uncommon interventions such as pilates, whole body vibration and mini-trampoline in improving T2DM patients. This was the first systematic review to gather the evidence related to role of physiotherapy as a non-pharmacological approach in managing T2DM. The findings of present review suggested that different physiotherapeutic interventions have a positive role to play in management of T2DM and its associated complications but the literature is mainly focused on exercise therapy although many other physiotherapy interventions also proved to be beneficial.

Italian Politics and Culture from Fascism to Postwar Democracy in the Life and Work of Uguccione Ranieri di Sorbello (1906–1969)

Italian Politics and Culture from Fascism to Postwar Democracy in the Life and Work of Uguccione Ranieri di Sorbello (1906–1969)

Literacy Entanglements and Relationality, Time, Place, Space and Identity

Tawaw, or welcome, to this special digital edition of the Language and Literacy journal. This issue is a direct result of the scholarship shared by participants and the development and management of the 18th annual, but first digital, Language and Literacy Researchers of Canada (LLRC/ACCLL) pre-conference by the co-chairs[1] (Jing Jin, Lara Polak, Velvalee Georges, and Yina Liu). The theme, Literacy Entanglements &amp; Relationality: Time, Space, Place, and Identity, aspires to engage researchers in moving beyond entanglement toward evolving relationality through and in the various dimensions of time, space, place, and identity. This theme was intended to create opportunities for researchers to attend to the complexities inherent in broadening and strengthening our understandings of language and literacy entanglement. We anticipated thoughtful conversation about how humans engage with literacy and language at various stages of relations, from superficial acknowledgment to exploring how our messages are transformed by identity, time, space, and place. We wondered how the course of literacy and language research might become more robust by attending to all dimensions, particularly as we move from face-to-face to virtual contexts and digital means.

Kashubian – its Middle Low German heritage as partial superstrate

Abstract This article is about a Slavic language that has undergone massive lexical and grammatical influence from medieval Low German (MLG). As it has retained its fundamentally Slavic character, we focus on the heritage status of Low German intruding into what essentially remains Slavic typologically. Kashubian is West Slavic with a considerable (Middle) Low German heritage. As expected for a substrate language, such as Kashubian, there is considerable lexical, but minor syntactic German influence in Kashubian. Yet, one main typological characteristic of Slavic Kashubian and Polish, the cross-Slavic aspect and tense paradigm has been expanded by the miec ʻhave’ and the bëc ʻbe’ periphrases expressing tense in the sense of the German perfect tense using the verbal bracket. We trace the change from the pretemporal periphrastic predicative construction (subject-PP-Aux) and the attributive pattern (subject-Aux-PP) in Kashubian (and Polish), as opposed to the superstate German tense periphrasis and the verbal bracket “subject [-Aux-object-PP]” or “subject-object-PP-Aux”; its link to the Polish aspect and simple tense pattern. And we ask the question: are there evolutionary genetic components in the heritage situation that might lead to genetic patterns of natural L-change and grammaticalization? This paper is based on the view that grammar change in a heritage language like Kashubian is not necessarily a case of Darwinian (genetic) evolution in that the targets are seldom cognitively encapsulated procedural parts of grammar (such as the German verbal bracket in dependent clauses of German). The reason is that the latter is structural in Low German, the superstrate language, while it may be used both structurally and relationally in Kashubian and non-structurally (i.e., only relationally) in Polish. Much rather, the cognitively accessible, declarative content of grammars is open for social changes (lexical inventories and their paradigms). Theoretically, the paper is framed under modern heritage considerations (Kelleher, Ann. 2010. What is a heritage language? Davis: University of California. http://www.cal.org/heritage/pdfs/briefs/What-is-a-Heritage-Language.pdf (accessed 26 February 2021); Polinsky, Maria. 2018. Heritage languages and their speakers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; Polinsky, Maria &amp; Gregory Scontras. 2019. Understanding heritage languages. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. 1–17; Scontras, Gregory &amp; Michael T. Putnam. 2020. Lesser studied Heritage Languages: An Appeal to the Dyad. Heritage Language Journal. 152–155).