Common Language Research Articles

El Desarrollo de la habilidad oral en estudiantes de Telesecundaria

Learning a second language is nowadays a necessity. It enables people from different mother tongues to establish a common ground for communicating. Particularly, for teenager students whose first language is Spanish, it has been a recurrent difficulty to articulate an understandable and purposefully oral speech in English as a lingua franca. Therefore, it was necessary to analyse the nature of the factors that hinder Telesecundaria students speaking skill development through a descriptive case study. 19 second grade students were surveyed, interviewed and observed to describe their opinions about the influence it had the socio-affective elements present in classroom learning environment where speaking activities are performed. Results revealed that a supporting learning environment enhanced students speaking skill development. Such environment required teachers to provide communicative activities and authentic teaching materials through which students can practice controlled speech. Such kind of discourse allowed students to experience low anxiety levels. Furthermore, a classroom environment that promotes trust and support will allow students to feel confident to speak in public in English. In conclusion, a supportive learning environment characterized by controlled speaking tasks that employs real-life material will allow Telesecundaria students to develop their speaking skills.

Le traitement de la terminologie pharmaceutique dans la version numérisée du Dictionnaire de l’Académie française

Treatment of pharmaceutical terminology in the digitized version of the Dictionnaire de l’Académie française. This article aims to examine the treatment of pharmaceutical terms in the digitized version of the Dictionnaire de l’Académie française on the example of pharmacy terminology. After a brief presentation of the dictionary microstructure and its current edition, the authors describe the terms marked as belonging to the field of pharmacy, presenting the reasons of these changes, the appearance and disappearance of the terms, the migration of terms between several fields, the passage of words from the common language into terminology and vice versa. The article also shows certain inconsistencies in the treatment of terminology in the Dictionnaire de l’Académie française.

Meta4CBC: Metamodel for Competency-Based Curriculum Design in Higher Education

Meta4CBC is proposed as an innovative metamodel for competency-based curriculum design in higher education, addressing the critical need to adapt curricula to contemporary challenges driven by globalization, technological advancement, and climate change. Inspired by the Business Motivation Model and Semantics of Business Vocabulary and Business Rules metamodels, Meta4CBC seeks to overcome the limitations of current CBCD models by providing a coherent structure that integrates curriculum components at supra, macro, meso, micro, and nano levels and establishes a common language that facilitates interdisciplinary collaboration. The proposal promotes curriculum alignment and coherence while supporting the development of software tools to assist in curriculum design, automate repetitive tasks, and provide data analysis for informed decision-making. The validation of Meta4CBC was conducted through a multi-step methodology involving proof of concept, expert judgment, and practical application. After defining the components through a systematic literature review, the metamodel was tested in the Computer Engineering program at the University of La Frontera. This testing verified its adaptability and alignment across curriculum levels. Experts from various Chilean universities reviewed the model, providing feedback for refinement.

Exploring third spaces during pre‐service teacher online intercultural conversations

AbstractWe examined intercultural conversations in English between South African and Dutch pre‐service teachers during a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) project. Unlike traditional COIL research, which emphasizes good practices and professional development, our approach explored the significance of everyday conversations in finding common ground. Through video analysis, we explored instances when common ground fostered a third space—a hybrid, in‐between space—with the potential to promote equity and inclusivity. Results highlight how intercultural, professional, and personal conversations created temporary moments of third space. The role of “connection” in a COIL project shows how specific snapshots of intercultural communication and personal and normative conversations give alternative insights into pre‐service teacher professional development. These dynamics suggest the importance of a more humanistic approach through descriptions of small, everyday conversational snapshots. Results in this study confirm that a North‐South COIL project using English as a lingua franca is an effective way to promote inclusion and mutual understanding.

Linguistic, Metalinguistic and Psychiatric Characteristics of Children with Speech Sound Disorder

Abstract: Comparing the linguistic and metalinguistic profiles in common developmental speech and language disorders is important in advancing our understanding of their clinical symptoms, as well as potentially informing the conceptual basis of novel interventions. The purpose of the present review article is summarizing linguistic, metalinguistic and psychiatric characteristics of children with speech sound disorder (SSD). Clinically and theoretically, it is important that we can understand different error pattern uses among children with SSD only and children with co-occurring SSD and language impairment (LI). Identifying differences in error pattern use will help to discovering the underlying causes of the different types of patterns. In comparison with children with SSD, children with co-occurring SSD and LI use certain patterns more frequently that suggest more global linguistic deficits. The early identification of children who are at risk for development of co-occurring SSD and LI as well as later literacy problems needs to distinguish these patterns. Identification of speech error patterns and their underlying cognitive-linguistic processing deficits will contribute to diagnosis of children at risk of co-occurring SSD and LI and reading problems. Mounting studies have reported that children with SSD, with and without language impairment have differences in phonological processing, literacy skills, and speech production patterns. Children with both speech sound and language disorders are likely to have more severe literacy problems than those with isolated speech sound disorders. In addition, this paper focuses on the comorbidity between psychiatric disorders specially attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and SSD.

A Comprehensive Framework for Understanding Urban Forests as Social-Ecological Systems

AbstractUrban forest management is a multistakeholder, multi-objective situation whereby a surfeit of synergistic or competing goals may exist. Greater research and applied guidance for what works in which urban forest contexts could help improve urban tree and forest outcomes. The challenge in conducting research of this nature is systematic definitions of “what works” and “which contexts” across multidimensional, polycentric urban forest social-ecological systems. This paper presents a comprehensive framework for studying the complexities in urban forest systems (synthesized from numerous other frameworks in the field) that could be used to generate context-specific insights into urban forest management and dynamics. The logic of using frameworks and specific frameworks that already exist within the field are reviewed. Then, I present the urban forest social-ecological system (UFSES) framework. The UFSES framework specifies 5 first-tier factors: theCharacteristics of Trees in the Urban Forest (T); theSurrounding Growing Environment (E);Management & Institutions (M); andCharacteristics of the Human Community (H); which influenceUrban Forest Outcomes (O). A detailed set of second-tier variables nested within these factors are presented in tables at the end of the paper. The framework can foster holistic systems thinking in a systematic yet flexible way; provide a working draft of a common language for thinking about and studying urban forest systems; and enable comparative case research.

Fostering clinical judgment in prelicensure nursing: utilizing a concept map template

BackgroundThe National Council State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) clinical judgment model (CJM) is integral to prelicensure nursing education, necessitating consistent strategies to develop students’ clinical judgment. Effective strategies should guide students’ decision-making, emphasize priorities, and support deep learning. InnovationThis article introduces a mapping template aligned with the NSCBN CJM, facilitating a systematic approach to clinical judgment. The template offers visual organization, specific actions for each step, and prompts for critical thinking. ImplicationsThe mapping template can enhance student engagement, repetition of concepts, and reflective learning to support clinical judgment consistently across a prelicensure nursing curriculum. Faculty can integrate it into various teaching contexts, clinical instructors can assess students’ decision-making in real-life situations, and students can employ it for independent study. ConclusionsConsistent use of the mapping template fosters a common language, reinforces CJM steps, and serves as a formative assessment tool. Integrating the template into prelicensure nursing education aligns with best practices for developing clinical judgment.

Translation and Cross-cultural Adaptation of a Portuguese Version of the Eating Disorder Assessment for DSM-5 (EDA-5) for Brazil and Portugal.

The EDA-5 was translated from English to Portuguese, followed by a cross-cultural adaptation for use in Brazil and Portugal. Two independent translators worked on the Brazilian and European Portuguese versions, which were then reviewed to create a harmonized version. This version was back-translated into English and approved by the original author. Twenty specialists (ten from each country) evaluated the interview's comprehensibility, and items that more than 20% of experts found unclear were revised. Despite sharing a common language, cultural and linguistic differences between the two Portuguese variants were observed. Discrepancies were addressed in the final version, and only 5.6% of the items in Brazil and 11.2% in Portugal were deemed unclear. The harmonized Portuguese version of the EDA-5 was well-received and is now available for healthcare professionals in both countries.•The final harmonized Portuguese version of the EDA-5 is available online and was well-understood by eating disorder specialists in both Brazil and Portugal

Differential Modes of Mobilization: Building a National Chinese LGBTQ Movement with the Family

Combining the differential mode of association theory with social movement studies of families, I develop the concept, differential modes of mobilization, to understand how the state and family influence LGBTQ rights. Using in-depth qualitative research on two Chinese LGBTQ organizations, my empirical analysis shows that Common Language and PFLAG–China (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays in China) anchor their visions of social change for LGBTQ people to differential mobilizing processes. Common Language connects key social sectors to LGBTQ issues, integrating LGBTQ rights into the state-recognized, family-centered “gender equality” framework. Strategizing around filial piety norms, PFLAG–China anchors its strategy in sequenced changes from the personal level to the entire society, accompanying LGBTQ people and their families as they work on self-acceptance and becoming agents of social change.

Interdisciplinary Labor

This reflection explores the anxiety and physical sensations felt by some scholars when navigating interdisciplinary research. The author describes personally experienced physical and emotional challenges faced during collaborative research, emphasizing the lack of common language and knowledge, and arguing for greater acknowledgment of these embodied experiences. The aim is to foster more honest and productive interdisciplinary dialogues, highlighting the importance of addressing emotional and physical responses to being able to succeed in collaborative research settings. Funding AcknowledgementThis work was supported by Riksbankens jubileumsfond (grant #MXM19-1161:1), to whom thanks are noted.

An Interpolity Legal Regime in the eighteenth century: 
procedural law of prize

Abstract Prize law was a legal regime that played a crucial role in maritime trade and warfare in the European imperial world before the twentieth century, governing both the capture and disposition of enemy property seized by belligerents at sea during wartime. Prize law outlined the rules by which captures were to take place and how captured property was to be handled, adjudicated, and (if “condemned” or deemed a valid capture), disposed of. All European maritime powers had prize regimes during the early modern era, which collectively adjudicated the fates of tens of thousands of vessels worth the equivalent of hundreds of millions of today’s dollars. This article examines the procedural law of prize in the long eighteenth century: the rules that governed how legal actors in the prize regime brought cases before tribunals and the tribunals’ rules for adjudicating them. It shows that the law of prize was an interpolity legal regime, generated within the ambiguous legal spaces that existed between the jurisdictional boundaries of individual states and empires. The article focuses on three important areas of procedural law for evidence of the interpolity character of the prize regime. It looks first at the distinctive role played by mariners in prize procedures. Captains of privateers and other capturing vessels functioned as quasi-officers of the court, responsible for assembling the documentary record that prize tribunals used to adjudicate captures and bringing the cases before the courts. Imperial prize regulations gave almost no guidance on the rules that they were to follow. The proper procedures were defined by mariners and merchants themselves, as unwritten rules articulated at sea. Second, we turn to how the prize tribunals managed language diversity and translation. I show that, a few exceptions aside, prize tribunals did not acknowledge linguistic difference among litigants. Instead, the tribunals relied on silent and often unacknowledged translation processes, which embedded in their proceedings a fiction that all of the actors before them communicated in a common language. Last, the article shows that prize tribunals applied foreign law in their proceedings, in ways that were not formally authorized by imperial law. By focusing on the neglected procedural law of prize, this article offers a different view of the prize regime than the one that has been painted by many studies of substantive law of prize in the long eighteenth century, in at least two ways. One is that studying the procedural law of prize casts into sharp relief the bottom-up character of prize law. Far from being dictated by sovereigns or from imperial centers, much about the prize regime was created informally by lower-level legal actors. Second, a focus on procedural law reveals important continuities in prize law across space and time. Substantive prize law during the period saw extensive debates about the nature of neutral rights, among other issues, with different empires articulating radically different doctrines. The procedural law of prize, true to its interpolity origins, remained remarkably constant across empires and over time.

The Impact of Alai Suri Kurdayeti Magazine in Disseminating National Awareness

This paper, titled "The Impact of Alai Suri (Red Flag) Kurdayeti Magazine on the Propagation of National Awareness," delves into an examination of the content within Alai Suri Kurdayeti Magazine during the period of the mountain struggle and the revolutionary era, spanning from 1981 to 1982. Despite the protracted history of the Kurdish people's struggle for their national rights, the establishment of a comprehensive national identity remains an indispensable intellectual and vital requirement within Kurdish society, intrinsically tied to the notion of national consciousness. The manifestation of a national identity fundamentally hinges on shared national principles, a common language, culture, religion, history, collective aspirations, and unified political and legal principles, all of which necessitate a heightened state of national consciousness. Throughout the history of the Kurdistan liberation movement, diverse strategies have been employed to attain this identity, with media engagement serving as one prominent avenue. During a particularly sensitive period in Kurdish history within South Kurdistan (1981-1982), the Kurdish Socialist Party (PASOK) issued Alai Suri Kurdayeti Magazine. This publication, apart from accomplishing its political objectives, aimed to acquaint Kurdish society with various facets of life and intellect. Its purpose was to cultivate national thought and consciousness while alerting the community to the imminent threats they faced.

(Dis)empowering native speakers? Teachers’ perceptions in Malta

Abstract The article explores the perceptions of English language teachers in Malta with respect to native English-speaking teachers. It discusses the results of a small-scale study involving interviews with teachers working in a boutique English language school. Although the participants acknowledge English’s global significance, the idea of NS supremacy persists. Malta’s colonial heritage reinforces the authority belonging to the NS and influences teachers’ perceptions, with those participants hailing from former colonies struggling with how the NS/NNS dichotomy affected their self-perception. The study discusses the enduring power of the standard varieties possessing prestige, and how British colonialism still impacts teachers’ perceptions. It emphasizes the duty to oppose native-speakerism and promote teachers’ cultural diversity. Finally, the article underscores the necessity for further teacher professional development tailored to the changing Maltese multilingual context amid English’s transformation from the language of power to a lingua franca.

The “Weird” Effect: Shaping U.S. Election Rhetoric

In 2024, as the U.S. election draws close, the media partition bias is increasingly obtrusive in its media framing. This essay explores the broader implications of this rhetorical shift by first analyzing the introduction of “weird” in the 2024 U.S. election discourse with Tim Walz’s viral comment and then comparing the term’s usage by MSNBC and Fox News to explore the partisan usage of the term and how they influence public perception, weaponize humor, and construct biased narratives. The comparisons will center around how semantic framing of words like “weird” creates effective negative priming for the audience and strengthens emotional tendencies such as cue-taking or confirmation bias. Finally, the essay discusses the broader implications of this rhetorical shift, embedding political battles into everyday life and complicating American political discourse. While not new in strategy, the essay underscores how this linguistic tactic uniquely infiltrates common language, reshaping political engagement in contemporary America and further polarizing American society.

A standards-based software tool to support prognostic modelling: application to exemplar heart failure risk scores

Abstract Introduction Heart failure prognosis is an active research area, with the development of several new risk scores each year. While risk score derivation and evaluation have become common practices, these processes currently lack standardisation. Purpose We aimed to: i) develop a standards-based software tool to support prognostic modelling; and ii) apply the tool to derive, evaluate and compare exemplar heart failure risk models to address a hypothetical question of whether using only non-invasive measurements provides similar prognosis value compared to adding invasive measurements. Methods A software tool was developed based on a prognostic modelling workflow defined using the Common Workflow Language and containing 7 steps: univariate Cox proportional hazard (PH) regression, multivariable Cox PH regression with assessment of proportional hazards and linearity with outcome (Schoenfeld and Martingale residuals), derivation of points per risk factor, risk calculation and stratification, discrimination and calibration assessment. Using data from the PEOPLE heart failure cohort [1], two integer-based risk scores were developed to predict 2-year all-cause mortality. The first model utilised 12 variables available at recruitment informed by prior analysis of the PEOPLE cohort to provide a benchmark for comparison, while the second model is based on 9 non-invasive parameters. The analysis was conducted on cases with complete data (n=781), with no internal or external validation. Results By inputting the dataset and indicating the variables of interest for each model, our software tool automatically generated the patient-specific risk scores, risk strata, c-index, and discrimination and calibration plots. A 12-parameter model based on age, sex, ejection fraction, hypertension, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, ischaemic history, NYHA class, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, creatinine and NT-proBNP yielded reasonable discrimination (c-index=0.77). Graphical assessment of risk strata and calibration (Fig. 1.a and c) revealed good performance overall, apart from the highest risk decile where survival was overestimated. The reduced 9-parameter model excluded creatinine, NT-proBNP, and automatically dropped diabetes status for non-linearity. It showed a substantial drop in discrimination (c-index=0.67), confirmed in graphical assessment of risk strata (Fig. 1.b). Calibration was more variable per decile than seen with the 12-parameter model but was more robust to survival overestimation (Fig. 1.d). Conclusion Our software tool ensures the uniformity and comparability of the two risk models derived by a common statistical process. In this example, we showed how the addition of NT-proBNP, creatinine, and diabetes status improves discrimination for predicting heart failure survival. This tool can be leveraged to test new hypotheses in a standardised and reproducible manner to enhance research in heart failure prognosis.

3.B. Scientific session: Why do we need clear understanding of digital public health interventions?

Abstract The rapid proliferation of digital technologies in health and public health has led to various terms and concepts, often used interchangeably or inconsistently. This ambiguity hampers communication, complicates research efforts, and undermines the effectiveness and adaptation of interventions. Without a clear understanding of such concepts, stakeholders face difficulties using, evaluating, and regulating digital public health (DiPH) initiatives. Thus, there is an urgent need to establish a common language - across academic disciplines and in the science-to-practice/policy transfer - to foster collaboration, ensure accountability, and maximize the impact of DiPH interventions globally. This workshop highlights the need for a cross-sectoral understanding of terms and concepts related to DiPH interventions. For this, we identify effective strategies for engaging diverse populations in DiPH interventions, considering accessibility, usability, and cultural sensitivity. Additionally, we present how a more precise understanding of these concepts will impact positive population-health outcomes of DiPH interventions. Finally, we discuss DiPH terminology enhancement regarding data protection, highlighting the boundaries of digital interventions within and outside health policies and public health systems, given the diversity of the legal frameworks applicable in either case. We aim to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge exchange, fostering a shared understanding of terminology and best practices. This will advance DiPH by promoting clarity, rigor, and transparency in research and practice. Shared understandings of key concepts will eventually enhance the design, implementation, and evaluation of DiPH interventions, leading to improved population health outcomes and informing evidence-based policymaking and regulatory frameworks. The workshop consists of four presentations and a 20-minute panel discussion on increasing understanding dissemination. The first talk highlights multi-stakeholder perspectives (including researchers, technicians, health and medical practitioners, and the general public) on the ever-changing terminology of DiPH concepts. The second presentation showcases how these varying perceptions influence the academic representation of DiPH interventions and that interventions - although summarized under the same terminology - drastically vary concerning their use case and characteristics. The third speaker will discuss why a clearer understanding of these terms is needed to increase engagement with DiPH interventions for positive population health outcomes and identify effective DiPH interventions based on evidence. The last talk explains why unclear terminology or standards threaten populations and result in over- or under-regulation of DiPH interventions. Overall, this workshop catalyzes advancing the DiPH agenda in Europe, empowering stakeholders to harness the full potential of technology for promoting population health. Key messages • When we create technical terms, it is our professional approach, characterized by our academic background. It does not necessarily transfer to other domains or the general population. • Digital Public Health can transform global healthcare. However clear & harmonized terminologies are crucial for comparing evolving technologies & paving the way for transformative digital healthcare.

Strengthening the quality of primary healthcare services and interdisciplinary collaboration

Abstract Background Political organisations stress the need for preventive strategies to reduce the amount of avoidable hospital admissions, i.e. admissions that could have been avoided given timely and adequate care in the primary healthcare setting. Interdisciplinary collaboration has been suggested as a means to prevent hospitalizations, but effective implementation remains a challenge. Thus, there is a need for evidence-based strategies to prevent avoidable admissions and support interdisciplinary collaboration. The aim was to develop an evidence-based framework for preventive and coordinated interventions strengthening the quality of primary healthcare services and supporting interdisciplinary collaboration. Methods The project consists of three sub-studies: 1) a mixed methods systematic review following the JBI methodology; 2) a focus group study with primary healthcare providers in the Central Denmark Region, including general practitioners, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, home care providers, registered nurses and nurse specialists; and 3) a study using participatory design, where a framework for coordinated interventions were developed based on the results from study 1 and 2, supported by all stakeholders. Results Findings suggest that some hospitalizations can be prevented by intervening on mental factors, e.g., through trustful relations, and social factors, e.g., living situation. Also, a strong collaboration between healthcare providers from different disciplines and healthcare services is needed to improve the care pathway and prevent hospitalization. The collaboration may be strengthened if the health providers share a common language regarding the citizens’ health status. Conclusions Stakeholders at all levels should be informed about the relevance of considering mental, social and physical factors to improve the quality and responsiveness of primary healthcare services and to develop initiatives to support interdisciplinary collaboration. Key messages • By focusing on the whole person, it could be possible to provide more person-centred care through interdisciplinary collaboration and ultimately to prevent some admissions. • Well-established primary healthcare services are important to provide person-centred care through interdisciplinary collaboration.

Comparative Analysis of the Economies of Türkiye and Uzbekistan

The independence of the Central Asian republic of Uzbekistan, described as the Turkic Republic, has added a new dimension to Turkish foreign policy. In this context, relations and cooperation between Turkey and Uzbekistan, where common language, history and cultural ties are shared, have developed rapidly in many areas due to common interests. Turkey's policy towards Uzbekistan is to support the country's continued existence as an independent state that has political and economic stability, is integrated with the international community, and internalizes democratic values. As a matter of fact, Turkey has clearly implemented its strategy and policy on this issue by immediately recognizing Uzbekistan's independence and providing economic support to the country. In this direction, Turkey supports the country with training programs, projects and technical assistance, especially through the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA). In line with this basic strategy, in this study, Uzbekistan and Turkey are evaluated from an economic and sociopolitical perspective and how each country's special location and geopolitical position shapes the strategies they follow.

Exploring the Motivation of National Common Language Learning among Ethnic Minority College Students in Inner Mongolia

As the importance of the national lingua franca in social communication is increasingly highlighted, this study aims to explore the learning motivation of minority university students in Inner Mongolia regarding the national lingua franca, with the purpose of understanding and analyzing the factors that contribute to students’ learning motivation in a specific linguistic environment. This paper selects minority students in Inner Mongolia universities as the research subjects and collects data through questionnaire surveys and interviews. Combining quantitative and qualitative analysis methods, it reveals the multidimensional differences in learning motivation in terms of gender, grade, and major background. Empirical research results indicate that students’ learning motivation is jointly influenced by social environment, cultural identity, and career planning. Positive factors provide motivation for learning engagement, while negative factors hinder the improvement of learning outcomes to a certain extent. The conclusions of this study have certain practical value in providing targeted language teaching strategies for higher education institutions and also play a positive role in promoting language integration and cultural exchange among minority university students.

Unveiling Russian Language as a Propaganda Tool

The paper explores how the Russian language has been used as a propaganda tool by the Russian government since the Bolshevik takeover while shedding light on its status before the Russian Revolution. Through a critical analysis of numerous sources, including political speeches, media coverage, and cultural products, this paper examines how language has been used to shape public opinion and promote nationalistic ideals. The paper argues that the Russian language has been used as a powerful tool of propaganda in various ways, such as shaping national identity, creating a sense of pride in the country’s history and culture, and promoting a specific worldview. The paper also discusses the role of language in Russian propaganda efforts abroad, particularly in neighboring countries and regions by concentrating its focus on post-Soviet countries. Particular attention has been paid to the policy measures taken by the Communist governments of both Russia and Union Republics to propel the status of Russian as a lingua franca in the Soviet Union by presenting it as the language of education, culture, and high status. The paper concludes with a discussion of the potential consequences of the use of language as a propaganda tool, including the polarization of societies, the suppression of dissent, and the erosion of democratic values. It argues that a critical examination of the role of language in propaganda is essential for safeguarding the integrity of language and promoting open and democratic discourse.