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- Björkman, Beyza, 1973-
(författare)
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Spoken Lingua Franca English at a Swedish Technical University : An investigation of form and communicative effectiveness
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- As a part of the process of globalization, an increasing number of higher education institutions are adopting English as the medium of instruction for parts of their education. Within most universities in continental Europe, there are English as a lingua franca (ELF) settings where English is spoken by users of a wide spectrum of first languages for various purposes, be it for academic activity or social interaction. This is clearly the case for Sweden, where higher education has become increasingly international and thus linguistically diverse, for educational, idealistic and financial reasons. This study reports the findings of a project that investigated the form and pragmatics of spoken lingua franca English in Swedish higher education. The group in focus is exclusively engineering students and lecturers in content courses. The results are based on authentic data from high-stakes spoken communication. The study comprises two dimensions, namely form and communicativeness. In the form dimension, the material was checked extensively for non-standard morphosyntactic features. In the second dimension, communicativeness was investigated. The emphasis was then put on the discourse level for further examination, and the material was checked intensively for pragmatic strategies. Finally, a survey was carried out to investigate perceived communicativeness and attitudes towards morphosyntactic non-standardness. The results indicate that communication takes place without much overt disturbance in this lingua franca setting with the exception of non-standard question formulation. Pragmatically, these speakers use a variety of strategies to negotiate and clarify meaning, such as commenting on discourse structure, signaling importance etc. Finally, the results of the survey show some irritation towards non-standardness. From these results, the notion of effectiveness in ELF settings emerges as being determined primarily by pragmatic ability and less by proficiency.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Björkman, Lena, 1965, et al.
(författare)
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The proinflammatory activity of recombinant serum amyloid A is not shared by the endogenous protein in the circulation.
- 2010
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Ingår i: Arthritis and rheumatism. - : Wiley. - 1529-0131 .- 0004-3591. ; 62:6, s. 1660-5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: Elevated serum levels of the acute-phase protein serum amyloid A (SAA) are a marker for active rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and SAA can also be found in the tissues of patients with active RA. Based on a number of studies with recombinant SAA (rSAA), the protein has been suggested to be a potent proinflammatory mediator that activates human neutrophils, but whether endogenous SAA shares these proinflammatory activities has not been directly addressed. The present study was undertaken to investigate whether SAA in the plasma of patients with RA possesses proinflammatory properties and activates neutrophils in a manner similar to that of the recombinant protein. METHODS: Neutrophil activation was monitored by flow cytometry, based on L-selectin shedding from cell surfaces. Whole blood samples from healthy subjects and from RA patients with highly elevated SAA levels were studied before and after stimulation with rSAA as well as purified endogenous SAA. RESULTS: Recombinant SAA potently induced cleavage of L-selectin from neutrophils and in whole blood samples. Despite highly elevated SAA levels, L-selectin was not down-regulated on RA patient neutrophils as compared with neutrophils from healthy controls. Spiking SAA-rich whole blood samples from RA patients with rSAA, however, resulted in L-selectin shedding. In addition, SAA purified from human plasma was completely devoid of neutrophil- or macrophage-activating capacity. CONCLUSION: The present findings show that rSAA is proinflammatory but that this activity is not shared by endogenous SAA, either when present in the circulation of RA patients or when purified from plasma during an acute-phase response.
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| 4. |
- Björkman, Torbjörn, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Theoretical studies of the incommensurate magnetic structure of a heavy fermion system: CeRhIn5
- 2010
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Ingår i: Physical Review B. Condensed Matter and Materials Physics. - 1098-0121 .- 1550-235X. ; 81:9, s. 094433-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have investigated the electronic structure and the incommensurate magnetic configuration of the pressure-induced superconductor CeRhIn5. Noncollinear first-principles calculations were performed in the local-density approximation plus U scheme. The observed magnetic configuration is described accurately in our calculations, especially considering the minute energy scale which is relevant (microelectron volt). The band structure and Fermi surfaces were investigated and nesting was found to be responsible for the complex noncollinear magnetic state of CeRhIn5.
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| 5. |
- Elmendorf, Sarah C., et al.
(författare)
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Global assessment of experimental climate warming on tundra vegetation : heterogeneity over space and time
- 2012
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Ingår i: Ecology Letters. - : Wiley. - 1461-023X .- 1461-0248. ; 15:2, s. 164-175
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Understanding the sensitivity of tundra vegetation to climate warming is critical to forecasting future biodiversity and vegetation feedbacks to climate. In situ warming experiments accelerate climate change on a small scale to forecast responses of local plant communities. Limitations of this approach include the apparent site-specificity of results and uncertainty about the power of short-term studies to anticipate longer term change. We address these issues with a synthesis of 61 experimental warming studies, of up to 20 years duration, in tundra sites worldwide. The response of plant groups to warming often differed with ambient summer temperature, soil moisture and experimental duration. Shrubs increased with warming only where ambient temperature was high, whereas graminoids increased primarily in the coldest study sites. Linear increases in effect size over time were frequently observed. There was little indication of saturating or accelerating effects, as would be predicted if negative or positive vegetation feedbacks were common. These results indicate that tundra vegetation exhibits strong regional variation in response to warming, and that in vulnerable regions, cumulative effects of long-term warming on tundra vegetation and associated ecosystem consequences have the potential to be much greater than we have observed to date.
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| 6. |
- Farserotu, John, et al.
(författare)
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Smart Skin for tactile prosthetics
- 2012
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Ingår i: [Host publication title missing]. - 9781467312349 ; , s. 1-8
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper provides an overview of a concept for a Smart Skin, for enabling tactile prosthetics that provide for a natural sensation of touch. The solution embeds miniature, ultra-low power, wireless sensors into the silicone coating of the prosthetic. The solution offers advantages in terms of scalability, ability to place the sensors almost anywhere, fault tolerance and potential ease of manufacturing.
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| 7. |
- Garpenhag, Lars, 1981-
(författare)
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Kriminaldårar : Sinnessjuka brottslingar och straffrihet i Sverige, ca 1850–1930
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this thesis is to explain how the management of insane offenders operated and changed in Sweden in the approximate period 1850–1930. The investigation concerns primarily a level of practice, i.e. how insane offenders were treated in courts and insane asylums as a part of the everyday activities of these institutions. Their treatment depended on a double set of social categorizations. In the courts the insane had to be discerned from the sane, and at asylums criminals were distinguished from non-criminal patients. Asylum patient records and other sources are used to examine different aspects of the the trial and post-trial treatment of insane offenders, as well as their social composition as a group.It is shown that during the period of study, the management of criminal cases of this kind went through important changes. One important change was that the boundaries of criminal responsibility shifted when new kinds of deviant mental conditions came to be taken into consideration as grounds for exemption from punishment. An important observation is that the division of labor in trials, between lawyers and physicians, as well as between medical professionals, was a harmonious one. No conflicts of a more general nature are noticeable in the studied cases. In contemporary discussions criminals were often described as a problematic type of psychiatric patients, characterized by traits making them unsuitable for care in regular asylums. The investigation shows that insane offenders were subject to different kinds of special treatment, regarding e.g. their release from asylum care, attempts to religious and moral reform, and through considerations surrounding security and discipline. However, despite the frequent portrayal of criminal patients as troublesome, most of them remained in regular psychiatric institutions, and there is ample evidence that individual criminals could enjoy the same liberties and privileges as other patients.
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