Cultural functions of translation

Illustrates that translation as a culture transcending process is an important way of positioning cultures. The focus is on the role of translation for the formation of cultural identities, and on effects of globalization for translating advertising.

Research cultures and the pragmatic functions of humor in academic research presentations:A corpus-assisted analysis

Based on a corpus of English, German, and Polish spoken academic discourse, this article analyzes the distribution and function of humor in academic research presentations. The corpus is the result of a European research cooperation project consisting of 300,000 tokens of spoken academic language, focusing on the genres research presentation, student presentation, and oral examination. The article investigates difference between the German and English research cultures as expressed in the genre of specialist research presentations, and the role of humor as a pragmatic device in their respective contexts. The data is analyzed according to the paradigms of corpus-assisted discourse studies (CADS). The findings show that humor is used in research presentations as an expression of discourse reflexivity. They also reveal a considerable difference in the quantitative distribution of humor in research presentations depending on the educational, linguistic, and cultural background of the presenters, thus confirming the notion of different research cultures. Such research cultures nurture distinct attitudes to genres of academic language: whereas in one of the cultures identified researchers conform with the constraints and structures of the genre, those working in another attempt to subvert them, for example by the application of humor. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Vector Combinatorial Problems in a Space of Combinations with Linear Fractional Functions of Criteria

The paper considers vector discrete optimization problem with linear fractional functions of criteria on a feasible set that has combinatorial properties of combinations. Structural properties of a feasible solution domain and of Pareto–optimal (efficient), weakly efficient, strictly efficient solution sets are examined. A relation between vector optimization problems on a combinatorial set of combinations and on a continuous feasible set is determined. One possible approach is proposed in order to solve a multicriteria combinatorial problem with linear- fractional functions of criteria on a set of combinations.

Fractional Integration of the Product of Bessel Functions of the First Kind

Dedicated to 75th birthday of Prof. A.M. Mathai, Mathematical Subject Classification 2010:26A33, 33C10, 33C20, 33C50, 33C60, 26A09

The overlapping of legal concepts:a legal realist approach to the classification of private law

The thesis presented an overlapping analysis of private law institutions, in response to the arguments that law must be separated into discrete categories. The basis of this overlapping approach was the realist perspective, which emphasises the role of facts and outcomes as the starting point for legal analysis as opposed to legal principle or doctrine.

Taylor Spectrum and Characteristic Functions of Commuting 2-Contractions

2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 47A10, 47A13.

The Deformed Trigonometric Functions of two Variables

MSC 2010: 33B10, 33E20

Subclasses of Starlike Functions of Complex Order Involving Generalized Hypergeometric Functions

MSC2010: 30C45, 33C45

An Examination of Lotka’s law in the Field of Library and Information Studies

The purpose of this study was to test Lotka’s law of scientific publication productivity using the methodology outlined by Pao (1985), in the field of Library and Information Studies (LIS). Lotka’s law has been sporadically tested in the field over the past 30+ years, but the results of these studies are inconclusive due to the varying methods employed by the researchers. A data set of 1,856 citations that were found using the ISI Web of Knowledge databases were studied. The values of n and c were calculated to be 2.1 and 0.6418 (64.18%) respectively. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) one sample goodness-of-fit test was conducted at the 0.10 level of significance. The Dmax value is 0.022758 and the calculated critical value is 0.026562. It was determined that the null hypothesis stating that there is no difference in the observed distribution of publications and the distribution obtained using Lotka’s and Pao’s procedure could not be rejected. This study finds that literature in the field of library and Information Studies does conform to Lotka’s law with reliable results. As result, Lotka’s law can be used in LIS as a standardized means of measuring author publication productivity which will lead to findings that are comparable on many levels (e.g., department, institution, national). Lotka’s law can be employed as an empirically proven analytical tool to establish publication productivity benchmarks for faculty and faculty librarians. Recommendations for further study include (a) exploring the characteristics of the high and low producers; (b) finding a way to successfully account for collaborative contributions in the formula; and, (c) a detailed study of institutional policies concerning publication productivity and its impact on the appointment, tenure and promotion process of academic librarians.