bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
“We Must Bring Together a New Coalition”: The Challenge of Working-Class White Ethnics to Color-Blind Conservatism in the 1970s
Authors: Deslippe Dennis
Published: November 2008

This essay examines working-class white ethnics' rejection of middle-class suburbanite notions of racial innocence, meritocratic individualism, and idealized equality in post-Civil Rights America. Most scholarly attention on white ethnics has tended to dwell on well-documented racism or on their crass embrace of programs earned by others' hard-fought activism (a kind of “me-tooism”). I argue that these interpretations do not adequately capture the complex and often contradictory expressions of “ethniclass” identity in a decade characterized by working-class revolt, backlash, and retreat. I focus on white ethnic leaders allied with the National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs (headed by civil rights veteran Msgr. Geno Baroni); seizing on the capacious definition of “disadvantage” common in the early 1960s, they worked with African Americans and others for increased job training, formed coalitions with organized labor, and lobbied for expanded affirmative action. As they stumbled to construct an economic vision beyond the fading deindustrializing cities from which mainstream liberals seemed disconnected with their version of “rights consciousness,” ethnic leaders articulated positions based on an unwieldy mix of principle and parochialism that defies easy generalization. Given the waning of the white ethnic movement by the late 1970s, their significance lies less in legislative or policy gains and more in their imprint on civic and popular discourse in a period where, despite its powerful effects in the corridors of power, color-blind conservatism fails to capture the views of a majority of white Americans today.
From the Expanding to the Outer Circle: South Koreans learning English in South Africa
Authors: Rooy A. S. Coetzee-Van
Published: November 2008

Learners of English from ‘Expanding Circle’ countries like South Korea find new opportunities of advancing their English. There is a considerable body of knowledge about the experiences of students who go abroad to continue to learn their language of choice in a natural setting where it is the dominant language. The current position of English as the most dominant international language results in a new phenomenon related to language learning abroad. It is reported that children, and sometimes families, travel abroad to countries where they believe they could improve their English proficiency. This phenomenon seems to be particularly true for learners of English in traditional Expanding Circle contexts, for example, South Korea, where the increase in the status of English is widely reported in academic.
An evaluation of task-based learning (TBL) in the Japanese classroom
Authors: Burrows Christian
Published: November 2008

A study of the need for attention to cultural aspects of task-based learning and teaching of English as a foreign language. In recent years applied linguistics has seen a move away from a linguistic syllabus to one built around the sequencing of real-life, communicative tasks. This shift, it is argued, offers a richer exposure to language use, while providing the motivation required for students to build on their existing language repertoire. Proponents claim this use of the language satisfies what is known about second language acquisition, by furnishing contexts that make the learning process closer to real-life language situations, as: ‘People of all ages learn languages best, inside or outside a classroom, by not treating the languages as an object of study, but by experiencing them as a medium of communication.’ (Long & Robinson, 1998:18)
Pidginization, Creolization and the Elaboration of Learner Systems
Authors: Valdman Albert , Phillips John S.
Published: November 2008

In their search for more solid theoretical underpinnings applied linguists are turning increasingly toward the burgeoning field of pidgin and Creole linguistics (Schumann 1975). This attraction stems from recent changes in orientation in these two domains of linguistics that have led to a shared interest in the psychological processes underlying language acquisition. Abandoning their primary concern for the nature of the input data provided to the second language learner, applied linguistics are paying more attention to the nature of the psychological structures and processes that determine what type of data the learner will “take in” and that guide him in the transformation of the intake into his version of the target language. The focus on the learner's language processing mechanisms is evidenced by the favor enjoyed currently by the branch of applied linguistics labelled -- quite inappropriately -- error analysis. At the same time, creolists are looking at pidgin and creole languages from a different standpoint. They are less concerned with the problems that these languages pose to genetic classifications of languages or with the historical filiation among extant pidgins and Creoles. They believe that because of the very fact that these languages, particularly pidgins, assume limited communicative functions in speech communities they are more likely to provide insights on the nature of language acquisition and on the relationships between linguistic structure and the communicative setting.
Politeness Strategies and Second Language Acquisition
Authors: Tanaka Shigenori , Kawade Saiki
Published: November 2008

The two studies reported here investigated the notion ofpolitenessas perceived by native speakers of English and advanced learners of English. The questions which concerned us included: (1) Are native speakers of English really aware of the varying degree of politeness conveyed by a given English sentence?; (2) Is there a high correlation between native speakers of English and advanced learners of English in their politeness judgements?; (3) Do native speakers of English really use different politeness strategies in different situations?; (4) Is there a high correlation between native and nonnative speakers of English in the use of politeness strategies? From a theoretical point of view, Study I was concerned with Lakoff's (1973b) claim that politeness increases with decreasing imposition; Study II was concerned with the distance-politeness hypothesis which predicts that one will use polite strategies in situations where he perceives himself as psychological and/or socially distant from his addresee. From a pedagogical point of view, the comparison of the two studies here suggested that the learner's ability ofjudgingpoliteness in the target language does not necessarily mean that he canusepoliteness strategies appropriately in actual communication situations.
Toward a Modified Structural Syllabus
Authors: Valdman Albert
Published: November 2008

This paper argues for an integration of the notion of communicative competence in the elaboration of syllabuses and the preparation of teaching materials for beginning and intermediate generalforeign languagecourses. A distinction is made between such courses and the teaching of English as a medium of wider communication on an international basis. In FL instruction, as opposed to the teaching of a MWC, metalinguistic, epilinguistic, or cultural objectives may be more highly valued than the use of language for daily communication. In addition, the general context of FL instruction precludes the authentic use of the target language in the classroom, a prerequisite for the attainment of communicative competence. The integration of the notion of communive competence in FL instruction, including the inclusion of notions and functions, involves the grafting of these last mentioned considerations onto a structural-situational-functional base. That base would be modified by moving in five directions: (1) adopting a functional orientation, i.e., providing learners with linguistic means to express notions and functions rather than the teaching of structures for their own sake; (2) focus on semantic notions; (3) cyclical progression; (4) aiming for discursive authenticity by identifying rhetorical devices) providing stylistic manoeuver by the recognition of the role of variants.
Native Reactions to Non-Native Speech: A Review of Empirical Research
Authors: Eisenstein Miriam
Published: November 2008

Recent research considers native reactions to various aspects of non-native speech and associated judgments regarding such speakers. The studies discussed here view listeners, speakers, and language from a variety of perspectives employing both objective and subjective research paradigms. Interlocutor variables which have been found to influence linguistic perceptions include age, social status, degree of bilingualism, and educational level. Even the linguistic sophistication of the listener may be important.

Studies of error gravity, which treat the perceived seriousness of error types in learners' interlanguage, may now be contrasted with data from several related and unrelated languages. The relative intelligibility of language samples has also been investigated as has the role of comprehension in the information of linguistic judgments.

Research reflecting listeners' personal impressions and reactions shows that non-natives tend to be downgraded in contexts ranging from the classroom to the workplace. This area of experimentation would be enhanced by exploration of the issues through studies in natural sociolinguistic contexts.
Some Theoretical and Pedagogical Implications of the Markedness Differential Hypothesis
Authors: Eckman Fred R.
Published: November 2008

This paper is intended as a programmatic contribution to the work of a number of scholars in second language acquisition (SLA) who are attempting to explain various facts about SLA in terms of an interaction between native-language transfer and language universals (Gass & Selinker, 1983). In the present paper, some of the theoretical assumptions and consequences of the Markedness Differential Hypothesis (MDH) (Eckman, 1977) are discussed in comparison with the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis. Crucial differences between the two hypotheses are presented, and empirical evidence in favor of the MDH is reviewed. Pedagogical implications of the MDH are then taken up, and a strategy for interlanguage-intervention is discussed in light of an empirical study. Finally, several problems for the MDH which have been proposed in the literature are considered.
Students Learn Language via a Civilization Course—A Comparison of Second Language Classroom Environments
Authors: Lafayette Robert C. , Buscaglia Michael
Published: November 2008

The primary goal of this research was to compare the improvement in the second language skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing among fourth semester French students enrolled in a content course taught in French and similar level students enrolled in a traditional fourth semester French course where the focus was primarily on the teaching of the language itself. The research used a non-equivalent pretest-posttest design and the results were analyzed using an analysis of covariance to determine mean gain scores of intact experimental and control sections of fourth semester students on the MLA Cooperative French Test. Results showed significant improvement for the experimental group in three of the four skills (listening, speaking, writing) and in two (listening and writing) for the control group. When compared to each other, the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group in the speaking skill while the latter significantly outperformed the experimental group in the writing skill. Attitudinal results showed a significantly more positive attitude toward the study of French among the experimental group. The study is important because it challenges the conventional assumptions regarding the way L2 skills are acquired and improved, and offers the student a valuable time and money saving option since he or she might be able to study a specific content while simultaneously improving L2 skills.
Metadiscursive Processes in the Acquisition of a Second Language
Authors: Giacomi Alain , Vion Robert
Published: November 2008

This study deals with the acquisition of narrative competence in French as a second language by an Arabic-speaking migrant worker in interaction with a target language speaker. In particular, it is devoted to an analysis of the role played by certain forms likevoilàandil[madi] /moi je[di] in narratives. On the basis of a significant difference in the occurrence of these forms in successive encounters in the course of a longitudinal study, hypotheses are formulated about the polyfunctional uses ofvoilà, il[modi] /moi je[di] as a way for the learner to differentiate the narrative planes, to mark the chronology of events in the narrative, or to introduce quoted speech.
Attainment of Syntactic and Morphological Accuracy by Advanced Language Learners
Authors: Bardovi-Harlig Kathleen , Bofman Theodora
Published: November 2008

The present study examines the relationship between syntactic development, or complexity, and overall accuracy evidenced in the written English of advanced adult foreign language learners. Similar acquisition profiles were found to exist for 30 learners across five language groups: Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Malay, and Spanish. Syntactic complexity, measured in number of clauses per T-unit, is found to be similar in all five groups. These advanced foreign language learners, who show similar patterns of error distribution, all show relative strength in syntax, what Newport, Gleitman, and Gleitman (1977) call a universal design feature of language, but relative weakness in morphology, which is always a language-specific system.
Feedback for Language Transfer Errors
Authors: Tomasello Michael , Herron Carol
Published: November 2008

In this study we compared two methods for correcting language transfer errors in the foreign language classroom. Thirty-two English-speaking college students enrolled in two sections of an introductory French course served as subjects. Eight commonly encountered English-to-French transfer errors were identified and randomly assigned to one of two teaching conditions for one class section; each error was assigned to the opposite condition for the other section. In both teaching conditions students began by translating English sentences into French. The sentences were such that an L1 (first language) transfer strategy produced correct translations (e.g., using savoir for some uses of “to know”). A sentence for which the transfer would not produce an adequate translation (e.g., a sentence requiring connaître) was then introduced in one of two ways. In one condition—what we have termed the Garden Path condition—students were given the new sentence and asked to translate as before. Their inevitable transfer error was then immediately corrected by the teacher. In the control condition students were simply given the correct French form and told that it differed from the English pattern (they were not given the opportunity to commit a transfer error). Student learning of the non-transferable form was assessed three times throughout the course of the semester, and at all time points performance was better in the Garden Path condition. We interpreted this finding as support for a cognitive comparison model of second language acquisition.
Attending to Form and Content in the Input
Authors: VanPatten Bill
Published: November 2008

This study explores the question of whether or not learners can consciously attend to both form and meaning when processing input. An experimental procedure is presented in which three levels of learners in four groups were asked to process information under four different conditions: attention to meaning alone; simultaneous attention to meaning and an important lexical item; simultaneous attention to meaning and a grammatical functor; and simultaneous attention to meaning and a verb form. Results suggest that learners, in particular early stage learners, have great difficulty in attending to both form and content. These results raise important questions for current discussions of the role of consciousness in input processing.
Individual Differences in Second Language Learning
Authors: Skehan Peter
Published: November 2008

This article is broadly concerned with the differences between individual language learners. In terms of particular content areas of Individual Differences (ID) research, it surveys developments in foreign language aptitude, motivation, learner strategies, and learner styles. A brief review of earlier research on aptitude is presented, followed by discussions of more contemporary work on the origin of aptitude, namely, as a residue of first language learning ability, and on the existence of evidence for “learner types.” Motivation research is reviewed partly with regard to Robert Gardner's research, and then in terms of a wider framework for the functioning of motivation within an educational context. The review of learner strategies research emphasizes current attempts to develop taxonomies of such strategies, and to investigate their theoretical basis and their trainability. Finally, learner styles research, drawing on field independence theory, is discussed, and links are made with the research on aptitude. The article finishes with sections on conceptual and methodological issues in ID research.
Language Learning Through Interaction
Authors: Pica Teresa , Holliday Lloyd , Lewis Nora , Berducci Dom , Newman Jeanne
Published: November 2008

This investigation of NS–NNS interaction in same- and cross-gender dyads on four information exchange tasks revealed that male and female NNSs made and received a comparable number of opportunities to request L2 input and modify interlanguage output during interaction with female NSs, but during interaction with male NSs, these opportunities were significantly lower for female than for male NNSs. In addition, more request-response exchanges were found on tasks in which either the NS or the NNS was given initial control over task-related information. Findings of the study were attributed to cultural similarities and differences in the interactional behaviors of the participants.
The Production of New and Similar Vowels by Adult German Learners of English
Authors: Bohn Ocke-Schwen , Flege James Emil
Published: November 2008

The study reported in this paper examined the effect of second language (L2) experience on the production of L2 vowels for which acoustic counterparts are either present or absent in the first language (L1). The hypothesis being tested was that amount of L2 experience would not affect L1 German speakers' production of the “similar” English vowels /i, l, ∈/, whereas English language experience would enable L1 Germans to produce an English-like /æ/, which has no counterpart in German. The predictions were tested in two experiments that compared the production of English /i, l, ∈, æ/ by two groups of L1 German speakers differing in English language experience and an L1 English control group. An acoustic experiment compared the three groups for spectral and temporal characteristics of the English vowels produced in /bVt/ words. The same tokens were assessed for intelligibility in a labeling experiment. The results of both experiments were largely consistent with the hypothesis. The experienced L2 speakers did not produce the similar English vowels /i, l, ∈/ more intelligibly than the inexperienced L2 speakers, not did experience have a positive effect on approximating the English acoustic norms for these similar vowels. The intelligibility results for the new vowel /æ/ did not clearly support the model. However, the acoustic comparisons showed that the experienced but not the inexperienced L2 speakers produced the new vowel /æ/ in much the same way as the native English speakers.
Grammaticalization Processes in the Area of Temporal and Modal Relations
Authors: Ramat Anna Giacalone
Published: November 2008

This study investigates some instances of linguistic development in the acquisition of a second language that might be subsumed under the issue of grammaticalization. First, the notion of grammaticalization is discussed with reference to the current linguistic debate and its applicability to the domain of language acquisition is evaluated. Then, some cases are examined drawing on data on the acquisition of Italian collected during several years at the University of Pavia. With respect to temporality and modality, learners are shown to move from lexical means or context-dependent strategies to a gradual acquisition of the morphological devices required by the target language. The results of the analyses are discussed in terms of their implications for both general linguistic theory and language acquisition research.
Syntax, Semantics, and SLA
Authors: Duff Patricia A.
Published: November 2008

This paper examines the intersection of syntax and semantics in second language acquisition (SLA), a perspective on language learning that has received relatively little attention in the past, in ordertoanswer the following question: Why do English-as-a-second-language (ESL) learners tend to use the same morpheme (e.g., HAVE) for Possessives (P) and Existentials (E), when English has separate forms (HAVE, THERE BE) for these two functions? Working within a functionalist framework, data are analyzed from the longitudinal case study of a Cambodian adult who, despite formal ESL instruction and residence in an English-speaking community, persistently uses the form has for both P and E. Although first language transfer can be invoked as a partial explanation forthis, it alone cannot account for the systematic conflation of P and E in interlanguage. Rather, it is argued that the shared semanticproperties of P/E, together with syntactic, pragmatic, and perceptual characteristics of native language, interlanguage, and second language constructions, make this overlap imminently transferable, especially in untutored or low-level instructed SLA.
Discourse Processing Effort and Perceptions of Comprehensibility in Nonnative Discourse
Authors: Tyler Andrea , Bro John
Published: November 2008

The study reported here extends Tyler and Bro's (1992) investigation of the sources of native speakers' perceptions of incoherence in English text produced by nonnative speakers. Using paper-and-pencil tasks, the original study examined two competing hypotheses: (a) The primary source of interference was the order in which the ideas were presented versus (b) the primary source of interference was mismatches in discourse structuring cues. They found no effect for order of ideas but a strong effect of discourse structuring cues. In the present study, 80 subjects were tested on the same texts as those used in Tyler and Bro (1992) but using microcomputers. Subjects rated the text for comprehensibility and answered three questions concerning the propositional content. The computer format represented a more sensitive measure of subjects' reactions to the text because it did not allow looking back and because it provided information concerning differences in reading time for each manipulation. Once again, the results of the comprehensibility ratings showed a strong effect for miscues and no significant effect for order of ideas. Results of the true/false questions indicated that presence of miscues affected subjects' comprehension of the propositional content but that order of ideas had no discernible effect. Finally, reading time results also showed a strong effect for miscues and a mixed effect for order of ideas, suggesting that order of ideas does make a minor contribution to comprehensibility.
Paths of Processing Strategy Transfers in Learning Japanese and English as Foreign Languages
Authors: Sasaki Yoshinori
Published: November 2008

This paper reports on a competition model experiment designed to investigate the sentence-processing strategies of English-speaking learners of Japanese (JFL learners) and Japanese-speaking learners of English. The participants were required to identify the sentence subject of a series of English and Japanese word strings, each consisting of one verb and two nouns, in which noun-animacy, word-order, and case-marking cues either competed or were consistent with each other. The results indicated a correlation between learners' proficiency in Japanese and case-marker dependency in Japanese strings. JFL learners primarily resorted to animacy cues to interpret Japanese strings, suggesting a prepotent role for lexical semantics. There was little evidence of transfer of surface word order, although some JFL learners resorted to the Japanese canonical SOV order to a greater extent than the native Japanese.
Input, Interaction, and Second Language Production
Authors: Gass Susan M. , Varonis Evangeline Marlos
Published: November 2008

The role of conversational interactions in the development of a second language has been central in the recent second language acquisition literature. While a great deal is now known about the way in which nonnative speakers interact with native speakers and other nonnative speakers, little is known about the lasting effects of these interactions on a nonnative's linguistic development. This paper specifically investigates the relationship among input, interaction, and second language production. Through data from native–nonnative speaker interactions in a direction-giving task, we show that both modified input and interaction affect task performance. However, only interaction has an effect on subsequent task performance.
Asymmetrical Knowledge of Ungrammaticality in SLA Theory
Authors: Birdsong David
Published: November 2008

The present paper addresses the argument that access to UG in SLA implies an asymmetrical knowledge of ungrammaticality, which is evidenced in superior accuracy and uniformity in learners' judgments of ungrammatical structures versus grammatical structures (Felix, 1988; Zobl, 1992). I attempt to show that the asymmetry position is conceptually defective, that the evidence for it is inconclusive and inappropriate, and that the evidence adduced is contradicted by other data.
Asymmetries in Second Language Acquisition Data
Authors: Felix Sascha , Zobl Helmut
Published: November 2008

This paper responds to David Birdsong's discussion of the positions and the data presented in Felix (1988) and Zobl (1992). We attempt to clarify a number of misconceptions that we feel characterize his discussion and elaborate further on the performance and competence issues contained in the earlier papers.
Markedness and the Acquisition of Referential Forms
Authors: Muñoz Carmen
Published: November 2008

This paper is based on a study by Chaudron and Parker (1990) on the effect of discourse markedness and structural markedness on the development of noun phrase use. In the previous study, it was found that zero anaphora, the least marked form on the two counts, did not fulfill the general predictions drawn from the two markedness scales, and no explanation was offered for that phenomenon. The research presented here partially replicates that study but focuses on the use of zero anaphora in written text, distinguishing between pragmatically constrained and syntactically constrained zero anaphora. Our findings are discussed in light of this distinction, and an explanation lying in the interaction among markedness, the L1, and the L2 is proposed.
Deductions from some artificial refractive index profiles based on the elementary functions
Authors: Heading J.
Published: November 2008

The familiar W.K.B.J. method expresses in terms of elementary functions approximate solutions of second order differential equations in normal form that otherwise have no analytical solutions expressible in terms of the standard elementary or transcendental functions. Proofs of the connexion formulae required to trace these approximate solutions across transition points are usually derived by comparison with known functions such as the Airy integral or Bessel functions, or by an appeal to the Stokes phenomenon in the complex plane. A new device is developed for the synthesis of refractive index profiles with transition points, and yet yielding solutions in terms of the elementary functions. These are then used to derive the W.K.B.J. connexion formula by means of a novel limiting process based on solutions considered only along the real z-axis. The method is obviously more complicated than the more usual approach, but contains special features throwing new light on the connexion formula across a single transition point.
The solution by relaxation methods of ordinary differential equations
Authors: Fox L.
Published: November 2008

1. Introduction. Modern computational machines and methods are conveniently divided into two classes:

(A) Those depending on physical analogues, and therefore restricted in accuracy.

(B) Those depending on digital processes, and so capable of giving any desired accuracy.
Structure theorems for alternative H*-algebras
Authors: de Guzman Inma P.
Published: November 2008

In this paper, we study the structure of certain infinite-dimensional alternative algebras admitting an inner product and an involution. These algebras, called alter-native H*-algebras in the sequel, are the alternative analogues of the H*-algebras of Ambrose [1].
The canonical form of invariant matrices
Authors: Hunter D. B.
Published: November 2008

1. Introduction. Let A[λ] be the irreducible invariant matrix of a general matrix of order n × n, corresponding to a partition (λ) = (λ1, λ2, …, λr) of some integer m. The problem to be discussed here is that of determining the canonical form of A[λ] when that of A is known.
Complementary variational principles for φiv = f(φ)
Authors: Anderson N. , Arthurs A. M.
Published: November 2008

Complementary variational principles are developed for boundary-value problems with field equations φiv = f(φ) in (0, 1) subject to φ(0) = φ(1) = 0, φ′(0) = φ′(1) = 0. The theory is applied in the non-linear case f(φ) = – keφ and accurate variational solutions, which are simple polynomials in x, are obtained.
Finite equilibrated groups
Authors: Blackburn Norman , Deaconescu Marian , Mann Avinoam
Published: November 2008

If H, K are subgroups of a group G, then HK is a subgroup of G if and only if HK = KH. This condition certainly holds if H ≤ NG(K) or K ≤ NG(H). But the majority of groups can also be expressed as HK, where neither H nor K is normal. In this paper we consider groups G for which no subgroup G1 can be expressed as the product of non-normal subgroups of G1. Such a group is said to be equilibrated. Thus G is equilibrated if and only if either H ≤ NG(K) or K ≤ NG(H) whenever H, K and HK are subgroups of G.
Nilpotent semigroups of matrices
Authors: Okniński Jan
Published: November 2008

The class of nilpotent semigroups was introduced, via a semigroup identity, independently in [8] and [9], cf. [11], Every nilpotent cancellative semigroup S was shown to have a group of classical fractions G which is nilpotent and of the same nilpotency class as S. Groups, and linear groups in particular, satisfying certain related semigroup identities, introduced in [19], have been recently studied in [1], [15] and [18]. In particular, finitely generated residually finite groups satisfying a semigroup identity must be almost nilpotent, [18]. On the other hand, it was recently shown in [14] that a finitely generated linear semigroup S ⊆ Mn(K), over a field K, with no free non-commutative subsemigroups satisfies an identity and for every maximal subgroup H of Mn(K) the subgroup gp(S ∩ H) of H generated by S ∩ H is almost nilpotent. A natural question that arises here is to decide which of these semigroups are nilpotent. Because of the powerful classical theory of nilpotent linear groups, cf. [21], one can also ask whether such semigroups can be approached via group theoretical methods. We note that the very special case of nilpotent connected algebraic monoids has been recently considered in [4]. In [5] the structure of semigroup algebras of nilpotent semigroups was studied, in particular via prime Goldie homomorphic images, leading naturally to nilpotent subsemigroups of the matrix monoids Mn(D) over division rings D.
A homotopy decomposition for the classifying space of virtually torsion-free groups and applications
Authors: Lee Chun-Nip
Published: November 2008

Let Γ be a discrete group. Γ is said to have finite virtual cohomological dimension (vcd) if there exists a finite index torsion-free subgroup Γ' of Γ such that Γ' has finite cohomological dimension over. Examples of such groups include the fundamental group of a finite graph of finite groups, arithmetic groups, mapping class groups and outer automorphism groups of free groups. One of the fundamental problems in topology is to understand the cohomology of these finitevcd-groups.
On the Extension of the Pflastersatz
Authors: Kaufmann B.
Published: November 2008

In this paper I prove some new Pflastersätze for r−dimensional sets in the n−dimensional Euclidean space Rn belonging to one and the same family, in which Lebesgue's fundamental lemma represents a “0-dimensional” case out of r + 1 possible cases of dimensions 0, 1, 2, …, r.
Note on the Gliding of a Plate on the Surface of a Stream
Authors: Green A. E.
Published: November 2008

1. The gliding of bodies on the surface of water has received mathematical treatment by Wagner for both two- and three-dimensional cases. In this note, attention is confined to the two-dimensional gliding of a plane plate on a stream of infinite depth. Wagner's method is approximate and only applies when the angle of incidence of the gliding plate to the stream is small. He expresses such quantities as the total lift on the plate, not in terms of the total length of the plate, but in terms of the length of the pressure surface, which is the distance between the trailing edge of the plate and the point of stagnation. Further, his solution requires that the direction of the jet or spray which is formed should be parallel to the length of the plate. If Lis the total normal lift on the plate, β the small angle of incidence of the plate to the stream, V the velocity of the plate, δ the thickness of the spray and c the length of the pressure surface, then Wagner gives
The Response of a Non-Linear Electric Circuit to an Impulse
Authors: Nuttall A. K. , Hartree D. R. , Porter A.
Published: November 2008

Some apparent anomalies in oscillograms obtained in the course of electrical impulse tests of a material used in the construction of lightning arresters have led to a fuller investigation of the behaviour of the test circuit as applied to the study of a material with a non-linear voltage-current characteristic.

This investigation has been carried out by evaluation of solutions of the equations of a simplified form of the circuit numerically and by means of the differential analyser, and by further oscillograms taken under conditions suggested by the behaviour of these solutions.

The apparent anomalies which originally gave rise to the investigation have been shown to be a real feature of the response of the circuit, and not a spurious effect due to the recording apparatus, and the study of the initial response of the circuit to the impulse leads to the interpretation of another feature of the oscillographic records which had been previously regarded as an instrumental error.
On the Nörlund summability of Fourier series
Authors: Rajagopal C. T.
Published: November 2008

1. The purpose of this note is to prove a result which includes certain classical theorems generally thought of as being unconnected; in explicit terms, a result about the Fourier series of a periodic Lebesgue-integrable function showing that the series is summable at a point by a Nörlund method (N, pn) defined as usual ((2), p. 64) if pn ↓ 0, Σpn = ∞ and the point is in a certain subset of the Lebesgue set. More precisely, the purpose is to prove Theorem I on the Nörlund summability of Fourier series and to derive from it the well-known Theorems A, B which follow and the recent extension of Theorem A in Theorem A' which appears later and is due to Sahney (8).
On Protecting and Sensitising Colloidal Sols
Authors: Rideal Eric K.
Published: November 2008

Stable colloidal sols are always charged, and disperse systems in water appear in most cases to acquire a constant electrokinetic potential of 70 m.v. When the electrokinetic potential falls to 30 m.v. coagulation commences and the rate of coagulation is, as Hardy first pointed out, most rapid at the isoelectric point. Thus the question on what the stability of a colloidal system rests must ultimately be referred to the magnitude of the electrokinetic potential and the methods by which this is increased or decreased in solution.
Unique factorization rings
Authors: Fletcher C. R.
Published: November 2008

1. The concept of a unique factorization domain (UFD) has been defined, for commutative (e.g. (4) page 21) and non-commutative (1) integral domains. We take the theory a stage further here by defining a unique factorization ring (UFR), where throughout, a ring is understood to mean a commutative ring with identity, possibly containing proper zero-divisors.
Regular polynomial matrices having relatively prime determinants
Authors: Barnett S.
Published: November 2008

It is shown that a necessary and sufficient condition that two regular polynomial matrices T, U have relatively prime determinants is that the equation TX + YU = E, where E is a constant matrix, has a unique solution with the degrees of X, Y less than the degrees of U, T respectively. This is a generalization of a well-known theorem for scalar polynomials. An alternative form for the condition in terms of the non-vanishing of a determinant, corresponding to the resultant of two scalar polynomials, is also obtained together with an equivalent determinant of lower order.
A derivation of the ballot theorem from the Spitzer–Pollaczek identity
Authors: Heyde C. C.
Published: November 2008

Over a period of many years there has developed an extensive literature on ballot problems. These, in effect, constitute a very special class of random walk problems, and their recent continued development has been justified by the apparent difficulty of reducing expressions given by the general theory down to the very simple ones that it is possible to obtain in an elementary fashion. In this short note we show that the obstacle presented by this reduction problem is actually a rather small one. For background to the above comments, together with a fairly comprehensive list of references to the ballot theory and its attendant applications, the reader is referred to Takács(2).
A two-dimensional circular inclusion problem
Authors: List R. D.
Published: November 2008

The elastic fields in an elastic circular inclusion and its surrounding infinite dissimilar elastic matrix, are determined when either the matrix or inclusion is subject to a concentrated force or edge dislocation.
Cubic forms over algebraic number fields
Authors: Ramanujam C. P.
Published: November 2008

Davenport has proved (3) that any cubic form in 32 or more variables with rational coefficients has a non-trivial rational zero. He has also announced that he has subsequently been able to reduce the number of variables to 29. Following the method of (3), we shall prove that any cubic form over any algebraic number field has a non-trivial zero in that field, provided that the number of variables is at least 54. The following is the precise form of our result.
The fields of an arbitrarily moving dipole
Authors: Ellis J. R.
Published: November 2008

The 4-dimensional tensor calculus is used to derive the retarded fields of an accelerated electric dipole of constant moment. Following the analogous case of the accelerated charge, it is shown that the result can be expressed concisely in terms of ordinary three-vectors. The radiation field is discussed for important cases including that of the slowly moving dipole. Cases are cited to exhibit the existence of a forward beam of radiation for uniform circular motion.
Franz Neumann's integral of 1848
Authors: Love E. R.
Published: November 2008

Three generalizations of Neumann's integral connecting the two kinds of Legendre function are obtained. They are not subject to restrictions that some parameter be integral, as the original formula and various known extensions of it all appear to be. These known extensions are exhibited as quite particular cases of the chief generalization obtained; and even when this generalization is specialized to the ‘unassociated’ Legendre functions of non-integral order it still seems to be new. Generalizations of Rodrigues's formula and of the orthogonality property are auxiliary results involved.
An approximation to the motion of two rotating electrical doublets in a plane
Authors: Taylor P. A.
Published: November 2008

We may summarize our conclusions as follows. If the rotating doublets have quite different angular velocities
initially, then they repel each other with a force (R) given by

where

and

ø1 and ψ1 being the (constant) angular velocities of the two doublets.

If the doublets have the same angular velocities initially, and the same moments of inertia, then over a certain range of r we have

where

and ω is the common value of the angular velocities of the doublets. When the doublets correspond to hydrogen atoms in their principal quantum orbits, the range of distance becomes 5 Å. to 50 Å. and the formula for R reduces to

This is a law of force of the type found empirically by Lennard-Jones for helium, neon, and argon. The attractive term in this formula is larger than the attractive terms found by Lennard-Jones. The repulsive term, however, which leads to a “diameter” of 3·31 Å., is in very satisfactory agreement with the repulsive terms found by Lennard-Jones.
The Diamagnetism of the Free Electron
Authors: Darwin C. G.
Published: November 2008

1. In a recent paper Landau has shown that, when electrons are moving freely in a magnetic field, they exhibit, in addition to the paramagnetic effect of their spin, a diamagnetic effect due to their motion. This result is rather unexpected, since it is quite contrary to the classical case. There it might appear as though the circles described by the electrons must produce a magnetic moment, but the error was long ago pointed out by Bohr. The motion of the electrons must be confined to some region by means of a boundary wall, and the electrons near the wall describe a succession of circular arcs, repeatedly bouncing on the wall, and slowly creeping round it in the direction opposite to that of the uninterrupted circles; when the moment of these electrons is taken into account, it exactly cancels out that due to the free circles. In Landau's work it is of course necessary to consider the boundary, but he shows how allowance is to be made for it by an appropriate process. The complete justification is rather subtle, and so it may be worth considering a special case, admitting of exact solution, which takes the boundary into account, and so makes it possible to follow more closely the analogy between the classical and quantum problems. With regard to the general case with a boundary wall of any type, we shall only observe that the different results arise, because in the wave problem ψ must vanish at the bounding “potential wall,” and so will be small near it; this upsets the balance of the electric current near the wall, and yields the magnetic moment.
An extension of Wallace's, Miguel's and Clifford's theorems on circles
Authors: White F. P.
Published: November 2008

The theorem of Wallace that if four arbitrary lines he taken in a plane the circumcircles of the four triangles formed by them in threes meet in a point—in which for circles we may equally well take conies drawn through two arbitrary points I, J of the plane —may be proved very easily from three dimensions. Through the four given lines draw four arbitrary planes, forming a tetrahedron X, Y, Z, T. A unique cubic curve can be drawn through I, J and the four vertices. Projecting this curve from the point T upon the original plane, we get a conic which passes through I, J and the vertices of the triangle formed by the lines in which the plane meets the planes TYZ, TZX, TXY, that is, by three.of the given lines. This conic, which is one of the conics of the theorem, also passes through the third point K, other than I, J, in which the original plane meets the cubic curve. Projecting in turn from the other three vertices of the tetrahedron, we get the other three conics of the theorem, which also pass through K.
A Note on Magnetostriction in Single Crystals of Iron and Nickel
Authors: Powell F. C.
Published: November 2008

The magnetisation of a single crystal of a ferromagnetic substance is accompanied by a distortion of the crystal which depends on the intensity and direction of magnetisation. Webster has shown that the magnetostriction in unsaturated states may be accounted for in an entirely satisfactory manner by making the assumption (for which the evidence is entirely convincing) that at ordinary temperatures an apparently unmagnetised crystal consists of small regions magnetised to saturation in various directions, so as to give no resultant magnetisation to the whole crystal, and that these regions possess natural directions of easy magnetisation.
A note on integral functions
Authors: Paley R. E. A. C.
Published: November 2008

1. Let f(z) denote an integral function of finite order ρ. We write

It has been shown that

where hρ is a constant which depends only on ρ. We are naturally led to enquire whether some equation of the form (1.1) may be true with lim sup replaced by lim inf. In this note we show that the reverse is true. We construct an integral function of zero order for which

The proof may easily be modified to construct a function of any finite order or of infinite order for which (1.2) is satisfied.
The Symmetric Derivative and its application to the Theory of Trigonometric Series
Authors: Verblunsky S.
Published: November 2008

1. Let

be a numerical series. If for sufficiently small h > 0 the series

is convergent, we can form the upper and lower limits of J (h) as h → 0. These limits are called respectively the upper and lower sums (R, 1) of the series (1). For the purposes of the present paper it will be convenient to consider a more extended definition of these upper and lower sums. We shall suppose that for sufficiently small h the series J (h) is summable by Poisson's method. We denote the Poisson sum by PJ (h). The upper and lower limits of PJ (h) as h → 0 will be called the upper and lower sums (R, 1) of the series (1).
Note on the Interpretation of the Density Matrix in the Many-Electron Problem
Authors: Dirac P. A. M.
Published: November 2008

When we treat an atom containing a number n of electrons by the method of the self-consistent field, we assume that each electron has its own particular “orbit,” specified by a wave function (q|r) in four variables q. These four variables are usually taken to be the three coordinates of the electron together with a variable describing the spin, but according to the transformation theory of quantum mechanics, they may be any four independent commuting functions of the coordinates, momenta and spin variables.
On the influence of radiative forces on the scattering of electrons
Authors: Mott N. F.
Published: November 2008

1. The formulae usually given for the scattering of electrons by atoms are calculated without taking into account the radiative forces. It has been suggested by the author in a former paper that in the case of the large-angle scattering of electrons with velocity comparable with that of light (for which case the scattering is entirely nuclear), these forces might influence the scattering by an appreciable amount, which would explain the divergence between the theoretical formula and the results of Chadwick and Mercier, which are some 40 per cent. greater. In this paper we shall show that for electrons–of any velocity the influence of these forces cannot be greater than 2 or 3 per cent., and so cannot be invoked to explain discrepancies between theory and experiment.