Search

This paper sets out theoretical approaches to language that guide the authors' research in the field, but which have been under-represented in literature. As the English as a lingua franca field of enquiry grows, this article provides needed dialogue, consideration, and reflection over how we conceptualise our subject matter, our roles, and our rhetorical stances. This paper proposes the usefulness of considering the complexity of language, not as something that gets in the way of empiricism or clarity, but as something that makes ELF researchers perfectly positioned to investigate and contribute to wider understandings of language. Complexity theory is drawn upon as a conceptual tool that can be useful in guiding our thinking about the dynamic nature of language, which, in turn, is considered in relation to the reasons why language is complex, namely its roles in relation to practices and contextualisation. Having established our approaches to the complexity of the language in ELF scenarios, we propose implications for ELF researchers' treatment of speakers, language, and ideology.

AIM—To study whether damage in the central 30° field of normal tension glaucoma (NTG) is relatively heterogeneous or homogeneous with respect to intraocular pressure (IOP) related damage. METHODS—Using the results of Humphrey perimeter examinations, the central 30° field was divided into four subfields; superior and inferior hemifields excluding the caecocentral field (30-2 program) and superior and inferior 10° hemifields (10-2 program). In 103 NTG cases, the intraindividual bilateral difference in the mean of total deviations (mean TD) in the four subfields was analysed by multiple linear regression to correct the effects of factors other than IOP. Explanatory variables were the intraindividual bilateral difference in the mean of clinic IOP (IOPmean), that in the ratio of area of peripapillary atrophy corresponding to each subfield to disc area, and that in myopic refraction. RESULTS—The intraindividual bilateral difference in the mean TD was significantly and negatively correlated with that in IOPmean in three of the above four subfields (p

To evaluate the possible correlation between quality of life (QOL) characteristics and grades of legal visual impairment.Quality of life characteristics associated with various causes of visual loss were investigated in 237 Japanese patients in the low-vision care clinic at Tokyo University Hospital, who had been issued the official ID and handbook for the physically handicapped. The main causes of vision loss were glaucoma (87 patients), macular degeneration (35) and diabetic retinopathy (34). Using a previously developed questionnaire, we assessed the correlation between the disability index (DI) as a quality of life characteristic, and the grade of legal visual impairment.Total DI was 1.24 +/- 0.43, showing a very significant correlation with Handicapped Handbook grades (r = -0.44, p.0001). The correlation coefficients were -0.63 (p0.0001) for diabetic retinopathy, -0.50 (p = 0.002) for macular degeneration, and -0.16 (p = 0.14) for glaucoma patients.The needs of low-vision patients correlate with the grade of legal visual impairment and it is important to understand that the needs of low vision patients differ for each disease.