The pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic aspects of language use vary across different situations, languages, and cultures. The separation of these two facets of language use can help to map out the socio-cultural norms and conventions as well as the linguistic forms and strategies that underlie the pragmatic performance of different language speakers in a variety of target language use situatio...

Originating from Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory, dynamic assessment (DA) proposes a novel approach to second language acquisition (SLA) research according to which a dialectical relationship is envisaged between instruction and assessment. Although DA has been applied to some areas of SLA, there are areas, such as interlanguage pragmatics (ILP), that have been neglected.  To address the issue,...

The next generation of distributed digital Video-onDemand (VoD) systems will use admission control tests to ensure that users receive predictable and guaranteed service. If the system cannot support a new request then that request blocks. This paper presents an analytical model to evaluate unified admission control strategies for distributed VoD systems with multiple video classes. We prove tha...

As part of an impeachment attempt on cross-examination of opposing expert witnesses in trial or deposition, the cross-examining attorney may request the complete tax records of the expert. It is widely believed that expert witnesses may be expected to express opinions that favor the parties who engage them and who pay their fees. Theoretically, the purpose of this request is an attempt to paint...