Interactive metadiscourse in dentistry research articles: Iranian vs non-Iranian academic writers

Linguistically, interactive metadiscourse devices are responsible for creating an unfolding and persuasive piece of writing. They help writers come up with a cohesive and reader-friendly text and highlight how they control the interactive meaning. This corpus-driven study is an attempt to explore the use of interactive metadiscourse markers in English dentistry research articles published in International ISI-indexed and Iranian local research-based journals. The aim was to see if interactive resources, as realized by rhetorical options, such as transitions, code glosses, endophoric markers, evidentials, and frame markers, are predisposed to discipline-specific rhetorical conventions. To this end, fourty dentistry research articles were analyzed using Hyland’s (2005) Interpersonal Model of Metadiscourse. The results disclosed similarities and differences in both the frequency and use of interactive resources between the two sets of research articles. The present results are expected to extend our understanding of authorial preferences for the use of metadiscourse markers in tandem with discourse functions in research articles in the selected discipline. The results of such studies may also improve different features of language pedagogy, such as teaching and learning academic writing, namely research articles

Better e-Learning for innovation in education

This book is an output from the ERASMUS+ project number 2015-1-TR01-KA204-021954 under the name 'Better e-Learning for All' (Project acronym: Better-E)This book - "Better e-Learning for Innovation in Education" - intends to provide an overview of the most important issues that relate Education through e-Learning and Pedagogical Innovation.Acknowledgements: The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community's ERASMUS+ PROGRAMME under grant agreement no. 2015-1-TR01-KA204-021954 “Better e-Learning for All”.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A study of the integration of literature and communicative language teaching

Since the early 1980s, attitudes toward literature in English language teaching (ELT) have undergone two major changes. First, after a long period in which literature was essentially excluded from ELT, it began to be seen in a more favourable light. Second, literature began to be viewed more as a tool in ELT, rather than as the end towards which ELT students should be led. These changes in attitude have led to a surge of interest in literature in ELT, particularly in the context of Communicative language teaching (CLT). This study examines, in several ways, the nature and the extent of this renewed interest in literature. The study explores the evolution of these changes, and puts them in perspective by creating various classifications for current types of approaches to literature in ELT and CLT. It also investigates the degree to which interest in literature in ELT has moved from research and scholarship to actual practice among teachers. In addition, it attempts to extend literature's applications in CLT by experimenting with the use of literature in a domain of CLT generally regarded as unsuited to literature-based teaching: English for Specific Purposes (ESP). The study also offers a series of proposals through which further integration of literature and CLT can take place

Elementos para una teoría social de la comunicación tecnológicamente mediada: de la Modernidad a la Postmodernidad

Mass and digital media (Technologically Mediated Communication) have been one of the most decisive motive forces in the transition from Modernity to Postmodernity. It has helped to change the nature of power that has evolved from the capacity to define reality for a few groups to a greater participation in the selection and exclusion of social imaginary elements. Social movements represent this diversification and more participation in the social construction of reality. This article proposes the theoretical tool the communicative paradox for explaining how communication works in a social level and how it is possible to explain society from a communicational perspective (communication as the primary and constitutive social process). The paradox, the symbolic power and the role of counter-ideologies (social movements) are three elements for the social theory of communication proposed in this paper.Los medios de comunicación (la comunicación tecnológicamente mediada) han sido fuerzas motrices esenciales en la transición de la Modernidad a la Postmodernidad. Ellos han ayudado a cambiar la naturaleza del poder, que ha evolucionado de la capacidad de definir la realidad por parte de unos pocos grupos, a una mayor participación de actores sociales en la selección y exclusión de los elementos que conforman nuestro imaginario colectivo. Los movimientos sociales representan esta mayor participación en la construcción social de la realidad. Este artículo propone la herramienta teórica “la paradoja comunicativa” para explicar cómo la comunicación funciona a nivel social (la comunicación como elemento primario y constitutivo). La paradoja comunicativa, el poder simbólico y el rol de las contra-ideologías (movimientos sociales) son los tres elementos de la teoría social de la comunicación propuesta en este artículo

Novel statistical approaches to text classification, machine translation and computer-assisted translation

Esta tesis presenta diversas contribuciones en los campos de la clasificación automática de texto, traducción automática y traducción asistida por ordenador bajo el marco estadístico. En clasificación automática de texto, se propone una nueva aplicación llamada clasificación de texto bilingüe junto con una serie de modelos orientados a capturar dicha información bilingüe. Con tal fin se presentan dos aproximaciones a esta aplicación; la primera de ellas se basa en una asunción naive que contempla la independencia entre las dos lenguas involucradas, mientras que la segunda, más sofisticada, considera la existencia de una correlación entre palabras en diferentes lenguas. La primera aproximación dió lugar al desarrollo de cinco modelos basados en modelos de unigrama y modelos de n-gramas suavizados. Estos modelos fueron evaluados en tres tareas de complejidad creciente, siendo la más compleja de estas tareas analizada desde el punto de vista de un sistema de ayuda a la indexación de documentos. La segunda aproximación se caracteriza por modelos de traducción capaces de capturar correlación entre palabras en diferentes lenguas. En nuestro caso, el modelo de traducción elegido fue el modelo M1 junto con un modelo de unigramas. Este modelo fue evaluado en dos de las tareas más simples superando la aproximación naive, que asume la independencia entre palabras en differentes lenguas procedentes de textos bilingües. En traducción automática, los modelos estadísticos de traducción basados en palabras M1, M2 y HMM son extendidos bajo el marco de la modelización mediante mixturas, con el objetivo de definir modelos de traducción dependientes del contexto. Asimismo se extiende un algoritmo iterativo de búsqueda basado en programación dinámica, originalmente diseñado para el modelo M2, para el caso de mixturas de modelos M2. Este algoritmo de búsqueda nCivera Saiz, J. (2008). Novel statistical approaches to text classification, machine translation and computer-assisted translation [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/2502Palanci

The iPad - an EFL Revolution? An exploratory study of the iPad in tertiary education in the UAE

This thesis is under permanent embargo as it is an earlier version of the final thesis, which is available in ORE at http://hdl.handle.net/10871/122150ABSTRACT: The iPad: an EFL classroom revolution? The motivation for this study was the 2012 launch of the iPad as the de facto delivery platform for Foundations-level students at all public universities in the UAE, the largest nationwide adoption of the device anywhere in the world. Not only was this of interest in terms of scale, it was also of interest linguistically, English being the language of instruction at all public universities, despite their student body being almost exclusively indigenous Arab nationals. It also presented the opportunity to examine the marrying of a cutting-edge emerging technology with an EFL tertiary education context, an uncommon occurrence. Though eulogised by university management and the local press as an educational revolution, for some the iPad initiative was unusual, given the speed of its roll-out, lack of piloting or teacher training, and the linguistic level of most Foundations-level students. Thus, the objective of this thesis was to examine the device in both a pedagogical and socio-cultural context, and assess whether it was the educational panacea promised, or the result of a successful marketing strategy. It was also hoped to establish the iPad’s worth in terms of educating the UAE’s youth for successful integration into the knowledge economy, a key government Vison 2021 strategy. To address these issues, the research focus was on evaluations of the iPad by Foundations teaching faculty, at both a male and female campus at one of the UAE’s public tertiary education institutions. A mixed methods approach was chosen, utilising both a questionnaire and interviews. The results revealed the iPad was regarded as a potentially useful supplementary pedagogic tool by faculty, although there were strong caveats regarding its sole use, its ability to distract, and its suitability for the level of student, as well as the larger knowledge economy. This thesis adds weight to observations already extant in the literature, but also provides new insights, such as specific iPad classroom use in terms of apps at tertiary level in an EFL context, and consequent training and support requirements. Though not a longitudinal study, it does provide a longer-term examination of the device than much of the germane literature. What the thesis further posits, is that to understand ambitious and untested educational projects like the iPad initiative in the UAE, it may be necessary to understand the larger socio-political context of the policies, rather than see such projects in a wholly educational framework

An exploratory study of the iPad in tertiary education in the UAE

An earlier version of this thesis is in ORE at http://hdl.handle.net/10871/122010. It is under permanent embargoABSTRACT: The iPad: an EFL classroom revolution? The motivation for this study was the 2012 launch of the iPad as the de facto delivery platform for Foundations-level students at all public universities in the UAE, the largest nationwide adoption of the device anywhere in the world. Not only was this of interest in terms of scale, it was also of interest linguistically, English being the language of instruction at all public universities, despite their student body being almost exclusively indigenous Arab nationals. It also presented the opportunity to examine the marrying of a cutting-edge emerging technology with an EFL tertiary education context, an uncommon occurrence. Though eulogised by university management and the local press as an educational revolution, for some the iPad initiative was unusual, given the speed of its roll-out, lack of piloting or teacher training, and the linguistic level of most Foundations-level students. Thus the objective of this thesis was to examine the device in both a pedagogical and socio-cultural context, and assess whether it was the educational panacea promised, or the result of a successful marketing strategy. It was also hoped to establish the iPad’s worth in terms of educating the UAE’s youth for successful integration into the knowledge economy, a key government Vison 2021 strategy. To address these issues, the research focus was on evaluations of the iPad by Foundations teaching faculty, at both a male and female campus at one of the UAE’s public tertiary education institutions. A mixed methods approach was chosen, utilising both a questionnaire and interviews. The results revealed the iPad was regarded as a potentially useful supplementary pedagogic tool by faculty, although there were strong caveats regarding its sole use, its ability to distract, and its suitability for the level of student, as well as the larger knowledge economy. This thesis adds weight to observations already extant in the literature, but also provides new insights, such as specific iPad classroom use in terms of apps at tertiary level in an EFL context, and consequent training and support requirements. Though not a longitudinal study, it does provide a longer-term examination of the device than much of the germane literature. What the thesis further posits, is that to understand ambitious and untested educational projects like the iPad initiative in the UAE, it may be necessary to understand the larger socio-political context of the policies, rather than see such projects in a wholly educational framework

Integrated Computer Science Unit for Early Exposure to a Diverse Population

Reports from major tech companies, such as Airbnb, Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Yahoo, indicate that gender diversity and ethnic diversity are lacking in the tech industry [22]. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projected a 24% increase in the number of software development positions (roughly an increase of 300,000 jobs) between 2016 and 2026 [64]. The main motivation behind this thesis is to expose computer science to young children and encourage teachers to include computer science in their classrooms in the hope of contributing to the current effort of increasing diversity within tech fields in the next decade. This thesis presents an Integrated Computer Science Unit and a teaching tool. Lessons in the Integrated Computer Science Unit utilize computer science as a tool to interactively demonstrate the lesson materials. The teaching tool is designed to help teachers generate computer science integrated lessons and assess students\u27 work