Effect of rhetorical organization on the readability of study texts

Rhetoricians have traditionally claimed that the communicative effectiveness of a text can be increased if the writer adheres to certain relevant principles of organization. Up to now, however, there appears to have been little objective validation of this view. The aim of this study is to establish whether it is possible, by systematically varying selected features of overall textual organization, to affect the readability of a teaching text, i.e. a text primarily designed to impart factual information to students. In the context of this study, one text is considered to be more 'readable' than another if it results in the reader's gaining more content information from it without any corresponding increase in reading time. The approach taken is an experimental one. Normally, two texts are prepared, as similar as possible to each other in content, length, and syntactic complexity, and differing in respect of some previously defined organizational feature. When two such texts have been prepared, their comparative readability is tested in experimental conditions. The tests used are primarily designed to measure speed of reading, and recall of content. The organization features investigated here are restricted to inter-sentence or inter-clause relationships; no attempt is made to use larger 'units' such as paragraphs

Using grounded theory method in information systems: The researcher as blank slate and other myths

The use of grounded theory method (GTM) as a research method in information systems (IS) has gradually increased over the years as qualitative research in general has become more prevalent. The method offers a systematic way to generate theory from data, but is rarely used to its full potential in IS as a number of myths and misunderstandings about GTM prevent researchers from getting the full potential out of the method. To address this problem, we advance the general level of knowledge of GTM. We clarify aspects of the method that are often misunderstood by novice users or casual observers and provide guidance to address common problems. Exemplars from the IS literature are used to illustrate the concepts and to promote the informed use of the methodology. By doing so, this paper will contribute to improving the use of the method and to the quality and dissemination of grounded theory research outcomes. © 2013 JIT Palgrave Macmillan All rights reserved

Velocity-space sensitivity of the time-of-flight neutron spectrometer at JET

The velocity-space sensitivities of fast-ion diagnostics are often described by so-called weight functions. Recently, we formulated weight functions showing the velocity-space sensitivity of the often dominant beam-target part of neutron energy spectra. These weight functions for neutron emission spectrometry (NES) are independent of the particular NES diagnostic. Here we apply these NES weight functions to the time-of-flight spectrometer TOFOR at JET. By taking the instrumental response function of TOFOR into account, we calculate time-of-flight NES weight functions that enable us to directly determine the velocity-space sensitivity of a given part of a measured time-of-flight spectrum from TOFOR

Relationship of edge localized mode burst times with divertor flux loop signal phase in JET

A phase relationship is identified between sequential edge localized modes (ELMs) occurrence times in a set of H-mode tokamak plasmas to the voltage measured in full flux azimuthal loops in the divertor region. We focus on plasmas in the Joint European Torus where a steady H-mode is sustained over several seconds, during which ELMs are observed in the Be II emission at the divertor. The ELMs analysed arise from intrinsic ELMing, in that there is no deliberate intent to control the ELMing process by external means. We use ELM timings derived from the Be II signal to perform direct time domain analysis of the full flux loop VLD2 and VLD3 signals, which provide a high cadence global measurement proportional to the voltage induced by changes in poloidal magnetic flux. Specifically, we examine how the time interval between pairs of successive ELMs is linked to the time-evolving phase of the full flux loop signals. Each ELM produces a clear early pulse in the full flux loop signals, whose peak time is used to condition our analysis. The arrival time of the following ELM, relative to this pulse, is found to fall into one of two categories: (i) prompt ELMs, which are directly paced by the initial response seen in the flux loop signals; and (ii) all other ELMs, which occur after the initial response of the full flux loop signals has decayed in amplitude. The times at which ELMs in category (ii) occur, relative to the first ELM of the pair, are clustered at times when the instantaneous phase of the full flux loop signal is close to its value at the time of the first ELM

Reading in a second language: process, product and practice/ Urquhart

xvi, 346 p.: ill.; 23 cm

Reading in a second language: process, product and practice

Reading in a Second Language sets the testing and teaching of reading against a theoretical background, discussing research from both applied linguistics and cognitive psychology. Where possible, it focuses on research into second language readers and distinguishes different kinds of reading, particularly expeditious as opposed to careful reading, and emphasizes the validity of each.Sandy Urquhart and Cyril Weir relate testing and teaching, discussing similarities and differences, providing a comprehensive survey of both methods with the emphasis on those which have been substantiated or supported by research evidence. Finally, the book proposes specific research topics, and detailed advice on how to construct tests of language for academic purposes and suggestions for further research

Loading characteristics of heavy goods vehicles and their affect on the structural design of highway pavements Report 1; the overloading of heavy goods vehicles in Cheshire

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:7769.0833(TORG-RR--64) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo