It's just a word : CALL, French verbs and mixed-ability pupils

This thesis follows the trail of a perennial problem in the written work of pupils studying GCSE French, and suggests a CALL solution. The motivation for the research lies in the decline of grammatical accuracy, particularly in verb use, in the French produced by mixed-ability pupils and university students alike.Theories of language acquisition are assessed and a limited amount of guidance emerges. French GCSE Examiners' Reports then provide a firm foundation for research with their suggestion that the rise in oral work has affected written standards. A review of the literature reveals a wide range of barriers to verb learning. These can be classified as linguistic, psycholinguistic and pedagogic.One of the most impenetrable barriers is the redundancy of many verb endings. Empirical evidence from written and interview data is presented to show the startling kinds of misconceptions held by many pupils about verbs,and the complex of systems learners devise to solve problems.The thesis then proposes an explicit grammar-teaching approach based on principles of pedagogical grammar. Current Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) approaches to verb teaching offer admirable formal practice for able pupils but do not cater for the difficulties experienced by less able learners, who may therefore be disenfranchised. Detailed proposals are given for the creation of 'mixed-ability CALL' for verb learning, followed by a description of the design and production processes of three new programs aimed at less able pupils. Further empirical work is undertaken with GCSE pupils in order to assess the effects of tutorial, game and 'cognitive' CALL approaches. The quantitative data show that written performance can improve after using these programs. However, the most striking result of CALL intervention is the transformation of weak pupils' spoken metalanguage from restricted grammatical expression to accurate verb articulation within a short space of time

How to estimate a cumulative process’s rate-function

Consider two sequences of bounded random variables, a value and a timing process, that satisfy the large deviation principle (LDP) with rate-function J(·,·) and whose cumulative process satisfies the LDP with rate-function I(·). Under mixing conditions, an LDP for estimates of I constructed by transforming an estimate of J is proved. For the case of cumulative renewal processes it is demonstrated that this approach is favorable to a more direct method as it ensures the laws of the estimates converge weakly to a Dirac measure at I

How to estimate a cumulative process’s rate-function

Consider two sequences of bounded random variables, a value and a timing process, that satisfy the large deviation principle (LDP) with rate-function J(·,·) and whose cumulative process satisfies the LDP with rate-function I(·). Under mixing conditions, an LDP for estimates of I constructed by transforming an estimate of J is proved. For the case of cumulative renewal processes it is demonstrated that this approach is favorable to a more direct method as it ensures the laws of the estimates converge weakly to a Dirac measure at I

The implications of lung-regulated buoyancy control for dive depth and duration

Among air-breathing divers, control of buoyancy through lung volume regulation may be most highly developed in marine turtles. In short, the turtle lung may serve a dual role as both an oxygen store and in buoyancy control. A simple model is developed to show that, for turtles diving up to the maximum depth at which they can still use their lungs to attain neutral buoyancy, the total oxygen store will increase greatly with dive depth, and hence a corresponding increase in dive duration is predicted. Time–depth recorders attached to free-living green turtles (Chelonia mydas) at Ascension Island confirmed a marked increase in dive duration with depth, with the gradient of this relationship being >10 times that seen in diving birds and mammals. Consistent with the prediction that the lungs serve a dual role, we found that, when lead weights were added to some turtles to increase their specific gravity, the mean depth of dives decreased, but for dives to the same depth, weighted animals dived for longer. The depth distribution of green turtles seems to be generally constrained by the maximum depth at which they can still attain close to neutral buoyancy

Spatial and temporal changes in Bax subcellular localization during anoikis

Bax, a member of the Bcl-2 family, translocates to mitochondria during apoptosis, where it forms oligomers which are thought to release apoptogenic factors such as cytochrome c. Using anoikis as a model system, we have examined spatial and temporal changes in Bax distribution. Bax translocates to mitochondria within 15 min of detaching cells from extracellular matrix, but mitochondrial permeabilization does not occur for a number of hours. The formation of Bax oligomers and perimitochondrial clusters occurs concomitant with caspase activation and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, before nuclear condensation. Cells can be rescued from apoptosis if they are replated onto extracellular matrix within an hour, whereas cells detached for longer could not. The loss of ability to rescue cells from anoikis occurs after Bax translocation, but before the formation of clusters and cytochrome c release. Our data suggest that Bax regulation occurs at several levels, with formation of clusters a late event, and with critical changes determining cell fate occurring earlier

New Zealanders\u27 attitudes to milk : implications for public health

Objective: To identify consumer attitudes and beliefs about (liquid) milk that may be barriers to consumption.Design: Two random-quota telephone surveys conducted in Auckland one year apart. Respondents were questioned about their usual milk intake and their attitudes to milk. The questionnaire included attitude items that reflected the main themes of consumer interest in milk.Setting: New Zealand.Subjects: Seven hundred and thirteen respondents in the baseline survey and a separate sample of 719 respondents in the follow-up survey.Results: At least one-third of the respondents consumed less than a glass (250ml) of milk a day. Non-consumption was highest in young women (15%). People\u27s concerns about milk related to what was important in their lives; what threatens them physically and emotionally. Women held more positive attitudes but they were concerned about the fat content of milk. Men were less aware of milk\u27s nutritional benefits and as a result were less appreciative of its value.Conclusions: There is an opportunity to develop public health initiatives to address the barriers to drinking milk. Industry&ndash;health alliances may be an effective means to provide positive nutrition messages about milk and to engage the support of health professionals.<br /