English as the International Language of Research

The annual world output of research papers and scholarly ar ticles is large and increasing, and there is little doubt that English is the medium of publication for the majority of such papers. However, closer analyses of the available data reveal rather few papers from non- native speakers, especially from the Third World. This imbalance sug gests that English is only the International Language of Research in a receptive sense. It needs to become so in a productive sense as well if Third World investment in doctoral scholarship etc. is to remain justified. Unfortunately, the ESP profession has concentrated on undergraduate teaching programmes and rather neglected the teaching of Research English. However, there are now welcome signs of change, which may therefore aid a process of making English a truly international language rather than one over-restricted in terms of publication sources to the Northern Hemisphere.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68423/2/10.1177_003368828501600101.pd

The relative efficiency of automatic and discretionary regional aid

For the last two decades, the primary instruments for UK regional policy have been discretionary subsidies. Such aid is targeted at "additional" projects - projects that would not have been implemented without the subsidy - and the subsidy should be the minimum necessary for the project to proceed. Discretionary subsidies are thought to be more efficient than automatic subsidies, where many of the aided projects are non-additional and all projects receive the same subsidy rate. The present paper builds on Swales (1995) and Wren (2007a) to compare three subsidy schemes: an automatic scheme and two types of discretionary scheme, one with accurate appraisal and the other with appraisal error. These schemes are assessed on their expected welfare impacts. The particular focus is the reduction in welfare gain imposed by the interaction of appraisal error and the requirements for accountability. This is substantial and difficult to detect with conventional evaluation techniques

Using scenarios to explore UK upland futures

Uplands around the world are facing significant social, economic and environmental changes, and decision-makers need to better understand what the future may hold if they are to adapt and maintain upland goods and services. This paper draws together all major research comprising eight studies that have used scenarios to describe possible futures for UK uplands. The paper evaluates which scenarios are perceived by stakeholders to be most likely and desirable, and assesses the benefits and drawbacks of the scenario methods used in UK uplands to date. Stakeholders agreed that the most desirable and likely scenario would be a continuation of hill farming (albeit at reduced levels) based on cross-compliance with environmental measures. The least desirable scenario is a withdrawal of government financial support for hill farming. Although this was deemed by stakeholders to be the least likely scenario, the loss of government support warrants close attention due to its potential implications for the local economy. Stakeholders noted that the environmental implications of this scenario are much less clear-cut. As such, there is an urgent need to understand the full implications of this scenario, so that upland stakeholders can adequately prepare, and policy-makers can better evaluate the likely implications of different policy options. The paper concludes that in future, upland scenario research needs to: (1) better integrate in-depth and representative participation from stakeholders during both scenario development and evaluation; and (2) make more effective use of visualisation techniques and simulation models

Distribution and abundance of fish and crayfish in a Waikato stream in relation to basin area

The aim of this study was to relate the longitudinal distribution of fish and crayfish to increasing basin area and physical site characteristics in the Mangaotama Stream, Waikato region, North Island, New Zealand. Fish and crayfish were captured with two-pass removal electroshocking at 11 sites located in hill-country with pasture, native forest, and mixed land uses within the 21.6 km2 basin. Number of fish species and lineal biomass of fish increased with increasing basin area, but barriers to upstream fish migration also influenced fish distribution; only climbing and non-migratory species were present above a series of small waterfalls. Fish biomass increased in direct proportion to stream width, suggesting that fish used much of the available channel, and stream width was closely related to basin area. Conversely, the abundance of crayfish was related to the amount of edge habitat, and therefore crayfish did not increase in abundance as basin area increased. Densities of all fish species combined ranged from 17 to 459 fish 100 m-2, and biomass ranged from 14 to 206 g m-2. Eels dominated the fish assemblages, comprising 85-100% of the total biomass; longfinned eels the majority of the biomass at most sites. Despite the open access of the lower sites to introduced brown trout, native species dominated all the fish communities sampled

A mixed methods feasibility study of machine-based resistance training with prefrail older adults in residential care: the keeping active in residential elderly trial II

Physical activity is an effective, proactive intervention to reduce or reverse frailty and functional decline. However, uncertainty exists about the feasibility and impact of resistance training on multidimensional health in prefrail older adults in residential care. This mixed methods feasibility study assessed practicability with limited efficacy testing on health and functional outcomes. Eleven prefrail older adults participated in a 6-week progressive resistance training protocol three times per week. The intervention and measures were found to be appropriate and acceptable by those who completed the trial, with participants self-reporting improved well-being, mood, and function. Analysis identified several barriers to recruitment, including prior commitments, seasonal impact, and session timing, and offered potential solutions with further recommendations for program refinement prior to a definitive randomized controlled trial. These findings add to our understanding of prefrail older adults’ preferences regarding participation in physical activity research and the perceived benefits of resistance training. This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03141879

A Randomized Controlled Feasibility Trial Evaluating a Resistance Training Intervention With Frail Older Adults in Residential Care: The Keeping Active in Residential Elderly Trial

Frailty is associated with negative health outcomes, disability, and mortality. Physical activity is an effective intervention to improve functional health status. However, the effect of resistance training on multidimensional health in frail older adults remains unclear. This randomized controlled trial was conducted in a U.K. residential care home to assess feasibility with limited efficacy testing on health and functional outcomes and to inform a future definitive randomized controlled trial. Eleven frail older adults (>65 years) completed a 6-week machine-based resistance training protocol three times a week. Uptake and retention were greater than 80%. The measures and intervention were found to be acceptable and practicable. The analyses indicated large improvements in functional capacity, frailty, and strength in the intervention group compared with the controls. These findings support the feasibility of a definitive randomized controlled trial and reinforce the value of resistance training in this population. This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03141879.Output Status: Forthcoming/Available Onlin

Validity Arguments for Diagnostic Assessment Using Automated Writing Evaluation

Two examples demonstrate an argument-based approach to validation of diagnostic assessment using automated writing evaluation (AWE). Criterion ®, was developed by Educational Testing Service to analyze students’ papers grammatically, providing sentence-level error feedback. An interpretive argument was developed for its use as part of the diagnostic assessment process in undergraduate university English for academic purposes (EAP) classes. The Intelligent Academic Discourse Evaluator (IADE) was developed for use in graduate EAP university classes, where the goal was to help students improve their discipline-specific writing. The validation for each was designed to support claims about the intended purposes of the assessments. We present the interpretive argument for each and show some of the data that have been gathered as backing for the respective validity arguments, which include the range of inferences that one would make in claiming validity of the interpretations, uses, and consequences of diagnostic AWE-based assessments

The online version of an evidence-based hand exercise program for people with rheumatoid arthritis: A mixed-method, proof-of-concept study

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordIntroduction The Strengthening And stretching for Rheumatoid Arthritis of the Hand (SARAH) program is a tailored, 12-week hand and arm exercise program recommended in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. It includes seven mobility exercises and four strength exercises against resistance. An online version of the SARAH program (mySARAH) has been developed to allow direct access for people with rheumatoid arthritis. Purpose To assess the feasibility, acceptability, and clinical impact of mySARAH in people with rheumatoid arthritis. Study design Mixed-method, proof-of-concept study. Methods mySARAH is a self-guided, online version of the SARAH program with six exercise training and review sessions. Participants were observed as they worked through four of the six online sessions. They were also asked to demonstrate the SARAH exercises. Participants undertook two sessions independently at home. At baseline and 12 weeks, hand pain, hand function, and grip strength were measured. At 12 weeks, feedback on mySARAH, and perceived recovery were also collected. Approximately one month later, a telephone follow-up was conducted to explore participants’ experiences with mySARAH. Pain, hand function, and perceived recovery were also assessed. Results Eleven participants (Males/Females: 3/8) with a median (Inter-quartile range) age of 63 (17) years took part. Six participants completed all mySARAH sessions. 512 exercise and load-setting demonstrations were observed and 491 (96%) were performed correctly. Improvements in grip strength and hand function were observed with no increase in pain. Most of the participants reported improvement and provided positive feedback. All participants perceived mySARAH as a useful resource. Features to improve the online exercise diary such as recording and tracking exercise dose and face-to-face or remote support by phone or Skype from health professionals were suggested to optimize user engagement. Conclusions Initial evaluation of mySARAH indicates that mySARAH was feasible, acceptable, and beneficial to participants. Further iteration and evaluation are needed before large-scale implementation.National Institute for Health Research (NIHR

Linguistic Analysis of Requirements of a Space Project and Their Conformity with the Recommendations Proposed by a Controlled Natural Language

International audienceWe propose a linguistic analysis of requirements written in French for a project carried out by the French National Space Agency (CNES). The aim is to determine to what extent they conform to some of the rules laid down in INCOSE, a recent guide for writing requirements, with a focus on the notion of sentence " comprehensibility ". Although CNES engineers are not obliged to follow any Controlled Natural Language, we believe that language regularities are likely to emerge from this task, mainly due to the writers' experience. As a first step, we use natural language processing tools to identify sentences that do not comply with INCOSE rules. We further review these sentences to understand why the recommendations cannot (or should not) always be applied when specifying large-scale projects, and how they could be improved. This paper presents a corpus linguistics approach applied to the melioration of requirements writing. We propose a linguistic diagnosis of the way requirements are written in a space project by comparing these requirements with a guide for writing specifications (a controlled natural language). Initial results obtained from this analysis suggest that guides for writing specifications are not fully adapted to the real writing process: they are sometimes too constraining, and sometimes insufficiently so. In the medium term, the aim is to propose another guide based on the spontaneous regularities observed in requirements. The paper comprises two parts. In the first one (see section 2), we present the context of our study and the tool-assisted method used for making the diagnosis. In the second one (see section 3), we describe and discuss our preliminary results