Adquisición de vocabulario polisémico francés: instrucción basada en esquemas frente a instrucción basada en la traducción

This study attempted the effectiveness of two types of vocabulary instruction (i.e. schema-based instruction (SBI) and translation-based instruction (TBI)on the acquisition of second language words. Inspired by intact group design, fourtynine intermediate Iranian learners of French were divided into three groups; two experimental groups (SBI and TBI) and a control group. The experimental groups were given 30 minutes of instruction on the target words, namely the verb arriver and the preposition sur. In order to examine the effectiveness of the focused instructions, an acceptability judgment test and a production test were administered prior to instruction as the pre-tests, two days after the instruction the first post-test and two weeks after the instruction the second post-test were given. The results showed that SBI tended to be as effective as TBI for acceptability judgment test and drastically more influential for production test. This study suggests that schema-based techniques derived from cognitive semantics can serve as an extremely promising pedagogical devise in teaching L2 vocabularies.Este estudio intentó demostrar la eficacia de dos tipos de enseñanza de vocabulario (es decir, la instrucción basada en esquemas (IBE), basada en la traducción (IBT) de la adquisición de las palabras en la segunda lengua. Inspirado en el diseño del grupo intacto, cuarenta y nueve alumnos iraníes de nivel intermedio de francés se dividieron en tres grupos; dos grupos experimentales (IBE y IBT) y un grupo control. A los grupos experimentales se les dieron 30 minutos de instrucción sobre las palabras meta, a saber, el verbo arriver y la preposición sur. A fin de examinar la eficacia de las distintas formas de instrucción desarrolladas, se administraron, una prueba de juicio para la aceptabilidad y también una prueba de producción a la instrucción; los posttests se administraron dos días después de la instrucción y dos semanas después de la instrucción el segundo. Los resultados mostraron que IBE tendían a ser tan eficaz como LCT para la prueba de aceptabilidad y drásticamente más influyente para la prueba de producción. Este estudio sugiere que las técnicas basadas en esquemas derivados de la semántica cognitiva pueden considerarse como un recurso pedagógico muy prometedor en la enseñanza de vocabularios en la L2

Short communication: Survey of Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) toxicity using bioassay on Daphnia magna

In this study, the toxicity of MTBE on the crustacean Daphnia magna (Cladocera) has been studied. At the beginning, for finding the range of sensitivity of D. magna to MTBE, a test had been conducted at 24h. The initial and final tests with synthetic MTBE has been done with containing solutions of water accommodated fractions (WAFs) in periods of 24 and 48h and then static bioassay was calculated in two phases of tests and the data were obtained and analyzed by SPSS 13 by using probit analysis. In 24h, lc10, lc50 and lc90 for MTBE on D. magna were 345, 646 and 941mg/l and for 48h, they were 361, 476 and 893mg/l, respectively. Also, the maximum allowable concentration (MAC) of MTBE (WAFs) on D. magna was determined in 24 and 48h, 64.6 and 47.6mg/l, respectively. Results indicated that D. magna could be used for toxicity tracing MTBE in surface and ground water, because these crustaceans have perfect resistance against pollution of MTBE. It is also concluded that after 24 and 48h exposure time, there was no significant difference observed in the activity and mortality of D. magna

Environmental effects of shrimp culture on Tiab Creek, Hormozgan Province, south Iran

Shrimp fanning industry has rapidly expanded in the south of Iran especially in Hormozgan Province over the past decade. In 2001, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, total inorganic nitrate, reactive phosphate and total phosphate were assessed monthly in Tiab creek to evaluate the environmental effects of the industry. During the study period, nitrate varied between 4.06-23.58pm/1 where as variation for nitrite was measured as 0.21-2.23ml/l. Variation for ammonia was 0.07-2.04m/1, for total inorganic nitrate was 4.46-25.131.ml/l and for reactive phosphate and total phosphate were 0.114-2.35ml/l and 1.3-22.731ml/l respectively. Results of this study showed that concentration of nutrients in the outlet effluents and creek mouth were higher than other stations. Also, comparison of concentration of nutrients between stations showed that there were significant differences between effluent water and other stations (P<0.05)

Public acceptability of congestion charging in Beijing, China: How transferrable are Western ideas of public acceptability?

Public acceptability is a major concern for road pricing schemes in Western countries but has not yet been sufficiently studied in the context of Chinese cities, a number of which are considering the introduction of such travel constraint measures. This study explores factors influencing public acceptability of a proposed congestion charge in the City of Beijing. In so doing, the study focuses on understanding the appropriateness of Western frameworks for assessing public acceptability in the Chinese context. Through literature review and focus groups a survey to test different public acceptability constructs was developed (N = 1104). A Structural Equation Model was used to analyze relationships that exist among the different aspects of public acceptability. The results demonstrate that public acceptability is dominantly influenced by the level of trust toward the Government and experts. Various determinants in the Western context, such as access to information and perceived effectiveness were not found to have a significant impact on public acceptability. The results imply that public acceptability of congestion charging in the Chinese context has a stronger resonance with wider social issues such as equity than more specific transport problems such as congestion. As such, attempting to present evidence on the anticipated effectiveness of the policy in alleviating congestion and smog may not make the policy more acceptable to the public. The overall inference of the study is that contextual factors are more important than has been previously considered within public acceptability studies

The relevance of financial reporting information system in banking industry

This article examined to know the qualitative characteristic (Relevance) of financial reporting information by public Sector Banks and private Sector Banks, A comparative analysis of Relevance item by the Public Sector and Private Sector Banks is undertaken in the present study. More specifically, using 14-items index based on the Relevance of qualitative characteristics. The present study is purely based on primary data. The information relating to the Relevance characteristic of financial reporting information rendered by Public Sector Banks & Private Sector Banks is collected through structured questionnaires. The study focuses on the Public Sector Banks and Private Sector Banks in India (Karnataka). Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Vijava Banks and State Bank of Mysore in Public Sector Banks and HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Karnataka Bank and ING Vysya Bank in Private Sector Banks are selected for the purpose of analysis. The questionnaire incorporated two sections and 14 questions about relevance, the first section to include Predictive value items it consists of 10 questions and the second section encompasses confirmatory value items of 4 questions. Our results showed that on the average the total relevance scores in financial reporting information in the Private Sector Banks was higher than the related scores in financial reporting information in the Public Sector Banks

Acquisition of French Polysemous Vocabularies: Schema-based Instruction versus Translation-based Instruction

This study attempted the effectiveness of two types of vocabulary instruction (i.e. schema-based instruction (SBI) and translation-based instruction (TBI) on the acquisition of second language words. Inspired by intact group design, fourtynine intermediate Iranian learners of French were divided into three groups; two experimental groups (SBI and TBI) and a control group. The experimental groups were given 30 minutes of instruction on the target words, namely the verb arriver and the preposition sur. In order to examine the effectiveness of the focused instructions, an acceptability judgment test and a production test were administered prior to instruction as the pre-tests, two days after the instruction the first post-test and two weeks after the instruction the second post-test were given. The results showed that SBI tended to be as effective as TBI for acceptability judgment test and drastically more influential for production test. This study suggests that schema-based techniques derived from cognitive semantics can serve as an extremely promising pedagogical devise in teaching L2 vocabularies.Este estudio intentó demostrar la eficacia de dos tipos de enseñanza de vocabulario (es decir, la instrucción basada en esquemas (IBE), basada en la traducción (IBT) de la adquisición de las palabras en la segunda lengua. Inspirado en el diseño del grupo intacto, cuarenta y nueve alumnos iraníes de nivel intermedio de francés se dividieron en tres grupos; dos grupos experimentales (IBE y IBT) y un grupo control. A los grupos experimentales se les dieron 30 minutos de instrucción sobre las palabras meta, a saber, el verbo arriver y la preposición sur. A fin de examinar la eficacia de las distintas formas de instrucción desarrolladas, se administraron, una prueba de juicio para la aceptabilidad y también una prueba de producción a la instrucción; los posttests se administraron dos días después de la instrucción y dos semanas después de la instrucción el segundo. Los resultados mostraron que IBE tendían a ser tan eficaz como LCT para la prueba de aceptabilidad y drásticamente más influyente para la prueba de producción. Este estudio sugiere que las técnicas basadas en esquemas derivados de la semántica cognitiva pueden considerarse como un recurso pedagógico muy prometedor en la enseñanza de vocabularios en la L2

Timeliness characteristic of financial reporting information system

Qualitative characteristics are the attributes that make financial reporting information useful for internal users and external users. Timeliness is one of the enhancing quality characteristics of financial reporting information. Timeliness means having information available to decision makers before it loses its capacity to influence decisions. This study examined to know the Timeliness characteristic of financial reporting information in Public and Private Sector Banks in India. The present study is purely based on primary data. The information relating to the Timeliness characteristic of financial reporting information rendered by Public Sector Banks & Private Sector Banks is collected through structured questionnaires. The study focuses on the Public Sector Banks and Private Sector Banks in India (Karnataka). 10 top Banks of Public Sector and 10 top Banks of Private Sector Banks are selected for the purpose of analysis. The questionnaire consisted of two sections. The first section sought the information on demographic variables of the sample respondents and the second section focused on eliciting responses from sample respondents on the Timeliness characteristic related to financial reporting in public Sector Banks and Private Sector Banks. Our results showed that on the average, the total Timeliness scores in financial Statement of Private Sector Banks were higher than the related scores in financial Statement in the Public Sector Banks

Non-Overshooting Controller for High-Power Multi-Port DC-DC Converters

The trend toward generating electricity from Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) has encouraged the researchers to investigate more reliable and efficient ways of combining various sources, storage systems, and loads with different voltage ratings. This has led to the development of the multiport DC-DC converter, which provides a localized energy processing model with a centralized controller. This paper studies the operation and characteristics of the multiport converter, specifically for medium-voltage and high-power RES applications. The steady-state and dynamical modeling of the multiport DC-DC converter are presented in this work. A mathematical representation of the average current model is derived, and it is employed to obtain the linearized model of the multiport DC-DC converter. Non-overshooting state feedback is designed and implemented for a five-port converter, and its performance is compared with the conventional optimal control scheme.Qatar Foundation; Qatar National Research FundScopu