Researching mobile-assisted Chinese-character learning strategies among adult distance learners

In the field of teaching and learning Chinese as a foreign language (CFL), most studies investigate Chinese character learning strategies in pen-and-paper study by campus-based students. With the increase in distance-learning, and expanding popularity of smartphones and tablets and widespread availability of mobile applications for language learning, it is now important to research mobile-assisted character learning strategies by distance learners. This study attempts to i) identify changing practices when character learning is assisted by mobile technology; and ii) analyse the underlying causes for the changing practices. These issues were investigated using an online survey, learning diary and email interviews with UK-based distance learners of beginners’ Chinese (n=22). The findings suggest that there are important emerging new practices and previously unreported strategies such as constantly testing oneself and using pinyin input to identify new characters. They also reveal two strategy types not reported in previous research concerning social and affective dimensions. The study thereby provides important new insights into how adult distance learners of Chinese at beginners’ level learn characters when assisted by mobile technology, with significant pedagogical implications for Chinese character pedagogy in terms of course design and learner support

Learning Needs, Barriers, Differences and Study Requirements: How Students Identify as ‘disabled’ in Higher Education

Higher educational institutions (HEIs) often categorise certain students as ‘disabled’ in order to support inclusive and equitable study. ‘Disabled’ students studying in higher education may be asked to ‘disclose a disability’, request and agree ‘reasonable adjustments’ that their institution will ‘provide’ them, and engage with processes such as applying for ‘Disabled Students’ Allowance’. However, there is little understanding of preferences and comfort with language in this area, and if students do not identify with terms such as ‘disabled’, this can create barriers to requesting or accessing support. This paper describes a qualitative study to investigate language preferences for common points of communication with the HEI. We held interviews and focus groups with students (n=12) and utilised discourse analysis to investigate the language used and student perceptions of language. We identified three distinct models of language used to discuss study needs relating to a ‘disability’, each with language norms and specific nomenclature. Furthermore, we found divergence in preferences in language, leading us to argue that differential and inclusive approaches to language use should be explored

Prosthetic Configuration Affects the Biomechanics and Metabolic Cost of Transport of Athletes with Transtibial Amputations During Running

Athletes with unilateral and bilateral transtibial amputations use carbon-fiber running-specific prostheses (RSPs) to run. These devices consist of different model, stiffness, and height combinations. Since nearly all prior research has measured biomechanical and physiological effects of athletes with transtibial amputations using their own RSP(s), it is unknown how RSP characteristics affect the biomechanics and metabolic cost of transport of athletes with transtibial amputations during running. Accordingly, the first aim of my dissertation was to quantify how prosthetic model, stiffness, and height affect the metabolic cost of transport of athletes with transtibial amputations during running. To accomplish this goal, I quantified RSP stiffness spanning multiple configurations of prosthetic model, height, and sagittal-plane angle. Then, athletes with unilateral and bilateral transtibial amputations ran 15 trials, each trial with a different RSP model, stiffness, and height configuration. These investigations demonstrated that prosthetic model, but not height, affects the metabolic cost of transport during running for athletes with unilateral and bilateral transtibial amputations. In addition, prosthetic stiffness affects the metabolic cost of running for athletes with bilateral, but not unilateral, transtibial amputations. Subsequently, I found that metabolic cost of transport is similar between athletes with transtibial amputations and non-amputees during running.The second aim of my dissertation was to uncover how running biomechanics change across speeds for athletes with transtibial amputations. Initially, I assessed the influence of prosthetic stiffness and height on biomechanics across running speeds for athletes with bilateral transtibial amputations. I found that the influence of prosthetic stiffness on running biomechanics was mitigated at faster running speeds, whereas the influence of prosthetic height on biomechanics remained constant across running speeds. Next, I characterized the running biomechanics of the fastest athlete with a unilateral transtibial amputation across running speeds. In this study, I found that the fastest athlete with a unilateral transtibial amputation elicits running biomechanics that differ from athletes with bilateral transtibial amputations and non-amputees.Overall, my dissertation indicates the importance of RSP configuration on distance running performance and sprinting biomechanics for athletes with transtibial amputations

Researching lexical thresholds and lexical profiles across the common European framework of reference for languages (CEFR) levels assessed in the Aptis test

This project uses automated analysis software (www.textinspector.com) to research the lexical and metadiscourse thresholds, and lexical and metadiscourse profiles, of test-takers’ writing in the British Council's Aptis Writing test, benchmarked to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Large quantities of Aptis writing responses (n=6,407), representing 65 countries, together with their score data, were analysed in terms of their use of lexis and metadiscourse. Measures and datasets used in the analysis include standard readability measures, the British National Corpus, the Corpus of Contemporary American English, English Vocabulary profile, the Academic Word List, and a bespoke corpus of metadiscourse markers. The purpose of the research is to enhance the validation argument for the Aptis test through large-scale profiling of candidates’ writing performance. The findings reveal that the Aptis writing test provides evidence that lexical complexity changes systematically as the CEFR level of learners increases. Of the 110 Text Inspector metrics used in the study, 26 metrics were significant across all CEFR boundaries, including measures of text length (sentence, token and type count), and metrics of lexical sophistication (syllable count and number of words with more than two syllables). Fourteen of the 26 metrics represent vocabulary use. One metric of text complexity (voc-d) was also significant across all thresholds. The study also explores the utility of these metrics for use in an automated scoring engine. Twenty metrics were used to build an ordinal logistic regression which was trained on a stratified subset of the data. This model was then used to predict the CEFR band of a testing subset which held nationality data constant. The data revealed that lexical use metrics from the Cambridge Learner Corpus (CLC) were the most successful at identifying CEFR level, and the model was most successful in identifying A1 and C-level responses. However, the model failed to accurately differentiate A2, B1 and B2 responses, suggesting that other, organisational variables play a significant role in human judgements, which are not accounted for in this study. The paper concludes with recommendations for rater training on the basis of the findings

Researching Academic Reading in two contrasting EMI (English as a Medium of Instruction) university contexts, and implications for the design of EAP reading tests

This project examined academic reading in two contrasting English-medium instruction (EMI) university settings in Nepal and Sweden and the unique challenges facing students who study in a language other than their L1. The project was also motivated to consider the suitability of test tasks used in high-stakes tests of English for academic purposes (EAP). We employed a sequential mixed-methods approach in order to gather substantive and authentic data from stakeholders immersed in these EMI settings. A small sample of students (Nepal = 19, Sweden = 9) were asked to complete reading logs over a period of three weeks in order to determine the types of texts and reading load associated with the EMI settings. Additionally, a larger cohort of students from each setting (Nepal = 69, Sweden = 60) completed questionnaires examining academic reading demands, reading skills and practices. Students who completed the questionnaires also completed a research form of the TOEFL iBT® reading section and a post-test questionnaire for participants to reflect on the suitability of the test tasks for their EMI context. Following the test and questionnaires, semi-structured interviews (Nepal = 21, Sweden = 23) focused more closely on students’ perspectives of reading demands in their academic contexts and the suitability of the test tasks for making claims about readiness to enter higher education in EMI contexts. Findings reveal that both EMI contexts are diverse and multilingual. Despite representing a single nationality, Nepali participants display a similar level of multilingualism to the multinational Stockholm cohort. Reading for academic purposes is fundamental to success in both EMI contexts. Students employ a combination of academic reading strategies (Phakiti, 2003) in order to complete assignments and exams. Nepali learners frequently use translanguaging to communicate with peers and staff to make meaning of academic texts. Students in both contexts read a variety of sources in English from authors and publishers both from and outside their academic context. The overwhelming majority of texts encountered in both EMI contexts represented a standard variety of English (McKay and Brown, 2015). Test data revealed that most task types were reliable (α = .93) and discriminated between high and low ability participants in both contexts. Interview data indicated that students in both contexts perceived the tasks to be suitable in terms of register and grammar. However, participants in both contexts questioned the suitability of text topic, preferring subject-specific input. Nepali test data revealed a bi-modal distribution of scores. Interview data revealed that this distribution occurred due to local socioeconomic factors. Students in Nepal exposed to EMI at an early age performed significantly better than those who pursued Nepali-medium schooling. We conclude that to make valid claims about preparedness to study in EMI higher education contexts requires careful consideration of the relationship between test design, content and use. Validation arguments must address the impact of using standard versus local varieties of English, attitudes of stakeholders towards Englishes contained within test tasks (Taylor, 2006) and how context-specific socioeconomic variables impact on test performance

Anthracene Diphosphate Ligands for CdSe Quantum Dots; Molecular Design for Efficient Upconversion

Quantum dot (QD)-sensitized photon upconversion follows a multi-step energy transfer process from the QD to transmitter ligand to a soluble annihilator. Using a novel 10-R-anthracene-1,8-diphosphoric acid (R = octyl, 2-hexyldecyl, phenyl) ligand with high binding affinity for CdSe QD surfaces, we demonstrate a photon upconversion process that is limited by the transmitter to annihilator transfer efficiency. Using 1H NMR spectroscopy, we demonstrate that these bidentate diphosphate ligands rapidly and irreversibly displace two carboxylate ligands. These ligands mediate energy transfer from the photoexcited QDs to a triplet annihilator (1,10-diphenylanthracene), producing overall photon upconversion quantum efficiencies as high as 17%, the highest for QDs with no shells. Transient absorption spectroscopy shows that the anthracene dihydrogen phosphate (ADP) ligand supports a 3.4 fold longer triplet state lifetime compared to 9-anthracene carboxylic acid (299.9 ± 9.5 vs 88.2 ± 2.1 μs), increasing the probability of energy transfer

Introspective physicalism as an approach to the science of consciousness

Most ‘theories of consciousness’ are based on vague speculations about the properties of conscious experience. We aim to provide a more solid basis for a science of consciousness. We argue that a theory of consciousness should provide an account of the very processes that allow us to acquire and use information about our own mental states – the processes underlying introspection. This can be achieved through the construction of information processing models that can account for ‘Type-C’ processes. Type-C processes can be specified experimentally by identifying paradigms in which awareness of the stimulus is necessary for an intentional action. The Shallice (1988b) framework is put forward as providing an initial account of Type-C processes, which can relate perceptual consciousness to consciously performed actions. Further, we suggest that this framework may be refined through the investigation of the functions of prefrontal cortex. The formulation of our approach requires us to consider fundamental conceptual and methodological issues associated with consciousness. The most significant of these issues concerns the scientific use of introspective evidence. We outline and justify a conservative methodological approach to the use of introspective evidence, with attention to the difficulties historically associated with its use in psychology

GRB 130831a: Rise and demise of a magnetar at z = 0.5

Open Access.--14th Marcel Grossman Meeting On Recent Developments in Theoretical and Experimental General Relativity, Astrophysics and Relativistic Field Theories; University of Rome "La Sapienza"Rome; Italy; 12 July 2015 through 18 July 2015; Code 142474.-- http://www.icra.it/mg/mg14/Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the brightest explosions in the universe, yet the properties of their energy sources are far from understood. Very important clues, however, can be deduced by studying the afterglows of these events. We present observations of GRB 130831A and its afterglow obtained with Swift, Chandra, and multiple ground-based observatories. This burst shows an uncommon drop in the X-ray light curve at about 100 ks after the trigger, with a decay slope of α 7. The standard Forward Shock (FS) model offers no explanation for such a behaviour. Instead, a model in which a newly born magnetar outflow powers the early X-ray emission is found to be viable. After the drop, the X-ray afterglow resumes its decay with a slope typical of FS emission. The optical emission, on the other hand, displays no clear break across the X-ray drop and its decay is consistent with that of the late X-rays. Using both the X-ray and optical data, we show that the FS model can explain the emission after 100 ks. We model our data to infer the kinetic energy of the ejecta and thus estimate the efficiency of a magnetar “central engine” of a GRB. Furthermore, we break down the energy budget of this GRB into prompt emission, late internal dissipation, kinetic energy of the relativistic ejecta, and compare it with the energy of the accompanying supernova, SN 2013fu. Copyright © 2018 by the Editors.All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Genes, Education, and Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study

Recent advances have led to the discovery of specific genetic variants that predict educational attainment. We study how these variants, summarized as a genetic score variable, are associated with human capital accumulation and labor market outcomes in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). We demonstrate that the same genetic score that predicts education is also associated with higher wages, but only among individuals with a college education. Moreover, the genetic gradient in wages has grown in more recent birth cohorts, consistent with interactions between technological change and labor market ability. We also show that individuals who grew up in economically disadvantaged households are less likely to go to college when compared to individuals with the same genetic score, but from higher socioeconomic status households. Our findings provide support for the idea that childhood socioeconomic status is an important moderator of the economic returns to genetic endowments. Moreover, the finding that childhood poverty limits the educational attainment of high-ability individuals suggests the existence of unrealized human potential