The Role of Metacognitive Strategies in Second Language Writing

Abstract - Metacognition is defined as one’s own awareness ofthe thought process; specifically it concerns the ability toregulate the cognitive processes of the learners in their learning.In the context of writing, it refers to ‘thinking about one’s ownwriting’ or ‘awareness of one’s own writing processes. Thisexperimental study investigates the role of metacognitive strategiesin promoting effective English writing. The data was collectedfrom 27 Indian ESL learners using strategy questionnaire,writing tasks and classroom observation. It is found that successfulemployment of Metacognitive strategies facilitates to meet thechallenges in writing in producing comprehensive content. Theresults of the differential and correlation analysis reveal thatthe employment of effective metacognitive strategies hassignificantly correlated with the development of writing skills

Training Teachers for Teaching English in Higher Institutes of Engineering and Technology: Challenges and Perspectives

Abstract - Higher Education in India and abroad hasundergone radical and seamless changes. The advent ofinformation technology has redefined the attitude to Englishlanguage learning and teaching. In order to meet thechallenges and demands of the profession, teachers of English inEngineering colleges need to upgrade their professional andsubject competence. This paper aims to explore the need forteachers of English in Higher Institutes of Engineering andTechnology, to equip themselves to face their professionalchallenges. This necessitates teachers of English to undergospecific training programmes designed based on their targetneeds that would in turn enable them to become betterteachers. A preliminary data was collected from135 teachers ofEnglish from various Engineering colleges in Tamilnadu,India. The findings reveal that more than 75 percent of theteachers expressed their views that there is an existing needfor in-service training and development for teachers to teachEnglish in Engineering colleges in Tamilnadu

An Enhanced Least Significant Bit Steganography to Improve the Effectiveness of Graphical Password Authentication

Authentication means acknowledging a user’s identity. It is the way of associating a request with a set of identity. The identification provided is an authorized user’s information on a personal computer system or within an authentication server. A graphical password is a validation system in which user has to select from images, in a particular order, presented in a graphical user + interface (GUI). Graphical passwords can be easily remembered, as users remember images better than words. Also, the system should be more unaffected by brute-force attacks, because there is practically an infinite search space. Complex text passwords are hard to remember and simple textual passwords are easy to guess. Graphical passwords provide more robustness and memorability. It is a secure mechanism to provide authenticated sign up to a system

An Enhanced Least Significant Bit Steganography to Improve the Effectiveness of Graphical Password Authentication

Authentication means acknowledging a user’s identity. It is the way of associating a request with a set of identity. The identification provided is an authorized user’s information on a personal computer system or within an authentication server. A graphical password is a validation system in which user has to select from images, in a particular order, presented in a graphical user + interface (GUI). Graphical passwords can be easily remembered, as users remember images better than words. Also, the system should be more unaffected by brute-force attacks, because there is practically an infinite search space. Complex text passwords are hard to remember and simple textual passwords are easy to guess. Graphical passwords provide more robustness and memorability. It is a secure mechanism to provide authenticated sign up to a system

Intrafamilial Phenotypic Variability and Consequences of Non-Compliance with Treatment in Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia and Congenital Hypothyroidism within a Single Family

BACKGROUND: Coexistence of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) and congenital hypothyroidism (CH) due to TG mutation in the same non-consanguineous family is rare. Case Series: We report 4 siblings born to unrelated parents, the father being an asymptomatic carrier of homozygous p.V281L and heterozygous p.I172N CYP21A2 mutations. Sibling 1 had salt-wasting CAH (CYP21A2 genotype Intron 2 splice/p.I172N and p.V281L). She also had CH (TG genotype p.R296/ p.T1416Rfs*30) and learning difficulties. Poor compliance and morbid obesity resulted in short stature, precocious puberty, hirsutism, amenorrhoea, insulin insensitivity and a possible adrenal adenoma. Sibling 3 (CYP21A2 and TG genotype similar to sibling 1) is a boy presenting with salt-wasting CAH, CH, and developmental delay. He was overweight and underwent precocious puberty. Although siblings 2 and 4 (both females) share the same CYP21A2 genotype (Intron 2 splice/p.V281L), the former only had biochemical evidence of CAH, while the latter presented at 9.8 years of age with a history of pubarche at 7 years and advanced bone age. CONCLUSIONS: We report the unusual occurrence of 2 rare autosomal recessive diseases, CAH and CH. Our cases highlight the phenotypic variability of CAH and CH due to TG mutations, even within a single family, and illustrate the importance of optimal disease control

Nanotechnology and global energy demand: challenges and prospects for a paradigm shift in the oil and gas industry.

The exploitation of new hydrocarbon discoveries in meeting the present global energy demand is a function of the availability and application of new technologies. The relevance of new technologies is borne out of the complex subsurface architecture and conditions of offshore petroleum plays. Conventional techniques, from drilling to production, for exploiting these discoveries may require adaption for such subsurface conditions as they fail under conditions of high pressure and high temperature. The oil and gas industry over the past decades has witnessed increased research into the use of nanotechnology with great promise for drilling operations, enhanced oil recovery, reservoir characterization, production, etc. The prospect for a paradigm shift towards the application of nanotechnology in the oil and gas industry is constrained by evolving challenges with its progression. This paper gave a review of developments from nano-research in the oil and gas industry, challenges and recommendations

Transfer of Grammatical Knowledge into ESL Writing

Writing is a challenging productive skill that necessitates the input of grammar knowledge in the construction of intelligible and appropriate sentences. In the context of second language writing, ESL learners have to be aware of using the target language structures in their writing. The learners’ ability to transfer the metalinguistic knowledge, rhetorical devices, mechanics of writing and logic reasoning into L2 writing is called language transfer. Mikulecky et al. (1998) and Ormrod (1998) have stated the concept of language transfer as the extent to which the learned knowledge of grammatical structure, a subset of literacy skill can be transferred from the classroom to learners’ writing. According to their view form-focused pedagogical intervention assists the learners’ in developing metalinguistic knowledge to comprehend and produce the language in a better way. In this regard, this paper examines to what extent the learners are able to transfer the knowledge of grammar into their writing. Further, it has analysed the grammatical features that can/not be transferred into students’ writing. It has also explored the pedagogical factors that foster transfer of learning. The participants of this study are 58 second year B.A English Literature students of a rural Arts & Science College in Tamilnadu. The results of the study reveal that grammar instruction has enabled the transfer of learned grammar knowledge in their writing task

Development of Membraneless Sodium Perborate Fuel Cell for Media Flexible Power Generation

This paper reports the media flexibility of membraneless sodium perborate fuel cell (MLSPBFC) using acid/alkaline bipolar electrolyte in which the anode is in acidic media while the cathode is in alkaline media, or vice versa. Investigation of the cell operation is conducted by using formic acid as a fuel and sodium perborate as an oxidant for the first time under “acid-alkaline media” configurations. The MLSPBFC architecture enables interchangeable operation with different media combinations. The experimental results indicate that operating under “acid-alkaline media” conditions significantly improves the fuel cell performance compared with all-acidic and all-alkaline conditions. The effects of flow rates and the concentrations of various species at both the anode and cathode on the cell performance are also investigated. It has been demonstrated that the laminar flow based microfluidic membraneless fuel cell can reach a maximum power density of 28.2 mW cm−2 with a fuel mixture flow rate of 0.3 mL min−1 at room temperature

Optimal Sizing and Sitting Of Distributed Generations For Relieving Congestion

ABSTRACT-In power system, unexpected outages of generation, sudden increase of demand, tripping of transmission lines, or failures of other equipment have led to congestion in one or more transmission lines. The network loading is maintained within the specified norms for system secure operation. Generation rescheduling and/or load shedding can relive the non-severe congestion and the severe congestion has to be relieved by some improved method. With the wide application of distributed generation (DG) sourcecongestion management is done by optimumplacement of DG in the distribution network.As it is known that non-optimal size and non-optimal placement of DG units may lead to high power loss and bad voltage profiles, therefore, this paper uses, Line Flow Sensitivity Factor (LFSF) analysis to determine the optimal location of DG units, as well as Genetic Algorithm (GA) for determining the optimal size of DG in distribution systems. A multi-objective function is created to minimize the total losses and improve the voltage profile of the distribution system.This methodology is tested on IEEE-30 bus system. The optimal placement and sizing of DG was found to be robust and provided higher efficiency for the improvement of the voltage profile and minimization of losses