A STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF BLOGS IN EFL PROCESS/GENRE-BASED WRITING CLASSROOMS AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH COLLEGE STUDENTS’ WRITING STRATEGIES

The purposes of this quasi-experimental study were to examine the effects of the integration of the process/genre approach (hereafter cited as PGA) and blog on EFL college students’ writing development, and the changes of the use of writing strategies. A total of thirty-four second-year English major undergraduates who were randomly labelled as the control and experimental groups took part in this eight-week programme. An English writing essay and the questionnaires were completed in both the pre-test and post-test to contribute to accumulating quantitative data, while the observations and interviews provided qualitative data. The quantitative data was computed by applying IBM SPSS statistics to find the differences as well as the correlations, while the qualitative data was interpreted by myself to explore possible reasons and explanations to support the quantitative outcomes and to answer the research questions. The difference test revealed that there were statistically significant differences on the participants’ English writing performances in both groups. There were some statistically significant differences in terms of the students’ perceptions of the PGA in both groups, as well as perceptions of the blog writing in the experimental group. However, neither the control group nor the experimental group showed significant differences in terms of the use of writing strategies after the treatments. The correlation tests also indicated significant different correlations between the two groups in which the results in the experimental group had greater significances. In terms of the qualitative research findings, several obstacles had been found to be considered before conducting this type of class. However, encouraging feedback regarding the instruction had been indicated by the students to explain how they perceived the application of the PGA as well as blogs in their writing classrooms, and how the instruction developed their English writing competence

The Chaconne for Solo Violin by J. S. Bach: A Performance Guide

Abstract As one of the most important solo pieces in the violin repertoire, the Chaconne has inspired and tested numerous violinists on the road to violin mastery. It is not only the longest single movement of the unaccompanied violin works by J. S. Bach, but it also presents a variety of technical and musical challenges. Each section of the Chaconne varies in the required bowing and fingering techniques. This document will focus on intonation, string crossings, chords, memorization, and dynamics. This study focuses on helping violinists to find solutions for technical challenges when playing the Chaconne. I have collected ideas and suggestions from scholars and performers and combined them with my own insight as a violinist to write this document. I am hoping to provide a unique view for those who wish to comprehend and successfully perform the piece. Wei-yu Chang Lawrence, Kansas April 201

An Empirical Note on Testing the Cointegration Relationship Between the Real Estate and Stock Markets in Taiwan

This note studies the long-run relationship between real estate and stock markets in the Taiwan context over the 1986Q3 to 2006Q4 period, using standard cointegration test of Johansen and Juselius (1990) and that of Engle-Granger (1987) as well as the fractional cointegration test of Geweke and Porter-Hudak (1983). The results from both types of cointegration tests strongly indicate that these two markets are not cointegrated with each other. With respect to risk diversification, it is obvious that investors and financial institutions should have included both assets in the same portfolio during that period.

Pentacene-Based Thin-Film Transistors With a Solution-Process Hafnium Oxide Insulator

Abstract—Pentacene-based organic thin-film transistors with solution-process hafnium oxide (HfOx) as gate insulating layer have been demonstrated. The solution-process HfOx could not only exhibit a high-permittivity (κ = 11) dielectric constant but also has good dielectric strength. Moreover, the root-mean-square surface roughness and surface energy (γs) on the surface of the HfOx layer were 1.304 nm and 34.24 mJ/cm2, respectively. The smooth, as well as hydrophobic, surface of HfOx could facilitate the direct deposition of the pentacene film without an additional polymer treatment layer, leading to a high field-effect mobility of 3.8 cm2/(V · s). Index Terms—Hafnium oxide, high permittivity, organic thinfilm transistor (OTFT), solution process, surface energy