Gaming for language learning: Something to do in schools? What kinds of games and how they can be used in the English classroom to facilitate language learning: a teacher’s guide.

Master´s thesis in English (EN502)Gaming can aid in language learning, and this thesis researches the current pedagogical beliefs and attitudes towards gaming based on survey and interview answers from English teachers in Norway .A mixed-methods approach was used in order to answer the four research questions. 120 participants took part in an online survey, and three participants took part in an interview. An expert on the subject, gaming pedagogue Halvor Østerman Thengs, participated in an interview to share information and experiences regarding gaming in schools. Afterward, the data from the online survey and interviews were presented, analyzed, and discussed. The conclusion is that many teachers want to use gaming in their teaching, but they are not sure about how to do it. Practicing teachers do not receive enough information about gaming as a language learning tool. Some teachers are also skeptical about spending time on video games instead of more traditional classroom activities. The goal with my master thesis project was to create something I can use myself later on in my career, or something that can be perceived as helpful by other English teachers. Therefore, a guide on gaming for language learning was made while writing this thesis. This guide also connects gaming theory to the Subject Renewal (Fagfornyelsen 2020). It is clear from the conclusion that information about gaming needs to be distributed to teachers and schools in Norway, and the guide will hopefully reach teachers that are interested in this topic. Keywords: gaming, digital tools, language teaching, language learning, Fagfornyelsen2020, ESL classroo

It’s not whether you win or lose: investigating the use of serious games and L2 reading development

Màster de Lingüística Aplicada i Adquisició de Llengües en Contextos Multilingües, Departament de Filologia Anglesa i Alemanya, Universitat de Barcelona, Curs: 2019-2020, Tutor: Roger Gilabert GuerreroWith the reliance on technology becoming increasingly prevalent in the classroom, educational administrators and educators have begun to consider how to effectively incorporate serious games into their curriculums and lessons. Published research supports that early mathematics and reading development are areas in which serious games have proven to be beneficial in both the short and long-term. This longitudinal study investigates the effectiveness and mechanisms involved in the development of L2 reading skills through the use of the novel serious game iRead. Hoover and Gough’s (1990) simple view of reading demonstrates that the dual components of word reading accuracy and fluency form a measure of word recognition, which, along with listening comprehension is responsible for explaining differences in reading comprehension. iRead is a EU-funded project that seeks to create adaptive technologies that will contribute to improvements in reading skills. By collecting measures of word reading accuracy and fluency from 72 ESL learners prior to and following four months of iRead use, this study sought to tie overall accuracy and fluency gains to game use and performance. We also consider differences in game use and performance based on initial proficiency measures in listening, reading, and vocabulary. We link gains in word reading accuracy to the use and performance of a specific iRead feature and also show evidence of iRead’s adaptivity, drawing conclusions about its role in overall gains and gameplay. Finally, we tie gains in fluency to number of books read and number of tricky words saved during iRead use. This study contributes to the body of existing research investigating the effectiveness of personalized and adaptive serous games and provides evidence for their efficacy when used in conjunction with traditional methods of L2 reading development

OBPR Product Lines, Human Research Initiative, and Physics Roadmap for Exploration

The pace of change has increased at NASA. OBPR s focus is now on the Human interface as it relates to the new Exploration vision. The fundamental physics community must demonstrate how we can contribute. Many opportunities exist for physicists to participate in addressing NASA's cross-disciplinary exploration challenges: a) Physicists can contribute to elucidating basic operating principles for complex biological systems; b) Physics technologies can contribute to developing miniature sensors and systems required for manned missions to Mars. NASA Codes other than OBPR may be viable sources of funding for physics research

Written in stone : a design proposal of the memory grove on Östra kyrkogården in Malmö based on its future functions and historical spirit

Kyrkogårdar och begravningsplatser har med urbaniseringen fått nya behov av utveckling då de får allt fler besökare och dess funktion som grönt utrymme har förändrats med förtätningen i städer. Ett ökat antal besökare har lett till att dessa historiska platser behöver tillgängliggöras och utvecklas kring hur, eller om, de kan användas som rekreationsytor. Samtidigt bär de på många olika värden och skyddas av kulturmiljölagen som behöver tas hänsyn till vid omgestaltning. Det finns således historiska kvaliteter som ska bevaras samtidigt som framtida kvaliteter behöver utvecklas på kyrkogårdar och begravningsplatser. Movium utlyste i samarbete med Sveriges Kyrkogårds- och Krematorieförbund (SKKF), Sveriges Stenindustriförbund och SLU en tävling den 9 november 2020. Syftet med tävlingen var att omgestalta minneslunden på Östra kyrkogården i Malmö med hänsyn till dess ursprungsarkitektur av Sigurd Lewerentz samt vad dagens krav ställer på platsen. Detta arbete presenterar ett gestaltningsförslag till tävlingen. För att ta fram ett gestaltningsförslag utgick arbetet från en studie av sekundära källor om av Sigurd Lewerentz arkitektoniska uttryck, kyrkogårdars framtida funktion och Östra kyrkogården i Malmö. Platsen analyserades utifrån Inger Berglunds analysmetod av minneslundar. Utifrån dessa studier och tävlingens förutsättningar sammanfattas ledord som grund till gestaltningsförslaget. Förslaget visar nya möjligheter för bland annat platsens tillgänglighet, begravningsytor och sociala utveckling. Arbetet diskuterar kritiskt metodanvändningen av Lewerentz stilstudie, Berglunds analysmetod samt hur det föreslagna resultatet samspelar med studien och gestaltning av en minneslund.Cemeteries have in accordance with urbanisation developed new needs as more people visit them and their function as a green space in cities have changed with the ongoing densification of houses. An increasing number of visitors has led to new needs of accessibility in these historic sites and they are in need of development for their increasing use as recreational spaces. At the same time they carry many different values and are protected by the Cultural Environment Act that needs to be taken into account when redesigning. Thus there are historic qualities that have to be preserved and yet there are future qualities that need to be improved on cemeteries. Movium, in collaboration with the Swedish Cemetery and Crematorium Association (SKKF), the Swedish Stone Industry Association and SLU announced a design competition on the 9th of November 2020. The purpose of the competition was to redesign the memorial grove at Östra kyrkogården in Malmö, this with regards to its original architecture by Sigurd Lewerentz and the site’s current requirements. The aim of this study has been to present a design proposal for the competition. In order to reach the aim, the research was based on studies of secondary sources of Sigurd Lewerentz’s architectural expressions, the future function of cemeteries and the Eastern Cemetery in Malmö. The site analysis was based on Inger Berglund's method for analysis of memorial groves. Based on these studies and the competition framework, key words were presented as a basis for the design proposal. The proposal accounts for new opportunities for the site's accessibility, burial grounds and social development. The work critically discusses the use of method for Lewerentz's study of style, Berglund's analysis method and how the proposed result interacts with the study and management of a memorial grove

Configuration Management for Industrial Automation

Core Issue: Developing and maintaining industrial automation systems requires a lot of coordination of programming code. To support this task a configuration management system can be used but many companies of today find it hard to select a system that suites them best. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine various configuration management systems and evaluate them according to the needs that Tetra Pak Processing Systems 14 Business Unit Dairy, Beverage and Prepared Food (BU DBF) has. The Platform & Standards department, where the thesis has been written, has started to work with templates that are shared between different projects. This leads to more versions which make it harder to organize and structure the work. Methodology: Qualitative information has been gathered through interviews and quantitative information has been gathered through a survey. Using configuration management requires the user to understand the theory behind it and the area has been studied thoroughly. Various tests on different tools were performed according to test specifications. Conclusions: For BU DBF the largest problem was to find a configuration management tool that supported binary files, which are used for PLC and HMI, from several manufacturers. Both freeware applications and commercial tools were tested. The tool that best fulfilled the test specifications was VersionWorks from GepaSoft/Rockwell Automation. Implementing configuration management within BU DBF is something that definitely should be done and based on the results of this thesis

Superconducting magnet and fabrication method

A method of trapping a field in a block of superconductor material, includes providing (i) a block of material defining a bore, (ii) a high permeability core within the bore that defines a low reluctance path through the bore, (iii) a high permeability external structure on the exterior of the block of material that defines a low reluctance path between opposite ends of the core, and (iv) an electromagnet configured to apply a magnetic field around the high permeability core. The method proceeds by energizing the electromagnet to produce an applied magnetic field around the high permeability core, cooling the block of material sufficiently to render the block of material superconducting, de-energizing the electromagnet to result in a trapped magnetic field, and at least partially removing the low reluctance path defined by the core and the external structure in order to increase the magnetic flux density of the trapped magnetic field

Retrieval of forest stem volume using VHF SAR

The ability to retrieve forest stem volume using CARABAS (coherent all radio band sensing) SAR images (28–60 MHz) has been investigated. The test site is a deciduous mixed forest on the island of Öland in southern Sweden. The images have been radiometrically calibrated using an array of horizontal dipoles. The images exhibit a clear discrimination between the forest and open fields. The results show that the dynamic range of the backscattering coefficient among the forest stands is higher than what has been found with conventional SAR using microwave frequencies. The backscatter increases with increasing radar frequency. This work shows an advantage compared to higher frequencies for stem volume estimation in dense forests

Method for determining transport critical current densities and flux penetration depth in bulk superconductors

A contact-less method for determining transport critical current density and flux penetration depth in bulk superconductor material. A compressor having a hollow interior and a plunger for selectively reducing the free space area for distribution of the magnetic flux therein are formed of superconductor material. Analytical relationships, based upon the critical state model, Maxwell's equations and geometrical relationships define transport critical current density and flux penetration depth in terms of the initial trapped magnetic flux density and the ratio between initial and final magnetic flux densities whereby data may be reliably determined by means of the simple test apparatus for evaluating the current density and flux penetration depth

Regularity of oscillatory integral operators

In this paper, we establish the global boundedness of oscillatory integral operators on Besov-Lipschitz and Triebel-Lizorkin spaces, with amplitudes in general $S^m_{\rho,\delta}(\mathbb{R}^n)$-classes and non-degenerate phase functions in the class \textart F^k. Our results hold for a wide range of parameters $0\leq\rho\leq1$, $0\leq\delta<1$, $0<p\leq\infty$, $0<q\leq\infty$ and $k>0$. We also provide a sufficient condition for the boundedness of operators with amplitudes in the forbidden class $S^m_{1,1}(\mathbb{R}^n)$ in Triebel-Lizorkin spaces.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2302.0031