Words of Experience: Semantic Content Analysis and Individual Differences among Successful Second Language Learners

Individual differences (IDs) in second language (L2) learning have traditionally been studied as separate, isolated variables (Dörnyei, 2005), but this reductionist approach has led to a fragmented and inconclusive understanding of how IDs influence L2 learning. The present study takes a different approach to IDs by starting at the level of L2 learning experience and identifying the most basic differences between learners. To do this, a new L2 experience methodology is introduced. Participants are 123 matriculated non-native English speaking students at two urban universities in the South. First, learners were interviewed following a strict interview protocol which ensured that all learners received the same input in the same setting. Next, the interviews were analyzed using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software (Pennebaker, Booth, & Francis, 2007), which provides quantitative output showing the types and frequency of psychosocial words each learner produced. These psychosocial semantic categories then formed the basis of a cluster analysis that identified groups of learners who use similar semantic categories. Learners who tend to use similar psychosocial words to describe their L2 learning experience are assumed to share a similar approach to L2 learning and are grouped together into L2 learning profiles. Results show that these participants can be grouped into three types of successful L2 experiences: Doing, Thinking, and Feeling. An ANOVA and follow-up ad hoc statistical tests reveal significant differences in admissions TOEFL scores among these groups of students, suggesting that learners who describe their L2 experience differently do in fact show significant differential performance. Qualitative analysis of interview transcripts further suggests that the influence of family plays an important role in differential TOEFL scores, and that L2 learning experience may change in important ways over time. Based on the results of the study, a L2 Experience Model of Individual and Social Differences is proposed that accounts for life importance, effort, ability, and L2 experience. Implications of this new methodology and model are discussed, along with suggestions for future research, teaching, and L2 learning

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Abnormalities in human pluripotent cells due to reprogramming mechanisms.

Human pluripotent stem cells hold potential for regenerative medicine, but available cell types have significant limitations. Although embryonic stem cells (ES cells) from in vitro fertilized embryos (IVF ES cells) represent the 'gold standard', they are allogeneic to patients. Autologous induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) are prone to epigenetic and transcriptional aberrations. To determine whether such abnormalities are intrinsic to somatic cell reprogramming or secondary to the reprogramming method, genetically matched sets of human IVF ES cells, iPS cells and nuclear transfer ES cells (NT ES cells) derived by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) were subjected to genome-wide analyses. Both NT ES cells and iPS cells derived from the same somatic cells contained comparable numbers of de novo copy number variations. In contrast, DNA methylation and transcriptome profiles of NT ES cells corresponded closely to those of IVF ES cells, whereas iPS cells differed and retained residual DNA methylation patterns typical of parental somatic cells. Thus, human somatic cells can be faithfully reprogrammed to pluripotency by SCNT and are therefore ideal for cell replacement therapies

Abnormalities in human pluripotent cells due to reprogramming mechanisms.

Human pluripotent stem cells hold potential for regenerative medicine, but available cell types have significant limitations. Although embryonic stem cells (ES cells) from in vitro fertilized embryos (IVF ES cells) represent the 'gold standard', they are allogeneic to patients. Autologous induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) are prone to epigenetic and transcriptional aberrations. To determine whether such abnormalities are intrinsic to somatic cell reprogramming or secondary to the reprogramming method, genetically matched sets of human IVF ES cells, iPS cells and nuclear transfer ES cells (NT ES cells) derived by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) were subjected to genome-wide analyses. Both NT ES cells and iPS cells derived from the same somatic cells contained comparable numbers of de novo copy number variations. In contrast, DNA methylation and transcriptome profiles of NT ES cells corresponded closely to those of IVF ES cells, whereas iPS cells differed and retained residual DNA methylation patterns typical of parental somatic cells. Thus, human somatic cells can be faithfully reprogrammed to pluripotency by SCNT and are therefore ideal for cell replacement therapies

[[alternative]]時間因素對臺灣大學生英語寫作複雜度、正確度與流暢度之影響

碩士[[abstract]]在以英語為第二語言或外語（ESL/EFL）的領域中，寫作是重要的研究議題之一，也因此許多學者投入檢視可能影響ESL/EFL學生寫作表現的潛在因素。在眾多的變項研究中，許多學者發現時間因素似乎左右著「有限注意力容量配置」（LACM: Limited Attentional Capacity Model）的運作，並推論其對寫作能力表現的影響。LACM據信對於記憶處理機制具有一定的影響力，而透過時間壓力的催化，寫作複雜度（Complexity）、正確度（Accuracy）及流暢度（Fluency）（簡稱寫作CAF）彼此之間將產生不同的聯繫關係。然而，當前對LACM與CAF三者間的互動模式之了解仍相當有限，尤其是時間因素對於臺灣EFL大專學生寫作CAF的影響更是匱缺。因此，為能釐清時間因素對於LACM與寫作CAF的影響，本實驗以推論及描述統計對43位臺灣EFL大專學生受試者進行於不同時限（30分鐘及50分鐘）的寫作文本分析。研究結果顯示，複雜度與正確度及複雜度與流暢度之間皆存在顯著的抵換機制（trade-off model）：當寫作時間匱乏時，受試者傾向於發展寫作流暢度；寫作時間充裕時，受試者則致力發展寫作正確度。本研究最後以英語寫作教學啟示及未來研究之建議進行結論。[[abstract]]Writing has been an important research issue in the domain of English as a Second/Foreign Language (ESL/EFL). Many investigations have been deployed to survey the latent factors that could affect ESL/EFL learners’ writing performance. Amongst them, time has been identified as one of the major causes, which may activate the Limited Attentional Capacity Model (LACM)—a framework considered to be potent over the memory processing system—and could result in possible turbulence in the interactive relationship between writing complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF). Still, the current understanding towards this aspect, particularly the influence of time on Taiwanese university-level EFL students’ writing CAF, is still limited. To throw clear light on how time variables alone may have an impact on LACM and hence writing CAF, the researcher of this study scrutinized the textual outputs created by 43 EFL participants, who wrote under two different time frames (i.e., 30 minutes versus 50 minutes). Both inferential and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data garnered. The results reveal explicit trade-off models between complexity and accuracy/fluency. Specifically, when writing with limited time resources (i.e., 30 minutes), student writers were inclined to develop writing fluency; in contrast, when writing with more time resources (i.e., 50 minutes), they would apply themselves to the development of writing accuracy. This research finishes with pedagogical implications and suggestions for future investigations.[[tableofcontents]]TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…… I CHINESE ABSTRACT…… VII ABSTRACT…… VIII TABLE OF CONTENTS…… X LIST OF TABLES…… XII LIST OF FIGURES…… XIII LIST OF APPENDICES…… XIV CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION…… 1 1.1 Background of the Study…… 1 1.2 Research Questions…… 6 1.3 Purpose of the Study…… 7 1.4 Significance of the Study…… 7 1.5 Outline of the Chapters…… 8 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW…… 10 2.1 Definition and Measures of CAF…… 10 2.1.1 Complexity…… 10 2.1.2 Accuracy…… 11 2.1.3 Fluency…… 12 2.2 Reviews of the Relevant Research…… 12 CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY…… 19 3.1 Participants…… 19 3.2 Writing Tests and Time Implemented…… 20 3.3 CAF Measures…… 21 3.4 Raters…… 24 3.5 Data Analysis…… 25 3.6 Technical Problems for CAF Measures…… 26 CHAPTER FOUR RESULTS AND DISCUSSION…… 28 4.1 Inter-rater Reliability…… 28 4.2 Interaction between CAF…… 29 4.3 Descriptive Statistics…… 34 4.4 Discussion…… 36 CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSION…… 41 5.1 Conclusion…… 41 5.2 Limitation and Suggestions…… 42 REFERENCES…… 45 APPENDICES…… 54 LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1 Inter-rater Reliability between the Raters…… 29 Table 4.2 Basic Information of the Writing Samples…… 30 Table 4.3 Inferential Statistics (30-Minute Writing Test)…… 33 Table 4.4 Inferential Statistics (50-Minute Writing Test)…… 33 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3.1 Example of Complexity Assessment (Original Passage)…… 21 Figure 3.2 Example of Complexity Assessment (Paraphrased Passage)…… 22 Figure 3.3 Example of Accuracy Assessment (Error-free T-unit)…… 23 Figure 3.4 Example of Accuracy Assessment (Erroneous T-unit)…… 23 Figure 3.5 Descriptive Statistical Display of Each Numerical Counts Using WordList…… 24 Figure 4.1 CAF Interaction in the 30-Minute Writing Test…… 35 Figure 4.2 CAF Interaction in the 50-Minute Writing Test…… 36 Figure 4.3 Overall Trade-off Relationship between CAF…… 37 Figure 4.4 Trade-off Relationship between CAF (30 Minutes)…… 38 Figure 4.5 Trade-off Relationship between CAF (50 Minutes)…… 38 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix 1 Enlarged Image of Figure 4.1…… 55 Appendix 2 Enlarged Image of Figure 4.2…… 56 Appendix 3 Basic Information of the English Majors’ 30-Minute Writing Samples (Rater 1)…… 57 Appendix 4 Basic Information of the English Majors’ 50-Minute Writing Samples (Rater 1)…… 59 Appendix 5 Basic Information of the English Minors’ 30-Minute Writing Samples (Rater 1)…… 61 Appendix 6 Basic Information of the English Minors’ 50-Minute Writing Samples (Rater 1)…… 63 Appendix 7 Basic Information of the English Minors’ 30-Minute Writing Samples (Rater 2)…… 65 Appendix 8 Basic Information of the English Minors’ 50-Minute Writing Samples (Rater 2)…… 67[[note]]學號: 601110512, 學年度: 10