Learner beliefs and corrective feedback in telecollaboration: A longitudinal investigation

esearch investigating focus on form practices in synchronous, video-based exchange, let alone studies that do so longitudinally. Furthermore, none of the previous studies on telecollaboration examined beliefs as one of the individual differences that may mediate the effectiveness of corrective feedback (CF). This study examined the dynamicity of learner beliefs about error correction and its relationship with actual CF practices regarding provision and uptake of CF in a 14-week, Skype-based eTandem project between American and Japanese universities. The study collected mixed-method, longitudinal evidence from survey (N = 24), interaction (n = 6 pairs), and interview data (n = 5). The analysis of survey data revealed that by the end of the semester, the majority of participants chose recasts as the most preferred way to give and receive CF, since recasts were considered immediate, time-saving, unintrusive, and easy to provide. The interaction data revealed that successful uptake increased when CF was provided in the way learners preferred to receive it. However, no relationship was found between native speakers’ preferred method of CF provision and actual practices, suggesting a complex picture of face and identity negotiation as a friend vs. language tutor

Linguistic correlates of comprehensibility in second language Japanese speech

This study examined phonological, temporal, lexical and grammatical correlates of native speakers’ perception of second language (L2) comprehensibility (i.e., ease of understanding). L2 learners of Japanese with various proficiency levels engaged in oral picture description tasks which were judged by native speaking raters for comprehensibility, and then submitted to pronunciation, fluency, and lexicogrammar analyses. According to correlation analyses and linear mixed-models, the native speaking judges’ comprehensibility ratings were significantly linked not only with actual usage of words in context (lexical appropriateness) but also with the surface details of words (pitch accent, speech rate, lexical variation). Similar to previous L2 English studies (e.g., Isaacs & Trofimovich, 2012), the influence of segmental and morphological errors in the comprehensibility of L2 Japanese speech appeared to be minor

セプティミウス セウェルス テイチカ ノ キリスト キョウト ハクガイ

According to the Historia Augusta, during his 10th year in power, the emperor Septimius Severus enacted a rescript prohibiting conversion to either Judaism or Christianity. At the same time, Christian apologist Tertullian wrote that Severus was very friendly toward Christians, thus putting the authenticity and authorship of the rescript into question. If this rescript is in fact true, Severus changed one of the traditional Christian policies which the emperor Trajan and his successors followed, which was not to seek out Christians. Two cases of Christian persecutions coincided with the rescript, the persecutions in Alexandria and the martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas. These incidents show that the government executed not only converters but also Christians born into Christian families. In addition, these persecutions indicate that the government did not seek out Christians or converters, and Roman citizens supported the government in these persecutions. The outbreak of the persecutions coincided intentionally with the emperor’s 10-year anniversary celebrations. Roman people celebrated the Emperor with festivals and gave offerings to the Emperor and to the gods. Christians, however, did not participate. As a result, Roman commoners detested them and persecuted them. Considering the above evidence, I will attempt to prove in this paper that Severus did not enact the rescript and that the rescript was not connected persecutions

Dietary counseling for hyperuricemia

In Japan, hyperuricemia is on the rise. The guideline for the management of hyperuricemia and gout recommends lifestyle changes before beginning drug therapy. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of dietary counseling following the guideline. Thirty-three subjects (24 men and 9 women) with asymptomatic hyperuricemia underwent dietary counseling for 6 months based on the following recommendations : (1) prevent excessive purine intake, (2) prevent excessive fructose intake, (3) limit alcohol drinking, and (4) drink sufficient water. Obese subjects were counseled on adequate energy intake. Blood sampling, anthropometric measurements, dietary surveys, and 24-h urine collection were performed at baseline and at 6 months. Serum uric acid (S-UA) levels were significantly lower at 6 months compared to baseline. Water intake and urine volume were considerably higher at 6 months than at baseline. When compared to baseline, urine UA (U-UA) levels were significantly lower, and renal fractional excretion of UA (FEUA) was significantly higher at 6 months. Changes in renal function (serum creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and FEUA) were significantly associated with ΔS-UA level. In this study, S-UA level was significantly decreased by dietary counseling in line with the guideline. This study illustrates the effectiveness of dietary counseling for asymptomatic hyperuricemia

MOIRCS Deep Survey. VII: NIR Morphologies of Star-forming Galaxies at Redshift z~1

We investigate rest-frame near-infrared (NIR) morphologies of a sample of 139 galaxies with M_{s} >= 1 x 10^{10} M_{sun} at z=0.8-1.2 in the GOODS-North field using our deep NIR imaging data (MOIRCS Deep Survey, MODS). We focus on Luminous Infrared Galaxies (LIRGs), which dominate high star formation rate (SFR) density at z~1, in the sample identified by cross-correlating with the Spitzer/MIPS 24um source catalog. We perform two-dimensional light profile fitting of the z~1 galaxies in the Ks-band (rest-frame J-band) with a single component Sersic model. We find that at z~1, ~90% of LIRGs have low Sersic indices (n<2.5, similar to disk-like galaxies) in the Ks-band, and those disk-like LIRGs consist of ~60% of the whole disk-like sample above M_{s} >= 3 x 10^{10} M_{sun}. The z~1 disk-like LIRGs are comparable or ~20% small at a maximum in size compared to local disk-like galaxies in the same stellar mass range. If we examine rest-frame UV-optical morphologies using the HST/ACS images, the rest-frame B-band sizes of the z~1 disk-like galaxies are comparable to those of the local disk-like galaxies as reported by previous studies on size evolution of disk-like galaxies in the rest-frame optical band. Measuring color gradients (galaxy sizes as a function of wavelength) of the z~1 and local disk-like galaxies, we find that the z~1 disk-like galaxies have 3-5 times steeper color gradient than the local ones. Our results indicate that (i) more than a half of relatively massive disk-like galaxies at z~1 are in violent star formation epochs observed as LIRGs, and also (ii) most of those LIRGs are constructing their fundamental disk structure vigorously. The high SFR density in the universe at z~1 may be dominated by such star formation in disk region in massive galaxies.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in PASJ. Catalog data will be available at http://astr.tohoku.ac.jp/MODS/wiki/index.php soo

Assembly of Massive Galaxies in a High-z Protocluster

We present the results of wide-field deep JHK imaging of the SSA22 field using MOIRCS instrument equipped with Subaru telescope. The observed field is 112 arcmin^2 in area, which covers the z=3.1 protocluster characterized by the overdensities of Ly Alpha emitters (LAEs) and Ly Alpha Blobs (LABs). The 5 sigma limiting magnitude is K_{AB} = 24.3. We extract the potential protocluster members from the K-selected sample by using the multi-band photometric-redshift selection as well as the simple color cut for distant red galaxies (DRGs; J-K_{AB}>1.4). The surface number density of DRGs in our observed fields shows clear excess compared with those in the blank fields, and the location of the densest area whose projected overdensity is twice the average coincides with the large-scale density peak of LAEs. We also found that K-band counterparts with z_{phot} = 3.1 are detected for 75% (15/20) of the LABs within their Ly Alpha halo, and the 40 % (8/20) of LABs have multiple components, which gives a direct evidence of the hierarchical multiple merging in galaxy formation. The stellar mass ofLABs correlates with their luminosity, isophotal area, and the Ly Alpha velocity widths, implying that the physical scale and the dynamical motion of Ly Alpha emission are closely related to their previous star-formation activities. Highly dust-obscured galaxies such as hyper extremely red objects (HEROs; J-K_{AB}>2.1) and plausible K-band counterparts of submillimeter sources are also populated in the high density region.Comment: 21pages, accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journa

出産クラス受講前後の妊婦の自己効力感と指導者のProfessional Learning Climate との関連性

【目的】出産クラス受講前後の妊婦の自己効力感と指導者の Professional Learning Climate （以下、PLCとする）との関連性を明らかにする。 【方法】２００８年７月～９月に北陸の産科施設で開催された３１の出産クラスに参加した妊婦 ２４４名とクラス指導者３９名を対象に自記式質問紙調査を行った。妊婦には出産に対する自 己効力感と指導者に対して感じたPLCについて、クラス指導者にはクラスの指導経験年数 など属性項目を調査した。また、クラスの参加観察によりクラス内容や雰囲気、参加者や 指導者の交流タイプなどを調査した。 【結果】対象全体では、自己効力感と PLCに有意な関連は認めなかった。しかし、出産経験 別の検討では、初産婦にのみ自己効力感と PLCに有意な正相関を認めた。 PLCの要素別で は「リラックスできる空間の創造」、「ユーモアとウィット」の２要素と自己効力感との間 に有意な正相関を認めた。一方、経産婦においては自己効力感と PLCに関連性は認めな かった。さらに、クラス後の自己効力感の高さには、 PLCとクラス前の自己効力感が影響 していた。 　以上より、 PLCは出産クラスを運営する際に、指導者にとって身につけることが望まし い必要な要素であることが示唆された。 : The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between the professional learning climate (PLC) of educators and the self-efficacy of pregnant women before and after they took a childbirth class. : A self-completed questionnaire survey was conducted on 244 pregnant women who had participated in 31 childbirth classes held in a maternity hospital in the Hokuriku district, and 39 class educators. It investigated the pregnant women s feelings of self-efficacy to cope with childbirth and PLC with the educator, and such educator attributes as the number of years of experience in teaching childbirth classes. Class content and atmosphere, and the types of interaction between participants and educators, were investigated through participant observation of the classes. The survey was conducted from July to September 2008. : No significant relationship was observed between self-efficacy and PLC in all subjects. However, among women with parity, a significant positive correlation was observed between self-efficacy and PLC in nullipara. Among individual elements of PLC, significant positive correlations were observed between self-efficacy and “creation of a relaxing space” and “humor and wit.” Among multipara, no relationship was observed between self-efficacy and PLC. In addition, the level of self-efficacy after the class was affected by PLC and self-efficacy before the class. 　The present findings suggest that skill in creating PLC is an element which educators should acquire in order to conduct childbirth classes.[原著