A review of teaching second/ foreign language listening comprehension research(Part 5 Text production and comprehension)

OpenAIRE

尹, 松

2002-01-01

Among the four skills of the language acquisition, it has been pointed out that listening comprehension is the most difficult skill. The research on effective methods of teaching listening comprehension has been carried out from various viewpoints. After introducing the theory of listening comprehension, this review will describe recent trends in the teach-ing of listening as a second/foreign language. This will be done by focusing primarily on schema activator and strategy-instruction in tea...

Providing Comprehensive Educational Opportunity to Low Income Students. Part 5: A Proposal for Essential Standards and Resources. A Report of the Task Force on Comprehensive Educational Opportunity

Science.gov (United States)

Rebell, Michael A.; Wolff, Jessica R.

2011-01-01

This fifth in a five part series, states that, if comprehensive educational opportunity is conceived as a right, then the state must commit to providing it and must develop a policy infrastructure to assure broad access, uniform quality, regularized funding, and firm accountability strictures to ensure all students a meaningful opportunity to…

Standardised Testing and Assessment in Comprehensive School in Scandinavian Countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andreasen, Karen Egedal; Eva, Hjörne,

Assessments can be considered to be an integrated part of formal educational settings, in different forms and used for different purposes. In this contribution we will discuss and analyse the use of assessments in comprehensive school in Scandinavian countries through time, as we will include....... If the comprehensive school is based on the general idea of a school for all, how can different ways of practising assessment support or work against this idea? What conclusions can be drawn from the experiences in the Scandinavian countries?...... different kinds of documentary and empirical studies in the argumentation. We will focus on which kinds of assessments has been used, for which purposes and the role of this in the perspective of society. More contemporary trends will be discussed, specially the use of standardised testing. Scandinavian...

On quantum electrodynamics in an external gravitational field. Part 2. Discussion of the effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lotze, K.H.

1978-01-01

The S matrix constructed in Part I of this work is evaluated for processes which it includes. Some of them are discussed in more detail: pair creation and scattering in an external gravitational field, pair creation by a photon and creation of an electron-positron pair and a photon in an external gravitational field. (author)

Antibiotic-impregnated calcium phosphate cement as part of a comprehensive treatment for patients with established orthopaedic infection.

Science.gov (United States)

Niikura, Takahiro; Lee, Sang Yang; Iwakura, Takashi; Sakai, Yoshitada; Kuroda, Ryosuke; Kurosaka, Masahiro

2016-07-01

The treatment of established orthopaedic infection is challenging. While the main focus of treatment is wide surgical debridement, systemic and local antibiotic administration are important adjuvant therapies. Several reports have described the clinical use of antibiotic-impregnated calcium phosphate cement (CPC) to provide local antibiotic therapy for bone infections. However, these were all individual case reports, and no case series have been reported. We report a case series treated by a single surgeon using antibiotic-impregnated CPC as part of a comprehensive treatment plan in patients with established orthopaedic infection. We enrolled 13 consecutive patients with osteomyelitis (n = 6) or infected non-union (n = 7). Implantation of antibiotic-impregnated CPC was performed to provide local antibiotic therapy as part of a comprehensive treatment plan that also included wide surgical debridement, systemic antibiotic therapy, and subsequent second-stage reconstruction surgery. We investigated the rate of successful infection eradication and systemic/local complications. The concentration of antibiotics in the surgical drainage fluids, blood, and recovered CPC (via elution into a phosphate-buffered saline bath) were measured. The mean follow-up period after surgery was 50.4 (range, 27-73) months. There were no cases of infection recurrence during follow-up. No systemic toxicity or local complications from the implantation of antibiotic-impregnated CPC were observed. The vancomycin concentration in the fluid from surgical drainage (n = 6) was 527.1 ± 363.9 μg/mL on postoperative day 1 and 224.5 ± 198.4 μg/mL on postoperative day 2. In patients who did not receive systemic vancomycin therapy (n = 3), the maximum serum vancomycin level was antibiotic-impregnated CPC is an option to provide local antibiotic therapy as part of a comprehensive treatment plan. Copyright © 2016 The Japanese Orthopaedic Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights

MO-F-201-00: PANEL DISCUSSION: Preparing for Parts 2 and 3 of the ABR Therapy Medical Physics Exam

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2016-06-15

The goal of this session is to provide guidance to medical physicists undergoing the American Board of Radiology certification process in therapeutic medical physics. This panel discussion will focus on parts 2 (computer-based) and 3 (oral) of the examination. Unlike the latter portions of the exam which are specialty-driven, part 1 is universal for all medical physics fields and will not be addressed. This session is structured into different topics that aim to guide the participants on how to successfully prepare for the board exams. The subjects of discussion will include timing and strategies for exam preparation, crucial differences in preparing for the clinical computer-based exam versus the oral exam, what study tools are currently available for each, etc. The panel discussion format will allow the speakers to collectively present their experience and advice relating to each topic and foment audience participation. Learning Objectives: Know the main differences between what is expected for parts 2 and 3 Know different resources for test preparation Know how to formulate a plan to best study for each part based on the specific skill set the two parts require Know how to best present his/her answers during the oral examination – demeanor, answer structure, etc.

MO-F-201-00: PANEL DISCUSSION: Preparing for Parts 2 and 3 of the ABR Therapy Medical Physics Exam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-01-01

The goal of this session is to provide guidance to medical physicists undergoing the American Board of Radiology certification process in therapeutic medical physics. This panel discussion will focus on parts 2 (computer-based) and 3 (oral) of the examination. Unlike the latter portions of the exam which are specialty-driven, part 1 is universal for all medical physics fields and will not be addressed. This session is structured into different topics that aim to guide the participants on how to successfully prepare for the board exams. The subjects of discussion will include timing and strategies for exam preparation, crucial differences in preparing for the clinical computer-based exam versus the oral exam, what study tools are currently available for each, etc. The panel discussion format will allow the speakers to collectively present their experience and advice relating to each topic and foment audience participation. Learning Objectives: Know the main differences between what is expected for parts 2 and 3 Know different resources for test preparation Know how to formulate a plan to best study for each part based on the specific skill set the two parts require Know how to best present his/her answers during the oral examination – demeanor, answer structure, etc.

Psychodermatology: A comprehensive review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Savita Yadav

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Psychodermatology is an interesting domain of dermatology that overlaps with psychiatry. This arena in dermatology has received limited diligence, partly due to lack of training in this realm. We present here a comprehensive review of salient features and treatment updates in primary psychiatric dermatoses and have also discussed the role of psyche in psychophysiological cutaneous disorders. Secondary psychiatric morbidity is relatively common among patients visiting the dermatologists but often overlooked and uncared for. Dermatologist should be able to initiate basic pharmacotherapy, should be knowledgeable about various non-pharmacological treatments and know the right time to refer the patient to the psychiatrist. Awareness and pertinent treatment of psychodermatological disorders among dermatologists will lead to a more holistic treatment approach and better prognosis in this unique group of patients.

Two-loop renormalization in the standard model, part I. Prolegomena

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Actis, S. [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Zeuthen (Germany); Ferroglia, A. [Albert-Ludwigs-Univ., Freiburg (Germany). Fakultat fur Phys.]|[Zuerich Univ. (Switzerland). Inst. fuer Theoretische Physik; Passera, M. [Padua Univ. (Italy). Dipt. di Fisica]|[INFN, Sezione di Padova (Italy); Passarino, G. [Torino Univ. (Italy). Dipt. di Fisica Teorica]|[INFN, Sezione di Torino (Italy)

2006-12-15

In this paper the building blocks for the two-loop renormalization of the Standard Model are introduced with a comprehensive discussion of the special vertices induced in the Lagrangian by a particular diagonalization of the neutral sector and by two alternative treatments of the Higgs tadpoles. Dyson resummed propagators for the gauge bosons are derived, and two-loop Ward-Slavnov-Taylor identities are discussed. In part II, the complete set of counterterms needed for the two-loop renormalization will be derived. In part III, a renormalization scheme will be introduced, connecting the renormalized quantities to an input parameter set of (pseudo-)experimental data, critically discussing renormalization of a gauge theory with unstable particles. (orig.)

Impedance-Source Networks for Electric Power Conversion Part II

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Siwakoti, Yam P.; Peng, Fang Zheng; Blaabjerg, Frede

2015-01-01

Impedance-source networks cover the entire spectrum of electric power conversion applications (dc-dc, dc-ac, ac-dc, ac-ac) controlled and modulated by different modulation strategies to generate the desired dc or ac voltage and current at the output. A comprehensive review of various impedance......-source-network-based power converters has been covered in a previous paper and main topologies were discussed from an application point of view. Now Part II provides a comprehensive review of the most popular control and modulation strategies for impedance-source network-based power converters/inverters. These methods...

Impedance-Source Networks for Electric Power Conversion Part I

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Siwakoti, Yam P.; Peng, Fang Zheng; Blaabjerg, Frede

2015-01-01

power chain, which may improve the reliability and performance of the power system. The first part of this paper provides a comprehensive review of the various impedance-source-networks-based power converters and discusses the main topologies from an application point of view. This review paper...... is the first of its kind with the aim of providing a “one-stop” information source and a selection guide on impedance-source networks for power conversion for researchers, designers, and application engineers. A comprehensive review of various modeling, control, and modulation techniques for the impedance...

An analytical-numerical comprehensive method for optimizing the fringing magnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiao Meiqin; Mao Naifeng

1991-01-01

The criterion of optimizing the fringing magnetic field is discussed, and an analytical-numerical comprehensive method for realizing the optimization is introduced. The method mentioned above consists of two parts, the analytical part calculates the field of the shims, which corrects the fringing magnetic field by using uniform magnetizing method; the numerical part fulfils the whole calculation of the field distribution by solving the equation of magnetic vector potential A within the region covered by arbitrary triangular meshes with the aid of finite difference method and successive over relaxation method. On the basis of the method, the optimization of the fringing magnetic field for a large-scale electromagnetic isotope separator is finished

Listening Comprehension in Middle-Aged Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Sommers, Mitchell S

2015-06-01

The purpose of this summary is to examine changes in listening comprehension across the adult lifespan and to identify factors associated with individual differences in listening comprehension. In this article, the author reports on both cross-sectional and longitudinal changes in listening comprehension. Despite significant declines in both sensory and cognitive abilities, listening comprehension remains relatively unchanged in middle-aged listeners (between the ages of 40 and 60 years) compared with young listeners. These results are discussed with respect to possible compensatory factors that maintain listening comprehension despite impaired hearing and reduced cognitive capacities.

On the importance of listening comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Hogan, Tiffany P; Adlof, Suzanne M; Alonzo, Crystle N

2014-06-01

The simple view of reading highlights the importance of two primary components which account for individual differences in reading comprehension across development: word recognition (i.e., decoding) and listening comprehension. While assessments and interventions for decoding have been the focus of pedagogy in the past several decades, the importance of listening comprehension has received less attention. This paper reviews evidence showing that listening comprehension becomes the dominating influence on reading comprehension starting even in the elementary grades. It also highlights a growing number of children who fail to develop adequate reading comprehension skills, primarily due to deficient listening comprehension skills (i.e., poor comprehenders). Finally we discuss key language influences on listening comprehension for consideration during assessment and treatment of reading disabilities.

Comprehensive determination of flavouring additives and nicotine in e-cigarette refill solutions. Part II: Gas-chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Aszyk, Justyna; Woźniak, Mateusz Kacper; Kubica, Paweł; Kot-Wasik, Agata; Namieśnik, Jacek; Wasik, Andrzej

2017-09-29

Flavouring compounds are an essential part of e-liquid products for cigarettes. In general, they are regarded as safe for ingestion, but they may have unrecognized risks when they are inhaled. In some cases, manufactures do not currently abide by the Tobacco Products Directive (2014/40/EU) and do not declare the detailed contents of e-liquids on their labels. To help evaluate the health impact of flavouring substances, there is a need for comprehensive approaches to determine their concentrations in e-liquids. For this purpose, a GC-EI-MS method was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of 46 commonly used flavour additives in e-liquids. The proposed method performed well in terms of the key validation parameters: accuracy (84-113%), inter-/intra-day precision: 0.1-10% and 1-11%, respectively, and sensitivity (limit of detection: 3-87ng/mL). The sample preparation step was based on a simple "dilute & shoot" approach. This study is a complementary method to the LC-MS/MS procedure described in Part I. Both approaches are suitable for the comprehensive determination of 88 flavouring compounds and nicotine and can be used as tools for the rapid evaluation of the quality and safety of e-cigarette products. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Formalization and Interaction: Toward a Comprehensive History of Technology-Related Knowledge in Early Modern Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Popplow, Marcus

2015-12-01

Recent critical approaches to what has conventionally been described as "scientific" and "technical" knowledge in early modern Europe have provided a wealth of new insights. So far, the various analytical concepts suggested by these studies have not yet been comprehensively discussed. The present essay argues that such comprehensive approaches might prove of special value for long-term and cross-cultural reflections on technology-related knowledge. As heuristic tools, the notions of "formalization" and "interaction" are proposed as part of alternative narratives to those highlighting the emergence of "science" as the most relevant development for technology-related knowledge in early modern Europe.

Preliminary discussion on the classification of uranium deposits in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Weixun; Liu Xinzhong; Wang Zubang.

1991-01-01

The classification of uranium deposits is a comprehensive and complicated problem which is of great importance for the guide in prospecting and exploration. The authors review the merits and shortcomings of various classifications sumitted by uranium geologists in the world based on origin, geotectonics and host rocks. Considering the reasonable parts in previous classifications and characteristics of uranium metallogenesis in China, the authors suggest a new classification of uranium deposits of China mainly according to host rocks, and also deposits' structure and morphology of ore bodies. This classification is composed of 7 goups divided into 25 subgroups. Finally, an indication and explanation are presented in order to draw attention of the Chinese uranium geologists and make further discussions among them

WGOE Discussion topic introduction: Counterfeit, Suspect, and Fraudulent parts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thorp, John

2011-01-01

This presentation (slides) provided an introduction to CSFI discussion. It presents: 1 - the many faces of counterfeiting (design and intellectual property, manufacturing and fabrication, product control, branding and document fraud), 2 - the key messages from the June 3, 2010 US-NRC Commission Briefing, 3 - the Regulator's role in ensuring nuclear plant safety, 4 - the CSFI survey status, 5 - the questions to be discussed during the meeting

34 CFR 303.321 - Comprehensive child find system.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 34 Education 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Comprehensive child find system. 303.321 Section 303... Services Identification and Evaluation § 303.321 Comprehensive child find system. (a) General. (1) Each system must include a comprehensive child find system that is consistent with part B of the Act (see 34...

EMC² = comprehension: A reading strategy instruction framework for all teachers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nanda M Klapwijk

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Comprehension is a critical part of the reading process, and yet learners continue to struggle with it and teachers continue to neglect it in their teaching. Many reasons exist for the lack of focus on reading comprehension instruction, but for the most part, teachers simply do not seem to view comprehension as part of the reading process, are not able to teach the concept, and are seemingly not taught to do so during their teacher training years. In addition to this, comprehension continues to be viewed as part of 'language teaching', and is therefore viewed as the so-called 'language teacher's' domain. In support of effective comprehension instruction in the unique, multilingual South African education environment, this article proposes a framework for reading strategy instruction, aimed specifically at teachers. The framework was developed from a research study, and refined through subsequent application in a university course as well as a further study. The framework acknowledges that reading is a multifaceted and complex process, and accordingly, provides sufficient structure for teachers. It further addresses the issue of comprehension instruction through the use of selected reading strategies, designed to be applied by all teachers in all subjects in a flexible and easy manner.

The Comprehension Problems of Children with Poor Reading Comprehension despite Adequate Decoding: A Meta-Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Spencer, Mercedes; Wagner, Richard K

2018-06-01

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the comprehension problems of children who have a specific reading comprehension deficit (SCD), which is characterized by poor reading comprehension despite adequate decoding. The meta-analysis included 86 studies of children with SCD who were assessed in reading comprehension and oral language (vocabulary, listening comprehension, storytelling ability, and semantic and syntactic knowledge). Results indicated that children with SCD had deficits in oral language ( d = -0.78, 95% CI [-0.89, -0.68], but these deficits were not as severe as their deficit in reading comprehension ( d = -2.78, 95% CI [-3.01, -2.54]). When compared to reading comprehension age-matched normal readers, the oral language skills of the two groups were comparable ( d = 0.32, 95% CI [-0.49, 1.14]), which suggests that the oral language weaknesses of children with SCD represent a developmental delay rather than developmental deviance. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Learning through Discussions

Science.gov (United States)

Ellis, Robert A.; Calvo, Rafael; Levy, David; Tan, Kelvin

2004-01-01

Students studying a third-year e-commerce subject experienced face-to-face and online discussions as an important part of their learning experience. The quality of the students' experiences of learning through those discussions is investigated in this study. This study uses qualitative approaches to investigate the variation in the students'…

Palliative Care: Delivering Comprehensive Oncology Nursing Care.

Science.gov (United States)

Dahlin, Constance

2015-11-01

To describe palliative care as part of comprehensive oncology nursing care. A review of the palliative care, oncology, and nursing literature over the past 10 years. Palliative care is mandated as part of comprehensive cancer care. A cancer diagnosis often results in distress in the physical, psychosocial, spiritual, and emotional domains of care. Oncology nurses are essential in providing palliative care from diagnosis to death to patients with cancer. They address the myriad aspects of cancer. With palliative care skills and knowledge, oncology nurses can provide quality cancer care. There are many opportunities in which oncology nurses can promote palliative care. Oncology nurses must obtain knowledge and skills in primary palliative care to provide comprehensive cancer care. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Literature Discussion: Encouraging Reading Interest and Comprehension in Struggling Middle School Readers

Science.gov (United States)

Pittman, Pamela; Honchell, Barbara

2014-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how literature discussion affects middle school struggling readers. The focus was on 16 middle school struggling readers in a rural Title I school in the southeastern United States. Findings indicated that (a) literature discussion increased student enjoyment of reading, and (b) students…

Solar--geophysical data number 381. Part II. (Comprehensive reports). Data for November 1975-October 1975 and miscellanea. Explanation of data reports issued as number 378 (supplement) February 1976

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leighton, H.I.

1976-05-01

This is part two (comprehensive reports) of a two part report on Solar--Geophysical Data. Included in this report are data for the months of October and November. The data recorded include solar flares, solar radio waves, energetic solar particles and plasma, and magnetograms of geomagnetic storms

Teaching Listening Comprehension: Bottom-Up Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Khuziakhmetov, Anvar N.; Porchesku, Galina V.

2016-01-01

Improving listening comprehension skills is one of the urgent contemporary educational problems in the field of second language acquisition. Understanding how L2 listening comprehension works can have a serious influence on language pedagogy. The aim of the paper is to discuss the practical and methodological value of the notion of the perception…

Comprehensive energy management eco routing & velocity profiles

CERN Document Server

Brandstätter, Bernhard

2017-01-01

The book discusses the emerging topic of comprehensive energy management in electric vehicles from the viewpoint of academia and from the industrial perspective. It provides a seamless coverage of all relevant systems and control algorithms for comprehensive energy management, their integration on a multi-core system and their reliability assurance (validation and test). Relevant European projects contributing to the evolvement of comprehensive energy management in fully electric vehicles are also included.

Fundamental Reform of Payment for Adult Primary Care: Comprehensive Payment for Comprehensive Care

Science.gov (United States)

Berenson, Robert A.; Schoenbaum, Stephen C.; Gardner, Laurence B.

2007-01-01

Primary care is essential to the effective and efficient functioning of health care delivery systems, yet there is an impending crisis in the field due in part to a dysfunctional payment system. We present a fundamentally new model of payment for primary care, replacing encounter-based imbursement with comprehensive payment for comprehensive care. Unlike former iterations of primary care capitation (which simply bundled inadequate fee-for-service payments), our comprehensive payment model represents new investment in adult primary care, with substantial increases in payment over current levels. The comprehensive payment is directed to practices to include support for the modern systems and teams essential to the delivery of comprehensive, coordinated care. Income to primary physicians is increased commensurate with the high level of responsibility expected. To ensure optimal allocation of resources and the rewarding of desired outcomes, the comprehensive payment is needs/risk-adjusted and performance-based. Our model establishes a new social contract with the primary care community, substantially increasing payment in return for achieving important societal health system goals, including improved accessibility, quality, safety, and efficiency. Attainment of these goals should help offset and justify the costs of the investment. Field tests of this and other new models of payment for primary care are urgently needed. PMID:17356977

Preparing for reading comprehension: Fostering text comprehension skills in preschool and early elementary school children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul van den Brook

2011-07-01

Full Text Available To understand what they read or hear, children and adults must create a coherent mental representation of presented information. Recent research suggests that the ability to do so starts to develop early –well before reading age- and that early individual differences are predictive of later reading-comprehension performance. In this paper, we review this research and discuss potential applications to early intervention. We then present two exploratory studies in which we examine whether it is feasible to design interventions with early readers (3rd grade and even toddlers (2-3 years old. The interventions employed causal questioning techniques as children listen to orally presented, age-appropriate narratives. Afterwards, comprehension was tested through question answering and recall tasks. Results indicate that such interventions are indeed feasible. Moreover, they suggest that for both toddlers and early readers questions during comprehension are more effective than questions after comprehension. Finally, for both groups higher working memory capacity was related to better comprehension.

Comprehension Strategy Gloves.

Science.gov (United States)

Newman, Gayle

2002-01-01

Describes the idea of creating a glove for each of the comprehension strategies for use with different text structures. Notes that the gloves serve as a multisensory approach by providing visual clues through icons on each finger and the palm. Discusses three different gloves: the prereading glove, the narrative text structure glove, and the…

Remarks presented (questions/answers discussed) at public regional meetings to discuss regulations (10 CFR Part 21) for reporting of defects and noncompliance, July 12--26, 1977

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1977-09-01

In enacting the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, Congress included Section 206 which requires the reporting of defects and noncompliances directly to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). This congressional action required that the NRC promulgate rules and regulations, as necessary, to assure appropriate implementation of Section 206. In response to this mandate, the NRC drafted a new regulation. Following a period of public comment and revision, the regulation identified as 10 CFR Part 21, Reporting Defects and Noncompliance, was published in a Federal Register Notice on June 6, 1977. To assist NRC licensees and other firms and organizations covered by the new Part 21 regulation, public regional meetings were conducted by staff representatives to explain the rule. At these meetings the staff presented prepared remarks and answered questions on the meaning and application of the rule. Staff remarks contained in the original publication of this document were also provided to those in attendance. At each meeting the staff received a request for the questions and answers discussed by the staff to be made available for use as guidance by the nuclear industry covered by the rule. It was announced that a consolidation of the staff position question/answer guidance would be made available to each organization or firm attending these meetings and for others where a request is made in accordance with the directions printed insidethe front cover of the document. The staff will be guided in its implementation and enforcement of Part 21 by the positions set forth in the document. The revision of NUREG-0302 includes the following three parts relating to 10 CFR Part 21: (1) remarks presented by staff representatives; (2) Federal Register Notice material; and (3) a consolidation of questions and answers from the public regional meetings

Rereading Comprehension Pedagogies: Toward a Dialogic Teaching Ethic That Honors Student Sensemaking

Science.gov (United States)

Aukerman, Maren

2013-01-01

This conceptual essay critiques reading comprehension pedagogies that are part of the current educational landscape. I argue that comprehension pedagogy generally reflects one of three differing orientations, each with its own assumptions about what comprehension is: comprehension-as-outcome pedagogies, which emphasize getting textual meaning…

Why Does Working Memory Capacity Predict Variation in Reading Comprehension? On the Influence of Mind Wandering and Executive Attention

Science.gov (United States)

McVay, Jennifer C.; Kane, Michael J.

2012-01-01

Some people are better readers than others, and this variation in comprehension ability is predicted by measures of working memory capacity (WMC). The primary goal of this study was to investigate the mediating role of mind wandering experiences in the association between WMC and normal individual differences in reading comprehension, as predicted by the executive-attention theory of WMC (e.g., Engle & Kane, 2004). We used a latent-variable, structural-equation-model approach, testing skilled adult readers on three WMC span tasks, seven varied reading comprehension tasks, and three attention-control tasks. Mind wandering was assessed using experimenter-scheduled thought probes during four different tasks (two reading, two attention-control tasks). The results support the executive-attention theory of WMC. Mind wandering across the four tasks loaded onto a single latent factor, reflecting a stable individual difference. Most importantly, mind wandering was a significant mediator in the relationship between WMC and reading comprehension, suggesting that the WMC-comprehension correlation is driven, in part, by attention control over intruding thoughts. We discuss implications for theories of WMC, attention control, and reading comprehension. PMID:21875246

Why does working memory capacity predict variation in reading comprehension? On the influence of mind wandering and executive attention.

Science.gov (United States)

McVay, Jennifer C; Kane, Michael J

2012-05-01

Some people are better readers than others, and this variation in comprehension ability is predicted by measures of working memory capacity (WMC). The primary goal of this study was to investigate the mediating role of mind-wandering experiences in the association between WMC and normal individual differences in reading comprehension, as predicted by the executive-attention theory of WMC (e.g., Engle & Kane, 2004). We used a latent-variable, structural-equation-model approach, testing skilled adult readers on 3 WMC span tasks, 7 varied reading-comprehension tasks, and 3 attention-control tasks. Mind wandering was assessed using experimenter-scheduled thought probes during 4 different tasks (2 reading, 2 attention-control). The results support the executive-attention theory of WMC. Mind wandering across the 4 tasks loaded onto a single latent factor, reflecting a stable individual difference. Most important, mind wandering was a significant mediator in the relationship between WMC and reading comprehension, suggesting that the WMC-comprehension correlation is driven, in part, by attention control over intruding thoughts. We discuss implications for theories of WMC, attention control, and reading comprehension.

A case for the sentence in reading comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, Cheryl M

2009-04-01

This article addresses sentence comprehension as a requirement of reading comprehension within the framework of the narrow view of reading that was advocated in the prologue to this forum. The focus is on the comprehension requirements of complex sentences, which are characteristic of school texts. Topics included in this discussion are (a) evidence linking sentence comprehension and syntax with reading, (b) syntactic properties of sentences that make them difficult to understand, (c) clinical applications for the assessment of sentence comprehension as it relates to reading, and (d) evidence and methods for addressing sentence complexity in treatment. Sentence complexity can create comprehension problems for struggling readers. The contribution of sentence comprehension to successful reading has been overlooked in models that emphasize domain-general comprehension strategies at the text level. The author calls for the evaluation of sentence comprehension within the context of content domains where complex sentences are found.

A comprehensive review and update on the non-biologic treatment of adult noninfectious uveitis: part I.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kyungmin; Bajwa, Asima; Freitas-Neto, Clovis A; Metzinger, Jamie Lynne; Wentworth, Bailey A; Foster, C Stephen

2014-10-01

Treatment of adult, noninfectious uveitis remains a challenge for ophthalmologists around the world. The disease accounts for almost 10% of preventable blindness in the US and can be idiopathic or associated with infectious and systemic disorders. Strong evidence is still emerging to indicate that pharmacologic strategies presently used in rheumatologic or autoimmune disease may be translated to the treatment of intraocular inflammation. Corticosteroid monotherapy is widely regarded as wholly inappropriate, due to the unfavorable risk/benefit profile and poor long-term outcomes. Treatment plans have shifted away from low-dose, chronic corticosteroid therapy for maintenance, towards medium- to high-dose therapy for acute inflammation, followed immediately by initiation of immunomodulatory therapy. These therapies follow the 'stepladder approach', whereby least to more aggressive therapies are trialed to induce remission of inflammation, eventually without corticosteroids of any form (topical, local and systemic). This two-part review gives a comprehensive overview of the existing medical treatment options for patients with adult, noninfectious uveitis, as well as important advances for the treatment of ocular inflammation. Part I covers classic immunomodulation and latest information on corticosteroid therapy. The hazard of chronic corticosteroid use for the treatment of adult, noninfectious uveitis is well-documented. Corticosteroid-sparing therapies, which offer a very favorable risk-benefit profile when administered properly, should be substituted.

Medicare Part D-a roundtable discussion of current issues and trends.

Science.gov (United States)

Balfour, Donald C; Evans, Steven; Januska, Jeff; Lee, Helen Y; Lewis, Sonya J; Nolan, Steve R; Noga, Mark; Stemple, Charles; Thapar, Kishan

2009-01-01

Medicare Part D was introduced with a goal of providing access to prescription drug coverage for all Medicare beneficiaries. Regulatory mandates and the changing landscape of health care require continued evaluation of the state of the Part D benefit. To review the current state of plan offerings and highlight key issues regarding the administration of the Part D benefit. The Part D drug benefit continues to evolve. The benefit value appears to be diluted compared to the benefit value of large employer plans. Regulatory restrictions mandated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are reported to inhibit the ability of plans to create an effective, competitive drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries. Management in this restrictive environment impedes competitive price negotiations and formulary coverage issues continue to create confusion especially for patients with chronic diseases. The doughnut hole coverage gap represents a significant cost-shifting issue for beneficiaries that may impact medication adherence and persistence. To address these and other challenges, CMS is working to improve the quality of care for Part D beneficiaries by designing and supporting demonstration projects. Although these projects are in different stages, all stakeholders are hopeful that they will lead to the development of best practices by plans to help manage their beneficiaries more efficiently. A significant number of Medicare beneficiaries are currently receiving prescription drug benefits through Part D. The true value of this benefit has been called into question as a result of plan design parameters that lead to cost-shifting, an increasing burden for enrollees. Concerns regarding the ability to provide a competitive plan given the stringent rules and regulations have been voiced by plan administrators. In an effort to drive toward evidence-based solutions, CMS is working to improve the overall quality of care through numerous demonstration projects.

Follow-up study on reading comprehension in Down's syndrome: the role of reading skills and listening comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Roch, Maja; Florit, Elena; Levorato, Chiara

2011-01-01

According to the 'Simple View of Reading', reading comprehension requires some abilities such as reading skill and listening comprehension. Individuals with Down's syndrome show relative strengths in reading skills, mainly in word recognition, where they attain a reading age of about 7-8 years. Compared with word recognition, their reading comprehension is usually delayed by at least 6 months. Poor reading comprehension is paralleled by weak listening comprehension. It is claimed that poor listening comprehension might constrain the development of reading comprehension and, therefore, be a cause for the asynchrony between reading skills and reading comprehension. A follow-up study was carried out in order to analyse the improvements in reading skills, listening and reading text comprehension, and to support the hypothesis of a causal relationship between listening and reading comprehension. Ten children and adolescents with Down's syndrome, aged between 11 years 3 months and 19 years 10 months, were assessed twice over a one-year period as to their reading skills, listening and reading text comprehension. Three main findings emerged: (1) reading skills, on the one hand, and comprehension (both listening and reading), on the other hand, are independent; (2) reading comprehension development is determined mainly by listening comprehension, which in the present study proved to be very poor; and (3) an improvement after a one-year period, even though limited, occurred for all examined abilities except for listening comprehension. The results are discussed in the light of the theoretical framework of the 'Simple View of Reading' and of their relevance for practical and educational issues. © 2011 Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists.

A History of Rotorcraft Comprehensive Analyses

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Wayne

2013-01-01

A history of the development of rotorcraft comprehensive analyses is presented. Comprehensive analyses are digital computer programs that calculate the aeromechanical behavior of the rotor and aircraft, bringing together the most advanced models of the geometry, structure, dynamics, and aerodynamics available in rotary wing technology. The development of the major codes of the last five decades from industry, government, and universities is described. A number of common themes observed in this history are discussed.

Description of comprehensive pump test change to ASME OM code, subsection ISTB

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartley, R.S.

1994-01-01

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Operations and Maintenance (OM) Main Committee and Board on Nuclear Codes and Standards (BNCS) recently approved changes to ASME OM Code-1990, Subsection ISTB, Inservice Testing of Pumps in Light-Water Reactor Power Plants. The changes will be included in the 1994 addenda to ISTB. The changes, designated as the comprehensive pump test, incorporate a new, improved philosophy for testing safety-related pumps in nuclear power plants. An important philosophical difference between the open-quotes old codeclose quotes inservice testing (IST) requirements and these changes is that the changes concentrate on less frequent, more meaningful testing while minimizing damaging and uninformative low-flow testing. The comprehensive pump test change establishes a more involved biannual test for all pumps and significantly reduces the rigor of the quarterly test for standby pumps. The increased rigor and cost of the biannual comprehensive tests are offset by the reduced cost of testing and potential damage to the standby pumps, which comprise a large portion of the safety-related pumps at most plants. This paper provides background on the pump testing requirements, discusses potential industry benefits of the change, describes the development of the comprehensive pump test, and gives examples and reasons for many of the specific changes. This paper also describes additional changes to ISTB that will be included in the 1994 addenda that are associated with, but not part of, the comprehensive pump test

Preparing for reading comprehension: Fostering text comprehension skills in preschool and early elementary school children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul van den BROEK

2011-11-01

Full Text Available To understand what they read or hear, children and adults must create a coherent mental representation of presented information. Recent research suggests that the ability to do so starts to develop early –well before reading age- and that early individual differences are predictive of later reading-comprehension performance. In this paper, we review this research and discuss potential applications to early intervention. We then present two exploratory studies in which we examine whether it is feasible to design interventions with early readers (3rd grade and even toddlers (2-3 years old. The interventions employed causal questioning techniques as children listen to orally presented,age-appropriate narratives. Afterwards, comprehension was tested through question answering and recall tasks. Results indicate that such interventions are indeed feasible. Moreover, they suggest thatfor both toddlers and early readers questions during comprehension are more effective than questions after comprehension. Finally, for both groups higher working memory capacity was related to bettercomprehension.

Discussion on teaching reform of environmental planning and management

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qiugen; Chen, Suhua; Xie, Yu; Wei, Li'an; Ding, Yuan

2018-05-01

The curriculum of environmental planning and management is an environmental engineering major curriculum established by the teaching steering committee of environmental science and engineering of Education Ministry, which is the core curriculum of Chinese engineering education professional certification. It plays an important role in cultivating environmental planning and environmental management ability of environmental engineering major. The selection and optimization of the course teaching content of environmental planning and management were discussed which including curriculum teaching content updating and optimizing and teaching resource system construction. The comprehensive application of teaching method was discussed which including teaching method synthesis and teaching method. The final combination of the assessment method was also discussed which including the formative assessment normal grades and the final result of the course examination. Through the curriculum comprehensive teaching reform, students' knowledge had been broadened, the subject status and autonomy of learning had been enhanced, students' learning interest had been motivated, the ability of students' finding, analyzing and solving problems had been improved. Students' innovative ability and positive spirit had been well cultivated.

The nuclear power discussion in change. Nuclear controversy has shifted

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmidt-Kuester, Wolf J.; Popp, Manfred

2015-01-01

The public discussion on nuclear energy is not focused on power plant safety anymore. A globally good safety statistic and years of information activity on safety technology provided progress, even though all incidents are still discussed with great dedication. Nevertheless the field of disposal receives more prominence in public discussions since 1976; reprocessing of irradiated fuels and storage of nuclear waste follow the topic of nuclear power plants with temporary shift. During a long preparation time technical and operational know-how was gathered for both fields that is now available for use on large technical scale. For the entire disposal complex exists a comprehensive concept prepared by the federal government, which has to be put into practice together with the industry. The priority assignment for a dialogue with the public is to comprehensively inform on extend and quality of problem solutions and to highlight that even here the safety of the biological-cycle is the guiding principle for all considerations.

Crossing borders in educational innovation : Framing foreign examples in discussing comprehensive education in the Netherlands, 1969-1979

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Greveling, Linda; Amsing, Hilda T. A.; Dekker, Jeroen J. H.

2014-01-01

In the Netherlands, crossing borders to study comprehensive schools was an important strategy in the 1970s, a decisive period for the start and the end of the innovation. According to policy-borrowing theory, actors that engage in debating educational issues are framing foreign examples of

Defence in Depth: Assessment of Comprehensiveness and Further Strengthening of the Concept

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Misak, J., E-mail: Jozef.Misak@ujv.cz

2014-10-15

Full text: Defence in depth concept based on multiple levels of protection of the workers, public and the environment against radiation harm is and should remain an essential strategy for ensuring safety of nuclear power plants. This strategy should be comprehensively implemented through all stages of the plant lifetime, from the siting through construction and operation up to decommissioning. First part of the presentation will introduce a screening method developed by the IAEA as a tool facilitating the assessment of the comprehensiveness of defence in depth and will indicate further possibilities for using and updating the approach by taking into account recent lessons learned. Although it is clear that it is not possible for any industrial facility including nuclear power plants to fully eliminate the risk, further strengthening the defence in depth in particular at level 4 dealing with design extension conditions gives very high confidence in prevention and effective mitigation of severe accidents so that they are either practically eliminated or their consequences are limited in area and time. Second part of the presentation will discuss several issues associated with current efforts for strengthening the defence in depth, including the issues of practical elimination, independence and diversity of safety provisions at different levels of defence. (author)

Comprehensive multiplatform collaboration

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Kundan; Wu, Xiaotao; Lennox, Jonathan; Schulzrinne, Henning G.

2003-12-01

We describe the architecture and implementation of our comprehensive multi-platform collaboration framework known as Columbia InterNet Extensible Multimedia Architecture (CINEMA). It provides a distributed architecture for collaboration using synchronous communications like multimedia conferencing, instant messaging, shared web-browsing, and asynchronous communications like discussion forums, shared files, voice and video mails. It allows seamless integration with various communication means like telephones, IP phones, web and electronic mail. In addition, it provides value-added services such as call handling based on location information and presence status. The paper discusses the media services needed for collaborative environment, the components provided by CINEMA and the interaction among those components.

Technology Comprehension - Scaling Making into a National Discipline

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tuhkala, Ari; Nielsen, Nick; Wagner, Marie-Louise

2018-01-01

, surveys, and a theme discussion with experienced teachers from the 13 schools. The main takeaways are: First, the teachers did not perceive Technology Comprehension as a distinguished discipline, which calls for more research on how Making is scaled into a national discipline. Second, Technology......We account for the first research results from a government initiated experiment that scales Making to a national discipline. The Ministry of Education, in Denmark, has introduced Technology Comprehension as a new discipline for lower secondary education. Technology Comprehension is first...... Comprehension opens up for interdisciplinary and engaging learning activities, but teachers need scaffolding and support to actualise these opportunities. Third, Technology Comprehension challenges teachers’ existing competencies in relation to the discipline and students’ prerequisites and needs. Teachers need...

The First Steps to a New Comprehensive Slovenian-Hungarian Dictionary: The Analysis of Relevant Bilingual Resources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Júlia Bálint Čeh

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the analysis of existing bilingual Slovenian-Hungarian dictionaries, which was made as part of the project aiming to design a concept for a new comprehensive Slovenian-Hungarian dictionary. First, a short historical overview of Slovenian-Hungarian lexicography is provided, including first collections of dialect vocabulary, glossaries, and collections and dictionaries of idioms. Then, an overview of Slovenian-Hungarian and Hungarian-Slovenian dictionaries is made, the first one being published in 1961. The paper then focuses on a comparison on three Slovenian-Hungarian dictionaries, which are currently used by majority of users, namely Slovenian-Hungarian part of the dictionary by Elizabeta Bernjak (1995, Slovenian-Hungarian dictionary by Jože Hradil (1996, and Slovenian-Hungarian part of the Hradil’s bidirectional dictionary. The dictionaries are compared in terms of size, headword list, coverage, headword presentation, grammar information, as well as in terms of other elements of dictionary microstructure such as translations and examples. The discussion section includes an analysis of the coverage offered by the dictionaries of the vocabulary compilled by teachers at bilingual schools in Prekmurje. The results indicate that the coverage of various levels of vocabulary, frequent or rare, is rather poor; as dictionaries are medium-sized and outdated, this is to be expected, however as the analysis shows, some basic concepts are also often not covered (e.g. research, death, allergy. The second part of the discussion is dedicated to the presentation of selected examples of good practice in bilingual lexicography, such as Comprehensive English-Slovenian dictionary Oxford-DZS as the first bilingual dictionary in Slovenia to use the corpus-based approach, as well as offer much more contextual information on the headwords. Also presented are English-Spanish online dictionaries by Oxford University Press and Collins, the focus

Glosses, Comprehension, and Strategy Use

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, Myong Hee

2005-01-01

This study, using both qualitative and quantitative measures, investigates how different types of gloss conditions affect Korean college students' reading comprehension. One hundred and six undergraduates at a university in Korea participated in the study. Twelve were assigned to think aloud, and the rest (ninety-four) took part in the main study…

Agrammatic Comprehension of Wh-Extraction in Danish, English and French

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nyvad, Anne Mette

2010-01-01

This dissertation discusses the comprehension deficit in agrammatic aphasia and how it relates to wh-extraction. Ostensibly, Broca’s aphasics are unable to understand certain types of syntactic movement structure when the semantic and pragmatic cues are withheld. The present study seeks to examine...... whether results hitherto obtained in crosslinguistic research on wh-extraction, specifically in English and French, also pertain to Danish agrammatic comprehenders, but it also widens the scope of interest: Biclausal structures involving wh-questions have not yet been subject to a systematic investigation......) widely-held account of the comprehension patterns in agrammatism. Focus is on comprehension, but data from research on agrammatic production will be offered when relevant to the theoretical discussion....

Proverb and idiom comprehension in Alzheimer disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Kempler, D; Van Lancker, D; Read, S

1988-01-01

Twenty-nine patients diagnosed with Probable Alzheimer Disease were administered tests of word, familiar phrases (idioms and proverbs), and novel phrase comprehension. From the early stage of the disease, patients performed worse at understanding familiar phrases than single words or novel phrases. The results uphold common observations that AD patients have difficulty interpreting abstract meanings. Cognitive variables responsible for poor idiom/proverb comprehension and the clinical implications of this new protocol are discussed.

Reading Comprehension Difficulties in Chinese-English Bilingual Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, Xiuhong; McBride, Catherine; Shu, Hua; Ho, Connie Suk-Han

2018-02-01

The co-occurrence of reading comprehension difficulties for first language (L1) Chinese and second language (L2) English and associated longitudinal cognitive-linguistic correlates in each language were investigated. Sixteen poor comprehenders in English and 16 poor comprehenders in Chinese, 18 poor readers in both, and 18 children with normal performance in both were identified at age 10. The prevalence rate for being poor in both was 52.94%, suggesting that approximately half of children who are at risk for Chinese reading comprehension difficulty are also at risk for English reading comprehension difficulty. Chinese word reading, phonological, and morphological awareness were longitudinal correlates of poor comprehension in Chinese. English word reading and vocabulary were longitudinal correlates of poor comprehension in English. Chinese phonological awareness was an additional correlate of poor comprehension in English. Moreover, poor comprehenders in both Chinese and English showed slower rapid automatized naming scores than the other groups. Findings highlight some factors that might be critical for reading comprehension in L1 Chinese and L2 English; fluency is likely to be a critical part of reading comprehension across languages. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Reviving and Refining Psychodynamic Interpretation of the Wechsler Intelligence Tests: The Verbal Comprehension Subtests.

Science.gov (United States)

Bram, Anthony D

2017-01-01

The Wechsler intelligence tests (currently Wechsler, 2008 , 2014) have traditionally been part of the multimethod test battery favored by psychodynamically oriented assessors. In this tradition, assessors have used Wechsler data to make inferences about personality that transcend cognition. Recent trends in clinical psychology, however, have deemphasized this psychodynamic way of working. In this article, I make a conceptual and clinical case for reviving and refining a psychodynamic approach to inference making about personality using the Wechsler Verbal Comprehension subtests. Specifically, I (a) describe the psychological and environmental conditions sampled by the Wechsler tests, (b) discuss the Wechsler tests conceptually in terms of assessing vulnerability to breakdowns in adaptive defensive functioning, (c) review a general framework for inference making, and (d) offer considerations for and illustrate pragmatic application of the Verbal Comprehension subtests data to make inferences that help answer referral questions and have important treatment implications.

NIR - State of the risk discussion today

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baldermann, C.; Bernhardt, J.H.; Brueggemeyer, H.; Leitgeb, N.; Reichardt, R.; Steinmetz, M.

2006-01-01

The actual state of knowledge on health risks of non-ionizing radiation is discussed on an international as well as a national basis. Emphasis is given to EMF risks when using mobile phones on the one hand, and to the dangers from natural and artificial UV radiation on the other. Furthermore, a comprehensive compilation is given of national laws and regulations for telecommunication and mobile phones in Germany. (Orig.)

Orthogonal polynomials on the unit circle part 2 spectral theory

CERN Document Server

Simon, Barry

2013-01-01

This two-part book is a comprehensive overview of the theory of probability measures on the unit circle, viewed especially in terms of the orthogonal polynomials defined by those measures. A major theme involves the connections between the Verblunsky coefficients (the coefficients of the recurrence equation for the orthogonal polynomials) and the measures, an analog of the spectral theory of one-dimensional Schrödinger operators. Among the topics discussed along the way are the asymptotics of Toeplitz determinants (Szegő's theorems), limit theorems for the density of the zeros of orthogonal po

Orthogonal polynomials on the unit circle part 1 classical theory

CERN Document Server

2009-01-01

This two-part book is a comprehensive overview of the theory of probability measures on the unit circle, viewed especially in terms of the orthogonal polynomials defined by those measures. A major theme involves the connections between the Verblunsky coefficients (the coefficients of the recurrence equation for the orthogonal polynomials) and the measures, an analog of the spectral theory of one-dimensional Schrodinger operators. Among the topics discussed along the way are the asymptotics of Toeplitz determinants (Szegő's theorems), limit theorems for the density of the zeros of orthogonal po

Ulnar-sided wrist pain. Part I: anatomy and physical examination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vezeridis, Peter S.; Blazar, Philip; Yoshioka, Hiroshi; Han, Roger

2010-01-01

Ulnar-sided wrist pain is a common complaint, and it presents a diagnostic challenge for hand surgeons and radiologists. The complex anatomy of this region, combined with the small size of structures and subtle imaging findings, compound this problem. A thorough understanding of ulnar-sided wrist anatomy and a systematic clinical examination of this region are essential in arriving at an accurate diagnosis. In part I of this review, ulnar-sided wrist anatomy and clinical examination are discussed for a more comprehensive understanding of ulnar-sided wrist pain. (orig.)

Comprehensive District Reform: Philadelphia's Grand Experiment.

Science.gov (United States)

Useem, Elizabeth; Balfanz, Robert

2002-01-01

This report describes "Philadelphia's Grand Experiment" in comprehensive school district reform, from its conception through its initial months of implementation. In 2001, as part of the remedy for low student performance, the governor ordered the state to take over governance of the Philadelphia School District, with a substantial…

Playing with/as Systems: Short Paper, Discussion and Demonstration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Straeubig

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Complex phenomena such as play, creativity or innovation are familiar, yet difficult to describe in a systematic manner. In this short article I propose six necessary conditions for any comprehensive description of play. Against this background I discuss my systems-theoretic, constructivist and practice-informed approach to play.

[Comprehensive quality management in hospitals--experience and recommendations].

Science.gov (United States)

Schubert, H J

1999-03-01

Total quality management concepts, increasingly being introduced into hospitals, offer opportunities for integrative leadership concepts because of their multidimensional character viewed from the aspects of results and from the standpoint of organisational design. Customized for leadership and organisation of hospitals in Germany, questions of introduction strategies as well as recommendations for the integration of total quality understanding into the daily practice of management and employees are discussed. The active support of top and middle management and a combination of radical change in selected problem areas and continual incremental improvements on a broad base have been proven as significant factors for the success in the introductory phase. For a lasting integration of the principles of a comprehensive quality management concept in a hospital, it will be necessary to carry out regularly relevant measurements of success. The results become an important part of agreements with management.

WORKSHOP: Discussion, debate, deliberation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jeliazkova, Margarita I.

2014-01-01

Discussing, deliberating and debating are a core part of any democratic process. To organise these processes well, a great deal of knowledge and skill is required. It is not simple to find a good balance between a number of elements: appropriate language and terminology; paying attention to solid

The Socialization of Part-Time Faculty at Comprehensive Public Colleges

Science.gov (United States)

Frias, Mary Lou

2010-01-01

Fiscal constraints, understaffing, increased enrollments, demand for professional education, and the need for a more flexible workforce account for increases in the employment of part-time faculty in higher education. Part-time faculty tend to teach large, introductory courses for first and second-year students, who are in the "risk…

Cognitive Style and EFL Learners’ Listening Comprehension Ability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mandana Yousefi

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract     The current study aimed to investigate whether, and to what extent, there is a relationship between field independence / dependence cognitive styles and Iranian EFL learners' listening comprehension ability. For this purpose, a sample population of 131 Subjects was randomly selected.  A battery of tests including: a the Group Embedded Figures Test (1971, b the TOFEL listening test (1995, c the listening task preference questionnaire, and d the Michigan ECPE test (1996 were administered. The data analysis showed that the correlation between the TOFEL and the GEFT scores for FD learners (both males and females was significant(r =0.70, and higher scores on the GEFT led to an increase in the FD learners TOFEL scores. Conducting one-way and two-way ANOVAs, it was suggested that while there was a relationship between cognitive style and listening comprehension (F= 18.02 and also no relationship between sex and listening comprehension (F=0.267, the interactional effect was significant (f = 7.03. Therefore, sex can be regarded as a source of performance difference in listening comprehension but not by itself and it seems that the interaction of sex and cognitive style can have a stronger effect on this skill. Regarding the learners’ preference toward the different parts of the TOEFL listening section, most  learners favored the short conversations, informal assessment, and one item/one conversation, however, the FI ones did better on the longer conversations of the second and the third parts of the TOEFL listening test. Keywords: Cognitive style, Field dependence, Field independence, Listening comprehension.

The Comprehensive School in Spain: A Review of Its Development Cycle and Crises

Science.gov (United States)

Bolívar, Antonio

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to describe, analyse and evaluate the successive comprehensive reforms in Spain as a "paradigmatic" example of the emergence, evolution and crisis of the comprehensive school. In the first part, we describe the development of the comprehensive school project (1970-2013), using the image of the life cycle,…

Polymer Combustion as a Basis for Hybrid Propulsion: A Comprehensive Review and New Numerical Approaches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vasily Novozhilov

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Hybrid Propulsion is an attractive alternative to conventional liquid and solid rocket motors. This is an active area of research and technological developments. Potential wide application of Hybrid Engines opens the possibility for safer and more flexible space vehicle launching and manoeuvring. The present paper discusses fundamental combustion issues related to further development of Hybrid Rockets. The emphasis is made on the two aspects: (1 properties of potential polymeric fuels, and their modification, and (2 implementation of comprehensive CFD models for combustion in Hybrid Engines. Fundamentals of polymeric fuel combustion are discussed. Further, steps necessary to accurately describe their burning behaviour by means of CFD models are investigated. Final part of the paper presents results of preliminary CFD simulations of fuel burning process in Hybrid Engine using a simplified set-up.

Helping Students Develop Listening Comprehension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cárdenas Beltrán Melba Libia

2000-08-01

Full Text Available Listening practice is often neglected or handled inappropriately in the teachinglearning process. This poses problem because listening is an integral part of conversations. Oral skills without equally welldeveloped listening abilities are of little practical value. In this article, I will take a look at issues related to the area of listening that may be considered when guiding students toward developing listening comprehension.

Research on a Frame-Based Model of Reading Comprehension. Final Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldstein, Ira

This report summarizes computational investigations of language comprehension based on Marvin Minsky's theory of frames, a recent advance in artifical intelligence theories about the representation of knowledge. The investigations discussed explored frame theory as a basis for text comprehension by implementing models of the theory and developing…

Reading comprehension of pupils with hearing impairment

OpenAIRE

Pinkasová, Lucie

2010-01-01

Presented diploma thesis is focused on reading problems of people with hearing impairment. The theoretical part deals a hearing impairment, process of acquisition of reading skills of healthy people and deaf people as well. The practical part efforts to clarify preparations, process and results of the research. I am presenting my own reading comprehension test, which was compiled on purpose due to the research. The goal of my diploma thesis is to determine when the level of reading acquiremen...

Evaluating Dynamic Analysis Techniques for Program Comprehension

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cornelissen, S.G.M.

2009-01-01

Program comprehension is an essential part of software development and software maintenance, as software must be sufficiently understood before it can be properly modified. One of the common approaches in getting to understand a program is the study of its execution, also known as dynamic analysis.

THE IMPORTANCE OF OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR MANAGERS IN A PRODUCTION ENTITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marzena STROJEK‐FILUS

2013-01-01

Full Text Available One of the main parameters of the evaluation of financial position of entity is the level of total comprehensive income reported in financial reports. The study contains an overview of the other comprehensive income as the part of total comprehensive income. The research problem related to the significance of dates about the other comprehensive income ingredients for production entity management. The essence, arise reasons and main principles of the other comprehensive income in relating to the changes in own capital of entity was explained within the scope of law‐regulated accounting. The paper concentrated on the producing tangible fixed assets problems.

Critical human-factors issues in nuclear-power regulation and a recommended comprehensive human-factors long-range plan. Critical discussion of human factors areas of concern

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hopkins, C.O.; Snyder, H.L.; Price, H.E.; Hornick, R.J.; Mackie, R.R.; Smillie, R.J.; Sugarman, R.C.

1982-08-01

This comprehensive long-range human factors plan for nuclear reactor regulation was developed by a Study Group of the Human Factors Society, Inc. This Study Group was selected by the Executive Council of the Society to provide a balanced, experienced human factors perspective to the applications of human factors scientific and engineering knowledge to nuclear power generation. The report is presented in three volumes. Volume 1 contains an Executive Summary of the 18-month effort and its conclusions. Volume 2 summarizes all known nuclear-related human factors activities, evaluates these activities wherever adequate information is available, and describes the recommended long-range (10-year) plan for human factors in regulation. Volume 3 elaborates upon each of the human factors issues and areas of recommended human factors involvement contained in the plan, and discusses the logic that led to the recommendations

A Model for Discussing the Quality of Technology-Enhanced Learning in Blended Learning Programmes

Science.gov (United States)

Casanova, Diogo; Moreira, António

2017-01-01

This paper presents a comprehensive model for supporting informed and critical discussions concerning the quality of Technology-Enhanced Learning in Blended Learning programmes. The model aims to support discussions around domains such as how institutions are prepared, the participants' background and expectations, the course design, and the…

Comprehensive Care

Science.gov (United States)

... Comprehensive Care Share this page Facebook Twitter Email Comprehensive Care Understand the importance of comprehensive MS care ... In this article A complex disease requires a comprehensive approach Today multiple sclerosis (MS) is not a ...

A view of studies on listening comprehension within the theory of working memory

OpenAIRE

福田, 倫子

2004-01-01

The present paper discusses four aspects : (1) the relation between the process of language comprehension and working memory, (2) overview of studies on working memory model, (3) application of the working memory to studies of listening comprehension in previous studies, (4) potentiality of application of the working memory model to studies of listening comprehension of second language acquisition.

Strengthening the Role of Part-Time Faculty in Community Colleges: Campus Discussion Guide

Science.gov (United States)

Center for Community College Student Engagement, 2014

2014-01-01

Engagement matters, and it is critical for student success and for community college faculty and staff who are responsible for helping students learn and achieve their goals. It is particularly critical for community colleges to find ways to engage part-time faculty who are responsible for such a significant part of most students' college…

A comprehensive review of the SLMTA literature part 2: Measuring success.

Science.gov (United States)

Luman, Elizabeth T; Yao, Katy; Nkengasong, John N

2014-01-01

Since its introduction in 2009, the Strengthening Laboratory Management Toward Accreditation (SLMTA) programme has been implemented in 617 laboratories in 47 countries. We completed a systematic review of the published literature on SLMTA. The review consists of two companion papers; this article examines quantitative evidence presented in the publications along with a meta-analysis of selected results. We identified 28 published articles with data from SLMTA implementation. The SLMTA programme was evaluated through audits based on a standard checklist, which is divided into 12 sections corresponding to the 12 Quality System Essentials (QSEs). Several basic service delivery indicators reported by programmes were also examined. Results for various components of the programme were reviewed and summarised; a meta-analysis of QSE results grouped by the three stages of the quality cycle was conducted for 126 laboratories in 12 countries. Global programme data show improved quality in SLMTA laboratories in every country, with average improvements on audit scores of 25 percentage points. Meta-analysis identified Improvement Management as the weakest stage, with internal audit (8%) and occurrence management (16%) showing the lowest scores. Studies documented 19% - 95% reductions in turn-around times, 69% - 93% reductions in specimen rejection rates, 76% - 81% increases in clinician satisfaction rates, 67% - 85% improvements in external quality assessment results, 50% - 66% decreases in nonconformities and 67% increases in staff punctuality. The wide array of results reported provides a comprehensive picture of the SLMTA programme overall, suggesting a substantive impact on provision of quality laboratory services and patient care. These comprehensive results establish a solid data-driven foundation for program improvement and further expansion.

A comprehensive review of the SLMTA literature part 2: Measuring success

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth T. Luman

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Background: Since its introduction in 2009, the Strengthening Laboratory Management Toward Accreditation (SLMTA programme has been implemented in 671 laboratories in 47 countries. Objective: We completed a systematic review of the published literature on SLMTA. The review consists of two companion papers; this article examines quantitative evidence presented in the publications along with a meta-analysis of selected results. Methods: We identified 28 published articles with data from SLMTA implementation. The SLMTA programme was evaluated through audits based on a standard checklist, which is divided into 12 sections corresponding to the 12 Quality System Essentials (QSEs. Several basic service delivery indicators reported by programmes were also examined. Results for various components of the programme were reviewed and summarised; a meta-analysis of QSE results grouped by the three stages of the quality cycle was conducted for 126 laboratories in 12 countries. Results: Global programme data show improved quality in SLMTA laboratories in every country, with average improvements on audit scores of 25 percentage points. Meta-analysis identified Improvement Management as the weakest stage, with internal audits (8% and occurrence management (16% showing the lowest scores. Studies documented 19% – 95% reductions in turn-around times, 69% – 93% reductions in specimen rejection rates, 76% – 81% increases in clinician satisfaction rates, 67% – 85% improvements in external quality assessment results, 50% – 66% decreases in nonconformities and 67% increases in staff punctuality. Conclusions: The wide array of results reported provides a comprehensive picture of the SLMTA programme overall, suggesting a substantive impact on provision of quality laboratory services and patient care. These comprehensive results establish a solid data-driven foundation for program improvement and further expansion.

Performance-based regulation. Panel Discussion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Youngblood, Robert; Bier, Vicki M.; Bukowski, Richard W.; Prasad Kadambi, N.; Koonce, James F.

2001-01-01

Full text of publication follows: Performance-based regulation is a part of the NRC's Strategic Plan and is realizing steady progress in conceptual development for actual applications. For example, high-level, conceptual guidelines have been proposed that would apply to reactors, materials, and waste areas. Performance-based approaches are also being applied in other regulated industries such as FAA and OSHA. The discussion will include comments from speakers from different parts of the nuclear industry and other industries regarding benefits and weaknesses of performance-based regulation. (authors)

Effects of Phonological Abilities and Linguistic Comprehension on the Development of Reading.

Science.gov (United States)

de Jong, Peter F.; van der Leij, Aryan

2002-01-01

Examines specific effects of phonological abilities and linguistic comprehension on the development of word-decoding ability and reading comprehension, respectively, of 141 Dutch children from the end of first grade to the end of third grade. Finds that partly different determinants underlie the development of word-decoding ability and reading…

The Implementation of Entrepreneurship Education through Curriculum Reform in Finnish Comprehensive Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Seikkula-Leino, Jaana

2011-01-01

How has entrepreneurship education been implemented in Finnish comprehensive schools. A two-part survey was undertaken in 43 municipalities with different educational and socio-economic backgrounds. The first part, in 2005, dealt with the local curriculum reform with a focus on the development of entrepreneurship education. The second part, in…

Text comprehension in Czech fourth-grade children with dyslexia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Špačková Klára

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In the Czech Republic, the concept of dyslexia is used as a global term for various developmental deficiencies relating to reading skills. The criteria used for dyslexia are not clear and intervention is solely focused on word reading training. Not much is known about the pattern and level of reading comprehension abilities among Czech readers. The study examines reading comprehension and its component skills (decoding and listening comprehension abilities in 32 Czech fourth-grade children with a formal diagnosis of dyslexia and their classmates (N=126. In decoding tests, the children with dyslexia surprisingly lagged behind most significantly in a task concerning speed and accuracy in context reading. Contrary to expectations, the children with dyslexia also showed inferiority in a listening comprehension task. In reading comprehension measures, in comparison to the typically developing readers, the children with dyslexia achieved the best results in a oral reading comprehension task. The results are discussed with respect to Czech counselling and educational practice and the need for changes in the current support system and terminology is stressed.

Towards a Comprehensive Conceptual Framework of Active Travel Behavior: a Review and Synthesis of Published Frameworks.

Science.gov (United States)

Götschi, Thomas; de Nazelle, Audrey; Brand, Christian; Gerike, Regine

2017-09-01

This paper reviews the use of conceptual frameworks in research on active travel, such as walking and cycling. Generic framework features and a wide range of contents are identified and synthesized into a comprehensive framework of active travel behavior, as part of the Physical Activity through Sustainable Transport Approaches project (PASTA). PASTA is a European multinational, interdisciplinary research project on active travel and health. Along with an exponential growth in active travel research, a growing number of conceptual frameworks has been published since the early 2000s. Earlier frameworks are simpler and emphasize the distinction of environmental vs. individual factors, while more recently several studies have integrated travel behavior theories more thoroughly. Based on the reviewed frameworks and various behavioral theories, we propose the comprehensive PASTA conceptual framework of active travel behavior. We discuss how it can guide future research, such as data collection, data analysis, and modeling of active travel behavior, and present some examples from the PASTA project.

Becoming part of the story! Refueling the interest in visualization strategies for reading comprehension

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Koning, B.B.; van der Schoot, M.

2013-01-01

Visualizing the events described in a text is crucial for constructing a rich and coherent visuospatial mental representation (i.e., situation model) of the text. According to current reading comprehension theories, the construction of such a situation model likely involves all sensory modalities.

Immersive Data Comprehension: Visualizing Uncertainty in Measurable Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pere eBrunet

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Recent advances in 3D scanning technologies have opened new possibilities in a broad range of applications includingcultural heritage, medicine, civil engineering and urban planning. Virtual Reality systems can provide new tools toprofessionals that want to understand acquired 3D models. In this paper, we review the concept of data comprehension with an emphasis on visualization and inspection tools on immersive setups. We claim that in most application fields, data comprehension requires model measurements which in turn should be based on the explicit visualization of uncertainty. As 3D digital representations are not faithful, information on their fidelity at local level should be included in the model itself as uncertainty bounds. We propose the concept of Measurable 3D Models as digital models that explicitly encode local uncertainty bounds related to their quality. We claim that professionals and experts can strongly benefit from immersive interaction through new specific, fidelity-aware measurement tools which can facilitate 3D data comprehension. Since noise and processing errors are ubiquitous in acquired datasets, we discuss the estimation, representation and visualization of data uncertainty. We show that, based on typical user requirements in Cultural Heritage and other domains, application-oriented measuring tools in 3D models must consider uncertainty and local error bounds. We also discuss the requirements of immersive interaction tools for the comprehension of huge 3D and nD datasets acquired from real objects.

Cardiac rehabilitation: a comprehensive review

OpenAIRE

Lear, Scott A; Ignaszewski, Andrew

2001-01-01

Abstract Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a commonly used treatment for men and women with cardiovascular disease. To date, no single study has conclusively demonstrated a comprehensive benefit of CR. Numerous individual studies, however, have demonstrated beneficial effects such as improved risk-factor profile, slower disease progression, decreased morbidity, and decreased mortality. This paper will review the evidence for the use of CR and discuss the implications and limitations of these stu...

Listening comprehension across the adult lifespan.

Science.gov (United States)

Sommers, Mitchell S; Hale, Sandra; Myerson, Joel; Rose, Nathan; Tye-Murray, Nancy; Spehar, Brent

2011-01-01

that age accounted for significant variance even after controlling for auditory sensitivity. Results suggest that age-related reductions in auditory sensitivity account for a sizable portion of individual variance in listening comprehension that was observed across the adult lifespan. Other potential contributors including a possible role for age-related declines in perceptual and cognitive abilities are discussed. Clinically, the results suggest that amplification is likely to improve listening comprehension but that increased audibility alone may not be sufficient to maintain listening comprehension beyond age 65 and 70 yr. Additional research will be needed to identify potential target abilities for training or other rehabilitation procedures that could supplement sensory aids to provide additional improvements in listening comprehension.

Resource analysis of the Chinese society 1980-2002 based on exergy-Part 4: Fishery and rangeland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, B.; Chen, G.Q.

2007-01-01

This fourth part is the continuation of the third part on agricultural products. The major fishery and rangeland products entering the Chinese society from 1980 to 2002 are calculated and analyzed in detail in this paper. The aquatic production, mainly relying on freshwater and seawater breeding, Enhancement policy of fishery resources, including closed fishing season system, construction of artificial fish reefs and ecological fish breeding, etc., is discussed in detail. The degradation of the major rangeland areas, hay yields and intake rangeland resources by the livestock, are also described associated with the strategic adjustment and comprehensive program to protect rangeland resources during the study period

Vocabulary and syntactic knowledge factors in 5th grade students’ reading comprehension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kouider Mokhtari

2013-03-01

Full Text Available In this study, we examined 5th grade students’ levels of vocabulary knowledge and syntactic awareness relative to their reading comprehension performance. The aim was to explore the contributions of vocabulary and syntactic awareness as potential sources of reading comprehension difficulty for these readers. Overall, we found that both vocabulary knowledge and syntactic awareness contributed in significant yet unique ways to students’ reading comprehension performance. Students who showed weaknesses in vocabulary and syntax also performed poorly on measures of reading comprehension. Additionally, we found that syntactic awareness explained a small amount of additional variance in reading comprehension beyond what was explained by vocabulary. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of research and practice addressing the relationships among syntax, vocabulary, and reading comprehension for more and less skilled readers.

Optimising Comprehensibility in Interlingual Translation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nisbeth Jensen, Matilde

2015-01-01

The increasing demand for citizen engagement in areas traditionally belonging exclusively to experts, such as health, law and technology has given rise to the necessity of making expert knowledge available to the general public through genres such as instruction manuals for consumer goods, patien...... the functional text type of Patient Information Leaflet. Finally, the usefulness of applying the principles of Plain Language and intralingual translation for optimising comprehensibility in interlingual translation is discussed....

Reading comprehension as part of the teaching learning process of English for specific purposes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yaima Rosa Reyes Piñero

2012-06-01

Full Text Available This article presents and characterizes a system of interdisciplinary tasks which contributes to reading comprehension as a basic objective of the teaching learning process of English in the first year students of Marxism-Leninism and History career of the University of Pedagogical Sciences in Pinar del Río.

Building human resources capability in health care: a global analysis of best practice--Part III.

Science.gov (United States)

Zairi, M

1998-01-01

This is the last part of a series of three papers which discussed very comprehensively best practice applications in human resource management by drawing special inferences to the healthcare context. It emerged from parts I and II that high performing organisations plan and intend to build sustainable capability through a systematic consideration of the human element as the key asset and through a continuous process of training, developing, empowering and engaging people in all aspects of organisational excellence. Part III brings this debate to a close by demonstrating what brings about organisational excellence and proposes a road map for effective human resource development and management, based on world class standards. Healthcare human resource professionals can now rise to the challenge and plan ahead for building organisational capability and sustainable performance.

A Comprehensive Review on Handcrafted and Learning-Based Action Representation Approaches for Human Activity Recognition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Allah Bux Sargano

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Human activity recognition (HAR is an important research area in the fields of human perception and computer vision due to its wide range of applications. These applications include: intelligent video surveillance, ambient assisted living, human computer interaction, human-robot interaction, entertainment, and intelligent driving. Recently, with the emergence and successful deployment of deep learning techniques for image classification, researchers have migrated from traditional handcrafting to deep learning techniques for HAR. However, handcrafted representation-based approaches are still widely used due to some bottlenecks such as computational complexity of deep learning techniques for activity recognition. However, approaches based on handcrafted representation are not able to handle complex scenarios due to their limitations and incapability; therefore, resorting to deep learning-based techniques is a natural option. This review paper presents a comprehensive survey of both handcrafted and learning-based action representations, offering comparison, analysis, and discussions on these approaches. In addition to this, the well-known public datasets available for experimentations and important applications of HAR are also presented to provide further insight into the field. This is the first review paper of its kind which presents all these aspects of HAR in a single review article with comprehensive coverage of each part. Finally, the paper is concluded with important discussions and research directions in the domain of HAR.

Selectivity of lexical-semantic disorders in Polish-speaking patients with aphasia: evidence from single-word comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Jodzio, Krzysztof; Biechowska, Daria; Leszniewska-Jodzio, Barbara

2008-09-01

Several neuropsychological studies have shown that patients with brain damage may demonstrate selective category-specific deficits of auditory comprehension. The present paper reports on an investigation of aphasic patients' preserved ability to perform a semantic task on spoken words despite severe impairment in auditory comprehension, as shown by failure in matching spoken words to pictured objects. Twenty-six aphasic patients (11 women and 15 men) with impaired speech comprehension due to a left-hemisphere ischaemic stroke were examined; all were right-handed and native speakers of Polish. Six narrowly defined semantic categories for which dissociations have been reported are colors, body parts, animals, food, objects (mostly tools), and means of transportation. An analysis using one-way ANOVA with repeated measures in conjunction with the Lambda-Wilks Test revealed significant discrepancies among these categories in aphasic patients, who had much more difficulty comprehending names of colors than they did comprehending names of other objects (F((5,21))=13.15; pexplanation in terms of word frequency and/or visual complexity was ruled out. Evidence from the present study support the position that so called "global" aphasia is an imprecise term and should be redefined. These results are discussed within the connectionist and modular perspectives on category-specific deficits in aphasia.

Comprehensive change management concepts. Development of a participatory approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Zink, Klaus J; Steimle, Ulrich; Schröder, Delia

2008-07-01

During the last years, many change projects in organizations did not have the planned success. Therefore at first, the causes for these failures and the success factors contributing to organizational change have to be discussed. To get better results, a comprehensive change management concept has been developed and tested in an ongoing research project. By using concepts for an integrated assessment and design of organizations, an approach for analyzing the current situation has been elaborated to identify "lack of integration" in the change initiatives of a company. To realize an integrated overall approach of modernization by harmonizing different methods and concepts, first, one has to prove their relationship to policy and strategy (vertical harmonization). The second step is to take into account the fact that there has to be a logical fit between the single concepts (horizontal harmonization). But even if all elements are logically coherent, that does not mean that the people working in the company also see this coherence. Therefore, in addition to the "logical fit", one has to examine the "psychological fit". In the end, a concept for analyzing the status quo in an organization as a result of "objective data" and "subjective data" originated. Subsequently, instruments for harmonizing different modernizing concepts have been applied. As part of the comprehensive change management concept participatory ergonomic approaches have been used during the project. The present study shows this approach in the case of one company.

Ethical and Human Rights Foundations of Health Policy: Lessons from Comprehensive Reform in Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Frenk, Julio; Gómez-Dantés, Octavio

2015-12-10

This paper discusses the use of an explicit ethical and human rights framework to guide a reform intended to provide universal and comprehensive social protection in health for all Mexicans, independently of their socio-economic status or labor market condition. This reform was designed, implemented, and evaluated by making use of what Michael Reich has identified as the three pillars of public policy: technical, political, and ethical. The use of evidence and political strategies in the design and negotiation of the Mexican health reform is briefly discussed in the first part of this paper. The second part examines the ethical component of the reform, including the guiding concept and values, as well as the specific entitlements that gave operational meaning to the right to health care that was enshrined in Mexico's 1983 Constitution. The impact of this rights-based health reform, measured through an external evaluation, is discussed in the final section. The main message of this paper is that a clear ethical framework, combined with technical excellence and political skill, can deliver major policy results. Copyright © 2015 Frenk and Gómez-Dantés. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Comprehensive Stuttering Treatment for Adolescents: A Case Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Coleman, Craig E

2018-01-09

This article will focus on a hypothetical case study to highlight comprehensive assessment and treatment for adolescent children who stutter. Assessment and treatment are laid out with a literature review utilizing the components of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health model. Specific assessment and treatment strategies and approaches are discussed. Using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health model can help guide clinicians through the assessment and treatment process to ensure that all areas of stuttering are considered. Comprehensive assessment and treatment helps clinicians address all relevant elements of a stuttering disorder, rather than focusing exclusively on reducing speech disruptions.

A Study of the Application of Big Data in a Rural Comprehensive Information Service

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leifeng Guo

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Big data has attracted extensive interest due to its potential tremendous social and scientific value. Researchers are also trying to extract potential value from agriculture big data. This paper presents a study of information services based on big data from the perspective of a rural comprehensive information service. First, we introduce the background of the rural comprehensive information service, and then we present in detail the National Rural Comprehensive Information Service Platform (NRCISP, which is supported by the national science and technology support program. Next, we discuss big data in the NRCISP according to data characteristics, data sources, and data processing. Finally, we discuss a service model and services based on big data in the NRCISP.

Time since discharge of 9mm cartridges by headspace analysis, part 1: Comprehensive optimisation and validation of a headspace sorptive extraction (HSSE) method.

Science.gov (United States)

Gallidabino, M; Romolo, F S; Weyermann, C

2017-03-01

Estimating the time since discharge of spent cartridges can be a valuable tool in the forensic investigation of firearm-related crimes. To reach this aim, it was previously proposed that the decrease of volatile organic compounds released during discharge is monitored over time using non-destructive headspace extraction techniques. While promising results were obtained for large-calibre cartridges (e.g., shotgun shells), handgun calibres yielded unsatisfying results. In addition to the natural complexity of the specimen itself, these can also be attributed to some selective choices in the methods development. Thus, the present series of paper aimed to more systematically evaluate the potential of headspace analysis to estimate the time since discharge of cartridges through the use of more comprehensive analytical and interpretative techniques. Specifically, in this first part, a method based on headspace sorptive extraction (HSSE) was comprehensively optimised and validated, as the latter recently proved to be a more efficient alternative than previous approaches. For this purpose, 29 volatile organic compounds were preliminary selected on the basis of previous works. A multivariate statistical approach based on design of experiments (DOE) was used to optimise variables potentially involved in interaction effects. Introduction of deuterated analogues in sampling vials was also investigated as strategy to account for analytical variations. Analysis was carried out by selected ion mode, gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results showed good chromatographic resolution as well as detection limits and peak area repeatability. Application to 9mm spent cartridges confirmed that the use of co-extracted internal standards allowed for improved reproducibility of the measured signals. The validated method will be applied in the second part of this work to estimate the time since discharge of 9mm spent cartridges using multivariate models. Copyright �

Epilogue: Reading Comprehension Is Not a Single Ability--Implications for Assessment and Instruction

Science.gov (United States)

Kamhi, Alan G.; Catts, Hugh W.

2017-01-01

Purpose: In this epilogue, we review the 4 response articles and highlight the implications of a multidimensional view of reading for the assessment and instruction of reading comprehension. Method: We reiterate the problems with standardized tests of reading comprehension and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of recently developed…

Comprehensive analysis of transport aircraft flight performance

Science.gov (United States)

Filippone, Antonio

2008-04-01

This paper reviews the state-of-the art in comprehensive performance codes for fixed-wing aircraft. The importance of system analysis in flight performance is discussed. The paper highlights the role of aerodynamics, propulsion, flight mechanics, aeroacoustics, flight operation, numerical optimisation, stochastic methods and numerical analysis. The latter discipline is used to investigate the sensitivities of the sub-systems to uncertainties in critical state parameters or functional parameters. The paper discusses critically the data used for performance analysis, and the areas where progress is required. Comprehensive analysis codes can be used for mission fuel planning, envelope exploration, competition analysis, a wide variety of environmental studies, marketing analysis, aircraft certification and conceptual aircraft design. A comprehensive program that uses the multi-disciplinary approach for transport aircraft is presented. The model includes a geometry deck, a separate engine input deck with the main parameters, a database of engine performance from an independent simulation, and an operational deck. The comprehensive code has modules for deriving the geometry from bitmap files, an aerodynamics model for all flight conditions, a flight mechanics model for flight envelopes and mission analysis, an aircraft noise model and engine emissions. The model is validated at different levels. Validation of the aerodynamic model is done against the scale models DLR-F4 and F6. A general model analysis and flight envelope exploration are shown for the Boeing B-777-300 with GE-90 turbofan engines with intermediate passenger capacity (394 passengers in 2 classes). Validation of the flight model is done by sensitivity analysis on the wetted area (or profile drag), on the specific air range, the brake-release gross weight and the aircraft noise. A variety of results is shown, including specific air range charts, take-off weight-altitude charts, payload-range performance

Magnetic resonance imaging of the elbow. Part I: Normal anatomy, imaging technique, and osseous abnormalities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kijowski, Richard; Tuite, Michael; Sanford, Matthew

2004-01-01

Part I of this comprehensive review on magnetic resonance imaging of the elbow discusses normal elbow anatomy and the technical factors involved in obtaining high-quality magnetic resonance images of the elbow. Part I also discusses the role of magnetic resonance imaging in evaluating patients with osseous abnormalities of the elbow. With proper patient positioning and imaging technique, magnetic resonance imaging can yield high-quality multiplanar images which are useful in evaluating the osseous structures of the elbow. Magnetic resonance imaging can detect early osteochondritis dissecans of the capitellum and can be used to evaluate the size, location, stability, and viability of the osteochondritis dissecans fragment. Magnetic resonance imaging can detect early stress injury to the proximal ulna in athletes. Magnetic resonance imaging can detect radiographically occult fractures of the elbow in both children and adults. Magnetic resonance imaging is also useful in children to further evaluate elbow fractures which are detected on plain-film radiographs. (orig.)

Comprehensive Assessment Systems: Purposes and Implementation. Research Watch. E&R Report No. 11.10

Science.gov (United States)

Troy, Talbot

2011-01-01

A comprehensive assessment system is one in which three types of assessments: summative, benchmark, and formative assessments are routinely administered to all students in K-12 classrooms. The first part of this report summarizes the research on comprehensive assessment systems and provides clarity in terms of how each individual assessment type…

Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis--A Comprehensive Review and Guide to Therapy. I. Systemic Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Kohanim, Sahar; Palioura, Sotiria; Saeed, Hajirah N; Akpek, Esen K; Amescua, Guillermo; Basu, Sayan; Blomquist, Preston H; Bouchard, Charles S; Dart, John K; Gai, Xiaowu; Gomes, José A P; Gregory, Darren G; Iyer, Geetha; Jacobs, Deborah S; Johnson, Anthony J; Kinoshita, Shigeru; Mantagos, Iason S; Mehta, Jodhbir S; Perez, Victor L; Pflugfelder, Stephen C; Sangwan, Virender S; Sippel, Kimberly C; Sotozono, Chie; Srinivasan, Bhaskar; Tan, Donald T H; Tandon, Radhika; Tseng, Scheffer C G; Ueta, Mayumi; Chodosh, James

2016-01-01

The intent of this review is to comprehensively appraise the state of the art with regard to Stevens Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), with particular attention to the ocular surface complications and their management. SJS and TEN represent two ends of a spectrum of immune-mediated, dermatobullous disease, characterized in the acute phase by a febrile illness followed by skin and mucous membrane necrosis and detachment. The widespread keratinocyte death seen in SJS/TEN is rapid and irreversible, and even with early and aggressive intervention, morbidity is severe and mortality not uncommon. We have divided this review into two parts. Part I summarizes the epidemiology and immunopathogenesis of SJS/TEN and discusses systemic therapy and its possible benefits. We hope this review will help the ophthalmologist better understand the mechanisms of disease in SJS/TEN and enhance their care of patients with this complex and often debilitating disease. Part II (April 2016 issue) will focus on ophthalmic manifestations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of visualization on algorithm comprehension

Science.gov (United States)

Mulvey, Matthew

Computer science students are expected to learn and apply a variety of core algorithms which are an essential part of the field. Any one of these algorithms by itself is not necessarily extremely complex, but remembering the large variety of algorithms and the differences between them is challenging. To address this challenge, we present a novel algorithm visualization tool designed to enhance students understanding of Dijkstra's algorithm by allowing them to discover the rules of the algorithm for themselves. It is hoped that a deeper understanding of the algorithm will help students correctly select, adapt and apply the appropriate algorithm when presented with a problem to solve, and that what is learned here will be applicable to the design of other visualization tools designed to teach different algorithms. Our visualization tool is currently in the prototype stage, and this thesis will discuss the pedagogical approach that informs its design, as well as the results of some initial usability testing. Finally, to clarify the direction for further development of the tool, four different variations of the prototype were implemented, and the instructional effectiveness of each was assessed by having a small sample participants use the different versions of the prototype and then take a quiz to assess their comprehension of the algorithm.

[Qualitative Research in Health Services Research - Discussion Paper, Part 3: Quality of Qualitative Research].

Science.gov (United States)

Stamer, M; Güthlin, C; Holmberg, C; Karbach, U; Patzelt, C; Meyer, T

2015-12-01

The third and final discussion paper of the German Network of Health Services Research's (DNVF) "Qualitative Methods Working Group" demonstrates methods for the evaluation and quality of qualitative research in health services research. In this paper we discuss approaches described in evaluating qualitative studies, including: an orientation to the general principles of empirical research, an approach-specific course of action, as well as procedures based on the research-process and criteria-oriented approaches. Divided into general and specific aspects to be considered in a qualitative study quality evaluation, the central focus of the discussion paper undertakes an extensive examination of the process and criteria-oriented approaches. The general aspects include the participation of relevant groups in the research process as well as ethical aspects of the research and data protection issues. The more specific aspects in evaluating the quality of qualitative research include considerations about the research interest, research questions, and the selection of data collection methods and types of analyses. The formulated questions are intended to guide reviewers and researchers to evaluate and to develop qualitative research projects appropriately. The intention of this discussion paper is to ensure a transparent research culture, and to reflect on and discuss the methodological and research approach of qualitative studies in health services research. With this paper we aim to initiate a discussion on high quality evaluation of qualitative health services research. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

How logical reasoning mediates the relation between lexical quality and reading comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Segers, Eliane; Verhoeven, Ludo

The present study aimed to examine the role of logical reasoning in the relation between lexical quality and reading comprehension in 146 fourth grade Dutch children. We assessed their standardized reading comprehension measure, along with their decoding efficiency and vocabulary as measures of lexical quality, syllogistic reasoning as measure of (verbal) logical reasoning, and nonverbal reasoning as a control measure. Syllogistic reasoning was divided into a measure tapping basic, coherence inferencing skill using logical syllogisms, and a measure tapping elaborative inferencing skill using indeterminate syllogisms. Results showed that both types of syllogisms partly mediated the relation between lexical quality and reading comprehension, but also had a unique additional effect on reading comprehension. The indirect effect of lexical quality on reading comprehension via syllogisms was driven by vocabulary knowledge. It is concluded that measures of syllogistic reasoning account for higher-order thinking processes that are needed to make inferences in reading comprehension. The role of lexical quality appears to be pivotal in explaining the variation in reading comprehension both directly and indirectly via syllogistic reasoning.

Achievement report on research and development in the Sunshine Project in fiscal 1976. Comprehensive discussion on hydrogen utilizing subsystems and research on peripheral technologies (Comprehensive discussion on hydrogen utilizing subsystems); 1976 nendo suiso riyo subsystem no sogoteki kento to shuhen gijutsu ni kansuru kenkyu seika hokokusho. Suiso riyo subsystem no sogoteki kento

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1977-03-01

This paper describes comprehensive discussion on hydrogen utilizing subsystems. Hydrogen combustion is characterized by how low the ignition energy is, and how fast the flame propagates. In addition, flame stability is high also in diffusion combustion. However, the diffusion combustion produces a great amount of NOx, the amount varying depending on the degree of air pre-mixture. Since it causes reverse ignition very easily in the pre-mixture degree corresponding to low NOx zone, development of a burner with drastically new mechanism is demanded. In hydrogen fuel cells, the ratio of hydrogen fuel cost accounting for in the power generation cost is very high. As an automobile fuel, very much leaner combustion is possible than in conventional internal combustion engines, and ignition energy is small. However, such abnormal combustion as reverse ignition and early ignition may occur, and their prevention is an important assignment. Issues in aircraft engines are verification of safety, and cost of liquefied hydrogen. Steam turbines have reached their limit already, but gas turbines are expected of exciting efficiency improvement. This paper describes prospects on chemical utilization of hydrogen in the existing fields and new fields. (NEDO)

Effects of Reciprocal Teaching Strategies on Reading Comprehension

Science.gov (United States)

Choo, Tan Ooi Leng; Eng, Tan Kok; Ahmad, Norlida

2011-01-01

Reading Comprehension is one of the four components tested by the "MUET" (Malaysian University English Test) for Sixth-Form students in Malaysia, and school teachers are charged with the task of helping these students improve. This article discusses how "reciprocal teaching strategies" could help low-proficiency Sixth-Form…

QRAC-the-Code: a comprehension monitoring strategy for middle school social studies textbooks.

Science.gov (United States)

Berkeley, Sheri; Riccomini, Paul J

2013-01-01

Requirements for reading and ascertaining information from text increase as students advance through the educational system, especially in content-rich classes; hence, monitoring comprehension is especially important. However, this is a particularly challenging skill for many students who struggle with reading comprehension, including students with learning disabilities. A randomized pre-post experimental design was employed to investigate the effectiveness of a comprehension monitoring strategy (QRAC-the-Code) for improving the reading comprehension of 323 students in grades 6 and 7 in inclusive social studies classes. Findings indicated that both general education students and students with learning disabilities who were taught a simple comprehension monitoring strategy improved their comprehension of textbook content compared to students who read independently and noted important points. In addition, students in the comprehension monitoring condition reported using more reading strategies after the intervention. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Comprehensive nuclear materials

CERN Document Server

Allen, Todd; Stoller, Roger; Yamanaka, Shinsuke

2012-01-01

Comprehensive Nuclear Materials encapsulates a panorama of fundamental information on the vast variety of materials employed in the broad field of nuclear technology. The work addresses, in five volumes, 3,400 pages and over 120 chapter-length articles, the full panorama of historical and contemporary international research in nuclear materials, from Actinides to Zirconium alloys, from the worlds' leading scientists and engineers. It synthesizes the most pertinent research to support the selection, assessment, validation and engineering of materials in extreme nuclear environments. The work discusses the major classes of materials suitable for usage in nuclear fission, fusion reactors and high power accelerators, and for diverse functions in fuels, cladding, moderator and control materials, structural, functional, and waste materials.

Open discussions on nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1978-01-01

In the first part, economic prospects in the world and in the European Community and their repercussions on energy demand are examined. Supply structure and growth scenari are outlined. Present and potential contribution of nuclear energy to energy supply is developed. The pros and cons are given. In the second part is examined how the production and use of various form of energy including nuclear energy, can affect health and the environment, with special reference to waste of all kinds. Safety problems and risk of accidents are examined in both non nuclear and nuclear sectors. Prospects for a low energy society and economic and social implications of the use of new forms of energy are also discussed

Comprehension of atypical literary text and scholastic achievement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Božin Aurel A.

2009-01-01

Full Text Available With the aim of gaining insight into literary text comprehension and the linkage between that comprehension and scholastic achievement during the first years of schooling, a research was conducted on the sample of 152 third and fourth grade pupils from one urban and one rural school. After having read silently a selected atypical excerpt from one literary text, interviewed pupils filled out the questionnaire constructed for the purposes of this research starting from the 11 categories of text comprehension singled out based on the theory of comprehension and interpretation of literary text and the current curriculum. In the first part of the research we applied the Children's orientation scale by Malka Margalit, and school marks were used as a measurement of scholastic achievement. Research results point out that, among other things, inferring on the basis of what has been read poses the greatest difficulty for third and fourth graders, that is, that almost three quarters of them are not capable of determining the meaning of some representative sentences from that text. In the positive sense, it was established that almost three quarters of them perceive beautiful poetic expressions and about 80% of them can at least to a certain extent recognize character descriptions, emotional situations and moods, that is, discover significant facts. Answers to the questions regarding the majority of categories of text comprehension are significantly correlated with scholastic achievement. As expected, the highest correlations between the measures on text comprehension categories are with the marks in native (Serbian language. Partial correlations between the measures on certain categories of text comprehension and measurements of scholastic achievement (excluding the influence of feeling of coherence are not significantly different from bivariate. Based on the obtained data, authors conclude that the utilized system of categories can be a useful tool for

Comprehensive income in Europe: Valuation, prediction and conservatism issues

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Goncharov, I.; Hodgson, A.

2008-01-01

The IASB Discussion Paper (2008), Preliminary Views on Financial Statement Presentation promises to extend the 'fair value' measurement concept into an aggregated comprehensive income statement. This article extends prior Anglo-Saxon based research by using 56,700 European firm years from sixteen

Designing information visualizations for elite soccer children's different levels of comprehension

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herdal, Thor; Pedersen, Jeppe Gerner; Knudsen, Søren

2016-01-01

We describe a study that sought to understand elite soccer children's use of visualizations to learn about, and improve their own sports performance. We specifically investigate how visualizations support the players' data comprehension. In this process, we design and evaluate visualizations base...... on real data. Finally, we discuss how the players' level of comprehension might depend on factors such as their general literacy and visualization literacy, and the role of visualization in coaching children....

Executive Functioning and Figurative Language Comprehension in Learning Disabilities

Science.gov (United States)

Bishara, Saied; Kaplan, Shani

2016-01-01

The goal of the research was to examine executive functioning and figurative language comprehension among students with learning disabilities as compared to students without learning disabilities. As part of the research, we examined 20 students with learning disabilities and 21 students with no learning disabilities, both groups of students…

Ciclo Basico Polivalente (Basic Comprehensive Courses of Study).

Science.gov (United States)

Boletin del Centro Nacional de Documentacion e Informacion Educativa, 1970

1970-01-01

This article discusses the creation of comprehensive secondary schools in Argentina to meet the diversified goals of the population in any given geographical region. The plan described here provides for the creation of several basic-study cycles within one school so that students may pursue courses in commercial, technical, and academic fields.…

Working memory contributions to reading comprehension components in middle childhood children.

Science.gov (United States)

Chrysochoou, Elisavet; Bablekou, Zoe; Tsigilis, Nikolaos

2011-01-01

This study examined working memory contributions to reading comprehension subskills in Greek children (mean age 9 years, 1 month). The phonological loop of the Baddeley and Hitch working memory model was assessed with 3 recall tasks (words, nonwords, and digits) and a word list matching task. The central executive (CE) was assessed with 3 tasks (listening, counting, and backward digit recall). Participants were also given a receptive vocabulary task, a reading fluency task, and written stories accompanied by comprehension questions. Canonical correlation analyses showed that the comprehension variables were related to the CE rather than the phonological loop measures. CE functions were more strongly associated with elaborative inference generation (involving significant offline processing) and comprehension control (involving metacognitive monitoring). Smaller yet significant associations were observed between the CE and the necessary inference and literal comprehension measures, whereas a moderate relationship was found in the case of the simile comprehension variable. Among the CE variables, listening recall demonstrated the highest loading on the canonical function, followed by moderate yet significant counting and backward digit recall loadings. Vocabulary was found to fully mediate several associations between working memory and comprehension measures; however, the relationship between listening recall and elaborative inferences was partly mediated. Reading fluency and, on several occasions, Greek vocabulary knowledge did not mediate the relationships between CE measures and comprehension skills assessed. This study demonstrates the usefulness of CE measures for identifying young children's possible difficulties in carrying out specific reading comprehension processes.

Perspectives on Counterterrorism: From Stovepipes to a Comprehensive Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ronald Crelinsten

2014-02-01

Full Text Available This article moves beyond the boundaries that limit counterterrorism discourse and practice to present a more comprehensive approach. In a world where distinctions are blurring between internal and external security, international and domestic jurisdictions, and state and non-state actors, it is important to cast our eyes wide in developing an effective approach to counterterrorism that can apply across a broad variety of policy domains and can outlive the electoral horizon of individual governments. A discussion of five approaches to counterterrorism leads to the identification of thirteen different models which, taken together, can point the way towards a comprehensive approach.

Are There Gender Differences in Emotion Comprehension? Analysis of the Test of Emotion Comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Fidalgo, Angel M; Tenenbaum, Harriet R; Aznar, Ana

2018-01-01

This article examines whether there are gender differences in understanding the emotions evaluated by the Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC). The TEC provides a global index of emotion comprehension in children 3-11 years of age, which is the sum of the nine components that constitute emotion comprehension: (1) recognition of facial expressions, (2) understanding of external causes of emotions, (3) understanding of desire-based emotions, (4) understanding of belief-based emotions, (5) understanding of the influence of a reminder on present emotional states, (6) understanding of the possibility to regulate emotional states, (7) understanding of the possibility of hiding emotional states, (8) understanding of mixed emotions, and (9) understanding of moral emotions. We used the answers to the TEC given by 172 English girls and 181 boys from 3 to 8 years of age. First, the nine components into which the TEC is subdivided were analysed for differential item functioning (DIF), taking gender as the grouping variable. To evaluate DIF, the Mantel-Haenszel method and logistic regression analysis were used applying the Educational Testing Service DIF classification criteria. The results show that the TEC did not display gender DIF. Second, when absence of DIF had been corroborated, it was analysed for differences between boys and girls in the total TEC score and its components controlling for age. Our data are compatible with the hypothesis of independence between gender and level of comprehension in 8 of the 9 components of the TEC. Several hypotheses are discussed that could explain the differences found between boys and girls in the belief component. Given that the Belief component is basically a false belief task, the differences found seem to support findings in the literature indicating that girls perform better on this task.

Examining the role of interrogative suggestibility in Miranda rights comprehension in adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

McLachlan, Kaitlyn; Roesch, Ronald; Douglas, Kevin S

2011-06-01

This study aimed to further clarify the association between interrogative suggestibility and Miranda rights comprehension in adolescents; in particular, we examined whether intellectual ability (IQ) serves as a mediator of this relationship. Participants completed Grisso's Miranda Instruments, the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, and the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale. Many youth demonstrated poor comprehension of their rights, particularly younger and less intellectually capable adolescents. Both yield and shift components of interrogative suggestibility were inversely related to rights comprehension; however, IQ fully mediated these relationships. Neither demographic variables (gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status after controlling for IQ, and English as a second language (ESL) status) nor previous police experience were significantly associated with rights comprehension in the present sample. The implications of these findings are discussed.

The Effect of Semantic Mapping on Reading Comprehension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elmira Taghavi

2008-11-01

Full Text Available The research reported here examined the relative effectiveness of semantic mapping, as an interactive pre-reading strategy, on reading comprehension of Iranian undergraduate students (non-EFL majors. It also examined whether there was an interaction between gender and the effect of teaching semantic mapping strategy on reading comprehension. The participants in this study consisted of 120 male and female pre-intermediate undergraduate students taking a General English course at UrmiaUniversity in Spring 2008. A Certificate of Advanced English Reading Paper (CAE was administered to measure the students’ proficiency at the beginning of the research. Later, the participants were semi-randomly (Mackey and Gass, 2005 assigned into experimental and control groups. The experimental group was instructed on how toemploy semantic mapping strategy in reading while the control group received normal reading instruction. The post-test results supported the findings of earlier research that instruction on the application of semantic mapping contributed to reading comprehension. Further findings and implications are discussed in the paper.

2014 White Paper on recent issues in bioanalysis: a full immersion in bioanalysis (Part 3 - LBA and immunogenicity).

Science.gov (United States)

Stevenson, Lauren; Amaravadi, Lakshmi; Myler, Heather; Salazar-Fontana, Laura; Gorovits, Boris; Kirshner, Susan; Xue, Li; Garofolo, Fabio; Alley, Stephen C; Thway, Theingi; Joyce, Alison; Bansal, Surendra; Beaver, Chris; Bergeron, Annik; Cai, Xiao-Yan; Cojocaru, Laura; DeSilva, Binodh; Dumont, Isabelle; Fluhler, Eric; Fraser, Stephanie; Gouty, Dominique; Gupta, Swati; Haidar, Sam; Hayes, Roger; Ingelse, Benno; Ishii-Watabe, Akiko; Kaur, Surinder; King, Lindsay; Laterza, Omar; Leung, Sheldon; Lévesque, Ann; Ma, Mark; Petit-Frere, Corinne; Pillutla, Renuka; Rose, Mark; Schultz, Gary; Smeraglia, John; Swanson, Steven; Torri, Albert; Vazvaei, Faye; Wakelin-Smith, Jason; Wilson, Amanda; Woolf, Eric; Yang, Tong-Yuan

2014-01-01

The 2014 8th Workshop on Recent Issues in Bioanalysis (8th WRIB), a 5-day full immersion in the evolving field of bioanalysis, took place in Universal City, California, USA. Close to 500 professionals from pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations and regulatory agencies worldwide convened to share, review, discuss and agree on approaches to address current issues of interest in bioanalysis. The topics covered included both small and large molecules, and involved LCMS, hybrid LBA/LCMS, LBA approaches and immunogenicity. From the prolific discussions held during the workshop, specific recommendations are presented in this 2014 White Paper. As with the previous years' editions, this paper acts as a practical tool to help the bioanalytical community continue advances in scientific excellence, improved quality and better regulatory compliance. Due to its length, the 2014 edition of this comprehensive White Paper has been divided into three parts for editorial reasons. This publication (Part 3) covers the recommendations for Large molecules bioanalysis using LBA and Immunogenicity. Part 1 (Small molecules bioanalysis using LCMS) and Part 2 (Hybrid LBA/LCMS, Electronic Laboratory Notebook and Regulatory Agencies' Input) were published in the Bioanalysis issues 6(22) and 6(23), respectively.

Process development for green part printing using binder jetting additive manufacturing

Science.gov (United States)

Miyanaji, Hadi; Orth, Morgan; Akbar, Junaid Muhammad; Yang, Li

2018-05-01

Originally developed decades ago, the binder jetting additive manufacturing (BJ-AM) process possesses various advantages compared to other additive manufacturing (AM) technologies such as broad material compatibility and technological expandability. However, the adoption of BJ-AM has been limited by the lack of knowledge with the fundamental understanding of the process principles and characteristics, as well as the relatively few systematic design guideline that are available. In this work, the process design considerations for BJ-AM in green part fabrication were discussed in detail in order to provide a comprehensive perspective of the design for additive manufacturing for the process. Various process factors, including binder saturation, in-process drying, powder spreading, powder feedstock characteristics, binder characteristics and post-process curing, could significantly affect the printing quality of the green parts such as geometrical accuracy and part integrity. For powder feedstock with low flowability, even though process parameters could be optimized to partially offset the printing feasibility issue, the qualities of the green parts will be intrinsically limited due to the existence of large internal voids that are inaccessible to the binder. In addition, during the process development, the balanced combination between the saturation level and in-process drying is of critical importance in the quality control of the green parts.

Preoperative Surgical Discussion and Information Retention by Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Feiner, David E; Rayan, Ghazi M

2016-10-01

To assess how much information communicated to patients is understood and retained after preoperative discussion of upper extremity procedures. A prospective study was designed by recruiting patients prior to undergoing upper extremity surgical procedures after a detailed discussion of their operative technique, postoperative care and treatment outcomes. Patients were given the same 20-item questionnaire to fill out twice, at two pre operative visits. An independent evaluator filled out a third questionnaire as a control. Various discussion points of the survey were compared among the 3 questionnaires and retained information and perceived comprehension were evaluated. The average patients' age was 50.3 (27-75) years The average time between the two surveys preoperative 1 and preoperative 2 was 40.7 (7-75) days,. The average patient had approximately 2 years of college or an associate's degree. Patients initially retained 73% (52-90%) of discussion points presented during preoperative 1 and 61% (36-85%) of the information at preoperative 2 p = .002. 50% of patients felt they understood 100% of the discussion, this dropped to only 10% at their preoperative 2 visit. 15% of our patients did not know what type of anesthesia they were having at preoperative 2. A communication barrier between patients and physicians exists when patients are informed about their preoperative surgical discussion. The retention of information presented is worsened with elapsing time from the initial preoperative discussion to the second preoperative visit immediately prior to surgery. Methods to enhance patients' retention of information prior to surgery must be sought and implemented which will improve patients' treatment outcome.

HIV-positive patients’ and their families’ comprehension of HIV- and AIDS-related information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gedina E. de Wet

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Despite acknowledgement of the importance of sharing HIV- and AIDS-related information with people living with HIV, it is still unclear as to what their actual comprehension is of this information. This research was part of a larger project, Tswaragano, conducted in the North-West Province, South Africa, which explored and described the competence, ability and strengths of the family of the HIV-positive patient during home support. This research focused on Potchefstroom in the North-West Province. This article focuses on research with the objective being to explore and describe the comprehension of HIV-positive patients and their families with regard to HIV- and AIDS-related information, and to formulate recommendations to improve their comprehension of this information. A quantitative, explorative and descriptive survey design was followed. Data were collected by means of questionnaires completed by HIV-positive patients (n = 79 and their family members (n = 34. Descriptive statistical analysis by means of frequency analysis was conducted. Ethical considerations and mechanisms to enhance validity and reliability are discussed. The results indicated that both HIV-positive respondents and their families face social and financial challenges due to unemployment and low income. A strength found in this research is that the majority of respondents are linked to a church, which can be a valuable platform to share information on HIV and AIDS. With regards to sharing, sources and comprehension of HIV- and AIDS-related information, it is apparent that respondents perceived that pre- and post-counselling provided an opportunity for information sharing, but that they need health care workers to spend more time with them, to be non-judgemental and to make more use of visual aids. It furthermore seems that the majority of HIV-positive respondents in this study did comprehend the need for and negotiate for safer sexual practices. It was concluded that

HIV-positive patients’ and their families’ comprehension of HIV- and AIDS-related information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gedina E. de Wet

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Despite acknowledgement of the importance of sharing HIV- and AIDS-related information with people living with HIV, it is still unclear as to what their actual comprehension is of this information. This research was part of a larger project, Tswaragano, conducted in the North-West Province, South Africa, which explored and described the competence, ability and strengths of the family of the HIV-positive patient during home support. This research focused on Potchefstroom in the North-West Province. This article focuses on research with the objective being to explore and describe the comprehension of HIV-positive patients and their families with regard to HIV- and AIDS-related information, and to formulate recommendations to improve their comprehension of this information. A quantitative, explorative and descriptive survey design was followed. Data were collected by means of questionnaires completed by HIV-positive patients (n= 79 and their family members (n= 34. Descriptive statistical analysis by means of frequency analysis was conducted. Ethical considerations and mechanisms to enhance validity and reliability are discussed. The results indicated that both HIV-positive respondents and their families face social and financial challenges due to unemployment and low income. A strength found in this research is that the majority of respondents are linked to a church, which can be a valuable platform to share information on HIV and AIDS. With regards to sharing, sources and comprehension of HIV- and AIDS-related information, it is apparent that respondents perceived that pre- and post-counselling provided an opportunity for information sharing, but that they need health care workers to spend more time with them, to be non-judgemental and to make more use of visual aids. It furthermore seems that the majority of HIV-positive respondents in this study did comprehend the need for and negotiate for safer sexual practices. It was concluded that although

Synthetic biology analysed tools for discussion and evaluation

CERN Document Server

2016-01-01

Synthetic biology is a dynamic, young, ambitious, attractive, and heterogeneous scientific discipline. It is constantly developing and changing, which makes societal evaluation of this emerging new science a challenging task, prone to misunderstandings. Synthetic biology is difficult to capture, and confusion arises not only regarding which part of synthetic biology the discussion is about, but also with respect to the underlying concepts in use. This book offers a useful toolbox to approach this complex and fragmented field. It provides a biological access to the discussion using a 'layer' model that describes the connectivity of synthetic or semisynthetic organisms and cells to the realm of natural organisms derived by evolution. Instead of directly reviewing the field as a whole, firstly our book addresses the characteristic features of synthetic biology that are relevant to the societal discussion. Some of these features apply only to parts of synthetic biology, whereas others are relevant to synthetic bi...

Review of the ideas of the EGRP: comprehensive authorization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osborne, R.V.; Turvey, F.J.

2004-01-01

One of the questions addressed in the review of the ideas of the EGRP was whether the process of comprehensive authorization as described in 'The Way Forward: a Contribution to the Evolution of the System of Radiological Protection' would lead to a better system of protection. The process can be seen as a particular application of the general approach taken in assessing and managing health risks of all kinds. Such an approach is to define the problem and put it in context; to analyse the risks; to examine the options for addressing the risk; to decide which option to implement - i.e., the optimum solution; to implement the decision; and to evaluate the results. The EGRP ideas cover the first four steps. In the review we have tested the process of characterisation, screening, and optimisation called here 'comprehensive authorization' - on a variety of sources and exposures, ranging from cosmic ray exposures of the public to radioactive releases from nuclear facilities. Our finding has been that the scores obtained in the characterisation range from less than 35% to more then 65%, the values suggested (see Part 1 of this presentation) as the criteria for excusing from regulatory action and for indicating the need for stakeholder involvement. The comprehensive authorization process would appear to lead to the same general outcomes as does the present system but in a more unified way without some of the confusing terminology. Characterisation looks to be a helpful way of triggering stakeholder involvement, though there may be some difficulty in arriving at a common set of attributes - some 'tuning' is needed. There is still a need for international recommendations on dose constraints and other quantitative guidelines for consideration in the optimisation process. The process of comprehensive authorization appears to be an evolution of the present system, able to take advantage of those parts of the current system that work well. With the comprehensive authorization

The signal and comprehension approach: decoding and meaning building

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rajaa Aquil

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses Egyptian colloquial Arabic connected speech as a listening problem. The paper proposes a modified approach for teaching listening: The Signal and Comprehension Approach. It is an approach that enhances listening as a skill to attain comprehension in any listening task. The approach focuses on signals laden with linguistic phonological changes that make deciphering connected speech very difficult. By adopting the proposed approach, learners can develop not only their listening skills but also their listening strategies and meaning building. It trains the language learner to crack the code in order to construct meaning. The approach includes pedagogical listening tasks that are based on topdown or world knowledge as well as bottom-up or data driven processes. The discussed tasks use songs as a venue of connected speech. These tasks come from an online course offered through the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech that uses songs to teach Arabic language, culture and history.

Building Comprehensive Strategies for Obstetric Safety: Simulation Drills and Communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Austin, Naola; Goldhaber-Fiebert, Sara; Daniels, Kay; Arafeh, Julie; Grenon, Veronique; Welle, Dana; Lipman, Steven

2016-11-01

As pioneers in the field of patient safety, anesthesiologists are uniquely suited to help develop and implement safety strategies to minimize preventable harm on the labor and delivery unit. Most existing obstetric safety strategies are not comprehensive, lack input from anesthesiologists, are designed with a relatively narrow focus, or lack implementation details to allow customization for different units. This article attempts to address these gaps and build more comprehensive strategies by discussing the available evidence and multidisciplinary authors' local experience with obstetric simulation drills and optimization of team communication.

Comprehensive Psychiatric Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

... Facts for Families Guide Facts for Families - Vietnamese Comprehensive Psychiatric Evaluation No. 52; Updated October 2017 Evaluation ... with serious emotional and behavioral problems need a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation. Comprehensive psychiatric evaluations usually require a ...

76 FR 16285 - Amendments to the Water Quality Regulations, Water Code and Comprehensive Plan To Update Water...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-23

... DELAWARE RIVER BASIN COMMISSION 18 CFR Part 410 Amendments to the Water Quality Regulations, Water Code and Comprehensive Plan To Update Water Quality Criteria for Toxic Pollutants in the Delaware... or ``Commission'') approved amendments to its Water Quality Regulations, Water Code and Comprehensive...

[Comprehensive system integration and networking in operating rooms].

Science.gov (United States)

Feußner, H; Ostler, D; Kohn, N; Vogel, T; Wilhelm, D; Koller, S; Kranzfelder, M

2016-12-01

A comprehensive surveillance and control system integrating all devices and functions is a precondition for realization of the operating room of the future. Multiple proprietary integrated operation room systems are currently available with a central user interface; however, they only cover a relatively small part of all functionalities. Internationally, there are at least three different initiatives to promote a comprehensive systems integration and networking in the operating room: the Japanese smart cyber operating theater (SCOT), the American medical device plug-and-play interoperability program (MDPnP) and the German secure and dynamic networking in operating room and hospital (OR.NET) project supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Within the framework of the internationally advanced OR.NET project, prototype solution approaches were realized, which make short-term and mid-term comprehensive data retrieval systems probable. An active and even autonomous control of the medical devices by the surveillance and control system (closed loop) is expected only in the long run due to strict regulatory barriers.

2014 White Paper on recent issues in bioanalysis: a full immersion in bioanalysis (Part 1--small molecules by LCMS).

Science.gov (United States)

Fluhler, Eric; Hayes, Roger; Garofolo, Fabio; Dumont, Isabelle; Blaye, Olivier Le; Arnold, Mark; Bansal, Surendra; Verhaeghe, Tom; Wilson, Amanda; Stevenson, Lauren; Myler, Heather; Bauer, Ronald; Bergeron, Annik; Bustard, Mark; Cai, Xiao-Yan; Carbone, Mary; Cojocaru, Laura; Desai-Krieger, Daksha; Duggan, Jeff; Haidar, Sam; Ho, Stacy; Ingelse, Benno; Katori, Noriko; Lévesque, Ann; Lowes, Steve; Ma, Mark; Mettke, Katalina; Michon, Josée; Musuku, Adrien; Olah, Timothy; Patel, Shefali; Rose, Mark; Schultz, Gary; Smeraglia, John; Spooner, Neil; Stouffer, Bruce; Vazvaei, Faye; Wakelin-Smith, Jason; Wang, Jian; Welink, Jan; Whale, Emma; Woolf, Eric; Xue, Li; Yang, Tong-Yuan

2014-01-01

The 2014 8th Workshop on Recent Issues in Bioanalysis (8th WRIB), a 5-day full immersion in the evolving field of bioanalysis, took place in Universal City, California, USA. Close to 500 professionals from pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations and regulatory agencies worldwide convened to share, review, discuss and agree on approaches to address current issues of interest in bioanalysis. The topics covered included both small and large molecules, and involved LCMS, hybrid LBA/LCMS, LBA approaches and immunogenicity. From the prolific discussions held during the workshop, specific recommendations are presented in this 2014 White Paper. As with the previous years' editions, this paper acts as a practical tool to help the bioanalytical community continue advances in scientific excellence, improved quality and better regulatory compliance. Due to its length, the 2014 edition of this comprehensive White Paper has been divided into three parts for editorial reasons. This publication (Part 1) covers the recommendations for small molecule bioanalysis using LCMS. Part 2 (Hybrid LBA/LCMS, Electronic Laboratory Notebook and Regulatory Agencies' input) and Part 3 (Large molecules bioanalysis using LBA and Immunogenicity) will be published in the upcoming issues of Bioanalysis.

Cross-lagged relationships between morphological awareness and reading comprehension among Chinese children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yahua Cheng

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The present study examined the developmental relationship between morphological awareness and reading comprehension using a two-year and four-wave cross-lagged design with a sample of 149 Chinese children (80 male and 69 female. We measured children’s morphological awareness, word reading, and reading comprehension from T1 to T4, in addition to phonological awareness, vocabulary knowledge, and general cognitive ability at T1 as control measures. Four plausible cross-lagged models were assessed and compared to examine the direction of the developmental relationships between morphological awareness and reading comprehension over time. Results found support for a reciprocal-causation model, that is, morphological awareness stably predicted subsequent reading comprehension, and the reverse relation was also found. Longitudinal mediation analyses revealed that word reading partially mediated the relationship between morphological awareness and reading comprehension in Chinese children. These findings extend our understanding of the relationship between morphological awareness and reading comprehension. The practical implications for these two developing skills in Chinese children are discussed.

Methods of Comprehensive Assessment for China’s Energy Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Zhijin; Song, Yankui

2018-02-01

In order to assess the sustainable development of China’s energy objectively and accurately, we need to establish a reasonable indicator system for energy sustainability and make a targeted comprehensive assessment with the scientific methods. This paper constructs a comprehensive indicator system for energy sustainability from five aspects of economy, society, environment, energy resources and energy technology based on the theory of sustainable development and the theory of symbiosis. On this basis, it establishes and discusses the assessment models and the general assessment methods for energy sustainability with the help of fuzzy mathematics. It is of some reference for promoting the sustainable development of China’s energy, economy and society.

Study on comprehensive evaluation methods for nuclear fuel cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arie, Kazuo

1999-03-01

This investigation on comprehensive-evaluation-methods for nuclear fuel cycle has been performed through open-literature search. As the results, no proper comprehensive-evaluation-method has been found which integrate several factors to be considered into only one factor. In the evaluation of future advanced nuclear energy systems, it is required to evaluate from both view points of natural resources and natural environment, in addition to the other factors such as safety, economy, and proliferation resistance. It is recommended that clarification of specific items or targets to be evaluated is most important as the first thing to be done. Second, methodology for the evaluation should be discussed. (author)

A comprehensive analysis of coherent rainfall patterns in China and potential drivers. Part I: Interannual variability

Science.gov (United States)

Stephan, Claudia Christine; Klingaman, Nicholas Pappas; Vidale, Pier Luigi; Turner, Andrew George; Demory, Marie-Estelle; Guo, Liang

2018-06-01

Interannual rainfall variability in China affects agriculture, infrastructure and water resource management. To improve its understanding and prediction, many studies have associated precipitation variability with particular causes for specific seasons and regions. Here, a consistent and objective method, Empirical Orthogonal Teleconnection (EOT) analysis, is applied to 1951-2007 high-resolution precipitation observations over China in all seasons. Instead of maximizing the explained space-time variance, the method identifies regions in China that best explain the temporal variability in domain-averaged rainfall. The EOT method is validated by the reproduction of known relationships to the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO): high positive correlations with ENSO are found in eastern China in winter, along the Yangtze River in summer, and in southeast China during spring. New findings include that wintertime rainfall variability along the southeast coast is associated with anomalous convection over the tropical eastern Atlantic and communicated to China through a zonal wavenumber-three Rossby wave. Furthermore, spring rainfall variability in the Yangtze valley is related to upper-tropospheric midlatitude perturbations that are part of a Rossby wave pattern with its origin in the North Atlantic. A circumglobal wave pattern in the northern hemisphere is also associated with autumn precipitation variability in eastern areas. The analysis is objective, comprehensive, and produces timeseries that are tied to specific locations in China. This facilitates the interpretation of associated dynamical processes, is useful for understanding the regional hydrological cycle, and allows the results to serve as a benchmark for assessing general circulation models.

Reading Comprehension: A Computerized Intervention with Primary-age Poor Readers.

Science.gov (United States)

Horne, Joanna Kathryn

2017-05-01

The current study investigates the effectiveness of a computerized reading comprehension programme on the reading accuracy, reading comprehension and reading rate of primary-age poor readers. There is little published literature relating to computerized reading interventions in UK primary schools, and no previous studies have investigated the Comprehension Booster programme. Thirty-eight children (26 boys and 12 girls; aged 6:7 to 11:0) from two schools in East Yorkshire, UK, took part. Half of the participants (the intervention group) undertook the Comprehension Booster programme for a 6-week period, whilst the other half (the control group) continued with their usual teaching. Significant effects of the intervention were found, with increases in reading accuracy and reading comprehension for the intervention group. It is concluded that computerized reading programmes can be effective in improving reading skills, and these are particularly useful for pupils with reading difficulties in disadvantaged areas, where resources are limited and family support in reading is lower. However, such programmes are not a replacement for good teaching, and regular monitoring of children with reading difficulties is required. Further research is necessary to compare the programme used here to other conventional and computerized intervention programmes, using a larger sample. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Comprehensive bibliographic coverage of the social sciences and humanities in a citation index

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sivertsen, Gunnar; Larsen, Birger

2012-01-01

A well-designed and comprehensive citation index for the social sciences and humanities has many potential uses, but has yet to be realised. Significant parts of the scholarly production in these areas are not published in international journals, but in national scholarly journals, in book chapters...... or in monographs. The potential for covering these literatures more comprehensively can now be investigated empirically using a complete publication output data set from the higher education sector of an entire country (Norway). We find that while the international journals in the social sciences and humanities...... are promising for a more comprehensive coverage of the social sciences and humanities....

Effects of reciprocal teaching on reading comprehension of low-achieving adolescents. The importance of specific teacher skills

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M. Okkinga; Dr. A.J.S. van Gelderen; R. van Steensel

2016-01-01

Low-achieving adolescents are known to have difficulties with reading comprehension. This article discusses how reciprocal teaching can improve low-achieving adolescents' reading comprehension in whole-classroom settings (as opposed to small-group settings) and to what extent intervention effects

Effects of reciprocal teaching on reading comprehension of low-achieving adolescents. The importance of specific teacher skills

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Okkinga, Mariska; van Steensel, Roel; van Gelderen, Amos J.S.; Sleegers, Peter J.C.

2018-01-01

Low-achieving adolescents are known to have difficulties with reading comprehension. This article discusses how reciprocal teaching can improve low-achieving adolescents' reading comprehension in whole-classroom settings (as opposed to small-group settings) and to what extent intervention effects

Using Facebook to facilitate course-related discussion between students and faculty members.

Science.gov (United States)

DiVall, Margarita V; Kirwin, Jennifer L

2012-03-12

To use Facebook to facilitate online discussion of the content of a Comprehensive Disease Management course and to evaluate student use and perceptions of this exercise. A Facebook page was created and coordinators encouraged students to "like" the page and to post and view study tips, links, or questions. At the end of the course, students' use and perceptions were evaluated using an anonymous survey tool. At the end of week 1, there were 81 followers, 5 wall posts, and 474 visits to the course Facebook page. At peak use, the page had 117 followers, 18 wall posts, and 1,326 visits. One hundred nineteen students (97% of the class) completed the survey tool. Twenty-six percent of students contributed posts compared to 11% who posted on the course discussion board on Blackboard. Students were more likely to post and be exposed to posts on Facebook than on Blackboard. Students found Facebook helpful and 57% said they would miss Facebook if use was not continued in subsequent courses. Students in a Comprehensive Disease Management course found the addition of a Facebook page a valuable study tool and thought most posts added to their learning.

Building on the Data and Adding to the Discussion: The Experiences and Outcomes of Students with Emotional Disturbance

Science.gov (United States)

Bradley, Renee; Doolittle, Jennifer; Bartolotta, Robert

2008-01-01

The purpose of this article is to add to the discussion regarding identification of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). In addition, the article discusses services that students with EBD receive and their outcomes. The article reviews data from several national longitudinal studies to present a comprehensive picture of issues…

NRC comprehensive records disposition schedule

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-03-01

Title 44 United States Code, ''Public Printing and Documents,'' regulations cited in the General Services Administration's (GSA) ''Federal Information Resources Management Regulations'' (FIRMR), Part 201-9, ''Creation, Maintenance, and Use of Records,'' and regulation issued by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in 36 CFR Chapter XII, Subchapter B, ''Records Management,'' require each agency to prepare and issue a comprehensive records disposition schedule that contains the NARA approved records disposition schedules for records unique to the agency and contains the NARA's General Records Schedules for records common to several or all agencies. The approved records disposition schedules specify the appropriate duration of retention and the final disposition for records created or maintained by the NRC. NUREG-0910, Rev. 2, contains ''NRC's Comprehensive Records Disposition Schedule,'' and the original authorized approved citation numbers issued by NARA. Rev. 2 totally reorganizes the records schedules from a functional arrangement to an arrangement by the host office. A subject index and a conversion table have also been developed for the NRC schedules to allow staff to identify the new schedule numbers easily and to improve their ability to locate applicable schedules

Epilogue: Reading Comprehension Is Not a Single Ability-Implications for Assessment and Instruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamhi, Alan G; Catts, Hugh W

2017-04-20

In this epilogue, we review the 4 response articles and highlight the implications of a multidimensional view of reading for the assessment and instruction of reading comprehension. We reiterate the problems with standardized tests of reading comprehension and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of recently developed authentic tests of reading comprehension. In the "Instruction" section, we review the benefits and limitations of strategy instruction and highlight suggestions from the response articles to improve content and language knowledge. We argue that the only compelling reason to administer a standardized test of reading comprehension is when these tests are necessary to qualify students for special education services. Instruction should be focused on content knowledge, language knowledge, and specific task and learning requirements. This instruction may entail the use of comprehension strategies, particularly those that are specific to the task and focus on integrating new knowledge with prior knowledge.

Promoting At-Risk Preschool Children's Comprehension through Research-Based Strategy Instruction

Science.gov (United States)

DeBruin-Parecki, Andrea; Squibb, Kathryn

2011-01-01

Young children living in poor urban neighborhoods are often at risk for reading difficulties, in part because developing listening comprehension strategies and vocabulary knowledge may not be a priority in their prekindergarten classrooms, whose curriculums typically focus heavily on phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge. Prereading…

From technical quality assurance of radiotherapy to a comprehensive quality of service management system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kehoe, T.; Rugg, L.

1999-01-01

A hierarchy of dosimetry, planning and machine performance checks and evaluations of clinical outcomes have been widely used in radiotherapy for decades. Procedures, codes of practice and guidance are readily available on the technical aspects of radiotherapy treatments, maintenance of which is achieved by quality control checks within a quality assurance approach to radiotherapy. Recently a series of high profile, well-publicised treatment accidents resulting in damage to patients have focused the attention of both professionals and the public. There is now pressure to introduce formal quality management systems. Patients and their relatives/carers are having their expectations raised but their definition of a quality service differs from that generally considered by the oncology professionals. Most departmental managers and staff have wide experience of quality control checks. They understand the philosophy of quality assurance. However the idea of formal quality systems/quality management is alien to them. What is a professional/departmental manager to do? This paper addresses that question by discussing the underlying principles of quality management covering service provision as well as technical radiotherapy treatment delivery and by providing some guidance based on experience in the practical implementation of quality management through three stages of development: a QA programme incorporating checks on essential parts of the technical treatment delivery, a formal documented certified QA system focusing on technical treatment delivery, a comprehensive quality management system covering all parts of a service. One possible action plan is provided indicating progress through the three stages of development based on experience in one large Radiation Oncology Department. With planning, resources and commitment. a comprehensive quality of service management system is achievable in radiotherapy. (author.)

Understanding peace a comprehensive introduction

CERN Document Server

Fox, Michael Allen

2013-01-01

Understanding Peace: A Comprehensive Introduction fills the need for an original, contemporary examination of peace that is challenging, informative, and empowering. This well-researched, fully documented, and highly accessible textbook moves beyond fixation on war to highlight the human capacity for nonviolent cooperation in everyday life and in conflict situations. After deconstructing numerous ideas about war and explaining its heavy costs to humans, animals, and the environment, discussion turns to evidence for the existence of peaceful societies. Further topics include the role of nonviolence in history, the nature of violence and aggression, and the theory and practice of nonviolence. The book offers two new moral arguments against war, and concludes by defining peace carefully from different angles and then describing conditions for creating a culture of peace. Understanding Peace brings a fresh philosophical perspective to discussions of peace, and also addresses down-to-earth issues about effecting ...

Neuroscience in Nazi Europe Part III

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zeidman, Lawrence A; Kondziella, Daniel

2012-01-01

In Part I, neuroscience collaborators with the Nazis were discussed, and in Part II, neuroscience resistors were discussed. In Part III, we discuss the tragedy regarding european neuroscientists who became victims of the Nazi onslaught on “non-Aryan” doctors. Some of these unfortunate...... of neuroscience, we pay homage and do not allow humanity to forget, lest this dark period in history ever repeat itself....

Application of improved topsis method to comprehensive assessment of radiological environmental quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi Dongsheng; Di Yuming; Zhou Chunlin

2007-01-01

TOPSIS is a method for multiobjective decision-making, which can be applied to comprehensive assessment of radiological environmental quality. This paper introduces the principle of TOPSIS method and sets up the model of improved TOPSIS method, discusses the application of improved TOPSIS method to comprehensive assessment of radiological environmental quality. This method sufficiently makes use of the information of the optimal matrix. Analysis of practical examples using MATLAB program shows that it is objectively reasonable and feasible to comprehensively assess radiological environmental quality by improved TOPSIS method. This paper also provides the result of optimum number of sites and compares it with optimal index method based on TOPSIS method and traditional method. (authors)

Making Good Choices: Districts Take the Lead. Comprehensive School Reform.

Science.gov (United States)

North Central Regional Educational Lab., Oak Brook, IL.

Public schools across the country are aiming to improve student performance by engaging in comprehensive school reform (CSR). This guide was created to help school districts make CSR an integral part of their strategies for improving student achievement. Five components for CSR are described: (1) Strategizing, whereby the district supports CSR by…

Understanding Cybercrime from Its Stakeholders’ Perspectives: Part 1 - Attackers

OpenAIRE

Arief, Budi; Bin Adzmi, Mohd Azeem; Gross, Thomas

2015-01-01

Although cybercrime is rampant, there is no authoritative definition of the term\\ud and all that it implies. A comprehensive model and taxonomy of cybercrime, including all of\\ud its stakeholders, would contribute to better cybersecurity. Part one of this two-part series\\ud explores attackers and their motives in detail.

GE Hitachi's parts asset management solutions (PAMS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varno, M.; Lancaster, K.; Detamore, B.; Dinh, H.; Danielsson, J.; Vitaback, F.

2014-01-01

To ensure operational excellence and improve plant reliability, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) has partnered with its customers to develop PARTS Asset Management Solutions (PAMS). PAMS is a comprehensive set of services that enable plants to proactively manage inventory, obtain after-market replacement parts quickly, and resolve obsolescence issues, ensuring operation of equipment is maintained. PAMS includes: - Electronics Exchange Service Program (EESP) - On-demand exchange service program for GE electronics parts that guarantees rapid shipment of parts, results in cost savings and eliminates all obsolescence risk. - Engineering Services (ES) - Service that finds replacement electronics parts for customers encountering obsolescence. - System Assessment Report (SAR) - Comprehensive, customised report for customer systems that provides all information needed to minimise part availability risk. - Inventory Management (IM) - Visual application based on OEM drawings and decades of industry operational experience that enables customers to proactively identify obsolescence and inventory management issues. - Material Solutions (MS) - Fixed price and lead time model that allows the customer to set-up blanket contracts or purchase orders for obtaining needed parts with a focus on reduced overall cycle time. This paper will provide an overview of PAMS and showcase a case study of the PAMS Digitized deployment for an existing GEH customer. (authors)

Discussion of some issues in assessing nuclear and radiation environmental impacts and in related assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pan Ziqiang

1998-01-01

The author discusses some noticeable issues in drafting assessment report of nuclear and radiation environmental impacts and relevant aspects needed to be considered from the point of view of comprehensive environmental assessment. The considerable issue are principles of radioactive waste management, optimization of radiation protection and collective dose, and uncertainty of the assessment. Implementing reporting system on assessment of nuclear and radiation environmental impacts would improve environmental protection for nuclear and radiation facilities. However, trade's, regional , country and global assessment of environmental impacts has to be enhanced. For this purpose, it is necessary to develop methodology of qualitative and quantitative comprehensive assessment

A Comprehensive Expectancy Motivation Model: Implications for Adult Education and Training.

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, Kenneth W.

1989-01-01

The Comprehensive Expectancy Motivation Model is based on valence-instrumentality-expectancy theory. It describes expectancy motivation as part of a larger process that includes past experience, motivation, effort, performance, reward, and need satisfaction. The model has significant implications for the design, marketing, and delivery of adult…

NUTRITION AND FITNESS (PART 1: OBESITY, THE METABOLIC SYNDROME, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, AND CANCER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Artemis P. Simopoulos

2005-12-01

Full Text Available The proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Nutrition and Fitness held in Athens, Greece, on June 91-2, 2004 are presented in the book as the first volume of the series. The objectives of the book are to review/discuss the latest information on nutrition and fitness by taking into consideration i genetic endowment, ii adaptation to the nutritional factors and the effect of various resources of energy on exercise and performance, iii the epidemiology of obesity, iv the relationship of nutrition and fitness to chronic diseases (cardiovascular diseases, syndrome X, obesity, osteoporosis, diabetes, cancer. The book also discusses the classification system of obesity in several countries and compares the diets used in several regions/countries. FEATURES A common, uniform strategy and evidence-based approach to organizing and interpreting the literature is used in all chapters. This textbook is composed of three parts with sub-sections in three of them. The topics of the parts are: i Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome, ii Coronary Heart Disease and iii Cancer. In each specific chapter, an epidemiological picture has been systematically developed from the data available in prospective, retrospective, case-control, and cross-sectional studies. The tables and figures are numerous, helpful and very useful. AUDIENCE This book is almost a compulsory reading for anyone interested in cardiovascular system, nutrition, metabolism, social and preventive medicine, clinical nutrition, diabetics, genetics, obesity, public health, sports medicine and for those wishing to run comprehensive research in this and relevant areas. The fact that the contributors are leading international researchers in this field makes this book more welcome. ASSESSMENT This book is almost a compulsory reading for anyone interested in pediatric injuries and for those wishing to run comprehensive research in this and relevant areas. The fact that the contributors are leading

45 CFR 310.0 - What does this part cover?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... COMPUTERIZED TRIBAL IV-D SYSTEMS AND OFFICE AUTOMATION General Provisions § 310.0 What does this part cover... 45 Public Welfare 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false What does this part cover? 310.0 Section 310.0... and Office Automation including: (a) The automated systems options for comprehensive Tribal IV-D...

Proton beam radiotherapy as part of comprehensive regional nodal irradiation for locally advanced breast cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Verma, Vivek; Iftekaruddin, Zaid; Badar, Nida; Hartsell, William; Han-Chih Chang, John; Gondi, Vinai; Pankuch, Mark; Gao, Ming; Schmidt, Stacey; Kaplan, Darren; McGee, Lisa

2017-05-01

This study evaluates acute toxicity outcomes in breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant proton beam therapy (PBT). From 2011 to 2016, 91 patients (93 cancers) were treated with adjuvant PBT targeting the intact breast/chest wall and comprehensive regional nodes including the axilla, supraclavicular fossa, and internal mammary lymph nodes. Toxicity was recorded weekly during treatment, one month following treatment, and then every 6months according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) v4.0. Charts were retrospectively reviewed to verify toxicities, patient parameters, disease and treatment characteristics, and disease-related outcomes. Median follow-up was 15.5months. Median PBT dose was 50.4 Gray relative biological effectiveness (GyRBE), with subsequent boost as clinically indicated (N=61, median 10 GyRBE). Chemotherapy, when administered, was given adjuvantly (N=42) or neoadjuvantly (N=46). Grades 1, 2, and 3 dermatitis occurred in 23%, 72%, and 5%, respectively. Eight percent required treatment breaks owing to dermatitis. Median time to resolution of dermatitis was 32days. Grades 1, 2, and 3 esophagitis developed in 31%, 33%, and 0%, respectively. PBT displays acceptable toxicity in the setting of comprehensive regional nodal irradiation. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Metaphor-related figurative language comprehension in clinical populations: a critical review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maity Siqueira

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to critically review current studies with respect to definitions,methods, and results on the comprehension of metaphor, metonymy,idioms, and proverbs under the following clinical conditions: aphasia,Alzheimer’s disease, autism, brain injuries, specific language impairment,and Williams Syndrome. A comprehensive search of experimentalpsycholinguistic research was conducted using EBSCOhost, PsychInfo,PUBMED, and Web of Science databases. Thirty-eight studies met thereview inclusion criteria. Results point to deficits in figurative languagecomprehension in all conditions considered, lack of clear definitions ofthe phenomena investigated, and varied methods throughout the sample.Patients’ difficulties are attributed to multiple factors, such as a lack ofTheory of Mind, executive dysfunctions, and poor semantic knowledge.The study of nonliteral aspects of language comprehension in clinicalpopulations reveals a range of disparate impairments. There was no specificfeature about metaphor-related phenomena identified that could, on its own,account for the difficulty some populations have to understand figurativelanguage. Rather, metaphor-related language comprehension difficultiesare often part of pragmatic, linguistic, and/or cognitive impairments.Keywords: Figurative language. Metaphor. Metonymy. Proverb. Clinicalpopulations

Comprehensive evaluation of a digital imaging network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mun, S.K.; Benson, H.; Elliott, L.P.; Horii, S.

1988-01-01

The authors' institution has installed a comprehensive PACS network involving a dozen work stations and ten imaging systems with electronic archiving and teleradiology capability based on the CommView (AT and T) system and its fiberoptic network. Diagnostic reporting stations are placed in neuroradiology, abdominal imaging, general radiology, and ultrasound service. Other review stations are located in intensive care units, radiation medicine, the emergency room, and other sites. Clinical acceptance of such technology varies depending on a number of factors: image quality, image data volume, service style, and personal preference. The general acceptance depends on the work station performance, network response time, and work station environment. Clinical acceptance by radiologists and referring physicians was evaluated. The evaluation project included work-station performance, network performance, system interface, RIS interface, and development of training methods and implementation strategy for other sites. A cost analysis and a study of administrative impact are integral parts of the comprehensive evaluation project

A Concise and Comprehensive Description of Shoulder Pathology and Procedures: The 4D Code System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laurent Lafosse

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Background. We introduce a novel description system of shoulder pathoanatomy. Its goal is to provide a comprehensive three-dimensional picture, with an additional component of time; thus, we call it the 4D code. Methods. Each line of the code starts with right versus left and a time designation. The pillar components are recorded regardless of pathology; they include subscapularis, long head of biceps tendon, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and teres minor. Secondary elements can be added if there is observed pathology, including acromioclavicular joint, glenohumeral joint, labrum, tear configuration, location and extent of partial cuff tear, calcific tendonitis, fatty infiltration, and neuropathy. Results. We provide two illustrative examples of patients which show the ease and effectiveness of the 4D code. With a few simple lines, significant amount of information about patients’ pathology, surgery, and recovery can be easily conveyed. Discussion. We utilize existing validated classification systems for parts of the shoulder and provide a frame work to build a comprehensive picture. The alphanumeric code provides a simple language that is universally understood. The 4D code is concise yet complete. It seeks to improve efficiency and accuracy of the communication, documentation, and visualization of shoulder pathology within individual practices and between providers.

The "Patron Saint" of Comprehensive Education: An Interview with Clyde Chitty. Part Two

Science.gov (United States)

Benn, Melissa; Martin, Jane

2018-01-01

This is the second and concluding part of the interview which Melissa Benn and Jane Martin conducted with Clyde Chitty in the summer of 2017. The first part appeared in the previous issue of the journal, "FORUM," 59(3). When Clyde stepped away from regular duties with the FORUM board, Michael Armstrong dubbed him "the patron saint…

Minimal canonical comprehensive Gröbner systems

OpenAIRE

Manubens, Montserrat; Montes, Antonio

2009-01-01

This is the continuation of Montes' paper "On the canonical discussion of polynomial systems with parameters''. In this paper, we define the Minimal Canonical Comprehensive Gröbner System of a parametric ideal and fix under which hypothesis it exists and is computable. An algorithm to obtain a canonical description of the segments of the Minimal Canonical CGS is given, thus completing the whole MCCGS algorithm (implemented in Maple and Singular). We show its high utility for applications, suc...

Evidence-Based Strategies for Improving the Reading Comprehension of Secondary Students: Implications for Students with Learning Disabilities

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, Silvana M. R.; Gable, Robert A.; Gear, Sabra B.; Hughes, Kimberly C.

2012-01-01

Reading comprehension is a complex skill that places significant demands on students, beginning with elementary school and continuing through the secondary grades. In this article, we provide an overview of possible factors associated with problems in reading comprehension among secondary students with learning disabilities. Discussion underscores…

Introduction to Part 3

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Nils Holger

2015-01-01

A brief contextualising discussion of Western Music History and its relations to Theological Aesthetical Thought since Carolingian Times as an introduction to 3 music articles in Part 3 of the volume.......A brief contextualising discussion of Western Music History and its relations to Theological Aesthetical Thought since Carolingian Times as an introduction to 3 music articles in Part 3 of the volume....

Effects of Reciprocal Teaching on Reading Comprehension of Low-Achieving Adolescents. The Importance of Specific Teacher Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Okkinga, Mariska; van Steensel, Roel; van Gelderen, Amos J. S.; Sleegers, Peter J. C.

2018-01-01

Low-achieving adolescents are known to have difficulties with reading comprehension. This article discusses how reciprocal teaching can improve low-achieving adolescents' reading comprehension in whole-classroom settings (as opposed to small-group settings) and to what extent intervention effects are dependent on teacher behaviour. Over the course…

A Modified Delphi to Identify the Significant Works Pertaining to the Understanding of Reading Comprehension and Content Analysis of the Identified Works

Science.gov (United States)

Zunker, Norma D.; Pearce, Daniel L.

2012-01-01

The first part of this study explored the significant works pertaining to the understanding of reading comprehension using a Modified Delphi Method. A panel of reading comprehension experts identified 19 works they considered to be significant to the understanding of reading comprehension. The panel of experts identified the reasons they…

The relation between children's reading comprehension level and their comprehension of idioms.

Science.gov (United States)

Cain, Kate; Oakhill, Jane; Lemmon, Kate

2005-01-01

We report an investigation of 9-year-olds' ability to interpret idioms in relation to their reading comprehension level. We manipulated whether the idioms were transparent or opaque, whether they were real or novel, whether they were presented in isolation or in a supportive narrative context. As predicted, children were better able to explain the meanings of idioms in context than in isolation. The good and poor comprehenders did not differ in their abilities to interpret transparent idioms in context, but the poor comprehenders were significantly worse at using context to work out the meanings of opaque idioms. The explanation task revealed the source of information used by the children to derive nontarget interpretations. We discuss these findings in relation to idiom processing strategies and Levorato and Cacciari's global elaboration model.

[Qualitative research in health services research - discussion paper, Part 2: Qualitative research in health services research in Germany - an overview].

Science.gov (United States)

Karbach, U; Stamer, M; Holmberg, C; Güthlin, C; Patzelt, C; Meyer, T

2012-08-01

This is the second part of a 3-part discussion paper by the working group on "Qualitative Methods" in the German network of health services research (DNVF) that shall contribute to the development of a memorandum concerning qualitative health services research. It aims to depict the different types of qualitative research that are conducted in health services research in Germany. In addition, the authors present a specific set of qualitative data collection and analysis tools to demonstrate the potential of qualitative research for health services research. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH - AN OVERVIEW: To give an overview of the types of qualitative research conducted in German health services research, the abstracts of the 8th German Conference on Health Services Research were filtered to identify qualitative or mixed-methods studies. These were then analysed by looking at the context which was studied, who was studied, the aims of the studies, and what type of methods were used. Those methods that were mentioned most often for data collection and analysis are described in detail. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AT THE CONFERENCE FOR HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH 2009: Approximately a fifth of all abstracts (n=74) had a qualitative (n=47) or a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative and qualitative methods (n=27). Research aims included needs assessment (41%), survey development (36%), evaluation (22%), and theorizing (1%). Data collection mostly consisted of one-on-one interviews (n=45) and group discussions (n=29). Qualitative content analysis was named in 35 abstracts, 30 abstracts did not reference their method of analysis. In addition to a quantitative summary of the abstract findings, the diversity of fields addressed by qualitative methods is highlighted. Although drawing conclusions on the use of qualitative methods in German health services research from the analysis of conference abstracts is not possible, the overview we present demonstrates the

Understanding Cybercrime from Its Stakeholders’ Perspectives: Part 2 - Defenders and Victims

OpenAIRE

Arief, Budi; Bin Adzmi, Mohd Azeem

2015-01-01

A comprehensive model and taxonomy of cybercrime, including all of its stakeholders, would contribute to better cybersecurity. Part 1 of this two-part series, which appeared in the January/February 2015 issue of IEEE Security & Privacy, explored cyberattackers and their motives in detail. Part 2 focuses on the other key stakeholders: defenders and victims of cybercrime.

Comprehensive Calibration and Validation Site for Information Remote Sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Li, C. R.; Tang, L. L.; Ma, L. L.; Zhou, Y. S.; Gao, C. X.; Wang, N.; Li, X. H.; Wang, X. H.; Zhu, X. H.

2015-04-01

As a naturally part of information technology, Remote Sensing (RS) is strongly required to provide very precise and accurate information product to serve industry, academy and the public at this information economic era. To meet the needs of high quality RS product, building a fully functional and advanced calibration system, including measuring instruments, measuring approaches and target site become extremely important. Supported by MOST of China via national plan, great progress has been made to construct a comprehensive calibration and validation (Cal&Val) site, which integrates most functions of RS sensor aviation testing, EO satellite on-orbit caration and performance assessment and RS product validation at this site located in Baotou, 600km west of Beijing. The site is equipped with various artificial standard targets, including portable and permanent targets, which supports for long-term calibration and validation. A number of fine-designed ground measuring instruments and airborne standard sensors are developed for realizing high-accuracy stepwise validation, an approach in avoiding or reducing uncertainties caused from nonsynchronized measurement. As part of contribution to worldwide Cal&Val study coordinated by CEOS-WGCV, Baotou site is offering its support to Radiometric Calibration Network of Automated Instruments (RadCalNet), with an aim of providing demonstrated global standard automated radiometric calibration service in cooperation with ESA, NASA, CNES and NPL. Furthermore, several Cal&Val campaigns have been performed during the past years to calibrate and validate the spaceborne/airborne optical and SAR sensors, and the results of some typical demonstration are discussed in this study.

Role of polyphenols and nonpolyphenols against toxicity induced by fluoride: a comprehensive review.

Science.gov (United States)

Claudio, Samuel R; Handan, Bianca A; Gomes de Moura, Carolina F; Viana, Milena de Barros; Yamauchi, Liria Y; Aguiar, Odair; Oshima, Celina T F; Ribeiro, Daniel A

2018-04-17

Since its discovery as an antimicrobial agent, fluoride has been used in the control of dental caries. Many studies have shown that the chronic exposure of fluoride in high concentrations causes adverse effects in multiple organs; the use of bioactive compounds present in foods as a tool to mitigate the effects of fluoride could potentially be useful for populations in different parts of the world are exposed to fluoride in a chronic and systemic way. Thus, the aim of this comprehensive review is to present and discuss the published papers that focused on the use of polyphenols and nonpolyphenols that can mitigate the harmful activities promoted by fluoride exposure. Certainly, these data will contribute toward a better understanding of the role of food compounds in the pathological outcomes induced by fluoride. The new information will be added to that already available for regulatory purposes as a safe way to promote oral healthcare and prevent oral carcinogenesis.

Comprehensive Performance Nutrition for Special Operations Forces.

Science.gov (United States)

Daigle, Karen A; Logan, Christi M; Kotwal, Russ S

2015-01-01

Special Operations Forces (SOF) training, combat, and contingency operations are unique and demanding. Performance nutrition within the Department of Defense has emphasized that nutrition is relative to factors related to the desired outcome, which includes successful performance of mentally and physically demanding operations and missions of tactical and strategic importance, as well as nonoperational assignments. Discussed are operational, nonoperational, and patient categories that require different nutrition strategies to facilitate category-specific performance outcomes. Also presented are 10 major guidelines for a SOF comprehensive performance nutrition program, practical nutrition recommendations for Special Operators and medical providers, as well as resources for dietary supplement evaluation. Foundational health concepts, medical treatment, and task-specific performance factors should be considered when developing and systematically implementing a comprehensive SOF performance nutrition program. When tailored to organizational requirements, SOF unit- and culture-specific nutrition education and services can optimize individual Special Operator performance, overall unit readiness, and ultimately, mission success. 2015.

Calibration of a reading comprehension test for Portuguese students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irene Cadime

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Reading comprehension assessments are important for determining which students are performing below the expected levels for their grade's normative group. However, instruments measuring this competency should also be able to assess students' gains in reading comprehension as they move from one grade to the next. In this paper, we present the construction and calibration process of three vertically scaled test forms of an original reading comprehension test to assess second, third and fourth grade students. A sample of 843 students was used. Rasch model analyses were employed during the following three phases of this study: (a analysis of the items' pool, (b item selection for the test forms, and (c test forms' calibration. Results suggest that a one dimension structure underlies the data. Mean-square residuals (infit and outfit indicated that the data fitted the model. Thirty items were assigned to each test form, by selecting the most adequate items for each grade in terms of difficulty. The reliability coefficients for each test form were high. Limitations and potentialities of the developed test forms are discussed.

Learner Perceptions of Reliance on Captions in EFL Multimedia Listening Comprehension

Science.gov (United States)

Leveridge, Aubrey Neil; Yang, Jie Chi

2014-01-01

Instructional support has been widely discussed as a strategy to optimize student-learning experiences. This study examines instructional support within the context of a multimedia language-learning environment, with the predominant focus on learners' perceptions of captioning support for listening comprehension. The study seeks to answer two…

The Relationship of Error Rate and Comprehension in Second and Third Grade Oral Reading Fluency.

Science.gov (United States)

Abbott, Mary; Wills, Howard; Miller, Angela; Kaufman, Journ

2012-01-01

This study explored the relationships of oral reading speed and error rate on comprehension with second and third grade students with identified reading risk. The study included 920 2nd graders and 974 3rd graders. Participants were assessed using Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) and the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test (WRMT) Passage Comprehension subtest. Results from this study further illuminate the significant relationships between error rate, oral reading fluency, and reading comprehension performance, and grade-specific guidelines for appropriate error rate levels. Low oral reading fluency and high error rates predict the level of passage comprehension performance. For second grade students below benchmark, a fall assessment error rate of 28% predicts that student comprehension performance will be below average. For third grade students below benchmark, the fall assessment cut point is 14%. Instructional implications of the findings are discussed.

Print and Digital Texts: Evaluating the Differences in Reading Comprehension Strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Maynard, Stephanie Elizabeth

2016-01-01

Concerns about the reading comprehension skills of students in the United States have been raised partly because of the introduction of digital products into their lives and the classroom setting. The Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards results from 2013 that were provided by the Arizona Department of Education indicated that reading scores…

Testing audiovisual comprehension tasks with questions embedded in videos as subtitles: a pilot multimethod study

OpenAIRE

Casañ Núñez, Juan Carlos

2017-01-01

[EN] Listening, watching, reading and writing simultaneously in a foreign language is very complex. This paper is part of wider research which explores the use of audiovisual comprehension questions imprinted in the video image in the form of subtitles and synchronized with the relevant fragments for the purpose of language learning and testing. Compared to viewings where the comprehension activity is available only on paper, this innovative methodology may provide some benefits. Among them, ...

Comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kruse, Marie; Hochstrasser, Stefan; Zwisler, Ann-Dorthe O

2006-01-01

OBJECTIVES: The costs of comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation are established and compared to the corresponding costs of usual care. The effect on health-related quality of life is analyzed. METHODS: An unprecedented and very detailed cost assessment was carried out, as no guidelines existed...... and may be as high as euro 1.877. CONCLUSIONS: Comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation is more costly than usual care, and the higher costs are not outweighed by a quality of life gain. Comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation is, therefore, not cost-effective....

Text Analysis: Critical Component of Planning for Text-Based Discussion Focused on Comprehension of Informational Texts

Science.gov (United States)

Kucan, Linda; Palincsar, Annemarie Sullivan

2018-01-01

This investigation focuses on a tool used in a reading methods course to introduce reading specialist candidates to text analysis as a critical component of planning for text-based discussions. Unlike planning that focuses mainly on important text content or information, a text analysis approach focuses both on content and how that content is…

Resume and discussion of session on direct heavy ion reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hansen, O.

1983-01-01

A conference divides into sessions, but the physics does not always respect such divisions. I found the subject of barrier penetrabilities viewed in a coupled channels picture new, exciting and central to all heavy-ion reaction dynamics. The subject was discussed in bits and pieces over three different sessions, partly in the talks by Winther, Landowne, Braun-Munzinger and Broglia, and partly from the floor by the same people and by Smilanski, I have concentrated on that subject alone and I therefore must apologize to the speakers in my session who covered different material, that definitely merited further discussions. Also, I apologize to other session chairmen, whose territory I have invaded. (orig.)

Comprehension of direct and indirect sarcastic remarks in children and adolescents with Tourette's syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Drury, Helena; Shah, Shivani; Stern, Jeremy S; Crawford, Sarah; Channon, Shelley

2018-05-01

Previous research has reported that aspects of social cognition such as nonliteral language comprehension are impaired in adults with Tourette's syndrome (TS), but little is known about social cognition in children and adolescents with TS. The present study aims to evaluate a measure of sarcasm comprehension suitable for use with children and adolescents (Experiment 1), and to examine sarcasm comprehension in children and adolescents with TS-alone or TS and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, the measure of sarcasm comprehension was found to be sensitive to differences in nonliteral language comprehension for typically-developing children aged 10 to 11 years old compared to children aged 8 to 9 years old; the older group performed significantly better on the comprehension of scenarios ending with either direct or indirect sarcastic remarks, whereas the two age groups did not differ on the comprehension of scenarios ending with sincere remarks. In Experiment 2, both the TS-alone and TS+ADHD groups performed below the level of the control participants on the comprehension of indirect sarcasm items but not on the comprehension of direct sarcasm items and sincere items. Those with TS+ADHD also performed below the level of the control participants on measures of interference control and fluency. The findings are discussed with reference to the possible contribution of executive functioning and mentalizing to the patterns of performance.

Discrimination and instructional comprehension: guided discretion, racial bias, and the death penalty.

Science.gov (United States)

Lynch, M; Haney, C

2000-06-01

This study links two previously unrelated lines of research: the lack of comprehension of capital penalty-phase jury instructions and discriminatory death sentencing. Jury-eligible subjects were randomly assigned to view one of four versions of a simulated capital penalty trial in which the race of defendant (Black or White) and the race of victim (Black or White) were varied orthogonally. Dependent measures included a sentencing verdict (life without the possibility of parole or the death penalty), ratings of penalty phase evidence, and a test of instructional comprehension. Results indicated that instructional comprehension was poor overall and that, although Black defendants were treated only slightly more punitively than White defendants in general, discriminatory effects were concentrated among participants whose comprehension was poorest. In addition, the use of penalty phase evidence differed as a function of race of defendant and whether the participant sentenced the defendant to life or death. The study suggest that racially biased and capricious death sentencing may be in part caused or exacerbated by the inability to comprehend penalty phase instructions.

Synthesis of the working group discussions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-01-01

The workshop was an important step in the establishment of a strategy to review the part of SKB's safety case that is devoted to the demonstration of the isolation function of a future spent fuel repository. The emphasis was on identification rather than resolution of issues in this workshop synthesis. Subsequent steps therefore have to be taken within the Swedish regulatory bodies to follow up on this report and suggest activities within the regulators research programmes, as well as organise more detailed issue evaluation for different experts group. Ongoing and planned activities within the SKB programme that are related to the issues identified in this report would have to be reviewed in detail. The great emphasis of isolation of spent nuclear fuel rather than, e.g., radionuclide retardation and dilution, featured in the SR97 performance assessment, suggests that the Swedish regulators have to be prepared to review this part of the coming PAs in greater detail. The specific features of the workshop that contributed to the rather comprehensive description of issues relevant for future licensing activities are: The combined consideration of the areas of the copper canister and bentonite buffer, the assessment of both chemical and mechanical aspects of EBS and canister integrity, the use of a published comprehensive performance assessment (SR-97) as a basis for discussions, the active participation by SKB providing additional information on recent developments. There is an educational value for external consultants and researchers, as well as SKI staff, in addressing the broad subject areas relevant for the EBS isolation function. However, a broad coverage to some extent necessitates rather superficial view of the various issues under consideration. It should be noted that the descriptions in this synthesis can by no means be regarded as fully comprehensive, and that additional key issues may be identified in the SKB programme as well as future regulatory

Why avoid the hippocampus? A comprehensive review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gondi, Vinai; Tome, Wolfgang A.; Mehta, Minesh P.

2010-01-01

In this review article, we provide a detailed and comprehensive discussion of the rationale for using modern IMRT techniques to spare the subgranular zone of the hippocampus during cranial irradiation. We review the literature on neurocognitive effects of cranial irradiation; discuss clinical and preclinical data associating damage to neural progrenitor cells located in subgranular zone of the hippocampus with radiation-induced neurocognitive decline, specifically in terms of short-term memory formation and recall; and present a review of our pilot investigations into the feasibility and risks of sparing the subgranular zone of the hippocampus during whole-brain radiotherapy for brain metastases. We also introduce our phase II cooperative group clinical trial (RTOG 0933) designed to prospectively evaluate the postulated neurocognitive benefit of hippocampal subgranular zone sparing and scheduled to open in 2010.

Online Test Tool to Determine the CEFR Reading Comprehension Level of Text

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Velleman, Eric Martin; van der Geest, Thea

2014-01-01

On the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) scale, the average reading comprehension level of the Dutch population is B1 and the average level of text provided by Dutch government organisations requires a considerably higher reading skills level (C1). This means that part of

Northeast Artificial Intelligence Consortium Annual Report 1987. Volume 2, Part B. Discussing, Using, and Recognizing Plans

Science.gov (United States)

1989-03-01

1978. Williams. B.C. Qualitative Analysis of MOS Circuits. Artificial Inteligence . 1984. 24.. Wilson. K. From Association to Structure. Amsterdam:North...D-A208 378 RADC-TR-88-324, Vol II (of nine), Part B Interim Report March 1969 4. NORTHEAST ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CONSORTIUM ANNUAL REPORT 1987...II (of nine), Part B 6a. NAME OF PERFORMING ORGANIZATION 6b. OFFICE SYMBOL 7a. NAME OF MONITORING ORGANIZATION Northeast Artificial (ff ’aolicbl

Comprehensive metabolic panel

Science.gov (United States)

Metabolic panel - comprehensive; Chem-20; SMA20; Sequential multi-channel analysis with computer-20; SMAC20; Metabolic panel 20 ... Chernecky CC, Berger BJ. Comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP) - blood. In: ... Tests and Diagnostic Procedures . 6th ed. St Louis, MO: ...

[Discussion on logistics management of medical consumables].

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Sutong; Wang, Miao; Jiang, Xiali

2011-09-01

Management of medical consumables is an important part of modern hospital management. In modern medical behavior, drugs and medical devices act directly on the patient, and are important factors affecting the quality of medical practice. With the increasing use of medical materials, based on practical application, this article proposes the management model of medical consumables, and discusses the essence of medical materials logistics management.

Cognitive Correlates of Listening Comprehension

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Young-Suk; Phillips, Beth

2014-01-01

In an effort to understand cognitive foundations of oral language comprehension (i.e., listening comprehension), we examined how inhibitory control, theory of mind, and comprehension monitoring are uniquely related to listening comprehension over and above vocabulary and age. A total of 156 children in kindergarten and first grade from…

Internet-Diskussionsforen als Teil eines studentenzentrierten Lehrkonzepts in der Pharmakologie [Internet discussion forums as part of a student-centred teaching concept of pharmacology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarikas, Antonio

2013-02-01

Full Text Available [english] Introduction: The world wide web opens up new opportunities to interconnect electronic and classroom teaching and to promote active student participation. In this project article we describe the use of internet discussion forums as part of a student-centred teaching concept of pharmacology and discuss its advantages and disadvantages based on evaluation data and current literature. Methods and Results: Final year medical students at the Technische Universität München (Munich, Germany with the elective pharmacology moderated an internet forum that allowed all students to discuss pharmacology-related questions. Evaluation results of forum participants and elective students demonstrated a learning benefit of internet forums in pharmacology teaching. Conclusion: Internet discussion forums offer an easy-to-implement and effective way to actively engage students and increase the learning benefit of electronic and classroom teaching in pharmacology. [german] Einleitung und Ziele: Das World Wide Web eröffnet neue Möglichkeiten, Online- und Präsenzlehre zu vernetzen und Studierende aktiv in die Lehre einzubinden. In dieser Projektvorstellung beschreiben wir den Einsatz von Internet-Diskussionsforen als Teil eines studentenzentrierten Lehrkonzepts in der Pharmakologie und diskutieren Vor- und Nachteile anhand von Evaluations- und Literaturdaten. Methode und Ergebnisse: Studierende im praktischen Jahr (PJ mit Wahlfach Pharmakologie übernahmen die Moderation eines Internetforums, das allen Studierenden die zeit- und ortsunabhängige Diskussion pharmakologischer Fragen aus Online- und Präsenzlehre ermöglichte. Evaluationsergebnisse von Forumsteilnehmern und PJ-Studierenden belegten den didaktischen Nutzen von Internetforen für die Pharmakologieausbildung. Schlussfolgerung: Internet-Diskussionsforen bieten eine effektive Möglichkeit, Studierende aktiv in die Lehre einzubinden und den Lernerfolg von Online- und Präsenzlehre zu fördern.

Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography for the analysis of organohalogenated micro-contaminants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Korytar, P.; Haglund, P.; Boer, de J.; Brinkman, U.A.Th.

2006-01-01

We explain the principles of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC × GC), and discuss key instrumental aspects - with emphasis on column combinations and mass spectrometric detection. As the main item of interest, we review the potential of GC × GC for the analysis of

The comprehension of numerical relationships in the learning of fractions: a comparative study with Brazilian and Portuguese children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Isabel Cristina Peregrina Vasconcelos

Full Text Available Abstract: The understanding of rational numbers is one of the major conceptual challenges faced by students in mathematics learning in basic education. Regarding fractions, to establish the inverse relationship between the numerator and the denominator becomes a key issue in concept formation. The main goals of this study were: to understand if the inverse relationship between smaller quantities than the unit in quotient and part-whole situations influences the learning of fractions; and to compare Brazilian and Portuguese students’ comprehension of the inverse relationship between quantities in fraction problems, using quotient and part-whole situations. The results indicate that students have a better grasp of the inverse relationship between the quantities in the quotient situation and also showed that Portuguese students performed significantly better than Brazilian students in the both types of situations. The discrepancy in student performance can be explained by differences in the curricula of mathematics in grade four in these countries. Implications for the teaching of mathematics in these two countries were also discussed.

Content Analysis Coding Schemes for Online Asynchronous Discussion

Science.gov (United States)

Weltzer-Ward, Lisa

2011-01-01

Purpose: Researchers commonly utilize coding-based analysis of classroom asynchronous discussion contributions as part of studies of online learning and instruction. However, this analysis is inconsistent from study to study with over 50 coding schemes and procedures applied in the last eight years. The aim of this article is to provide a basis…

Discussion of participation possibilities at KEK

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gill, D.R.

1989-05-01

A group of physicists at TRIUMF have been meeting regularly to discuss options for involvement in experiments that relate closely to the physics that would be undertaken at the KAON Factory. At a meeting held to discuss possibilities for work at KEK in the light of the new facilities that are under construction or proposed as part of the JHP, the topics considered ranged from the ion source to kaon beams. They included measurements of kaon-nucleon elastic and inelastic scattering in the 1600 to 2000 MeV range; transport of polarized proton beams through synchrotrons; the development of laser pumped polarized ion sources and volume cusp H - sources; studies of the problems that high intensity beams will present for the maintenance of H - stripping foils; collaboration on radioactive beam facilities; production of hypernuclei; low energy kaon scattering; and new types of detectors

D 3.6 Africa: Discussion report

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mandrup, Thomas

2017-01-01

in general, sub-matter experts, experts on peace and conflict studies, and practitioners in crisis management. A total of eighteen speakers explored the effectiveness of international assistance to the four African examples from different perspectives, drawing a rather pessimistic picture of the current......One round-table event was organised within the framework of Work Package III, part of the IECEU project. The events focused on the WP3’s four case studies: Libya, CAR, South Sudan and DRC. This report provides information on the round-table event and presents the main points of discussion...... that emerged during it. The round-table discussion and the subsequent seminar on the Effectiveness of International Assistance and Local Ownership in the four case studies was organised by the Royal Danish Defence College on 31 October-1. November 2016. The round-table participants included experts on Africa...

A Comprehensive Definition for Integrative Oncology.

Science.gov (United States)

Witt, Claudia M; Balneaves, Lynda G; Cardoso, Maria J; Cohen, Lorenzo; Greenlee, Heather; Johnstone, Peter; Kücük, Ömer; Mailman, Josh; Mao, Jun J

2017-11-01

Integrative oncology, which is generally understood to refer to the use of a combination of complementary medicine therapies in conjunction with conventional cancer treatments, has been defined in different ways, but there is no widely accepted definition. We sought to develop and establish a consensus for a comprehensive definition of the field of integrative oncology. We used a mixed-methods approach that included a literature analysis and a consensus procedure, including an interdisciplinary expert panel and surveys, to develop a comprehensive and acceptable definition for the term "integrative oncology." The themes identified in the literature and from the expert discussion were condensed into a two-sentence definition. Survey respondents had very positive views on the draft definition, and their comments helped to shape the final version. The final definition for integrative oncology is: "Integrative oncology is a patient-centered, evidence-informed field of cancer care that utilizes mind and body practices, natural products, and/or lifestyle modifications from different traditions alongside conventional cancer treatments. Integrative oncology aims to optimize health, quality of life, and clinical outcomes across the cancer care continuum and to empower people to prevent cancer and become active participants before,during, and beyond cancer treatment." This short and comprehensive definition for the term integrative oncology will facilitate a better understanding and communication of this emerging field. This definition will also drive focused and cohesive effort to advance the field of integrative oncology. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Impact of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with mass spectrometry on food analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Tranchida, Peter Q; Purcaro, Giorgia; Maimone, Mariarosa; Mondello, Luigi

2016-01-01

Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with mass spectrometry has been on the separation-science scene for about 15 years. This three-dimensional method has made a great positive impact on various fields of research, and among these that related to food analysis is certainly at the forefront. The present critical review is based on the use of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with mass spectrometry in the untargeted (general qualitative profiling and fingerprinting) and targeted analysis of food volatiles; attention is focused not only on its potential in such applications, but also on how recent advances in comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with mass spectrometry will potentially be important for food analysis. Additionally, emphasis is devoted to the many instances in which straightforward gas chromatography with mass spectrometry is a sufficiently-powerful analytical tool. Finally, possible future scenarios in the comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with mass spectrometry food analysis field are discussed. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Reading Comprehension and Translation Performance of English Linguistics Students of Hung Vuong University: A Correlational Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cuc Thi Kim Pham

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The study aimed to correlate the reading comprehension and translation performance of English linguistic students, then inform some pedagogical implications for the teaching of reading comprehension in translation classes in order to enhance the translation quality performed by the students. To this end, 45 junior students of English linguistics specialization of Hung Vuong University, including 5 males and 40 females, aged from 20 to 22, were subject to a TOEFL reading comprehension test and a translation performance test (ATA guidelines, 2011. Data were analyzed using the Pearson Correlation, SPSS version 20.0. The coefficient correlation of students’ reading comprehension and their translation performance was noted 0.721 at the significant level of 0.01. It was found that the Reading comprehension was closely related to translation performance. Along the reading comprehension question types, translation performance was affected by the ability to determine gist and main ideas of the text, identify the vocabulary, infer the implied meanings and identify the writer’s style and attitudes. The results were discussed, and implications for teaching reading comprehension to enhance translation performance were presented.

Testing audiovisual comprehension tasks with questions embedded in videos as subtitles: a pilot multimethod study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Carlos Casañ Núñez

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Listening, watching, reading and writing simultaneously in a foreign language is very complex. This paper is part of wider research which explores the use of audiovisual comprehension questions imprinted in the video image in the form of subtitles and synchronized with the relevant fragments for the purpose of language learning and testing. Compared to viewings where the comprehension activity is available only on paper, this innovative methodology may provide some benefits. Among them, it could reduce the conflict in visual attention between watching the video and completing the task, by spatially and temporally approximating the questions and the relevant fragments. The technique is seen as especially beneficial for students with a low proficiency language level. The main objectives of this study were to investigate if embedded questions had an impact on SFL students’ audiovisual comprehension test performance and to find out what examinees thought about them. A multimethod design (Morse, 2003 involving the sequential collection of three quantitative datasets was employed. A total of 41 learners of Spanish as a foreign language (SFL participated in the study (22 in the control group and 19 in the experimental one. Informants were selected by non-probabilistic sampling. The results showed that imprinted questions did not have any effect on test performance. Test-takers’ attitudes towards this methodology were positive. Globally, students in the experimental group agreed that the embedded questions helped them to complete the tasks. Furthermore, most of them were in favour of having the questions imprinted in the video in the audiovisual comprehension test of the final exam. These opinions are in line with those obtained in previous studies that looked into experts’, SFL students’ and SFL teachers’ views about this methodology (Casañ Núñez, 2015a, 2016a, in press-b. On the whole, these studies suggest that this technique has

Narrative comprehension and production in children with SLI: An eye movement study

Science.gov (United States)

ANDREU, LLORENÇ; SANZ-TORRENT, MONICA; OLMOS, JOAN GUÀRDIA; MACWHINNEY, BRIAN

2014-01-01

This study investigates narrative comprehension and production in children with specific language impairment (SLI). Twelve children with SLI (mean age 5; 8 years) and 12 typically developing children (mean age 5; 6 years) participated in an eye-tracking experiment designed to investigate online narrative comprehension and production in Catalan- and Spanish-speaking children with SLI. The comprehension task involved the recording of eye movements during the visual exploration of successive scenes in a story, while listening to the associated narrative. With regard to production, the children were asked to retell the story, while once again looking at the scenes, as their eye movements were monitored. During narrative production, children with SLI look at the most semantically relevant areas of the scenes fewer times than their age-matched controls, but no differences were found in narrative comprehension. Moreover, the analyses of speech productions revealed that children with SLI retained less information and made more semantic and syntactic errors during retelling. Implications for theories that characterize SLI are discussed. PMID:21453036

Adesão à terapêutica medicamentosa: elementos para a discussão de conceitos e pressupostos adotados na literatura Adherence to prescribed therapy: points for concepts and presuppositions discussion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvana Nair Leite

2003-01-01

Full Text Available A questão da adesão à terapêutica tem sido discutida e estudada por profissionais de saúde por se tratar de um ponto fundamental para a resolubilidade de um tratamento. Neste artigo são discutidos, a partir de estudos de adesão à terapêutica medicamentosa relatados na literatura, os significados adotados para o fenômeno da adesão e os fatores a ele relacionados. Estudos de adesão à terapêutica foram analisados quanto aos seus conceitos e pressupostos, metodologias empregadas e o papel designado para profissionais e pacientes envolvidos. São discutidos os pressupostos teóricos encontrados nos estudos, e os fatores relacionados ao tema, que envolvem questões relativas ao tratamento, ao profissional de saúde e à doença, e as metodologias adotadas nestes estudos, que são baseadas em métodos diretos e indiretos e qualitativos, alguns com abordagem fiscalizadora. Conclui-se que os estudos no campo dos medicamentos em geral não priorizam o papel do paciente no processo saúde/doença/tratamento, comprometendo a capacidade dos estudos de obter uma compreensão mais ampla e profunda sobre o tema.Research and discussion on compliance with medical regimens have been taken because compliance is an important part of a treatment. This paper discusses the meanings adopted to compliance and the factors associated to it in the current literature. Presuppositions, concepts, methodologies, target public and the doctor and patient roles approach of studies on compliance were analyzed. The factors associated with compliance referred in the literature, such as the type of treatment, illness and doctors communication; the qualitative, direct and indirect methodologies adopted, many times with inspect character, were also discussed. We conclude that studies of medications use generally do not emphasize the patient role in the health/illness/treatment process, and so, can not be as comprehensive as necessary.

The Organization and Anatomy of Narrative Comprehension and Expression in Lewy Body Spectrum Disorders

Science.gov (United States)

Ash, Sharon; Xie, Sharon; Gross, Rachel Goldmann; Dreyfuss, Michael; Boller, Ashley; Camp, Emily; Morgan, Brianna; O’Shea, Jessica; Grossman, Murray

2012-01-01

Objective Patients with Lewy body spectrum disorders (LBSD) such as Parkinson’s disease (PD), Parkinson’s disease with dementia (PDD), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) exhibit deficits in both narrative comprehension and narrative expression. The present research examines the hypothesis that these impairments are due to a material-neutral deficit in organizational executive resources rather than to impairments of language per se. We predicted that comprehension and expression of narrative would be similarly affected and that deficits in both expression and comprehension of narrative would be related to the same anatomic distribution of prefrontal disease. Method We examined 29 LBSD patients and 26 healthy seniors on their comprehension and expression of narrative discourse. For comprehension, we measured accuracy and latency in judging events with high and low associativity from familiar scripts such as “going fishing.” The expression task involved maintaining the connectedness of events while narrating a story from a wordless picture book. Results LBSD patients were impaired on measures of narrative organization during both comprehension and expression relative to healthy seniors. Measures of organization during narrative expression and comprehension were significantly correlated with each other. These measures both correlated with executive measures but not with neuropsychological measures of lexical semantics or grammar. Voxel-based morphometry revealed overlapping regressions relating frontal atrophy to narrative comprehension, narrative expression, and measures of executive control. Conclusions Difficulty with narrative discourse in LBSD stems in part from a deficit of organization common to comprehension and expression. This deficit is related to prefrontal cortical atrophy in LBSD. PMID:22309984

The Role of Embodiment and Individual Empathy Levels in Gesture Comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Jospe, Karine; Flöel, Agnes; Lavidor, Michal

2017-01-01

Research suggests that the action-observation network is involved in both emotional-embodiment (empathy) and action-embodiment (imitation) mechanisms. Here we tested whether empathy modulates action-embodiment, hypothesizing that restricting imitation abilities will impair performance in a hand gesture comprehension task. Moreover, we hypothesized that empathy levels will modulate the imitation restriction effect. One hundred twenty participants with a range of empathy scores performed gesture comprehension under restricted and unrestricted hand conditions. Empathetic participants performed better under the unrestricted compared to the restricted condition, and compared to the low empathy participants. Remarkably however, the latter showed the exactly opposite pattern and performed better under the restricted condition. This pattern was not found in a facial expression recognition task. The selective interaction of embodiment restriction and empathy suggests that empathy modulates the way people employ embodiment in gesture comprehension. We discuss the potential of embodiment-induced therapy to improve empathetic abilities in individuals with low empathy.

Earth Summit Science, policy discussed

Science.gov (United States)

Leath, Audrey T.

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the “Earth Summit,” convenes in Rio de Janeiro on June 3. President Bush has pledged to attend part of the 2-week conference. The highlight of the summit will be the signing of an international framework convention to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The final elements of the agreement were negotiated in New York last week by representative of 143 countries. In anticipation of the Rio conference, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held two standing-roomonly hearings, reviewing the scientific basis for global warming due to greenhouse gases and discussing the details of the proposed convention.

Correlates of lower comprehension of informed consent among participants enrolled in a cohort study in Pune, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Joglekar, Neelam S; Deshpande, Swapna S; Sahay, Seema; Ghate, Manisha V; Bollinger, Robert C; Mehendale, Sanjay M

2013-03-01

Optimum comprehension of informed consent by research participants is essential yet challenging. This study explored correlates of lower comprehension of informed consent among 1334 participants of a cohort study aimed at estimating HIV incidence in Pune, India. As part of the informed consent process, a structured comprehension tool was administered to study participants. Participants scoring ≥90% were categorised into the 'optimal comprehension group', whilst those scoring 80-89% were categorised into the 'lower comprehension group'. Data were analysed to identify sociodemographic and behavioural correlates of lower consent comprehension. The mean ± SD comprehension score was 94.4 ± 5.00%. Information pertaining to study-related risks was not comprehended by 61.7% of participants. HIV-negative men (adjusted OR [AOR] = 4.36, 95% CI 1.71-11.05) or HIV-negative women (AOR = 13.54, 95% CI 6.42-28.55), illiteracy (AOR= 1.65, 95% CI 1.19-2.30), those with a history of multiple partners (AOR = 1.73, 95% CI 1.12-2.66) and those never using condoms (AOR = 1.35, 95% CI 1.01-1.82) were more likely to have lower consent comprehension. We recommend exploration of domains of lower consent comprehension using a validated consent comprehension tool. Improved education in these specific domains would optimise consent comprehension among research participants.

2014 White Paper on recent issues in bioanalysis: a full immersion in bioanalysis (Part 2 - hybrid LBA/LCMS, ELN & regulatory agencies' input).

Science.gov (United States)

Dufield, Dawn; Neubert, Hendrik; Garofolo, Fabio; Kirkovsky, Leo; Stevenson, Lauren; Dumont, Isabelle; Kaur, Surinder; Xu, Keyang; Alley, Stephen C; Szapacs, Matthew; Arnold, Mark; Bansal, Surendra; Haidar, Sam; Welink, Jan; Le Blaye, Olivier; Wakelin-Smith, Jason; Whale, Emma; Ishii-Watabe, Akiko; Bustard, Mark; Katori, Noriko; Amaravadi, Lakshmi; Aubry, Anne-Françoise; Beaver, Chris; Bergeron, Annik; Cai, Xiao-Yan; Cojocaru, Laura; DeSilva, Binodh; Duggan, Jeff; Fluhler, Eric; Gorovits, Boris; Gupta, Swati; Hayes, Roger; Ho, Stacy; Ingelse, Benno; King, Lindsay; Lévesque, Ann; Lowes, Steve; Ma, Mark; Musuku, Adrien; Myler, Heather; Olah, Timothy; Patel, Shefali; Rose, Mark; Schultz, Gary; Smeraglia, John; Swanson, Steven; Torri, Albert; Vazvaei, Faye; Wilson, Amanda; Woolf, Eric; Xue, Li; Yang, Tong-Yuan

2014-01-01

The 2014 8th Workshop on Recent Issues in Bioanalysis (8th WRIB), a 5-day full immersion in the evolving field of bioanalysis, took place in Universal City, California, USA. Close to 500 professionals from pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations and regulatory agencies worldwide convened to share, review, discuss and agree on approaches to address current issues of interest in bioanalysis. The topics covered included both small and large molecules, and involved LCMS, hybrid LBA/LCMS, LBA approaches and immunogenicity. From the prolific discussions held during the workshop, specific recommendations are presented in this 2014 White Paper. As with the previous years' editions, this paper acts as a practical tool to help the bioanalytical community continue advances in scientific excellence, improved quality and better regulatory compliance. Due to its length, the 2014 edition of this comprehensive White Paper has been divided into three parts for editorial reasons. This publication (Part 2) covers the recommendations for Hybrid LBA/LCMS, Electronic Laboratory Notebook and Regulatory Agencies' Input. Part 1 (Small molecules bioanalysis using LCMS) was published in the Bioanalysis issue 6(22) and Part 3 (Large molecules bioanalysis using LBA and Immunogenicity) will be published in the Bioanalysis issue 6(24).

Evaluation of attention training and metacognitive facilitation to improve reading comprehension in aphasia.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jaime B; Moore Sohlberg, McKay

2013-05-01

This pilot study investigated the impact of direct attention training combined with metacognitive facilitation on reading comprehension in individuals with aphasia. A single-subject, multiple baseline design was employed across 4 participants to evaluate potential changes in reading comprehension resulting from an 8-week intervention using Attention Process Training-3 (APT-3). The primary outcome measure was a maze reading task. Pre- and posttesting included attention and reading comprehension measures. Visual inspection of graphed performance data across conditions was used as the primary method of analysis. Treatment effect sizes were calculated for changes in reading comprehension probes from baseline to maintenance phases. Two of the study's 4 participants demonstrated improvements in maze reading, with corresponding effect sizes that were small in magnitude according to benchmarks for aphasia treatment research. All 4 participants made improvements on select standardized measures of attention. Interventions that include a metacognitive component with direct attention training may elicit improvements in participants' attention and allocation of resources. Maze passage reading is a repeated measure that appears sensitive to treatment-related changes in reading comprehension. Issues for future research related to measurement, candidacy, and clinical delivery are discussed.

Comprehension of figurative language in Taiwanese children with autism: The role of theory of mind and receptive vocabulary.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Su-Fen; Oi, Manabu; Taguchi, Aiko

2015-01-01

First-order theory of mind (ToM) is necessary for comprehension of metaphors, and second-order ToM is necessary for comprehension of irony. This study investigated the role of ToM and language ability in comprehending figurative language in 50 Taiwanese children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASDs) compared with 50 typically developing children. Results showed that the No-ToM HFASDs group performed worse than the first-order ToM HFASDs group and the second-order ToM HFASDs group in comprehension of metaphors, irony, sarcasm and indirect reproach, but not for indirect request. Receptive vocabulary correlated only with metaphor comprehension. The volatility of results seen among studies in terms of the relationship between ToM and figurative language comprehension is discussed.

An Investigation of the Factors Affecting the Purchase of Comprehensive Car Insurance Policies of Vehicle Owners

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hakan EYGÜ

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Comprehensive insurance is the coverage purchased by the individuals in exchange for the premiums paid for insuring their movable properties against the damages caused by either their or others’ faults. Comprehensive insurance is generally rooted in the automotive sector and its applications are generally designed for this sector. Vehicle owners buy their vehicles according to their tastes using a considerable part of their savings. Purchasing of a comprehensive car insurance policy means that the purchaser is transferring the costs borne by the risks to be occurred related to his or her vehicle to the insurance company. Thus, the vehicle is insured against any costs arise in case of any damage. This study were examined to investigate the comprehensive car insurance policy ownership ratio of vehicle owners, factors that may be affecting the ownership of such policies, opinions of policy owners on the insurance company providing the coverage and the factors affecting the decision of not purchasing comprehensive car insurance policies.

THE EFFECT OF JIGSAW II TOWARD LEARNING MOTIVATION AND READING COMPREHENSION AT THE SECOND GRADE OF ENGLISH STUDENTS IN STKIP DHARMA BAKTI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

eka melati

2016-10-01

Full Text Available In teaching Reading, learning motivation and reading comprehension are essential. Ideally, after students learn the reading skills, both of their learning motivation and reading comprehension are better than before. In fact, the students still face some problems in comprehending the text. The problems are: they got low score of reading comprehension, they are lack of motivation, they are lack of vocabulary mastery, their reading achievement is still low, and the lecturer always uses small group discussion method without any variation. The purpose of this research was to find out the effect of JIgsaw II on learning motivation and reading comprehension.This study was an experimental research. Poupulation of this research was the second grade students of English Department of STKIP Dharma Bakti Lubuk Alung academic year 2010/2011 who was totally 133 students. The sample was selected by cluster random technique. The instruments were questionnaire of learning motivation and test of reading comprehension. The data were analyzed manually by t-test formula.The result of this study were learning motivation of students who were taught by Jigsaw II was better than those who were taught by small group discussion; and reading comprehension of students who taught by Jigsaw II was better than those who taught by small group discussion. It concluded that Jigsaw II produced better result on learning motivation and reading comprehension. It was implied that Jigsaw II could be used as method of teaching reading for English students.Doi: 10.22216/jit.2014.v8i2.211 

Solar-geophysical data number 420, August 1979. Part II (Comprehensive reports). Data for February 1979, January 1979

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coffey, H.E.

1979-08-01

This comprehensive report provides data for February 1979 on active regions, synoptic solar maps, solar radio emission, energetic solar particles and plasma, and solar x-ray radiation. It also provides synoptic charts and abbreviated calendar record for January 1979. The miscellaneous data include solar radio emission, cosmic rays-April and May 1979, Solar flares-January 1979, and regional flare index - December 1978

Quotient-Comprehension Chains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kenta Cho

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Quotients and comprehension are fundamental mathematical constructions that can be described via adjunctions in categorical logic. This paper reveals that quotients and comprehension are related to measurement, not only in quantum logic, but also in probabilistic and classical logic. This relation is presented by a long series of examples, some of them easy, and some also highly non-trivial (esp. for von Neumann algebras. We have not yet identified a unifying theory. Nevertheless, the paper contributes towards such a theory by introducing the new quotient-and-comprehension perspective on measurement instruments, and by describing the examples on which such a theory should be built.

Desktop Publishing: The Effects of Computerized Formats on Reading Speed and Comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Knupfer, Nancy Nelson; McIsaac, Marina Stock

1989-01-01

Describes study that was conducted to determine the effects of two electronic text variables used in desktop publishing on undergraduate students' reading speed and comprehension. Research on text variables, graphic design, instructional text design, and computer screen design is discussed, and further studies are suggested. (22 references) (LRW)

Discussions of the uranium geology working groups IGC, Sydney

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1978-01-01

The report is divided into six working group discussions on the following subjects: 1) Chemical and physical mechanisms in the formation of uranium mineralization, geochronology, isotope geology and mineralogy; 2) Sedimentary basins and sandstone-type uranium deposits; 3) Uranium in quartz-pebble conglomerates; 4) Vein and similar type deposits (pitchblende); 5) Other uranium deposits; 6) Relation of metallogenic, tectonic and zoning factors to the origin of uranium deposits. Each working group paper contains a short introductory part followed by a discussion by the working group members

Comprehensive HIV Prevention for Transgender Persons.

Science.gov (United States)

Neumann, Mary Spink; Finlayson, Teresa J; Pitts, Nicole L; Keatley, JoAnne

2017-02-01

Transgender persons are at high risk for HIV infection, but prevention efforts specifically targeting these people have been minimal. Part of the challenge of HIV prevention for transgender populations is that numerous individual, interpersonal, social, and structural factors contribute to their risk. By combining HIV prevention services with complementary medical, legal, and psychosocial services, transgender persons' HIV risk behaviors, risk determinants, and overall health can be affected simultaneously. For maximum health impact, comprehensive HIV prevention for transgender persons warrants efforts targeted to various impact levels-socioeconomic factors, decision-making contexts, long-lasting protections, clinical interventions, and counseling and education. We present current HIV prevention efforts that reach transgender persons and present others for future consideration.

A taxonomy and discussion of software attack technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Banks, Sheila B.; Stytz, Martin R.

2005-03-01

Software is a complex thing. It is not an engineering artifact that springs forth from a design by simply following software coding rules; creativity and the human element are at the heart of the process. Software development is part science, part art, and part craft. Design, architecture, and coding are equally important activities and in each of these activities, errors may be introduced that lead to security vulnerabilities. Therefore, inevitably, errors enter into the code. Some of these errors are discovered during testing; however, some are not. The best way to find security errors, whether they are introduced as part of the architecture development effort or coding effort, is to automate the security testing process to the maximum extent possible and add this class of tools to the tools available, which aids in the compilation process, testing, test analysis, and software distribution. Recent technological advances, improvements in computer-generated forces (CGFs), and results in research in information assurance and software protection indicate that we can build a semi-intelligent software security testing tool. However, before we can undertake the security testing automation effort, we must understand the scope of the required testing, the security failures that need to be uncovered during testing, and the characteristics of the failures. Therefore, we undertook the research reported in the paper, which is the development of a taxonomy and a discussion of software attacks generated from the point of view of the security tester with the goal of using the taxonomy to guide the development of the knowledge base for the automated security testing tool. The representation for attacks and threat cases yielded by this research captures the strategies, tactics, and other considerations that come into play during the planning and execution of attacks upon application software. The paper is organized as follows. Section one contains an introduction to our research

ONLINE READING COMPREHENSION: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julie Coiro/

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This paper details a number of challenges and opportunities for today’s learners when reading for information on the Internet. After defining online reading comprehension from a new literacies perspective and how it appears to be different than offline reading comprehension, I highlight details about four of the biggest challenges for today’s learners. These include 1 understanding and becoming proficient with the new literacy skills and practices needed for online research; 2 developing a special kind of digital wisdom that focuses on learning how to learn with the Internet; 3 taking on new roles in a digital culture that expects learners to actively participate and contribute with new knowledge as a member of their community; and 4 developing positive attitudes toward using the Internet for academic work. The second part of the paper shares examples of how skilled online readers can use the steps of online inquiry to think more deeply about topics that interest them; develop a personal voice as they share ideas with others; and work collaboratively to build meaning and new digital products that enable them to make a difference in their world, or matter. You can explore the research and resources from this presentation in more depth at .

Entropy in bimolecular simulations: A comprehensive review of atomic fluctuations-based methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Kassem, Summer; Ahmed, Marawan; El-Sheikh, Salah; Barakat, Khaled H

2015-11-01

Entropy of binding constitutes a major, and in many cases a detrimental, component of the binding affinity in biomolecular interactions. While the enthalpic part of the binding free energy is easier to calculate, estimating the entropy of binding is further more complicated. A precise evaluation of entropy requires a comprehensive exploration of the complete phase space of the interacting entities. As this task is extremely hard to accomplish in the context of conventional molecular simulations, calculating entropy has involved many approximations. Most of these golden standard methods focused on developing a reliable estimation of the conformational part of the entropy. Here, we review these methods with a particular emphasis on the different techniques that extract entropy from atomic fluctuations. The theoretical formalisms behind each method is explained highlighting its strengths as well as its limitations, followed by a description of a number of case studies for each method. We hope that this brief, yet comprehensive, review provides a useful tool to understand these methods and realize the practical issues that may arise in such calculations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Age-related differences in warning symbol comprehension and training effectiveness: effects of familiarity, complexity, and comprehensibility.

Science.gov (United States)

Lesch, M F; Horrey, W J; Wogalter, M S; Powell, W R

2011-10-01

Age-related changes in selective attention, inhibitory efficiency, and the ability to form new associations suggest that older adults may have greater difficulty with more complex and less comprehensible symbols. We examined comprehension of symbols varying in terms of ratings of familiarity, complexity, and comprehensibility, by younger (aged 18-35) and older (aged 55-70) adults. It was found that older adults have greater difficulty than younger adults in comprehending warning symbols and that accident scenario training improves comprehension. Regression analyses indicated that familiarity and comprehensibility were important in determining performance on the pre-training comprehension test by both younger and older adults. However, training eliminated the effects of stimulus characteristics for younger adults, while older adults' comprehension continued to be significantly influenced by comprehensibility. We suggest that symbol design incorporates cues to knowledge to facilitate the linkage between new knowledge (i.e. the warning symbol) and relevant knowledge in long-term memory. Statement of Relevance: Symbol characteristics play an important role in age-related differences in warning symbol comprehension. To optimise comprehension by older adults, symbols should have a clear relationship with areal-world referent. Alternatively, symbol design could incorporate cues to knowledge to facilitate the linkage between new knowledge and relevant knowledge in long-term memory.

Investigation of sol-gel transition by rheological methods. Part II. Results and discussion.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

KUDRYAVTSEV Pavel Gennadievich

2017-10-01

Full Text Available In this work rheological studies of the gelling process were carried out. We have developed a measuring system for studying the rheology of the gelation process. It consisted of several measuring cells of the Weiler-Rebinder type, system for automatic regulation of the composition of the medium and thermostabilization system. This complex is designed to measure the dependence of the value of the ultimate shear stress as a function of time, from the start of the sol-gel transition to the complete conversion of the sol to the gel. The developed device has a wide range of measured values of critical shear stresses τ0 = (0,05÷50000 Dyne/cm2. Using the developed instrument, it was possible to establish the shape of the initial section of the curve τ0 = f(t and develop a methodology for more accurate determination of gelation time. The developed method proved that the classical method for determining the start time of the sol-gel transition using the point of intersection of the tangent to the linear part of the rheological curve τ0 = f(t, gives significantly distorted results. A new phenomenon has been discovered: the kinetic curves in the coordinates of the Avrami-Erofeev-Bogolyubov equation have an inflection point which separates the kinetic curve into two parts, the initial and the final. It was found that the constant k in the Avrami–Erofeev–Bogolyubov equation does not depend on the temperature and is the same for both the initial and final parts of the kinetic curve. It depends only on the chemical nature of the reacting system. It was found that for the initial section of the kinetic curves, the value of the parameter n in the Avrami-Erofeev-Bogolyubov equation was n = 23,4±2,8 and, unlike the final section of the rheological curve, does not depend on temperature. A large value of this parameter can be interpreted as the average number of directions of growth of a fractal aggregate during its growth. The value of this parameter

Discussion on several problems on the mineralization of paleo-channel sandstone type uranium deposits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Shijie

1997-01-01

On the basis of comprehensively analyzing paleo-channel sandstone type uranium deposits at home and abroad, the author discusses the division of mineralization types of paleo-channel sandstone type uranium deposits, and analyzes the metallogenic geologic conditions such as regional geologic background, climatic and geomorphological conditions, basement and sedimentary cover, characteristics of paleo-valley and paleo-channel, mineralization features as well as epigenetic metallogenic process. Future prospecting direction is also proposed

Design of a Comprehensive Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Experiment: Phase Variation Caused by Recombinational Regulation of Bacterial Gene Expression

Science.gov (United States)

Sheng, Xiumei; Xu, Shungao; Lu, Renyun; Isaac, Dadzie; Zhang, Xueyi; Zhang, Haifang; Wang, Huifang; Qiao, Zheng; Huang, Xinxiang

2014-01-01

Scientific experiments are indispensable parts of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. In this study, a comprehensive Biochemistry and Molecular Biology experiment about "Salmonella enterica" serovar Typhi Flagellar phase variation has been designed. It consisted of three parts, namely, inducement of bacterial Flagellar phase variation,…

Reading comprehension in Parkinson's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, Laura L; Rutledge, Stefanie

2014-05-01

Although individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) self-report reading problems and experience difficulties in cognitive-linguistic functions that support discourse-level reading, prior research has primarily focused on sentence-level processing and auditory comprehension. Accordingly, the authors investigated the presence and nature of reading comprehension in PD, hypothesizing that (a) individuals with PD would display impaired accuracy and/or speed on reading comprehension tests and (b) reading performances would be correlated with cognitive test results. Eleven adults with PD and 9 age- and education-matched control participants completed tests that evaluated reading comprehension; general language and cognitive abilities; and aspects of attention, memory, and executive functioning. The PD group obtained significantly lower scores on several, but not all, reading comprehension, language, and cognitive measures. Memory, language, and disease severity were significantly correlated with reading comprehension for the PD group. Individuals in the early stages of PD without dementia or broad cognitive deficits can display reading comprehension difficulties, particularly for high- versus basic-level reading tasks. These reading difficulties are most closely related to memory, high-level language, and PD symptom severity status. The findings warrant additional research to delineate further the types and nature of reading comprehension impairments experienced by individuals with PD.

Reading touch screen storybooks with mothers negatively affects seven-year-old readers’ comprehension but enriches emotional engagement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kirsty Mhairi Ross

2016-11-01

controlling behaviors had significant effects on comprehension, but the mechanisms driving comprehension were not fully explained by the data. The potential for touch screen storybooks to contribute to cognitive overload in seven-year-old developing readers is discussed, as is the complex relationship between cognitive and emotional scaffolding behaviors, emotional engagement, and comprehension. Sample characteristics and methodological limitations are also discussed to help inform future research.

Reading Touch Screen Storybooks with Mothers Negatively Affects 7-Year-Old Readers’ Comprehension but Enriches Emotional Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Kirsty M.; Pye, Rachel E.; Randell, Jordan

2016-01-01

controlling behaviors had significant effects on comprehension, the mechanisms driving comprehension were not fully explained by the data. The potential for touch screen storybooks to contribute to cognitive overload in 7-year-old developing readers is discussed, as is the complex relationship between cognitive and emotional scaffolding behaviors, emotional engagement, and comprehension. Sample characteristics and methodological limitations are also discussed to help inform future research. PMID:27899903

Overlapping genetic and child-specific nonshared environmental influences on listening comprehension, reading motivation, and reading comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Schenker, Victoria J; Petrill, Stephen A

2015-01-01

This study investigated the genetic and environmental influences on observed associations between listening comprehension, reading motivation, and reading comprehension. Univariate and multivariate quantitative genetic models were conducted in a sample of 284 pairs of twins at a mean age of 9.81 years. Genetic and nonshared environmental factors accounted for statistically significant variance in listening and reading comprehension, and nonshared environmental factors accounted for variance in reading motivation. Furthermore, listening comprehension demonstrated unique genetic and nonshared environmental influences but also had overlapping genetic influences with reading comprehension. Reading motivation and reading comprehension each had unique and overlapping nonshared environmental contributions. Therefore, listening comprehension appears to be related to reading primarily due to genetic factors whereas motivation appears to affect reading via child-specific, nonshared environmental effects. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Overlapping Genetic and Child-Specific Nonshared Environmental Influences on Listening Comprehension, Reading Motivation, and Reading Comprehension

Science.gov (United States)

Schenker, Victoria J.; Petrill, Stephen A.

2015-01-01

This study investigated the genetic and environmental influences on observed associations between listening comprehension, reading motivation, and reading comprehension. Univariate and multivariate quantitative genetic models were conducted in a sample of 284 pairs of twins at a mean age of 9.81 years. Genetic and nonshared environmental factors accounted for statistically significant variance in listening and reading comprehension, and nonshared environmental factors accounted for variance in reading motivation. Furthermore, listening comprehension demonstrated unique genetic and nonshared environmental influences but also had overlapping genetic influences with reading comprehension. Reading motivation and reading comprehension each had unique and overlapping nonshared environmental contributions. Therefore, listening comprehension appears to be related to reading primarily due to genetic factors whereas motivation appears to affect reading via child-specific, nonshared environmental effects. PMID:26321677

On the Effect of Online Formative Assessment on Iranian Lower Intermediate EFL Learners Reading Comprehension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farideh Peyghambarian

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Online Formative Assessment (OFA improves EFL students’ reading comprehension enabling them to have a better performance in reading comprehension tests. To lend support to the above mentioned claim, a quasi-experimental study was conducted in Mashhad, Iran. 48 female lower intermediate EFL students took part in this study. Participants were assigned to control and treatment groups.  Participants in both groups received a formative assessment program lasting for 10 sessions. Formative assessment in treatment group was conducted by the site itself, and participants in control group were assessed by the teacher. It was found that participants in treatment group significantly outperformed those in control group. This finding indicated OFA as an effective learning tool in EFL reading comprehension classrooms.

A comprehensive approach to benefit-risk assessment in drug development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sarac, Sinan B; Rasmussen, Christian H; Rasmussen, Morten A.

2012-01-01

Major regulatory agencies, for example, FDA and EMA, have started to request comprehensive benefit-risk analyses of pharmaceutical products prior to approval or labelling expansion. The purpose of this study is to develop a generally applicable and reliable data-driven benefit-risk assessment......) discussion and formulation of an overall conclusion. To reduce the impact of subjective judgements, scores are assigned to each criterion on the basis of objective information (data) wherever possible. The proposed benefit-risk evaluation approach offers comprehensive, data-driven assessments that can...... method, where two or more drugs/doses can be compared. Our aim is to formulate an approach that is simple to apply, allows direct comparison of different types of risks and benefits, and is tailored for application in different disease areas both during clinical development and in the marketing approval...

Ethnopharmacological Approaches for Therapy of Jaundice: Part I

Science.gov (United States)

Tewari, Devesh; Mocan, Andrei; Parvanov, Emil D.; Sah, Archana N.; Nabavi, Seyed M.; Huminiecki, Lukasz; Ma, Zheng Feei; Lee, Yeong Yeh; Horbańczuk, Jarosław O.; Atanasov, Atanas G.

2017-01-01

Jaundice is a very common symptom especially in the developing countries. It is associated with several hepatic diseases which are still major causes of death. There are many different approaches to jaundice treatment and the growing number of ethnomedicinal studies shows the plant pharmacology as very promising direction. Many medicinal plants are used for the treatment of jaundice, however a comprehensive review on this subject has not been published. The use of medicinal plants in drug discovery is highly emphasized (based on their traditional and safe uses in different folk medicine systems from ancient times). Many sophisticated analytical techniques are emerging in the pharmaceutical field to validate and discover new biologically active chemical entities derived from plants. Here, we aim to classify and categorize medicinal plants relevant for the treatment of jaundice according to their origin, geographical location, and usage. Our search included various databases like Pubmed, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar. Keywords and phrases used for these searches included: “jaundice,” “hyperbilirubinemia,” “serum glutamate,” “bilirubin,” “Ayurveda.” The first part of the review focuses on the variety of medicinal plant used for the treatment of jaundice (a total of 207 medicinal plants). In the second part, possible mechanisms of action of biologically active secondary metabolites of plants from five families for jaundice treatment are discussed. PMID:28860989

The influence of idiomatic salience during the comprehension of ambiguous idioms by patients with schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Iakimova, Galina; Passerieux, Christine; Denhière, Guy; Laurent, Jean-Paul; Vistoli, Damien; Vilain, Jeanne; Hardy-Baylé, Marie-Christine

2010-05-15

This study investigates whether figurative comprehension in schizophrenia is influenced by the salience of idiomatic meaning, and whether it is affected by clinical and demographic factors and IQ. Twenty-seven schizophrenic patients and 25 healthy participants performed a semantic relatedness judgement task which required the comprehension of idioms with two plausible meanings (literal and figurative). The study also used literal expressions. The figurative meaning of the idioms was less salient (ILS), more salient (IFS), or equally salient (IES) compared to the literal meaning. The results showed "a salience effect" (i.e., all participants understood the salient meanings better than the less salient meanings). There was also a "figurativeness effect" (i.e., healthy individuals understood the figurative meaning of IES better than the literal meaning but not schizophrenic patients). In patients, their thought disorder influenced the figurative comprehension of IFS. The verbal IQ influenced the figurative comprehension of ILS. The thought disorder, the verbal IQ, and the educational level influenced the figurative comprehension of IES. The patients' clinically evaluated concretism was associated with a reduced figurative comprehension of IFS and IES evaluated at a cognitive level. The results are discussed in relation to cognitive mechanisms which underscore figurative comprehension in schizophrenia. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Simple View of Reading in Down's syndrome: the role of listening comprehension and reading skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Roch, Maja; Levorato, M Chiara

2009-01-01

According to the 'Simple View of Reading' (Hoover and Gough 1990), individual differences in reading comprehension are accounted for by decoding skills and listening comprehension, each of which makes a unique and specific contribution. The current research was aimed at testing the Simple View of Reading in individuals with Down's syndrome and comparing their profiles with typically developing first graders. Listening comprehension and the ability to read both words and non-words was compared in two groups with the same level of reading comprehension: 23 individuals with Down's syndrome aged between 11 years 3 months and 18 years 2 months and 23 first-grade typically developing children aged between 6 years 2 months and 7 years 4 months. The results indicate that at the same level of reading comprehension, individuals with Down's syndrome have less developed listening comprehension and more advanced word recognition than typically developing first graders. A comparison of the profiles of the two groups revealed that reading comprehension level was predicted by listening comprehension in both groups of participants and by word-reading skills only in typically developing children. The Simple View of Reading model is confirmed for individuals with Down's syndrome, although they do not show the reading profile of typically developing first graders; rather, they show an atypical profile similar to that of 'poor comprehenders' (Cain and Oakhill 2006). The crucial role of listening comprehension in Down's syndrome is also discussed with reference to the educational implications.

Sustainable Telemedicine: Designing and Building Infrastructure to Support a Comprehensive Telemedicine Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Kreofsky, Beth L H; Blegen, R Nicole; Lokken, Troy G; Kapraun, Susan M; Bushman, Matthew S; Demaerschalk, Bart M

2018-04-16

Telemedicine services in medical institutions are often developed in isolation of one another and not as part of a comprehensive telemedicine program. The Center for Connected Care is the administrative home for a broad range of telehealth services at Mayo Clinic. This article speaks of real-time video services, referenced as telemedicine throughout. This article discusses how a large healthcare system designed and built the infrastructure to support a comprehensive telemedicine practice. Based on analysis of existing services, Mayo Clinic developed a multifaceted operational plan that addressed high-priority areas and outlined clear roles and responsibilities of the Center for Connected Care and that of the clinical departments. The plan set priorities and a direction that would lead to long-term success. The plan articulated the governing and operational infrastructure necessary to support telemedicine by defining the role of the Center for Connected Care as the owner of core administrative operations and the role of the clinical departments as the owners of clinical telemedicine services. Additional opportunities were identified to develop product selection processes, implementation services, and staffing models that would be applied to ensure successful telemedicine deployment. The telemedicine team within the Center for Connected Care completed 45 business cases resulting in 54 implementations. The standardization of core products along with key operational offerings around implementation services, and the establishment of a 24/7 support model resulted in improved provider satisfaction and fewer reported technical issues. The foundation for long-term scalability and growth was developed by centralizing operations of telemedicine services, implementing sustainable processes, employing dedicated qualified personnel, and deploying robust products.

Success for All and Comprehensive School Reform: Evidence-Based Policies for Urban Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Slavin, Robert E.; Madden, Nancy A.

This paper discusses comprehensive school reform (CSR), which accepts the importance of standards and accountability but adds to these strategies for introducing innovations in curriculum, instruction, school organization, governance, parent interactions, and other core features of practice. The paper reviews research on the nature and quality of…

Effects of a comprehensive self-management programme in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Monninkhof, E.M.; Valk, P.D.L.P.M. van der; Palen, J.A.M. van der; Herwaarden, C.L.A. van; Zielhuis, G.A.

2003-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of a comprehensive self-management intervention on health-related quality of life (HRQoL), symptoms and walking distance in patients with stable moderately severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study was part of the overall COPD

Beyond Grand Rounds: A Comprehensive and Sequential Intervention to Improve Identification of Delirium

Science.gov (United States)

Ramaswamy, Ravishankar; Dix, Edward F.; Drew, Janet E.; Diamond, James J.; Inouye, Sharon K.; Roehl, Barbara J. O.

2011-01-01

Purpose of the Study: Delirium is a widespread concern for hospitalized seniors, yet is often unrecognized. A comprehensive and sequential intervention (CSI) aiming to effect change in clinician behavior by improving knowledge about delirium was tested. Design and Methods: A 2-day CSI program that consisted of progressive 4-part didactic series,…

Post-'92 Helsinki. Towards an operational institution for comprehensive security

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghebali, V.Y.

1992-01-01

Discussing the concept of comprehensive security the author reviews aims of the Forum for Security Cooperation to be held in Vienna in September 1992. They are: 1. To negotiate specific new conventional disarmament measures, provisions harmonizing the obligations assumed under various international instruments in this area; 2. To provide a framework for consultation, cooperation and ongoing dialogue on security questions; 3. To elaborate on the theme of conflict prevention

Spectrum of physics comprehension

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blasiak, W; Godlewska, M; Rosiek, R; Wcislo, D

2012-01-01

The paper presents the results of research on the relationship between self-assessed comprehension of physics lectures and final grades of junior high school students (aged 13-15), high school students (aged 16-18) and physics students at the Pedagogical University of Cracow, Poland (aged 21). Students' declared level of comprehension was measured during a physics lecture on a prearranged scale of 1-10 with the use of a personal response system designed for the purpose of this experiment. Through the use of this tool, we obtained about 2000 computer records of students' declared comprehension of a 45 min lecture, which we named ‘the spectrum of comprehension’. In this paper, we present and analyse the correlation between students' declared comprehension of the content presented in the lecture and their final learning results. (paper)

Effects of Listening While Reading (LWR on Swahili Reading Fluency and Comprehension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Filipo Lubua

2016-10-01

Full Text Available A number of studies have examined the contribution of technology in teaching such languages as English, French, and Spanish, among many others. Contrarily, most LCTL’s, have received very little attention. This study investigates if listening while reading (LWR may expedite Swahili reading fluency and comprehension. The study employed the iBook Author tool to create weekly mediated and interactive reading texts, with comprehension exercises, which were eventually used to collect descriptive and qualitative data from four Elementary Swahili students. Participants participated in a seven week reading program, which provided them with some kind of directed self-learning, and met with the instructor for at least 30 minutes every week for observation and more reading activities. The teacher recorded their reading scores, and a number of themes on how LWR influenced reading fluency and comprehension are discussed here. It shows that participants have a positive attitude towards LWR and they suggest it for all the reading classes.

Comprehensive modelling study on observed new particle formation at the SORPES station in Nanjing, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

X. Huang

2016-03-01

Full Text Available New particle formation (NPF has been investigated intensively during the last 2 decades because of its influence on aerosol population and the possible contribution to cloud condensation nuclei. However, intensive measurements and modelling activities on this topic in urban metropolitan areas in China with frequent high-pollution episodes are still very limited. This study provides results from a comprehensive modelling study on the occurrence of NPF events in the western part of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD region, China. The comprehensive modelling system, which combines the WRF-Chem (the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry regional chemical transport model and the MALTE-BOX sectional box model (the model to predict new aerosol formation in the lower troposphere, was shown to be capable of simulating atmospheric nucleation and subsequent growth. Here we present a detailed discussion of three typical NPF days, during which the measured air masses were notably influenced by either anthropogenic activities, biogenic emissions, or mixed ocean and continental sources. Overall, simulated NPF events were generally in good agreement with the corresponding measurements, enabling us to get further insights into NPF processes in the YRD region. Based on the simulations, we conclude that biogenic organic compounds, particularly monoterpenes, play an essential role in the initial condensational growth of newly formed clusters through their low-volatility oxidation products. Although some uncertainties remain in this modelling system, this method provides a possibility to better understand particle formation and growth processes.

Notes on a methodological discussion: autobiography, critique and time

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gunvor Løkken

2010-06-01

Full Text Available After having tried for some time to overview the contemporary field of qualitative research to give a lecture for a professorship in that area, my idea at the outset of writing this article was to address whether changes in qualitative research should be viewed as recurrent revolutions as highlighted by Denzin and Lincoln (2000; 2005, or as a field of continuing key themes and long-standing tensions, as conceptualized by Atkinson, Coffey and Delamont (2003. However, during my writing, after one detour into the May 2009 issue of Current Sociology and a second detour into the July 2009 issue of Qualitative Research, my attention focused on to how critical debate and review are displayed in different methodological positions of qualitative research. In my reading, the discussion in Current Sociology between main stream and postmodern methodological positioning revealed an utterly one-way feminist critique; this was also the case in one of three book reviews of The Handbook of Qualitative Research (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005 in the referred issue of Qualitative Research. My puzzle over this critical stance, and my third detour, into Yvonne Lincoln’s discussion of twenty-five years of qualitative and new paradigm research in the January 2010 Issue of Qualitative Inquiry, helped evolve the following notes on a methodological discussion. The notes are partly structured by a temporal narrative over personally lived qualitative research, and partly by an epistemological narrative of a methodological discussion, interwoven with the passing of time when writing.

Cultural Knowledge in News Comprehension

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mathieu, David

2009-01-01

This paper presents the main lines of the design and the findings of a reception study on news comprehension. This empirical study is a comparison of the comprehension processes of Danes and French Canadians over a set of news texts from both countries. Comprehension is explored from a cultural...... perspective, through the lens of cognition and pragmatics, revealing the role played by cultural knowledge in comprehension and the underlying relationship between a text and its intended audience. It is argued that recipients ‘problematise’ the news texts, a process by which the texts answer questions...

Discussing study limitations in reports of biomedical studies-the need for more transparency

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Puhan, Milo A.; Akl, Elie A.; Bryant, Dianne; Xie, Feng; Apolone, Giovanni; ter Riet, Gerben

2012-01-01

Unbiased and frank discussion of study limitations by authors represents a crucial part of the scientific discourse and progress. In today's culture of publishing many authors or scientific teams probably balance 'utter honesty' when discussing limitations of their research with the risk of being

Development of Body-Part Vocabulary in Toddlers in Relation to Self-Understanding

Science.gov (United States)

Waugh, Whitney E.; Brownell, Celia A.

2015-01-01

To better understand young children's ability to communicate about their bodies, toddlers' comprehension and production of 27 common body-part words was assessed using parental report at 20 and 30 months (n?=?64), and self-awareness was assessed using mirror self-recognition. Children at both ages comprehended more body-part words that referred to…

Irony and proverb comprehension in schizophrenia: do female patients "dislike" ironic remarks?

Science.gov (United States)

Rapp, Alexander M; Langohr, Karin; Mutschler, Dorothee E; Wild, Barbara

2014-01-01

Difficulties in understanding irony and sarcasm are part of the social cognition deficits in patients with schizophrenia. A number of studies have reported higher error rates during comprehension in patients with schizophrenia. However, the relationships of these impairments to schizotypal personality traits and other language deficits, such as the comprehension of proverbs, are unclear. We investigated irony and proverb comprehension in an all-female sample of 20 schizophrenia patients and 27 matched controls. Subjects indicated if a statement was intended to be ironic, literal, or meaningless and furthermore rated the meanness and funniness of the stimuli and certainty of their decision. Patients made significantly more errors than controls did. Globally, there were no overall differences in the ratings. However, patients rated the subgroup of stimuli with answers given incorrectly as having significantly less meanness and in case of an error indicated a significantly higher certainty than controls. Across all of the study participants, performances in irony (r = -0.51) and proverb (r = 0.56) comprehension were significantly correlated with schizotypal personality traits, suggesting a continuum of nonliteral language understanding. Because irony is so frequent in everyday conversations, this makes irony an especially promising candidate for social cognition training in schizophrenia.

Fault Location Based on Synchronized Measurements: A Comprehensive Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Mohammed, A. H.; Abido, M. A.

2014-01-01

This paper presents a comprehensive survey on transmission and distribution fault location algorithms that utilize synchronized measurements. Algorithms based on two-end synchronized measurements and fault location algorithms on three-terminal and multiterminal lines are reviewed. Series capacitors equipped with metal oxide varistors (MOVs), when set on a transmission line, create certain problems for line fault locators and, therefore, fault location on series-compensated lines is discussed. The paper reports the work carried out on adaptive fault location algorithms aiming at achieving better fault location accuracy. Work associated with fault location on power system networks, although limited, is also summarized. Additionally, the nonstandard high-frequency-related fault location techniques based on wavelet transform are discussed. Finally, the paper highlights the area for future research. PMID:24701191

Fault Location Based on Synchronized Measurements: A Comprehensive Survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. H. Al-Mohammed

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a comprehensive survey on transmission and distribution fault location algorithms that utilize synchronized measurements. Algorithms based on two-end synchronized measurements and fault location algorithms on three-terminal and multiterminal lines are reviewed. Series capacitors equipped with metal oxide varistors (MOVs, when set on a transmission line, create certain problems for line fault locators and, therefore, fault location on series-compensated lines is discussed. The paper reports the work carried out on adaptive fault location algorithms aiming at achieving better fault location accuracy. Work associated with fault location on power system networks, although limited, is also summarized. Additionally, the nonstandard high-frequency-related fault location techniques based on wavelet transform are discussed. Finally, the paper highlights the area for future research.

Improving English Speaking Ability Through Classroom Discussion

OpenAIRE

Afrizal, M

2015-01-01

Speaking is one of important parts in teaching language because it includes one of four basic language skills. Nevertheless, in MA NU BANAT Kudus, the writer found that most of students there still get the difficulties in studying speaking. It may be caused by the method used in teaching English, especially speaking. Classroom Discussion is a method that can be applied in teaching English, especially to improve the ability of speaking. In this method, hopefully, the students get a big opportu...

A comprehensive dynamic modeling approach for giant magnetostrictive material actuators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gu, Guo-Ying; Zhu, Li-Min; Li, Zhi; Su, Chun-Yi

2013-01-01

In this paper, a comprehensive modeling approach for a giant magnetostrictive material actuator (GMMA) is proposed based on the description of nonlinear electromagnetic behavior, the magnetostrictive effect and frequency response of the mechanical dynamics. It maps the relationships between current and magnetic flux at the electromagnetic part to force and displacement at the mechanical part in a lumped parameter form. Towards this modeling approach, the nonlinear hysteresis effect of the GMMA appearing only in the electrical part is separated from the linear dynamic plant in the mechanical part. Thus, a two-module dynamic model is developed to completely characterize the hysteresis nonlinearity and the dynamic behaviors of the GMMA. The first module is a static hysteresis model to describe the hysteresis nonlinearity, and the cascaded second module is a linear dynamic plant to represent the dynamic behavior. To validate the proposed dynamic model, an experimental platform is established. Then, the linear dynamic part and the nonlinear hysteresis part of the proposed model are identified in sequence. For the linear part, an approach based on axiomatic design theory is adopted. For the nonlinear part, a Prandtl–Ishlinskii model is introduced to describe the hysteresis nonlinearity and a constrained quadratic optimization method is utilized to identify its coefficients. Finally, experimental tests are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed dynamic model and the corresponding identification method. (paper)

Using a Comprehensive Model to Test and Predict the Factors of Online Learning Effectiveness

Science.gov (United States)

He, Minyan

2013-01-01

As online learning is an important part of higher education, the effectiveness of online learning has been tested with different methods. Although the literature regarding online learning effectiveness has been related to various factors, a more comprehensive review of the factors may result in broader understanding of online learning…

The Effect of Gloss Type and Mode on Iranian EFL Learners' Reading Comprehension

Science.gov (United States)

Sadeghi, Karim; Ahmadi, Negar

2012-01-01

This study investigated the effects of three kinds of gloss conditions that is traditional non-CALL marginal gloss, computer-based audio gloss, and computer-based extended audio gloss, on reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. To this end, three experimental and one control groups, each comprising 15 participants, took part in this study.…

Literacy Access: An Examination of the Picture Plus Discussion (PPD) Intervention Using Typical and Age Appropriate Texts

Science.gov (United States)

Shurr, Jordan C.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of the picture plus discussion (PPD) intervention on the comprehension abilities of high school students with moderate intellectual disability when read a variety of expository texts aloud. A multiple probe single subject design was employed to measure the effect of the intervention across three…

High second-language proficiency protects against the effects of reverberation on listening comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Sörqvist, Patrik; Hurtig, Anders; Ljung, Robert; Rönnberg, Jerker

2014-04-01

The purpose of this experiment was to investigate whether classroom reverberation influences second-language (L2) listening comprehension. Moreover, we investigated whether individual differences in baseline L2 proficiency and in working memory capacity (WMC) modulate the effect of reverberation time on L2 listening comprehension. The results showed that L2 listening comprehension decreased as reverberation time increased. Participants with higher baseline L2 proficiency were less susceptible to this effect. WMC was also related to the effect of reverberation (although just barely significant), but the effect of WMC was eliminated when baseline L2 proficiency was statistically controlled. Taken together, the results suggest that top-down cognitive capabilities support listening in adverse conditions. Potential implications for the Swedish national tests in English are discussed. © 2014 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology published by Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Frequency of Faith and Spirituality Discussion in Health Care.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergamo, David; White, Dawn

2016-04-01

Faith and spirituality are important in the lives of many individuals, and therefore, many patients. This study was performed to determine whether faith and spirituality are active part of the healthcare field and patients' receipt of these sometimes delicate topics. The nuances of the concepts of faith, spirituality, and religion and their implications in the healthcare setting are discussed. Benefits and detriments of faith and spirituality are reviewed in terms of how they relate to the health of the patient and to the healthcare field. With the focus of healthcare shifting to holistic care, this conversation may be more necessary than ever in practice, yet it seems many providers are not discussing these matters with patients. The study analyzes whether healthcare providers are discussing these topics with patients and how the discussion is received or would be received by patients. Findings demonstrate the infrequency of the discussion regardless of the fact that the majority of patients consider themselves faithful or spiritual. This study was approved by the Clarkson University Institutional Review Board on June 18, 2104.

The bioink: A comprehensive review on bioprintable materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Hospodiuk, Monika; Dey, Madhuri; Sosnoski, Donna; Ozbolat, Ibrahim T

This paper discusses "bioink", bioprintable materials used in three dimensional (3D) bioprinting processes, where cells and other biologics are deposited in a spatially controlled pattern to fabricate living tissues and organs. It presents the first comprehensive review of existing bioink types including hydrogels, cell aggregates, microcarriers and decellularized matrix components used in extrusion-, droplet- and laser-based bioprinting processes. A detailed comparison of these bioink materials is conducted in terms of supporting bioprinting modalities and bioprintability, cell viability and proliferation, biomimicry, resolution, affordability, scalability, practicality, mechanical and structural integrity, bioprinting and post-bioprinting maturation times, tissue fusion and formation post-implantation, degradation characteristics, commercial availability, immune-compatibility, and application areas. The paper then discusses current limitations of bioink materials and presents the future prospects to the reader. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Theory of mind in emerging reading comprehension: A longitudinal study of early indirect and direct effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Atkinson, Lynette; Slade, Lance; Powell, Daisy; Levy, Joseph P

2017-12-01

The relation between children's theory of mind (ToM) and emerging reading comprehension was investigated in a longitudinal study over 2.5years. A total of 80 children were tested for ToM, decoding, language skills, and executive function (EF) at Time 1 (mean age=3;10 [years;months]). At Time 2 (mean age=6;03), children's word reading efficiency, language skills, and reading comprehension were measured. Mediation analysis showed that ToM at Time 1, when children were around 4years old, indirectly predicted Time 2 reading comprehension, when children were 6years old, via language ability after controlling for age, nonverbal ability, decoding, EF, and earlier language ability. Importantly, ToM at 4years also directly predicted reading comprehension 2.5years later at 6years. This is the first longitudinal study to show a direct contribution of ToM to reading comprehension in typical development. Findings are discussed in terms of the simple view of reading (SVR); ToM not only supports reading comprehension indirectly by facilitating language but also contributes to it directly over and above the SVR. The potential role of metacognition is considered when accounting for the direct contribution of early ToM to later reading comprehension. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fuzzy comprehensive evaluation for grid-connected performance of integrated distributed PV-ES systems

Science.gov (United States)

Lv, Z. H.; Li, Q.; Huang, R. W.; Liu, H. M.; Liu, D.

2016-08-01

Based on the discussion about topology structure of integrated distributed photovoltaic (PV) power generation system and energy storage (ES) in single or mixed type, this paper focuses on analyzing grid-connected performance of integrated distributed photovoltaic and energy storage (PV-ES) systems, and proposes a comprehensive evaluation index system. Then a multi-level fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method based on grey correlation degree is proposed, and the calculations for weight matrix and fuzzy matrix are presented step by step. Finally, a distributed integrated PV-ES power generation system connected to a 380 V low voltage distribution network is taken as the example, and some suggestions are made based on the evaluation results.

Advanced loose parts detection system for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Por, G.; Szappanos, G.

2000-01-01

The importance of loose part detection is discussed. The consequences of a relatively big (7.7 kg) loose part found in a WWER-440 NPP are discussed. A portable loose part monitoring system is presented, which is based on sequential probability ratio test. (author)

Creating a Comprehensive School Reform Model: The Talent Development High School with Career Academies.

Science.gov (United States)

Jordan, Will J.; McPartland, James M.; Legters, Nettie E.; Balfanz, Robert

2000-01-01

Discusses the need for comprehensive reforms in school organization, curriculum and instruction, and professional development to address the problems of large urban high schools. Describes the Talent Development High School with Career Academies model being developed to meet the needs of such schools. (SLD)

The pivotal role of psychology in a comprehensive theory of obesity

OpenAIRE

Markey, Charlotte N; August, Kristin J; Bailey, Lindzee C; Markey, Patrick M; Nave, Christopher S

2016-01-01

The target article offers a comprehensive approach to conceptualizing psychological factors contributing to obesity. Strengths of Marks’ theory include giving body image a central focus, discussing the importance of emotional states on food reliance, and conveying avenues for interventions and treatment. Marks’ approach carefully delineates the interpersonal nature of obesity, although our work suggests that romantic partners are an especially important and understudied factor relevant to eat...

Case in Language Comprehension

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bader, Markus; Lamers, Monique

2012-01-01

Research on human language comprehension has been heavily influenced by properties of the English language. Since case plays only a minor role in English, its role for language comprehension has only recently become a topic for extensive research on psycholinguistics. In the psycholinguistic

Designing museum exhibits that facilitate visitor reflection and discussion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skydsgaard, Morten Arnika; Andersen, Hanne Møller; King, Heather

2016-01-01

This paper explores how four design principles (curiosity, challenge, narratives and participation) facilitate reflection and discussion among young visitors in the issues-based exhibition Dear, Difficult Body. The investigation is based on a mixed-method approach combining questionnaire and inte......This paper explores how four design principles (curiosity, challenge, narratives and participation) facilitate reflection and discussion among young visitors in the issues-based exhibition Dear, Difficult Body. The investigation is based on a mixed-method approach combining questionnaire...... and interview data. The implementation of design principles resulted in a variety of exhibits which variously prompted reflection and discussion on the part of visitors. Exhibits with narratives, for example, here defined as both personal and expert narratives, were found to be effective in facilitating...... personal reflection but also prompted discussion. Participation, defined as including both physical interaction with exhibits, and dialogic interaction between visitors, facilitated the sharing of ideas and feelings between visitors. Exhibits with elements of curiosity and challenge were found to attract...

The Role of First-Language Listening Comprehension in Second-Language Reading Comprehension

Science.gov (United States)

Edele, Aileen; Stanat, Petra

2016-01-01

Although the simple view of reading and other theories suggest that listening comprehension is an important determinant of reading comprehension, previous research on linguistic transfer has mainly focused on the role of first language (L1) decoding skills in second language (L2) reading. The present study tested the assumption that listening…

Sustainable Tourism as a Part of Comprehensive Environmental Monitoring. A Study of Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marko D. PETROVIĆ

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The sustainable tourism comprises the freedom of tourist travelling, satisfying the economic, social and aesthetic needs, with the preservation of the characteristics of the natural and social environment and the cultural and historical heritage. It should optimize the usage of environmental resources that make the key element of tourism development, maintaining the essential ecologic processes and helping in heritage preservation, and providing the sustainable long-term business.As the consequences of the anthropogenic activities are obvious in the deterioration of the environment quality, the analysis of the status and influence on the environment and humans, as well as on the flora and fauna, must be under constant monitoring. The aim is to detect the corresponding influences and changes and to establish their cause. The paper approaches the structure, the processes and the application of the comprehensive monitoring of the environment with the aim of creating a database for the development of sustainable tourism in Serbia. The risk of the anthropogenic pollution of the environment, as a result of tourist activities, and monitoring of these activities in order to create a database for a planned and coordinated activity of tourism development will be considered in detail.

Comprehensive Maintenance of CCTV System at Bangi Complex, Malaysian Nuclear Agency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasif Mohamad; Mohd Hazri Mohd Salleh; Mohd Ghazali Bachol

2015-01-01

Control of Closed Circuit Camera (CCTV) is a security monitoring system used to monitor an area using the method of monitoring of video. The use of CCTV allows the operator to monitor the area that has been equipped with CCTV cameras from a control center is provided. CCTV system has proved effective in terms of facilitating the task of monitoring, save costs, and improves safety. Recognizing the high requirements to ensure the system is running without interruption, the PIA has implemented a comprehensive maintenance program on all CCTV complex is located in Bangi, Malaysia Nuclear Agency at a cost of RM 95,000.00 for the year. This paper will report on the implementation of a comprehensive maintenance contract CCTV and discuss the problems faced during the contract period. (author)

Comprehensive Maintenance of CCTV System at Bangi Complex Malaysian Nuclear Agency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasif Mohamad; Mohd Hazri Mohd Salleh; Mohd Ghazali Bachol

2015-01-01

Control of Closed Circuit Camera (CCTV) is a security monitoring system used to monitor an area using the method of monitoring of video. The use of CCTV allows the operator to monitor the area that has been equipped with CCTV cameras from a control center is provided. CCTV system has proved effective in terms of facilitating the task of monitoring, save costs, and improves safety. Recognizing the high requirements to ensure the system is running without interruption, the PIA has implemented a comprehensive maintenance program on all CCTV complex is located in Bangi, Malaysia Nuclear Agency at a cost of RM 95,000.00 for the year. This paper will report on the implementation of a comprehensive maintenance contract CCTV and discuss the problems faced during the contract period. (author)

Multilateral aspects of advanced regulatory cooperation: considerations for a Canada-EU Comprehensive Trade Agreement (CETA)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mathis, J.

2012-01-01

This article considers equivalency recognition for goods and for services in the context of the applicable WTO agreements and provisions. The discussion of equivalency arises from certain elements presented by the Canada-EU Comprehensive Trade Agreement (CETA), in which economically developed

The Comprehensive Assessment List for Affective Disorders (COALA): a polydiagnostic, comprehensive, and serial semistructured interview system for affective and related disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Furukawa, T; Takahashi, K; Kitamura, T; Okawa, M; Miyaoka, H; Hirai, T; Ueda, H; Sakamoto, K; Miki, K; Fujita, K

1995-01-01

This supplement describes the development and structure of the Comprehensive Assessment List of Affective Disorders (COALA) system, which was recently developed for a collaborative follow-up study of a broad spectrum of affective disorders in Japan and which consists of a series of semistructured interviews for affective and related disorders. The COALA distinguishes itself from the extant semistructured interviews by being able to provide polydiagnostic, comprehensive and serial assessments. It is polydiagnostic because it derives diagnoses according to 29 historical and modern diagnostic systems through computer algorithms. It is comprehensive because it not only depicts the symptoms profile and rates their severity according to various endogenicity indices and severity rating scales but also measures, in the psychosocial domain, the life events and their characteristics. In addition, it has sections for past illnesses and family history. It is serial because the system includes follow-up semistructured interviews that can be administered monthly and that monitor changes in the psychopathological and psychosocial features. The theoretical underpinnings of the COALA system, especially its polydiagnostic approach to a broad spectrum of affective disorders and its treatment of psychosocial factors, are discussed in view of recent proposals for the future nosological research. The findings of the interrater reliability study (n = 107) are also presented, with satisfactory to excellent results for almost all of the psychopathological and psychosocial variables, all of the composite severity ratings and most of the polydiagnostic evaluations.

The Need for a Comprehensive Care and Education Service for Pre-School Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Blackstone, Tessa

An argument is presented for a comprehensive and universal system of care and education for preschool children outside the family. Current institutional arrangements in the United Kingdom for government provision of education and care for young children are discussed and proposals are made for alternative ways of providing this service. It is…

Comprehensive flood mitigation and management in the Chi River Basin, Thailand

OpenAIRE

Kunitiyawichai, K.; Schultz, B.; Uhlenbrook, S.; Suryadi, F.X.; Corzo, G.A.

2011-01-01

Severe flooding of the flat downstream area of the Chi River Basin occurs frequently. This flooding is causing catastrophic loss of human lives, damage and economic loss. Effective flood management requires a broad and practical approach. Although flood disasters cannot completely be prevented, major part of potential loss of lives and damages can be reduced by comprehensive mitigation measures. In this paper, the effects of river normalisation, reservoir operation, green river (bypass), and ...

Discussion on safety analysis approach for sodium fast reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, Soon Joon; Choo, Yeon Joon; Suh, Nam Duk; Shin, Ahn Dong; Bae, Moo Hoon

2012-01-01

Utilization of nuclear energy is increasingly necessary not only because of the increasing energy consumption but also because of the controls on greenhouse emissions against global warming. To keep step with such demands, advanced reactors are now world widely under development with the aims of highly economical advances, and enhanced safety. Recently, further elaborating is encouraged on the research and development program for Generation IV (GEN IV) reactors, and in collaboration with other interested countries through the Generation IV International Forum (GIF). Sodium cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) is a strong contender amongst the GEN IV reactor concepts. Korea also takes part in that program and plans to construct demonstration reactor of SFR. SFR is under the development for a candidate of small modular reactors, for example, PRISM (Power Reactor Innovative Small Module). Understanding of safety analysis approach has also advanced by the demand of increasing comprehensive safety requirement. Reviewing the past development of the licensing and safety basis in the advanced reactors, such approaches seemed primarily not so satisfactory because the reference framework of licensing and safety analysis approach in the advanced reactors was always the one in water reactors. And, the framework is very plant specific one and thereby the advanced reactors and their frameworks don't look like a well assorted couple. Recently as a result of considerable advances in probabilistic safety assessment (PSA), risk informed approaches are increasingly applied together with some of the deterministic approaches like as the ones in water reactors. Technology neutral framework (TNF) can be said to be the utmost works of such risk informed approaches, even though an intensive assessment of the applicability has not been sufficiently accomplished. This study discusses the viable safety analysis approaches for the urgent application to the construction of pool type SFR. As discussed in

Conceptualising and measuring collaborative critical thinking on asynchronous discussion forums: Challenges and possible solutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nazanin Ghodrati

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The use of asynchronous discussion forums (ADFs is thought to assist in enhancing students’ collaborative learning and critical thinking throughout higher education. However, previous research has mainly focused on individual critical thinking while the investigation of critical thinking during group work has been generally overlooked. Furthermore, few studies have investigated critical thinking processes of the individual and of the group in a single study to present a comprehensive picture of collaborative critical thinking (CCT. To address these gaps, I examined the demonstration of CCT on ADFs in a graduate subject at an Australian university over two academic semesters as students discussed topics online. In this paper, I discuss the ontological and methodological challenges in conducting the above research and present possible solutions to these challenges. At the ontological level, I discuss challenges in conceptualising and defining CCT. At the methodological level, I present challenges in constructing a coding scheme to measure the demonstration of CCT on ADFs. I then discuss ways to tackle the above challenges, propose an operational definition of CCT and present a synthetic coding scheme for measuring CCT in computer-supported collaborative learning contexts such as on ADFs.

Event-based plausibility immediately influences on-line language comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuki, Kazunaga; Chow, Tracy; Hare, Mary; Elman, Jeffrey L; Scheepers, Christoph; McRae, Ken

2011-07-01

In some theories of sentence comprehension, linguistically relevant lexical knowledge, such as selectional restrictions, is privileged in terms of the time-course of its access and influence. We examined whether event knowledge computed by combining multiple concepts can rapidly influence language understanding even in the absence of selectional restriction violations. Specifically, we investigated whether instruments can combine with actions to influence comprehension of ensuing patients of (as in Rayner, Warren, Juhuasz, & Liversedge, 2004; Warren & McConnell, 2007). Instrument-verb-patient triplets were created in a norming study designed to tap directly into event knowledge. In self-paced reading (Experiment 1), participants were faster to read patient nouns, such as hair, when they were typical of the instrument-action pair (Donna used the shampoo to wash vs. the hose to wash). Experiment 2 showed that these results were not due to direct instrument-patient relations. Experiment 3 replicated Experiment 1 using eyetracking, with effects of event typicality observed in first fixation and gaze durations on the patient noun. This research demonstrates that conceptual event-based expectations are computed and used rapidly and dynamically during on-line language comprehension. We discuss relationships among plausibility and predictability, as well as their implications. We conclude that selectional restrictions may be best considered as event-based conceptual knowledge rather than lexical-grammatical knowledge.

Reading Comprehension Strategies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Unal Ulker

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The academic success of the university students greatly depends on the mastery of an academic reading skill. However, students as well as teachers, take the learning of this skill for granted, as they tend to presuppose that reading skill is acquired as a part of their secondary education. As a result, most first-year students employ non university strategies to read academic texts, which leads to a surface approach to reading and prevents students from a better understanding of the material. This paper will discuss the strategies that involve students in taking a deep approach to reading academic texts.

The Sum of the Parts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gross, Fridolin; Green, Sara

2017-01-01

Systems biologists often distance themselves from reductionist approaches and formulate their aim as understanding living systems “as a whole”. Yet, it is often unclear what kind of reductionism they have in mind, and in what sense their methodologies offer a more comprehensive approach. To addre......-up”. Specifically, we point out that system-level properties constrain lower-scale processes. Thus, large-scale modeling reveals how living systems at the ​same time ​ are ​more and ​less than the sum of the parts....

Pre- and in-Service Teachers Reading and Discussing Informational Texts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Theresa A. Deeney

2016-05-01

Full Text Available This study investigates U.S. elementary (kindergarten-Grade 6, ages 5-12 pre- and in-service teachers’ discussions of informational texts to understand current practices and identify needs with respect to how teachers support students in building knowledge from complex informational text as specified in the grade-level expectations of the Common Core State Standards adopted in many U.S. states. Transcripts and reflections from 17 in-service and 31 pre-service teachers’ informational text discussions were analyzed for teachers’ focus on the text, background knowledge, and text/background knowledge. In addition, transcripts were analyzed for the types of text ideas teachers targeted (details/main ideas, the comprehension demands placed on students, how teachers used follow-up moves to encourage higher level thinking, and how teachers use transcripts of their discussions to analyze and critique their own practice. Findings suggest that both pre- and in-service teachers draw heavily on students’ background knowledge and text details in their questioning; but differences exist in how pre- and in-service teachers use follow-up responses to promote knowledge building. Findings also suggest that both pre- and in-service teachers can use their transcripts to recognize areas of need, and offer themselves suggestions to better support students’ understanding. Implications are offered for teacher education and professional development.

THE APPLICABILITY OF SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION IN ENGLISH READING CLASS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kurniawan Yudhi Nugroho

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Success of learning is not only a matter of using an appropriate teaching resources, instead, the interference of teaching method is found to be essential to determine the students’ learning achievement. Teacher as a captain of class has the right to choose type of method used in the classroom for sake of students’ improvement. This study was designed as an attempt to help Master Students from a well established private university improve their reading comprehension skill through small group discussion. This study was participated by 30 students, later divided into two classes and served differently as an experimental group for the class A and a control group for the class B. Referring to the final data analysis of the study, it is found that there is an improving learning achievement in the experimental group, indicated by higher performance of posttest (20.333 than the pretest. Apart from this, further analysis was also conducted to find out whether or not small group discussion was able to show better performance than another teaching method applied in another different class. Based on the result of statistical calculation, it shows that small group discussion got better result 12.334 than that of another group. As a result, some suggestions were made by referring to result of the study.

CALPHAD calculation of phase diagrams : a comprehensive guide

CERN Document Server

Saunders, N; Miodownik, A P

1998-01-01

This monograph acts as a benchmark to current achievements in the field of Computer Coupling of Phase Diagrams and Thermochemistry, often called CALPHAD which is an acronym for Computer CALculation of PHAse Diagrams. It also acts as a guide to both the basic background of the subject area and the cutting edge of the topic, combining comprehensive discussions of the underlying physical principles of the CALPHAD method with detailed descriptions of their application to real complex multi-component materials. Approaches which combine both thermodynamic and kinetic models to interpret non-equilibrium phase transformations are also reviewed.

A comprehensive review with potential significance during skull base and neck operations, Part II: glossopharyngeal, vagus, accessory, and hypoglossal nerves and cervical spinal nerves 1-4.

Science.gov (United States)

Shoja, Mohammadali M; Oyesiku, Nelson M; Shokouhi, Ghaffar; Griessenauer, Christoph J; Chern, Joshua J; Rizk, Elias B; Loukas, Marios; Miller, Joseph H; Tubbs, R Shane

2014-01-01

Knowledge of the possible neural interconnections found between the lower cranial and upper cervical nerves may prove useful to surgeons who operate on the skull base and upper neck regions in order to avoid inadvertent traction or transection. We review the literature regarding the anatomy, function, and clinical implications of the complex neural networks formed by interconnections between the lower cranial and upper cervical nerves. A review of germane anatomic and clinical literature was performed. The review is organized into two parts. Part I discusses the anastomoses between the trigeminal, facial, and vestibulocochlear nerves or their branches and other nerve trunks or branches in the vicinity. Part II deals with the anastomoses between the glossopharyngeal, vagus, accessory and hypoglossal nerves and their branches or between these nerves and the first four cervical spinal nerves; the contribution of the autonomic nervous system to these neural plexuses is also briefly reviewed. Part II is presented in this article. Extensive and variable neural anastomoses exist between the lower cranial nerves and between the upper cervical nerves in such a way that these nerves with their extra-axial communications can be collectively considered a plexus. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Production Practice During Language Learning Improves Comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Hopman, Elise W M; MacDonald, Maryellen C

2018-04-01

Language learners often spend more time comprehending than producing a new language. However, memory research suggests reasons to suspect that production practice might provide a stronger learning experience than comprehension practice. We tested the benefits of production during language learning and the degree to which this learning transfers to comprehension skill. We taught participants an artificial language containing multiple linguistic dependencies. Participants were randomly assigned to either a production- or a comprehension-learning condition, with conditions designed to balance attention demands and other known production-comprehension differences. After training, production-learning participants outperformed comprehension-learning participants on vocabulary comprehension and on comprehension tests of grammatical dependencies, even when we controlled for individual differences in vocabulary learning. This result shows that producing a language during learning can improve subsequent comprehension, which has implications for theories of memory and learning, language representations, and educational practices.

Microgrids in Active Network Management-Part I

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Palizban, Omid; Kauhaniemia, Kimmo; Guerrero, Josep M.

2014-01-01

The microgrid concept has been closely investigated and implemented by numerous experts worldwide. The first part of this paper describes the principles of microgrid design, considering the operational concepts and requirements arising from participation in active network management. Over the las......, energy storage systems, and market participation in both island and grid-connection operation. Finally, control techniques and the principles of energy-storage systems are summarized in a comprehensive flowchart.......The microgrid concept has been closely investigated and implemented by numerous experts worldwide. The first part of this paper describes the principles of microgrid design, considering the operational concepts and requirements arising from participation in active network management. Over the last...

Magnetic resonance imaging of the elbow. Part II: Abnormalities of the ligaments, tendons, and nerves

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kijowski, Richard; Tuite, Michael; Sanford, Matthew [University of Wisconsin Hospital, Department of Radiology, Madison, WI (United States)

2005-01-01

Part II of this comprehensive review on magnetic resonance imaging of the elbow discusses the role of magnetic resonance imaging in evaluating patients with abnormalities of the ligaments, tendons, and nerves of the elbow. Magnetic resonance imaging can yield high-quality multiplanar images which are useful in evaluating the soft tissue structures of the elbow. Magnetic resonance imaging can detect tears of the ulnar collateral ligament and lateral collateral ligament of the elbow with high sensitivity and specificity. Magnetic resonance imaging can determine the extent of tendon pathology in patients with medial epicondylitis and lateral epicondylitis. Magnetic resonance imaging can detect tears of the biceps tendon and triceps tendon and can distinguishing between partial and complete tendon rupture. Magnetic resonance imaging is also helpful in evaluating patients with nerve disorders at the elbow. (orig.)

Developing a Cloze Procedure as a Reading Comprehension Achievement Test

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I Ketut Seken

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The project was concerned with developing a cloze procedure as a reading comprehension achievement test. The subjects were students of the English Department of the Faculty of Letters, State University of Malang, who were halfway in the semester to complete Reading II course. The test was planned and constructed on the foundation of existing theory of cloze test construction. A review of theory concerning reading comprehension, testing reading comprehension, and cloze testing led to the construction of the test, including the decision concerning how to score the test and to interpret the scores. Using a class of 28 students, the test was tried out a week after the mid-semester test was administered by the Reading II teacher. It was found that the test is sufficienty reliable on the basis of a reliability coefficient of .79 through split-half procedure and a coefficient value of .78 by K-R 20. The test also showed high inter-section correlation. The validity of the test was viewed in terms of face, content, and construct. The test scores correlate moderately with those obtained from the mid-semester test by the teacher. Some problems are discussed and a suggestion made with regard to a possible solution to these problems.

Irony and Proverb Comprehension in Schizophrenia: Do Female Patients “Dislike” Ironic Remarks?

Science.gov (United States)

Rapp, Alexander M.; Langohr, Karin; Mutschler, Dorothee E.; Wild, Barbara

2014-01-01

Difficulties in understanding irony and sarcasm are part of the social cognition deficits in patients with schizophrenia. A number of studies have reported higher error rates during comprehension in patients with schizophrenia. However, the relationships of these impairments to schizotypal personality traits and other language deficits, such as the comprehension of proverbs, are unclear. We investigated irony and proverb comprehension in an all-female sample of 20 schizophrenia patients and 27 matched controls. Subjects indicated if a statement was intended to be ironic, literal, or meaningless and furthermore rated the meanness and funniness of the stimuli and certainty of their decision. Patients made significantly more errors than controls did. Globally, there were no overall differences in the ratings. However, patients rated the subgroup of stimuli with answers given incorrectly as having significantly less meanness and in case of an error indicated a significantly higher certainty than controls. Across all of the study participants, performances in irony (r = −0.51) and proverb (r = 0.56) comprehension were significantly correlated with schizotypal personality traits, suggesting a continuum of nonliteral language understanding. Because irony is so frequent in everyday conversations, this makes irony an especially promising candidate for social cognition training in schizophrenia. PMID:24991434

Irony and Proverb Comprehension in Schizophrenia: Do Female Patients “Dislike” Ironic Remarks?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander M. Rapp

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Difficulties in understanding irony and sarcasm are part of the social cognition deficits in patients with schizophrenia. A number of studies have reported higher error rates during comprehension in patients with schizophrenia. However, the relationships of these impairments to schizotypal personality traits and other language deficits, such as the comprehension of proverbs, are unclear. We investigated irony and proverb comprehension in an all-female sample of 20 schizophrenia patients and 27 matched controls. Subjects indicated if a statement was intended to be ironic, literal, or meaningless and furthermore rated the meanness and funniness of the stimuli and certainty of their decision. Patients made significantly more errors than controls did. Globally, there were no overall differences in the ratings. However, patients rated the subgroup of stimuli with answers given incorrectly as having significantly less meanness and in case of an error indicated a significantly higher certainty than controls. Across all of the study participants, performances in irony (r=-0.51 and proverb (r=0.56 comprehension were significantly correlated with schizotypal personality traits, suggesting a continuum of nonliteral language understanding. Because irony is so frequent in everyday conversations, this makes irony an especially promising candidate for social cognition training in schizophrenia.

A summary of the reading comprehension research undertaken with students who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Science.gov (United States)

Luckner, John L; Handley, C Michele

2008-01-01

The American Federation of Teachers (1999) has stated that "the most fundamental responsibility of schools is teaching students to read" (p. 7). The central purpose of reading is comprehension--constructing meaning from text. The purpose of the present study was to identify, review, and summarize the research published in professional peer-reviewed journals related to reading comprehension and school-age students who are deaf or hard of hearing between 1963 and 2005. Fifty-two studies were identified and reviewed. The results were summarized in a table and reported descriptively. The most frequently researched reading comprehension teaching strategies were identified and discussed. The need for more research in this critical area was noted.

Comprehensive data base of high-level nuclear waste glasses: September 1987 status report: Volume 1, Discussion and glass durability data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kindle, C.H.; Kreiter, M.R.

1987-12-01

The Materials Characterization Center (MCC) at Pacific Northwest Laboratory is assembling a comprehensive data base (CDB) of experimental data collected for high-level nuclear waste package components. Data collected throughout the world are included in the data base; current emphasis is on waste glasses and their properties. The goal is to provide a data base of properties and compositions and an analysis of dominant property trends as a function of composition. This data base is a resource that nuclear waste producers, disposers, and regulators can use to compare properties of a particular high-level nuclear waste glass product with the properties of other glasses of similar compositions. Researchers may use the data base to guide experimental tests to fill gaps in the available knowledge or to refine empirical models. The data are incorporated into a computerized data base that will allow the data to be extracted based on, for example, glass composition or test duration. 3 figs

Spectrum of Physics Comprehension

Science.gov (United States)

Blasiak, W.; Godlewska, M.; Rosiek, R.; Wcislo, D.

2012-01-01

The paper presents the results of research on the relationship between self-assessed comprehension of physics lectures and final grades of junior high school students (aged 13-15), high school students (aged 16-18) and physics students at the Pedagogical University of Cracow, Poland (aged 21). Students' declared level of comprehension was measured…

Procedural aspects of the organization of the comprehensive European Board of Ophthalmology Diploma examination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danny G.P. Mathysen

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The comprehensive European Board of Ophthalmology Diploma (EBOD examination is one of 38 European medical specialty examinations. This review aims at disclosing the specific procedures and content of the EBOD examination. It is a descriptive study summarizing the present organization of the EBOD examination. It is the 3rd largest European postgraduate medical assessment after anaesthesiology and cardiology. The master language is English for the Part 1 written test (knowledge test with 52 modified type X multiple-choice questions (in the past the written test was also available in French and German. Ophthalmology training of minimum 4 years in a full or associated European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS member state is a prerequisite. Problem-solving skills are tested in the Part 2 oral assessment, which is a viva of 4 subjects conducted in English with support for native language whenever feasible. The comprehensive EBOD examination is one of the leading examinations organized by UEMS European Boards or Specialist Sections from the point of number of examinees, item banking, and item contents.

16 CFR 1018.43 - Comprehensive review.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Comprehensive review. 1018.43 Section 1018.43 Commercial Practices CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION GENERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MANAGEMENT Records, Annual Reports and Audits § 1018.43 Comprehensive review. A comprehensive review of all...

Comprehensive automation and monitoring of MV grids as the key element of improvement of energy supply reliability and continuity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stanisław Kubacki

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the issue of comprehensive automation and monitoring of medium voltage (MV grids as a key element of the Smart Grid concept. The existing condition of MV grid control and monitoring is discussed, and the concept of a solution which will provide the possibility of remote automatic grid reconfiguration and ensure full grid observability from the dispatching system level is introduced. Automation of MV grid switching is discussed in detail to isolate a faulty line section and supply electricity at the time of the failure to the largest possible number of recipients. An example of such automation controls’ operation is also presented. The paper’s second part presents the key role of the quick fault location function and the possibility of the MV grid’s remote reconfiguration for improving power supply reliability (SAIDI and SAIFI indices. It is also shown how an increase in the number of points fitted with faulted circuit indicators with the option of remote control of switches from the dispatch system in MV grids may affect reduction of SAIDI and SAIFI indices across ENERGA-OPERATOR SA divisions.

Oral and Written Expression in Children With Reading Comprehension Difficulties.

Science.gov (United States)

Carretti, Barbara; Motta, Eleonora; Re, Anna Maria

2016-01-01

Several studies have highlighted that children with reading comprehension difficulties also have problems in tasks that involve telling a story, in writing or verbally. The main differences identified regard poor comprehenders' lower level of coherence in their productions by comparison with good comprehenders. Only one study has compared poor and good comprehenders' performance in both modalities (oral and written), however, to see whether these modalities differently influence poor comprehenders' performance. We qualitatively and quantitatively compared the performance of good and poor comprehenders in oral and written narrative tasks with the aim of shedding light on this issue. Regression analyses were also used to explore the role of working memory and vocabulary in explaining individual differences. Our results showed that the two groups produced narratives of comparable length, with similar percentages of spelling mistakes, whereas they differed in terms of the quality of their narratives, regardless of the modality. These differences were qualified by analyzing the children's use of connective devices, and poor comprehenders were found to use a higher proportion of additive devices than good comprehenders. Regression analyses showed that working memory (particularly the intrusion errors measure) explained a modest part of the qualitative differences in narrative production. Implications for our theoretical understanding of poor comprehenders' profiles and education are discussed. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2014.

The design and application of comprehensive interventional surgery record:evaluation of its usefulness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Xue; Chen Jinhua; Li Jun

2010-01-01

Objective: To design a comprehensive interventional surgery record form in order to standardize and simplify interventional work process and to increase the operative safety. Methods: A comprehensive interventional surgery record form was designed by the authors, which was suitable for making necessary record of different kinds of interventional procedures, for counting operation time, X-ray exposure time and for recording the dose, velocity and injection pressure of the contrast agent used in interventional procedure. The record form made a close combination of the nursing notes with the technological information and focused on compiling the clinical key points. The record form included independent parts for taking the preoperative, in-operative and postoperative facts and evaluations. The corresponding items after employing this record form were compared with that before using this form. The usefulness of the form was evaluated. Results: The use of comprehensive interventional surgery record form overcame the limitations of previously used interventional record chart. The previous record chart paid attention only to the vital signs and operative process, while the newly designed form emphasized the scientific management, which would make the therapeutic procedure to be more standard and the control of X-ray dose and contrast media dosage to be more strict, providing powerful data for scientific administration. After using the comprehensive interventional surgery record form both the nurses' and technicians' comprehensive abilities were improved markedly. Conclusion: The specific and comprehensive interventional record form designed by the authors fully meets the requirements of various interventional procedures, reflecting the particular needs for medical record. The use of this record form can standardize the administration of clinical interventional work. (authors)

Comprehensive model for disruption erosion in a reactor environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hassanein, A.; Konkashbaev, I.

1995-01-01

A comprehensive disruption erosion model which takes into account the interplay of major physical processes during plasma-material interaction has been developed. The model integrates with sufficient detail and in a self-consistent way, material thermal evolution response, plasma-vapor interaction physics, vapor hydrodynamics and radiation transport in order to realistically simulate the effects of a plasma disruption on plasma-facing components. Candidate materials such as beryllium and carbon have been analyzed. The dependence of the net erosion rate on disruption physics and various parameters was analyzed and is discussed. ((orig.))

Survey of sterile admixture practices in canadian hospital pharmacies: part 2. More results and discussion.

Science.gov (United States)

Warner, Travis; Nishi, Cesilia; Checkowski, Ryan; Hall, Kevin W

2009-05-01

The 1996 Guidelines for Preparation of Sterile Products in Pharmacies of the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists (CSHP) represent the current standard of practice for sterile compounding in Canada. However, these guidelines are practice recommendations, not enforceable standards. Previous surveys of sterile compounding practices have shown that actual practice deviates markedly from voluntary practice recommendations. In 2004, the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) published its "General Chapter Pharmaceutical Compounding-Sterile Preparations", which set a more rigorous and enforceable standard for sterile compounding in the United States. To assess sterile compounding practices in Canadian hospital pharmacies and to compare them with current CSHP recommendations and USP chapter standards. An online survey, based on previous studies of sterile compounding practices, the CSHP guidelines, and the chapter standards, was created and distributed to 193 Canadian hospital pharmacies. A total of 133 pharmacies completed at least part of the survey, for a response rate of 68.9%. All respondents reported the preparation of sterile products. Various degrees of deviation from the practice recommendations were noted for virtually all areas of the CSHP guidelines and the USP standards. Low levels of compliance were most notable in the areas of facilities and equipment, process validation, and product testing. Availability in the central pharmacy of a clean room facility meeting or exceeding the criteria of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) class 8 is a requirement of the chapter standards, but more than 40% of responding pharmacies reported that they did not have such a facility. Higher levels of compliance were noted for policies and procedures, garbing requirements, aseptic technique, and handling of hazardous products. The survey methods for this study and results relating to policies, personnel, raw materials, storage and handling, facilities and

Is three the magic number? The role of ergonomic principles in cross country comprehension of road traffic signs.

Science.gov (United States)

Jamson, Samantha; Mrozek, Marco

2017-07-01

Road sign comprehension plays an important part in road safety management, particularly for those drivers who are travelling in an unfamiliar country. Previous research has established that comprehension can be improved if signs are designed to adhere to ergonomic principles. However, it may be difficult for sign designers to incorporate all the principles into a single sign and may thus have to make a judgement as to the most effective ones. This study surveyed drivers in three countries to ascertain their understanding of a range of road signs, each of which conformed in varying degrees and combinations to the ergonomic principles. We found that using three of the principles was the most effective and that the most important one was that relating to standardisation; the colours and shapes used were key to comprehension. Other concepts which related to physical and spatial characteristics were less important, whilst conceptual compatibility did not aid comprehension at all. Practitioner Summary: This study explores how road sign comprehension can be improved using ergonomic principles, with particular reference to cross-border drivers. It was found that comprehension can be improved significantly if standardisation is adhered to and if at least three principles are used.

Direct and mediated effects of language and cognitive skills on comprehension of oral narrative texts (listening comprehension) for children.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Young-Suk Grace

2016-01-01

We investigated component language and cognitive skills of oral language comprehension of narrative texts (i.e., listening comprehension). Using the construction-integration model of text comprehension as an overarching theoretical framework, we examined direct and mediated relations of foundational cognitive skills (working memory and attention), foundational language skills (vocabulary and grammatical knowledge), and higher-order cognitive skills (inference, theory of mind, and comprehension monitoring) to listening comprehension. A total of 201 first grade children in South Korea participated in the study. Structural equation modeling results showed that listening comprehension is directly predicted by working memory, grammatical knowledge, inference, and theory of mind and is indirectly predicted by attention, vocabulary, and comprehension monitoring. The total effects were .46 for working memory, .07 for attention, .30 for vocabulary, .49 for grammatical knowledge, .31 for inference, .52 for theory of mind, and .18 for comprehension monitoring. These results suggest that multiple language and cognitive skills make contributions to listening comprehension, and their contributions are both direct and indirect. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Discussions of Adolescent Sexuality in News Media Coverage of the HPV Vaccine

Science.gov (United States)

Casciotti, Dana M.; Smith, Katherine C.; Tsui, Amy

2017-01-01

Given the sexually transmitted nature of human papillomavirus (HPV), some worry the HPV vaccine will create a false sense of security and promote adolescent sexual activity. Media coverage of vaccines can influence social norms, parental attitudes, and vaccine acceptance; in this paper we examine U.S. news media messages related to sexuality and HPV vaccination. Drawing on a structured analysis of 447 articles published during 2005-2009, we qualitatively analyzed a purposive sample of 49 articles discussing adolescent health behaviors related to HPV vaccination. Commonly, articles discussed vaccination in the context of abstinence-only versus comprehensive sexual health education; cited research findings to support vaccination or sex education; argued against connecting vaccination to promiscuous behavior; but included fear-inducing messages. Media messages concerning health behaviors related to HPV vaccination tended to support government and parental involvement in sex education, and dismiss concerns linking vaccination to sexual activity, while also presenting the vaccine as lifesaving. PMID:24439619

Solar--geophysical data number 410, October 1978. Part II. (Comprehensive reports). Data for April 1978--March 1978 and miscellanea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coffey, H.E.

1978-10-01

This comprehensive report for April 1978, March 1978 and Miscellaneous data provides data on active regions, synoptic solar maps, solar flares, solar radio waves, energetic solar particles and plasma, synoptic chart, abbreviated calendar record, regional flare index, solar x-ray radiation, cosmic rays, energetic solar particles and plasma for March 1978 and solar flares for February 1978

Informed consent comprehension in African research settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Afolabi, Muhammed O; Okebe, Joseph U; McGrath, Nuala; Larson, Heidi J; Bojang, Kalifa; Chandramohan, Daniel

2014-06-01

Previous reviews on participants' comprehension of informed consent information have focused on developed countries. Experience has shown that ethical standards developed on Western values may not be appropriate for African settings where research concepts are unfamiliar. We undertook this review to describe how informed consent comprehension is defined and measured in African research settings. We conducted a comprehensive search involving five electronic databases: Medline, Embase, Global Health, EthxWeb and Bioethics Literature Database (BELIT). We also examined African Index Medicus and Google Scholar for relevant publications on informed consent comprehension in clinical studies conducted in sub-Saharan Africa. 29 studies satisfied the inclusion criteria; meta-analysis was possible in 21 studies. We further conducted a direct comparison of participants' comprehension on domains of informed consent in all eligible studies. Comprehension of key concepts of informed consent varies considerably from country to country and depends on the nature and complexity of the study. Meta-analysis showed that 47% of a total of 1633 participants across four studies demonstrated comprehension about randomisation (95% CI 13.9-80.9%). Similarly, 48% of 3946 participants in six studies had understanding about placebo (95% CI 19.0-77.5%), while only 30% of 753 participants in five studies understood the concept of therapeutic misconception (95% CI 4.6-66.7%). Measurement tools for informed consent comprehension were developed with little or no validation. Assessment of comprehension was carried out at variable times after disclosure of study information. No uniform definition of informed consent comprehension exists to form the basis for development of an appropriate tool to measure comprehension in African participants. Comprehension of key concepts of informed consent is poor among study participants across Africa. There is a vital need to develop a uniform definition for

Language comprehension in ape and child.

Science.gov (United States)

Savage-Rumbaugh, E S; Murphy, J; Sevcik, R A; Brakke, K E; Williams, S L; Rumbaugh, D M

1993-01-01

required the ability to reverse work order as they did on sentences that did not require this capacity. These results are discussed in light of a model of the evolution of language that suggests that the potential for language comprehension preceded the appearance of speech by several million years at minimum. The onset of speech is linked to the appearance of fully adapted bipedalism, which necessitated reorientation of the laryngeal tract and made closure of the soft palate possible. For the first time, such closure permitted mammals to easily produce sounds that could be interpreted by the mammalian auditory system in a categorical manner. When these sounds were paired with the previously extant capacity to produce vowels, it became possible to form "bounded vowels" or sound units that could readily be discriminated as units by the auditory system. It is suggested that this physical adaptation allowed the extant cognitive capacity of the hominids to embark on a speech-like mode of communication.

Toward TiO2 Nanofluids—Part 1: Preparation and Properties

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Liu; Hu, Yuhan

2017-06-01

As a new generation of working fluid, nanofluid has long been regarded as a hot research topic in the past three decades. Many review papers have provided comprehensive and systematic summaries on the development and state-of-the-art of nanofluids. As of today, it is becoming increasingly difficult to provide a comprehensive review of all kinds of nanofluids owing to the huge amounts of the related literatures. And many controversies and inconsistencies in the reported arguments have been observed in various nanofluids. Meanwhile, the systematic or comprehensive reviews on a certain kind of nanofluid are insufficient. Therefore, this review focuses on the research about one of the hottest kinds viz. TiO2 nanofluid, which has captured scientists' great attention because of its interesting and comprehensive properties such as sensational dispersivity, chemical stability, and non-toxicity. Due to the preparation of nanofluids is the prerequisite and physical properties are critical factors for further applications, this first part of the review summarizes recent research on preparation, stability, and physical properties of TiO2 nanofluids.

The Effect of Educational Software, Video Modelling and Group Discussion on Social-Skill Acquisition Among Students with Mild Intellectual Disabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Hetzroni, Orit E; Banin, Irit

2017-07-01

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) often demonstrate difficulties in social skills. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a comprehensive intervention program on the acquisition of social skills among students with mild IDD. Single subject multiple baseline design across situations was used for teaching five school-age children with mild IDD social skills embedded in school-based situations. Results demonstrate that the intervention program that included video modelling and games embedded with group discussions and simulations increased the level and use of adequate social behaviours within the school's natural environment. Results demonstrate the unique attribution of a comprehensive interactive program for acquisition and transfer of participants' social skills such as language pragmatics and social rules within the school environment. Group discussions and simulations were beneficial and enabled both group and personalized instruction through the unique application of the program designed for the study. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Mechanisms of cold fusion: comprehensive explanations by the Nattoh model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsumoto, Takaaki

1995-01-01

The phenomena of cold fusion seem to be very complicated; inconsistent data between the production rates of heat, neutrons, tritiums and heliums. Our thoughts need to drastically change in order to appropriately understand the mechanisms of cold fusion. Here, a review is described for the Nattoh model, that has been developed extensively to provide comprehensive explanations for the mechanisms of cold fusion. Important experimental findings that prove the model are described. Furthermore several subjects including impacts on other fields are also discussed. (author)

Distractions, distractions: does instant messaging affect college students' performance on a concurrent reading comprehension task?

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, Annie Beth; Rosen, Jonathan; Crawford, Mary

2009-02-01

Instant messaging (IM) has become one of the most popular forms of computer-mediated communication (CMC) and is especially prevalent on college campuses. Previous research suggests that IM users often multitask while conversing online. To date, no one has yet examined the cognitive effect of concurrent IM use. Participants in the present study (N = 69) completed a reading comprehension task uninterrupted or while concurrently holding an IM conversation. Participants who IMed while performing the reading task took significantly longer to complete the task, indicating that concurrent IM use negatively affects efficiency. Concurrent IM use did not affect reading comprehension scores. Additional analyses revealed that the more time participants reported spending on IM, the lower their reading comprehension scores. Finally, we found that the more time participants reported spending on IM, the lower their self-reported GPA. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Public health educational comprehensiveness: The strategic rationale in establishing networks among schools of public health.

Science.gov (United States)

Otok, Robert; Czabanowska, Katarzyna; Foldspang, Anders

2017-11-01

The establishment and continuing development of a sufficient and competent public health workforce is fundamental for the planning, implementation, evaluation, effect and ethical validity of public health strategies and policies and, thus, for the development of the population's health and the cost-effectiveness of health and public health systems and interventions. Professional public health strategy-making demands a background of a comprehensive multi-disciplinary curriculum including mutually, dynamically coherent competences - not least, competences in sociology and other behavioural sciences and their interaction with, for example, epidemiology, biostatistics, qualitative methods and health promotion and disease prevention. The size of schools and university departments of public health varies, and smaller entities may run into problems if seeking to meet the comprehensive curriculum challenge entirely by use of in-house resources. This commentary discusses the relevance and strength of establishing comprehensive curriculum development networks between schools and university departments of public health, as one means to meet the comprehensiveness challenge. This commentary attempts to consider a two-stage strategy to develop complete curricula at the bachelor and master's as well as PhD levels.

On the Effect of Negotiated Metacognitive Assessments on Improving Listening Comprehension: A Case of Iranian EFL Learners

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masoud Yazdani Moghadam

2015-05-01

Full Text Available This paper reports a study investigating the role of negotiated assessment of metacognitive listening strategies in enhancing listening comprehension. To this aim, 60 Iranian EFL learners at intermediate level of language proficiency were assigned to an experimental (n = 30 and control group (n = 30. An attempt was made by the teacher in experimental group to raise students’ awareness of metacognitive strategies both prior to and after the doing listening comprehension tasks in a time bracket of eight weeks. Nonetheless, the control group followed conventional product-oriented approach to listening instruction; that is, no attempt was made to engage them in metacognitive instruction. Listening comprehension of both groups was assessed by listening section of IELTS at the onset and end of the study. Results of the study revealed that negotiated metacognitive assessment managed to significantly increase gains in listening comprehension. Furthermore, the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group. The results gave more credence to the positive role of process-based approach to teaching listening comprehension. The results are discussed in the light of metacognition and some pedagogical implications are included.

Comprehensive brachytherapy physical and clinical aspects

CERN Document Server

Baltas, Dimos; Meigooni, Ali S; Hoskin, Peter J

2013-01-01

Modern brachytherapy is one of the most important oncological treatment modalities requiring an integrated approach that utilizes new technologies, advanced clinical imaging facilities, and a thorough understanding of the radiobiological effects on different tissues, the principles of physics, dosimetry techniques and protocols, and clinical expertise. A complete overview of the field, Comprehensive Brachytherapy: Physical and Clinical Aspects is a landmark publication, presenting a detailed account of the underlying physics, design, and implementation of the techniques, along with practical guidance for practitioners. Bridging the gap between research and application, this single source brings together the technological basis, radiation dosimetry, quality assurance, and fundamentals of brachytherapy. In addition, it presents discussion of the most recent clinical practice in brachytherapy including prostate, gynecology, breast, and other clinical treatment sites. Along with exploring new clinical protocols, ...

The Effects of Visual Attention Span and Phonological Decoding in Reading Comprehension in Dyslexia: A Path Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chen; Schneps, Matthew H; Masyn, Katherine E; Thomson, Jennifer M

2016-11-01

Increasing evidence has shown visual attention span to be a factor, distinct from phonological skills, that explains single-word identification (pseudo-word/word reading) performance in dyslexia. Yet, little is known about how well visual attention span explains text comprehension. Observing reading comprehension in a sample of 105 high school students with dyslexia, we used a pathway analysis to examine the direct and indirect path between visual attention span and reading comprehension while controlling for other factors such as phonological awareness, letter identification, short-term memory, IQ and age. Integrating phonemic decoding efficiency skills in the analytic model, this study aimed to disentangle how visual attention span and phonological skills work together in reading comprehension for readers with dyslexia. We found visual attention span to have a significant direct effect on more difficult reading comprehension but not on an easier level. It also had a significant direct effect on pseudo-word identification but not on word identification. In addition, we found that visual attention span indirectly explains reading comprehension through pseudo-word reading and word reading skills. This study supports the hypothesis that at least part of the dyslexic profile can be explained by visual attention abilities. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Moderated discussion: Are we addressing the ``real`` issue?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feher, M [Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., Chalk River, ON (Canada)

1997-09-01

Session 5 a was moderated discussion on the topic of ``Are we addressing the `real` issue?`` The Moderator opened the session with the following questions areas to stimulate discussion. Questions Part 1: Is the concept of alarms and alarm systems still valid? Are we designing for physical features rather than information that has to be conveyed? Are we addressing the essential annunciation needs or are attempting to implement patch-work solutions to solve specific problems? Is the design process so firmly established in organizations that a major change is required to result in different and improved approaches? Will the cost of increasing scrutinity for Software QA make advancement impossible or too costly? What is the role of overview display in accident management and how do imbedded alarms play a role? Is the need for reliable signals adequately addressed (or can it be)? Questions Part 2: Should we include automated diagnosis and decision making with annunciation? What is the role of the operator? Is the operator someone who only follows fixed procedures, or is he/she a responsible authority, or both? Does the focus on safety-first divert the attention away from other important issues, such as operational efficiency? Does the concept of ``hard-wired`` annunciation still apply given advancements in reliability of computer systems? How do we shorten the design and implementation time period cost effectively while still improving the performance?.

Moderated discussion: Are we addressing the ''real'' issue?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feher, M.

1997-01-01

Session 5 a was moderated discussion on the topic of ''Are we addressing the 'real' issue?'' The Moderator opened the session with the following questions areas to stimulate discussion. Questions Part 1: Is the concept of alarms and alarm systems still valid? Are we designing for physical features rather than information that has to be conveyed? Are we addressing the essential annunciation needs or are attempting to implement patch-work solutions to solve specific problems? Is the design process so firmly established in organizations that a major change is required to result in different and improved approaches? Will the cost of increasing scrutinity for Software QA make advancement impossible or too costly? What is the role of overview display in accident management and how do imbedded alarms play a role? Is the need for reliable signals adequately addressed (or can it be)? Questions Part 2: Should we include automated diagnosis and decision making with annunciation? What is the role of the operator? Is the operator someone who only follows fixed procedures, or is he/she a responsible authority, or both? Does the focus on safety-first divert the attention away from other important issues, such as operational efficiency? Does the concept of ''hard-wired'' annunciation still apply given advancements in reliability of computer systems? How do we shorten the design and implementation time period cost effectively while still improving the performance?

WTC. A discussion on built space regeneration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marina Mihăilă

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Before 9/11 WTC was an international landmark. The definition of the two high-rise buildings identity, their tourist, social, visual and economic significance, disappeared with the destruction of their materiality. As a result, the contemplative visual and unwritten discourse of the Lower Manhattan disappeared together with the architectural, urban, technological essence and also with the philosophy of stability and equilibrium of a prosperous society. At the social-mental level this event triggers a crisis in personal and collective consciences (of the American Nation but also of the Nations, and a crisis of humanity. The architectural - urban and ideas competition organized to select the best urban-social-architectural concept proved to be a difficult task. Not only it had to “fill” a particular place on earth, but it also needed to configure a philosophy of place that would ‘heal” the wounds of the local and international communities, namely the lack of security and prosperity brought on by a no longer hidden technology of aggression bringing cities and communities under threats never experienced before at times of peace. In its first part the article discusses the competition, proposals and the finalized urban project. The particular challenges related to the selection of design in the case of WTC are doubled by a certain complexity related to the institutional arrangements common to most large urban development projects. It is also clear that there is interdependency between the project governance and the project results. These aspects are discussed in the second part of the article.

Comprehension or comprehending? Using Critical Language ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

It is argued that the genre of the school reading comprehension exercise is a prime inculcator of thoughtless and non-interactive reading practices. Doing 'a comprehension' (the word is often nominalised in this manner) and answering the comprehension questions often 'counts as' reading and substitutes for other types of ...

Response to Discussion of "Investigation of Oxide Bifilms in Investment Cast Superalloy IN100 Part I and II"

Science.gov (United States)

Kaplan, M. A.; Fuchs, G. E.

2017-10-01

In his most recent letter (Campbell in Met Trans A, 2017), Professor Campbell provides additional comments on Kaplan and Fuchs papers "Oxides Bifilms in Superalloy: IN100, Parts I and II (Met Trans A 47A:2346-2361, 2016; Met Trans A 47A:2362-2375, 2016) and on their response to his initial comments (Met Trans A 47A:3806-3809, 2016). In this recent submission, Campbell provides some very interesting thoughts on why bifilms were not observed by Kaplan and Fuchs and creates a new theory for the formation of defects referred to as bifilms. However, Campbell again provides no evidence to substantiate the presence of bifilms in Ni-base superalloys or his newly theorized mechanism. The vast majority of Campbell's comments are based solely on the re-interpretation of the photomicrographs and the data reported in the literature, including those presented by Kaplan and Fuchs (Met Trans A 47A:2346-2361, 2016; Met Trans A 47A:2362-2375, 2016). Campbell claims that bifilms are present throughout Ni-base superalloys, even though no one else has reported the presence of bifilms in Ni-base superalloys. In re-interpreting the data and images, Campbell ignores the extensive surface characterization results reported by Kaplan and Fuchs (Met Trans A 47A:2346-2361, 2016; Met Trans A 47A:2362-2375, 2016) that clearly indicate that there are no oxide films or bifilms on the fracture surfaces examined. Please note that this discussion of Campbell's most recent letter will be limited to Ni-base superalloys, since that is the subject of the research reported by Kaplan and Fuchs.

A cross-language study of decontextualized vocabulary comprehension in toddlerhood and kindergarten readiness.

Science.gov (United States)

Friend, Margaret; Smolak, Erin; Liu, Yushuang; Poulin-Dubois, Diane; Zesiger, Pascal

2018-04-05

Recent studies demonstrate that emerging literacy depends on earlier language achievement. Importantly, most extant work focuses on parent-reported production prior to 30 months of age. Of interest is whether and how directly assessed vocabulary comprehension in the 2nd year of life supports vocabulary and kindergarten readiness in the 4th year. We first contrasted orthogonal indices of parent-reported production and directly assessed vocabulary comprehension and found that comprehension was a stronger predictor of child outcomes. We then assessed prediction from vocabulary comprehension controlling for maternal education, preschool attendance, and child sex. In 3 studies early, decontextualized vocabulary comprehension emerged as a significant predictor of 4th year language and kindergarten readiness accounting for unique variance above demographic control variables. Further we found that the effect of early vocabulary on 4th year kindergarten readiness was not mediated by 4th year vocabulary. This pattern of results emerged in English monolingual children (N = 48) and replicated in French monolingual (N = 58) and French-English bilingual children (N = 34). Our findings suggest that early, decontextualized vocabulary may provide a platform for the establishment of a conceptual system that supports both later vocabulary and kindergarten readiness, including the acquisition of a wide range of concepts including print and number. Differences between parent-reported and directly assessed vocabulary and the mechanisms by which decontextualized vocabulary may contribute to conceptual development are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Testing Audiovisual Comprehension Tasks with Questions Embedded in Videos as Subtitles: A Pilot Multimethod Study

Science.gov (United States)

Núñez, Juan Carlos Casañ

2017-01-01

Listening, watching, reading and writing simultaneously in a foreign language is very complex. This paper is part of wider research which explores the use of audiovisual comprehension questions imprinted in the video image in the form of subtitles and synchronized with the relevant fragments for the purpose of language learning and testing.…

Individual differences in reading comprehension : A componential approach to eighth graders’ expository text comprehension

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Welie, C.J.M.

2017-01-01

Why do secondary school students differ in their text comprehension? This is an important question because many secondary school students are unable to achieve the level of text comprehension required to enable learning from their school book texts. This thesis contributes to answering this question

Idiom Comprehension in Mandarin-Speaking Children

Science.gov (United States)

Hsieh, Shelley Ching-Yu; Hsu, Chun-Chieh Natalie

2010-01-01

This study examines the effect of familiarity, context, and linguistic convention on idiom comprehension in Mandarin speaking children. Two experiments (a comprehension task followed by a comprehension task coupled with a metapragmatic task) were administered to test participants in three age groups (6 and 9-year-olds, and an adult control group).…

Comprehensive Nuclear Test-ban Treaty

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-07-01

The Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty was adopted by the General Assembly on 10 September 1996 (Res/50/245) and was open for signature by all states on 24 September 1996. It will enter into force 180 days after the date of deposit of the instruments of ratification by all states listed in Annex 2 to the Treaty. This document reproduces the text of the Treaty and the Protocol to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Protocol to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty. 4 tabs.

Comprehensive Nuclear Test-ban Treaty

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

The Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty was adopted by the General Assembly on 10 September 1996 (Res/50/245) and was open for signature by all states on 24 September 1996. It will enter into force 180 days after the date of deposit of the instruments of ratification by all states listed in Annex 2 to the Treaty. This document reproduces the text of the Treaty and the Protocol to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Protocol to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty

Round table discussion during session 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aebersold, M.

2004-01-01

The round table discussions of the first session of the Belgium Workshop addressed the following questions: - Accepting or refusing a person, an institution or a grouping as a legitimate Stakeholder who makes the decision and how? - How are the local partnerships built and organised? - How to obtain community support for the partnership's legitimate decisions/findings? - Experience teaches that no decision is reached solely by formal and legal processes. What role do informal processes play? - How can the informal procedures be accepted? Do they need to be made explicit? Discussion took place after the plenary presentations, at tables grouping Belgian stakeholders and FSC delegates. After the discussion, each table's findings were reported to the plenary. Most of the discussion concerned the local partnerships. Important findings were that the statutes for the partnerships were developed by the partnerships themselves and there were no legally binding rules handed down by the federal level. The partnerships are part of an informal process. A legally binding participation (i.e. within the EIA) will be initiated at a later stage. As the partnerships function outside of the formal legal procedure, they can function in a more flexible way. It was noted that the partnerships make recommendations, but it is not clear what the government will do with these recommendations. It was also argued that the process may cause conflicts between neighboring communities. As in other contexts visited by the FSC, the importance of the right of veto of the community was stressed, although this may cause a conflict between technical suitability and social acceptance. Access of the community to the local partnership is necessary. Finally it was accepted that time is needed to explain the recommendations to the broader community before any decisions are taken. (author)

Available forest biomass for new energetic and industrial prospects. Part 1: analysis and synthesis of existing studies compiled at the international level. Part 2: volume calculations. Part 3: economic part. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-01-01

Motivated by new energetic constraints and the interest of biomass, the authors report a bibliographical survey of studies concerning the evaluation of the available forest biomass. They comment the geographical and time distribution of the identified and compiled studies. They analyse their different topics. Then, they discuss the various field hypotheses, discuss and comments various resource assessment methodologies. They comment the resource the French forest can be, present a synthesis of the available resource at the regional level according to the different studies. They propose a review of some technical-economical aspects (costs, energy cost, price evolutions, improvement of the wood-energy mobilization). The second part proposes a whole set of volume calculations for different forest types (clusters or plantations of trees, copses, sawmills products), for industry and household consumption. It discusses the available volumes with respect to accessibility, additional available volumes, and possible improvements. The third part analyses, comments and discusses the wood market and wood energetic uses, and the possible supply curves for wood energetic uses by 2016

Provider-patient in-office discussions of response to hepatitis C antiviral therapy and impact on patient comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Heidi E; Nelson, Meaghan; Martin, Paul; Cotler, Scott J

2006-04-01

Providers need to communicate projected response rates effectively to enable patients with hepatitis C virus to make informed decisions about therapy. This study used interactional sociolinguistics (1) to evaluate how gastroenterologists and allied health professionals communicate information regarding response rates to antiviral therapy, (2) to determine how these discussions relate to where the patient is in the continuum of evaluation and treatment, (3) to assess whether patients were aligned with providers in their perceptions of response rates after office visits, and (4) to identify factors that improve provider-patient alignment. Gastroenterologists, allied health professionals, and patients with hepatitis C virus were videotaped and audiotaped during regularly scheduled visits. Postvisit interviews were conducted separately with patients and providers. Visits and postvisits were transcribed and analyzed using validated sociolinguistic techniques. The phase of hepatitis C virus treatment shaped the benchmarks of response talk, although across the treatment continuum providers overwhelmingly made strategic use of positive statistics, providing motivation. In postvisit interviews, 55% of providers and patients were aligned on response rates. Patients with a favorable outcome and patients who asked response-related questions in the visit were more likely to be aligned with providers. Areas identified for improvement included the tendency to discuss response rates before an individualized assessment could be made, balancing motivation and accuracy, and assessing the patient's perspective before delivering any bad news, if necessary. Sociolinguistic analysis provides a powerful tool to evaluate provider-patient interactions and to identify ways to improve in-office communication regarding antiviral therapy.

18 CFR 801.5 - Comprehensive plan.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Comprehensive plan. 801... POLICIES § 801.5 Comprehensive plan. (a) The Compact requires that the Commission formulate and adopt a comprehensive plan for the immediate and long-range development and use of the water resources of the basin. (1...

Some Themes in the Discussion of the Quality of Life

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Røpke, Inge

1999-01-01

Abstract This paper is motivated by the need to discuss the quality of life as a part of the background for devising environmental strategies. When environmental strategies are devised, it is often more or less tacitly assumed that we should try to avoid measures that imply a decrease in the level....... The critical perspective is developed by dealing with welfare or the quality of life: what does it mean to have a good life? On the basis of this discussion, the relationship between consumption and welfare can then be assessed. The approach to the discussion of the quality of life in this paper is first...... with the different themes in the discussion of the quality of life. The point of departure is taken in some critical considerations related to the traditional conceptualization of welfare. After that, some inspiration from the debate on basic needs is outlined and supplemented with some reflections on the dual...

Reading comprehension difficulties in children with rolandic epilepsy.

Science.gov (United States)

Currie, Nicola K; Lew, Adina R; Palmer, Tom M; Basu, Helen; De Goede, Christian; Iyer, Anand; Cain, Kate

2018-03-01

Difficulties in reading comprehension can arise from either word reading or listening comprehension difficulties, or a combination of the two. We sought to determine whether children with rolandic epilepsy had poor reading comprehension relative to typically developing comparison children, and whether such difficulties were associated with word reading and/or general language comprehension difficulties. In this cross-sectional study, children with rolandic epilepsy (n=25; 16 males, 9 females; mean age 9y 1mo, SD 1y 7mo) and a comparison group (n=39; 25 males, 14 females; mean age 9y 1mo, SD 1y 3mo) completed assessments of reading comprehension, listening comprehension, word/non-word reading, speech articulation, and Non-verbal IQ. Reading comprehension and word reading were worse in children with rolandic epilepsy (F 1,61 =6.89, p=0.011, ηp2=0.10 and F 1,61 =6.84, p=0.011, ηp2=0.10 respectively), with listening comprehension being marginal (F 1,61 =3.81, p=0.055, ηp2=0.06). Word reading and listening comprehension made large and independent contributions to reading comprehension, explaining 70% of the variance. Children with rolandic epilepsy may be at risk of reading comprehension difficulties. Thorough assessment of individual children is required to ascertain whether the difficulties lie with decoding text, or with general comprehension skills, or both. Children with rolandic epilepsy may be at risk of poor reading comprehension. This was related to poor word reading, poor listening comprehension, or both. Reading comprehension interventions should be tailored to the profile of difficulties. © 2017 Mac Keith Press.

The Impact of Enactive /Vicarious pre-reading Tasks on Reading Comprehension and Self-Efficacy of Iranian Pre-Intermediate EFL Learners

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arezoo Eshghipour

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the effect of enactive pre-reading tasks on Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners’ reading comprehension and self-efficacy. Moreover, it explored whether Iranian per-intermediate EFL learners’ reading comprehension and self-efficacy are influenced by vicarious pre-reading tasks. The required data was gathered through a reading comprehension passage entailing 20 comprehension questions and a 30-item self-efficacy questionnaire with 5-point Likert-scale response options. A total of 66 participants (including 34 individuals in the enactive group and 32 leaners in the vicarious one took part in this study. The Pearson formula, an independent T-Test, paired T-test, and the Mann-Whitney U test were used to analyze the data. Based on the findings of the study, enactive pre-reading tasks played a key role in the Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners’ reading comprehension ability. Moreover, it was found that vicarious pre-reading tasks served an important role in the Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners’ self-efficacy.

Comprehensive studies on irradiated single-crystal diamond sensors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stegler, Martin [DESY, Zeuthen (Germany)

2015-07-01

Single-crystal diamond sensors are used as part of the Beam and Radiation Instrumentation and Luminosity (BRIL) projects of the CMS experiment. Due to an upgrade of the Fast Beam Conditions Monitor (BCM1F) these diamond sensors are exchanged and the irradiated ones are now used for comprehensive studies. Current over voltage (IV), current over time (CT) and charge collection efficiency (CCE) measurements were performed for a better understanding of the radiation damage incurred during operation and to compensate in the future. The effect of illumination with various light sources on the charge collection efficiency was investigated and led to interesting results. Intensity and wavelength of the light were varied for deeper insight of polarization effects.

Comprehension and production of idioms in dysphasia.

Science.gov (United States)

Bush, P G; Drummond, S S

1985-10-01

The comprehension and production of idioms was investigated in 10 dysphasic adults. Two different tasks, one comprehension and the other production, were developed. The production task required the subject to verbally explain 15 idioms. The comprehension task necessitated the selection of the correct figurative representation of the idiom from four illustrations: a literal, a literal variation, a figurative, and an unrelated picture. Results indicated no significant correlation between overall comprehension and production performances. No significant difference was found between the comprehension or the production of idioms when type or severity of dysphasia was considered. A significant difference was found, however, in the type of incorrect response, in that subjects selected the literal depiction more often than other foil representations for the comprehension.

For US Students, L2 Reading Comprehension Is Hard Because L2 Listening Comprehension Is Hard, Too

Science.gov (United States)

Sparks, Richard; Patton, Jon; Luebbers, Julie

2018-01-01

The Simple View of Reading (SVR) model posits that reading is the product of word decoding and language comprehension and that oral language (listening) comprehension is the best predictor of reading comprehension once word-decoding skill has been established. The SVR model also proposes that there are good readers and three types of poor…

75 FR 41106 - Amendments to the Water Quality Regulations, Water Code and Comprehensive Plan to Update Water...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-15

... DELAWARE RIVER BASIN COMMISSION 18 CFR Part 410 Amendments to the Water Quality Regulations, Water Code and Comprehensive Plan to Update Water Quality Criteria for Toxic Pollutants in the Delaware... hold a public hearing to receive comments on proposed amendments to the Commission's Water Quality...

The Effects of Cooperative Learning on Improving English Pronunciation and Comprehension of Medical Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zeinab Sanaee Moghadam

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Acquisition of intelligible English pronunciation and comprehension of medical texts has been considered as an important need for medical students. This can be improved by employing different methods and taking into consideration various learning styles of students. This study is an attempt to reveal the effect of cooperative learning on enhancing pronunciation and reading comprehension in students of medicine in Yasuj University of Medical Sciences. Methods: All 60 students of medicine in Yasuj University of Medical Sciences who enrolled in English for specific purposes 1st Feb 2013 took part in this quasi experimental study and were divided into two groups of thirties, according to the enrollment list. Cooperative learning was implemented with the experimental group dividing them into groups of five randomly, while the control group was taught with traditional method. Phonetic transcriptions were used along with passages taken from their book for the two groups. The data collected from three reading aloud tasks, scores of pretest, and midterm and final written examinations were analyzed using SPSS software, version19. Results: The results of the study showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group significantly (P<0.05 in all areas of reading aloud tests, pronunciation, and comprehension. Conclusion: It is concluded that cooperative learning significantly improves medical students’ pronunciation and comprehension. Teaching pronunciation and comprehension through cooperative learning yields better learning results for university students.

The influence of age, hearing, and working memory on the speech comprehension benefit derived from an automatic speech recognition system.

Science.gov (United States)

Zekveld, Adriana A; Kramer, Sophia E; Kessens, Judith M; Vlaming, Marcel S M G; Houtgast, Tammo

2009-04-01

The aim of the current study was to examine whether partly incorrect subtitles that are automatically generated by an Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) system, improve speech comprehension by listeners with hearing impairment. In an earlier study (Zekveld et al. 2008), we showed that speech comprehension in noise by young listeners with normal hearing improves when presenting partly incorrect, automatically generated subtitles. The current study focused on the effects of age, hearing loss, visual working memory capacity, and linguistic skills on the benefit obtained from automatically generated subtitles during listening to speech in noise. In order to investigate the effects of age and hearing loss, three groups of participants were included: 22 young persons with normal hearing (YNH, mean age = 21 years), 22 middle-aged adults with normal hearing (MA-NH, mean age = 55 years) and 30 middle-aged adults with hearing impairment (MA-HI, mean age = 57 years). The benefit from automatic subtitling was measured by Speech Reception Threshold (SRT) tests (Plomp & Mimpen, 1979). Both unimodal auditory and bimodal audiovisual SRT tests were performed. In the audiovisual tests, the subtitles were presented simultaneously with the speech, whereas in the auditory test, only speech was presented. The difference between the auditory and audiovisual SRT was defined as the audiovisual benefit. Participants additionally rated the listening effort. We examined the influences of ASR accuracy level and text delay on the audiovisual benefit and the listening effort using a repeated measures General Linear Model analysis. In a correlation analysis, we evaluated the relationships between age, auditory SRT, visual working memory capacity and the audiovisual benefit and listening effort. The automatically generated subtitles improved speech comprehension in noise for all ASR accuracies and delays covered by the current study. Higher ASR accuracy levels resulted in more benefit obtained

Encouraging Classroom Discussion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Joseph McKee

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Classroom discussion has the potential to enhance the learning environment and encourages students to become active participants in the educational process. Student participation in classroom discussion has been shown to significantly improve the student learning experience. Research suggests that classroom discussion is an effective method for encouraging student classroom participation and for motivating student learning beyond the classroom. Participation in classroom discussion encourages students to become active collaborators in the learning process, while at the same time providing instructors with a practical method of assessing student learning. Classroom discussion is an effective tool for developing higher-level cognitive skills like critical thinking. Despite the potential discussion holds for student learning, many in academia lament the lack of participation in the classroom. The lack of student participation in classroom discussion is not a recent problem; it is one that has frustrated instructors for decades. Instructors report that some of the more current methods for encouraging classroom discussion can be exasperating and at times non-productive. This two-year study of 510 college and university students provides insight into the reasons why some students do not participate in classroom discussion. This study, which also elicited input from sixteen college and university professors and two high school teachers, offers some suggestions for creating and encouraging an environment conducive to student participation in the classroom.

Activity, content, contributors, and influencers of the twitter discussion on urologic oncology.

Science.gov (United States)

Borgmann, Hendrik; Loeb, Stacy; Salem, Johannes; Thomas, Christian; Haferkamp, Axel; Murphy, Declan G; Tsaur, Igor

2016-09-01

To analyse the activity, content, contributors, and influencers of the Twitter discussion on urologic oncology. We performed a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative Twitter analysis for the hashtags #prostatecancer, #bladdercancer, #kidneycancer, and #testicularcancer. Symplur was used to analyse activity over different time periods and the top influencers of the Twitter discussion. Tweet Archivist and Twitonomy analysis tools were used to assess characteristics of content and contributors. Twitter discussion on urologic oncology in 2014 contained 100,987 tweets created by 39,326 participants. Mean monthly tweet activity was 6,603±2,183 for #prostatecancer, 866±923 for #testicularcancer, 457±477 for #bladdercancer and 401±504 for #kidneycancer. Twitter activity increased by 41% in 2013 and by 122% in 2014. The content analysis detected awareness, cancer, and risk as frequently mentioned words in urologic oncology tweets. Prevalently used related hashtags were the general hashtag #cancer, awareness hashtags, and the respective cancer/urology tag ontology hashtags. Contributors originated from 41 countries on 6 continents and had a mean of 5,864±4,747 followers. They tweeted from platforms on exclusively mobile devices (39%) more frequently than from desktop devices (29%). Health care organizations accounted for 58% of the top influencers in all cancers. The largest proportion of physicians were among the #prostatecancer and #kidneycancer (each 9%) influencers and individual contributors were most frequent in the discussion on #kidneycancer (57%) and #testicularcancer (50%). There is a significant and growing activity in the Twitter discussion on urologic oncology, particularly on #prostatecancer. The Twitter discussion is global, social, and mobile, and merits attention of stakeholders in health care as a promising communication tool. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ionospheric disturbances due to underground nuclear explosions and other sources: an elementary discussion, Part I

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wouters, L.F.

1971-01-01

The possible effect of verticle ground surface motion on the ionosphere, as a consequence of acoustic propagation, is discussed. Estimates of R. F. phase path perturbations are developed for several representative sources and several propagative modes (both terrestrial and atmospheric). In particular, amplitude models for ionospheric density perturbations are used. The discrimination of earth quakes and nuclear explosive disturbances is considered and some detailed properties of the extended atmosphere are described. A list of references is provided. (U.S.)

NRC revision to 10 CFR Part 20

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baker, R.E.; Cool, W.S.; Mills, W.A.

1983-01-01

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's pollution standards have been revised since publication in the late 1950s, but the basic approach has not changed. The revisions resulted in inaccuracies, conflicts, and ambiguities in requirements. The need for comprehensive updating including radiation-protection principles, risk, occupational exposure dose limits, standards for the public (including de minimis level), surveys and monitoring, disposal into sewerage systems, and records is discussed. 2 tables

A Framework for Discussing e-Research Infrastructure Sustainability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel S Katz

2014-07-01

Full Text Available e-Research infrastructure is increasingly important in the conduct of science and engineering research, and in many disciplines has become an essential part of the research infrastructure. However, this e-Research infrastructure does not appear from a vacuum; it needs both intent and effort first to be created and then to be sustained over time. Research cultures and practices in many disciplines have not adapted to this new paradigm, due in part to the absence of a deep understanding of the elements of e-Research infrastructure and the characteristics that influence their sustainability. This paper outlines a set of contexts in which e-Research infrastructure can be discussed, proposes characteristics that must be considered to sustain infrastructure elements, and highlights models that may be used to create and sustain e-Research infrastructure. We invite feedback on the proposed characteristics and models presented herein.

Comprehensive Monitoring for Heterogeneous Geographically Distributed Storage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ratnikova, N. [Fermilab; Karavakis, E. [CERN; Lammel, S. [Fermilab; Wildish, T. [Princeton U.

2015-12-23

Storage capacity at CMS Tier-1 and Tier-2 sites reached over 100 Petabytes in 2014, and will be substantially increased during Run 2 data taking. The allocation of storage for the individual users analysis data, which is not accounted as a centrally managed storage space, will be increased to up to 40%. For comprehensive tracking and monitoring of the storage utilization across all participating sites, CMS developed a space monitoring system, which provides a central view of the geographically dispersed heterogeneous storage systems. The first prototype was deployed at pilot sites in summer 2014, and has been substantially reworked since then. In this paper we discuss the functionality and our experience of system deployment and operation on the full CMS scale.

READING COMPREHENSION EXERCISES ONLINE: THE EFFECTS OF FEEDBACK, PROFICIENCY AND INTERACTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philip Murphy

2007-02-01

Full Text Available This paper describes an ongoing project to create an online version of a reading programme, a custom-designed English language proficiency course at a university in Japan. Following an interactionist view of second language acquisition, it was hypothesised that comprehension of a reading passage could be enhanced by online materials promoting interaction between students as they completed a multiple-choice reading comprehension exercise. Interaction was promoted: (a through pair work at a single computer and (b by providing Elaborative feedback in the form of hints about incorrect answers as a means of stimulating discussion about corrections. Students were randomly selected from upper and lower levels of English proficiency, as determined by the Kanda English Proficiency Test (Bonk & Ockey, 2003, to receive either Elaborative feedback or Knowledge of Correct Response feedback (which supplies the correct answers. Within these groups, some students worked in pairs and some alone. Quantitative results show that the interaction between Type of feedback and Manner of study (individual or pair work was statistically significant; students performed best on a follow-up comprehension exercise when in pairs and having been provided with Elaborative feedback. Furthermore, qualitative analysis of transcribed interactions also shows that Elaborative feedback was conducive to quality interaction.

Effects of reading goals on reading comprehension, reading rate, and allocation of working memory in children and adolescents with spina bifida meningomyelocele

Science.gov (United States)

ENGLISH, LIANNE; BARNES, MARCIA A.; FLETCHER, JACK M.; DENNIS, MAUREEN; RAGHUBAR, KIMBERLY P.

2011-01-01

Spina bifida meningomyelocele (SBM) is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with intact word decoding and deficient text and discourse comprehension. This study investigated the ability to adjust reading in accordance with specified reading goals in 79 children and adolescents with SBM (9–19 years of age) and 39 controls (8–17 years of age). Both groups demonstrated slower reading times and enhanced comprehension when reading to study or to come up with a title than when reading for specific information or for entertainment. For both groups, verbal working memory contributed to comprehension performance in those reading conditions hypothesized to require more cognitive effort. Despite their sensitivity to the goals of reading, the group with SBM answered fewer comprehension questions correctly across all reading goal conditions. The results are discussed in relation to the hypothesized cognitive underpinnings of comprehension deficits in SBM and to current models of text comprehension. PMID:20338082

Effects of reading goals on reading comprehension, reading rate, and allocation of working memory in children and adolescents with spina bifida meningomyelocele.

Science.gov (United States)

English, Lianne; Barnes, Marcia A; Fletcher, Jack M; Dennis, Maureen; Raghubar, Kimberly P

2010-05-01

Spina bifida meningomyelocele (SBM) is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with intact word decoding and deficient text and discourse comprehension. This study investigated the ability to adjust reading in accordance with specified reading goals in 79 children and adolescents with SBM (9-19 years of age) and 39 controls (8-17 years of age). Both groups demonstrated slower reading times and enhanced comprehension when reading to study or to come up with a title than when reading for specific information or for entertainment. For both groups, verbal working memory contributed to comprehension performance in those reading conditions hypothesized to require more cognitive effort. Despite their sensitivity to the goals of reading, the group with SBM answered fewer comprehension questions correctly across all reading goal conditions. The results are discussed in relation to the hypothesized cognitive underpinnings of comprehension deficits in SBM and to current models of text comprehension.

Rise, fall and resurrection of chromosome territories: a historical perspective. Part I. The rise of chromosome territories

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T Cremer

2009-06-01

Full Text Available It is now generally accepted that chromosomes in the cell nucleus are organized in distinct domains, first called chromosome territories in 1909 by the great cytologist Theodor Boveri. Yet, even today chromosomes have remained enigmatic individuals, whose structures, arrangements and functions in cycling and post-mitotic cells still need to be explored in full detail. Whereas numerous recent reviews describe present evidence for a dynamic architecture of chromosome territories and discuss the potential significance within the functional compartmentalization of the nucleus, a comprehensive historical account of this important concept of nuclear organization was lacking so far. Here, we describe the early rise of chromosome territories within the context of the discovery of chromosomes and their fundamental role in heredity, covering a period from the 1870th to the early 20th century (part I, this volume. In part II (next volume we review the abandonment of the chromosome territory concept during the 1950th to 1980th and the compelling evidence, which led to its resurrection during the 1970th to 1980th.

Does Feedback Influence Student Postings to Online Discussions?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katrina A. Meyer, Ph.D.

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Feedback theory proposes that feedback influences the behavior of a system and its parts and that is governed by rules. This exploratory study attempts to test this theory in a graduate-level class on leadership theory. Twelve students were asked to participate in five online discussions, each lasting one week. The questions for each discussion were selected to be provocative and rich, without having any correct answer. At the end of the discussion, students were asked to indicate which posting and poster they felt was “best” or most valuable and why they felt the posting was “best.” There is mixed evidence that the voting influenced subsequent postings; some individuals did improve while others were consistently good or poor posters. Students selected postings that were (in declining frequency of occurrence: thoughtful or thought-provoking, well written or justified, uplifting, presented new information, same as their own opinions, changed me, or complex. These reasons are similar to those of the instructor, although the students’ difficulty in choosing and rationalizing a choice and the frequency at which students chose posts that captured their own thoughts and opinions are of some concern. This study provides some evidence that these graduate students could evaluate their own discussions without the instructor intruding or dictating an evaluation scheme, although this may not be true for other groups of online students.

78 FR 47241 - Amendments to the Water Quality Regulations, Water Code and Comprehensive Plan To Revise the...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-08-05

... DELAWARE RIVER BASIN COMMISSION 18 CFR Part 410 Amendments to the Water Quality Regulations, Water Code and Comprehensive Plan To Revise the Human Health Water Quality Criteria for PCBs in Zones 2... hold a public hearing to receive comments on proposed amendments to the Commission's Water Quality...

Numerical Simulation of Projectile Impact on Mild Steel Armour Platesusing LS-DYNA, Part II: Parametric Studies

OpenAIRE

M. Raguraman; A. Deb; N. K. Gupta; D. K. Kharat

2008-01-01

In Part I of the current two-part series, a comprehensive simulation-based study of impact of jacketed projectiles on mild steel armour plates has been presented. Using the modelling procedures developed in Part I, a number of parametric studies have been carried out for the same mild steel plates considered in Part I and reported here in Part II. The current investigation includes determination of ballistic limits of a given target plate for different projectile diameters and impact velociti...

Science motivation by discussion and controversy (SMDC) model

Science.gov (United States)

Izadi, Dina; Mora Ley, César Eduardo; Ramírez Díaz, Mario Humberto

2017-05-01

Succeeding theories and empirical investigations have often been built over conceptual understanding to develop talent education. Opportunities provided by society are crucial at every point in the talent-development process. Abilities differ and can vary among boys and girls. Although they have some responsibility for their own growth and development, the educational system and psychosocial variables influence on the successful development of high levels of education. This research explores students’ attitudes to science education to establish why many disengage with the subject in class and what can be done to reverse this trend to produce unimaginable scientific and practical benefits to society. The control group is students from several schools with traditional education in Iran and the experimental group is teams who have taken part in several activities such as national and international tournaments (2005-2013). This research has two parts: 1—how innovation in teaching and 2—discussion and controversy in class can improve science education and cause motivation. The average scores are divided into 5 ranges in both experimental and traditional groups. As shown by Spearman’s correlation rank (ρ) the difference between boys’ and girls’ average scores is about (2.71) in the control group but it has decreased to (0.29) in the experimental group. The main point of discussion is on problems in class which advance a set of interrelated scientific arguments for outstanding achievement.

Student decision making in large group discussion

Science.gov (United States)

Kustusch, Mary Bridget; Ptak, Corey; Sayre, Eleanor C.; Franklin, Scott V.

2015-04-01

It is increasingly common in physics classes for students to work together to solve problems and perform laboratory experiments. When students work together, they need to negotiate the roles and decision making within the group. We examine how a large group of students negotiates authority as part of their two week summer College Readiness Program at Rochester Institute of Technology. The program is designed to develop metacognitive skills in first generation and Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) STEM undergraduates through cooperative group work, laboratory experimentation, and explicit reflection exercises. On the first full day of the program, the students collaboratively developed a sign for the word ``metacognition'' for which there is not a sign in American Sign Language. This presentation will focus on three aspects of the ensuing discussion: (1) how the instructor communicated expectations about decision making; (2) how the instructor promoted student-driven decision making rather than instructor-driven policy; and (3) one student's shifts in decision making behavior. We conclude by discussing implications of this research for activity-based physics instruction.

Follow the Money: A Comprehensive Review of the Funding Mechanisms of Voucher Programs in Six Cases. Informing Policy & Improving Practice Research Brief

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, Molly S.; Moon, Jodi S.

2016-01-01

This comprehensive review is part of a three-part report, Follow the "Money: A Detailed Analysis of the Funding Mechanisms of Voucher Programs in Six Cases"; this review contains the cross-case analysis and findings of the funding mechanisms of voucher programs across five states (Arizona, Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin) and the…

GLOBAL CLIMATE MODEL:A COMPREHENSIVE TOOL IN CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT STUDIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dharmaveer Singh

2015-01-01

Full Text Available There is growing concern, how and to what extent future changes in climate will affect human society and natural environments. Continuous emissions of Green House Gasses (GHGs at or above current rates will cause further warming. This, in turn, may modify global climate system during 21st century that very likely would have larger impacts than those observed during 20th century. At present, Global Climate Models (GCMs are only the most reliable tools available for studying behaviour of the climate system. This paper presents a comprehensive review of GCMs including their development and applications in climate change impacts studies. Following a discussion of the limitations of GCMs at regional and local scales, different approaches of downscaling are discussed in detail.

Frequency, comprehension and attitudes of physicians towards abbreviations in the medical record.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamiel, Uri; Hecht, Idan; Nemet, Achia; Pe'er, Liron; Man, Vitaly; Hilely, Assaf; Achiron, Asaf

2018-05-01

Abbreviations are common in the medical record. Their inappropriate use may ultimately lead to patient harm, yet little is known regarding the extent of their use and their comprehension. Our aim was to assess the extent of their use, their comprehension and physicians' attitudes towards them, using ophthalmology consults in a tertiary hospital as a model. We first mapped the frequency with which English abbreviations were used in the departments' computerised databases. We then used the most frequently used abbreviations as part of a cross-sectional survey designed to assess the attitudes of non-ophthalmologist physicians towards the abbreviations and their comprehension of them. Finally, we tested whether an online lecture would improve comprehension. 4375 records were screened, and 235 physicians responded to the survey. Only 42.5% knew at least 10% of the abbreviations, and no one knew them all. Ninety-two per cent of respondents admitted to searching online for the meanings of abbreviations, and 59.1% believe abbreviations should be prohibited in medical records. A short online lecture improved the number of respondents answering correctly at least 50% of the time from 1.2% to 42% (Pmedical records and are frequently misinterpreted. Online teaching is a valuable tool for physician education. The majority of respondents believed that misinterpreting abbreviations could negatively impact patient care, and that the use of abbreviations should be prohibited in medical records. Due to low rates of comprehension and negative attitudes towards abbreviations in medical communications, we believe their use should be discouraged. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Pragmatic Comprehension Development through Telecollaboration

Science.gov (United States)

Rafieyan, Vahid; Sharafi-Nejad, Maryam; Khavari, Zahra; Eng, Lin Siew; Mohamed, Abdul Rashid

2014-01-01

Pragmatic comprehension can be ideally developed through contact with target language speakers. This contact can be provided in English as Foreign Language contexts through telecollaboration. To test the actual effect of telecollaboration on the development of pragmatic comprehension, 30 Iranian undergraduates of English as a Foreign Language…

Is Word-Problem Solving a Form of Text Comprehension?

Science.gov (United States)

Fuchs, Lynn S.; Fuchs, Douglas; Compton, Donald L.; Hamlett, Carol L.; Wang, Amber Y.

2015-01-01

This study’s hypotheses were that (a) word-problem (WP) solving is a form of text comprehension that involves language comprehension processes, working memory, and reasoning, but (b) WP solving differs from other forms of text comprehension by requiring WP-specific language comprehension as well as general language comprehension. At the start of the 2nd grade, children (n = 206; on average, 7 years, 6 months) were assessed on general language comprehension, working memory, nonlinguistic reasoning, processing speed (a control variable), and foundational skill (arithmetic for WPs; word reading for text comprehension). In spring, they were assessed on WP-specific language comprehension, WPs, and text comprehension. Path analytic mediation analysis indicated that effects of general language comprehension on text comprehension were entirely direct, whereas effects of general language comprehension on WPs were partially mediated by WP-specific language. By contrast, effects of working memory and reasoning operated in parallel ways for both outcomes. PMID:25866461

Adolescent reading skill and engagement with digital and traditional literacies as predictors of reading comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Duncan, Lynne G; McGeown, Sarah P; Griffiths, Yvonne M; Stothard, Susan E; Dobai, Anna

2016-05-01

This study investigates the concurrent predictors of adolescent reading comprehension (literal, inferential) for fiction and non-fiction texts. Predictors were examined from the cognitive (word identification, reading fluency), psychological (gender), and ecological (print exposure) domains. Print exposure to traditional and digital texts was surveyed using a diary method of reading habits. A cross-sectional sample of 312 students in early (11-13 years) or middle adolescence (14-15 years) participated from a range of SES backgrounds. Word identification emerged as a strong predictor of reading comprehension across adolescence and text genres. Gender effects favouring female students were evident for reading frequency but not for reading skill itself. Reading habits also differed, and comprehension advantages were observed among females for fiction and males for non-fiction. Age effects emerged for reading frequency, which was lower in middle adolescence. Although more time was spent on digital than on traditional texts, traditional extended text reading was the only reading habit to predict inference-making in comprehension and to distinguish skilled from less skilled comprehenders. The theoretical and educational implications of these results are discussed. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

Strategy-based listening and pragmatic comprehension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Corsetti, Cristiane Ruzicki

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This article addresses the role of strategy-based listening as an alternative methodological approach to develop pragmatic comprehension in L2 contexts. Pragmatic comprehension refers to the understanding of speech acts and conversational implicatures. Listening comprehension comprises both bottom-up and top-down processes. Strategy-based listening encompasses the activation of pragmatic knowledge through pre-listening activities and the development of specific listening micro-skills. An empirical project which included a classroom project carried out with a group of eight learners preparing for the IELTS examination in 2009 corroborated the following assumptions: in order to achieve listening proficiency, learners need practice in making inferences as semantic and pragmatic inferences are embedded in verbal communication; semantic and pragmatic aspects affecting the meaning of utterances can be highlighted via comprehension activities focusing on specific listening subskills. The results of the classroom project suggested that strategy-based listening is potentially capable of directly enhancing pragmatic comprehension but were inconclusive with regards to pragmatic production

Multi-year application of WRF-CAM5 over East Asia-Part I: Comprehensive evaluation and formation regimes of O 3 and PM 2.5

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

He, Jian; Zhang, Yang; Wang, Kai; Chen, Ying; Leung, L. Ruby; Fan, Jiwen; Li, Meng; Zheng, Bo; Zhang, Qiang; Duan, Fengkui; He, Kebin

2017-09-01

Accurate simulations of air quality and climate require robust model parameterizations on regional and global scales. The Weather Research and Forecasting model with Chemistry version 3.4.1 has been coupled with physics packages from the Community Atmosphere Model version 5 (CAM5) (WRF-CAM5) to assess the robustness of the CAM5 physics package for regional modeling at higher grid resolutions than typical grid resolutions used in global modeling. In this two-part study, Part I describes the application and evaluation of WRF-CAM5 over East Asia at a horizontal resolution of 36-km for six years: 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2011. The simulations are evaluated comprehensively with a variety of datasets from surface networks, satellites, and aircraft. The results show that meteorology is relatively well simulated by WRF-CAM5. However, cloud variables are largely or moderately underpredicted, indicating uncertainties in the model treatments of dynamics, thermodynamics, and microphysics of clouds/ices as well as aerosol-cloud interactions. For chemical predictions, the tropospheric column abundances of CO, NO2, and O3 are well simulated, but those of SO2 and HCHO are moderately overpredicted, and the column HCHO/NO2 indicator is underpredicted. Large biases exist in the surface concentrations of CO, NO2, and PM10 due to uncertainties in the emissions as well as vertical mixing. The underpredictions of NO lead to insufficient O3 titration, thus O3 overpredictions. The model can generally reproduce the observed O3 and PM indicators. These indicators suggest to control NOx emissions throughout the year, and VOCs emissions in summer in big cities and in winter over North China Plain, North/South Korea, and Japan to reduce surface O3, and to control SO2, NH3, and NOx throughout the year to reduce inorganic surface PM.

Patient comprehension of emergency department care and instructions: are patients aware of when they do not understand?

Science.gov (United States)

Engel, Kirsten G; Heisler, Michele; Smith, Dylan M; Robinson, Claire H; Forman, Jane H; Ubel, Peter A

2009-04-01

To be able to adhere to discharge instructions after a visit to the emergency department (ED), patients should understand both the care that they received and their discharge instructions. The objective of this study is to assess, at discharge, patients' comprehension of their ED care and instructions and their awareness of deficiencies in their comprehension. We conducted structured interviews of 140 adult English-speaking patients or their primary caregivers after ED discharge in 2 health systems. Participants rated their subjective understanding of 4 domains: (1) diagnosis and cause; (2) ED care; (3) post-ED care, and (4) return instructions. We assessed patient comprehension as the degree of agreement (concordance) between patients' recall of each of these domains and information obtained from chart review. Two authors scored each case independently and discussed discrepancies before providing a final concordance rating (no concordance, minimal concordance, partial concordance, near concordance, complete concordance). Seventy-eight percent of patients demonstrated deficient comprehension (less than complete concordance) in at least 1 domain; 51% of patients, in 2 or more domains. Greater than a third of these deficiencies (34%) involved patients' understanding of post-ED care, whereas only 15% were for diagnosis and cause. The majority of patients with comprehension deficits failed to perceive them. Patients perceived difficulty with comprehension only 20% of the time when they demonstrated deficient comprehension. Many patients do not understand their ED care or their discharge instructions. Moreover, most patients appear to be unaware of their lack of understanding and report inappropriate confidence in their comprehension and recall.

Building a comprehensive syntactic and semantic corpus of Chinese clinical texts.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Bin; Dong, Bin; Guan, Yi; Yang, Jinfeng; Jiang, Zhipeng; Yu, Qiubin; Cheng, Jianyi; Qu, Chunyan

2017-05-01

To build a comprehensive corpus covering syntactic and semantic annotations of Chinese clinical texts with corresponding annotation guidelines and methods as well as to develop tools trained on the annotated corpus, which supplies baselines for research on Chinese texts in the clinical domain. An iterative annotation method was proposed to train annotators and to develop annotation guidelines. Then, by using annotation quality assurance measures, a comprehensive corpus was built, containing annotations of part-of-speech (POS) tags, syntactic tags, entities, assertions, and relations. Inter-annotator agreement (IAA) was calculated to evaluate the annotation quality and a Chinese clinical text processing and information extraction system (CCTPIES) was developed based on our annotated corpus. The syntactic corpus consists of 138 Chinese clinical documents with 47,426 tokens and 2612 full parsing trees, while the semantic corpus includes 992 documents that annotated 39,511 entities with their assertions and 7693 relations. IAA evaluation shows that this comprehensive corpus is of good quality, and the system modules are effective. The annotated corpus makes a considerable contribution to natural language processing (NLP) research into Chinese texts in the clinical domain. However, this corpus has a number of limitations. Some additional types of clinical text should be introduced to improve corpus coverage and active learning methods should be utilized to promote annotation efficiency. In this study, several annotation guidelines and an annotation method for Chinese clinical texts were proposed, and a comprehensive corpus with its NLP modules were constructed, providing a foundation for further study of applying NLP techniques to Chinese texts in the clinical domain. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Text comprehension strategy instruction with poor readers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van den Bos, K.P.; Aarnoudse, C.C.; Brand-Gruwel, S.

1998-01-01

The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of teaching text comprehension strategies to children with decoding and reading comprehension problems and with a poor or normal listening ability. Two experiments are reported. Four text comprehension strategies, viz., question generation,

LGBT Roundtable Discussion: Meet-up and Mentoring Discussion

Science.gov (United States)

2014-03-01

The LGBT+ Physicists group welcomes those who identify as gender sexual minorities, as LGBTQQIAAP+, or as allies to participate in a round-table discussion on mentoring physicists. The session will provide an opportunity to learn and discuss successful mentoring strategies at different career stages for physicists in all environments, including academia, industry, etc. Attendees are encouraged to attend a social event to follow the panel to continue to network. Allies are especially welcome at this event to learn how to support and mentor LGBT+ physicists.

Discussions of adolescent sexuality in news media coverage of the HPV vaccine.

Science.gov (United States)

Casciotti, Dana M; Smith, Katherine C; Tsui, Amy; Klassen, Ann C

2014-02-01

Given the sexually transmitted nature of human papillomavirus (HPV), some worry the HPV vaccine will create a false sense of security and promote adolescent sexual activity. Media coverage of vaccines can influence social norms, parental attitudes, and vaccine acceptance; in this paper we examine U.S. news media messages related to sexuality and HPV vaccination. Drawing on a structured analysis of 447 articles published during 2005-2009, we qualitatively analyzed a purposive sample of 49 articles discussing adolescent health behaviors related to HPV vaccination. Commonly, articles discussed vaccination in the context of abstinence-only versus comprehensive sexual health education; cited research findings to support vaccination or sex education; argued against connecting vaccination to promiscuous behavior; but included fear-inducing messages. Media messages concerning health behaviors related to HPV vaccination tended to support government and parental involvement in sex education, and dismiss concerns linking vaccination to sexual activity, while also presenting the vaccine as lifesaving. Copyright © 2013 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. All rights reserved.

DESIGN MODELING OF A UNIVERSITY’S COMPREHENSIVE-INTEGRATED SECURITY SYSTEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marina V. Dulyasova

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: the safety of higher education institutions is considered to be of great importance nowadays. Security challenges need to be addressed through a comprehensive and integrative approach. This approach provides neutralisation of various threats systemically, risk prevention, minimisation of the tangible and moral harm. The project concept of “safe university” is proposed and substantiated for the above-mentioned purposes. Materials and Methods: the authors used a special literature survey on the issue, which is divided into three main groups of publications, where the complex security of educational institutions is considered in the context of the general theory of security, in the educational-methodical plan and within the framework of sociological, psychological and pedagogical approaches. The legislative and regulatory sources also indicated, legislative and regulatory legal acts reviews, “Safe City” concept, National standard “Information security technologies: complex and integrated ones. Standard requirements to architecture and technologies of intellectual systems of monitoring for safety of the companies and the territories” (State standard specification P 56875-2016, documents of higher education institutions, media reports. The analysis and generalisation of information was coupled with project modeling of the new comprehensive system of higher education institution security. Results: the authors introduce the concept, architecture and model of the comprehensive integrated higher education institution security, monitoring based on measures and indicators pertaining to implementation of standard requirements and level of satisfaction with safety, evaluation of the taken measures in terms of efficiency. Discussion and Conclusions: the main contours of the model for comprehensive integrated security system in a higher education institution and algorithm of interaction between the subjects are determined. These

Right Hemisphere Cognitive Functions: From Clinical and Anatomic Bases to Brain Mapping During Awake Craniotomy Part I: Clinical and Functional Anatomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Bernard, Florian; Lemée, Jean-Michel; Ter Minassian, Aram; Menei, Philippe

2018-05-12

The nondominant hemisphere (usually the right) is responsible for primary cognitive functions such as visuospatial and social cognition. Awake surgery using direct electric stimulation for right cerebral tumor removal remains challenging because of the complexity of the functional anatomy and difficulties in adapting standard bedside tasks to awake surgery conditions. An understanding of semiology and anatomic bases, along with an analysis of the available cognitive tasks for visuospatial and social cognition per operative mapping allow neurosurgeons to better appreciate the functional anatomy of the right hemisphere and its relevance to tumor surgery. In this article, the first of a 2-part review, we discuss the anatomic and functional basis of right hemisphere function. Whereas part II of the review focuses primarily on semiology and surgical management of right-sided tumors under awake conditions, this article provides a comprehensive review of knowledge underpinning awake surgery on the right hemisphere. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Improving reading comprehension in reading and listening settings: the effect of two training programmes focusing on metacognition and working memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Carretti, Barbara; Caldarola, Nadia; Tencati, Chiara; Cornoldi, Cesare

2014-06-01

Metacognition and working memory (WM) have been found associated with success in reading comprehension, but no studies have examined their combined effect on the training of reading comprehension. Another open question concerns the role of listening comprehension: In particular, it is not clear whether training to improve reading comprehension must necessarily be based on processing written material or whether, as suggested in a recent study by Clarke et al. (2010, Psychol. Sci., 21, 1106), a programme based on verbal language could also be effective. The study examined the feasibility of improving text comprehension in school children by comparing the efficacy of two training programmes, both involving metacognition and WM, but one based on listening comprehension, the other on reading comprehension. The study involved a sample of 159 pupils attending eight classes in the fourth and fifth grades (age range 9-11 years). The listening and reading programmes focused on the same abilities/processes strictly related to text comprehension, and particularly metacognitive knowledge and control, WM (per se and in terms of integrating information in a text). The training programmes were implemented by school teachers as part of the class's normal school activities, under the supervision of experts. Their efficacy was compared with the results obtained in an active control group that completed standard text comprehension activities. Our results showed that both the training programmes focusing on specific text comprehension skills were effective in improving the children's achievement, but training in reading comprehension generated greater gains than the listening comprehension programme. Our study suggests that activities focusing specifically on metacognition and WM could foster text comprehension, but the potential benefit is influenced by the training modality, that is, the Reading group obtained greater and longer-lasting improvements than the Active control or

Comprehensive Diagnostic Assessment of Health Status of Patients with Asthma or COPD : A Delphi Panel Study among Dutch Experts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van den Akker, Edmée F M M; van't Hul, Alex J.; Birnie, Erwin; Chavannes, Niels H.; Rutten-van Mölken, Maureen P M H; In't Veen, Johannes C C M

2017-01-01

A comprehensive diagnostic assessment is needed to improve understanding of the health status of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma. Therefore, this study investigated which components and subsequent instruments should be part of a holistic assessment in secondary

The Impact of Gender, Socioeconomic Status and Home Language on Primary School Children's Reading Comprehension in KwaZulu-Natal.

Science.gov (United States)

Völkel, Gabriela; Seabi, Joseph; Cockcroft, Kate; Goldschagg, Paul

2016-03-15

The current study constituted part of a larger, longitudinal, South African-based study, namely, The Road and Aircraft Noise Exposure on Children's Cognition and Health (RANCH-South Africa). In the context of a multicultural South Africa and varying demographic variables thereof, this study sought to investigate and describe the effects of gender, socioeconomic status and home language on primary school children's reading comprehension in KwaZulu-Natal. In total, 834 learners across 5 public schools in the KwaZulu-Natal province participated in the study. A biographical questionnaire was used to obtain biographical data relevant to this study, and the Suffolk Reading Scale 2 (SRS2) was used to obtain reading comprehension scores. The findings revealed that there was no statistical difference between males and females on reading comprehension scores. In terms of socioeconomic status (SES), learners from a low socioeconomic background performed significantly better than those from a high socioeconomic background. English as a First Language (EL1) speakers had a higher mean reading comprehension score than speakers who spoke English as an Additional Language (EAL). Reading comprehension is indeed affected by a variety of variables, most notably that of language proficiency. The tool to measure reading comprehension needs to be standardized and administered in more than one language, which will ensure increased reliability and validity of reading comprehension scores.

Martial Arts: A Discussion of the Feasibility of a University Martial Arts Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamada, Hiroshi; Tow, Patrick

1979-01-01

A brief description of some of the martial arts is provided along with some discussion of the feasibility of offering one or more of these disciplines as part of the college physical education program. (JMF)

The advantage of reading over listening text comprehension in Down syndrome: what is the role of verbal memory?

Science.gov (United States)

Roch, Maja; Florit, Elena; Levorato, M Chiara

2012-01-01

The current study was designed to investigate the role played by verbal memory in the advantage shown by individuals with Down syndrome in reading over listening text comprehension (Roch & Levorato, 2009). Two different aspects of verbal memory were analyzed: processing load and coding modality. Participants were 20 individuals with Down syndrome, aged between 11 and 26 years who were matched for reading comprehension with a group of 20 typically developing children aged between 6;3 and 7;3 years. The two groups were presented with a listening comprehension test and four verbal memory tasks in which the degree of processing load and the coding modality were manipulated. The results of the study confirmed the advantage of reading over listening comprehension for individuals with Down syndrome. Furthermore, it emerged that different aspects of verbal memory were related respectively to reading and to listening comprehension: visual memory with low processing load was related to the former and oral memory with high processing load to the latter. Finally, it was demonstrated that verbal memory contributed to explain the advantage of reading over listening comprehension in Down syndrome. The results are discussed in light of their theoretical relevance and practical implications. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

E-Learning and Comprehensive School and Kindergarten Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Line Skov; Hansen, Ole; Guttorm Andersen, Pia

2012-01-01

The content of this article includes experiences and results of a comprehensive development project for schools and kindergartens in Denmark. The project includes all pedagogical professionals within the organization and contains a professional development sequence based on among other things e-learning...... where pedagogical professionals collaboratively develop their common and individual practices. The article takes a look at both the challenges and potentials that have surfaced using e-learning as part of the framework for both professional and organizational development. In addition, the article...... proposes how the experience gathered from this existing project can be used as springboard to design new professional development projects where e-learning becomes an important element of competency development for pedagogical professionals in schools and kindergartens closely related to practice....

Alternative strategies for Medicare payment of outpatient prescription drugs--Part B and beyond.

Science.gov (United States)

Danzon, Patricia M; Wilensky, Gail R; Means, Kathleen E

2005-03-01

Reimbursement options for pharmaceuticals reimbursed under Medicare Part B (physician-dispensed drugs) are changing and the new comprehensive Part D Medicare outpatient drug benefit brings further changes. The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) replaces traditional policy, of reimbursing Part B drugs at 95% of average wholesale price (AWP, a list price), with a percentage markup over the manufacturer's average selling price; in 2005 an indirect competitive procurement option will be introduced. In our view, although AWP-based reimbursement has been fraught with problems in the past, these could be fixed by constraining growth in AWP and periodically adjusting the discount off AWP. With these revisions, an AWP-based rule would preserve incentives for competitive discounting and deliver savings to Medicare. By contrast, basing Medicare reimbursement on a manufacturer's average selling price undermines incentives for discounting and, like any cost-based reimbursement rule, may result in higher prices to both public and private purchasers. Indirect competitive procurement for drugs alone, using specialty pharmacies, pharmacy benefit managers, or prescription drug plans, is unlikely to constrain costs to acceptable levels unless contractors retain flexibility to use standard benefit management tools. Folding Part B and Part D into comprehensive contracting with health plans for full health services is likely to offer the most efficient approach to managing the drug benefit.

Optimizing Visually-Assisted Listening Comprehension

Science.gov (United States)

Kashani, Ahmad Sabouri; Sajjadi, Samad; Sohrabi, Mohammad Reza; Younespour, Shima

2011-01-01

The fact that visual aids such as pictures or graphs can lead to greater comprehension by language learners has been well established. Nonetheless, the order of presenting visuals to listeners is left unattended. This study examined listening comprehension from a strategy of introducing visual information, either prior to or during an audio…

A discussion of the first law of thermodynamics for open systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tolhoek, H.A.; Groot, S.R. de

1952-01-01

In this paper it is discussed to what extent the first law of thermodynamics is a physical law, and to what extent it is a definition, if it is generalized so as to be valid for open systems. The conclusion is reached that it is partly a definition. Different generalizations of the first law, which

Direct and Mediated Effects of Language and Cognitive Skills on Comprehension or Oral Narrative Texts (Listening Comprehension) for Children

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Young-Suk Grace

2016-01-01

We investigated component language and cognitive skills of oral language comprehension of narrative texts (i.e., listening comprehension). Using the construction--integration model of text comprehension as an overarching theoretical framework, we examined direct and mediated relations of foundational cognitive skills (working memory and…

Recent Economic Perspectives on Political Economy, Part II*

Science.gov (United States)

Dewan, Torun; Shepsle, Kenneth A.

2013-01-01

In recent years some of the best theoretical work on the political economy of political institutions and processes has begun surfacing outside the political science mainstream in high quality economics journals. This two-part paper surveys these contributions from a recent five-year period. In Part I, the focus is on elections, voting and information aggregation, followed by treatments of parties, candidates, and coalitions. In Part II, papers on economic performance and redistribution, constitutional design, and incentives, institutions, and the quality of political elites are discussed. Part II concludes with a discussion of the methodological bases common to economics and political science, the way economists have used political science research, and some new themes and arbitrage opportunities. PMID:23606754

The application of comprehensive nursing measures in interventional therapy for deep vein thrombosis of lower extremities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Linfen; Guo Yanxue; Nan Yi; Pan Xiaohui

2009-01-01

Objective: To discuss the effective nursing measures in interventional therapy for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) of lower extremities in order to improve the successful rate of the procedure and to decrease the occurrence of complications. Methods: Comprehensive nursing measures, including general nursing care, specific nursing care and emergency nursing care, were employed in 63 DVT patients receiving interventional therapy. Clinical response and complications were observed. Results: After the treatment, the disorder was cured in 31 cases, while excellent result was seen in 26 cases and obvious improvement in 6 cases. During the procedure, bleeding at puncture site occurred in 16 cases, pulmonary embolism in 2 cases and cerebral hemorrhage in one case. No death occurred. Conclusion: Comprehensive nursing measures can effectively prevent or reduce the occurrence of complications, decrease the mortality rate. Therefore, Comprehensive nursing measures are the most helpful nursing care for DVT patients receiving interventional therapy. (authors)

Case-based discussion supporting learning and practice in optometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Bullock, Alison; Barnes, Emma; Ryan, Barbara; Sheen, Nik

2014-09-01

To enhance continuing professional development and address the risk that professional isolation poses, the UK General Optical Council introduced a requirement for all optometrists to engage in at least one case-based discussion per 3 year cycle of continuing education. In this paper, we explore participants' impression of the acceptability, effectiveness and long-term impact-on-practice of case-based discussion as a mode of continuing education. Case-based discussion participants attended an evening session comprising a lecture and a group discussion. They completed three questionnaires: prior to the session, immediately post-session and 3-4 months post-session. We coded the questionnaires to allow matching. Seventy-five case-based discussion groups were held with 379 participants; 377 completed both pre- and post-questionnaires and 331 (88%) returned a follow-up questionnaire. Case-based discussions were an acceptable method of learning, with many preferring it to distance-learning. Prior to the event, women, employees and part-time workers were more likely to have concerns about participating. In terms of learning, gaps in knowledge were more likely to be revealed in those who work in isolation. The respondents highlighted social aspects, reassurance of practice as well as new learning. Participants significantly improved self-confidence ratings in all key learning areas. At three months post-session, the majority (75%) self-reported that they had implemented their intended changes to practice. The evaluation showed that participants felt that case-based discussion developed their knowledge, notably for sole practitioners, and influenced later workplace practice. The peer interaction of this mode of continuing education can combat professional isolation. © 2014 The Authors Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics © 2014 The College of Optometrists.

The validity of Cloze Oriented System (COS: a correlation study with an electronic comprehension test and a reading attitude survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Cristina Rodrigues Azevedo Joly

Full Text Available This study aimed to analyze the efficiency of the Cloze Oriented System (COS considering its relation with reading attitude and its validity. The Electronic Program Comprehension (EPC for students from K1 to K4 based on the COS parts of stories from the Brazilian Children's literature was applied in eighteen class-hours. The 40 subjects, ten in each grade, of both genders aged 7 to 11 years, were evaluated before and after the EPC with a Cloze test. They answered the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey too, in a printed protocol adapted to Portuguese, to evaluate the reading attitude of the students and the influence of the EPC in the academic and recreational reading. The results showed that the performance in reading comprehension of all the subjects was higher after taking part in the EPC, and also had significant differences in reading attitude, according to the results of the T of Wilcoxon statistic test. A correlation between comprehension performance before and after the EPC and the reading attitude was verified. There was significant difference for academic reading attitude in the post-test between proficient readers and the one's that has low skill.

Classroom Talk for Rigorous Reading Comprehension Instruction

Science.gov (United States)

Wolf, Mikyung Kim; Crosson, Amy C.; Resnick, Lauren B.

2004-01-01

This study examined the quality of classroom talk and its relation to academic rigor in reading-comprehension lessons. Additionally, the study aimed to characterize effective questions to support rigorous reading comprehension lessons. The data for this study included 21 reading-comprehension lessons in several elementary and middle schools from…

Numerical simulation of projectile impact on mild steel armour plates using LS-DYNA, Part II: Parametric studies

OpenAIRE

Raguraman, M; Deb, A; Gupta, NK; Kharat, DK

2008-01-01

In Part I of the current two-part series, a comprehensive simulation-based study of impact of Jacketed projectiles on mild steel armour plates has been presented. Using the modelling procedures developed in Part I, a number of parametric studies have been carried out for the same mild steel plates considered in Part I and reported here in Part II. The current investigation includes determination of ballistic limits of a given target plate for different projectile diameters and impact velociti...

Discussion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sutcliffe, W.G.

1991-01-01

This is an edited transcript of the recorded discussions that followed the presentation of each paper and on the general comments at the conclusion of the session. No attempt was made to identity those who offered comments or asked questions

Comprehension of idioms in adolescents with language-based learning disabilities compared to their typically developing peers.

Science.gov (United States)

Qualls, Constance Dean; Lantz, Jennifer M; Pietrzyk, Rose M; Blood, Gordon W; Hammer, Carol Scheffner

2004-01-01

Adolescents with language-based learning disabilities (LBLD) often interpret idioms literally. When idioms are provided in an enriched context, comprehension is compromised further because of the LBLD student's inability to assign multiple meanings to words, assemble and integrate information, and go beyond a local referent to derive a global, coherent meaning. This study tested the effects of context and familiarity on comprehension of 24 idioms in 22 adolescents with LBLD. The students completed the Idiom Comprehension Test (ICT) [Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools 30 (1999) 141; LSHSS 34 (2003) 69] in one of two conditions: in a story or during a verification task. Within each condition were three familiarity levels: high, moderate, and low. The LBLD adolescents' data were then compared to previously collected data from 21 age-, gender-, and reading ability-matched typically developing (TD) peers. The relations between reading and language literacy and idiom comprehension were also examined in the LBLD adolescents. Results showed that: (a) the LBLD adolescents generally performed poorly relative to their TD counterparts; however, the groups performed comparably on the high and moderate familiarity idioms in the verification condition; (b) the LBLD adolescents performed significantly better in the verification condition than in the story condition; and (c) reading ability was associated with comprehension of the low familiarity idioms in the story condition only. Findings are discussed relative to implications for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and educators working with adolescents with LBLD. As a result of this activity, the participant will be able to (1) describe the importance of metalinguistic maturity for comprehension of idioms and other figures of speech; (2) understand the roles of context and familiarity when assessing idiom comprehension in adolescents with LBLD; and (3) critically evaluate assessments of idiom comprehension and

Sequential Extraction Versus Comprehensive Characterization of Heavy Metal Species in Brownfield Soils

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dahlin, Cheryl L.; Williamson, Connie A.; Collins, W. Keith; Dahlin, David C.

2002-06-01

The applicability of sequential extraction as a means to determine species of heavy-metals was examined by a study on soil samples from two Superfund sites: the National Lead Company site in Pedricktown, NJ, and the Roebling Steel, Inc., site in Florence, NJ. Data from a standard sequential extraction procedure were compared to those from a comprehensive study that combined optical- and scanning-electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and chemical analyses. The study shows that larger particles of contaminants, encapsulated contaminants, and/or man-made materials such as slags, coke, metals, and plastics are subject to incasement, non-selectivity, and redistribution in the sequential extraction process. The results indicate that standard sequential extraction procedures that were developed for characterizing species of contaminants in river sediments may be unsuitable for stand-alone determinative evaluations of contaminant species in industrial-site materials. However, if employed as part of a comprehensive, site-specific characterization study, sequential extraction could be a very useful tool.

Contribution to the discussion on the criminalization of stalking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miladinović-Stefanović Dušica

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The serious and complex nature of stalking, as a social phenomenon, is reflected in diverse forms of this illicit act, the severity of consequences caused by its commission, and the likelihood of being turned into violence. Whereas it may be observed from different perspectives, in this paper stalking is examined from the aspect of substantive criminal law. In the first part of this article, the author provides an overview of legal provisions on the crime of stalking as envisaged in selected European legislations. In the second part of the paper, the author re-examines the capacity of the existing Serbian criminal legislation to respond to this problem, especially through the envisaged criminal offence of endangering safety of another. In conclusion, the author discusses the inadequacy of the existing legislation and the need for further legislative intervention in this area.

Limits for supersymmetry from a comprehensive study of CERN missing-energy events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnett, R.M.

1985-04-01

We have performed a comprehensive analysis of supersymmetric processes which can lead to missing-energy events such as those observed by the UA1 collaboration. Several critical aspects of the theoretical analysis are discussed here including fragmentation, backgrounds, and evolution of gluinos. When the experimentalists publish their final data, excellent limits will be set for M/sub g/ and M/sub q/, and it is possible that certain mass regions will not be excluded as explanations of the data

Information and the War against Terrorism, Part V: The Business Implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Strickland, Lee S.

2002-01-01

Discussion of changes in business information protection since the September 11th terrorist attacks focuses on three planning goals: continuing to serve the customer in times of threat; implementing new communication paradigms; and establishing a comprehensive knowledge redundancy program. Considers threats other than terrorism, risk management…

A Study on improvement of comprehensive environmental management system - activation of liberalized environmental management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chung, Hweu Sung; Kang, Chul Goo [Korea Environment Institute, Seoul (Korea)

1998-12-01

As a part of improvement on a comprehensive environmental management system, this study was attempted to find an activating policy for a liberalized environmental management. This study provided an activation plan of reasonable environmental regulation reform and liberalized environmental management through the analysis of foreign examples and domestic situation. Furthermore, it analyzed an institutional mechanism for a smooth operation of liberalized environmental management. 68 refs., 5 figs., 51 tabs.

Memory mechanisms supporting syntactic comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Caplan, David; Waters, Gloria

2013-04-01

Efforts to characterize the memory system that supports sentence comprehension have historically drawn extensively on short-term memory as a source of mechanisms that might apply to sentences. The focus of these efforts has changed significantly in the past decade. As a result of changes in models of short-term working memory (ST-WM) and developments in models of sentence comprehension, the effort to relate entire components of an ST-WM system, such as those in the model developed by Baddeley (Nature Reviews Neuroscience 4: 829-839, 2003) to sentence comprehension has largely been replaced by an effort to relate more specific mechanisms found in modern models of ST-WM to memory processes that support one aspect of sentence comprehension--the assignment of syntactic structure (parsing) and its use in determining sentence meaning (interpretation) during sentence comprehension. In this article, we present the historical background to recent studies of the memory mechanisms that support parsing and interpretation and review recent research into this relation. We argue that the results of this research do not converge on a set of mechanisms derived from ST-WM that apply to parsing and interpretation. We argue that the memory mechanisms supporting parsing and interpretation have features that characterize another memory system that has been postulated to account for skilled performance-long-term working memory. We propose a model of the relation of different aspects of parsing and interpretation to ST-WM and long-term working memory.

Coal-fired power materials - Part II

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Viswanathan, V.; Purgert, R.; Rawls, P. [Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, CA (United States)

2008-09-15

Part 1 discussed some general consideration in selection of alloys for advanced ultra supercritical (USC) coal-fired power plant boilers. This second part covers results reported by the US project consortium, which has extensively evaluated the steamside oxidation, fireside corrosion, and fabricability of the alloys selected for USC plants. 3 figs.

Radiation transport phenomena and modeling. Part A: Codes; Part B: Applications with examples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lorence, L.J. Jr.; Beutler, D.E.

1997-09-01

This report contains the notes from the second session of the 1997 IEEE Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects Conference Short Course on Applying Computer Simulation Tools to Radiation Effects Problems. Part A discusses the physical phenomena modeled in radiation transport codes and various types of algorithmic implementations. Part B gives examples of how these codes can be used to design experiments whose results can be easily analyzed and describes how to calculate quantities of interest for electronic devices

Discussion in Postsecondary Classrooms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Curt Dudley-Marling

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Spoken language is, arguably, the primary means by which teachers teach and students learn. Much of the literature on language in classrooms has focused on discussion that is seen as both a method of instruction and a curricular outcome. While much of the research on discussion has focused on K-12 classrooms, there is also a body of research examining the efficacy of discussion in postsecondary settings. This article provides a review of this literature in order to consider the effect of discussion on student learning in college and university classrooms, the prevalence of discussion in postsecondary settings, and the quality of discussion in these settings. In general, the results of research on the efficacy of discussion in postsecondary settings are mixed. More seriously, researchers have not been explicit about the meaning of discussion and much of what is called discussion in this body of research is merely recitation with minimal levels of student participation. Although the research on discussion in college and university classrooms is inconclusive, some implications can be drawn from this review of the research including the need for future researchers to clearly define what they mean by “discussion.”

Is Word-Problem Solving a Form of Text Comprehension?

Science.gov (United States)

Fuchs, Lynn S.; Fuchs, Douglas; Compton, Donald L.; Hamlett, Carol L.; Wang, Amber Y.

2015-01-01

This study's hypotheses were that (a) word-problem (WP) solving is a form of text comprehension that involves language comprehension processes, working memory, and reasoning, but (b) WP solving differs from other forms of text comprehension by requiring WP-specific language comprehension as well as general language comprehension. At the start of…

From the Boob Tube to the Black Box: Television News Comprehension from an Information Processing Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Woodall, W. Gill; And Others

1983-01-01

Reviews research on viewers' understanding and retention of television news broadcasts; discusses the cognitive processes of memory and comprehension; and develops two models, one based on episodical memory and the other on semantic networks. Guidelines are offered for research based on both of these models. More than 40 sources are cited. (EAO)

Comprehensive measurements in 4 π geometry for radio-active samples having a low β-activity (1962)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colomer, J.; Valentin, M.

1961-01-01

The realisation is described of a comprehensive measurement system having low background noise and, as well as a lead-wall protection, an electronic protection made up of a plastic scintillator placed in anticoincidence with the 4 π counter used for making the measurements. The apparatus is described and its performance discussed. (authors) [fr

Nuclear medicine and thyroid disease - part II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chatterton, B.E.

2005-01-01

Part 1 of this article discussed the anatomy, physiology and basic pathology of the thyroid gland. Techniques of thyroid scanning and a few clinical examples are shown part II Copyright (2005) The Australian and New Zealand Society Of Nuclear Medicine Inc

Energy and society in 2050. The Netherlands in different worlds. Discussion paper

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noordhoek, J.

2000-01-01

This publication is intended to stimulate ideas and discussion about the Netherlands energy supply in the long term. The text is in two parts: (1) the central section: Energy and society in 2050: the Netherlands in Different Worlds; and (2) the factual background in Annexes 1 and 2

"I Totally Agree with You": Gender Interactions in Educational Online Discussion Groups

Science.gov (United States)

Guiller, J.; Durndell, A.

2006-01-01

This paper discusses findings from an extensive project examining gender, language and computer-mediated communication (CMC) in the context of undergraduate psychology courses. The contributions of 197 introductory psychology students (148 females, 49 males) participating in asynchronous CMC as part of their course were collated and coded for…

Where Does Originality End and Plagiarism Start? Discussing Plagiarism in Information Science

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Greifeneder, Elke Susanne; Connaway, Lynn Silipigni; Jiang, Tingting

2014-01-01

no longer be considered to be original and starts to be considered self-plagiarism. Parts of the discussion will center on the question of whether information science researchers can actually avoid repeating the same words when today they have to publish results from research projects in as many...

The Role of Reading Skills on Reading Comprehension Ability of Turkish EFL Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ebru Kaya

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Reading is a part of our daily lives. It is performed both for pleasure and information. Reading skills are important for the individuals since they foster comprehension in reading. If the students do not have knowledge of reading skills, they cannot be expected to be successful readers. Thus, they cannot achieve the level of comprehension required to pass exams in their own departments. For this reason, reading skills should be taught in universities for the students to be able to cope with comprehension problems. This case study aims to find out whether or not reading skills has a role on the reading comprehension ability of Turkish EFL students. This study is both a qualitative and a quantitative study which lasted for a duration of 14 weeks. Two groups were selected (experimental and control among prep classes at Kahramanmaraş Sütçü Imam University. Both groups were administered a pre-test and questionnaire at the beginning of the study to find out if they were aware of reading skills. In addition, 10 students were chosen randomly for interview. During the study, reading skills were infused into the curriculum through designing lesson plans in accordance with the language content and topics for level C students, as determined by the Common European Language Framework. The lessons required the students to use reading skills before, during, and post reading. At the end of the study, the same questionnaire was re-administered. The students were given the post-test and then interviewed. The quantitative data were analyzed through descriptive statistics. The obtained data revealed that the students enhanced their comprehension ability provided that they were taught to use reading skills.

How Do We Motivate Reading Comprehension?

Science.gov (United States)

Shanahan, Timothy

1982-01-01

Considers the nature of motivation and its place in the development of reading comprehension. Uses A. Maslow's hierarchy of motivation as a heuristic for examining the motivational quality of several teaching methods commonly proposed for comprehension instruction. (FL)

Biostatistics primer: part I.

Science.gov (United States)

Overholser, Brian R; Sowinski, Kevin M

2007-12-01

Biostatistics is the application of statistics to biologic data. The field of statistics can be broken down into 2 fundamental parts: descriptive and inferential. Descriptive statistics are commonly used to categorize, display, and summarize data. Inferential statistics can be used to make predictions based on a sample obtained from a population or some large body of information. It is these inferences that are used to test specific research hypotheses. This 2-part review will outline important features of descriptive and inferential statistics as they apply to commonly conducted research studies in the biomedical literature. Part 1 in this issue will discuss fundamental topics of statistics and data analysis. Additionally, some of the most commonly used statistical tests found in the biomedical literature will be reviewed in Part 2 in the February 2008 issue.

The economic impact of Medicare Part D on congestive heart failure.

Science.gov (United States)

Dall, Timothy M; Blanchard, Tericke D; Gallo, Paul D; Semilla, April P

2013-05-01

Medicare Part D has had important implications for patient outcomes and treatment costs among beneficiaries with congestive heart failure (CHF). This study finds that improved medication adherence associated with expansion of drug coverage under Part D led to nearly $2.6 billion in reductions in medical expenditures annually among beneficiaries diagnosed with CHF and without prior comprehensive drug coverage, of which over $2.3 billion was savings to Medicare. Further improvements in adherence could potentially save Medicare another $1.9 billion annually, generating upwards of $22.4 billion in federal savings over 10 years.

A virtual speaker in noisy classroom conditions: supporting or disrupting children's listening comprehension?

Science.gov (United States)

Nirme, Jens; Haake, Magnus; Lyberg Åhlander, Viveka; Brännström, Jonas; Sahlén, Birgitta

2018-04-05

Seeing a speaker's face facilitates speech recognition, particularly under noisy conditions. Evidence for how it might affect comprehension of the content of the speech is more sparse. We investigated how children's listening comprehension is affected by multi-talker babble noise, with or without presentation of a digitally animated virtual speaker, and whether successful comprehension is related to performance on a test of executive functioning. We performed a mixed-design experiment with 55 (34 female) participants (8- to 9-year-olds), recruited from Swedish elementary schools. The children were presented with four different narratives, each in one of four conditions: audio-only presentation in a quiet setting, audio-only presentation in noisy setting, audio-visual presentation in a quiet setting, and audio-visual presentation in a noisy setting. After each narrative, the children answered questions on the content and rated their perceived listening effort. Finally, they performed a test of executive functioning. We found significantly fewer correct answers to explicit content questions after listening in noise. This negative effect was only mitigated to a marginally significant degree by audio-visual presentation. Strong executive function only predicted more correct answers in quiet settings. Altogether, our results are inconclusive regarding how seeing a virtual speaker affects listening comprehension. We discuss how methodological adjustments, including modifications to our virtual speaker, can be used to discriminate between possible explanations to our results and contribute to understanding the listening conditions children face in a typical classroom.

Influence of Prior Knowledge Questions on Pupils’ Performance in Reading Comprehension in Primary Schools in Kaduna, Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanna Onyi Yusuf

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This study was carried out to determine the influence of prior knowledge questions on pupils’ performance in reading comprehension in primary schools in Kaduna, Nigeria. Two schools were used for the study. Ungwar Dosa primary school was used as the experimental school while Ungwar Rimi primary school was used as the control school. Thirty (30 primary five pupils from each of the two schools were used for the study. A total of sixty pupils were used for the study. A pre-test was administered on both groups of pupils before the commencement of teaching. A post-test was administered after six weeks of teaching. Data was analysed using mean, standard deviation and t-test. The findings revealed significant difference in the performance of pupils taught reading comprehension using prior knowledge questions. Based on the findings, teachers are encouraged among others, to use prior knowledge questions to motivate and stimulate pupils to use their relevant background knowledge to interpret and understand new information in their reading comprehension texts. Curriculum planners and textbook writers are encouraged to include prior knowledge questions as part of the activities pupils should be exposed to during reading comprehension lessons.

Recent developments in comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC X GC) I. Introduction and instrumental set-up

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Adahchour, M.; Beens, J.; Vreuls, R.J.J.; Brinkman, U.A.T.

2006-01-01

We review the literature on comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC × GC), emphasizing developments in the period 2003-2005. The review opens with a general introduction, the principles of the technique and the set-up of GC × GC systems. It also discusses theoretical aspects, trends in

The Development of Children's Algebraic Thinking: The Impact of a Comprehensive Early Algebra Intervention in Third Grade

Science.gov (United States)

Blanton, Maria; Stephens, Ana; Knuth, Eric; Gardiner, Angela Murphy; Isler, Isil; Kim, Jee-Seon

2015-01-01

This article reports results from a study investigating the impact of a sustained, comprehensive early algebra intervention in third grade. Participants included 106 students; 39 received the early algebra intervention, and 67 received their district's regularly planned mathematics instruction. We share and discuss students' responses to a written…

NHR-5 and research on its comprehensive utilization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang Yajun; Zheng Wenxiang; Su Qingshan; Zhang Dafang [Tsinghua Univ., Institute of Nuclear Energy Technology, Beijing (China)

2003-03-01

The nuclear heating reactor (NHR) has been developed by the Institute of Nuclear Energy Technology, Tsinghua University. A series of advanced features are adopted in the design for the NHR to achieve a higher standard of safety. Therefore any off-site emergency actions such as sheltering, evacuation, relocation and decontamination are not needed. The NHR can be used in district heating, seawater desalination, providing low-pressure steam for industrial process and as a heat source for agriculture and breed aquatics. The main design features and safety concepts of the NHR will be described. The main experimental results carried on the NHR-5 will be discussed and the study on the comprehensive utilization of NHR and relative experiments will be presented. (author)

Evaluation of use of reading comprehension strategies to improve reading comprehension of adult college students with acquired brain injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Griffiths, Gina G; Sohlberg, McKay Moore; Kirk, Cecilia; Fickas, Stephen; Biancarosa, Gina

2016-01-01

Adults with mild to moderate acquired brain injury (ABI) often pursue post-secondary or professional education after their injuries in order to enter or re-enter the job market. An increasing number of these adults report problems with reading-to-learn. The problem is particularly concerning given the growing population of adult survivors of ABI. Despite the rising need, empirical evaluation of reading comprehension interventions for adults with ABI is scarce. This study used a within-subject design to evaluate whether adult college students with ABI with no more than moderate cognitive impairments benefited from using reading comprehension strategies to improve comprehension of expository text. Integrating empirical support from the cognitive rehabilitation and special education literature, the researchers designed a multi-component reading comprehension strategy package. Participants read chapters from an introductory-level college anthropology textbook in two different conditions: strategy and no-strategy. The results indicated that reading comprehension strategy use was associated with recall of more correct information units in immediate and delayed free recall tasks; more efficient recall in the delayed free recall task; and increased accuracy recognising statements from a sentence verification task designed to reflect the local and global coherence of the text. The findings support further research into using reading comprehension strategies as an intervention approach for the adult ABI population. Future research needs include identifying how to match particular reading comprehension strategies to individuals, examining whether reading comprehension performance improves further through the incorporation of systematic training, and evaluating texts from a range of disciplines and genres.

An Investigation of Classroom Practices in Teaching Listening Comprehension at English Education Program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nurhafni Siregar

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study is to investigate how the classroom practice in teaching listening comprehension at English Education Program of STKIP Tapanuli Selatan in 2016/2017 Academic Year is. The informants of this research were all of second semester students of STKIP Tapanuli Selatan in 2016/2017 academic year and a lecturer of listening comprehension at STKIP Tapanuli Selatan (63 students and one lecturer. A descriptive study was used to achieve the objective of the study. The sample was taken by cluster sampling. The data were collected by using interview to know how the lecturer carried out the teaching practice of listening, and questionnaire  for the students and observation were used to find out how the calssroom activities were conducted. The descriptive analysis was used to anayse the data. Based on the data analysis, it was found that: (1 the lecturer carried out listening activities into four parts, they are preparation, prediction stage, listening, and post listening, and (2 the practice of teaching listening was effective related to the teaching pedagogical procedures in teaching listening comprehension. although there were some points that should be practice further. Based on the findings, it was recomended that the lecturer and the students may apply the less activities that had not been done.

Combustion chemistry and flame structure of furan group biofuels using molecular-beam mass spectrometry and gas chromatography - Part II: 2-Methylfuran.

Science.gov (United States)

Tran, Luc-Sy; Togbé, Casimir; Liu, Dong; Felsmann, Daniel; Oßwald, Patrick; Glaude, Pierre-Alexandre; Fournet, René; Sirjean, Baptiste; Battin-Leclerc, Frédérique; Kohse-Höinghaus, Katharina

2014-03-01

This is Part II of a series of three papers which jointly address the combustion chemistry of furan and its alkylated derivatives 2-methylfuran (MF) and 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF) under premixed low-pressure flame conditions. Some of them are considered to be promising biofuels. With furan as a common basis studied in Part I of this series, the present paper addresses two laminar premixed low-pressure (20 and 40 mbar) flat argon-diluted (50%) flames of MF which were studied with electron-ionization molecular-beam mass spectrometry (EI-MBMS) and gas chromatography (GC) for equivalence ratios φ=1.0 and 1.7, identical conditions to those for the previously reported furan flames. Mole fractions of reactants, products as well as stable and reactive intermediates were measured as a function of the distance above the burner. Kinetic modeling was performed using a comprehensive reaction mechanism for all three fuels given in Part I and described in the three parts of this series. A comparison of the experimental results and the simulation shows reasonable agreement, as also seen for the furan flames in Part I before. This set of experiments is thus considered to be a valuable additional basis for the validation of the model. The main reaction pathways of MF consumption have been derived from reaction flow analyses, and differences to furan combustion chemistry under the same conditions are discussed.

Valuable Nutrients and Functional Bioactives in Different Parts of Olive (Olea europaea L.)—A Review

Science.gov (United States)

Ghanbari, Rahele; Anwar, Farooq; Alkharfy, Khalid M.; Gilani, Anwarul-Hassan; Saari, Nazamid

2012-01-01

The Olive tree (Olea europaea L.), a native of the Mediterranean basin and parts of Asia, is now widely cultivated in many other parts of the world for production of olive oil and table olives. Olive is a rich source of valuable nutrients and bioactives of medicinal and therapeutic interest. Olive fruit contains appreciable concentration, 1–3% of fresh pulp weight, of hydrophilic (phenolic acids, phenolic alchohols, flavonoids and secoiridoids) and lipophilic (cresols) phenolic compounds that are known to possess multiple biological activities such as antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, antiinflammatory, antimicrobial, antihypertensive, antidyslipidemic, cardiotonic, laxative, and antiplatelet. Other important compounds present in olive fruit are pectin, organic acids, and pigments. Virgin olive oil (VOO), extracted mechanically from the fruit, is also very popular for its nutritive and health-promoting potential, especially against cardiovascular disorders due to the presence of high levels of monounsaturates and other valuable minor components such as phenolics, phytosterols, tocopherols, carotenoids, chlorophyll and squalene. The cultivar, area of production, harvest time, and the processing techniques employed are some of the factors shown to influence the composition of olive fruit and olive oil. This review focuses comprehensively on the nutrients and high-value bioactives profile as well as medicinal and functional aspects of different parts of olives and its byproducts. Various factors affecting the composition of this food commodity of medicinal value are also discussed. PMID:22489153

Developing a universal reading comprehension intervention for mainstream primary schools within areas of social deprivation for children with and without language-learning impairment: a feasibility study.

Science.gov (United States)

McCartney, Elspeth; Boyle, James; Ellis, Sue

2015-01-01

Some children in areas of social deprivation in Scotland have lower reading attainment than neighbouring children in less deprived areas, and some of these also have lower spoken language comprehension skills than expected by assessment norms. There is a need to develop effective reading comprehension interventions that fit easily into the school curriculum and can benefit all pupils. A feasibility study of reading comprehension strategies with existing evidence of efficacy was undertaken in three mainstream primary schools within an area of social deprivation in west central Scotland, to decide whether further investigation of this intervention was warranted. Aims were to measure comprehension of spoken language and reading via standardised assessments towards the beginning of the school year (T1) in mainstream primary school classrooms within an area of social deprivation; to have teachers introduce previously-validated text comprehension strategies, and to measure change in reading comprehension outcome measures towards the end of the year (T2). A pre- and post-intervention cohort design was used. Reading comprehension strategies were introduced to staff in participating schools and used throughout the school year as part of on-going reading instruction. Spoken language comprehension was measured by TROG-2 at T1, and reading progress by score changes from T1 to T2 on the WIAT-II(UK) -T reading comprehension scale. Forty-seven pupils in five classes in three primary schools took part: 38% had TROG-2 scores below the 10(th) centile. As a group, children made good reading comprehension progress, with a medium effect size of 0.46. Children with TROG-2 scores below the 10(th) centile had lower mean reading scores than others at T1 and T2, although with considerable overlap. However, TROG-2 did not make a unique contribution to reading progress: children below the 10(th) centile made as much progress as other children. The intervention was welcomed by schools, and the

False-belief understanding and language ability mediate the relationship between emotion comprehension and prosocial orientation in preschoolers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Veronica Ornaghi

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Emotion comprehension is known to be a key correlate and predictor of prosociality from early childhood. The present study look at their relation within the wide theoretical construct of social understanding which includes a number of socio-emotional skills, as well as cognitive and linguistic abilities. Theory of mind, especially false-belief understanding, has been found to have positive correlations with both emotion comprehension and prosocial orientation. Similarly, language ability is known to play a key role in children’s socio-emotional development. The combined contribution of both false-belief understanding and language in explaining the relation between emotion comprehension and prosociality has yet to be investigated. Thus, in the current study, we conducted an in-depth exploration of how preschoolers’ false-belief understanding and language ability each contribute to modeling the relationship between their comprehension of emotion and their disposition to act prosocially towards others, after controlling for age and gender. Participants were 101 4-to-6 year old children (54% boys, who were administered measures of language ability, false-belief understanding, emotion comprehension and prosocial orientation. Multiple mediation analysis of the data suggested that false-belief understanding and language ability jointly and fully mediated the effect of preschoolers’ emotion comprehension on their prosocial orientation. Analysis of covariates revealed that gender exerted no statistically significant effect, while age had a trivial positive effect. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Application of a statistical methodology for the comprehension of corrosion phenomena on Phenix spent fuel pins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pantera, L.

1992-11-01

The maximum burnup of Phenix fuel elements is strongly conditioned by the internal corrosion of the steel cladding. This thesis is a part of a new study program on the corrosion phenomena. Based on the results of an experimental program during the years 1980-1990 its objective is the use of a statistical methodology for a better comprehension of the corrosion phenomena

Effects of Lexical Features, Textual Properties, and Individual Differences on Word Processing Times during Second Language Reading Comprehension

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Minkyung; Crossley, Scott A.; Skalicky, Stephen

2018-01-01

This study examines whether lexical features and textual properties along with individual differences on the part of readers influence word processing times during second language (L2) reading comprehension. Forty-eight Spanish-speaking adolescent and adult learners of English read nine English passages in a self-paced word-by-word reading…

Pragmatic Strategies and Linguistic Structures in Making ‘Suggestions’: Towards Comprehensive Taxonomies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hossein Abolfathiasl

2013-11-01

Full Text Available This paper analyses and upgrades taxonomies of strategies and structures for the speech act of suggesting based on existing taxonomies and classifications in the pragmatics research literature. Previous studies have focused mainly on linguistic structures used to perform the speech act of suggesting. Thus, there seems to be a need to provide a more comprehensive set of taxonomies for structures as well as strategies that can be used in EFL/ESL classrooms and for research on the speech act of suggesting. To this end, the speech act of suggesting is defined first and the features of this speech act are discussed. Second, the most recent classifications proposed for structures and linguistic realization strategies for suggestions were analysed and contrasted and a more comprehensive taxonomy of structures and linguistic realization strategies is provided, based on previous taxonomies. Finally, taxonomy of politeness strategies in making suggestions are provided, based on recent studies in cross-cultural pragmatics research.

Feeling and thinking of others: affective and cognitive empathy and emotion comprehension in prosocial/hostile preschoolers.

Science.gov (United States)

Belacchi, Carmen; Farina, Eleonora

2012-01-01

This study aims at investigating the affective and cognitive components of empathy in relation to both emotion comprehension and prosocial/hostile behaviors in preschoolers. A total of 219 children (54% boys; aged between 3 and 6: mean age 4.10) and 20 teachers (two for each class: group A and group B) took part in this research. Pupils' empathy and hostile/prosocial roles were assessed by teacher reports [Belacchi and Farina, 2010] and children's emotion comprehension by a nonverbal test [Test of Emotion Comprehension: Pons and Harris, 2000; adapted by Albanese and Molina; 2008]. As expected, the results showed a significant influence of gender, with girls being more empathic than boys, according to all of the teachers' perception. Contrary to our expectations, no systematic age influence emerged. Regarding the relations of children's emotion comprehension with both empathy measures and their prosocial/hostile attitudes, we have found: (1) a low significant relation with the total empathy measure, according to all the teachers, but with the cognitive empathy only according to teachers B; (2) a robust negative relationship of both affective and cognitive empathy with Hostile roles and with Outsider role, contrary to a positive correlation of only affective empathy with Prosocial roles. No relationships emerged between empathy measures and Victim role. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Comprehensibility of selected USP pictograms by illiterate and literate Farsi speakers: The first experience in Iran - Part I.

Science.gov (United States)

Zargarzadeh, Amir H; Ahamdi, Sahar

2017-01-01

Good understanding of medication instructions is paramount to a good pharmaceutical care. The aim of our study was to examine the understandability of the selected three most applicable pictograms by participants and their recall after educational mini sessions. First, nine experienced pharmacists selected the three most potentially applicable pictograms. Pictograms A to C were determined, respectively, "A-take medication with food," "B-medication may cause drowsiness," and "C-take medication before sleep." In the second phase, we measured the comprehensibility of pictograms by three groups of participants (sample of 358): highly educated participants of two major universities of Isfahan (Groups 1 and 2), low-literate and illiterate individuals (Groups 3 and 4), and the rest were participants interviewed in three teaching pharmacies affiliated to the Isfahan School of Pharmacy (Group 5). The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) were used to compare the comprehensibility of pictograms. Furthermore, five qualitative questions were asked about the impact of pictograms on several parameters. In the pre-follow-up period, only Group 1 (75%) understood pictogram A while pictogram B did not pass the ANSI and ISO thresholds for acceptability in none of the groups. In the pre-follow-up period, Groups 1 and 2 surpassed the ANSI threshold and Group 5 passed the ISO limit for C. In the post-follow-up period, C passed the ISO limit in Group 3. Regarding the qualitative questions, 84.1% believed that pictograms had positive impact on the correct use of medications and timing of administration. The groups with high level of literacy interpreted the pictograms better than those with lower levels of literacy.

Musculoskeletal disorders associated with HIV infection and AIDS. Part I: Infectious musculoskeletal conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tehranzadeh, Jamshid; Ter-Oganesyan, Ramon R.; Steinbach, Lynne S.

2004-01-01

The musculoskeletal system can be affected by a variety of abnormalities in association with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Although not as common as complications involving other organ systems, such as the pulmonary and the central nervous systems, HIV-associated musculoskeletal disorders are sometimes the initial presentation of the viral illness. Knowledge of the existence and the characteristic appearance of the conditions affecting bone, joint, and muscle in HIV-infected patients is valuable to radiologists for diagnosis and to clinicians for detection and appropriate treatment. We reviewed recent literature to provide a comprehensive assessment of the HIV-associated musculoskeletal disorders, and present radiologic examples from our own collection. This article is divided into two parts. In the first part we review the infectious musculoskeletal disorders associated with HIV illness and AIDS, including cellulitis, abscesses, pyomyositis, septic bursitis, septic arthritis, osteomyelitis, and bacillary angiomatosis. We also present a comprehensive spectrum of mycobacterial infections, consisting of tuberculous spondylitis and spondylodiskitis, arthritis, osteomyelitis, and tenosynovitis, as well as infections caused by atypical mycobacteria. Part II of this review will concentrate on non-infectious musculoskeletal conditions, including rheumatic disorders and neoplasms. (orig.)

Musculoskeletal disorders associated with HIV infection and AIDS. Part I: Infectious musculoskeletal conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tehranzadeh, Jamshid [Department of Radiological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California (United States); Department of Radiological Sciences, Rt. 140, 101 The City Drive ZC 5005, CA 92868-3298, Orange (United States); Ter-Oganesyan, Ramon R. [College of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California (United States); Steinbach, Lynne S. [Department of Radiological Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California (United States)

2004-05-01

The musculoskeletal system can be affected by a variety of abnormalities in association with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Although not as common as complications involving other organ systems, such as the pulmonary and the central nervous systems, HIV-associated musculoskeletal disorders are sometimes the initial presentation of the viral illness. Knowledge of the existence and the characteristic appearance of the conditions affecting bone, joint, and muscle in HIV-infected patients is valuable to radiologists for diagnosis and to clinicians for detection and appropriate treatment. We reviewed recent literature to provide a comprehensive assessment of the HIV-associated musculoskeletal disorders, and present radiologic examples from our own collection. This article is divided into two parts. In the first part we review the infectious musculoskeletal disorders associated with HIV illness and AIDS, including cellulitis, abscesses, pyomyositis, septic bursitis, septic arthritis, osteomyelitis, and bacillary angiomatosis. We also present a comprehensive spectrum of mycobacterial infections, consisting of tuberculous spondylitis and spondylodiskitis, arthritis, osteomyelitis, and tenosynovitis, as well as infections caused by atypical mycobacteria. Part II of this review will concentrate on non-infectious musculoskeletal conditions, including rheumatic disorders and neoplasms. (orig.)

75 FR 32169 - Comprehensive Centers Program

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-07

... of proposed waivers were supportive of the Comprehensive Centers program and the proposed waivers... Department to continue promoting this shared oversight by involving OSERS leadership in deliberations about... identification of the valuable contribution of OSERS leadership in supporting the Comprehensive Centers program...

Comprehensive geriatric assessment

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2007-09-14

Sep 14, 2007 ... i.e. difficulty performing simple physical and mental tasks necessary for daily life. ... Definition. Comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) is a multidimensional .... The formation of a programme of therapy is decided on.

Analytical support for SAMG development as a part of accident management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Honcarenko, R.

1999-01-01

The decision to built up and implement a comprehensive Accident Management Program applying best world-wide knowledge made during last year at Temelin. A small group of engineers dedicated to Accident Management was formed at Temelin NPP as a part of the plant organisation scheme. A short summary of these activities performed by this group is presented. (author)

Runaway reactions. Part 2 Causes of Accidents in selected CSB case histories Part 2

OpenAIRE

GYENES ZSUZSANNA; CARSON PHILLIP

2017-01-01

Part 1 briefly discussed the basic thermochemistry of reactive chemicals, the statistics of accidents involving runaway reactions, and general control measures to minimise risk and mitigate the consequences. The present paper highlights the main causes of major accidents from runaway reactions with illustrative case histories to link theory and practice. It also discusses lessons learned from these accidents, which are very similar in the cases studied. The main causes are management deficien...

Experience of Using Immunomodulatory Therapy in Comprehensive Treatment of Chronic Tonsillitis in Children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu.V. Marushko

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Immunomodulatory therapy is an important part of treating patients with chronic tonsillitis caused by β-hemolytic streptococcus group A, on the background of antibiotic therapy it allows us to achieve a more effective elimination of the pathogen. Administration of Imupret in the comprehensive treatment for exacerbation of chronic tonsillitis of streptococcal origin leads to the rapid disappearance of clinical manifestations of the disease, high frequency of pathogen elimination, reduces the incidence of chronic tonsillitis exa­cerbations.

Space construction system analysis. Part 2: Cost and programmatics

Science.gov (United States)

Vonflue, F. W.; Cooper, W.

1980-01-01

Cost and programmatic elements of the space construction systems analysis study are discussed. The programmatic aspects of the ETVP program define a comprehensive plan for the development of a space platform, the construction system, and the space shuttle operations/logistics requirements. The cost analysis identified significant items of cost on ETVP development, ground, and flight segments, and detailed the items of space construction equipment and operations.

Psychometric Evaluation and Discussions of English Language Learners' Listening Comprehension

Science.gov (United States)

Seo, Daeryong; Taherbhai, Husein; Frantz, Roger

2016-01-01

The importance of listening in the context of English language acquisition is gaining acceptance, but its unique attributes in language performance, while substantively and qualitatively justifiable, are generally not psychometrically defined. This article psychometrically supports listening as a distinct domain among the three other domains of…

How to assess and improve children's reading comprehension?

OpenAIRE

Muijselaar, M.M.L.

2016-01-01

Reading comprehension is one of the most important skills children have to acquire during the final years of primary education. It is therefore unfortunate that many children have severe problems with a proper understanding of texts. To design methods that foster children’s reading comprehension, more information about the underlying skills and processes that are involved in reading comprehension is needed. Prerequisites for reading comprehension are the accurate and fast reading of single wo...

Part-time work, underemployment and gender : worker versus job explanations

OpenAIRE

Kjeldstad, Randi; Nymoen, Erik H.

2009-01-01

The article analyses part-time work, both so-called voluntary and involuntary, in a gender perspective and discusses under what conditions women and men work part-time. The discussion is based on logistic regression models, including human capital, life-course- and household characteristics and job characteristics as independent variables. We use Norwegian Labour Force Survey data. The analysis shows that part-time work is a strongly gendered phenomenon, not only because it occurs much more f...

Comprehensive Statewide Plan for Postsecondary Education

Science.gov (United States)

Nebraska's Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education, 2016

2016-01-01

The constitution and statutes of Nebraska assign the Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education the responsibility for comprehensive planning for postsecondary education in Nebraska. The purpose of the "Comprehensive Plan for Postsecondary Education" is to provide direction for the future of postsecondary education in Nebraska.…

The Effect of Comprehensible Input and Comprehensible Output on the Accuracy and Complexity of Iranian EFL Learners’ Oral Speech

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

omid tabatabaie

2009-10-01

Full Text Available This study aimed at investigating the relative impact of comprehensible input and comprehensible output on the development of grammatical accuracy and syntactic complexity of Iranian EFL learners’ oral production. Participants were 60 female EFL learners selected from a whole population pool of 80 based on the standard test of IELTS. To investigate the research questions, the participants were randomly divided into three groups: Input group, output group, and control group. The study involved two phases: the pre-task phase, and the main-task phase. During the pre-task phase, the input group received comprehensible input. In the same phase, the output group was pushed to be engaged in comprehensible output production. The control group neither received input, nor was engaged in output production. In the main-task phase, all subjects performed monologues that were separately recorded, and later transcribed and coded in terms of accuracy and complexity through Bygate's (2001 standard coding system and finally scored. The statistical analysis of the results revealed that while the output group outperformed the input group in grammatical accuracy, the input group proved to be more rigorous and influential in developing speech complexity. The study supports Swain’s (1985 claim that there are roles for comprehensible output that are different from and independent of comprehensible input, and Skehan & Foster's (2001 theory regarding human beings’ limited attentional capacities that can be devoted to one aspect of oral speech at the expense of the other. Generally, it is implied that the most effective way for improving oral speech, based on the literature and the results obtained from this study, is an eclectic approach which conflates both comprehensible input and comprehensible output.

Comprehensive neurocognitive assessment of patients with anorexia nervosa.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillipou, Andrea; Gurvich, Caroline; Castle, David Jonathan; Abel, Larry Allen; Rossell, Susan Lee

2015-12-22

To utilise a comprehensive cognitive battery to gain a better understanding of cognitive performance in anorexia nervosa (AN). Twenty-six individuals with AN and 27 healthy control participants matched for age, gender and premorbid intelligence, participated in the study. A standard cognitive battery, the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia Consensus Cognitive Battery, was used to investigate performance on seven cognitive domains with the use of 10 different tasks: speed of processing [Brief Assessment Of Cognition In Schizophrenia: Symbol Coding, Category Fluency: Animal Naming (Fluency) and Trail Making Test: Part A], attention/vigilance [Continuous Performance Test - Identical Pairs (CPT-IP)], working memory [Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS(®)-III): Spatial Span, and Letter-Number Span (LNS)], verbal learning [Hopkins Verbal Learning Test - Revised], visual learning [Brief Visuospatial Memory Test - Revised], reasoning and problem solving [Neuropsychological Assessment Battery: Mazes], and social cognition [Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test: Managing Emotions]. Statistical analyses involved the use of multivariate and univariate analyses of variance. Analyses conducted on the cognitive domain scores revealed no overall significant difference between groups nor any interaction between group and domain score [F(1,45) = 0.73, P = 0.649]. Analyses conducted on each of the specific tasks within the cognitive domains revealed significantly slower reaction times for false alarm responses on the CPT-IP task in AN [F(1,51) = 12.80, P < 0.01, Cohen's d = 0.982] and a trend towards poorer performance in AN on the backward component of the WMS(®)-III Spatial Span task [F(1,51) = 5.88, P = 0.02, Cohen's d = -0.665]. The finding of slower reaction times of false alarm responses is, however, limited due to the small number of false alarm responses for either group. The findings are discussed in terms of poorer capacity to

Optimal Learning in Schools--Theoretical Evidence: Part 3 Individual Differences

Science.gov (United States)

Crossland, John

2017-01-01

Parts 1 and 2 in this four-part series of articles (Crossland, 2016, 2017) discussed the recent research from neuroscience linked to concepts from cognitive development that brought Piaget's theories into the 21st century and showed the most effective provision towards more optimal learning strategies. Then the discussion moved onto Demetriou's…

Promoting Discussion in Peer Instruction: Discussion Partner Assignment and Accountability Scoring Mechanisms

Science.gov (United States)

Chou, Chih-Yueh; Lin, Pin-Hsun

2015-01-01

Peer instruction (PI) involves students answering questions and peer discussion learning activities. PI can enhance student performance and engagement in classroom instruction. However, some students do not engage in the discussions. This study proposes two mechanisms, discussion partner assignment and accountability scoring mechanisms, to form…

Developing a Comprehensive Housing Strategy: A Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Marsters, Tim; Bliss, Kelly

2007-01-01

In the current highly competitive higher education market in North America, many colleges have identified the importance of upgrading their existing residential housing facilities as part of their strategy to attract and retain students. The case study discussed in this article describes the successful planning process used by Perkins+Will and…

The dark side of SOX2: cancer - a comprehensive overview.

Science.gov (United States)

Wuebben, Erin L; Rizzino, Angie

2017-07-04

The pluripotency-associated transcription factor SOX2 is essential during mammalian embryogenesis and later in life, but SOX2 expression can also be highly detrimental. Over the past 10 years, SOX2 has been shown to be expressed in at least 25 different cancers. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the roles of SOX2 in cancer and focuses on two broad topics. The first delves into the expression and function of SOX2 in cancer focusing on the connection between SOX2 levels and tumor grade as well as patient survival. As part of this discussion, we address the developing connection between SOX2 expression and tumor drug resistance. We also call attention to an under-appreciated property of SOX2, its levels in actively proliferating tumor cells appear to be optimized to maximize tumor growth - too little or too much SOX2 dramatically alters tumor growth. The second topic of this review focuses on the exquisite array of molecular mechanisms that control the expression and transcriptional activity of SOX2. In addition to its complex regulation at the transcriptional level, SOX2 expression and activity are controlled carefully by microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and post-translational modifications. In the Conclusion and Future Perspectives section, we point out that there are still important unanswered questions. Addressing these questions is expected to lead to new insights into the functions of SOX2 in cancer, which will help design novels strategies for more effectively treating some of the most deadly cancers.

Interpersonal amplification of risk? Citizen discussions and their impact on perceptions of risks and benefits of a biological research facility.

Science.gov (United States)

Binder, Andrew R; Scheufele, Dietram A; Brossard, Dominique; Gunther, Albert C

2011-02-01

Much risk communication research has demonstrated how mass media can influence individual risk perceptions, but lacks a comprehensive conceptual understanding of another key channel of communication: interpersonal discussion. Using the social amplification of risk as a theoretical framework, we consider the potential for discussions to function as amplification stations. We explore this possibility using data from a public opinion survey of residents living in potential locations for a new biological research facility in the United States. Controlling for a variety of key information variables, our results show that two dimensions of discussion-frequency and valence-have impacts on residents' perceptions of the facility's benefits and its risks. We also explore the possibility that an individual's overall attitude moderates the effect of discussion on their perceptions of risks and benefits. Our results demonstrate the potential for discussions to operate as amplifiers or attenuators of perceptions of both risks and benefits. © 2010 Society for Risk Analysis.

Graph comprehension in science and mathematics education: Objects and categories

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Voetmann Christiansen, Frederik; May, Michael

types of registers. In the second part of the paper, we consider how diagrams in science are often composites of iconic and indexical elements, and how this fact may lead to confusion for students. In the discussion the utility of the Peircian semiotic framework for educational studies......, the typological mistake of considering graphs as images is discussed related to litterature, and two examples from engineering education are given. The educational implications for science and engineering are discussed, with emphasis on the need for students to work explicitly with conversions between different...... of representational forms in science is discussed, and how the objects of mathematics and science relate to their semiotic representations....

Hazard Ranking System evaluation of CERCLA [Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act] inactive waste sites at Hanford: Volume 1, Evaluation methods and results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stenner, R.D.; Cramer, K.H.; Higley, K.A.; Jette, S.J.; Lamar, D.A.; McLaughlin, T.J.; Sherwood, D.R.; Van Houten, N.C.

1988-10-01

The purpose of this report is to formally document the individual site Hazard Ranking System (HRS) evaluations conducted as part of the preliminary assessment/site inspection (PA/SI) activities at the US Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site. These activities were carried out pursuant to the DOE orders that describe the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Program addressing the cleanup of inactive waste sites. These orders incorporate the US Environmental Protection Agency methodology, which is based on the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA). The methodology includes six parts: PA/SI, remedial investigation/feasibility study, record of decision, design and implementation of remedial action, operation and monitoring, and verification monitoring. Volume 1 of this report discusses the CERCLA inactive waste-site evaluation process, assumptions, and results of the HRS methodology employed. Volume 2 presents the data on the individual CERCLA engineered-facility sites at Hanford, as contained in the Hanford Inactive Site Surveillance (HISS) Data Base. Volume 3 presents the data on the individual CERCLA unplanned-release sites at Hanford, as contained in the HISS Data Base. 34 refs., 43 figs., 47 tabs

Hazard Ranking System evaluation of CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act) inactive waste sites at Hanford: Volume 1, Evaluation methods and results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stenner, R.D.; Cramer, K.H.; Higley, K.A.; Jette, S.J.; Lamar, D.A.; McLaughlin, T.J.; Sherwood, D.R.; Van Houten, N.C.

1988-10-01

The purpose of this report is to formally document the individual site Hazard Ranking System (HRS) evaluations conducted as part of the preliminary assessment/site inspection (PA/SI) activities at the US Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site. These activities were carried out pursuant to the DOE orders that describe the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Program addressing the cleanup of inactive waste sites. These orders incorporate the US Environmental Protection Agency methodology, which is based on the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA). The methodology includes six parts: PA/SI, remedial investigation/feasibility study, record of decision, design and implementation of remedial action, operation and monitoring, and verification monitoring. Volume 1 of this report discusses the CERCLA inactive waste-site evaluation process, assumptions, and results of the HRS methodology employed. Volume 2 presents the data on the individual CERCLA engineered-facility sites at Hanford, as contained in the Hanford Inactive Site Surveillance (HISS) Data Base. Volume 3 presents the data on the individual CERCLA unplanned-release sites at Hanford, as contained in the HISS Data Base. 34 refs., 43 figs., 47 tabs.

Profiling classroom reading comprehension development practices ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Of specific concern is the lack of representation of the sampled South African learners at the PIRLS international benchmarks, revealing a distinct lack of their development of thinking and reasoning abilities for reading comprehension. To shed light on potential reasons for learners' reading comprehension difficulties, this ...

Strategies for human-driven robot comprehension of spatial descriptions by older adults in a robot fetch task.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlson, Laura; Skubic, Marjorie; Miller, Jared; Huo, Zhiyu; Alexenko, Tatiana

2014-07-01

This contribution presents a corpus of spatial descriptions and describes the development of a human-driven spatial language robot system for their comprehension. The domain of application is an eldercare setting in which an assistive robot is asked to "fetch" an object for an elderly resident based on a natural language spatial description given by the resident. In Part One, we describe a corpus of naturally occurring descriptions elicited from a group of older adults within a virtual 3D home that simulates the eldercare setting. We contrast descriptions elicited when participants offered descriptions to a human versus robot avatar, and under instructions to tell the addressee how to find the target versus where the target is. We summarize the key features of the spatial descriptions, including their dynamic versus static nature and the perspective adopted by the speaker. In Part Two, we discuss critical cognitive and perceptual processing capabilities necessary for the robot to establish a common ground with the human user and perform the "fetch" task. Based on the collected corpus, we focus here on resolving the perspective ambiguity and recognizing furniture items used as landmarks in the descriptions. Taken together, the work presented here offers the key building blocks of a robust system that takes as input natural spatial language descriptions and produces commands that drive the robot to successfully fetch objects within our eldercare scenario. Copyright © 2014 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Level measurements part 2[5 figs]; Nivaamaalinger del 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gundersen, Thor Ole

2006-07-01

The article discusses various level measurement methods other than using ultrasound that was discussed in part 1 of the article series. Methods using laser, capacity, weight and displacement are presented. Various life span aspects of the machinery are discussed.

Five Strategies of Successful Part-Time Work.

Science.gov (United States)

Corwin, Vivien; Lawrence, Thomas B.; Frost, Peter J.

2001-01-01

Identifies commonalities in the approaches of successful part-time professionals. Discusses five strategies for success: (1) communicating work-life priorities and schedules to the organization; (2) making the business case for part-time arrangements; (3) establishing time management routines; (4) cultivating advocates in senior management; and…

Policy issues facing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and prospects for the future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sweeney, J.

1999-01-01

This report is divided into the following 5 sections: (1) Background; (2) Major Issues Facing Ratification of CTBT; (3) Current Status on CTBT Ratification; (4) Status of CTBT Signatories and Ratifiers; and (5) CTBT Activities Not Prohibited. The major issues facing ratification of CTBT discussed here are: impact on CTBT of START II and ABM ratification; impact of India and Pakistan nuclear tests; CTBT entry into force; and establishment of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization

Policy issues facing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and prospects for the future

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sweeney, J.

1999-04-01

This report is divided into the following 5 sections: (1) Background; (2) Major Issues Facing Ratification of CTBT; (3) Current Status on CTBT Ratification; (4) Status of CTBT Signatories and Ratifiers; and (5) CTBT Activities Not Prohibited. The major issues facing ratification of CTBT discussed here are: impact on CTBT of START II and ABM ratification; impact of India and Pakistan nuclear tests; CTBT entry into force; and establishment of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization.

THE IMPACT OF GLOSS TYPES ON IRANIAN EFL STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION AND LEXICAL RETENTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Taghi Farvardin

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Research has shown that the effect of marginal glosses on reading comprehension and vocabulary retention is a controversial issue. The purpose of this study was to investigate this issue among Iranian university EFL students. Three types of glosses were applied in this study: single gloss in participants’ first language (SL1G, single gloss in participants’ second language (SL2G, and multiple-choice gloss (MCG in participants’ second language. One hundred and twenty undergraduate students majoring in English Teaching at Azad University of Najafabad, Iran, read the texts under three conditions: SL1G, SL2G, and MCG. Afterwards, participants answered two vocabulary tests, one administered immediately after the reading test and another three weeks later. One-way repeated measures ANOVA and follow-up post hoc tests (p<.05 showed that MCG facilitated participants’ vocabulary learning while reading the text more than SLGs. The results of One-way ANOVA also revealed that SL2G was the most facilitative gloss type for the participants’ reading comprehension. The study illustrates how different types of textual glosses can affect both reading comprehension and vocabulary retention. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Probing the Politics of Comprehensive Sexuality Education: "Universality" versus "Cultural Sensitivity": A Dutch-Bangladeshi Collaboration on Adolescent Sexuality Education

Science.gov (United States)

Roodsaz, Rahil

2018-01-01

As part of Western European development aid policy, comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is increasingly promoted in resource-poor countries. This paper engages with CSE promotion in Bangladesh funded by the Dutch Government. It unpacks the "collaboration" by looking at how a paradox is played out between the universal ideals…

The Differences across Distributed Leadership Practices by School Position According to the Comprehensive Assessment of Leadership for Learning (CALL)

Science.gov (United States)

Blitz, Mark H.; Modeste, Marsha

2015-01-01

The Comprehensive Assessment of Leadership for Learning (CALL) is a multi-source assessment of distributed instructional leadership. As part of the validation of CALL, researchers examined differences between teacher and leader ratings in assessing distributed leadership practices. The authors utilized a t-test for equality of means for the…

Executive Dysfunction among Children with Reading Comprehension Deficits

Science.gov (United States)

Locascio, Gianna; Mahone, E. Mark; Eason, Sarah H.; Cutting, Laurie E.

2010-01-01

Emerging research supports the contribution of executive function (EF) to reading comprehension; however, a unique pattern has not been established for children who demonstrate comprehension difficulties despite average word recognition ability (specific reading comprehension deficit; S-RCD). To identify particular EF components on which children…

How To Tutor Students with Reading Comprehension Problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Richard; Hasbrouck, Jan E.; Denton, Carolyn

2002-01-01

Suggestions for tutoring students with reading comprehension problems include careful selection of books with readable text segments, use of comprehension strategies such as paraphrasing brief sections, and reading to find specific information. Several reading comprehension strategies for students are summarized. (Contains 7 references.) (DB)

How peer conversations about HIV/AIDS media messages affect comprehension and beliefs of young South African women

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Lubinga

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Most existent research on the effects of interpersonal discussions about health campaign messages is based on surveys. In this study, we analysed actual conversations about an HIV/AIDS poster to find out possible effects. Young South African women in 59 dyads (n = 118 participated in conversations about a deliberately puzzling HIV and AIDS poster that cautioned the target group to be faithful to one sexual partner. We measured their comprehension of the poster and beliefs about the message, before and after the conversations. Overall, actual comprehension (AC was low, and we observed a large discrepancy between actual and perceived comprehension. In general, conversations did not improve AC. It proved to be even more probable that a correct interpretation before a conversation turned into an incorrect interpretation than the other way around. However, having a well-informed conversation partner increased the chance of acquiring adequate subsequent comprehension. We found, in general, that conversations did not decrease undesirable beliefs. One important undesirable belief even became reinforced after the conversations. Conversations among peers might be valuable in health campaigns, but our study shows that intended positive effects do not automatically follow.

The influence of age, hearing, and working memory on the speech comprehension benefit derived from an automatic speech recognition system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zekveld, A.A.; Kramer, S.E.; Kessens, J.M.; Vlaming, M.S.M.G.; Houtgast, T.

2009-01-01

Objective: The aim of the current study was to examine whether partly incorrect subtitles that are automatically generated by an Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) system, improve speech comprehension by listeners with hearing impairment. In an earlier study (Zekveld et al. 2008), we showed that

Excursions at the places of mining and processing of ore resources in Slovakia. The first part

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jesenak, K.

2011-01-01

The first part of this text-book brings a complex and comprehensive view on the places of mining and processing of ore resources in the Slovak Republic. Environmental impact of mining is also presented.

Listening comprehension in preschoolers: the role of memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Florit, Elena; Roch, Maja; Altoè, Gianmarco; Levorato, Maria Chiara

2009-11-01

The current study analyzed the relationship between text comprehension and memory skills in preschoolers. We were interested in verifying the hypothesis that memory is a specific contributor to listening comprehension in preschool children after controlling for verbal abilities. We were also interested in analyzing the developmental path of the relationship between memory skills and listening comprehension in the age range considered. Forty-four, 4-year-olds (mean age = 4 years and 6 months, SD = 4 months) and 40, 5-year-olds (mean age = 5 years and 4 months, SD = 5 months) participated in the study. The children were administered measures to evaluate listening comprehension ability (story comprehension), short-term and working memory skills (forward and backward word span), verbal intelligence and receptive vocabulary. Results showed that both short-term and working memory predicted unique and independent variance in listening comprehension after controlling for verbal abilities, with working memory explaining additional variance over and above short-term memory. The predictive power of memory skills was stable in the age range considered. Results also confirm a strong relation between verbal abilities and listening comprehension in 4- and 5-year-old children.

Measurment and Reporting of Comprehensive Income: Search ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Measurment and Reporting of Comprehensive Income: Search, Challenges, ... of periods of stable and unstable economic situation and satisfies varied users' ... Keywords: Historical accounting; comprehensive income; asset valuation model.

Reading Approach Use Effectiveness And EFL Reading Comprehension In University Muhammadiyah Of Parepare

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Baharuddin

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This study investigated Indonesian EFL learners approach of two reading approaches cognitive and metacognitive their perceived contact on effectiveness and the association between reading approach and effectiveness on their English reading comprehension. Fifty-Three English-major freshmen from University Muhammadiyah of Parepare participated in these lessons. Two principal questions were addressed 1 what is the most frequent use of reading approach reported by individual students 2 Is there any significant association between reading approach and effectiveness on their English reading comprehension To examine the effects of approach instruction on students reading performance a qualitative interview technique and quantitative research methods including a paired-sample t-test and Person Product Moment Correlation were used to estimate the relationship between reading approach use and effectiveness on students reading accomplishment. Significance showed that the most frequent use of reading approach was found to be metacognitive approach followed by the cognitive approach. In addition there was a significant positive connection between reading approach and effectiveness on their English reading comprehension. Reading approach on the other hand was unrelated to reading achievement. Results of interview findings were analyzed to explore in-depth in sequence about the condition of approach used. The implications of these findings for implementing effective reading strategy instruction are discussed.

Gestalt Imagery: A Critical Factor in Language Comprehension.

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Nanci

1991-01-01

Lack of gestalt imagery (the ability to create imaged wholes) can contribute to language comprehension disorder characterized by weak reading comprehension, weak oral language comprehension, weak oral language expression, weak written language expression, difficulty following directions, and a weak sense of humor. Sequential stimulation using an…

A New Road to Reactions: Part 2.

Science.gov (United States)

de Vos, Wobbe; Verdonk, Adri H.

1985-01-01

Describes a precipitation experiment which follows a yellow powder experiment discussed in part 1 (vol 62 no 3 p238-40). Advantages of using a Petri dish to perform the experiment, laboratory procedures used, instructional strategies, and implications for chemistry curriculum and instruction are discussed. (JN)

Summary of the ACAT Round Table Discussion: Open-source, knowledge sharing and scientific collaboration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carminati, Federico; Perret-Gallix, Denis; Riemann, Tord

2014-01-01

Round table discussions are in the tradition of ACAT. This year's plenary round table discussion was devoted to questions related to the use of scientific software in High Energy Physics and beyond. The 90 minutes of discussion were lively, and quite a lot of diverse opinions were spelled out. Although the discussion was, in part, controversial, the participants agreed unanimously on several basic issues in software sharing: • The importance of having various licensing models in academic research; • The basic value of proper recognition and attribution of intellectual property, including scientific software; • The user respect for the conditions of use, including licence statements, as formulated by the author. The need of a similar discussion on the issues of data sharing was emphasized and it was recommended to cover this subject at the conference round table discussion of next ACAT. In this contribution, we summarise selected topics that were covered in the introductory talks and in the following discussion

Summary of the ACAT round table discussion. Open-source, knowledge sharing and scientific collaboration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carminati, Federico; Perret-Gallix, Denis; Riemann, Tord

2014-07-01

Round table discussions are in the tradition of ACAT. This year's plenary round table discussion was devoted to questions related to the use of scientific software in High Energy Physics and beyond. The 90 minutes of discussion were lively, and quite a lot of diverse opinions were spelled out. Although the discussion was, in part, controversial, the participants agreed unanimously on several basic issues in software sharing: (i) The importance of having various licensing models in academic research; (ii) The basic value of proper recognition and attribution of intellectual property, including scientific software; (iii) The user respect for the conditions of use, including licence statements, as formulated by the author. The need of a similar discussion on the issues of data sharing was emphasized and it was recommended to cover this subject at the conference round table discussion of next ACAT. In this contribution, we summarise selected topics that were covered in the introductory talks and in the following discussion.

Summary of the ACAT round table discussion. Open-source, knowledge sharing and scientific collaboration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carminati, Federico [CERN, Geneva (Switzerland); Perret-Gallix, Denis [LAPP/IN2P3, CNRS, Annecy-le-Vieux, (France); Riemann, Tord [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Zeuthen (Germany)

2014-07-15

Round table discussions are in the tradition of ACAT. This year's plenary round table discussion was devoted to questions related to the use of scientific software in High Energy Physics and beyond. The 90 minutes of discussion were lively, and quite a lot of diverse opinions were spelled out. Although the discussion was, in part, controversial, the participants agreed unanimously on several basic issues in software sharing: (i) The importance of having various licensing models in academic research; (ii) The basic value of proper recognition and attribution of intellectual property, including scientific software; (iii) The user respect for the conditions of use, including licence statements, as formulated by the author. The need of a similar discussion on the issues of data sharing was emphasized and it was recommended to cover this subject at the conference round table discussion of next ACAT. In this contribution, we summarise selected topics that were covered in the introductory talks and in the following discussion.

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: Using Visual Images To Improve Comprehension for Middle School Struggling Readers.

Science.gov (United States)

Hibbing, Anne Nielsen; Rankin-Erickson, Joan L.

2003-01-01

Discusses teacher and student drawings in the classroom, illustrations in texts, picture books, and movies as external image-based tools that support reading comprehension. Presents a summary of points practitioners will want to consider when using sketches, illustrations, picture books, and movies with reluctant and low-ability middle school…

Part E: Evolutionary Computation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2015-01-01

of Computational Intelligence. First, comprehensive surveys of genetic algorithms, genetic programming, evolution strategies, parallel evolutionary algorithms are presented, which are readable and constructive so that a large audience might find them useful and – to some extent – ready to use. Some more general...... kinds of evolutionary algorithms, have been prudently analyzed. This analysis was followed by a thorough analysis of various issues involved in stochastic local search algorithms. An interesting survey of various technological and industrial applications in mechanical engineering and design has been...... topics like the estimation of distribution algorithms, indicator-based selection, etc., are also discussed. An important problem, from a theoretical and practical point of view, of learning classifier systems is presented in depth. Multiobjective evolutionary algorithms, which constitute one of the most...

ROLE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF STATEMENT OF OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME– IN RESPECT OF REPORTING COMPANIES’ PERFORMANCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ildiko Orban

2014-07-01

Full Text Available A commonly accepted rule-system, which name was International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS created the framework for represent the financial performace, and other facts related to the company’s health. In the system of IFRS profit is not equal to income less expenses, this deviation led to the other comprehensive income, OCI term. IFRS have created the term of other comprehensive income, but knowledge and using of it is not widespread. In this paper I tend to present the meaning and essence of this income category, and to reveal how it is work in corporate practice. As basis of the research, definitions and formats related to the statement of comprehensive income will be presented in the paper first. In order to get a clear picture about the differences between the income statements, I make a comparison of the IFRS and the Hungarian Accounting Act in the field of performance’s representation. As a result of my comparison I’ve stated that the EU accepted the international financial reporting standards to present the financial performance of publicly traded companies, and as EU member state it is obligatory for the Hungarian companies as well. This is the reason why Hungary’s present task is taking over the IFRS mentality. After the comparative analysis I’ve examined the Statement of other comprehensive income in the practice of 11 listed companies in the Budapest Stock Exchange. The Premium category includes those companies’ series of liquid shares, which has got broader investor base. The aim of this examination was to reveal if the most significant listed companies calculate other comprehensive income and what kind of items do they present in the statement of OCI. As a result of the research we can state that statement of other comprehensive income is part of the statement of total comprehensive income in general, and not an individual statement. Main items of the other comprehensive income of the examined companies are the

University Students with Poor Reading Comprehension

Science.gov (United States)

Georgiou, George K.; Das, J. P.

2015-01-01

The present study aimed to examine the nature of the working memory and general cognitive ability deficits experienced by university students with a specific reading comprehension deficit. A total of 32 university students with poor reading comprehension but average word-reading skills and 60 age-word-matched controls with no comprehension…

Excursions at the places of mining and processing ore resources in Slovakia. The second part

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jesenak, K.

2011-01-01

The second part of this text-book brings a complex and comprehensive view on the places of mining and processing of ore resources in the Slovak Republic. Environmental impact of mining and processing of the ores is also presented.

The Method of Choice for Reporting Comprehensive Income

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kendra Huff

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Globalization of financial markets and exponential growth of cross-listing of foreign companies on stock exchanges in other countries throughout the world call for a need of a single global accounting language which ensures relevance, completeness, understandability, reliability, timeliness, neutrality, verifiability, consistency, comparability and transparency of financial statements. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB introduced International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS. The growing acceptance of IFRSs across the world presents an important challenge and represents a fundamental change in financial reporting. This study contributes to the latest discussions on international financial reporting by reviewing corporate financial statements of Fortune 500 companies to determine how corporations are reporting comprehensive income. We find that companies across the sample are consistent in reporting OCI - they utilize a separate statement for OCI reporting.

Programming and machining of complex parts based on CATIA solid modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Xiurong

2017-09-01

The complex parts of the use of CATIA solid modeling programming and simulation processing design, elaborated in the field of CNC machining, programming and the importance of processing technology. In parts of the design process, first make a deep analysis on the principle, and then the size of the design, the size of each chain, connected to each other. After the use of backstepping and a variety of methods to calculate the final size of the parts. In the selection of parts materials, careful study, repeated testing, the final choice of 6061 aluminum alloy. According to the actual situation of the processing site, it is necessary to make a comprehensive consideration of various factors in the machining process. The simulation process should be based on the actual processing, not only pay attention to shape. It can be used as reference for machining.