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1 – 10 of over 3000Jesus Cortes-Vera, Thelma J. Garcia and Alan Gutierrez
This study aims to develop both an activity and an instrument to support college students’ learning of the proper ways to paraphrase.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to develop both an activity and an instrument to support college students’ learning of the proper ways to paraphrase.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a participatory action research approach, consisting of four phases. A survey was used to collect information, as well as a rubric to evaluate students’ competencies in paraphrasing, before and after an educational intervention activity. The tools were designed by the authors.
Findings
The findings suggest that students only have a partial understanding of the elements that are needed to write an adequate paraphrase, despite the declared importance in academic dialogue by the majority of them. The findings also suggest that a short-range intervention can help students develop their skills in paraphrasing.
Research limitations/implications
This research was conducted mostly with a small group of first-year college students and a professor they have known for a year. Therefore, a level of trust had been established. This trust relationship is necessary to achieve a participatory action in an unscheduled activity. Only some of the major results are presented.
Originality/value
Little actual research has been conducted on college students’ perception on paraphrasing and its importance, as well as on their abilities to paraphrase, especially in the Latin American context. This study demonstrates the usefulness of a short-range intervention that can be easily applied in any course or information literacy program.
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The aim of this study is to find out the most common types of literature review and the accuracy of citing information related to topic in question among Saudi English as a…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to find out the most common types of literature review and the accuracy of citing information related to topic in question among Saudi English as a Foreign Language (EFL) postgraduate students at Al-Baha University. This study also aims at revealing the quality of the literature review written by researchers.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative study used content analysis to investigate 15 unpublished Master of Arts (MA) dissertations written on EFL of Saudi context. They were analyzed qualitatively using criteria modified from Snyder's (2019) model which is considered a potential method for making theoretical and practical contributions of literature review.
Findings
The findings of the study showed that students favored the systematic review over the integrative. Additionally, data showed that students were lacking in paraphrasing and organizing cited information coherently and appropriately. Moreover, students' performance was better in design, conduct, and data abstraction and analysis criterion, whereas they seemed rather weak in structuring and writing the review criteria.
Originality/value
The significance of the study is to provide researchers with methodological guidance and reference to write a comprehensive and appropriate literature review. Based on the findings, this study concluded with some implications that aim to assist researchers in carrying out their studies professionally. Furthermore, the findings provide decision-makers in higher education institutions with important practical implications. In light of the study's findings, it is suggested to carry out further research investigating postgraduate students to find out their perceptions and attitudes regarding the quality standards of scientific research writing and the paraphrasing strategies.
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Margarethe Born Steinberger-Elias
In times of crisis, such as the Covid-19 global pandemic, journalists who write about biomedical information must have the strategic aim to be clearly and easily understood by…
Abstract
In times of crisis, such as the Covid-19 global pandemic, journalists who write about biomedical information must have the strategic aim to be clearly and easily understood by everyone. In this study, we assume that journalistic discourse could benefit from language redundancy to improve clarity and simplicity aimed at science popularization. The concept of language redundancy is theoretically discussed with the support of discourse analysis and information theory. The methodology adopted is a corpus-based qualitative approach. Two corpora samples with Brazilian Portuguese (BP) texts on Covid-19 were collected. One with texts from a monthly science digital magazine called Pesquisa FAPESP aimed at students and researchers for scientific information dissemination and the other with popular language texts from a news Portal G1 (Rede Globo) aimed at unspecified and/or non-specialized readers. The materials were filtered with two descriptors: “vaccine” and “test.” Preliminary analysis of examples from these materials revealed two categories of redundancy: paraphrastic and polysemic. Paraphrastic redundancy is based on concomitant language reformulation of words, sentences, text excerpts, or even larger units. Polysemic redundancy does not easily show material evidence, but is based on cognitively predictable semantic association in socio-cultural domains. Both kinds of redundancy contribute, each in their own way, to improving text readability for science popularization in Brazil.
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We challenge the belief that people resist change while embracing the idea that change is necessary to lead. Cultivating leaders to orchestrate conflict with deliberate intention…
Abstract
We challenge the belief that people resist change while embracing the idea that change is necessary to lead. Cultivating leaders to orchestrate conflict with deliberate intention is a skill leaders can learn. Yet, skill alone is insufficient to lead. Using three models, Communicative Intelligence, Adaptive Leadership, and Adaptive Schools, we tell the story of how we developed leaders to think adaptively and communicate authentically to collaborate across diverse communities to bring their visions to fruition. This chapter describes the models and their integration from three perspectives illustrating how we focused the cultivation of leaders. First, the personal development of their dispositions related to communication, collaboration, and systems thinking. Second we worked on developing the skills to build relationships and think politically. And third, we focused on identifying and implementing systems to address the critical issues facing their schools.
Most of the managers I meet (and I reckon to have met a few thousand over the last ten years) are dissatisfied with their lot. Many have an ambition to “retire at forty‐five” (or…
Abstract
Most of the managers I meet (and I reckon to have met a few thousand over the last ten years) are dissatisfied with their lot. Many have an ambition to “retire at forty‐five” (or thirty‐five, depending on their age); a perceptible minority “drop out”, watched more or less wistfully by many of their colleagues; most of all, they tell you they want to do their own thing, to work for themselves.
Weiguang Qu, Rubing Dai, Taizhong Wu, Jian Liu, Junsheng Zhou, Yanhui Gu and Ge Xu
Automatic interpretation of Nominal Compounds is a crucial issue for many applications, for example, sentence understanding, machine translation, question-answering system and so…
Abstract
Purpose
Automatic interpretation of Nominal Compounds is a crucial issue for many applications, for example, sentence understanding, machine translation, question-answering system and so forth. Many automatic interpretation models of Nominal Compounds use the strategies based on verbs or rules to obtain the interpretation of compounds. However, the performances of these models are still limited. The purpose of this paper is to propose an effective approach for automatic interpretation of Chinese nominal compounds.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors propose a top-down and bottom-up model based on rules and large-scale corpus for automatic interpretation of Nominal Compounds.
Findings
Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms the state-of-the-art automatic interpretation model.
Originality/value
The paper is an up-to-date study of automatic interpretation for Nominal Compounds. It can help people understand the meaning of Nominal Compounds in reading. With a better understanding of Nominal Compounds, we can discover more hidden knowledge in them.
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The use of plagiarism detection software such as Turnitin or SafeAssign has become common in higher education. While frequently used to catch plagiarism, some institutions have…
Abstract
The use of plagiarism detection software such as Turnitin or SafeAssign has become common in higher education. While frequently used to catch plagiarism, some institutions have used it as a learning tool to help students better understand plagiarism and the conventions of academic writing. In an international branch campus in the Middle East, a survey was given to undergraduate students, primarily second language students, on the use of Turnitin to help with their writing. Most participants found that the software helped them improve their paraphrasing skills, understand the use of citations, avoid plagiarism and, to a lesser extent, improve their language skills.
أﺻﺑ ﺢ ا ﺳﺗ ﺧدام ﺑ رﻧﺎﻣﺞ اﻟﻛﺷ ف ﻋن ا ﻻﻧﺗ ﺣﺎ ل ﻣﺛ ل Turnitin أو SafeAssign ﺷ ﺎ ﺋ ﻌًﺎ ﻓ ﻲ ا ﻟ ﺗ ﻌ ﻠ ﯾ م ا ﻟ ﻌ ﺎ ﻟ ﻲ . ﻋ ﻠ ﻰ ا ﻟ ر ﻏ م ﻣ ن ا ﺳ ﺗ ﺧ د ا ﻣ ﮭ ﺎ ﺑ ﺷ ﻛ ل ﻣﺗ ﻛرر ﻟﻠﻘﺑ ض ﻋﻠ ﻰ ا ﻻﻧﺗ ﺣﺎ ل ، ﻓﻘد ا ﺳﺗ ﺧدﻣﺗ ﮫ ﺑ ﻌ ض اﻟ ﻣؤﺳﺳﺎ ت ﻛﺄداة ﺗ ﻌﻠﯾ ﻣﯾ ﺔ ﻟ ﻣ ﺳﺎ ﻋدة اﻟ طﻼب ﻋﻠ ﻰ ﻓ ﮭم ا ﻻﻧﺗ ﺣﺎ ل ﺑ ﺷﻛل أﻓ ﺿ ل واﺗﻔﺎ ﻗﯾﺎ ت اﻟﻛﺗﺎﺑ ﺔ ا ﻷ ﻛﺎدﯾ ﻣﯾ ﺔ. ﻓ ﻲ ﺣ ر م ﻓ ر ع دو ﻟ ﻲ ﻓ ﻲ اﻟﺷ ر ق ا ﻷ و ﺳ ط ، ﺗم إ ﺟ ر ا ء د ر ا ﺳ ﺔ ا ﺳ ﺗﻘ ﺻ ﺎﺋﯾ ﺔ ﻟ ط ﻼ ب اﻟﻣر ﺣ ﻠ ﺔ اﻟﺟ ﺎ ﻣﻌﯾ ﺔ ، و ﺧ ﺎ ﺻ ﺔ ط ﻼ ب اﻟﻠ ﻐﺔ اﻟ ﺛﺎﻧﯾ ﺔ ، ﺣ و ل ا ﺳ ﺗ ﺧ دا م Turnitin ﻟﻠﻣ ﺳ ﺎ ﻋ دة ﻓ ﻲ ﻛﺗﺎﺑﺎﺗ ﮭم. و ﺟ د ﻣﻌ ظ م اﻟﻣ ﺷ ﺎ ر ﻛﯾ ن أ ن اﻟ ﺑ ر ﻧﺎ ﻣ ﺞ ﺳ ﺎ ﻋ دھ م ﻋ ﻠ ﻰ ﺗ ﺣ ﺳ ﯾ ن ﻣﮭﺎ ر ا ت إ ﻋ ﺎدة اﻟ ﺻ ﯾﺎ ﻏ ﺔ وﻓ ﮭم ا ﺳﺗ ﺧدام ا ﻻﺳﺗ ﺷﮭﺎدا ت وﺗ ﺟﻧ ب ا ﻻﻧﺗ ﺣﺎ ل وﺗ ﺣﺳﯾ ن ﻣﮭﺎ راﺗ ﮭم اﻟﻠ ﻐوﯾﺔ إﻟ ﻰ ﺣد أﻗ ل.
Michael Jones and Malcolm Smith
The study aims to explore the use of alternative measures of “understandability” on accounting texts. This includes the meaning identification test (MIT) and the sentence…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to explore the use of alternative measures of “understandability” on accounting texts. This includes the meaning identification test (MIT) and the sentence verification technique (SVT), which have not previously been used by accounting researchers, as well as variants on the traditional Cloze tests such as the C-Test.
Design/methodology/approach
This study focuses on the understandability of accounting texts and evaluates how reliable the Cloze test is as a measure of comprehension. An experiment was designed and conducted to measure users' performance with a variety of comprehension measures (MIT, SVT, Cloze, C-Test).
Findings
The study concludes that the outcomes from the MIT and SVT comprehension tests are not significantly associated with those from the Cloze tests. This implies that while the Cloze test is a good measure of the predictability of accounting narratives, and of textual redundancy, it does not necessarily measure the understandability of the text.
Originality/value
These measures of understandability, which have not previously been used in accounting, would enable researchers to test the communicational effectiveness of using different accounting narratives such as annual reports or prospectuses. Such a measure could be used to improve the understandability of accounting narratives. The strengths and weaknesses of the various tests are assessed. It is suggested that there is a need for further experimentation especially with the MIT test.
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Lukas Hellwig, Lisa Preissner, Jan Pawlowski and Wolfgang Deiters
Facilities such as FabLabs and Makerspaces are characterized by the facilities' wide range of digital fabrication technologies as well as facilities' interdisciplinary user base…
Abstract
Purpose
Facilities such as FabLabs and Makerspaces are characterized by the facilities' wide range of digital fabrication technologies as well as facilities' interdisciplinary user base and collaborative problem solving and product development. These possibilities can also hold great potential for people with disabilities who have a specific need for assistive technology. Since there are no established models of such participatory development processes (PDP) within digitalized innovation environments (DIE), this study intends to provide a comprehensive understanding of these processes along with the influencing factors.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a cooperation with a Thalidomide Association, various PDPs were accompanied within a DIE and interviews were conducted with 16 stakeholders involved. Hereby, the perspective of thalidomide-affected people (5) as well as the supporting makers (6) and experts (5) were taken into account. Through a subsequent structured analysis, various dimensions as well as relevant influencing factors could be identified.
Findings
In total, 33 paraphrases could be formed in 8 categories and four dimensions concerning the PDPs investigated. In addition, 17 paraphrases on potentials and challenges could be extracted through generalization.
Originality/value
Due to findings' holistic approach, the findings form an empirical basis for further research into this still very young research topic and represent a first step toward theory building. By the applicability of the identified influencing factors an important contribution can be made to the supply of aids and the inclusion of people with disabilities.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon 10.1108/JET-01-2022-0013
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Daniel Sidney Fussy and Hassan Iddy
This study aims to explore motives behind teachers' and students' use of translanguaging and how they use it in Tanzanian public secondary school classrooms.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore motives behind teachers' and students' use of translanguaging and how they use it in Tanzanian public secondary school classrooms.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected using interviews and non-participant observations.
Findings
The findings indicate that translanguaging was used to facilitate content comprehension, promote classroom interaction and increase students' motivation to learn. Translanguaging was implemented using three strategies: paraphrasing an English text into Kiswahili, translating an English text into its Kiswahili equivalent and word-level translanguaging.
Practical implications
By highlighting the motivations for translanguaging and corresponding strategies associated with translanguaging pedagogy in the Tanzanian context, this study has significant practical implications for teachers and students to showcase their linguistic and multimodal knowledge, while fostering a safe learning space that relates to students' daily experiences.
Originality/value
The study offers new insights into previous research on the role of language-supportive pedagogy appropriate for teachers and students working within bi-/multilingual education settings.
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