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Investigating Fluency and Interactional Competence Development in a Japanese University EFL Discussion Course
No full textMany learners express the desire to speak a language fluently, although in practice this goal entails not only speaking relatively quickly and smoothly, but also interacting in ways that are appropriate to the communicative context. However, it remains an open question whether and how quickly learners can acquire such skills in an EFL environment, in which opportunities to use the target language are often limited outside the classroom. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the degree to which Japanese university students’ speaking fluency and interactional competence (i.e., the ability to interact) developed over the course of one academic semester during a communicative, twice-weekly speaking and discussion course. Another purpose was to investigate any changes in speaking self-efficacy that occurred during the course, and to relate this variable to the fluency and interactional competence data. Two additional individual difference variables—speaking anxiety and extraversion—were also investigated. The participants were 20 low-intermediate learners, selected from two intact classes, with data gathered at three time points throughout the academic semester.A mixed methods research design was used to investigate these issues. Monologue activities were used to measure utterance fluency, which represents the quantifiable features of fluency, such as speed and pausing. To triangulate fluency gains and to investigate performance in the interactive context, fluency measures were also taken from group discussions. These discussions were also used for native-speaker ratings of perceived fluency. A combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis was used to investigate interactional competence development, also based on performance in the group discussions. Finally, questionnaire data were used to investigate the individual difference variables of speaking self-efficacy, speaking anxiety, and extraversion.
Results indicated that speaking fluency significantly improved over the course of the semester. Early gains in utterance fluency were mainly due to a reduction in pausing time. In the second half of the semester, however, an accumulation of marginal gains across various measures indicated that discrete aspects of speech production were integrating and thus working more efficiently. Furthermore, these utterance fluency gains were matched by gains made in the interactive context, especially in the first half of the course. Specifically, there was an increase in the number of syllables produced during the group discussions, as well as a reduction in the number and length of inter-turn pauses. These gains were also detected by the raters, who judged the participants significantly higher in fluency at the end of the course. Taken together, these findings present a powerful case for the fluency-enhancing benefits of communicative interaction in an EFL environment.
Results also indicated that interactional competence developed during the semester. Quantitative analysis revealed a significant increase in the number of turn and topic management moves over time, indicating an increase in collaborative behavior as well as a greater willingness to take the initiative in managing the interaction. In contrast, there was a significant decrease in the number of topic extension (i.e., content generating) statements, with the participants producing longer and more complex contributions over time as they adapted to the demands of the discussion tasks. These developments appeared to create a positive feedback loop, as longer topic extensions and more efficient turn-taking facilitated more speaking practice, thus creating the conditions necessary for fluency development.
The development of interactional competence was further highlighted by qualitative analysis, which confirmed the shift from short, often sub-clausal, topic extensions to longer, multi-clausal extensions. It also revealed a gradual progression towards the smoother use of turn and topic management features, and a diversification of techniques for marking agreement and disagreement. In addition, techniques for negotiating meaning were applied to a broader range of situations, and several instances of collaborative turn completions emerged at the final data collection point. Finally, there was a reduced reliance on L1 when negotiating meaning and transitioning between turns and topics. Many of these skills and techniques were presented and practiced during the course; moreover, their use was not related to the participants’ levels of fluency, suggesting that these aspects of interactional competence can be directly taught.
The third main finding was that, although anxiety remained stable, speaking self-efficacy increased significantly in the first half of the course, indicating that affective benefits resulted as students grew accustomed to the communicative environment. This increased measure correlated with several of the performance variables—specifically utterance fluency, number of syllables produced in the discussions, and length of topic extension—at the mid point of the course. However, these positive correlations disappeared at the end of the course, indicating that students lower in positive affect had caught up with their peers in these aspects. Therefore, the results of this study indicated not only that fluency and interactional competence can develop during a single semester of communicative EFL instruction, but that the benefits of this pedagogical approach can extend to learners with various types of affective profiles. In terms of personality, however, extraverted students consistently performed more fluently, and participated more fully, than their introverted peers. Furthermore, the fact that the extraversion correlations were the most stable of all the individual difference variables over time supports the idea that, as a dispositional personality trait, its effects are more predictable than contextualized characteristics such as self-efficacy and anxiety.Teaching & Learnin
“THEY’RE NOT REACHING STUDENTS THE WAY THEY WANT TO BE REACHED”: A STUDY OF COLLEGE STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCES WITH THE CLIMATE AND USE OF CAMPUS MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
No full textWhile college students use mental health services more than in previous decades, inequalities in service use between Black and White students persist (Hunt et al. 2015; Lipson et al. 2019). In my dissertation research, I use qualitative and quantitative methods to examine how institutional-level factors may shape racial inequities despite the increased availability of college mental health services. With my first set of research questions, I take a top-down approach, examining how college mental health programs serve students of different races. I conducted ten in-depth interviews with administrators and mental health providers to assess how the consideration of race differences may shape the delivery of college mental health services. With my second set of questions, I take a bottom-up approach, asking how Black and White students perceive their college, its climate, and its mental health services and how these perceptions impact their service use. I addressed these questions through 43 in-depth student interviews and quantitative analysis of the Healthy Minds Study. In my findings, I show that despite efforts to expand mental health resources, institutional leaders do not adequately consider race and racial diversity in their decision-making processes about mental health services. This contributes to Black students’ decreased likelihood of using campus mental health resources compared to their White peers. My work demonstrates the organizational and individual-level mechanisms by which racial inequalities in postsecondary institutions and mental healthcare persist.Sociolog
From Genes to Traits: A Combined Approach for Detecting Sequence Errors and Convergent Evolution
No full textUnderstanding the molecular basis of phenotypic convergence is a key challenge in evolutionary biology. Comparative genomics provides a powerful framework for identifying genes involved in adaptation by leveraging natural replicates of trait evolution across diverse lineages. However, detecting convergently evolving genes is complicated by methodological limitations, including sensitivity to alignment errors and the difficulty of distinguishing adaptive evolution from other causes of elevated evolutionary rates. This dissertation introduces and applies codon and rate-based models designed to address these limitations and improve the reliability and interpretability of positive selection analyses. The first contribution is MoleRate, a likelihood-based method for detecting shifts in evolutionary rate associated with phenotypic traits. Unlike previous rate-based methods, MoleRate directly integrates rate estimation and hypothesis testing, accounting for uncertainty and reducing the influence of outlier lineages. The second is BUSTED-E, an extension of the BUSTED codon model that incorporates a filtering mechanism to identify and mitigate the impact of misaligned regions in sequence alignments. The third method, BUSTED-PH, is a phylogenetically informed codon model that detects positive selection associated with binary phenotypes while controlling for background selection pressures across the tree. These methods are applied to investigate the molecular basis of endothermy in ray-finned fish, a rare trait that has evolved independently in multiple lineages. By scanning thousands of genes across over 200 fish species and comparing distinct types of endothermy, the analyses identify candidate genes associated with different heat-generating mechanisms, offering new insights into this extreme physiological adaptation. Together, these models enhance the ability to identify adaptively evolving genes with greater accuracy and biological relevance. This work contributes to a broader understanding of how complex traits repeatedly evolve and demonstrates the power of integrative phylogenomic models in evolutionary genomics.Biolog
THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD TO SELF-LEADERSHIP: ETHNOGRAPHIC INSIGHTS INTO EFFECTIVE TRAINING TRANSFER
No full textThis dissertation identifies the mechanisms of action formation in self-leadership training, specifically focusing on the mechanisms that influence the transfer of knowledge from the trainer to the trainee and the retention of learning. The conclusions from the literature and this dissertation suggest that self-leadership concepts and behaviors can be internalized and applied by the trainee if the trainer continually adapts to changes in external context and internal dynamics. This dissertation uses ethnographic analysis of two multi-year client-consultant relationships to explore the factors that improve training transfer – that is changes in action or behavior due to training. Specifically, this dissertation identifies four paired social mechanisms that can be adjusted to link training to changes in behavior.
1) Aligning interests between trainees’ and organizational goals leads to focused, motivated attention so that trainees are open to new behaviors.
2) Presenting theory and application together facilitates learning by doing with understanding so that training transfer begins.
3) Offering and enforcing practice opportunities encourages habit formation through repetition and action or behavior change.
4) Reducing cognitive, emotional or physical overload creates the energetic space required to change and maintain new behaviors.
These findings help integrate leadership theories and connect them to applied leadership training. The key practical contribution is the exploration of the role feedback, timing and frequency have in optimizing transfer. The central theoretical contribution is the identification of new social mechanisms to improve training transfer.Business Administration/Strategic Managemen
The Fractured Politics of Class Harmony: Labor Experts and Industrial Democracy in the United States and Chile, 1941-1973
No full textIn 1941, powerful US unions built a coalition to defeat fascism and push for an economic bill of rights, guaranteeing dignity for every worker in the country. Just a generation later, they viewed those same politics and goals in Chile as a communist-led ruse. This rightward shift begs questions about the transnational polarization of Cold War labor and its impact on politics in the Western Hemisphere. Why would trade union leaders, whose organizations fought against employers and the state for an emancipatory industrial democracy in the United States, actively cooperate with their government to undermine a pro-worker, democratic government in Chile? What changed between the 1940s and the 1970s? Conversely, why did a factionalized and repressed Chilean labor movement after World War II not follow the trend of US and European trade unionists? What did Chileans build instead, and did it influence the construction of a democratic socialist state?
This dissertation examines US labor intervention in Chile during the Cold War and how Chileans resisted and accommodated that intervention. The rise of a socialist government in Chile in 1970 and the right-wing coup that took that government down in 1973 are well known. Understudied until now, however, has been the role of labor experts — labor bureaucrats, industrial relations professors, and union officials — in creating the conditions for both events. From World War II to the rise of Salvador Allende and Augusto Pinochet, the polarization of Chilean society and politics was partly a function of US labor intervention. Labor interventionists trained thousands of Chilean workers in the ideas and practices of free trade unionism – promoting union security, fighting communism, and securing middle-class prosperity through the restriction of rank-and-file agency. But Chileans of all stripes resisted to maintain their competing vision of industrial democracy alive, setting up confrontation after confrontation. The bottom-up power of the Chilean union movement helped build the popular movements of Christian Democracy (1964–1970) ¬and the Marxist Unidad Popular government (1970–1973).Histor
RESEARCH ON MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS OF LISTED COMPANIES IN CHINA
No full textChina's economy has shifted from the stage of rapid growth after the reform and opening up to the stage of high-quality development. 40 years of reform and opening up, China's economy through continuous development, is by the extensive rely on high investment growth mode to intensive rely on technological progress driven economic growth way transformation, are entered the stage of quality by the amount of expansion phase, is in the transformation of the mode of development, optimizing the economic structure, change research period of growth. In building a modern economic system, we must take improving the quality of the supply system as our main focus, promote the transformation and upgrading of the industrial structure and the economy, and optimize the allocation of existing resources to achieve long-term dynamic balance. Enterprise merger and restructuring is a kind of enterprise investment way, is also the eternal topic of capital market; It is not only the adjustment means of industrial structure marketization, but also the important form of capital market resource allocation optimization. It is an important means of rapid expansion and integration of modern enterprises, and also an important force to promote the development of the capital market. Since the first wave of M&As in the United States at the end of the 19th century, there have been six large-scale M&As in the world, which has a significant and far-reaching impact on the world economy. Since then, M&As have become an important means for enterprises to realize their own expansion and optimize resource allocation. Compared with western countries, China started its M&A activities relatively late. Since the mid-1980s, China's M&A activities have gone through a development process from scratch, from small to large, from non-standard to standard. As an economic way to adjust economic structure, optimize resource allocation and deepen enterprise reform, merger and restructuring has been more and more widely used in the socialist market economy with Chinese characteristics, and truly integrated into the sixth global M&A wave. It is worth noting that, as a major part of the world economy, China, like the rest of the world, was badly hit in the financial crisis, leading to the closure of export-oriented private enterprises. At the same time, because China is in the developing stage, the special background of China's stock market equity division, the domestic listed company M&A behavior there is a big difference with western enterprise, has its own characteristics and limitations, the special national conditions of western scholars research conclusions are not fully used in China. With the initial completion of the reform of non-tradable shares of listed companies in 2008 and the increasingly standardized development of control rights market, China's listed companies began to enter a new stage of development in terms of M&A scale, M&A mode, M&A purpose and other aspects, showing different characteristics from previous stages.
From the perspective of the market as a whole, the cause of the overall M & A activity is no longer limited to the local part of the market, but is the result of the M & A transaction between a large number of market players. The key link in M&A is the selection of target companies. In M&A, the characteristics of target companies can guide investors to carry out relevant investment strategies. It is worth noting that in the actual M&A activities, a large part of the M&A activities cannot achieve the expected effect, and a considerable number of them are directly or indirectly due to the failed cultural integration after the M&A activities are completed.
This study first reviews the research results of Chinese and foreign scholars in the field of M&A from the aspects of M&A motive, M&A mode and corporate value, defines relevant concepts and research categories, and empirically studies the relationship between M&A activities of listed companies and corporate executive compensation and the integration of corporate culture after M&A. On this basis, based on the event research method, the M&A events in The Chinese market around 2015 were selected as samples to analyze the impact of M&A activities on the market value of both parties. Finally, the paper makes an empirical study on the influence of equity structure, industry characteristics, cash flow ability and other factors on M&A performance of listed companies.
In the discussion of the motivations for mergers and acquisitions in the Chinese market, the comparison with Asian, African, and developing countries is added to illustrate the uniqueness of mergers and acquisitions under China's special economic system. In the study of the relationship between executive compensation and mergers and acquisitions, some characteristics of Southeast Asian countries are also used for reference, and the factor of executive compensation is integrated into the case study of this article as a separate focus.Global Financ
EVOLUTION OF DIKES IN SURPRISE VALLEY, CALIFORNIA: RELATIONSHIP AMONG DIKES AND MAGMATISM AND BASIN AND RANGE TECTONICS
No full textExtension of crust occurs through the complex interplay of faulting and dike intrusion that both thin and lengthen the crust. In Surprise Valley, CA dikes coeval with extension display characteristics of both brittle and ductile fracture. These modes are evident from dike geometry in detailed outcrop maps and models of recently collected high-resolution gravity and magnetic data. Many brittle dikes are up to 1-3 m thick with aspect ratios of 500-1000 with sharp dike tips at both the upper and lateral tips. Other, typically larger dikes are 25 m thick and have aspect ratios of about 10-20 with round dike tips where the radius of curvature approaches the dike opening and is ~8-10% of dike length indicating ductile fracture. In several other cases dikes occur within normal faults; these dikes are up to 10 m thick with relatively high aspect ratios of 10-100 that might represent the accumulation of multiple injections. These disparate geometries occur within hundreds of meters of each other in the same host rock, developing ~8-3 Ma at depths of 1300 to 300 m during basin extension. The three types define a conceptual model for dike evolution during extension of Surprise Valley. Initially, dikes propagate upward as brittle fractures. Where heat loss was rapid or upward propagation slow, increasing viscosity eventually arrests upward growth driven by dike inlet pressure and buoyancy causing the dike to freeze. This result is promoted in thin dikes with large aspect ratios and thus high surface area and is associated with smaller grain sizes and minor contact metamorphism. Sustained flow in a rapidly propagating dike maintains temperature in the magma and significantly warms the host rock promoting a transition to ductile opening. Larger apertures in this scenario reduce viscous resistance to flow that helps sustain magma flow and high temperature in positive feedback. This result is associated with larger grain sizes and more intense and extensive contact metamorphism. Alternatively, faults act as pathways that capture some dikes and concentrate dike flow, resulting in local accumulations of magma. To examine the geometries of these dikes further, potential field data was collected and used to model the subsurface.
The magnetic signature of the ductile opening mode dikes and dikes captured by faults match extensive magnetic anomalies in the basin of Surprise Valley associated with active hydrothermal outflow. Both areas define segmented dike structure subparallel to the long axis of the basin. This relationship indicates dikes are both an element of basin tectonics and that they influence fluid circulation. Unlike in the valley, dikes in the Hays Canyon Range lack active or fossil hydrothermal features and instead show local contact metamorphism and jointing. This implies that the dikes are themselves not the heat source of the hydrothermal system, but only one element of the geothermal system that contributes to directing fluid flow from a deeper heat source to the surface.Geolog
DOES TRAUMA EXPOSURE MODERATE RELATIONS BETWEEN EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING AND PROSOCIAL BEHAVIORS WITH EXTERNALIZING BEHAVIORS AMONG ADOLESCENTS?
No full textExternalizing behaviors (e.g., conduct problems) in adolescence are of major public health concern and are associated with psychological disorders in adulthood. As youth reach adolescence, risk-taking and sensation-seeking behaviors increase, conferring potential risk for problem behaviors. Specific cognitive and behavioral factors, such as executive functioning (EF) abilities and participation in prosocial activities, may protect against or confer risk for externalizing behaviors. Additionally, exposure to traumatic events (TEs) in childhood may interact with these factors to differentially predict externalizing behaviors over time. The present study used growth curve modeling (GCM) to examine associations between cognitive (i.e., EF subcomponents such as set shifting, working memory, and inhibitory control) and behavioral factors (i.e., engagement in extracurricular activities, prosocial behavior) and trajectories of externalizing behaviors in early adolescence (Aims 1 and 2). The potential moderating role of exposure to TEs in the relations between these cognitive (Aim 3) and behavioral factors (Aim 4) and externalizing behaviors was also explored. The present sample was drawn from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) multisite, longitudinal study (N=11,875; 48% female, 52% male). Exposure to TEs, two variables measuring engagement in prosocial behaviors (i.e., engagement in extracurricular activities, self-reported prosociality) and three aspects of EF (i.e., set-shifting, inhibitory control, and working memory) were collected at baseline as predictors. Externalizing behaviors were collected at the baseline, one-, two-, three-, and four-year follow-up evaluations. A quadratic slope model was the best fitting model for these data, χ2(6) = 62.528, p < .001; CFI = .998; TLI = .997; RMSEA = .028; SRMR = .011. Results of latent GCM analyses suggest that all predictors influenced baseline externalizing symptoms (intercept), but not change in externalizing behaviors over time (slope). Engagement in extracurricular activities and working memory abilities interacted with exposure to TEs to predict baseline levels of externalizing behaviors, such that higher levels of working memory abilities and engagement in extracurricular activities predicted lower levels of externalizing behaviors in the context of high exposure to TEs. Findings have implications for prevention and intervention efforts to mitigate risk for externalizing problems in early adolescence.Psycholog
The Ethical Considerations of Consumer Sleep Technologies
No full textConsumer sleep technologies (CSTs) are devices ranging from smartphone apps to wearables that are used to track sleep and offer a promise of improving sleep quality. The rise in CSTs corresponds with an increase in the use of smart technologies more broadly and the growing interest in sleep and a potential sleep crisis. This growing use of CSTs creates many ethical considerations. CSTs promise to serve as a more objective way to track and improve sleep, leading some communities like the quantified self movement and biohackers to embrace CSTs for self-tracking. In this way, CSTs have contributed to increasing medicalization of sleep. Studying CSTs is challenging due to the heterogeneity around the types of CSTs that exist as well as the inability of researchers to access raw data from CSTs due to the “black box” algorithms underlying CSTs. The limited completed research shows that CSTs fall short of gold standard sleep studies, namely polysomnography (PSG). Despite this, the growth of CSTs has led to the creation of a novel data set that could be studied to better understand sleep. Widespread use of CSTs might entrench existing norms and biases around what good sleep entails and sampling biases. This personal data set also raises data privacy concerns over how the data is utilized. For all these reasons, CSTs require careful regulation and oversight to reduce false claims, protect data privacy, and prevent misuse of this inherently personal data. Claims around disease detection by CST companies should be investigated for accuracy, and government regulation should create HIPAA-inspired regulations for health data to allow for protection of data privacy along with the deletion of private health data on request.Urban Bioethic
Evaluation of Hydration Protocols for Human Cortical Mineralized Particulate Allografts
No full textObjective: Bone graft hydration is a critical yet under-explored factor influencing the handling and performance of allograft materials in regenerative procedures. Most manufacturers suggest that biomaterial should be hydrated for at least 30 minutes before use. However, despite widespread clinical use, no standardized hydration protocol exists, and the impact of hydration on the chemical composition, mineralization, and structural integrity of graft materials remains unclear. This study aims to evaluate the physicochemical alterations of mineralized particulate bone grafts following hydration at varying concentrations and time points.
Methods: Three commercially available human allograft materials {Straumann Mineralized (SM), Geistlich Mineralized (GM), and Zimmer Mineralized (ZM)} from three different manufacturers, with particle sizes ranging from 250–1000 µm, were examined. The granules were hydrated in 0.9% saline at concentrations of 50 µL and 500 µL and incubated for 1, 10, and 30 minutes. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was employed to assess hydration-induced structural changes. Chemical composition and molecular alterations were analyzed using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy and spectral data were processed using second-derivative analysis to improve peak resolution, allowing for the quantification of vibrational bands.
Results: SEM analysis revealed no significant differences in surface morphology of the mineralized grafts after hydration. FTIR analysis showed chemical homogeneity across graft materials, with variations in peak intensities reflecting differences in molecular concentrations, mineralization, and collagen integrity. Biomaterial hydration promoted significant selective spectral band increases for all the time points evaluated. Prolonged hydration times did not produce significant or proportional spectral shifts, suggesting a saturation threshold after 1 minute of hydration.
Conclusions: Increasing hydration time did not result in significant changes in vibrational bands, suggesting that hydration times longer than 1 minute have minimal impact on the molecular structure of the particulate allografts evaluated.Oral Biolog