1,720,992 research outputs found
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
Bahraini School English Language Teachers’ Beliefs and Professionalism under New Educational Reforms in Bahrain: An Interpretive Perspective
No full textThis study sought to explore Bahraini teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning as they related to their daily work and their interactions with the contexts in which they worked and lived so as to construct a deeper understanding of their professionalism. It particularly investigated the effects of contextual factors, in light of the recent educational reform initiatives in Bahrain, on the professional lives of practicing Bahraini school English language teachers who completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) at Bahrain Teachers College (BTC) between 2008 and 2012. Research data were collected through face-to-face semi-structured in-depth interviews with twelve teachers in the primary, intermediate and secondary schools, whose experiences ranged between four to ten years at the time of the interviews.
The research revealed that the teachers’ professional lives were influenced by three main contextual factors: intensification of teachers’ work, marginality of teachers and control in education. These factors were found to be complex as they were not only influenced by the educational system and the environment in which the teachers worked and lived but also by personality issues. Hence, although these factors significantly impacted upon the teachers’ professional autonomy and commitment, created moral dilemmas for them, and brought with them the question of what it means to be a teacher under increasing scrutiny, the findings showed that the consequences of these factors on the teachers’ professionalism varied from teacher to teacher and from context to context, emphasising that this impact was largely mediated by the teachers’ values and sense of professional identity.
The study highlights the situated nature of teachers’ beliefs and the importance of considering teachers’ professional identities, values and moral purposes in any educational reform attempts that aim to improve teacher practice. This study also has implications for teacher beliefs and knowledge, teacher professionalism, and teacher education
An Investigation into the Use of Word Lists in University Foundation Programs in the United Arab Emirates
Full text linkThere has been increasing interest in research on creating word lists in the past decade with more than 60 separate lists being published along with Nation’s (2016) timely Making and Using Word Lists for Language Learning and Testing. However, this focus on word lists has primarily been on creating them and has not necessarily extended to looking at how they are actually used. In order to help answer the question of how these lists are utilized in practice, this exploratory, interpretive study based on interviews with teachers and assessment/curriculum developers looks at how word lists are used at five tertiary English foundation programs in the United Arab Emirates.
The main findings include the following. Insufficient vocabulary knowledge was deemed one of the most significant problems that students faced. Additionally, word lists played a role in all five of the institutions represented in the study, and the Common European Framework (CEFR) was used in conjunction with vocabulary frequency lists to help set expected vocabulary learning in some programs. Furthermore, teacher intuition was used to modify lists in three of the five programs and online applications were used in all five programs.
The thesis explores a number of areas in depth including: how vocabulary lists are being used in the programs, the use of the AWL in this context and potential problems related to this, the role of teacher intuition in the customization of lists, the role of CEFR related frameworks in these programs, the use of computer applications to assist with list vocabulary acquisition, what the selected vocabulary acquisition activities tell us about beliefs about vocabulary teaching and learning, and some final comments about utilizing a list.
One of the key findings was the development of a novel framework for categorizing the use of word lists into four general areas: course planning, teaching and learning, assessment and materials development with sub-categories for each. This framework and the related examples could be utilized to evaluate the suitability of specific lists and to help set developmental targets for the process of adopting a new list and transforming it into something that could be used to direct and support vocabulary teaching and learning. It could also be developed further as more examples of practice emerge in different contexts and hopefully set the stage for more development about how vocabulary lists are used
Investigating the Process of EAP Course Design by Teachers at a Tertiary Level, English Department, a Private College in Oman from the Perspectives of Teachers and Students
No full textABSTRACT
This study is addressing course design as an important process within the area of language curriculum development. The importance of course design lies in its being as the preparatory stage that contributes to shaping and guiding the subsequent stages of the whole process of course development-implementation and evaluation. The study aims at understanding the role of teachers at a tertiary context in Oman in designing the courses they teach based on their perspectives. It also aims at understanding how students conceptualize and evaluate theses courses. In addition, it aims at exploring what issues and factors have the greatest impact on course design and in what way from the teachers and students’ perspectives as course developers and course receivers, respectively.
Based on its purpose, the study is conceived within the paradigm of interpretivism employing its epistemology and philosophy as an underpinning stance. On the basis of the participants’ perspectives and experiences, the qualitative approach has been chosen for determining the strategy and methods of sampling, and data collection and data analysis. In order to gain thick descriptions and information about the investigated phenomenon, the researcher used the method of semi-structured interviews with the teacher sample and focus group discussion with the student sample. In addition, the method of document analysis was also used as a supplementary tool for the teacher sample as it is concerned with the mechanism of course design.
Findings of the study were categorized according to the five research questions of the study and the two types of data (teachers and students’ data). Interpretations of teachers’ data revealed that they conceptualize course design as a matter of prioritizing the key element- that is mainly students’ needs- that contributes to shaping and guiding the other components of a course. The students’ data, on the other hand, revealed a variety of perspectives involving their evaluation of single aspects of course design, particularly materials development and selection of the content of a course, with their major concern about course implementation. Among the major findings of this study is the identification of challenges confronted by teachers and students that were described in terms of problems impacting negatively the process of designing courses by teachers and the process of learning by students.
Based on the findings of data analysis, the study offers a number of implications and suggestions that are of value for teachers who are involved in the process of course design and the institution where the study takes place. Teachers must have an active role in course design due to their direct contact with the learning situation. Teachers’ involvement in course design is considered as a major factor behind the stage of course implementation. For this, teachers need to be aware of the relationship between course design and its implementation and how they affect each other. Doubtlessly, teachers can play an active role in course design, yet the institution must provide external support such as professional development programs and establishing a professional curriculum committee in order to ensure the effectiveness of curriculum development
A Dynamic Assessment of Interactional Competence in Japanese Learners of EFL: The Act of Requesting
Full text linkThis thesis aims to bring together the area of pragmatics in second language learning (SLL), and dynamic assessment (DA), and in doing so offer an alternative way of both assessing pragmatics and providing its instruction. DA aims to provide a detailed analysis of not only a learner’s current stage of development, but also their still developing abilities. Unifying instruction and assessment, the learner and a mediator co-construct a task, with the mediator providing assistance when necessary. By examining both the types of mediation practices and their frequency, insights can be gained as to the learner’s still maturing abilities, and future potential. DA also aims to uncover sources of learner difficulty, offering a diagnostic function as part of assessment.
Drawing on conversation analysis research, the work of Gal’Perin and DA methodology, this study carried out a DA of the speech act of requesting in spoken interaction, assessing the effectiveness with which the DA promoted development in the learners. Further, the ability of the DA to uncover specific locations of learner difficulty was examined, as well as the ways in which the interlocutors successfully negotiated the opening and closing of mediation sequences.
Six Japanese EFL learners in a university context co-constructed a number of role-play type language tasks with the researcher. In the first stage of the study, the researcher did not offer support to the learners, while in the following stage, mediation was provided when appropriate. The findings were used to inform the enrichment programme (EP) portion of the study, in which the learners met with the researcher for a period of four weeks, receiving tutoring. This was followed by further non-dynamic and dynamic assessments, to allow analysis of learner development.
The study’s findings indicate that DA methodology, when applied to the speech act of requesting, can be an effective way to both promote learner development and assess learners’ abilities. Compared with the pre-EP assessments, participants produced more complex interactions that frequently showed evidence of taking the social context of the role-plays into account, as well as assuming greater responsibility for successfully completing the tasks. Participants were also more frequently able to verbally explain their language choices with reference to the target concepts of the assessments and EP. Further, overall, the opening and closing of mediation sequences were accomplished with more implicit negotiation practices, indicating increased interactive competence. The DA was also successful in locating specific locations of learner difficulty
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