Having a certain degree of assessment literacy is crucial for today's language teachers. The main aim of this paper is to provide that knowledge as it pertains to the writing…
Abstract
Purpose
Having a certain degree of assessment literacy is crucial for today's language teachers. The main aim of this paper is to provide that knowledge as it pertains to the writing skill. More specifically, the purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the main practical issues that teachers often face when evaluating the written work of their students. It will consider issues and solutions in five major areas: test design; test administration; ways to assess writing; feedback to students; and the effects on pedagogy.
Design/methodology/approach
The author took a very practical and principled approach to the complete process of assessing the written work of our students in a foreign or second language.
Findings
The cyclical relationship between teaching and assessment can be made entirely positive provided that the assessment is based on sound principles and procedures. Both teaching and assessment should relate to the learners' goals and very frequently to institutional goals.
Practical implications
Good teachers spend a lot of time ensuring that their writing assessment practices are valid and reliable. The author deals with the fundamental issues that underlie good test design in a very practical and understandable way and later suggests practical steps to ensure smooth and reliable test administration before dealing with ways to assess a range of different writing tasks. Then, the crucial issue of how best to provide useful developmental feedback to students is considered. She concludes by discussing how best testing practice should seek to accommodate the requirements of test takers.
Originality/value
This topic is significant as assessing foreign/second language writing skills is one of the most problematic areas in language testing. It is made even more important because good writing ability is very much sought after by higher education institutions and employers.
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This paper details a usability testing case study on a simplified homepage for [Library]. The usability testing was completed in Spring 2017 to meet the needs of diverse user…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper details a usability testing case study on a simplified homepage for [Library]. The usability testing was completed in Spring 2017 to meet the needs of diverse user groups and shifting trends in Web design and development. At the conclusion of the usability testing, recommendations for change informed the design decisions and a new homepage was implemented in October 2018.
Design/methodology/approach
The researcher performed eight usability tests with a combination of the different library user types; full-time faculty, students, an administrator and members of the public. The usability test consisted of 13 specific tasks. After testers completed the tasks, users filled out a 30-question Likert-scale questionnaire and answered a set of 8 open-ended questions.
Findings
This paper discusses the recommendations for change which the researcher discovered at the conclusion of the usability testing period. The research found the need to improve and include specific navigational, visual and easy-to-use elements to best meet the needs of the users in the usability tests. Changes were ranked and implemented on a scale of catastrophic to cosmetic.
Research limitations/implications
As websites, technology and user preferences continually evolve, the homepage will need to be tested for usability again in the next several years. Researchers are encouraged to adapt the methods to their own institutions.
Practical implications
This paper discusses findings specific to [Library], which in turn has proved to increase usage of certain features and functions by the user community.
Originality/value
This is the first time usability testing has been done for the [Library’s] website. It was the first time the design of the homepage was informed by real user preference. This paper is valuable to those looking to create a simple, easy-to-use homepage that best benefits their own unique community of users.
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Kamran Ali Chatha, Irfan Butt, Muhammad Shakeel Sadiq Jajja and Mamoona Arshad
The purpose of this paper is to report the extent and trends of theoretical developments in the empirical quantitative manufacturing strategy (MS) literature published between the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report the extent and trends of theoretical developments in the empirical quantitative manufacturing strategy (MS) literature published between the years 1966 and 2015 and provide research gaps that can be bridged by the future research.
Design/methodology/approach
This content analysis-based literature review analyzes 133 empirical quantitative MS articles published in refereed international journals in the discipline of operations management. These articles are categorized into five article types, namely, reporters, testers, qualifiers, builders, and expanders following the framework of Colquitt and Zapata-Phelan (2007). Analyses are carried out to unearth important trends in theory development in these article types.
Findings
Theory development is progressing in empirical quantitative MS literature. However, the trend is shifting from theory testing to theory building. MS discipline has borrowed theories from other disciplines. Expectancy theory and media richness theory are the micro theories while resource-based view, contingency theory, and trade-off theory are the major macro theories used in this domain. The most impactful constructs include environmental technology portfolio, enterprise resource planning, manufacturing proactiveness, and modularity-based manufacturing practices, and the most dominant article types are qualifiers and expanders.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are based on the empirical quantitative articles published in the MS discipline which provides a partial view of theory development in the MS discipline.
Practical implications
The paper highlights predominant theories, frameworks, and constructs that can be utilized by practitioners to improve their understanding of MS, their ability to predict future scenarios and solve practical problems.
Originality/value
No such study has been conducted to date in the MS discipline, and it is hoped that this study will play a significant role in further developing theory in the MS discipline.
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A Selection of Equipment of Use in the Production and Maintenance of Aircraft, Missiles, Space Vehicles and Components. A new addition to the Moore Reed range of resolvers is a…
Abstract
A Selection of Equipment of Use in the Production and Maintenance of Aircraft, Missiles, Space Vehicles and Components. A new addition to the Moore Reed range of resolvers is a multi‐speed synchro resolver. This unit, specially designed for use in the machine tool industry, reduces many of the problems encountered with a conventional resolver. Whereas a conventional resolver gives only a one cycle output per shaft and has to be provided with mechanical gearing, this high accuracy multi‐speed resolver gives a multiple cycle output without the aid of gears. By eliminating the necessity of a gear train, backlash is reduced to a minimum and higher accuracy is achieved. Considerably less space is needed to accommodate the unit. Thus two important design economics are provided and as a consequence overall system costs are reduced.
Establishes what is meant by the term “genetic modification” and reviews the many methods used in agriculture to achieve it, including traditional breeding techniques and new…
Abstract
Establishes what is meant by the term “genetic modification” and reviews the many methods used in agriculture to achieve it, including traditional breeding techniques and new, artificial recombinant DNA technologies (“new GM”). Argues strongly that it is important that neither side of the debate resorts to over‐simplified generalizations about the “new GM” but that each new development needs to be treated on its own, scientific, merit. Expresses concern that if politically pragmatic strategies are not developed on that basis, the opportunities presented by new GM technologies could be permanently lost.
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Ofer Bergman, Tamar Israeli and Yael Benn
Previous research has repeatedly shown that people only search for files in a small minority of cases when they do not remember the file's location. The current study aimed to…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous research has repeatedly shown that people only search for files in a small minority of cases when they do not remember the file's location. The current study aimed to examine whether there is a group of hyper-searchers who search significantly more than others. Based on previous neurocognitive studies, this study aims to hypothesize that if such a group exists, they will have superior verbal memory and reduced visuospatial memory.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 65 participants completed a questionnaire estimating their search percentages, as well as reporting demographic data. Verbal memory was measured using the Wechsler logical memory test, and visuospatial memory was assessed using an online card memory game.
Findings
Hyper-searchers were defined as participants with search percentage of over one standard deviation (SD) above the mean. The average search percentage of the seven participants who met this criterion was 51% (SD = 14%), over five times more than the other participants (M = 10%, SD = 9%). Similar results were obtained by re-analyzing data from four previous papers (N = 1,252). The results further confirmed the hypothesis that hyper-searchers have significantly better verbal memory than other participants, possibly making searching easier and more successful for them. Lastly, the search percentage was positively predicted by verbal memory scores and negatively predicted by visuospatial memory scores. Explanations and future research are discussed.
Originality/value
This preliminary study is the first to introduce the concept of hyper-searchers, demonstrate its existence and study its causes.
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Asking someone how I should set the background for Productronica 87 in Munich as I felt I had said it all last time, the retort was: ‘No‐one will remember: say it all again!’ I…
Abstract
Asking someone how I should set the background for Productronica 87 in Munich as I felt I had said it all last time, the retort was: ‘No‐one will remember: say it all again!’ I suppose, one of the pleasures of Munich is that, apart from the occasional typically Bavarian restaurant that has regrettably become Greek or Italian, the extending of certain U‐bahn lines, the opening of the new Opera House, little else changes from year to year. Visitors and exhibitors alike repeat their biennial pilgrimage to favourite Bierkeller and Stuben. The crisp pork knuckles continue to turn on the spit in the Haxnbauerhaus; Löwenbräu tastes the same as last time; the ‘oompah’ band in the Hofbrauhaus strikes up the same strident tunes; Sauerkraut, Bockwurst, Bratwurst, Bierwurst remain ubiquitously available. The service is good; hotels are clean; trains run on time. Munich, please don't change … !
AT an international exhibition in Moscow during September a pavilion covering 6,500 sq. ft. displayed equipment designed to improve the organization of work. The unusual thing is…
Abstract
AT an international exhibition in Moscow during September a pavilion covering 6,500 sq. ft. displayed equipment designed to improve the organization of work. The unusual thing is that the equipment was office machinery and systems exhibited by the Business Equipment Trade Association of this country and five of its member firms. Until now the U.S.S.R. has been a negligible market for such goods, but the Soviet Union has now declared its intention to increase the automation of clerical work through installing modern equipment of the sort favoured by western countries. The report of a delegation of the Association's members put this point so strongly that, as a ‘joint under‐taking’ with the British Board of Trade, it was thought justifiable to attack this burgeoning market.
With a record of human occupancy for over 10,000 years, the Indian Wells Valley where Ridgecrest is located has long had much to offer casual and experienced desert visitors…
Abstract
With a record of human occupancy for over 10,000 years, the Indian Wells Valley where Ridgecrest is located has long had much to offer casual and experienced desert visitors alike. Ghost‐towns from earlier active gold mining days, fossilised waterfalls, sculptured rock formations, desert tortoises, hiking trails against a High Sierra backdrop feature among the attractions of the area.
Thakur Singh, Jatinder Kumar and Joy Prakash Misra
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the surface integrity, including recast layer thickness, surface crack density, X-ray diffractions study and microhardness for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the surface integrity, including recast layer thickness, surface crack density, X-ray diffractions study and microhardness for Ni53.49Ti46.51 shape memory alloy (SMA) during wire-spark erosion machining.
Design/methodology/approach
Four persuasive process parameters, that is, spark on time (SON), spark off time (SOFF), wire feed (WF) and spark gap voltage (SV), have been chosen for the current investigation. Efforts have been done to explore the effects of above said parameters on the machined surface of Ni-Ti SMA by embracing box Behnken design of response surface methodology (RSM). Cutting speed and ten-point mean roughness (Rz) has been taken into account as response variables. Analysis of variance test was also performed for both response parameters with the coefficient of determination (R2) 0.9610 for cutting speed and 0.9252 for ten-point mean Rz.
Findings
The recast layer thickness from 7.83 to 12.13 µm was developed near the machined surface at different parametric settings. The least surface crack density was found at the lowest value of ten-point mean Rz, while most surface crack density was identified at the highest value of cutting speed. The microhardness near the machined surface was increased by approximately 1.8 times bulk-hardness of Ni53.49Ti46.51 SMA.
Originality/value
Some researchers have done a study on average surface roughness, but very few investigators concentrated on ten-point mean Rz. Surface crack density is an essential aspect of machined parts; other researchers have seldom reported it. The novelty of this research work is that the influence of SON, SV, WF and SOFF on cutting speed, Rz, recast layer thickness, micro-hardness and surface crack density proximate the machined surface while machining workpiece material.