Tasks and Task Descriptions for GIS

1995 ◽  
pp. 327-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare Davies
Keyword(s):  
Task Descriptions ◽  
And Task

Assessing pragmatic competence in oral proficiency interviews at the C1 level with the new CEFR descriptors

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-121
Author(s):  
Bárbara Eizaga-Rebollar ◽  
Cristina Heras-Ramírez
Keyword(s):  
Rating Scales ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
Pragmatic Competence ◽  
Task Characteristics ◽  
The Common ◽  
Task Descriptions ◽  
Oral Proficiency Interviews ◽  
Task Types ◽  
And Task

AbstractThe study of pragmatic competence has gained increasing importance within second language assessment over the last three decades. However, its study in L2 language testing is still scarce. The aim of this paper is to research the extent to which pragmatic competence as defined by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) has been accommodated in the task descriptions and rating scales of two of the most popular Oral Proficiency Interviews (OPIs) at a C1 level: Cambridge’s Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) and Trinity’s Integrated Skills in English (ISE) III. To carry out this research, OPI tests are first defined, highlighting their differences from L2 pragmatic tests. After pragmatic competence in the CEFR is examined, focusing on the updates in the new descriptors, CAE and ISE III formats, structure and task characteristics are compared, showing that, while the formats and some characteristics are found to differ, the structures and task types are comparable. Finally, we systematically analyse CEFR pragmatic competence in the task skills and rating scale descriptors of both OPIs. The findings show that the task descriptions incorporate mostly aspects of discourse and design competence. Additionally, we find that each OPI is seen to prioritise different aspects of pragmatic competence within their rating scale, with CAE focusing mostly on discourse competence and fluency, and ISE III on functional competence. Our study shows that the tests fail to fully accommodate all aspects of pragmatic competence in the task skills and rating scales, although the aspects they do incorporate follow the CEFR descriptors on pragmatic competence. It also reveals a mismatch between the task competences being tested and the rating scale. To conclude, some research lines are proposed.

scholarly journals A Plug and Play Middleware for Sensory Modules, Actuation Platforms and Task Descriptions in Robotic Manipulation Platforms

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayssam Elkady ◽  
Jovin Joy ◽  
Tarek Sobh
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Modular Design ◽  
Current System ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Map Building ◽  
Plug And Play ◽  
Robotic Platforms ◽  
Task Descriptions ◽  
And Task

We are developing a framework (RISCWare) for the modular design and integration of sensory modules, actuation platforms, and task descriptions that will be implemented as a tool to reduce efforts in designing and utilizing robotic platforms. The framework is used to customize robotic platforms by simply defining the available sensing devices, actuation platforms, and required tasks. The main purpose for designing this framework is to reduce the time and complexity of the development of robotic software and maintenance costs, and to improve code and component reusability. Usage of the proposed framework prevents the need to redesign or rewrite algorithms or applications due to changes in the robot’s platform, operating systems, or the introduction of new functionalities. In this paper, the RISCWare framework is developed and described. RISCWare is a robotic middleware used for the integration of heterogeneous robotic components. RISCWare consists of three modules. The first module is the sensory module, which represents sensors that collect information about the remote or local environment. The platform module defines the robotic platforms and actuation methods. The last module is the task-description module, which defines the tasks and applications that the platforms will perform such as teleoperation, navigation, obstacle avoidance, manipulation, 3-D reconstruction, and map building. The plug-and-play approach is one of the key features of RISCWare, which allows auto-detection and auto-reconfiguration of the attached standardized components (hardware and software) according to current system configurations. These components can be dynamically available or unavailable. Dynamic reconfiguration provides the facility to modify a system during its execution and can be used to apply patches and updates, to implement adaptive systems, or to support third-party modules. This automatic detection and reconfiguration of devices and driver software makes it easier and more efficient for end users to add and use new devices and software applications. In addition, the software components should be written in a flexible way to get better usage of the hardware resource and also they should be easy to install/uninstall. Several experiments, performed on the RISCbot II mobile manipulation platform, are described and implemented to evaluate the RISCWare framework with respect to applicability and resource utilization.

scholarly journals What’s in an Occupation? Investigating Within-Occupation Variation and Gender Segregation Using Job Titles and Task Descriptions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ananda Martin-Caughey
Keyword(s):  
Gender Diversity ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Gender Segregation ◽  
Occupational Prestige ◽  
Text Data ◽  
Job Titles ◽  
Task Descriptions ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Occupation Level ◽  
And Task

Occupations have long been central to the study of inequality and mobility. However, the occupational categories typical in most U.S. survey data conceal potentially important patterns within occupations. This project uses a novel data source that has not previously been released for analysis: the verbatim text responses provided by respondents to the General Social Survey from 1972 to 2018 when asked about their occupation. These text data allow for an investigation of variation within occupations, in terms of job titles and task descriptions, and the occupation-level factors associated with this variation. I construct an index of occupational similarity based on the average pairwise cosine similarity between job titles and between task descriptions within occupations. Findings indicate substantial variation in the level of similarity across occupations. Occupational prestige, education, and income are associated with less heterogeneity in terms of job titles but slightly more heterogeneity in terms of task descriptions. Gender diversity is associated with more internal heterogeneity in terms of both job titles and task descriptions. In addition, I use the case of gender segregation to demonstrate how occupational categories can conceal the depth and form of stratification.

The impact of task description linguistic style on task performance: a text mining of crowdsourcing contests

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keng Yang ◽  
Hanying Qi ◽  
Qian Huang
Keyword(s):  
Text Mining ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Cognitive Complexity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Task Description ◽  
Task Descriptions ◽  
Language Styles ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Task

PurposeExisting studies on the relationship between task description and task performance are insufficient, with many studies considering description length rather than content to measure quality or only evaluating a single aspect of task performance. To address this gap, this study analyzes the linguistic styles of task descriptions from 2,545 tasks on the Taskcn.com crowdsourcing platform.Design/methodology/approachAn empirical analysis was completed for task description language styles and task performance. The paper used text mining tool Simplified Chinese Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count to extract eight linguistic styles, namely readability, self-distancing, cognitive complexity, causality, tentative language, humanizing personal details, normative information and language intensity. And it tests the relationship between the eight language styles and task performance.FindingsThe study found that more cognitive complexity markers, tentative language, humanized details and normative information increase the quantity of submissions for a task. In addition, more humanized details and normative information in a task description improves the quality of task. Conversely, the inclusion of more causal relationships in a task description reduces the quantity of submissions. Poorer readability of the task description, less self-estrangement and higher language intensity reduces the quality of the task.Originality/valueThis study first reveals the importance of the linguistic styles used in task descriptions and provides a reference for how to attract more task solvers and achieve higher quality task performance by improving task descriptions. The research also enriches existing knowledge on the impact of linguistic styles and the applications of text mining.

scholarly journals What’s in an Occupation? Investigating Within-Occupation Variation and Gender Segregation Using Job Titles and Task Descriptions

2021 ◽  
pp. 000312242110420
Author(s):  
Ananda Martin-Caughey
Keyword(s):  
Gender Diversity ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Gender Segregation ◽  
Occupational Prestige ◽  
Text Data ◽  
Job Titles ◽  
Task Descriptions ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Occupation Level ◽  
And Task

Occupations have long been central to the study of inequality and mobility. However, the occupational categories typical in most U.S. survey data conceal potentially important patterns within occupations. This project uses a novel data source that has not previously been released for analysis: the verbatim text responses provided by respondents to the General Social Survey from 1972 to 2018 when asked about their occupation. These text data allow for an investigation of variation within occupations, in terms of job titles and task descriptions, and the occupation-level factors associated with this variation. I construct an index of occupational similarity based on the average pairwise cosine similarity between job titles and between task descriptions within occupations. Findings indicate substantial variation in the level of similarity across occupations. Occupational prestige, education, and income are associated with less heterogeneity in terms of job titles but slightly more heterogeneity in terms of task descriptions. Gender diversity is associated with more internal heterogeneity in terms of both job titles and task descriptions. In addition, I use the case of gender segregation to demonstrate how occupational categories can conceal the depth and form of stratification.

Dissonance, Knowledge about Consequences, and Task Experience

1974 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 471-477
Author(s):  
Ellen M. Jastrebske
Keyword(s):  
Task Descriptions ◽  
Four Levels ◽  
Task Experience ◽  
And Task

A forced compliance paradigm was used to vary two levels of task experience and four levels of feedback about the results of Ss' counter-attitudinal task descriptions. Task-experience affected differential modes of dissonance-resolution following the description, but contrary to predictions, increasing information about effects of the counter-attitudinal descriptions failed to increase evidence of dissonance-resolution.

When Hearing Does Not Mean Understanding: On the Neural Processing of Syntactically Complex Sentences by Listeners With Hearing Loss

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Margreet Vogelzang ◽  
Christiane M. Thiel ◽  
Stephanie Rosemann ◽  
Jochem W. Rieger ◽  
Esther Ruigendijk
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Cognitive Demands ◽  
Sentence Complexity ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
And Task

Purpose Adults with mild-to-moderate age-related hearing loss typically exhibit issues with speech understanding, but their processing of syntactically complex sentences is not well understood. We test the hypothesis that listeners with hearing loss' difficulties with comprehension and processing of syntactically complex sentences are due to the processing of degraded input interfering with the successful processing of complex sentences. Method We performed a neuroimaging study with a sentence comprehension task, varying sentence complexity (through subject–object order and verb–arguments order) and cognitive demands (presence or absence of a secondary task) within subjects. Groups of older subjects with hearing loss ( n = 20) and age-matched normal-hearing controls ( n = 20) were tested. Results The comprehension data show effects of syntactic complexity and hearing ability, with normal-hearing controls outperforming listeners with hearing loss, seemingly more so on syntactically complex sentences. The secondary task did not influence off-line comprehension. The imaging data show effects of group, sentence complexity, and task, with listeners with hearing loss showing decreased activation in typical speech processing areas, such as the inferior frontal gyrus and superior temporal gyrus. No interactions between group, sentence complexity, and task were found in the neuroimaging data. Conclusions The results suggest that listeners with hearing loss process speech differently from their normal-hearing peers, possibly due to the increased demands of processing degraded auditory input. Increased cognitive demands by means of a secondary visual shape processing task influence neural sentence processing, but no evidence was found that it does so in a different way for listeners with hearing loss and normal-hearing listeners.

The Production of Gesture and Speech by People With Aphasia: Influence of Communicative Constraints

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (12) ◽  
pp. 4417-4432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carola de Beer ◽  
Jan P. de Ruiter ◽  
Martina Hielscher-Fastabend ◽  
Katharina Hogrefe
Keyword(s):  
Language Impairment ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Linguistic Performance ◽  
Task Effects ◽  
Communicative Abilities ◽  
Gesture Production ◽  
And Task ◽  
Group Effects

Purpose People with aphasia (PWA) use different kinds of gesture spontaneously when they communicate. Although there is evidence that the nature of the communicative task influences the linguistic performance of PWA, so far little is known about the influence of the communicative task on the production of gestures by PWA. We aimed to investigate the influence of varying communicative constraints on the production of gesture and spoken expression by PWA in comparison to persons without language impairment. Method Twenty-six PWA with varying aphasia severities and 26 control participants (CP) without language impairment participated in the study. Spoken expression and gesture production were investigated in 2 different tasks: (a) spontaneous conversation about topics of daily living and (b) a cartoon narration task, that is, retellings of short cartoon clips. The frequencies of words and gestures as well as of different gesture types produced by the participants were analyzed and tested for potential effects of group and task. Results Main results for task effects revealed that PWA and CP used more iconic gestures and pantomimes in the cartoon narration task than in spontaneous conversation. Metaphoric gestures, deictic gestures, number gestures, and emblems were more frequently used in spontaneous conversation than in cartoon narrations by both participant groups. Group effects show that, in both tasks, PWA's gesture-to-word ratios were higher than those for the CP. Furthermore, PWA produced more interactive gestures than the CP in both tasks, as well as more number gestures and pantomimes in spontaneous conversation. Conclusions The current results suggest that PWA use gestures to compensate for their verbal limitations under varying communicative constraints. The properties of the communicative task influence the use of different gesture types in people with and without aphasia. Thus, the influence of communicative constraints needs to be considered when assessing PWA's multimodal communicative abilities.

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