scholarly journals Design and development of a question generator for learners of English

2021 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
pp. 01011
Author(s):  
Duc Tran Vu ◽  
John Blake

In this paper, we describe the design and development of the first release of an online question generator. This pedagogic tool enables learners of English to generate open-ended, closed-ended and tag questions for a target sentence. Learners input a sentence (i.e. declarative statement) and select the type or types of questions to generate. Question generation is a non-trivial task involving numerous processes including syntactic transformation and pronoun selection. Syntactic transformation was achieved through the use of rules based on parse trees while the selection of interrogative pronouns was achieved using matching potential question foci with a linguistic knowledge encoded condition set. Lessons learned are detailed to help other researchers avoid or attempt to ameliorate the pitfalls and problems encountered in this study.

Author(s):  
Petar Halachev ◽  
Aleksandra Todeva ◽  
Gergana Georgieva ◽  
Marina Jekova

he report explores and analyzes the application of the most popular programming languages from different organizations: GitHub; Stackoverflow; the TIOBE's Community index. The main client technologies: HTML; CSS; JavaScript; Typescript are presented and analysed. Features are characterized and the advantages and the disadvantages of the server technologies are described: Java; PHP; Python; Ruby. The application areas for web site development technologies have been defined. The creation of a quality web site is a complex and complicated process, but by observing some guidelines and recommendations in the work process can help to select the tools and the technologies in its design and development.


2008 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trudy M. Wassenaar ◽  
Peter Silley

AbstractThe relative contribution of veterinary and human clinical treatments to the selection of antimicrobial resistance in zoonotic pathogens remains controversial. In this review, we consider bacterial pathogens that differ in host specificity and address their resistance profiles: pathogens that only occur in the human host, pathogens that are specific to particular food-producing animals and pathogens that occur in both host types. Compared with those pathogens restricted to a single animal host, pathogens found in both human and animal hosts appear to have higher incidences of resistance. However, the most urgent and severe resistance problems occur with pathogens exclusively infecting humans. Differences exist in the available genetic repertoire of a bacterial species and these are reflected in the observed resistance patterns; it is important to note that different bacterial species do not automatically result in similarly resistant populations when they undergo comparable selection in different host species. Thus, within a bacterial species, prevalence of resistance can differ between populations isolated from different hosts. For some species, fluctuations in dominant subpopulations, for instance particular serotypes, can be the most important factor determining resistance. The frequently expressed opinion that veterinary use of antimicrobials is at the heart of many resistance problems may be an oversimplification of the complex forces at play.


2005 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doune Macdonald ◽  
Lisa Hunter

The knowledge, skills, and attitudes manifested in health and physical education school curricula are an arbitrary selection of that which is known and valued at a particular place and time. Bernstein’s (2000) theories of the social construction of knowledge offer a way to better understand the relationship between the production, selection, and reproduction of curricular knowledge. This article overviews contemporary knowledge in the primary field (production) upon which curriculum writers in the recontextualizing field may draw. It highlights tensions in the knowledge generated within the primary field and, using a case of the USA’s National Standards for Physical Education (NASPE), demonstrates how particular discourses become privileged when translated into curriculum documents in the recontextualizing field.


2010 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 535-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deyi Xiong ◽  
Min Zhang ◽  
Aiti Aw ◽  
Haizhou Li

Linguistic knowledge plays an important role in phrase movement in statistical machine translation. To efficiently incorporate linguistic knowledge into phrase reordering, we propose a new approach: Linguistically Annotated Reordering (LAR). In LAR, we build hard hierarchical skeletons and inject soft linguistic knowledge from source parse trees to nodes of hard skeletons during translation. The experimental results on large-scale training data show that LAR is comparable to boundary word-based reordering (BWR) (Xiong, Liu, and Lin 2006), which is a very competitive lexicalized reordering approach. When combined with BWR, LAR provides complementary information for phrase reordering, which collectively improves the BLEU score significantly. To further understand the contribution of linguistic knowledge in LAR to phrase reordering, we introduce a syntax-based analysis method to automatically detect constituent movement in both reference and system translations, and summarize syntactic reordering patterns that are captured by reordering models. With the proposed analysis method, we conduct a comparative analysis that not only provides the insight into how linguistic knowledge affects phrase movement but also reveals new challenges in phrase reordering.


2021 ◽  
pp. 60-72
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Andrejczyk

The object of interest in this sketch is an analysis of the vocabulary indicating selected elements of the world of fauna and fl ora in Symbolika wiosenna (Spring symbolism) by Stefania Ulanowska (Kraków 1884). The collected language material is characterised by wealth and complexity of the subject matter. The indicated vocabulary has not been characterised yet. This paper employs elements of the cognitivist description of language. The selection of this method enables depiction of the relation between linguistic knowledge and encyclopaedic knowledge. Language becomes an indispensible element of mental processes of the perception of the world (Tokarski 1995; Miodunka 1980). The analysis of the excerpted material clearly shows that the discussed spring symbolism usually invokes, contrary to the prototype, the semantic fi eld related to ‘śmierć’ (death) rather than ‘życie’ (life). The reconstructed image of the folk idea of spring largely deviates from the ideas established in the consciousness of language users in general, which is confi rmed by the discussed examples. It presents unit connotations that are individualised and present in the consciousness of members of small rural communities of those times. Keywords: Stefania Ulanowska – vocabulary of fauna and flora


Author(s):  
Elena A. Makarova

Introduction. Teaching foreign language speaking skills to students of the same academic group having different levels of language proficiency within a restricted time period is an urgent problem for non-linguistic universities. Its solution requires an interdisciplinary approach and the integration of modern pedagogical, psychological and linguistic knowledge. The aim of the study is to prove experimentally the effectiveness of peer assisted learning organized within the regular classroom settings. Materials and Methods. The study is concerned with a peer assisted learning strategy aimed at the development of EFL speaking skills of low-skilled students. Unlike international practice of extra-curricular peer tutoring the given strategy is used among well-acquainted students within the regular classroom settings. Peer assisted learning is based on both qualitative and quantitative methods such as data collection of both foreign and Russian teachers, linguists and psychologists, analysis and generalizations along with the communicative language teaching method, experiment and observation . Results. As a result, the criteria for selection of peer tutors were formulated, a new structural component of peer assisted learning was developed and implemented, stages of teaching EFL speaking skills were pointed out, vocabulary and exercises appropriate to students’ knowledge and experience were selected. The researched model of peer assisted learning made it possible to integrate basic principles of the communicative method. Discussion and Conclusions. Through peer assisted learning tutees benefit by developing and practicing communicative skills, increasing motivation. All tutors and tutees are actively engaged in work, develop responsibility and collaboration, and improve academic achievements. The effectiveness is provided by systematic peer assisted learning, coordinated work of students in pairs/threes, taking top-down and bottomup approaches to teaching speaking, proper selection of vocabulary and exercises. The obtained results contribute to the study of problems of teaching speaking and motivate further study of peer tutoring and making additional experiments.


Author(s):  
Knut Leipold ◽  
Jason Klemow ◽  
Francine Holloway ◽  
Kishor Vaidya

2018 ◽  
pp. 256-277
Author(s):  
Elena Novak ◽  
Tristan E. Johnson

Considerable resources have been invested in examining the game design principles that best foster learning. One way to understand what constitutes a well-designed instructional game is to examine the relationship between gaming characteristics and actual learning. This report discusses the lessons learned from the design and development process of instructional simulations that are enhanced by competition and storyline gaming characteristics and developed as instructional interventions for a study on the effects of gaming characteristics on learning effectiveness and engagement. The goal of the instructional simulations was to engage college students in learning the statistics concepts of standard deviation and the empirical rule. A pilot study followed by a small-scale experimental study were conducted to improve the value and effectiveness of these designed simulations. Based on these findings, specific practical implications are offered for designing actual learning environments that are enhanced by competition and storyline gaming elements.


2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel Robb ◽  
Annalu Waller ◽  
Kate A. Woodcock

Background. The ability to rapidly switch between tasks is important in a variety of contexts. Training in task switching may be particularly valuable for children with intellectual disability (ID), specifically ID linked to genetic syndromes such as Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). We have developed a cognitive training game for children with PWS and performed a pilot evaluation of the programme to inform future game development. Here, we describe and critically reflect on the development and pilot evaluation process. Methods. Several novel aspects of our approach are highlighted in this paper, including the involvement (in various roles) of children with a rare genetic syndrome (PWS) in the development and evaluation of the software (participatory design) and the development of a matched control, or placebo version of the game for use in the pilot evaluation. Results. Children with PWS were capable of contributing to the design and development of a cognitive training game in various roles. In the subsequent pilot evaluation, playing the active version of the game was associated with greater improvement in task switching performance than playing the matched control (placebo) version of the game. However, attrition was an issue during both the design phase and the pilot evaluation. Conclusions. The lessons learned from our work have relevance in a wide range of contexts, such as the development of future cognitive training games; the evaluation of serious games in general; and the involvement of end-users with cognitive disabilities and/or rare syndromes in the design and development of software.


2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (02) ◽  
pp. 1450012 ◽  
Author(s):  
LUIS E. MONTAÑEZ-CARTAXO

In Mexico, the Federal Commission of Electricity (CFE) is the public entity that is responsible for the annual preparation of the national programme of the electricity system development with a 15 year horizon (POISE in Spanish). Besides this national planning process, there are regional plans as well as others regarding the development of hydroelectric and geothermoelectric projects; these plans are essential inputs to prepare the POISE. Another key decision window is the site selection of the projects listed in the Program. For a few years the Environmental Protection Division of CFE has been promoting the incorporation of SEA into the decision-making processes of the company. Two regional SEAs have been made so far. This paper presents the actions carried out to incorporate SEA into CFE since 2002, as well as the methodologies followed in each of the two cases, and primarily the lessons learned from these experiences.


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