Explanation and Assistance

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnes Kukulska-Hulme
Keyword(s):  
Word Length ◽  
Technical Writing ◽  
Word Type ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Instructional Text ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Text Word ◽  
Simple Language ◽  
Concrete Words ◽  
Selection Of

It is easy to say that an explanation should be simple and that it should be written in familiar language. Advice of this sort is offered in many a technical writing handbook, often with limited elaboration. The concepts of familiarity and simplicity are not as straightforward as they appear to be, however. Users’ familiarity with particular terms can never really be predetermined because of the different ways we can “know” a word (as described in chapter 2). And what exactly is “simple” language? Hartley (1985), in his book on designing instructional text, makes several references to a writer’s conscious selection of words for a target text. Word length is mentioned (short, familiar words are easier to understand, although some long words, because of their frequent use, are quite familiar, e.g., “communication”), word type (concrete words and phrases are clearer than abstract ones), and ambiguity resulting from excessive use of abbreviations and acronyms. He also writes about the option of using readability formulas to check the suitability of a text for a given reader age group. Emden (1990) devotes a section to vocabulary choice in her handbook on writing for engineers and offers this advice: “Use words which the reader will understand”. She rightly points out the insidious danger in the use of technical language: “The reader may assume that he understands and the writer may assume that he is understood. Both may be understanding different meanings”. Sides (1984), cautioning about the use of jargon in papers and reports on computer technology, says this: “The issue of jargon is audience-dependent. Always use what the audience will understand”. This is sound advice, yet on reflection, it is so cursory that it is doubtful whether it can genuinely be fol lowed. The writer can strive to get to know the audience, and even think about providing definitions of terms, but there is still the matter of knowing how to select words or adapt one’s “jargon.” Use “fewer and simpler words,” advises Sides, referring to S. T. Coleridge as an authority on the matter.

scholarly journals Influence of Patient Age on Streptococcus pneumoniae Serotypes Causing Invasive Disease

2001 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 556-559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime Inostroza ◽  
Ana Maria Vinet ◽  
Gloria Retamal ◽  
Pedro Lorca ◽  
Gonzalo Ossa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Age Groups ◽  
Invasive Disease ◽  
Bacterial Virulence ◽  
Host Factors ◽  
Invasive Infection ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Southern Chile ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Sterile Site ◽  
Selection Of

ABSTRACT All clinical S. pneumoniae specimens isolated from patients with invasive or sterile-site infections admitted to one regional general hospital in southern Chile were collected during a 5-year period (February 1994 to September 1999). A total of 247 strains belonging to 50 serotypes were isolated in this survey: 69 in patients under 5 years of age, 129 in patients 5 to 64 years old, and 49 from patients 65 years and older. Eight serotypes were identified in all age groups, while all other serotypes were found exclusively in one age group or in patients over 4 years of age. Serotype 3 was never found in patients under 5 years old, and serotype 14 was not found in patients >64 years of age. There was no difference in the serotypes causing infection in each one of the 5 years of the survey. Our results suggest that both bacterial virulence factors and host factors play an important role in the selection of S. pneumoniae serotypes causing invasive infection. Possible host factors include age-related differences in the immune response. Comparative studies with other areas of the world may help to further understanding of our observations in southern Chile.

Screening of potential donors for immunoglobulins M and G to new coronavirus infection

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 49-54
Author(s):  
Yuliia E. Romashova ◽  
Vladimir N. Vilyaninov ◽  
Nikolay V. Belgesov ◽  
Sergey P. Kaleko
Keyword(s):  
Human Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
Active Movement ◽  
Frequency Of Occurrence ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Spring Period ◽  
Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
Coronavirus Infection ◽  
Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1 ◽  
Epidemiological Situation ◽  
Selection Of

This study presents the results of the examination of potential donors of blood and its components for immunoglobulins M and G to patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) living in St. Petersburg. A total of 6782 people aged 1824 years were evaluated, which accounted for 2.07% of the regions population (326 760 people) of this age group. The study was carried out in the spring and autumn of 2020. A negative result (absence of antibodies) was obtained in 93.5% of the participants. The rates of immunoglobulins M and M + G were 0.58% and 4.18%, respectively, in the spring and autumn. Moreover, the number of participants who had immunoglobulins M and G + M in the autumn period was four times higher than the indicators of the spring period, which indicated greater infection activities in the population during this period. This is most likely due to the active movement of the population in the summer. When comparing the rates of COVID-19 infection and the frequency of occurrence in donors of the same age, markers of human immunodeficiency virus 1 and 2 and hepatitis B and C in 2020 (0.024, 0.012 and 0.13%, respectively) indicate the urgency of the problem of donor selection during blood services, especially during a difficult epidemiological situation because of COVID-19. Along with organizational measures for the selection of donors (e.g., attracting individuals from organized groups in which there are no signs of an unfavorable epidemiological situation to donation), mandatory testing of potential donors for immunoglobulins M and G should be considered.

Determination of sub-groups in reference interval calculations and an application

2015 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gülhan Orekici Temel ◽  
E. Arzu Kanık ◽  
Didem Derici Yildirim ◽  
H. Didem Ovla ◽  
Hakan Kalafat
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Reference Data ◽  
Reference Interval ◽  
Chemistry Laboratory ◽  
Objective Method ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Aspartate Transaminase ◽  
Selection Of

AbstractObjective: The main objective of this study is to determine the methods used for dividing reference data into sub-groups and propose a new solution. Therefore, the newly proposed method is used to determine age sub-groups while calculating the reference interval of AST variable.Methods: The data of this study are composed of the registered patients who applied only once to the polyclinics at the Health Research and Application Hospital, Clinical Bio-Chemistry Laboratory of Mersin University. The main variables selected for the study are sex, age and aspartate transaminase (AST). MARS 2.0 package software was used for the statistical analysis. Harris&Boyd method was used for sex and age while the MARS method was used for the determination of age sub-groups.Results: According to the Harris&Boyd method, it was concluded that it is not necessary to create sub-groups for sex and age variables. Age sub-groups are determined with the MARS method by taking into account the correlations between AST variables and age. Age sub-groups are calculated as 5-9, 10-18 and 19+. Correlation between the age and AST variable is investigated for these sub-groups. It is obtained that the correlation is statistically not significant for the 5-9 age group (p=0.3189), significant for the 10-18 age group (p<0.001) and significant for 19 and above (p<0.001).Conclusion: The selection of transformation and outlier value elimination method and especially determination criteria for separation of sub-groups are made according to researcher’s subjective desicions in the application of many studies. Because of this reason, MARS can be used as an alternative and objective method for determining subgroups. In addition, results of MARS method being parallel with the findings of the producing company supported the usage of this method for determination of sub-groups.

The Passive Voice Verb: A Selected, Annotated Bibliography — Part I

1981 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas L. Warren
Keyword(s):  
Technical Writing ◽  
Annotated Bibliography ◽  
Passive Voice ◽  
Active Voice ◽  
Language Style ◽  
Principal Points ◽  
Selection Of

Various style manuals, advice to authors, and textbooks on writing stress that writers should prefer the active voice of the verb and avoid the passive form. The following bibliography brings together references to the passive voice of the verb from linguists, grammarians, and researchers of the use of passive voice verbs; comments from technical writing textbooks; comments from books on language; comments from style manuals; and references from various other sources. The annotations summarize the principal points the article makes about passive voice verbs (abstracts provided by the authors of the articles are marked with an asterisk (*)). Part I covers materials from linguists while Part II, to be published in the next issue, lists references in technical writing textbooks, a selection of general books on language, style manuals and author's guides, and various other sources.

Response to Failure, Strategic Flexibility, and Learning

1995 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 677-700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uri Shafrir ◽  
Morris Eagle
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Flexibility ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Projective Test ◽  
Future Performance ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Problem Solvers ◽  
Failure Experience ◽  
Good Problem

Recent studies have shown that good problem-solvers spend more time in contemplating their errors, as compared to the time they spend in contemplating success (Shafrir, Ogilvie, & Bryson, 1990; Shafrir & PascualLeone, 1990). This study tested the hypotheses that: (1) Subjects who spend long periods of time thinking about their mistakes (post-failure reflectives) are not only good problem-solvers, but are also aware of and make more frequent use of task-relevant and effective strategies, than subjects who do not spend a lot of time in contemplating their errors (post-failure impulsives). (2) Subjects who are post-failure reflective and post-failure impulsive respond differently to failure in situations where learning is not involved. The results of two experiments supported these hypotheses; children in the 10-13 age group who were post-failure reflective were better problem-solvers, and were more aware of the strategies that they had used, than post-failure impulsive children. On a projective test of response to failure, post-failure reflective children took a more serious view of failure, even when the situational context of the failure experience did not involve learning, than post-failure impulsive children. These results suggest that a general model of response to failure is needed in order to account not only for failure-related behaviour in a learning context, but also in other situations where the contemplation of a recent failure does not produce obvious or immediate gains in future performance.

Another Look at Paragraphs in Technical Writing

1980 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 293-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Selzer
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Word Length ◽  
Technical Writing ◽  
Sentence Length ◽  
Student Writing ◽  
World War ◽  
Writing Teachers ◽  
The Status ◽  
Writing Instructors ◽  
The Given

Because of doubts about the status of paragraphs after World War II and the influence of readability formulas which emphasize sentence length and word length, technical writing teachers and texts have not been concerned very much with stylistic matters, especially at the paragraph level. However, recent research advances in the fields of linguistics, discourse analysis, cognitive psychology, and readability all redirect our attention to matters beyond the sentence in technical writing. A familiarity with such advances—including an understanding of cohesion elements, the “given-new contract,” and tagmemics—can enable technical writing instructors to improve student writing.

scholarly journals Commitment: The term and the notions

2008 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe De Brabanter ◽  
Patrick Dendale
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Prise En Charge ◽  
Formal Modelling ◽  
Illocutionary Acts ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Many ◽  
The University ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Separate Entry

This volume brings together thoroughly reworked versions of a selection of papers presented at the conference The Notion of Commitment in Linguistics, held at the University of Antwerp in January 2007. It is the companion volume to a collection of essays in French to be published in Langue Française and devoted to La notion de prise en charge. Commitment is a close counterpart toprise en charge, and two contributors, Celle and Lansari, use it essentially as a translation of the French term. However, commitment and its verbal cognates (to commit NP to and to be committed to) do not cover the exact same range of meanings as prise en charge. For a thorough assessment of the French term, we refer readers to the introduction to the Langue Française volume. In the present article, we focus entirely on commitment. The term is widely used in at least three major areas of linguistic enquiry:1 studies on illocutionary acts, studies on modality and evidentiality, and the formal modelling of dialogue/argumentation. In spite of its frequent use, the notion has rarely been theorised and has never been the subject of a monograph or a specialised reader. In keeping with this is the fact that none of the many dictionaries and encyclopaedias of linguistics or philosophy that we have consulted devotes a separate entry to it. Section 1 of this introduction briefly reviews what commitment means in the three fields just mentioned. Now and then, with respect to a particular issue, pointers are given to which articles in this collection have something to say about the issue. In section 2, we take a lexical and syntactic look at the ways in which the contributors to the present volume use the term. In section 3, we outline each of the contributions, with a focus on the role that commitment plays in them.

scholarly journals Painkillers among people aged 20-30 according to questionnaires

E-methodology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 93-99
Author(s):  
KATARZYNA CIECIORA ◽  
ROKSANA PAPIERKOWSKA
Keyword(s):  
Real Problem ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Over The Counter ◽  
Know How ◽  
Wide Availability ◽  
Level Of Knowledge ◽  
Wide Access ◽  
Very High ◽  
Selection Of

Aim. Painkillers are one of the most widespread drugs on the pharmaceutical market, individual analgesics belong to the OTC (over-the-counter drug) group, which are also available outside pharmacies. The universality and wide availability of painkillers posea real problem of medication errors. The aim of the study was to examine the attitude of people aged 20-30 to taking painkillers and to examine the level of knowledge of the respondents about them.Method. The study involved 70 people aged 20-30 who voluntarily fi lled in an original electronic questionnaire, which included the attitude of people of this age to taking  medications and questions assessing their knowledge about the medications they take. It included questions about the type of drugs taken, frequency, intensity of pain at which the respondents took analgesics and knowledge about possible adverse effects in the case of long-term use of analgesics or their overdose. The most numerous age group were people aged 20-30, they constituted 55.7% of the respondents. People aged 24-27 accounted for 24.3%, while 20% were people aged 28-30. Most respondents showed that their current place of residence is a city with over 500,000 inhabitants. Most of the respondents had secondary education and it amounted to 51.4%.Results and conclusion. As many as 85.7% of people take painkillers. 35.7% of the respondents take medication once a month, while 34.3% take medication less frequently than once a month. 60.9% of people know the effects of chronic overuse of painkillers, butas many as 39.1% of respondents have a knowledge defi cit in this regard. The study found that 89.9% of people aged 20-30 know how to safely use painkillers, only 10.1% do not know in this regard. Most people in this age group use drugs when the intensity of pain is 4, which means that the most numerous group of people takes drugs when the intensity of pain is very high. This indicates that drugs are not taken without necessity, which results in their chronic non-use, as a result of which the risk of side effectscaused by overuse of painkillers is minimised. The study showed that 35.7% take painkillers once a month and 34.3% less than oncea month. Mostly women take medication once a month, this could possibly be associated with menstrual pain. The survey shows that 60.9% of people know the effects of chronic overuse of painkillers. It follows that most of the respondents know the consequences ofoverusing painkillers, but a large proportion of people in this age group show a defi cit of knowledge about what is dangerous to their health, therefore it is necessary to educate people aged 20-30 years in this regard.Cognitive value. The conducted research shows the attitude of young people toward painkillers. The cognitive value is the selection of a specifi c research group which from an early age, has the possibility to observe easy and wide access to analgesics.

scholarly journals Dietary Modifications during Pregnancy through Decades

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (02) ◽  
pp. e43-e48
Author(s):  
Yamini Bhatt ◽  
Kalpana Kulshrestha
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Nutritional Supplements ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Diet Recall ◽  
Dietary Modifications ◽  
Selection Of

AbstractThe present study aimed to explore the modifications in diet during pregnancy over three generations in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand. For the selection of the sample, the respondents were categorized in 3 age groups: 20 to 34 years; 35 to 55 years; and ≥ 56 years. Structured diet recall interviews were scheduled for the collection of data. The subjects were asked about their dietary habits during pregnancy and food items that they included and excluded during that period. Most food items mentioned included were milk, fruits, and nutritional supplements. The exclusion of fruits like banana and papaya, of rice, and of leafy green vegetables (LGVs) was mainly observed. Among the age group of ≥ 56 years, the respondents with no changes in their diet during pregnancy were more from rural areas (92%) than from urban areas (62.26%), while in the age group of 20 to 34 years, 25% of the respondents with no change in their diet lived in rural areas, and 8.06% lived in urban areas. There has been an increase in the population with dietary modifications through generations; however, the overall changes are still not satisfying. The present study shows that there is a high need for nutritional education during pregnancy, especially in rural areas.

scholarly journals THE CHOICE OF NEUROPROTECTIVE THERAPY OF COGNITIVE DYSFUNCTIONIN THE POSTOPERATIVE PERIOD

2019 ◽  
pp. 48-51
Author(s):  
S. S. Dubivska ◽  
Yu. B. Grygorov ◽  
Yu. V. Volkov ◽  
N. D. Bitchuk ◽  
D. S. Yefimov
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Cognitive Deficit ◽  
Day Treatment ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Preoperative Period ◽  
Preoperative Level ◽  
Treatment Regimens ◽  
Neuroprotective Therapy ◽  
Selection Of

We have carried out the selection of adequate neuroprotective therapy in patients with postoperative cognitive dysfunctions on the basis of calculating the index of total cognitive deficit. The study was carried out in patients of different age groups: young, middle and elderly. The state of cognitive function in patients with acute surgical pathology was determined before surgery and on the 1st, 7th, 30th day after surgery. Total cognitive deficit was calculated. In each age group on the seventh day of the study, there were patients with a restored state of cognitive function at the preoperative level. Some patients had minor changes in cognitive function. In some patients, cognitive impairment was observed in comparison with the preoperative period. The results of cognitive function changes in different periods of the study and in different age groups made it possible to develop treatment regimens. Significant changes were noted in 28 % (mean age 68.9 years) on the 7th day. Treatment is recommended based on the diagnosis of the degree and structure of cognitive dysfunction according to the analysis of the results on the 7th day after the operation. Taking into account the obtained results, we have developed and proposed a formula for calculating the total cognitive deficit. Our findings on cognitive function in surgical patients after surgery under general anesthesia have allowed us to develop a formula for calculating the index of total cognitive deficit. This allowed us to formulate a tactic for further adjustment of the existing cognitive deficit using neuroprotective therapy.

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