scholarly journals Effects of an In-house Entry Test on the Post-Foundation Students at an Omani College of Technology

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarath W. Samaranayake ◽  
Patteera Thienpermpool
Keyword(s):  
Research Question ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
Placement Test ◽  
Degree Programs ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Main Research ◽  
College Of Technology ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Low Performance

This paper reports the findings of a study that investigated why a large number of test-takers show a low performance in four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) offered in an entry test used by a College of Technology in Oman to place students in advanced diploma and bachelor’s degree programs. The main research question was meant to find out what difficulties the test takers face in the three tests (Listening, reading, and writing) in two semesters. The study analyzed the entry test results for two semesters including survey results obtained from the test takers regarding the difficulties experienced by them in the three tests and an analysis of writing answer scripts. The findings indicate that most test takers were not qualified enough to pursue their studies in the advanced diploma or bachelor’s degree programs due to their low performance in the entry test. The findings, moreover, suggest that the current placement test poses difficulties for most test-takers. Therefore, based on the findings, the possible reasons for the low performance of the test takers and the fairness of the entry test are explicitly discussed and finally, suggestions and recommendations for addressing the issue of the current entry test are offered.

scholarly journals Effects of an In-house Entry Test on the Post-Foundation Students at an Omani College of Technology

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 178-193
Author(s):  
Sarath W. Samaranayake ◽  
Patteera Thienpermpool
Keyword(s):  
Research Question ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
Placement Test ◽  
Degree Programs ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Main Research ◽  
College Of Technology ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Low Performance

This paper reports the findings of a study that investigated why a large number of test-takers show a low performance in four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) offered in an entry test used by a College of Technology in Oman to place students in advanced diploma and bachelor’s degree programs. The main research question was meant to find out what difficulties the test takers face in the three tests (Listening, reading, and writing) in two semesters. The study analyzed the entry test results for two semesters including survey results obtained from the test takers regarding the difficulties experienced by them in the three tests and an analysis of writing answer scripts. The findings indicate that most test takers were not qualified enough to pursue their studies in the advanced diploma or bachelor’s degree programs due to their low performance in the entry test. The findings, moreover, suggest that the current placement test poses difficulties for most test-takers. Therefore, based on the findings, the possible reasons for the low performance of the test takers and the fairness of the entry test are explicitly discussed and finally, suggestions and recommendations for addressing the issue of the current entry test are offered.

scholarly journals Post-Foundation Students’ Perceived Difficulties of an In-House Entry Test in the Context of Technological Education in Oman

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Sarath W. Samaranayake ◽  
Joaquin Jr. Gabayno
Keyword(s):  
Research Question ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
Placement Test ◽  
Degree Programs ◽  
Technological Education ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Main Research ◽  
College Of Technology ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Low Performance

This paper reports the findings of a study that investigated why a large number of test takers show a low performance in four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) offered in an entry test used by a College of Technology in Oman to place students in advanced diploma and bachelor’s degree programs. The main research question was meant to find out what difficulties the test takers face in the three tests (Listening, reading and writing) in two semesters. The study analyzed the entry test results for two semesters including a survey results obtained from the test takers regarding the difficulties experienced by them in the three tests and an analysis of writing answer scripts. The findings indicate that most test takers were not qualified enough to pursue their studies in the advanced diploma or bachelor’s degree programs due to their low performance in the entry test. The findings, moreover, suggest that the current placement test poses difficulties for most test takers. Therefore, based on the findings, the possible reasons for the low performance of the test takers and the fairness of the entry test are explicitly discussed and finally, suggestions and recommendations for addressing the issue of the current entry test are offered.

EFL Learning Potential: General or Modular?

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-27
Author(s):  
Alex Kozulin ◽  
Tziona Levi
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Dynamic Assessment ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Oral Proficiency ◽  
Learning Potential ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Writing Scores ◽  
Efl Learning

Little attention has been paid to the question about generality versus modularity of the learning potential (LP). The main research question of our study was: Is the students’ LP established with the help of a dynamic assessment of their English as a foreign language (EFL) oral proficiency general enough to predict their subsequent EFL reading and writing scores? Eighty students (38 boys, 42 girls) received a dynamic assessment of their EFL oral proficiency in a pretest – mediation – posttest format. Six months later they took a standard EFL reading comprehension and writing exam. The results indicate that the correlations between oral LP scores and both reading (r = .42) and writing (r = .45) are significant and much stronger than the correlations with the static oral pretest. Oral LP appears to be general enough to predict students’ subsequent reading and writing achievements.

UPAYA MENINGKATKAN KEMAMPUAN MENULIS DEVELOPING PARAGRAPH OF EXPLANATION TEXT MELALUI PENDEKATAN CONTEXTUAL TEACHING AND LEARNING (CTL) PADA MATA PELAJARAN BAHASA INGGRIS SISWA KELAS XII IPA 4 SMAN 9 PEKANBARU

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
Muslainy Muslainy
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Class Action ◽  
Test Results ◽  
English Class ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Contextual Teaching ◽  
Classroom Action Research ◽  
Daily Writing

This study is a class action (class action reseach). Based on test results daily writing on students' class XII IPA 4 SMAN 9 Pekanbaru encountered symptoms as follows: only 11 students or 30,55% of the 36 students who have the ability to write a developing Paragraph of explanation textdalam good English so it has reached KKM predetermined is 85. A total of 25 students or 69,4% of the 36 students had difficulty in writing textsehingga developing paragraph of explanation they have not been able to achieve a predetermined KKM. Students find it quickly bored with the lessons presented, it can be seen from their activities are often played or talked with friends when subjects exercised. This study was conducted in two cycles, the data is described is writing developing paragraph of explanation text, ie before the action on the first cycle, the second cycle, each cycle is done in one meeting. This classroom action research in order to work well without barriers obstructing the smooth running of the study, researchers compiled stages traversed in action research, namely: (1) planning/ preparatory actions; (2) Implementation of the action; (3) observation; and (4) reflection. Based on the results of the discussion and analysis as presented in chapter VII can be concluded that the application of the approach contextual teaching and learning (CTL) can improve the ability to write a text explanation developing paragraph of english in english class students of class XII IPA 4 SMAN 9 Pekanbaru. Based on the survey results revealed that developing writing skills of explanation text paragraph british student before action classical gained an average of 64,40 in the first cycle of classical gained an average of 72,50, the second cycle obtain the average classical 90,20.

Faktor yang Berhubungan dengan Penggunaan Partograf dalam Persalinan oleh Bidan Praktik Mandiri

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-80
Author(s):  
Niluh Nita Silfia
Keyword(s):  
Total Population ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Population Data ◽  
Statistical Test ◽  
Influential Factor ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Research Criteria

Partographs are guidelines for childbirth observations that will facilitate labor assistants in first identifying emergency cases and complications for mothers and fetuses. Preliminary survey at the Sigi Community Health Sub-Center (Pustu) of the 8 Pustu midwives found two midwives (25%) to complete a complete partograph, six midwives (75%) incomplete. The purpose of this study was to determine the determinant factors associated with the use of partographs in labor. The design of this study used observational analytic methods with a cross-sectional approach. 24 BPM survey results were obtained with 30 samples of midwives who met the research criteria and data completeness. The sampling technique was by the total population. Data analysis used logistic regression. The multivariate analysis results showed that APN training was the most influential factor in the use of partographs in labor by midwives. Statistical test results obtained a POR value of 37.7 (95% CI 12.1 - 60.2). This study suggests that midwives must have APN certificates to be valid in providing services.

INITIAL STEP OF SPECIALIZED CORPORA BUILDING: CLEANING PROCEDURES

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vera Yakubson ◽  
Victor Zakharov
Keyword(s):  
Text Processing ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Initial Step ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Academic Texts ◽  
Linguistic Annotation ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Cleaning Procedures ◽  
Unique Source ◽  
Future Work

This paper deals with the specialized corpora building, specifically academic language corpus in the biotechnology field. Being a part of larger research devoted to creation and usage of specialized parallel corpus, this piece aims to analyze the initial step of corpus building. Our main research question was what procedures we need to implement to the texts before using them to develop the corpus. Analysis of previous research showed the significant quantity of papers devoted to corpora creation, including academic specialized corpora. Different sides of the process were analyzed in these researches, including the types of texts used, the principles of crawling, the recommended length of texts etc. As to the text processing for the needs of corpora creation, only the linguistic annotation issues were examined earlier. At the same time, the preliminary cleaning of texts before their usage in corpora may have significant influence on the corpus quality and its utility for the linguistic research. In this paper, we considered three small corpora derived from the same set of academic texts in the biotechnology field: “raw” corpus without any preliminary cleaning and two corpora with different level of cleaning. Using different Sketch Engine tools, we analyzed these corpora from the position of their future users, predominantly as sources for academic wordlists and specialized multi-word units. The conducted research showed very little difference between two cleaned corpora, meaning that only basic cleaning procedures such as removal of reference lists are can be useful in corpora design. At the same time, we found a significant difference between raw and cleaned corpora and argue that this difference can affect the quality of wordlists and multi-word terms extraction, therefore these cleaning procedures are meaningful. The main limitation of the study is that all texts were taken from the unique source, so the conclusions could be affected by this specific journal’s peculiarities. Therefore, the future work should be the verification of results on different text collections

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S APPROACH TO ENERGY SECURITY IN POLAND AND THE BALTIC STATES

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1/2020) ◽  
pp. 33-67
Author(s):  
Olga Stevanovic
Keyword(s):  
Energy Security ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Energy Resources ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Realist Theory ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Security Challenges ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Baltic

The subject of this paper encompasses US policy towards Poland and the Baltic States regarding energy security during Donald Trump’s presidency. It is discernible that vast domestic energy resources have created an opportunity for the US to project more power to these countries, and the surrounding region. We argue that Trump and his administration’s perceptions have served as an intervening variable in that opportunity assessment, in accordance with the neoclassical realist theory. The main research question addressed in this paper is whether US has used that opportunity to contribute to energy security in countries it has traditionally deemed as allies. Two aspects of US approach to energy security of the designated countries are taken into consideration: liquified natural gas exports and support for the Three Seas Initiative. The way Trump presented his policy and its results in his public statements has also been considered in this paper. The article will proceed as follows. The first subsection of the paper represents a summary of energy security challenges in Poland and the Baltic States. The second subsection is dedicated to the opportunity for the US to project energy power and to Trump’s perceptions relevant for the opportunity assessment. The third subsection deals with American LNG exports to these countries as a possible way for contributing to energy security in Poland and the Baltic States. The last part of the paper addresses the Three Seas Initiative and US approach to this platform.

scholarly journals Effects of exposure to immersive videos and photo slideshows of forest and urban environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fariba Mostajeran ◽  
Jessica Krzikawski ◽  
Frank Steinicke ◽  
Simone Kühn
Keyword(s):  
Research Question ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Jail Inmates ◽  
Forest Environment ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Head Mounted Display ◽  
Sense Of Presence ◽  
Hospital Patients

AbstractA large number of studies have demonstrated the benefits of natural environments on people’s health and well-being. For people who have limited access to nature (e.g., elderly in nursing homes, hospital patients, or jail inmates), virtual representations may provide an alternative to benefit from the illusion of a natural environment. For this purpose and in most previous studies, conventional photos of nature have been used. Immersive virtual reality (VR) environments, however, can induce a higher sense of presence compared to conventional photos. Whether this higher sense of presence leads to increased positive impacts of virtual nature exposure is the main research question of this study. Therefore, we compared exposure to a forest and an urban virtual environment in terms of their respective impact on mood, stress, physiological reactions, and cognition. The environments were presented via a head-mounted display as (1) conventional photo slideshows or (2) 360$$^{\circ }$$ ∘ videos. The results show that the forest environment had a positive effect on cognition and the urban environment disturbed mood regardless of the mode of presentation. In addition, photos of either urban or forest environment were both more effective in reducing physiological arousal compared to immersive 360$$^{\circ }$$ ∘ videos.

Directionality of cross-linguistic influence: Which referring choices do bilingual Ukrainian–English children make?

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roksolana Mykhaylyk ◽  
Elinor Ytterstad
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Dual Language ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Direct Object ◽  
Object Language ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Null Object ◽  
Significant Difference

Aims and research questions: This paper presents a new study addressing the issue of cross-linguistic influence in acquisition of referring expressions. The main research question is how to predict directionality of this influence in a dual language development. Methodology: The method is an elicited production task. We consider the phenomenon of direct object referring choices, i.e. noun, pronoun and null element, in a ‘null-object’–‘overt-object’ language pair (Ukrainian and English). Data and Analysis: Participants of the experiment are 4–6-year-old Ukrainian–English bilinguals (N20) and Ukrainian monolinguals (N21). The data are analyzed in the statistical program R, utilizing the R-library function lme4. The results are presented as odds ratios (ORs) of each direct object type. Findings: Our data reveal that while there is no significant difference in Ukrainian object types in most of the age groups, there is a considerable amount of null object usage in English at the ages of four to five. Originality: The innovative nature of this study lies in: (i) the consideration of a licit object omission at a later stage of language development (from 4 to 6 years of age); (ii) the examination of an under-investigated language combination (i.e. English and Ukrainian); and (iii) the innovative approach to linguistic data analysis (e.g. comparing OR values). Implications: Our findings suggest that the directionality of influence in dual language acquisition depends on the developmental stage, language-specific means of syntax–pragmatics interaction, and extra-linguistic input-related factors. At the early stages of development, the null-object language is likely to influence the overt-object language, especially under conditions of limited exposure to the latter.

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