bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Working together online to enhance learner autonomy: Analysis of learners’ perceptions of their online learning experience
Authors: Eneau Jérôme , Develotte Christine 
Published: January 2012

AbstractThis study concerns the development of autonomy in adult learners working on an online learning platform as part of a professional master's degree programme in “French as a Foreign Language”. Our goal was to identify the influence of reflective and collaborative dimensions on the construction of autonomy for online learners in this programme. The material used was 27 self-analysis papers in response to an assignment which asked students to review their distance learning experience (reflective dimension) and to highlight the role of others, if any, in their learning (collaborative dimension). In addition to these two major points, the analysis by category of the body of results shows principally that in qualitative terms, the factors of autonomisation for online learning are interconnected and include: the difficulties related to distance learning and the strategies that learners develop to face those difficulties, the importance of interpersonal relationships in social and emotional terms in overcoming those difficulties, the specific modes of sociability developed for distance learning and the related development of a new type of autonomy that is both individual and collective. The discussion examines the creation, over the course of time, of a new “distance learning culture” that is nonetheless never easy to create and share.
A case study of language learners’ social presence in synchronous CMC
Authors: Ko Chao-Jung 
Published: January 2012

AbstractThis study adopts a case study approach to investigate the impacts of synchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) learning environments on learners’ perception of social presence. The participants were twelve French as a foreign language (FFL) beginners in a Taiwanese university. Divided into three groups, they conducted some tasks in three different learning environments (video/audio, audio and face-to-face) during an academic semester. Before each oral task, all the participants had to conduct the same task in synchronous text chat. The participants’ interview transcriptions, learning journals and the instructor's observation journal provided information about the impacts of each environment on their perception of social presence. The results of the study suggested that the differences in the environments are reflected in the learners’ perception of social presence.
Effects of required and optional exchange tasks in online language learning environments
Authors: Brandl Klaus 
Published: January 2012

AbstractThis study investigates the effects of an optional and required (jigsaw) task on learners’ quantity and quality of use of language under synchronous and asynchronous conditions. The question raised is: Does performing either of these task types under synchronous conditions cause a compounding effect that either positively or negatively impacts language production? Eighty-six beginning learners of German participated in this study. The results show that the optional task yielded significantly more learner output, both in terms of target language and c-unit counts. The impact of the condition appears to be mixed, favoring the synchronous mode. Regarding quality, students produced fewer errors when performing the required than the optional task. The results of this study have implications for task design and implementation in online learning environments.
Has Political Science Ignored Religion?
Authors: Kettell Steven 
Published: January 2012

AbstractA common complaint from political scientists involved in the study of religion is that religious issues have been largely overlooked by political science. Through a content analysis of leading political science and sociology journals from 2000 to 2010, this article considers the extent of this claim. The results show that political science publications involving religious topics have been significantly fewer than those engaging with subjects typically regarded as being more central to the discipline, and markedly less numerous than religious articles in leading sociology publications. Where political science publications have engaged with religious issues, these articles have also focused on a limited number of subject areas and been concentrated in specific disciplinary subfields. The proportion of articles covering religion has shown no real increase since the turn of the century. These findings underpin calls for political scientists to take religious issues more seriously.
Career Preparation and the Political Science Major: Evidence from Departments
Authors: Collins Todd A. , Knotts H. Gibbs , Schiff Jen 
Published: January 2012

AbstractWe know little about the amount of career preparation offered to students in political science departments. This lack of information is particularly troubling given the state of the current job market and the growth of applied degree programs on university campuses. To address this issue, this article presents the results of a December 2010 survey of 279 political science department chairs that asked questions about the level of career preparation in their respective departments. Based on our empirical findings, we believe that political science departments are not doing enough to address their students' career preparation. Our results demonstrate that most departments rely on voluntary internships and faculty advisers to address career-related issues for political science majors. Only a few departments use required internships, required resumes, specific classes related to career preparation, and social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn to support career preparation. We also found substantial differences in career preparation across department type (BA, MA, and PhD) and between public and private universities, urban and rural universities, and universities with different average SAT scores. Our findings should interest faculty and administrators who are concerned with different approaches to career preparation on college campuses.
Teaching “Islam and Human Rights” in the Classroom
Authors: Muedini Fait A. 
Published: January 2012

AbstractThis article discusses my approach to teaching a course on Islam and human rights. I begin by examining the attention Islam has received in the media and classroom. Then, I discuss how I structure lectures on Islam and human rights, the various readings associated with the lectures, as well as common themes discussed in class that include but are not limited to Islamic law, women's rights, and minority rights. From there, I discuss a range of different approaches to the Islam and human rights discourse. I then describe how I test the students' knowledge of the material.
Adding an Integrated Library Component to an Undergraduate Research Methods Course
Authors: Gilbert Julie K. , Knutson Katherine , Gilbert Christopher P. 
Published: January 2012

AbstractAs undergraduate students increasingly rely on the Internet as their primary method for gathering sources, they often overlook the rich and varied resources available to them in library collections. Furthermore, students often lack the sophistication to effectively seek out and use information, an ability generally referred to as information literacy. Political scientists and librarians at one institution sought to address the gap in student information literacy skills by creating and implementing a semester-long library lab component integrated into the required research methods course within the political science department. This article presents the steps taken to implement the lab component, including the student learning outcomes we sought to address. We also focus on the measures we used to assess the impact of the lab component. Students who participated in the lab component demonstrate markedly improved information literacy skills compared to those who did not.
After Utøya: How a High-Trust Society Reacts to Terror—Trust and Civic Engagement in the Aftermath of July 22
Authors: Wollebæk Dag , Enjolras Bernard , Steen-Johnsen Kari , Ødegård Guro 
Published: January 2012

AbstractThe article examines short-term effects of terror on trust and civic engagement in Norway. Prior to the July 22, 2011 attacks, Norway ranked among the nations with the highest levels of trust and civic engagement in the world. How does a nation of trusters react to terror? Based on two web surveys conducted in March/April 2011 and August 2011 short-term effects on trust, fear, and political interest and participation are analyzed. Two competing hypotheses are explored: first, the “end-of-innocence hypothesis,” which assumes that the attacks have disrupted trust and instilled a new culture of fear, and second, the “remobilization hypothesis,” which assumes that the attacks have led to a reinforcement of trust and of civic values. Our results show increased interpersonal and institutional trust as well as a modest increase in civic engagement, especially among youth. Moreover, there is little increase in experienced fear within the population. Our study therefore supports the remobilization-of-trust hypothesis. Contrary to the intended aims of the attacker, the structures of trust and civic engagement seem to have been reinforced in Norwegian society. This study in part corroborates findings concerning short-term effects after September 11, 2001.
Treatment gap in common mental disorders: the Singapore perspective
Authors: Chong S. A. , Abdin E. , Sherbourne C. , Vaingankar J. , Heng D. , Yap M. , Subramaniam M. 
Published: January 2012

Aims.The problem of wide treatment gaps in mental disorders is endemic world wide. The study aims to establish the treatment gap of common mental disorders in Singapore.Methods.A national sample of 6616 persons aged 18 years and above was surveyed with the World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview in which for each diagnostic module, respondents were asked a series of questions regarding treatment contact.Results.Treatment gap varied considerably between disorders; alcohol abuse had the largest treatment gap (96.2%), followed by obsessive compulsive disorder (89.8%) and alcohol dependence (88.3%). The disorder for which people were most likely to seek help was major depressive disorder. Women with dysthmia were more likely than men to seek help but this help seeking behavior was reversed among those with alcohol abuse and dependence. Age of onset was significantly associated with treatment contact with those who had an earlier age of onset less likely to have treatment contact than those with late age of onset for all disorders except obsessive compulsive disorder.Conclusions.Our findings suggest that treatment gaps are wide even in an economically developed country like Singapore and other than sociodemographic factors, cultural influences might play an important role in help seeking behavior.
Inference of riverine nitrogen processing from longitudinal and diel variation in dual nitrate isotopes
Authors: Cohen Matthew J. , Heffernan James B. , Albertin Andrea , Martin Jonathan B. 
Published: January 2012

Longitudinal and diel measurements of dual isotope composition (δ15N and δ18O) in nitrate (NO3‐N) were made in the Ichetucknee River, a large (∼8 m3 s−1), entirely spring‐fed river in North Florida, to determine whether isotopic variation can deconvolve assimilatory and dissimilatory removal. Comparing nitrate concentrations and isotope composition during the day and night we predicted (1) daytime declines in total fractionation due to low assimilatory fractionation and (2) diurnal variation in dual isotope coupling between 1:1 (assimilation) and 2:1 (denitrification). Five daytime longitudinal transects comprising 10 sampling stations showed consistent NO3‐N removal (25–35% of inputs) and modest fractionation (15εtotal between −2 and −6‰, enriching the residual nitrate pool). Lower fractionation (by ∼1‰) during two nighttime transects, suggests higher fractionation due to assimilation than denitrification. Total fractionation was significantly negatively associated with discharge, input [NO3‐N], N mass removal, and fractional water loss. Despite well‐constrained mass balance estimates that denitrification dominated total N removal, isotope coupling was consistently 1:1, both for longitudinal and diel sampling. Hourly samples on two dates at the downstream location showed significant diel variation in concentration ([NO3‐N] amplitude = 60 to 90 μg N L−1) and isotope composition (δ15N amplitude = −0.7‰ to −1.6‰). Total fractionation differed between day and night only on one date but estimated assimilatory fractionation assuming constant denitrification was highly variable and implausibly large (for N, 15ε = −2 to −25‰), suggesting that fractionation and removal due to denitrification is not diurnally constant. Pronounced counterclockwise hysteresis in the relationship between [NO3‐N] andδ15N suggests diel variation in N isotope dynamics. Together, low fractionation, isotope versus concentration hysteresis, and consistent 1:1 isotope coupling suggests that denitrification is controlled by NO3− diffusion into the benthic sediments, the length of which is mediated by riverine oxygen dynamics. While using dual isotope behavior to deconvolve removal pathways was not possible, isotope measurements did yield valuable information about riverine N cycling and transformations.
Disruption of tubulin polymerization and cell proliferation by 1‐naphthylarsonic acid
Authors: Mahinpour Roya , Riazi Gholamhossein , Shokrgozar Mohammad A. , Sarbolouki Mohammad N. , Ahmadian Shahin , Douraghi Masoumeh , Alijanvand Hamid Hadi , Azadmanesh Kayhan , Heidari Maryam , Gheshlaghi Zahra Naghdi , Moosavi‐Movahedi Ali A. 
Published: January 2012

AbstractArsenical compounds exhibit a differential toxicity to cancer cells. Microtubules are a primary target of a number of anticancer drugs, such as arsenical compounds. The interaction of 1‐NAA (1‐naphthylarsonic acid) has been investigated on microtubule polymerization under in vitro and cellular conditions. Microtubules were extracted from sheep brain. Transmission electron microscopy was used to show microtubule structure in the presence of 1‐NAA. Computational docking method was applied for the discovery of ligand‐binding sites on the microtubular proteins. Proliferation of HeLa cells and HF2 (human foreskin fibroblasts) was measured by the MTT [3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyl‐2H‐tetrazolium bromide] assay method following their incubation with 1‐NAA. Fluorescence microscopic labelling was done with the help of α‐tubulin monoclonal antibody and Tunel kit was used to investigate the apoptotic effects of 1‐NAA on the HeLa cells. 1‐NAA inhibits the tubulin polymerization by the formation of abnormal polymers having high affinity to the inner cell wall.
The Intelligibility in Context Scale: Validity and Reliability of a Subjective Rating Measure
Authors: McLeod Sharynne , Harrison Linda J. , McCormack Jane 
Published: January 2012

Purpose
To describe a new measure of functional intelligibility, the Intelligibility in Context Scale (ICS), and evaluate its validity, reliability, and sensitivity using 3 clinical measures of severity of speech sound disorder: (a) percentage of phonemes correct (PPC), (b) percentage of consonants correct (PCC), and (c) percentage of vowels correct (PVC).

Method
Speech skills of 120 preschool children (109 with parent-/teacher-identified concern about how they talked and made speech sounds and 11 with no identified concern) were assessed with the Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology (Dodd, Hua, Crosbie, Holm, & Ozanne, 2002). Parents completed the 7-item ICS, which rates the degree to which children’s speech is understood by different communication partners (parents, immediate family, extended family, friends, acquaintances, teachers, and strangers) on a 5-point scale.

Results

Parents' ratings showed that most children were
always
(5) or
usually
(4) understood by parents, immediate family, and teachers, but only
sometimes
(3) by strangers. Factor analysis confirmed the internal consistency of the ICS items; therefore, ratings were averaged to form an overall intelligibility score. The ICS had high internal reliability (α = .93), sensitivity, and construct validity. Criterion validity was established through significant correlations between the ICS and PPC (
r
= .54), PCC (
r
= .54), and PVC (
r
= .36).

Conclusions
The ICS is a promising new measure of functional intelligibility. These data provide initial support for the ICS as an easily administered, valid, and reliable estimate of preschool children’s intelligibility when speaking with people of varying levels of familiarity and authority.
Item-Level Psychometrics and Predictors of Performance for Spanish/English Bilingual Speakers on
An Object and Action Naming Battery
Authors: Edmonds Lisa A. , Donovan Neila J. 
Published: January 2012

Purpose
There is a pressing need for psychometrically sound naming materials for Spanish/English bilingual adults. To address this need, in this study the authors examined the psychometric properties of An Object and Action Naming Battery (An O&A Battery; Druks & Masterson, 2000) in bilingual speakers.

Method
Ninety-one Spanish/English bilinguals named O&A Battery items in English and Spanish. Responses underwent a Rasch analysis. Using correlation and regression analyses, the authors evaluated the effect of psycholinguistic (e.g., imageability) and participant (e.g., proficiency ratings) variables on accuracy.

Results
Rasch analysis determined unidimensionality across English and Spanish nouns and verbs and robust item-level psychometric properties, evidence for content validity. Few items did not fit the model, there were no ceiling or floor effects after uninformative and misfit items were removed, and items reflected a range of difficulty. Reliability coefficients were high, and the number of statistically different ability levels provided indices of sensitivity. Regression analyses revealed significant correlations between psycholinguistic variables and accuracy, providing preliminary construct validity. The participant variables that contributed most to accuracy were proficiency ratings and time of language use.

Conclusions
Results suggest adequate content and construct validity of O&A items retained in the analysis for Spanish/English bilingual adults and support future efforts to evaluate naming in older bilinguals and persons with bilingual aphasia.
Developing a Single Comparison Stimulus for Matching Breathy Voice Quality
Authors: Patel Sona , Shrivastav Rahul , Eddins David A. 
Published: January 2012

Purpose
In this experiment, a single comparison stimulus was developed as a reference in a perceptual matching task for the quantification of breathy voice quality. Perceptual judgments of a set of synthetic voice samples were compared to previous data obtained using multiple comparison stimuli “customized” for different voices (Patel, Shrivastav, & Eddins, 2010).

Method
Five male and 5 female samples of the vowel /a/ were selected from the Kay Elemetrics Disordered Voice Database and resynthesized using a Klatt synthesizer. Eleven samples were created for each base voice by manipulating the aspiration noise level. Five samples from each continuum were evaluated in a perceptual matching task in which a single sawtooth and noise comparison stimulus was used to obtain breathiness judgments. Linear regression was used to compare measurements obtained using the new comparison stimulus against the customized comparison stimuli.

Results
Results indicated that the noncustomized sawtooth comparison provides reliability and perceptual distances between stimuli similar to those obtained using customized comparison stimuli.

Conclusion
A single-variable matching task using a single comparison stimulus can be used to obtain perceptual estimates of breathiness across voices and experiments in a laboratory setting. This technique will help develop models of voice-quality perception.
Measuring Speech Recognition in Children With Cochlear Implants in a Virtual Classroom
Authors: Neuman Arlene C. , Wroblewski Marcin , Hajicek Joshua , Rubinstein Adrienne 
Published: January 2012

Purpose
To determine the feasibility of using a virtual auditory test material to evaluate reverberation and noise effects on speech recognition of pediatric cochlear implant (CI) users and to compare their performance with that of children with normal hearing.

Method
Virtual test materials representing nonreverberant and reverberant environments were used to measure speech recognition of 7 children with CIs in quiet and in noise, and of 18 children with normal hearing in the quiet condition. Performance of CI users in noise (signal-to-noise ratio resulting in 50% performance) was compared to normative data from a previous study (Neuman, Wroblewski, Hajicek, & Rubinstein, 2010). For CI users, stimuli were sent directly to the CI speech processor via auxiliary input, whereas children with normal hearing were tested using insert phones.

Results
The speech recognition of children with CIs decreased significantly in the reverberant condition. There were individual differences in susceptibility to reverberation. Children with CIs also required higher signal-to-noise ratios than children with normal hearing in the reverberant condition.

Conclusion
Direct connect testing with reverberant test materials allows assessment of speech recognition under conditions typical of classrooms and could be useful in identifying children with CIs whose performance decreases significantly in the presence of reverberation and noise.
Atomically precise gold nanocrystal molecules with surface plasmon resonance
Authors: Qian Huifeng , Zhu Yan , Jin Rongchao 
Published: January 2012

Since Faraday’s pioneering work on gold colloids, tremendous scientific research on plasmonic gold nanoparticles has been carried out, but no atomically precise Au nanocrystals have been achieved. This work reports the first example of gold nanocrystal molecules. Mass spectrometry analysis has determined its formula to be Au
333
(SR)
79
(R = CH
2
CH
2
Ph). This magic sized nanocrystal molecule exhibits fcc-crystallinity and surface plasmon resonance at approximately 520 nm, hence, a metallic nanomolecule. Simulations have revealed that atomic shell closing largely contributes to the particular robustness of Au
333
(SR)
79
, albeit the number of free electrons (i.e., 333 - 79 = 254) is also consistent with electron shell closing based on calculations using a confined free electron model. Guided by the atomic shell closing growth mode, we have also found the next larger size of extraordinarily stability to be Au
∼530
(SR)
∼100
after a size-focusing selection—which selects the robust size available in the starting polydisperse nanoparticles. This work clearly demonstrates that atomically precise nanocrystal molecules are achievable and that the factor of atomic shell closing contributes to their extraordinary stability compared to other sizes. Overall, this work opens up new opportunities for investigating many fundamental issues of nanocrystals, such as the formation of metallic state, and will have potential impact on condensed matter physics, nanochemistry, and catalysis as well.