title: Bundle-driven move analysis: Sentence initial lexical bundles in PhD abstracts

authors: Li, Liang

abstract: Rhetorical moves are discoursal units that perform communicative functions in a given genre. They have been manually identified in many previous studies taking a corpus-based approach, and these studies have provided important contributions to discourse structure theories. However, manual analysis has restricted the scale and quantity of texts under investigation and the identification of moves is likely to be influenced by researchers' prior knowledge. In contrast, a corpus-driven approach, by applying automatic computational technology to process a large number of texts, possibly results in a better representation of the moves in a genre and minimises researcher bias in move identification. This study applies one typical corpus-driven approach, a bundle-driven approach, to analyse rhetorical moves of PhD abstracts, a move-intensive genre. The study focused on 5-word sentence initial bundles. Almost all the generated bundles could be identified as move indicators. The majority of the indicated moves aligned with the moves proposed for research article abstracts in previous studies, and one new move, Structure, was identified. This study indicates the potential of a bundle-driven approach in exploring rhetorical moves and in examining the linguistic features of moves by means of lexical bundles. Pedagogical implications for EAP writing are also suggested.

text: Bundle-driven move analysis: Sentence initial lexical bundles in PhD abstracts Rhetorical moves are discoursal units that perform communicative functions in a given genre. They have been manually identified in many previous studies taking a corpus-based approach, and these studies have provided important contributions to discourse structure theories. However, manual analysis has restricted the scale and quantity of texts under investigation and the identification of moves is likely to be influenced by researchers' prior knowledge. In contrast, a corpus-driven approach, by applying automatic computational technology to process a large number of texts, possibly results in a better representation of the moves in a genre and minimises researcher bias in move identification. This study applies one typical corpus-driven approach, a bundle-driven approach, to analyse rhetorical moves of PhD abstracts, a move-intensive genre. The study focused on 5-word sentence initial bundles. Almost all the generated bundles could be identified as move indicators. The majority of the indicated moves aligned with the moves proposed for research article abstracts in previous studies, and one new move, Structure, was identified. This study indicates the potential of a bundle-driven approach in exploring rhetorical moves and in examining the linguistic features of moves by means of lexical bundles. Pedagogical implications for EAP writing are also suggested.

year: 2020

title: Retention capacity of biochar-amended New Zealand dairy farm soil for an estrogenic steroid hormone and its primary metabolite

authors: Sarmah, Ajit K.

abstract: We examined the retention ability of a New Zealand dairy farm soil amended with 3 types of biochar produced from a variety of feedstocks for a steroid hormone (oestradiol, E2) and its primary transformation product (estrone, E1). Biochars produced from corn cob (CC), pine sawdust (PSD) and green waste (GW) were characterised by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Batch sorption studies were performed on soil amended with each biochar (0.5% and 1% by weight) using a complex solvent extraction scheme, and isotherms were fitted to the Freundlich model.
All isotherms were highly non-linear, with N values in the range 0.46–0.83 (E2) and 0.66–0.88 (E1) in soil amended with different percentages of biochars. Overall, addition of all 3 biochars was found to increase the soil sorption affinity for the hormones, with E2 sorption being the highest in the soil amended with 1% PSD biochar. There was no marked difference in hormone sorption ability in the other 2 treatments (soil treated with 1% CC biochar and 1% GW biochar). Overall, the effective distribution coefficient (Kdeff) values for E2 at the lowest equilibrium concentration (Cw 0.5 mg/L) ranged from 35 to 311 L/kg in soil amended with the 3 types of biochar. Addition of 0.5% of PSD biochar resulted in ~560% increase in the Kdeff value for E2, while at 1% addition of PSD biochar, uptake of E2 was nearly 1400% higher than the control. For E1, the percentage increase in Kdeff was comparatively smaller than E2; however, it still ranged from 40 to 280%, and 60 to >320% at addition of 0.5% and 1% PSD biochar, respectively, compared with the control soil. Highest treatment temperature and associated greater surface area, low ash content, higher carbon content, and the abundance of polar functional groups (e.g. –OH, C=O) may explain why the soil amended with PSD biochar exhibited high sorptive capacity for the hormones.

text: Retention capacity of biochar-amended New Zealand dairy farm soil for an estrogenic steroid hormone and its primary metabolite We examined the retention ability of a New Zealand dairy farm soil amended with 3 types of biochar produced from a variety of feedstocks for a steroid hormone (oestradiol, E2) and its primary transformation product (estrone, E1). Biochars produced from corn cob (CC), pine sawdust (PSD) and green waste (GW) were characterised by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Batch sorption studies were performed on soil amended with each biochar (0.5% and 1% by weight) using a complex solvent extraction scheme, and isotherms were fitted to the Freundlich model.
All isotherms were highly non-linear, with N values in the range 0.46–0.83 (E2) and 0.66–0.88 (E1) in soil amended with different percentages of biochars. Overall, addition of all 3 biochars was found to increase the soil sorption affinity for the hormones, with E2 sorption being the highest in the soil amended with 1% PSD biochar. There was no marked difference in hormone sorption ability in the other 2 treatments (soil treated with 1% CC biochar and 1% GW biochar). Overall, the effective distribution coefficient (Kdeff) values for E2 at the lowest equilibrium concentration (Cw 0.5 mg/L) ranged from 35 to 311 L/kg in soil amended with the 3 types of biochar. Addition of 0.5% of PSD biochar resulted in ~560% increase in the Kdeff value for E2, while at 1% addition of PSD biochar, uptake of E2 was nearly 1400% higher than the control. For E1, the percentage increase in Kdeff was comparatively smaller than E2; however, it still ranged from 40 to 280%, and 60 to >320% at addition of 0.5% and 1% PSD biochar, respectively, compared with the control soil. Highest treatment temperature and associated greater surface area, low ash content, higher carbon content, and the abundance of polar functional groups (e.g. –OH, C=O) may explain why the soil amended with PSD biochar exhibited high sorptive capacity for the hormones.

year: 2010

title: Te tuangi (the clam): A metaphor for teaching, learning and the key competencies

authors: Simpson, Mary Louisa

subjects: Early childhood

abstract: This article explores the shift from “essential skills” to “key competencies” in the school curriculum. Drawing on information gathered from teacher interviews and observations at a New Zealand primary school, this article suggests that culture and context strongly shape and influence the interpretation of key competencies. The authors develop a metaphor—te tuangi—to theorise the relationship between a learner (akonga) and a teacher (kaiako) in a cultural and social context.

text: Te tuangi (the clam): A metaphor for teaching, learning and the key competencies This article explores the shift from “essential skills” to “key competencies” in the school curriculum. Drawing on information gathered from teacher interviews and observations at a New Zealand primary school, this article suggests that culture and context strongly shape and influence the interpretation of key competencies. The authors develop a metaphor—te tuangi—to theorise the relationship between a learner (akonga) and a teacher (kaiako) in a cultural and social context.

year: 2011