No description available.

The aim of this study is to investigate the reasons why young people in Mexico useabbreviations, how abbreviations are used and what kind of abbreviations they use amongtheir group of friends. The study is conducted among a small sample of persons between 18 to30 years old and from one sociocultural group.We studied a group of 20 informants. In this group we included young people working as acashiers, warehouse workers, employees in stores, etc. These informants answered a writtenquestionnaire and we also analyzed 40 of their Facebook messages.In summary, it was noticed that the abbreviations were used because it is a fast way to writebecause they save time. According to the informants “It is fun and is easy to use them whenwriting their messages”. We could see that a few informants use them because it is a new wayof writing as well as considering it to be entertaining to write their messages. When analyzingtheir messages, we saw that these informants do not seem to have rules when writing theirabbrevations, they shorten the words in all forms and place them in any part of theirmessages. They often adapt their way of writing to the pronunciation of the words, similar tothe spoken language. Some words had influences from the caliche jargot (a variety ofcolloquial language used among young people in Mexico). The informants in this study areusing all kinds of abbreviations such as abbreviated words, acronyms and shortenings

The study of swearing has increased in the last decade, diversifying to include a wider range of data and methods of analysis. Nevertheless, certain types of data and specifically large corpora of computer mediated communication (CMC) have not been studied extensively. In this paper, we fill a gap in research by studying the use of swearwords in blog data, and illustrate ways of identifying swearing in a large corpus by taking context into account. This approach, based on the examination of shared and unique collocates of known expletives, facilitates the distinction of attestations of swearing from non-swearing in the case of polysemous lexemes, and the analysis of overlaps in usage and meaning of swearwords. This work therefore goes beyond basic sentiment analysis and offers new insights into the use of collocation for refining profanity filters, providing innovative perspectives on issues of growing importance as online interaction becomes more widespread.

Drawing from sociocultural theory, this research investigated the effects of synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) in the development of writing fluency. Likewise, the study aimed at confirming previously cited affective benefits linked to SCMC. Measuring fluency in words per 30 minutes, the study compared pre and post-test essay scores of two groups of ESL learners (a control group and a SCMC group) in two intermediate levels. Two evaluation questionnaires were also administered to the SCMC group in order to obtain students' opinions of this technology-based medium, and to analyze change in their perceptions. The SCMC group outperformed the control group in fluency scores, although the difference was not statistically significant. Furthermore, the qualitative analysis found positive results in terms of linguistic and affective benefits derived from this innovative use of computer.

(Im)politeness research has often focused on either the importance of social norms or on the intentions of the speaker, overlooking the active role played by the recipient(s) in assigning social meaning. This limitation pertains particularly to so-called “discernment languages” such as Korean and Japanese. This work addresses this gap by focusing on recipient agency in interpretations/evaluations of impoliteness. Two sets of data are drawn from the naturally occurring computer-mediated communications that appeared in two popular internet portal sites in South Korea. Both sets of data contain metapragmatic discussions of impoliteness that involve recipient evaluation of a speaker’s actions and language use as offensive or not. I focus on how the recipients in the data agentively evaluate the language used by speakers, including inconsistent evaluations of non-honorific language, or panmal. The results show that variability in the interpretation of (im)politeness cannot be explained solely by social norms or intentions, and must also include the socially-mediated agency of the recipient(s). / 2021-04-30

In recent years there has been increasing interest in novel forms of surfactants. Of particular interest are gemini surfactants, which consist of two conventional surfactants joined by a spacer at the head groups, as they exhibit lower critical micelle concentrations than can be achieved by conventional surfactants. In this work, the self-assembly behaviour of several nonionic gemini surfactants with polyethylene oxide head groups (GemnEm, where n (= 20) is the number of carbons per tail and m (= 10, 15, 20 and 30) is the number of ethylene oxides per head group) were investigated. The Critical Micelle Concentrations (CMCs) were measured using a fluorescence probe technique. The CMCs are all ~2 x 10?7 M, with almost no variation with m. The CMCs are several orders of magnitude lower than conventional C12Em nonionic surfactants. The mixing behaviour of the gemini surfactants with conventional surfactants was also studied. They obeyed ideal mixing behaviour with both ionic and nonionic surfactants. Micelle morphologies were studied using Small Angle Neutron Scattering. The gemini surfactants with the larger head groups (i.e. Gem20E20 and Gem20E30) formed spherical micelles. Gem20E15 showed strong scattering at low Q, characteristic of elongated micelles. As the temperature was increased towards the cloud point, the scattering approached the Q-1 dependence predicted for infinite, straight rods. The existence of anisotropic micelles was supported by the viscosity of Gem20E15, which increases by several orders of magnitude on heating towards its cloud point. Phase behaviour was determined using Diffusive Interfacial Transport coupled to near-infrared spectroscopy. Much of the behaviour of these systems is similar to conventional nonionic surfactants. For example, Gem20E10 forms a dilute liquid isotropic phase (W) coexisting with a concentrated lamellar phase (La) at around room temperature and forms a sponge phase at higher temperatures. This is similar to the behaviour of C12E3 and C12E4. The other surfactants studied are all quite soluble in water and form liquid isotropic and hexagonal phases from room temperature. At higher concentrations Gem20E15 formed a cubic and then a lamellar phase while Gem20E20 formed a cubic phase and then an intermediate phase. This is also comparable to the phase behaviour of conventional nonionic surfactants except the intermediate phase, which is often only observed for surfactant systems with long alkyl tails.

The texture of tortillas was improved by the addition of maltogenic amylase and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and guar gum to fresh masa from ground nixtamal (FNM) and nixtamalized corn flour (NCF) masa. Differences in the performance of additives in tortillas held under refrigeration or ambient storage were documented. For NCF tortillas, significant improvements were obtained in objective and subjective texture measurements by two treatments. Tortilla texture was improved by a treatment with a high enzyme level (170 mg/kg of maltogenic α-amylase, 0.14% CMC, 0.85% guar) as measured by objective tests and by a treatment with low enzyme level (60 mg/kg of maltogenic α-amylase, 0.43% CMC, 0.57% guar) as measured by subjective tests. The addition of maltogenic α-amylase (70 mg/kg) and CMC (0.35%) to FNM tortillas at levels similar to the low enzyme NCF treatment but with lower guar level (0.12%) improved tortilla texture. The maltogenic α-amylase softened tortillas by trimming the starch structure. This allowed the guar to interfere with amylopectin re-crystallization inside gelatinized starch granules. The CMC created a more flexible intergranular matrix that helped maintain the disrupted tortilla structure. Guar was ineffective in refrigerated tortillas, whereas, maltodextrins effectively improved refrigerated tortillas. The sequence of partial starch hydrolysis, warm holding condition, and time for guar to associate with starch and CMC was necessary to improve tortilla texture. Thus, different additives may be required for cold versus room temperature storage. Sugars increased in enzyme-treated tortillas during storage. This suggests that maltogenic α-amylase was only partially inactivated during baking of corn tortillas. Tortillas with more enzyme had lower and later pasting viscosity as measured by a Rapid Viscoanalyzer. Tortillas prepared from FNM also had lower and later pasting viscosity compared to NCF tortillas. Pasting viscosity of tortillas revealed intrinsic starch polymer characteristics and interactions. Results of this study provide commercially applicable information about desired levels for the extent of starch hydrolysis, the type and amount of gums and starches, and product microstructure to delay staling of corn tortillas.

This dissertation investigated the occurrence and the effect of incidental noticing in a text-based Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) environment on enhancing second language learning. Learning proficiency was also examined as a possible intervening variable. This was a quasi-experimental study of sixteen nonnative English speakers from a four-year college in Taiwan, collaborating with sixteen native speaking peers in Texas, via chat agents in order to complete two communicative learning tasks over a two-month period of time. Two posttests were customized for each Nonnative English Speaker (NNES) in order to assess his/her second language learning outcomes. In addition, Language- Related Episode’s (LRE’s) characteristics were expected to serve as powerful predictors of NNES’ correct language learning outcomes. In order to unveil the possible impact of the learner’s language proficiency level and its effect on noticing, eight low- intermediate and eight high- intermediate NNESs were included in the study. The findings revealed that CMC context and native and nonnative English speaking task-based peer interactions promoted learner’s noticing and affected the learning performance of NNESs of different levels. The posttest performance showed that incidental noticing facilitated learner’s linguistic knowledge intake and memory retention. Text-based CMC created a visual and collaborative context which allowed NES peers to offer NNESs of different levels personalized feedback. Among LRE’s characteristics, successful uptake, as a powerful predictor, constantly entered all the models generated by logistic regression analysis, which underpinned the importance of quality uptake during the two-way communication for second language learning. In addition, directness (explicit feedback) and response (elicitation) also appeared in regression models of the subsets of LRE data, which indicated the particular type of feedback needed by learners, especially lower proficiency level ones. In addition, NESs’ involvement also facilitated NNESs’ noticing; NES peers applied elicitation techniques to redirect learner’s attention to the problematic utterances and initiated meaning negotiation. The findings reveal that incidental noticing is beneficial to learning, especially when learners are provided with explicit feedback and incorporate the targeted linguistic items into their language production.

The texture of tortillas was improved by the addition of maltogenic amylase and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and guar gum to fresh masa from ground nixtamal (FNM) and nixtamalized corn flour (NCF) masa. Differences in the performance of additives in tortillas held under refrigeration or ambient storage were documented. For NCF tortillas, significant improvements were obtained in objective and subjective texture measurements by two treatments. Tortilla texture was improved by a treatment with a high enzyme level (170 mg/kg of maltogenic α-amylase, 0.14% CMC, 0.85% guar) as measured by objective tests and by a treatment with low enzyme level (60 mg/kg of maltogenic α-amylase, 0.43% CMC, 0.57% guar) as measured by subjective tests. The addition of maltogenic α-amylase (70 mg/kg) and CMC (0.35%) to FNM tortillas at levels similar to the low enzyme NCF treatment but with lower guar level (0.12%) improved tortilla texture. The maltogenic α-amylase softened tortillas by trimming the starch structure. This allowed the guar to interfere with amylopectin re-crystallization inside gelatinized starch granules. The CMC created a more flexible intergranular matrix that helped maintain the disrupted tortilla structure. Guar was ineffective in refrigerated tortillas, whereas, maltodextrins effectively improved refrigerated tortillas. The sequence of partial starch hydrolysis, warm holding condition, and time for guar to associate with starch and CMC was necessary to improve tortilla texture. Thus, different additives may be required for cold versus room temperature storage. Sugars increased in enzyme-treated tortillas during storage. This suggests that maltogenic α-amylase was only partially inactivated during baking of corn tortillas. Tortillas with more enzyme had lower and later pasting viscosity as measured by a Rapid Viscoanalyzer. Tortillas prepared from FNM also had lower and later pasting viscosity compared to NCF tortillas. Pasting viscosity of tortillas revealed intrinsic starch polymer characteristics and interactions. Results of this study provide commercially applicable information about desired levels for the extent of starch hydrolysis, the type and amount of gums and starches, and product microstructure to delay staling of corn tortillas.

A primary goal of foreign language instruction today is to increase opportunities for authentic communication among students. One way to accomplish this is through synchronous computer-mediated classroom discussion (CMCD). While this electronic medium is highly interactive and beneficial for second language acquisition (SLA) on many levels, studies have noted that learner output in CMCD is often inaccurate. In order to heighten students' attention to features of the target language (TL), SLA research suggests integrating a focus on form (FonF) within meaning-based activities. In the CMCD literature, however, FonF has not been widely treated. The current study addresses this gap by documenting the linguistic and interactional features present in intermediate, university-level French students' synchronous discussions. Furthermore, students' perceptions of their general experience with CMCD are qualitatively examined.In this study, students participated in CMCD once a week, for 16 weeks. Discussion prompts encouraged them to use their French meaningfully to communicate with each other while paying attention to accuracy. To make form salient, students set pre-chat language goals; their transcripts were graded on both content and accuracy; they received whole-class and personalized feedback on their transcripts; and they corrected a percentage of their errors. Results show that balancing the concurrent pressures of form and content was challenging for the students. Likely determined by their proficiency level as well as the medium of CMCD itself, students produced mainly short and simple messages in the present tense; used an average range of vocabulary; and wrote with variable grammatical accuracy. As for being accountable for their language usage, students responded very well. Most importantly, focusing on form was not found to be incompatible with students' ability to engage in rich, meaningful, and enjoyable communication. While focusing on accuracy, students shared their opinions and aspects of their personal lives while remaining in the TL. Moreover, they used French for a range of social, strategic and interactional functions. Students also reported the overall experience as highly motivating and rewarding. These findings point to CMCD as a valuable means of increasing authentic classroom communication and indicate that attention to form need not be sacrificed in the process.