No description available.

No description available.

This study investigates the effects of including a recipient in writing instructions on the quality of writing produced by L2 English students. To evaluate the effect of the recipient, writing performances are first assessed in texts written in response to instructions that do not explicitly specify a recipient. They are subsequently compared to writing performances by the same students in texts produced for similar instructions but this time with an explicitly stated recipient. The results of the main experiment are complemented with test-taker surveys that capture the students’ own perceptions about the differences between the two tasks. The participating pupils are from two classes at an inner-city municipal Upper Secondary school in Sweden, one at level ENG05 and the other at level ENG07. The study is inspired by communicative language teaching where the writer’s adaptation to the recipient is central. The study tests for the recipient effect along a broad spectrum of linguistic and communicative measures. The results show that students in both classes performed at a higher level with an explicit recipient across all four communicative measures and two out of four linguistic measures. The study also identified a generally stronger recipient effect in ENG05 than in ENG07 and a mixed pattern when comparing students with differing abilities in English. The main finding of the test-taker survey is that students prefer doing tasks with a specified recipient but are slightly more familiar with tasks without a recipient. They also report that they rarely imagine an English-speaking recipient when writing a task and that they often write with the teacher in mind.

This study investigated the difficulty order of 38 grammar structures obtained from an analysis of multiple-choice items using a Rasch analysis. The order was compared with the order predicted by processability theory and the order in which the structures appear in junior and senior high school textbooks in Japan. Because processability theory is based on natural speech data, a sentence repetition test was also conducted in order to compare the result with the order obtained from the multiple-choice tests and the order predicted by processability theory. The participants were 872 Japanese university students, whose TOEIC scores ranged from 200 to 875. The difficulty order of the 38 structures was displayed according to their Rasch difficulty estimates: The most difficult structure was subjunctive and the easiest one was present perfect with since in the sentence. The order was not in accord with the order predicted by processability theory, and the difficulty order derived from the sentence repetition test was not accounted for by processability theory either. In other words, the results suggest that processability theory only accounts for natural speech data, and not elicited data. Although the order derived from the repetition test differed from the order derived from the written tests, they correlated strongly when the repetition test used ungrammatical sentences. This study tentatively concluded that the students could have used their implicit knowledge when answering the written tests, but it is also possible that students used their explicit knowledge when correcting ungrammatical sentences in the repetition test. The difficulty order of grammatical structures derived from this study was not in accord with the order in which the structures appear in junior and senior high school textbooks in Japan. Their correlation was extremely low, which suggests that there is no empirical basis for textbook makers'/writers' policy regarding the ordering of grammar items. This study also demonstrated the difficulty of writing items testing the knowledge of the same grammar point that show similar Rasch difficulty estimates. Even though the vocabulary and the sentence positions were carefully controlled and the two items looked parallel to teachers, they often displayed very different difficulty estimates. A questionnaire was administered concerning such items, and the students' responses suggested that they seemed to look at the items differently than teachers and what they notice and how they interpret what they notice strongly influences item difficulty. Teachers or test-writers should be aware that it is difficult to write items that produce similar difficulty estimates and their own intuition or experience might not be the best guide for writing effective grammar test items. It is recommended to pilot test items to get statistical information about item functioning and qualitative data from students using a think-aloud protocol, interviews, or a questionnaire. / CITE/Language Arts

L’objet de la présente recherche vise à donner un éclairage théorique, méthodologique et pratique de l’augmentation de capital étudiée dans un contexte de crise. En effet, le cadre conceptuel de cette recherche a porté sur les termes suivants : augmentation de capital, difficulté financière, signaux annonciateurs de la situation difficile, notion d’entreprise en situation difficile et plus particulièrement sur la théorie de signalisation et sur la théorie de la lecture optionnelle du bilan. Il convient d’affirmer que ce cadre théorique a eu pour intérêt de « contextualiser » et de délimiter le sujet de recherche. Pour affiner la délimitation du sujet, une étude exploratoire a été réalisée. Elle a permis d’identifier les indicateurs de la situation difficile et de tester la méthodologie d’étude d’événement sur un cas. Enfin, pour valider cette recherche et pour permettre la généralisation des résultats, la méthodologie d’étude d’événement a été appliquée à un échantillon de 30 cas d’entreprises en situation difficile. Le but de cette étude a été de mesurer la création ou la destruction de la valeur actionnariale observable lors du lancement de ce type d’opération qui permet de mesurer les réactions des actionnaires anciens. Par ailleurs, pour mieux appréhender la perception des investisseurs sur ce type d’opération, la recherche s’est orientée vers les analyses de sens et textuelles lexicales. Au final, le sujet étudié peut s’appréhender comme un financement de dernier recours pour les sociétés en situation difficile. / The aim of the present research is to provide a theoretical lighting, methodology and practical of the capital increase studied in a context of crisis. Indeed, the conceptual framework of this research focused on the precision of terms such as capital increase, financial difficulty, covenant of difficulty, concept of enterprise in difficulty and in particular on the indication of theories namely signaling and the balance sheet optional reading. We wish to emphasize that this framework has had interest to « contextualize » and to delimit the research topic. And to improve the delimitation of the topic, an exploratory study was conducted and it has identified the indicators of difficulty and test the event study methodology on a case. Finally, to validate this research and to allow generalization of results, event study methodology was applied to a sample of 30 cases of companies in difficulty. The aim of study was to measure the creation or destruction of shareholder value observable at the launch of this type of operation to measure the reactions of former shareholders. Furthermore, to better understand the perception of investors in this type of operation, the research is oriented analyzes of lexical meaning and textual. In the end, the topic studied can be apprehended as a last resort financing for companies in difficulty.

The research described here was inspired by a national review which concluded that too many children come into our primary schools with unmet speech and language needs (Bercow, 2008). Teachers are in a position to identify language difficulties but many have expressed uncertainty regarding their role in this process. I believed that the LAMP (Linguistic Assessment for Mapped Provision) screen for language and communication which I had developed would help teachers to identify language concerns and would also increase their professional confidence in this complex area. I had developed the LAMP screening instrument and piloted it over a 2 year period prior to this study. It is employed here as a universal screen that is used in a whole school approach in order to enable teachers to identify language need. The use of the LAMP as a universal screen applied to all the children in a school lessened the likelihood of preconceived notions impacting upon teacher’s perceptions of need in the classroom. The LAMP data allowed schools to track the progress of individual children within a class and whole school context. Teachers need to be aware of any pre-conceptions they may have in relation to the performance of children from different socio economic circumstances. The hypothesis that poverty continues to provide the weightiest detrimental effects upon children’s language development was examined and within the parameters of this study was found to be contestable. Study design: A systematic survey was conducted over 4 Primary schools using the LAMP. Rich picture data was accessed from teacher questionnaires and focus groups involving participants from the schools in the study. The repeated measures design provided information on what teachers had learned in the period of reflection between the screenings. The use of a mixed methods repeated measures design helped me to understand what was difficult for teachers and what the teachers felt would help them. The 4 schools in the study were chosen to reflect varied social contexts in order to explore any impacts of SES on the results. Analysis of data: In a repeated measures design, a LAMP screen was completed for every child across the 4 schools by their teachers in February and then June in one school year. Results of screening were analysed and compared on a range of variables using SPSS. Questionnaires were used to collect teacher perceptions before and after using the LAMP screen. Focus groups were held in the schools at the end of the study to add more information on how helpful teachers felt the process had been in raising their awareness, confidence, and skills in the identification of SLCN. Findings: The main trend observed was a decrease in levels of teacher concern related to children’s speech and language needs from the first to second screening survey. Differences were found at a statistically significant level on a range of variables. The expected differences between high and low socio-economic status (SES) schools were not found. Teachers reported increases in their awareness, confidence, and skill in identifying children’s speech language and communication concerns by the end of the study. Some changes to classroom practice were reported. Conclusions: I propose that use of the LAMP screen increased teacher awareness of the nature of language difficulty and that this heightened awareness was a key variable in the observed changes to language concern scores. The LAMP screening process was seen by schools’ staff to have had a positive effect on teacher’s skills and to be relatively easily assimilated into the school system. However some participants identified a number of challenges relating to time constraints and maintaining the use of LAMP as high profile in the context of competing time demands in their schools. It is suggested that EP services would be in a position to support schools to implement and embed the LAMP screening model as part of their Service provision. It is also proposed that economic deprivation or disadvantage did not appear to be the only important factor to consider when making funding decisions intended to support children’s linguistic competency in schools.

<p>Det övergripande syftet med min C-uppsats är att granska lärarens bedömning och perceptio-ner för elever i behov av särskilt stöd och vidare belysa vilka möjligheter och begränsningar de anser sig ha för att kunna ta hänsyn till elever i behov av särskilt stöd samt få en syn på de skolsituationer som barn och elever med dolda funktionshinder och i behov av särskilt stöd kan befinna sig i.</p><p>För att få svar på mina frågor har sex lärare inklusive en special lärare intervjuats och samti-digt diskuterades de psykologiska och biologiska faktorer kring barns och ungdomars utveck-ling. Den historiska återblicken ger oss en uppfattning på hur begreppet ”en skola för alla” har utvecklats inom loppet av tiden och vilka syn på barn i behov av särskilt stöd har pedagogerna idag. De centrala frågorna rörde sig om pedagogernas uppfattning om barn med koncentra-tionssvårigheter och deras syn på diagnostisering av barn med problem. En inkluderande inte-grering i jämförelse med segregering diskuterades också samt hur pedagogerna kan hjälpa dessa barn.</p><p>Eleverna i skolan är olika och deras olikheter måste mötas med omtanke. För att uppfylla de-ras behov krävs kunniga och kompetenta personal i skolan. Skolan måste ha en fungerande och tillfredställande elevvård för att kunna nå skolans mål. Skolornas neddragningar på grund av ekonomiska problem gör att barn med dolda funktionshinder misslyckas allt oftare i da-gens skola. Dessa orsakar att barn får ett dåligt självförtroende med upprepade misslyckande och försämrar deras problem.</p><p>Allmänt finns det en del olika faktorer som ligger bakom barn med koncentrations svårighe-ter. De biologisk och ärftliga faktorer samt tillväxtmiljön och deras samhällsställning kan ge-nerellt nämnas. Brist på tid, ekonomi och kunskap i skolorna är det en barriär för att kunna hjälpa barn med svårigheter.</p> / <p>The comprehensive purpose with this paper is to have a look at teacher’s assessment and per-ception of pupils with special educational needs. And further illustrate which possibilities and restrictions they believe to have, to take children with special educational needs into consid-eration and get a view of school situations who children with hidden functional disability and with special educations needs are at the present.</p><p>To get answer to my questions, six teachers inclusive a special teacher for pupils with im-paired disabilities have been interviewed and discussed the psychological and biological fac-tors around children’s development. The historical review gave us a perceptive on how defini-tion of “school for all” has been developed during the time and what is teacher’s opinion on children with special needs today. The central questions were concentrating on teachers un-derstanding of children with concentration difficulty and their opinion on diagnostic of chil-dren with problems. An “including integration” compared to segregating been discussed as well and finally discussed how teachers can help these children.</p><p>Pupils in school are not comparable and these differences must meets carefully. To meet chil-dren’s requirements schools have need of personnel’s competence and proficiency. Schools required having functioning and satisfactory pupil welfare to achieve the aim. Lowering of school resources due to economical problems do that child with hidden functional disability fails more often in schools these days. These effects cause that children get a horrific self-confidence and worsen their problems. Generally, there are different factors behind the con-centrations difficulty. The biological and hereditary factors as well as home environment and their class society can points out in general. Lacking of time, economy and knowledge stops teachers to helping children in school.</p>

本文在古典測驗的概念下，賦予題組適當機率模式，探討難度指標與鑑別度指標的計算公式；且以九十六年第二次國中基測英語科試題為驗證實例，並與傳統模式之計算結果相互比較。 / Modeling a testlet with a probability structure, we investigate the computational formulas of the difficulty index and the discrimination index. Data taken from the English test items of the second basic competence test for junior high school students in 2007 are used for empirical verification and the result is compared with that obtained by the traditional method.

In der hier vorliegenden Arbeit wurde die Validität von Aufmerksamkeits- und Konzentrationstests untersucht. Im Vordergrund stand dabei die Frage nach dem Einfluss verschiedener kritischer Variablen auf die prädiktive Validität in diesen Tests, insbesondere der Itemschwierigkeit und Itemhomogenität, der Testlänge bzw. des Testverlaufs, der Testdiversifikation und der Validität im Kontext einer echten Personalauslese. In insgesamt fünf Studien wurden die genannten Variablen systematisch variiert und auf ihre prädiktive Validität zur (retrograden und konkurrenten) Vorhersage von schulischen und akademischen Leistungen (Realschule, Abitur, Vordiplom/Bachelor) hin analysiert. Aufgrund der studentischen (d. h. relativ leistungshomogenen) Stichprobe bestand die Erwartung, dass die Korrelationen etwas unterschätzt werden. Da die Validität in dieser Arbeit jedoch „vergleichend“ für bestimmte Tests bzw. experimentelle Bedingungen bestimmt wurde, sollte dies keine Rolle spielen. In Studie 1 (N = 106) wurde zunächst untersucht, wie schwierig die Items in einem Rechenkonzentrationstest sein sollten, um gute Vorhersagen zu gewährleisten. Dazu wurden leichte und schwierigere Items vergleichend auf ihre Korrelation zum Kriterium hin untersucht. Im Ergebnis waren sowohl leichte als auch schwierigere Testvarianten ungefähr gleich prädiktiv. In Studie 2 (N = 103) wurde die Rolle der Testlänge untersucht, wobei die prädiktive Validität von Kurzversion und Langversion in einem Rechenkonzentrationstest vergleichend untersucht wurde. Im Ergebnis zeigte sich, dass die Kurzversion valider war als die Langversion und dass die Validität in der Langversion im Verlauf abnimmt. In Studie 3 (N = 388) stand der Aspekt der Testdiversifikation im Vordergrund, wobei untersucht wurde, ob Intelligenz besser mit einem einzelnen Matrizentest (Wiener Matrizen-Test, WMT) oder mit einer Testbatterie (Intelligenz-Struktur-Test, I-S-T 2000 R) erfasst werden sollte, um gute prädiktive Validität zu gewährleisten. Die Ergebnisse sprechen klar für den Matrizentest, welcher ungefähr gleich valide war wie die Testbatterie, aber dafür testökonomischer ist. In den Studien 4 (N = 105) und 5 (N =97) wurde die prädiktive Validität zur Vorhersage von Schulleistungen im Kontext einer realen Personalauswahlsituation untersucht. Während die großen Testbatterien, Wilde-Intelligenz-Test 2 (WIT-2) und Intelligenz-Struktur-Test 2000R (I-S-T 2000 R), nur mäßig gut vorhersagen konnten, war der Komplexe Konzentrationstest (KKT), insbesondere der KKT-Rechentest ein hervorragender Prädiktor für schulische und akademische Leistungen. Auf Basis dieser Befunde wurden schließlich Empfehlungen und Anwendungshilfen für den strategischen Einsatz von Testinstrumenten in der diagnostischen Berufspraxis ausgesprochen.

Les difficultés d’adaptation scolaire que peuvent développer les élèves dans une école secondaire entraînent bien souvent des conséquences. En effet, ces dernières peuvent mener au décrochage scolaire et parfois à l’adoption de comportements délinquants. L’instauration d’un suivi auprès d’élèves prend tout son sens lorsqu’il est question de difficultés d’adaptation. Ce suivi a été offert à cinq élèves présentant ces difficultés de l’école secondaire Honoré-Mercier de Montréal. Il y a deux objectifs à ce stage. Le premier vise une diminution des présences au local de retrait et le deuxième de diminuer les difficultés d’adaptation scolaire des élèves ciblés. L’atteinte de ces objectifs est considérée en fonction de données factuelles sur les présences au local de retrait, des résultats obtenus à un test standardisé, soit le Achenbach (Achenbach, 1991), mais également en fonction des perceptions des élèves et des professeurs sur le cheminement de l’élève. Les résultats illustrent que les élèves n’ont pas modifié significativement leur présence au local de retrait, que différentes problématiques définies dans le Achenbach ont été amplifiées tandis que d’autres ont été diminuées et que, finalement les élèves ont apprécié leur suivi puisque ce dernier les a amené à vivre des changements intrinsèques. Des conclusions découlent de l’analyse des résultats, soit concernant la durée des interventions et les problématiques présentes chez les élèves. Le rôle que peut assumer le criminologue dans le milieu scolaire est également abordé. Mots clés : adaptation, difficulté, scolaire, suivi, école, secondaire, adolescent / There can be many consequences when students have difficulties in adapting to the academic environment. They can lead to higher school dropout rates and to the adoption of delinquent behaviour. In the presence of adaptation difficulties, accompanying and monitoring the students is crucial. A monitoring program was offered to five Honoré-Mercier students presenting adaptation difficulties. The intervention program has two objectives. The first one is to decrease the number of classroom exclusions of those students. Another objective is to offer a place where they have the freedom to express their feelings openly. The results of the program are based on the number of classroom exclusion during the intervention. They are also measured on the results of an Achenbach test (Achenbach, 1991) and on the opinions of the students on their own progress. The results illustrate that the students did not significantly lower their number of classroom exclusion. They also show that some problems detected in the Achenbach test were amplified whereas types of problems decreased. Finally, the results show that students appreciated their follow-up because it allowed them to experience intrinsic changes. Based on these results, we can emit several hypotheses on the need to change the duration of the intervention or the problems experienced by the students. The potential contribution of a criminologist in an academic environment is also analyzed. Keywords: adaptation, difficulty, school, follow-up, secondary, teenager