Software maintenance is the lifecycle activity that consumes the greatest amount of resources. Maintenance is a difficult task because of the size of software systems. Much of the time spent on maintenance is spent trying to understand source code. Refactoring offers a way to improve source code design and quality. We present an approach to refactoring that is based on the functionality of source code. Sets of heuristics are captured as patterns of source code. Refactoring opportunities are located using these patterns, and dependencies are verified to check if the located refactorings preserve the dependencies in the source code. Our automated tool performs the functional-based refactoring opportunities detection process, verifies dependencies, and performs the refactorings that preserve dependencies. These refactorings transform the source code into a series of functional regions of code, which makes it easier for developers to locate code they are searching for. This also creates a chunked structure in the source code, which helps with bottom-up program comprehension. Thus, this process reduces the amount of time required for maintenance by reducing the amount of time spent on program comprehension. We perform case studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of our automated approach on two open source applications. / Thesis (Master, Computing) -- Queen's University, 2007-10-05 12:48:56.977

1. AIM - The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between metacognition and reading comprehension and also the relationship between metacognition, age and reading comprehension. 2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE STUDY - In chapter 2 the cognitive approach to learning and reading, according to which the learner/reader plays an active role in the processing of information, is discussed. The human information processing system is discussed and the chapter is concluded with a discussion of how reading comprehension failures occur due to problems associated with the information processing system. In chapter 3 metacognition is defined and discussed based on the views of John Flavell, Ann Brown and Scott Paris and his co-workers. Certain factors affecting metacognition are also discussed. In chapter 4 the teaching of metacognition and reading strategies are discussed. Text processing strategies and text reorganising strategies are discussed which enable readers to regulate the level of their reading comprehension when comprehension failures occur. 3. EXPERIMENTAL REVIEW - An ex post facto research was undertaken involving all the standard 1 and standard 3 pupils of the largest of three primary schools in a specific town in the PI/IN region. Two questionnaires were used. One questionnaire, which was completed by both groups, tested metacognitive knowledge and skills such as evaluation, planning, regulation and conditional knowledge. Another questionnaire tested reading comprehension by means of a cloze test, an error detection test and a conventional comprehension test. Two different questionnaires were used for the two groups. A multiple linear regression analysis was performed on the data to determine the contribution of each independent variable (planning, evaluation, regulation and conditional knowledge) on the dependent variables (cloze test, error detection test and comprehension test). 3.1 Results - The following metacognitive variables influenced performance in the reading comprehension tests: * Error detection test : planning and conditional knowledge at std. 1 level and evaluation and regulation at std. 3-level. * Cloze test : only planning at std. 1 level and planning, regulation and conditional knowledge at std. 3 level. * Comprehension test : only conditional knowledge at std. 3 level. The results seem to indicate that metacognitive variables do affect performance in reading comprehension tests and that metacognition is related to age, considering the fact that the more "advanced" components of metacognition namely conditional knowledge and regulation affect performance mainly at std. 3 level. The number of metacognitive variables affecting performance in the three comprehension tests, three at std. 1 level and six at standerd three level, also indicates that metacognition develops with age. Due to the small population sample used in the study, however, no general conclusion can be drawn from these results. / Skripsie (MEd (Psigo-opvoedkunde)--PU vir CHO, 1995

1. AIM - The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between metacognition and reading comprehension and also the relationship between metacognition, age and reading comprehension. 2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE STUDY - In chapter 2 the cognitive approach to learning and reading, according to which the learner/reader plays an active role in the processing of information, is discussed. The human information processing system is discussed and the chapter is concluded with a discussion of how reading comprehension failures occur due to problems associated with the information processing system. In chapter 3 metacognition is defined and discussed based on the views of John Flavell, Ann Brown and Scott Paris and his co-workers. Certain factors affecting metacognition are also discussed. In chapter 4 the teaching of metacognition and reading strategies are discussed. Text processing strategies and text reorganising strategies are discussed which enable readers to regulate the level of their reading comprehension when comprehension failures occur. 3. EXPERIMENTAL REVIEW - An ex post facto research was undertaken involving all the standard 1 and standard 3 pupils of the largest of three primary schools in a specific town in the PI/IN region. Two questionnaires were used. One questionnaire, which was completed by both groups, tested metacognitive knowledge and skills such as evaluation, planning, regulation and conditional knowledge. Another questionnaire tested reading comprehension by means of a cloze test, an error detection test and a conventional comprehension test. Two different questionnaires were used for the two groups. A multiple linear regression analysis was performed on the data to determine the contribution of each independent variable (planning, evaluation, regulation and conditional knowledge) on the dependent variables (cloze test, error detection test and comprehension test). 3.1 Results - The following metacognitive variables influenced performance in the reading comprehension tests: * Error detection test : planning and conditional knowledge at std. 1 level and evaluation and regulation at std. 3-level. * Cloze test : only planning at std. 1 level and planning, regulation and conditional knowledge at std. 3 level. * Comprehension test : only conditional knowledge at std. 3 level. The results seem to indicate that metacognitive variables do affect performance in reading comprehension tests and that metacognition is related to age, considering the fact that the more "advanced" components of metacognition namely conditional knowledge and regulation affect performance mainly at std. 3 level. The number of metacognitive variables affecting performance in the three comprehension tests, three at std. 1 level and six at standerd three level, also indicates that metacognition develops with age. Due to the small population sample used in the study, however, no general conclusion can be drawn from these results. / Skripsie (MEd (Psigo-opvoedkunde)--PU vir CHO, 1995

Idioms such as break a leg and piece of cake make up a significant portion of spoken and written discourse. Like other linguistic expressions stemming from conceptual metaphor (e.g., metaphors, similes), idioms serve to provide understanding of one concept in relation to a different concept (e.g., love is a journey). The ability to comprehend figurative expressions has an extended developmental period that begins as young as 5 years and continues into adulthood. The Language Experience Hypothesis attributes figurative language competence to meaningful exposure to figurative expressions. The Global Elaboration Hypothesis, however, proposes that figurative language comprehension depends upon skills needed for general text comprehension (e.g., ability to make inferences, semantic knowledge). Studies with children and adolescents have shown that reading comprehension relates to both idiom familiarity and comprehension. Similar studies have not been conducted with adult struggling readers. This study examined idiom familiarity and comprehension of adult struggling readers (N = 60; M age = 41 years) in relation to their reading skills. The Idiom Familiarity and Idiom Comprehension tasks developed by Nippold and colleagues (1993, 2001) were used, which allowed for comparisons between the performance of adult struggling readers in this study and past research. Participants’ idiom comprehension scores were lower than those of adults studied in previous research, and comparable to those of children reading at similar levels. Their familiarity rankings of individual idioms aligned with the levels established by Nippold and Rudzinski (1993); however, they were less familiar with idioms than the twelfth grade group. Results from a familiarity (high, moderate, low) x context (isolation, story) ANOVA showed story context helped adult struggling readers comprehend more high-familiarity idioms, but hindered comprehension of low-familiarity idioms. Hierarchical regressions revealed that reading comprehension accounted for unique variance over and beyond idiom familiarity and word reading skills for idioms presented in both isolation and story contexts. Findings from this study contribute to the study of figurative language comprehension by examining adults with limited literacy skills. Similarly, these findings contribute to the field of adult literacy by providing initial evidence of adult struggling readers’ familiarity and comprehension of idioms.

This study was designed to examine the ability to use prior knowledge in text comprehension and knowledge integration. The focus of the research was on effects of different degrees of subjects' theoretical knowledge in the domain of biochemistry on their comprehension of written technical materials describing experimental procedures and results, and the ability to integrate such new text derived information with prior theoretical knowledge considered by experts to be relevant to the topic. Effects of cues on the accessibility and use of prior knowledge were also examined. Pre-test questions testing the extent of subjects' prior knowledge of photosynthesis, and a "cue article" specifically designed to prime subjects' relevant prior knowledge of photosynthesis, served as cues in the study. / A theoretical model of experts' knowledge was developed from a semantic analysis of expert-produced texts. This "expert model" was used to evaluate the extent of students' theoretical knowledge of photosynthesis, and its accessibility while applying it to the experimental tasks. College students and university graduate students served as subjects in the study, permitting a contrast of groups varying in prior knowledge of and expertise in chemistry. / Statistical analyses of data obtained from coding subjects' verbal protocols against text propositions and the expert model revealed that prior knowledge and comprehension contribute significantly to predicting knowledge integration, but they are not sufficient for this process to take place. It appears that qualitative aspects and specific characteristics of subjects' knowledge structure contribute to the process of integration, not simply the amount of accumulated knowledge. There was also evidence that there are specific inferential processes unique to knowledge integration that differentiate it from test comprehension. Cues manifested their effects on performance on comprehension tasks and integrative tasks only through their interactions with other factors. Furthermore, it was found that textual complexity placed specific constraints on students' performance: the application of textual information to the integrative tasks and students' ability to build conceptual frame representations based on text propositions depended on the complexity of the textual material. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1992. / Includes tables. Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Robert E. Kretschmer. Dissertation Committee: Kay Alicyn Ferrell. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-111).

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-109).

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 103-109).

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 86-93).

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 138-140).