Critical writing in higher education:an empirical strategy

A critical discussion of the issues around academic writing

Femtosecond laser writing in the monoclinic RbPb2Cl5:Dy3+ crystal

Monoclinic RbPb2Cl5:Dy single crystal was tested for femtosecond laser writing at wavelength of 800nm. Dependence of permanent refractive index change upon input pulse energy was investigated. Non-linear coefficients of multiphoton absorption and self-focusing were measured. Kerr non-linear coefficient was found to be as high as 4.0*10-6 cm2/GW.

Linguistic identifiers of L1 Persian speakers writing in English:NLID for authorship analysis

This research focuses on Native Language Identification (NLID), and in particular, on the linguistic identifiers of L1 Persian speakers writing in English. This project comprises three sub-studies; the first study devises a coding system to account for interlingual features present in a corpus of L1 Persian speakers blogging in English, and a corpus of L1 English blogs. Study One then demonstrates that it is possible to use interlingual identifiers to distinguish authorship by L1 Persian speakers. Study Two examines the coding system in relation to the L1 Persian corpus and a corpus of L1 Azeri and L1 Pashto speakers. The findings of this section indicate that the NLID method and features designed are able to discriminate between L1 influences from different languages. Study Three focuses on elicited data, in which participants were tasked with disguising their language to appear as L1 Persian speakers writing in English. This study indicated that there was a significant difference between the features in the L1 Persian corpus, and the corpus of disguise texts. The findings of this research indicate that NLID and the coding system devised have a very strong potential to aid forensic authorship analysis in investigative situations. Unlike existing research, this project focuses predominantly on blogs, as opposed to student data, making the findings more appropriate to forensic casework data.

Interlingual Identifiers of an L1 German speaker writing in English

Master of Arts dissertation

Expert report writing in toxicology:forensic, scientific and legal aspects

Every year throughout the world, individuals' health is damaged by their exposure to toxic chemicals at work. In most cases these problems will resolve, but many will sustain permanent damage. Whilst any justified claim for compensation requires medical and legal evidence a crucial and often controversial component of this process is the establishment of a causal link between the individual's condition and exposure to a specific chemical or substance. Causation, in terms of how a substance or substances led the claimant to his or her current plight, can be difficult to establish and the main purpose of this book, is to provide the aspiring expert report writer with a concise, practical guide that uses case histories to illuminate the process of establishing causation in occupational toxicity proceedings. In summary: A practical, accessible guide to the preparation of balanced, scientifically sound expert reports in the context of occupational toxicology. Focuses on the scientist's role in establishing a causal link between exposure to toxins and an individual's ill health. Includes real-life case histories drawn from the Author's 15 years experience in this area to illustrate the principles involved. Expert Report Writing in Toxicology: Forensic, Scientific and Legal Aspects proves invaluable to scientists across a range of disciplines needing guidance as to what is expected of them in terms of the best use of their expertise and how to present their findings in a manner that is authoritative, balanced and informative.

Autochthonous heritage languages and social media:writing and bilingual practices in Low German on Facebook

This article analyses how speakers of an autochthonous heritage language (AHL) make use of digital media, through the example of Low German, a regional language used by a decreasing number of speakers mainly in northern Germany. The focus of the analysis is on Web 2.0 and its interactive potential for individual speakers. The study therefore examines linguistic practices on the social network site Facebook, with special emphasis on language choice, bilingual practices and writing in the autochthonous heritage language. The findings suggest that social network sites such as Facebook have the potential to provide new mediatized spaces for speakers of an AHL that can instigate sociolinguistic change.

Truth values and truth-commitment in interdiscursive dating ads

In this article, I explore issues of commitment to truth in dating ads that use apparently impossible categorizations to project identities for ad writers and their desired others. The article begins with a brief overview of relevant aspects of Text World Theory (especially Gavins's work on dating ads), Sinclair's model of fictional worlds and Routledge and Chapman's account of truth-commitment in discourse, and proposes the need for a framework that allows for a partial suspension of commitment to truth. I then draw on the work of Ivanič and Weldon on identity in writing, in order to develop an account that offers a discourse- and genre-based discussion of how the intertextual metaphors in such ads are interpreted in relation to truth values. I suggest the default stance is that of positive commitment to literal truth and that, when this is not possible, a fall-back mode of negative commitment to metaphorical truth is preferred over an interpretation in which questions of truth are truly suspended. Finally, I consider a related category, of apparently negative dating ad identities, in order to suggest a functional motivation for the inclusion of elements that cannot be interpreted in truth-committed mode. Copyright © 2008 SAGE Publications.

Introducción

Sexualidad y Escritura (1850-2000) is a collection of thirteen essays which focus on the complex relationship between gender and writing in Spain from 1850 to 2000. This collection aims to provide a specifically Spanish cultural and historical context to the study of gender and writing and to challenge the effectiveness and validity of applying and adapting some feminist theory (based mainly in French and Anglo literary traditions) to works by both male and female Spanish writers. The introduction sets the tone of the essays it contains by discussing the Gilbert and Guar’s concept of female authors anxiety of authorship, and the reasons why their notions of the male dominated writing profession does not necessarily apply to Spanish literature of the nineteenth century in particular. The notable presence and success of female writers during the Romantic period and the way in which they in effect managed to feminize the writing profession illustrates how very different the Spanish literary context is from French, English or American models. The editors state that, rather than needing to work up the courage to take up the pen and publish their works, the issue facing Spanish women writers during parts of the last 150 years has been how to either maintain or regain their authorial voice and their place in letters, fighting to keep their heads above the rising and falling tides of literary trends.

Using core assessment criteria to improve essay writing

Harrington, Elander, Jo Lusher, Aiyegbayo, Pitt, , Hannah Robinson

Materialschlacht für eine andere Ordnung der Dinge:Versuch über Marianne Fritz und ihr Momumentalepos 'Festung'

This article is linked to my major study on the Poetik des Extremen by classifying the monstrous works of Marianne Fritz among a genealogy of extremist writing in German-speaking literature. Her literary project Festung, which represents in all likelihood the most extensive ‘novel’ in Western literary history, is first analysed by looking at the exponential growth of its components from a paperback of 108 pages to the not yet completed novel Naturgemäß, which will most probably comprise 15 volumes, mostly of A4 size and a length that should be equivalent to over 20,000 standard pages. In parallel to the quantitative explosion of form, the article also explores the transgression of traditional narration and Fritz’s typographical innovations of text presentation. Using reproductions of the late facsimile volumes, an exemplary ‘close reading’ of one page from Naturgemäß II is undertaken to demonstrate the enormous density of Festung. Finally, the article seeks to differentiate Fritz’s opus magnum from other out-sized works of literature by focussing on the specific interconnection between the quantitative and stylistic explosion of the form of the novel, which makes it incomparable to the major works of writers such as Robert Musil or Arno Schmidt.

Investigating the role of cholesterol in the formation of non-ionic surfactant based bilayer vesicles:thermal analysis and molecular dynamics

The aim of this research was to investigate the molecular interactions occurring in the formulation of non-ionic surfactant based vesicles composed monopalmitoyl glycerol (MPG), cholesterol (Chol) and dicetyl phosphate (DCP). In the formulation of these vesicles, the thermodynamic attributes and surfactant interactions based on molecular dynamics, Langmuir monolayer studies, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), hot stage microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were investigated. Initially the melting points of the components individually, and combined at a 5:4:1 MPG:Chol:DCP weight ratio, were investigated; the results show that lower (90 C) than previously reported (120-140 C) temperatures could be adopted to produce molten surfactants for the production of niosomes. This was advantageous for surfactant stability; whilst TGA studies show that the individual components were stable to above 200 C, the 5:4:1 MPG:Chol:DCP mixture show ∼2% surfactant degradation at 140 C, compared to 0.01% was measured at 90 C. Niosomes formed at this lower temperature offered comparable characteristics to vesicles prepared using higher temperatures commonly reported in literature. In the formation of niosome vesicles, cholesterol also played a key role. Langmuir monolayer studies demonstrated that intercalation of cholesterol in the monolayer did not occur in the MPG:Chol:DCP (5:4:1 weight ratio) mixture. This suggests cholesterol may support bilayer assembly, with molecular simulation studies also demonstrating that vesicles cannot be built without the addition of cholesterol, with higher concentrations of cholesterol (5:4:1 vs 5:2:1, MPG:Chol:DCP) decreasing the time required for niosome assembly. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

An exploratory study of ICT usage in small logistics service providers

Information and communication technology (ICT) developments have strongly affected supply chain management (SCM) in recent years. ICT has had a great impact on all supply chain processes including planning, purchasing, production management, stock management, physical distribution and related integration management. Technology has become an important dimension of third party logistics (3PL) service supply as competitive advantage increasingly depends on the ability to create value for customers through the effective application of ICT. Within this process, while large 3PLs are gaining substantial benefits from technology usage and implementation, the magnitude of changes spurred by ICT dissemination in small logistics service providers remains unclear. This is reflected by the existing gap in literature where the role and competitive developing processes of small 3PLs are seriously underestimated. This gives rise to the need to develop research and investigation in this particular area. The objective of this paper is to narrow the knowledge gap in the field of ICT adoption in small 3PLs through an empirical investigation. It presents the results of a survey on a sample of small Italian 3PLs.

Investigating the role of capacitive coupling between the operating table and the return electrode of an electrosurgery unit in the modification of the current density distribution within the patients’ body

Background: Electrosurgery units are widely employed in modern surgery. Advances in technology have enhanced the safety of these devices, nevertheless, accidental burns are still regularly reported. This study focuses on possible causes of sacral burns as complication of the use of electrosurgery. Burns are caused by local densifications of the current, but the actual pathway of current within patient's body is unknown. Numerical electromagnetic analysis can help in understanding the issue. Methods: To this aim, an accurate heterogeneous model of human body (including seventy-seven different tissues), electrosurgery electrodes, operating table and mattress was build to resemble a typical surgery condition. The patient lays supine on the mattress with the active electrode placed onto the thorax and the return electrode on his back. Common operating frequencies of electrosurgery units were considered. Finite Difference Time Domain electromagnetic analysis was carried out to compute the spatial distribution of current density within the patient's body. A differential analysis by changing the electrical properties of the operating table from a conductor to an insulator was also performed. Results: Results revealed that distributed capacitive coupling between patient body and the conductive operating table offers an alternative path to the electrosurgery current. The patient's anatomy, the positioning and the different electromagnetic properties of tissues promote a densification of the current at the head and sacral region. In particular, high values of current density were located behind the sacral bone and beneath the skin. This did not occur in the case of non-conductive operating table. Conclusion: Results of the simulation highlight the role played from capacitive couplings between the return electrode and the conductive operating table. The concentration of current density may result in an undesired rise in temperature, originating burns in body region far from the electrodes. This outcome is concordant with the type of surgery-related sacral burns reported in literature. Such burns cannot be immediately detected after surgery, but appear later and can be confused with bedsores. In addition, the dosimetric analysis suggests that reducing the capacity coupling between the return electrode and the operating table can decrease or avoid this problem. © 2013 Bifulco et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Revisiting the lean agile paradigm:an empirical study in the aerospace industry

Much has been written about the potential impact of Lean Agile paradigm on firm's supply chain performance. However, most of the existing studies mainly pointed out Lean is for cost reduction, whereas Agility is for attaining flexibility. There are little empirical studies in literature that examined how Lean Agile paradigm impacts on supply chain performance. This paper aims to address this gap by studying the influence of Lean and Agility paradigms on a single commodity supply chain delivery performance in the aerospace industry. Data was collected from four separate 'Rigid pipes' supply chains to study how manufacturing alignment impacts on the delivery performance. Implications of the study to practitioners and academia are discussed and future research outlined.