Validating a group oral task in a university entry test:Interactional competence as a target construct in an academic context

Increasing seminar-style teaching and assessment diversification in higher education mean that group assessments have become part of degree assessments in many university contexts. In principle, therefore, group oral tasks seem a meaningful task type for university entry tests. However, limited research is available on the validity of such tasks, particularly for local university entrance tests such as the Malaysian University English Test (MUET), of which the scores are used to demonstrate meeting Malaysian university entry requirements. Therefore, this study investigated the interactional features elicited during a group oral task for a university entry test (MUET) and compared them to the interactional features of group oral assessments in the target domain (degree-level study), to shed light on the context validity of MUET’s group oral task. To gain insights into the construct tested by the MUET group oral task versus by degree-level group assessments, video recordings were made of four MUET simulation tests and of two groups of first-year and two groups of final-year students completing assessed group academic discussions in an English language and an IT course, respectively. After transcribing the recordings, Applied Conversation Analysis was conducted to identify the interactional features during group oral performances in the three settings (MUET, English course, IT course). The analyses of the talk revealed differences between the turn and topic management features of the group oral performances in the three contexts with a focus on MUET versus English and IT, and to a lesser extent between groups within the same context. More specifically, differences were found in general features of turn-taking (e.g., organisation of talk in terms of specific strategies used during the initiation, maintaining, and ending of the group interaction), turn length, number of turns, and turn allocations. Topic management features such as opening, topic initiation, extension and closing also differed. In addition, an evaluation of the MUET materials by a group of ten expert language testers suggested that the MUET group interaction task did not lend itself to eliciting all the intended features listed in the MUET test specifications and rating scale. All in all, these findings indicate important shortcomings to the validity of the MUET group oral task. The significance of the study lies in the insights gained into the context validity of the MUET group interaction task and their implications for this high-stakes test. The study also offers insights into the nature of turn and topic management microfeatures in academic group interactions more generally

EFFECTS OF THE BUILT-IN CONSTRUCTION GRADIENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ON JOINTED PLAIN CONCRETE PAVEMENTS

Slab curvature, which represents the response of concrete pavement to environmental loads, influences the location and magnitude of critical slab stresses and affects long-term pavement performance. The purpose of this study was to measure the changes in temperature and moisture profiles in a newly constructed concrete pavement, to determine the deformed shape of the slabs and the resulting stress and identify the relative contributions of built-in and transient environmental effects over time. To do this, an instrumented jointed plain concrete pavement (JPCP) was monitored over a two-year period.The built-in construction gradient is a major factor contributing to slab curvature and stress. Therefore, first, static strain and pressure gage data used to establish the built-in gradient and zero stress temperature.Slab curvature was predicted using measurements of temperature and moisture conditions in the slab and computed using static strain and pavement surface profile measurements. It was found that the additional restraint provided by the dowel and tie bars does not appear to significantly reduce slab curvature resulting from daily temperature fluctuations or from reversible drying shrinkage. It does have a substantial effect on reducing slab curvature due to long-term drying shrinkage. It was also found that the slab curvature is predominantly curled upward (99 percent of the time), resulting in top-down fatigue cracking, while it is traditionally assumed that fatigue cracking in concrete pavements initiates at the bottom.Finite element models were developed to study the effect of various environmental conditions and slab restraints on the development of stress in the slabs. The models were validated based on measured strain data. It was found that the effect of moisture has the most significant effect on stress in the slabs. The measured curvature in the restrained slab (tie and dowel bars) is over 50 percent lower when compared to the unrestrained (no tie or dowel bars) slab. This reduction in deformation resulted in a critical stress that was 20 to 22 percent larger for the restrained slab compared to the unrestrained slab

Evaluation of seismic hazard of Lebanon implications of recent earthquakes and new technical developments - by Rania Elias Asbahan

Thesis (M.E.)Bibliography : leaves 89-9

Kitab al-Arba in: Ala Mazhab al-Mutahaqqiqin Min asy-Syufiyyah, 1st.ed./ Abi Na im Ahmad Ibn Abdullah Ibn Ahmad al-Asbahan

248 hal.; 24 cm

Characterization of environmental loads related concrete pavement deflection behavior using Light Detection and Ranging technology

Repeated deflection behavior resulting from temperature and moisture variations across concrete pavement depth causes curling and warping of Portland cement concrete (PCC) pavement systems. Although curling and warping issues have been investigated extensively, there are no standardized methods or procedures currently available to characterize the degree/magnitude of this in situ environmental load-related deflection. This study discusses the development of a detailed procedure for assessing environmental load-related deflection of concrete pavement using a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) system. LiDAR systems have been recognized as an advanced technology for transportation infrastructure inspection but have not been widely investigated for measuring environmental load-related deflection of concrete pavements. In this study, field surveys were conducted on six identified concrete pavement sites in Iowa by scanning the concrete slab surfaces using the stationary LiDAR instrument. Based on dense point cloud data obtained by the LiDAR instrument, a data processing algorithm was developed to obtain the degrees of environmental load-related deflection. The degrees of deflection obtained were correlated to variations in pavement performance, mix design, pavement design, and construction details at each site. The results and findings from this study describe a potentially novel method of using LiDAR system for environmental load-related deflection characterization of concrete pavement.This article is published as Yang, Shuo, Halil Ceylan, Kasthurirangan Gopalakrishnan, Sunghwan Kim, Peter C. Taylor, and Ahmad Alhasan. "Characterization of environmental loads related concrete pavement deflection behavior using Light Detection and Ranging technology." International Journal of Pavement Research and Technology 11, no. 5 (2018): 470-480. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijprt.2017.12.003. © 2017 Chinese Society of Pavement Engineering. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Towards safer public school buildings in Lebanon: An advocacy for seismic retrofitting initiative

The essential priority of protecting children who attend schools that are vulnerable to collapse during an earthquake is irrefutable. The structural integrity of public schools in Lebanon is a source of deep concern due to their outdated design, deteriorated status and apparent lack of compliance with seismic design regulations. The purpose of this article is to advocate the seismic retrofitting of school buildings and to demonstrate the financial gain of such retrofitting procedures when compared with the cost of repair or replacement. In this paper, the authors offer practical information supported by numerical data, regarding the urgent priority of retrofitting school buildings and enhancing their functional capacity to withstand future destructive earthquakes. The aim is to alert school administrators, public leaders, government officials and international agencies regarding the seismic vulnerability of public school buildings and their subsequent effects on the safety of children in Lebanon. In addition, the authors demonstrate the economic advantages of seismic retrofitting in protecting children and their schools and calls for government intervention to assess and retrofit public school buildings to reduce their vulnerability to collapse during future earthquakes. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd