Search

Scientific publications are meant to keep professionals up to date with the latest research and information in their field. The most renowned scientific publications are written in English, which has become the language of communication in sciences. All papers submitted for publication in a scientific journal need to be accompanied by an abstract written according to the guidelines for authors, which are specific to each journal. Moreover, submission of abstracts is a requirement and a means of selecting the most interesting pieces of research to be presented at conferences and congresses. That is why, we believe that abstract writing in English needs to be part of the training of all undergraduate students in various fields of science. The aim of our study was to observe how the theory of abstract writing is put into practice in genuine research papers, in order to identify the best way of teaching students how to write abstracts of scientific articles. Also, we aimed to find out whether there are differences between abstract writing in economics and in medical journals, or whether there is a common way of writing abstracts of scientific articles which could be taught in ESP classes. For this purpose, we analysed a total of 40 recent abstracts from widely read journals with an impact factor of above 2, as follows: 20 abstracts from medical journals included in PubMed, and 20 abstracts from economics journals included in the Philadelphia List. We formulated ten research questions concerning the macrostructure of the abstracts, which referred to their structure, headings, length, keywords, references and related information. We also studied the guidelines for authors in each of the chosen journals, in order to have a clearer view of the requirements for writing abstracts in these publications, and to compare the analysed abstracts with the instructions for authors. We compared the results of our analyses and found significant differences between abstracts in medical and in economics journals. Some of these differences are in line with the literature and others come to complete the information available on abstracts in scientific journals. For example, we found that while most abstracts in medical journals were structured (75%), the majority of abstracts in economics journals were unstructured (95%). Also, abstracts of medical articles were significantly longer (270-530 words) than abstracts of articles in economics (65-178 words). A surprising finding was that most abstracts of medical articles were not accompanied by keywords (75%), whereas in the case of economics journals, key words were provided in all the analysed publications. Our conclusion was that while abstracts in economics and medicine differ significantly in terms of macrostructure, there are certain common elements which support the idea that abstracts of scientific articles have a common ground, based on a shared general structure: introduction (background/objectives), methods, results and conclusions. Finally, based on the results of our research, we designed several activities to be used in the LSP class, which would enable students to learn about writing abstracts of scientific articles and about the particularities of such abstracts in the field of their study -- medicine and economics respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the effectiveness of Romanian-French tandem interactions according to the perception of a group of participants in the Tandems Linguistiques project organized by "Iuliu Haţieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, with the support of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie. A total number of 40 feedback forms completed by undergraduate French and Romanian students enrolled in the project between 2012 and 2014 were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The aim was to establish the overall impact of the project in line with the core principles of tandem language learning, as well as the obstacles, benefits and strategies employed by the participants, including their preferred methods of corrective feedback. Comparisons between the perceptions of the two groups of native students were also drawn. The results showed that the tandem project was perceived as a positive experience by most French and Romanian participants. The most frequently mentioned benefits were linguistic (vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar), followed by cultural benefits and human-level gains. Difficulty scheduling sessions, different levels of language proficiency resulting in an uneven use of the two languages and communication breakdown were the most frequently reported obstacles. The extra work carried out by the students in addition to the recommended worksheets was the most frequently reported learning strategy as well as the main benefit from a teaching perspective. The various ways of providing corrective feedback confirmed the multimodal character of this important activity within tandem interactions as well as the autonomy and resourcefulness of the investigated participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study analyzed the discourse in three recordings made by two students who participated in the project Tandem, bilinguisme et construction des savoirs disciplinaires: une approche du FLE/FOS en contact avec les langues de l'ECO (2012-2014), coordinated by Lecturer Aurora Băgiag, PhD at the Iuliu Haţieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca. The discourse analysis looked at the manner in which the interlocutors alternated their mother tongue with the target language when learning a foreign language within a tandem. The analytical approach inventoried the dialogue contexts that determined the sudden shift in the language of communication, or the use of intercomprehension. The strategies of language alternation or the use of intercomprehension were related to the implicit or explicit objectives of the dialogue lines, to the speakers' language proficiency and to the interest they showed in the topic of the dialogue. The study shows that the speaker who speaks mostly in their own language is placed in a more secure space and therefore can exercise a certain authority in relation to their dialogue partner. The analysis also points out that language alternation no longer functions when the level of language proficiency of the proposed teaching activity is considerably higher than the speakers' language proficiency. Thus, the speakers intuitively turn to intercomprehension, a form of communication that enables them to have a more nuanced and developed speech, and provides them the opportunity for intercultural education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When Eastern and Western concepts and practices are brought together to imagine an ideal society where people benefit from the most important advantages of both cultures, they give rise to a hybrid utopia which may seem odd and far-fetched to a Western reader who is not well acquainted with Eastern philosophy. Yet, in his last novel, Huxley creates a society that embodies a philosophy of life resulting from a life-time quest for means of facilitating the progress of humanity, thus shaping what might be called a "realistic utopia". The paper discusses several interdisciplinary aspects in the novel, pertaining principally to science, religion and philosophy, many of which revolve around the use of a psychedelic drug in rites of passage by the inhabitants of the fictitious island of Pala. Experiential learning, applied psychology, conventional and complementary medicine all contribute to the stability and unity of the Palanese society. Western scientific progress and Eastern spiritual traditions combine harmoniously to enable Palanese people to pursue the ultimate goal: reaching happiness through self-realization and direct knowledge of the absolute reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The English psychiatrist Humphry Osmond (1917-2004) is known not only for his work in the field of psychotropic substances and for coining the word "psychedelic", but also for introducing the famous English writer Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) to psychedelic drugs, an experience which the author subsequently described in the famous but controversial book "The Doors of Perception" (1954).What is less known is the fact that Humphry Osmond was one of the closest friends of the writer in his last decade of life. The paper presents some significant aspects of the correspondence between the two intellectuals, which can contribute to a better understanding of the way in which the author of "Brave New World" was integrating new scientific discoveries within his literary and research activities and was also getting involved in the scientific research of the time related to psychedelic substances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Royal jelly present quality of the biological and physiological exception of the reason for which is marketed widely is being used in various industries, such as the pharmaceutical, food (nutritional supplements) and cosmetics companies (Măghitaş, 2005). This paper contents a summery about physical-chemical composition of fresh and lyophilized royal jelly. Queen bees are made, not born, and their feeding with royal jelly is the key to that process. Royal jelly (RJ) is a yellowish and creamy secretion from hypo pharyngeal and mandibular glands of young worker bees (Apis mellifera L.) to feed all larvae for the first three days of their life and the queen bee for both her larval life and adulthood. The physical-chemical composition of pure royal jelly are analyzed by determining moisture, free acidity, pH, ash; and for lyophilized royal jelly are analyzed by determining free acidity, pH, ash. In literature 10-HDA content is the criteria of royal jelly quality analysis and it is a freshness parameter (Antinelli J.F., Sarah Zeggane, Renee Davico, Catherine Rognone, Jean Paul Faucon, Louisette Lizzani, 2003). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]