Concordance Error Research Articles

Concord Errors in Academic Writing: A Study of First-Year Students at Offinso College of Education and Strategies for Improvement

Concord Errors in Academic Writing: A Study of First-Year Students at Offinso College of Education and Strategies for Improvement

Contrastive Analysis of Concord in Arabic, English, and Indonesian

Recognizing the differences in concord among languages will be very important to avoid mistakes in using these languages because concord errors are the most common errors in language use. This article was a contrastive study of concord in Arabic, English, and Indonesian, and the implication of teaching the languages. Through contrastive analysis, the grammatical concord system of the languages was compared to determine the similarities, differences, and teaching implications. Library research was used through a qualitative method. The data was taken mainly from Arabic, English, and Indonesian grammar books. The results showed that the concord in Arabic and English was grammatical, while in Indonesian, it was notional. The element of concord in Arabic was more complex, comprising phrases and clauses, and consisting of five features: person, number, gender, definiteness, and case markers. Meanwhile, the English concord occured on the clause domain of person and number, differing from that of Indonesian which was based on meaning. This study provided an incentive to foreign language tutors, especially, Arabic and English tutors, to develop strategies in helping students master concord and avoid grammatical errors.

Analysis of errors in the writing of content in dissertations and their impact on the learning of foreign languages: A case study in Ghana

The average postgraduate student in Ghana has about 20 years exposure in English language, having been taught and instructed in English from primary to tertiary level. It is, therefore, not far-fetched to expect the postgraduate student to commit minimal to no errors in their L2 writings. The seeming consequential minimal scholarly attention on errors in postgraduate writings regardless of the many studies on students’ errors is therefore not surprising. This study is an attempt to identify, categorise and describe the errors in postgraduate dissertations in Ghana and highlight its implications for language teaching. This exploratory qualitative study carries out a content analysis of 20 randomly selected MA, MPhil and PhD dissertations published between 2020 and 2021. The data are analysed using the theory of Error Analysis. After critically assessing the dissertations, seven (7) categories of concord errors were identified and recorded. These are; subject-verb concord errors, inverted subject concord errors, concord errors associated with ‘has’ and ‘have’, determiner-noun errors, concord errors on numbers, noun-pronoun antecedent errors and compound subject concord errors. This implies that postgraduate students are prone to errors, hence, the need to introduce or intensify the teaching of English at the postgraduate level.

The Use of Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement in Social Media Communication Among Nigerian Speakers of English

Investigation has shown that a good number of Nigerian users of social media communicate without paying attention to the appropriate usages, and this is the concern of this paper. The study aims to examine specifically those instances where such speakers of English break the rules of pronoun-antecedent agreement in English, irrespective of whether they lack the linguistic knowledge or do that out of negligence. The research is based on the theory of Competence and Performance as introduced by the American linguist, Noam Chomsky. The data was gathered within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The survey research design has been chosen as part of data collection procedure. Six groups or sets of Facebook postings are considered based on the six local councils that constitute the FCT administration. These are: Abaji, Abuja, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, and Kwali area councils. In each of them, five (5) posts have been selected to bring out a total number of thirty (30). The posts were collected using an Android phone. In taking note of the various posts from the concerned individuals, a pen and an exercise book were readily available for the making of notes on the concord errors for subsequent analysis. And each set of the 5 is presented in a separate table. The findings as analysed show the extent to which pronoun-antecedent errors are made by second language speakers of the English language.

Concord Errors in Postgraduate Theses in Ghana: A Descriptive Analysis

The average postgraduate student in Ghana has about 20 years exposure in English language, having been taught and instructed in English from primary to tertiary level. It is, therefore, not far-fetched to expect the postgraduate student to commit minimal to no errors in their L2 writings. The seeming consequential minimal scholarly attention on errors in postgraduate writings regardless of the many studies on students’ errors is therefore not surprising. This study is an attempt to identify, categorise and describe the errors in postgraduate dissertations in Ghana and highlight their implications for language teaching. This exploratory qualitative study carries out a content analysis of 20 randomly selected MA, MPhil and PhD dissertations published between 2020 and 2021. The data are analysed using the theory of Error Analysis. After critically assessing the dissertations, seven (7) categories of concord errors were identified and recorded. These are; subject-verb concord errors, inverted subject concord errors, concord errors associated with ‘has’ and ‘have’, determiner-noun errors, concord errors on numbers, noun-pronoun antecedent errors and compound subject concord errors. This implies that postgraduate students are prone to errors, hence, the need to introduce or intensify the teaching of English at the postgraduate level.

Exploring Grammatical Errors in Teaching Materials

This study examined lexico-syntactic errors in selected textbooks written by Nigerians. The focus was on textbooks published by Vanity Publishers/Press. Through the purposive sampling technique, six textbooks were selected and the design was content analysis. Lexico-syntactic errors were identified, classified and analysed. The findings revealed the following error types: modification problems, prepositional and verb particles usage problems, concord errors, lexical problems, alteration of grammatical property of collocational items and restructuring of parallel sentences. These errors were not different from those identified over the years in students’ essays and exam scripts. Therefore, the findings buttressed my argument that students are merely the conveyor belt of errors contained in teaching materials and that one can analyse students’ errors in tandem with errors contained in the very materials they use in learning.

Concord Error Analysis Committed By 200 Level English University Students in Northern Nigeria

This study seeks to investigate concord errors made by 200 level English students of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto (UDUS) and Federal University Gusau (FUGUS) in their written production of English with a view to finding solutions to them. The data were obtained from fifty semester examination answer booklets written by students during first semester 2017 examination. The data collected were analysed using EA approach developed by Corder (1974). The findings of the study reveal that the errors can be grouped into ten categories out of which concord errors are the most committed by the students under study. Based on these findings, it is suggested that the teachers of English and the students should strive in handling such errors because English students are models of other students from other disciplines after graduation.

External validation of a prognostic model of preoperative risk factors for failure of restorative proctocolectomy.

The Cleveland Clinic has proposed a prognostic model of preoperative risk factors for failure of restorative proctocolectomy (RPC) with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis. The model incorporates four predictive variables: completion proctectomy, handsewn anastomosis, diabetes mellitus and Crohn's disease. The aim of the present study was to perform an external validation of this model in a new cohort of patients who had RPC. Validation was performed in a multicentre cohort of 747 consecutive patients who had an RPC between 1990 and 2015 in three tertiary-care facilities, using a Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox regression analysis. The performance of the model was expressed using the Harrell concordance error rate. The primary outcome measure was pouch survival with maintenance of anal function. During the study period, 45 (6.0%) patients experienced failure at a median interval of 31months (interquartile range 9-82months) from the original RPC. Multivariable analysis showed handsewn anastomosis to be the only significant independent predictor. The Harrell concordance error rate was 0.42, indicating poor performance. Anastomotic leakage and Crohn's disease of the pouch were strong postoperative predictors for pouch failure and showed a significant difference in pouch survival after 10years (P<0.001). The poor performance of the Cleveland Clinic prognostic model makes it unsuitable for daily clinical practice. Handsewn anastomosis was associated with pouch failure in our cohort with relatively few events. A prediction model for anastomotic leakage or Crohn's disease of the pouch may be a better solution since these variables are strongly associated with pouch failure.

Random Forest.

For the task of analyzing survival data to derive risk factors associated with mortality, physicians, researchers, and biostatisticians have typically relied on certain types of regression techniques, most notably the Cox model. With the advent of more widely distributed computing power, methods which require more complex mathematics have become increasingly common. Particularly in this era of "big data" and machine learning, survival analysis has become methodologically broader. This paper aims to explore one technique known as Random Forest. The Random Forest technique is a regression tree technique which uses bootstrap aggregation and randomization of predictors to achieve a high degree of predictive accuracy. The various input parameters of the random forest are explored. Colon cancer data (n = 66,807) from the SEER database is then used to construct both a Cox model and a random forest model to determine how well the models perform on the same data. Both models perform well, achieving a concordance error rate of approximately 18%.

Cross-validation and Peeling Strategies for Survival Bump Hunting using Recursive Peeling Methods.

We introduce a framework to build a survival/risk bump hunting model with a censored time-to-event response. Our Survival Bump Hunting (SBH) method is based on a recursive peeling procedure that uses a specific survival peeling criterion derived from non/semi-parametric statistics such as the hazards-ratio, the log-rank test or the Nelson--Aalen estimator. To optimize the tuning parameter of the model and validate it, we introduce an objective function based on survival or prediction-error statistics, such as the log-rank test and the concordance error rate. We also describe two alternative cross-validation techniques adapted to the joint task of decision-rule making by recursive peeling and survival estimation. Numerical analyses show the importance of replicated cross-validation and the differences between criteria and techniques in both low and high-dimensional settings. Although several non-parametric survival models exist, none addresses the problem of directly identifying local extrema. We show how SBH efficiently estimates extreme survival/risk subgroups unlike other models. This provides an insight into the behavior of commonly used models and suggests alternatives to be adopted in practice. Finally, our SBH framework was applied to a clinical dataset. In it, we identified subsets of patients characterized by clinical and demographic covariates with a distinct extreme survival outcome, for which tailored medical interventions could be made. An R package PRIMsrc (Patient Rule Induction Method in Survival, Regression and Classification settings) is available on CRAN (Comprehensive R Archive Network) and GitHub.

Concord Errors in Postgraduates Dissertations and Theses

The concept ‘concord’, which signifies agreement between the different elements that are used in a sentence, has been extensively discussed by scholars. It has usually been assumed that concord only poses problems for secondary school students and undergraduate students in tertiary institutions. Postgraduate students are thought to be immune to this problem. This paper examined the dissertations of eight postgraduate students in Linguistics Department, University of Ibadan with the aim of either substantiating or debunking this claim. Forty-six sentences are extracted from five master’s projects, one M.Phil dissertation and two Ph.D theses. The basic concept of Error Analysis which is a key element of the systemic grammar formed the theoretical basis of this work. Grammatical errors as a result of poor mastery of the rules of concord are responsible for these forty-six faulty constructions. These errors could broadly be classified into two – grammatical and notional. Most of them result from lack of agreement between the subject and verb, pronouns and antecedents, demonstratives and nouns, articles and nouns, the use of the copula ‘is’ and the auxiliary ‘have’ which do not agree with the subjects of the sentences in which they are used. Postgraduate students are not immune to the problem of concord. Thus, the researcher recommends that the teaching of the General Studies Programme ‘Use of English’ at the undergraduate level should be intensified and that a similar course should be introduced at the postgraduate level to complement what is taught at the undergraduate level to improve the quality of the use of English of undergraduate and graduate students. © 2016 AESS Publications. All Rights Reserved.

Evaluating Recommended Literature Texts for Senior Basic Education in Nigeria

The beauty and usefulness of a literary piece lie basically on the author’s diction. The expression, ‘literary art’ stems from the fact that literary artists are able to create interesting works of art by proper manipulation of language(s) that among other things entertain and educate their reading audience. For young minds, literature is not only didactic; it also boosts their language acquisition. In recognition of the crucial roles played by literature, Anambra State Universal Basic Education Board recommended an appreciable number of textbooks for the study of literature in English. These books run from 2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2012-2013 academic sessions. The thrust of this study is to ascertain the grammatical level of the language of some of these texts, particularly the genres of prose and drama. Error analyses of three texts namely: Decree of the gods, Wishful Bliss and That’s My Girl randomly selected from basic 7-9 were carried out. Concord incongruity, omission/superfluous use of articles and misuse/omission of pronouns were specifically sought for. A simple survey design was adopted for the study and the errors were collated, analyzed and classified based on their types-syntactic, morphological, and concord errors. The study reveals that the texts are replete with concord errors, misuse of articles, omission and improper application of prepositions in structures. The implication of the findings in the teaching and learning of English is discussed and suggestions for improvement made.Key words: Literary art(ist), Language acquisition, Grammatical level, Error analysis, Concord incongruity, Articles and Pronouns

A Grammatical Assessment of Preachers' Application of English Concord

The observation of concord rules poses one of the greatest grammatical challenges in the use of English as a second language (L2) in Nigeria owing to the non-existence of the phenomenon in most Nigerian languages. This study investigates the degree of competence exhibited by Pastors in the application of English grammatical concord. The need for the work is underscored by the crucial roles played by the English language in Nigeria and also in consideration of the fact that Pastors interact with an appreciable percentage of Nigerians and can influence their learning of the English language either negatively or positively. The findings of the study are thus germane to English language learning and pedagogy. The primary data for the study were garnered from spontaneous sermons delivered by eight pastors in Awka metropolis. The errors noticed are categorized according to the different types of concord. The analysis reveals that the Pastors have poor mastery of the rules of concord. The causes of the concord errors in the data are more intralingual than interlingual. The implications of the findings for the learning of English as a second language are discussed and suggestions for improvement made.

Novel head and neck cancer survival analysis approach: Random survival forests versus cox proportional hazards regression

Electronic patient files generate an enormous amount of medical data. These data can be used for research, such as prognostic modeling. Automatization of statistical prognostication processes allows automatic updating of models when new data is gathered. The increase of power behind an automated prognostic model makes its predictive capability more reliable. Cox proportional hazard regression is most frequently used in prognostication. Automatization of a Cox model is possible, but we expect the updating process to be time-consuming. A possible solution lies in an alternative modeling technique called random survival forests (RSFs). RSF is easily automated and is known to handle the proportionality assumption coherently and automatically. Performance of RSF has not yet been tested on a large head and neck oncological dataset. This study investigates performance of head and neck overall survival of RSF models. Performances are compared to a Cox model as the "gold standard." RSF might be an interesting alternative modeling approach for automatization when performances are similar. RSF models were created in R (Cox also in SPSS). Four RSF splitting rules were used: log-rank, conservation of events, log-rank score, and log-rank approximation. Models were based on historical data of 1371 patients with primary head-and-neck cancer, diagnosed between 1981 and 1998. Models contain 8 covariates: tumor site, T classification, N classification, M classification, age, sex, prior malignancies, and comorbidity. Model performances were determined by Harrell's concordance error rate, in which 33% of the original data served as a validation sample. RSF and Cox models delivered similar error rates. The Cox model performed slightly better (error rate, 0.2826). The log-rank splitting approach gave the best RSF performance (error rate, 0.2873). In accord with Cox and RSF models, high T classification, high N classification, and severe comorbidity are very important covariates in the model, whereas sex, mild comorbidity, and a supraglottic larynx tumor are less important. A discrepancy arose regarding the importance of M1 classification (see Discussion). Both approaches delivered similar error rates. The Cox model gives a clinically understandable output on covariate impact, whereas RSF becomes more of a "black box." RSF complements the Cox model by giving more insight and confidence toward relative importance of model covariates. RSF can be recommended as the approach of choice in automating survival analyses.

The Accuracy and Diagnostic Value of Three-Dimensional Portable Bladder Volume Measurement System in the Measurement of Bladder Volume according to the Different Angling of Ultrasound Transducer

Purpose: The accuracy and reliability of a three-dimensional portable ultrasound bladder volume measurement system (BVMS), under two different angles (90 or 60 from cranial abdomen), for estimating the bladder volume was assessed. Materials and Methods: Ultrasonographic studies of the bladder volume, using a newly developed portable (2.4 kg) BVMS (BioCon-500, Mcube Technology, Korea), with real bladder images, were conducted on 154 patients (29-77 years old; M:F=116:38), at angles of 90 and 60 degrees, on the abdomen 2 cm above the symphysis pubis. This ultrasound-estimated volume was compared with the immediately catheterized volume. Comparison of BVMS estimated volumes with the catheterized volumes was performed according to the angles using the Pearson correlation coefficient, intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) concordance and fractional absolute error (FAE). Results: Good agreement between the BVMS estimated and catheterized volumes was found for both angles (60: r=0.986, p<0.001, ICC=0.965; 90°: r=0.931, p<0.001, ICC=0.992). Although this was not significant, the linear correlation of the 60 degree estimation values seems to be higher than for those obtained at 90 degree’s. Various factors, such as age, sex, body mass index (BMI) and diagnosis, showed no correlation with the difference between the catheterized and BVMS estimated bladder volumes. Conclusions: Volume estimation using this BVMS is recommended as an alternative to catheterization for the determination of the bladder volumes both before and after voiding. The volume estimation of the transducer at 60 degrees, rather than that at 90 degrees, is recommended due to the field of view (FOV) limitation on ultrasound. However, these results demonstrate the need to standardize these procedures for volume estimations using BVMS. (Korean J Urol 2006;47:1320-1326)