This research study employed a mixed-methods approach to investigate the test takers’ perceptions and anx- iety in relation to an English language proficiency test called Community English Program (CEP). This study also evaluated the direct and semi-direct modes for speaking module of this test. To this end, 300 Eng- lish as Foreign Language (EFL) students were recruited in the study as test ta...

This paper (1) appraises The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s widely disseminated and reported indices ranking states on their relative level of charitable giving, and (2) presents a different set of rankings based on a more valid research methodology, what we call the CWP (Center on Wealth and Philanthropy) Index. Our more precise methods raise important questions for the community of nonprofit sch...

Computing with Words (CW) methodology has been used in several different environments to narrow the differences between human reasoning and computing. As Decision Making is a typical human mental process, it seems natural to apply the CW methodology in order to create and enrich decision models in which the information that is provided and manipulated has a qualitative nature. In this paper we ...

Computing with words (CWW) techniques have been shown to be useful in the management of imperfect information. From the programmer’s standpoint, new tools are necessary to ease the use of these techniques within current programming platforms. This paper presents a step in this direction by describing a general framework that supports the implementation of applications dealing with fuzzy objects...

Computer representation of human knowledge must be approached using the human ability to assign different meanings to information according to our perceptions, which at the same time are constructed and constitute the interpretative context in which possible meanings acquire varying degrees of validity. This work proposes that humans construct our perceptions based on the context of our past ex...

Applying the generalised extension principle within the area of Computing with Words typically leads to complex maximisation problems. If distributed quantities—such as, e.g., size distributions within human populations—are considered, density functions representing these distributions become involved. Very often the optimising density functions do not resemble those found in nature; for instan...