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Writing SkillsA while back Welcometomylair1 asked a question about saving project settings so they would persist from one run to the next. In my reply I outlined a way to extend the existing SessToken.txt file to save project settings as well as the session token. G-Factor suggested a simpler way of doing this using VB’s inbuilt application settings facility. In this step we look at this. 1. Saving the value of a control’s property. For example the Text property of a TextBox. TextBoxes are handy controls which are commonly used to hold settings for your project, e.g. marketId, sample frequency, etc. For this exercise drag a TextBox from the ToolBox onto the TestForm and rename it to tParam (or anything you like). With this TextBox selected so that its properties appear in the "Properties" widow, expand the (ApplicationSettings) node. Click on (PropertyBindings) then click (...) to show the "Applications Setting for tParam" form. Select the Text property then click (New...) in the property’s associated drop down list window to show the "New Application Setting" form. Enter these settings: DefaultValue: 123 Click OK, OK. With this procedure we have bound the tParam.Text property to an application setting we have created named Param1. Think of an application setting as being a special variable whose value is retained from one run to the next. Now run the project. Notice that the default value we entered appears in the TextBox. Change this value to something else (e.g. 456), then close the form to stop the project running. Re-run the project and notice that the new value is now in the TextBox. Thus the TextBox always retains the most recently entered value. We have achieved this without writing any code. 2. Saving any value. The application settings can be used to retain any value you like. You can create a new setting by clicking "BetfairX Properties" on the Project menu to show the Properties form. Select the "Settings" tab. Here you will see all the settings used by the project, including Param1 which we added above. You add a new setting by adding a new entry to the table. For example, add the name Param2, having value "This is Param2". This setting becomes a property of the My.Settings object and can be accessed from anywhere in you code with: My.Settings.Param2 To demonstrate, put this code in Sub TestForm_Load: Code: ..... Print("Last run: " & My.Settings.Param2) 'Previous run time My.Settings.Param2 = Now 'Re-assign the setting Print("This run: " & My.Settings.Param2) 'Current run time ..... and run the project a few times. You will see that Param2 initially holds the previous run time. Note: We could have used an application setting to hold the session token rather than storing it in the auxiliary file SessToken.txt. Two "scopes" are available. With "User" scope the values of the settings apply only to the current (Windows) user. With "Application" scope the settings values apply to all users.
Step 1. Build a Test Form Step 2. Connecting to the Global service Step 3. Saving the Session Token Step 4. Typical API call: getActiveEventTypes Step 5. Accessing an Exchange API Step 6. Unpacking Response Strings Step 7. Restrictions of the Free API Step 8. Using a Call Timer Step 9. Making Async API Calls Step 10. Calling getCompleteMarketPricesCompressed Step 11. A Look at Multithreading Step 12. Getting a List of Runners Step 13. Enabling gzip Compression Step 14. Calling getMarketPricesCompressed Step 15. Using TreeView to show events and markets Step 16. Unpacking Removed Runners Step 17. Sorting Runner Info Arrays Step 18. Horse Racing - Today’s Card Step 19. Placing a Bet Step 20. Monitoring Bet Status Step 21. Cancelling a Bet Step 22. Changing the bet size and price Step 23. Changing a Bet Step 24. Calling getMarketTradedVolumeCompressed Step 25. Accessing Australian Markets Step 26. Array fundamentals Step 27. Understanding Object References Step 28. Placing Multiple Bets with placeBets Step 29. Adding controls to a form at run time Step 30. Saving your project’s settings Writing Skills Writing Abstracts 1. An abstract is a condensed version of a longer piece of writing that highlights the major points covered, concisely describes the contents and scope of the writing, and reviews the contents of the writing in abbreviated form. 2. An abstract is a succinct summary of a longer piece of work, usually academic in nature, which is published in isolation from the main text and should therefore stand on its own and be understandable without reference to the longer piece. It should report the essential facts of the latter and should not exaggerate or contain material that is not there. Writing in chemistry is similar to writing in other disciplines in that your paper must have a clear purpose that explains why you are writing, a thesis statement or main idea that defines the problem to be addressed, and background information wherever necessary. In addition, you should include evidence in the form of figures, graphs, and tables to support your argument. Ideally, the abstract can be thought of as one or two sentences from each section of the paper that form a cohesive paragraph that summarizes the entire paper. The abstract should be single spaced unless you receive other instructions from your professor. When writing an abstract, you should avoid too much experimental detail (e.g. concentration of stock solutions used) or preliminary results (i.e. "raw" data). In addition, make certain that the purpose of the experiment is stated clearly and early in the abstract. Ideally, it should be stated in the first or second sentence. Purpose Its purpose is to act as a reference tool (for example in a library abstracting service), enabling the reader to decide whether or not to read the full text. Reasons Two common reasons for writing an abstract are - to summarize a longer piece of work published as a journal article, thesis, book or web page, an existing article for the purposes of a journal, - to submit an application to write a paper for a conference. II. Qualities of a Good Abstract An effective abstract has the following qualities:
III. Two types of abstracts are typically used: 1. Descriptive Abstracts · tell readers what information the report, article, or paper contains. · include the purpose, methods, and the scope of the report, article, or paper. · do not provide results, conclusions, or recommendations. · are always very short, usually under 100 words. · introduce the subject to readers, who must then read the report, article, or paper to find out the author's results, conclusions, or recommendations.
Proceed in the following way:
- Make a list of all the topics covered in the research paper that need to be talked about. - Descriptive abstracts are short! No more than 100 words. - Simply introduce the subject to the reader. - Revise your abstract a few times to make sure it is clear and concise and that it reads in the same voice as the paper. 2. Informative Abstracts · communicate specific information from the report, article, or paper. · include the purpose, methods, and scope of the report, article, or paper. · provide the report, article, or results of the paper, and conclusions. · are short - from a paragraph to a page or two, depending upon the length of the original work being abstracted. Usually informative abstracts are 10% or less of the length of the original piece (from 150 to a maximum of 200 words). · allow readers to decide whether they want to read the report, article, or paper. Proceed in the following way:
- Summarize your paper. The summary should be thorough, but brief. - Start by making a list of all the information the reader should know just by reading the abstract. - Tell why someone should care about your research. What you were trying to find and why it matters is a good place to start. What hole is your research filling? - Explain the nature of the work performed, especially if it was a scientific experiment. The details of your apparatus, materials, or experiment may go in your main paper, but explain enough of the basics that someone would need to know to understand what you have done. - Outline any hypotheses or theories advanced in the paper. - Leave out any tables, complicated explanations, etc. The reader can find those in the paper. - Include the findings, results, or conclusions of your paper. This is not a murder mystery, so there is no need to reserve the conclusions for the end. - What are the larger implications of your findings? - Proofread your abstract and have somebody else proofread it for you. Does it make sense? Is everything clearly stated? Is it thorough but concise? Is it in an appropriate style? IV. Structure of a Typical Abstract Almost all scientists agree that an informative abstract should have the following five parts:
· Using keywords. Using keywords is a vital part of abstract writing, because of the practice of retrieving information electronically: keywords act as the search term. Use keywords that are specific, and that reflect what is essential about the paper. Put yourself in the position of someone researching in your field: what would you look for? Consider also whether you can use any of the current "buzz words". V. Things to Avoid
How to Meet the Word Limit
VI. Sample Abstracts
Sample A
Conversion Of Optically Active Acid-Esters To Ester-Acid Chlorides Without Loss Of Optical Activity
Sample B
Using Melting Point to Determine the Identity of an Unknown Organic Acid Martha A. Hass The identity of an unknown organic acid was determined. The compound was taken from a list of twenty, known organic acids, each with different melting points. An experimental melting point was determined for the unknown compound using a Fisher-Johns melting point apparatus. The thermometer of the apparatus was calibrated using benzoic acid as a standard. An experimental melting point (calibrated) of 184°C for the unknown acid was measured. This value most closely correlated with the literature melting point of p-anisic acid, one of the possible twenty compounds on the list. None of the other compounds on the list had melting points within 5°C of the experimental melting point. The unknown was identified as p-anisic acid. Experimental determination of the melting point of an unknown compound is useful for identifying the compound. Sample C
Rapid methods to detect organic mercury and total selenium in biological samples Dong-Ha Nam and Niladri Basu* Chemistry Central Journal 2011, 5:3 doi:10.1186/1752-153X-5-3 13 January 2011 Organic mercury (Hg) is a global pollutant of concern and selenium is believed to afford protection against mercury risk though few approaches exist to rapidly assess both chemicals in biological samples. Here, micro-scale and rapid methods to detect organic mercury (< 1.5 ml total sample volume, < 1.5 hour) and total selenium (Se; < 3.0 ml total volume, < 3 hour) from a range of biological samples (10-50 mg) are described. For organic Hg, samples are digested using Tris-HCl buffer (with sequential additions of protease, NaOH, cysteine, CuSO4, acidic NaBr) followed by extraction with toluene and Na2S2O3. The final product is analyzed via commercially available direct/total mercury analyzers. For Se, a fluorometric assay has been developed for microplate readers that involves digestion (HNO3-HClO4 and HCl), conjugation (2,3-diaminonaphthalene), and cyclohexane extraction. Recovery of organic Hg (86-107%) and Se (85-121%) were determined through use of Standard Reference Materials and lemon shark kidney tissues. The approaches outlined provide an easy, rapid, reproducible, and cost-effective platform for monitoring organic Hg and total Se in biological samples. Owing to the importance of organic Hg and Se in the pathophysiology of Hg, integration of such methods into established research monitoring efforts (that largely focus on screening total Hg only) will help increase understanding of Hg's true risks. Tasks and Activities Assignment I. To make sure your abstract meets the requirements and you have not forgotten or left out anything it is recommended to apply the checklist provided below. If everything is OK you should answer ‘Yes’ to every question. If any question gets a ‘No’ answer, you should carefully study the failure and improve your piece of writing. Apply this to one of the sample abstracts.
Assignment II. You have a number of words and word collocations which belong to different parts of the abstract structure. Analyze which part they belong to and classify them according to the correct categories in the table below. Can you add some more words? It is necessary that a more thorough study of the phenomenon should be done.., The primary aim of the study is to test ..., Particular attention is given to the optimal operating conditions…, The results obtained for both ketones studied are found to be very valuable for further research…, The problem was studied (a study was made of...)…, The process involved heating and was followed by quick cooling…, Finally the substance is washed, dried and weighed…, The object of the experiment is to describe ..., The paper studies some photochemical characteristics of the substances concerned…, The chief purpose of the investigation is to establish ..., The remarkable characteristic of the resulting compound is its resistance to aging and specific electrical insulating properties…, The conclusion is made that these mixtures have several advantages over others…
Assignment III. Apply the knowledge you have just acquired to a particular piece of writing: 1. Find three or four written abstracts from some papers you have read as part of your home reading assignment. It is important that you have actually read most of the papers. 2. Diagram each abstract into the 5 parts above. 3. Discuss with your group mates how each abstract meets or does not meet the above criteria. Some good abstracts may not perfectly match the criteria. 4. Discuss how they could be improved or why their choice is appropriate to the work and/or results in this paper. 5. Choose an abstract to improve and work on a computer or on paper to rewrite it. You can insert specifics that make the abstract correct, engaging and exclusive!
Assignment IV. Write an abstract for your project (e.g., your current or previous term paper), regardless of the status of the project. You should diagram the abstract and present it in class. Even if the project is only half way through, you can write an optimistic abstract in which all the experiments or proofs turn out perfectly. Ask your scientific supervisor or the teacher in charge of the course to help you identify what the problem is and why it is important.
Date: 2014-12-21; view: 2561
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