Search results for: cultural communication

Authors: Razan Salem

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Gender plays a vital role in the stock markets because men and women differ in their behavior when investing in stocks. Accordingly, the role of gender differences in investment behavior is an increasingly important strand in the field of behavioral finance research. The investment behaviors of women relative to men have been examined in the behavioral finance literature, mainly for comparison purposes. Women's roles in the stock market have not been examined in the behavioral finance literature, however, particularly with respect to the Arab region. This study aims to contribute towards a better understanding of the investment behavior of Arab women (in regards to their risk tolerance, investment confidence, and investment literacy levels) relative to Arab men; using a sample from Arab women and men investors living in Saudi Arabia and Jordan. In order to achieve the study's main aim, the researcher used non-parametric tests, as Mann-Whitney U test, along with frequency distribution analysis to analyze the study’s primary data. The researcher distributed close-ended online questionnaires to a sample of 550 Arab male and female individuals investing in stocks in both Saudi Arabia and Jordan. The results confirm that the sample Arab women invest less in stocks compared to Arab men due to their risk-averse behaviors and limited confidence levels. The results also reveal that due to Arab women’s very low investment literacy levels, they fear from taking the risk and invest often in stocks relative to Arab men. Overall, the study’s main variables (risk tolerance, investment confidence, and investment literacy levels) have a combined effect on the investment behavior of Arab women and their limited participation in the stock market. Hence, this study is one of the very first studies that indicate the combined effect of the three main variables (which are usually studied separately in the existing literature) on the investment behavior of women, particularly Arab women. This study makes three important contributions to the growing literature on gender differences in investment behavior. First, while the behavioral finance literature documents evidence on gender differences in investment behaviors in many developed countries, there are very limited studies that investigate such differences in Arab countries. Arab women investors, generally, are ignored from the behavioral finance literature due probably to cultural barriers and data collection difficulties. Thus, this study extends the literature to include Arab women and their investment behaviors when trading stock relative to Arab men. Moreover, the study associates women investment literacy and confidence levels with their financial risk behaviors and participation in the stock market. This study provides direct evidence on Arab women's investment behaviors when trading stocks. Overall, studying Arab women investors is important to investigate whether the investment behavior identified for Western women investors are also found in Arab women investors.

Keywords: Arab women, gender differences, investment behavior, stock markets

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Authors: Abdelrhman Elagez, Rolla Monib

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This empirical study investigates the observed risks associated with adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in the construction industry and proposes potential mitigation strategies. While AI has transformed several industries, the construction industry is slowly adopting advanced technologies like AI, introducing new risks that lack critical analysis in the current literature. A comprehensive literature review identified a research gap, highlighting the lack of critical analysis of risks and the need for a framework to measure and mitigate the risks of AI implementation in the construction industry. Consequently, an online survey was conducted with 24 project managers and construction professionals, possessing experience ranging from 1 to 30 years (with an average of 6.38 years), to gather industry perspectives and concerns relating to AI integration. The survey results yielded several significant findings. Firstly, respondents exhibited a moderate level of familiarity (66.67%) with AI technologies, while the industry's readiness for AI deployment and current usage rates remained low at 2.72 out of 5. Secondly, the top-ranked barriers to AI adoption were identified as lack of awareness, insufficient knowledge and skills, data quality concerns, high implementation costs, absence of prior case studies, and the uncertainty of outcomes. Thirdly, the most significant risks associated with AI use in construction were perceived to be a lack of human control (decision-making), accountability, algorithm bias, data security/privacy, and lack of legislation and regulations. Additionally, the participants acknowledged the value of factors such as education, training, organizational support, and communication in facilitating AI integration within the industry. These findings emphasize the necessity for tailored risk assessment frameworks, guidelines, and governance principles to address the identified risks and promote the responsible adoption of AI technologies in the construction sector.

Keywords: risk management, construction, artificial intelligence, technology

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Authors: Manar Al-Ateeq

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The building construction industry plays a major role in the economy of the word and the state of Kuwait. This paper evaluates existing new civil site engineers, describes a new system for improvement and insures the importance of prequalifying and developing for new engineers. In order to have a strong base in engineering, educational institutes and workplaces should be responsible to continuously train engineers and update them with new methods and techniques in engineering. As to achieve that, school of engineering should constantly update computational resources to be used in the professions. A survey was prepared for graduated Engineers based on stated objectives to understand the status of graduate engineers in both the public and private sector. Interviews were made with different sectors in Kuwait, and several visits were made to different training centers within different workplaces in Kuwait to evaluate training process and try to improve it. Virtual Reality (VR) technology could be applied as a complement to three-dimensional (3D) modeling, leading to better communication whether in job training, in education or in professional practice. Techniques of 3D modeling and VR can be applied to develop the models related to the construction process. The 3D models can support rehabilitation design as it can be considered as a great tool for monitoring failure and defaults in structures; also it can support decisions based on the visual analyses of alternative solutions. Therefore, teaching computer-aided design (CAD) and VR techniques in school will help engineering students in order to prepare them to site work and also will assist them to consider these technologies as important supports in their later professional practice. This teaching technique will show how the construction works developed, allow the visual simulation of progression of each type of work and help them to know more about the necessary equipment needed for tasks and how it works on site.

Keywords: three dimensional modeling (3DM), civil engineers (CE), professional practice (PP), virtual reality (VR)

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Authors: Neha Singh, Shristi Singh

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Accidents involving motor vehicles are more likely to cause serious injuries and fatalities. It also has a host of other perpetual issues, such as the regular loss of life and goods in accidents. To solve these issues, appropriate measures must be implemented, such as establishing an autonomous incident detection system that makes use of machine learning and artificial intelligence. In order to reduce traffic accidents, this article examines the overview of artificial intelligence and machine learning in autonomous event detection systems. The paper explores the major issues, prospective solutions, and use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in road transportation systems for minimising traffic accidents. There is a lot of discussion on additional, fresh, and developing approaches that less frequent accidents in the transportation industry. The study structured the following subtopics specifically: traffic management using machine learning and artificial intelligence and an incident detector with these two technologies. The internet of vehicles and vehicle ad hoc networks, as well as the use of wireless communication technologies like 5G wireless networks and the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence for the planning of road transportation systems, are elaborated. In addition, safety is the primary concern of road transportation. Route optimization, cargo volume forecasting, predictive fleet maintenance, real-time vehicle tracking, and traffic management, according to the review's key conclusions, are essential for ensuring the safety of road transportation networks. In addition to highlighting research trends, unanswered problems, and key research conclusions, the study also discusses the difficulties in applying artificial intelligence to road transport systems. Planning and managing the road transportation system might use the work as a resource.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, machine learning, incident detector, road transport systems, traffic management, automatic incident detection, deep learning

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Authors: Jacqueline Zammit

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Currently, a considerable number of individuals from different backgrounds are being drawn to Malta due to its favourable environment for business, investment, and employment. This influx has led to a growing interest among expats in learning Maltese as a second language (ML2) to enrich their experience of working and residing in Malta. However, the intricacies of Maltese grammar, particularly challenging for second language (L2) learners unfamiliar with Arabic, can pose difficulties in the learning process. Furthermore, it's worth noting that the teaching of ML2 is an emerging field with limited existing research on effective pedagogical strategies. The realm of second language acquisition (SLA) can be notably demanding for adults, requiring well-founded interventions to facilitate learning. Among these interventions, approaches grounded in empirical evidence have incorporated artistic and musical elements to augment SLA. Both art and music have proven roles in facilitating L2 communication, aiding vocabulary retention, and improving comprehension skills. This study aims to delve into the utilization of music and art as catalysts for enhancing the progress of adult learners in mastering ML2. The research employs a qualitative methodology, employing a sample selected through convenience sampling, which encompassed 37 adult learners of ML2. These participants engaged in individual interviews. The data derived from these interviews were subjected to thorough analysis. The outcomes of the study underscore the substantial positive influence exerted by art and music on the academic advancement of adult ML2 learners. Notably, it emerged from the participants' accounts that the current ML2 curricula lack the integration of art and music. Therefore, this study advocates for the incorporation of art and music components within both traditional classroom settings and online ML2 courses. The intention is to bolster the academic accomplishments of adult learners in the realm of Maltese as a second language, bridging the current gap between theory and practice.

Keywords: academic accomplishment, mature learners, visual art, learning Maltese as a second language, musical involvement, acquiring a second language

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Authors: Ana Sofia Torres Pereira

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Till this day, women have been underrepresented and stereotyped both in TV and Cinema Screens all around the World. While women have been gaining a different status and finding their own voice in the work place and in society, what we see on-screen is still something different, something gender biased, something that does not show the multifaceted identities a woman might have. But why is this so? Why are we stuck on this shallow vision of women on-screen? According to several cinema industry studies, most film screenwriters in Hollywood are men. Women actually represent a very low percentage of screenwriters. So why is this relevant? Could the underrepresentation of women screenwriters in Hollywood be affecting the way women are written, and as a result, are depicted in film? Films are about stories, about people, and if these stories are continuously told through a man’s gaze, is that helping in the creation of a gender imbalance towards women? On the other hand, one of the reasons given for the low percentage of women screenwriters is: women are said to be better at writing specific genres, like dramas and comedies, and not as good writing thrillers and action films, so, as women seem to be limited in the genres they can write, they are undervalued and underrepresented as screenwriters. It seems the gender bias and stereotype isn’t saved exclusively for women on-screen, but also off-screen and behind the screen. So film appears to be a men’s world, on and off-screen, and since men seem to write the majority of scripts, it might be no wonder that women have been written in a specific way and depicted in a specific way on-screen. Also, since films are a mass communication medium, maybe this over-sexualization and stereotyping on-screen is indoctrinating our society into believing this bias is alive and well, and thus targeting women off-screen as well (ergo, screenwriters). What about at the very begging of film? In the Silent Movies and Early Talkies era, women dominated the screenwriting industry. They wrote every genre, and the majority of scripts were written by women, not men. So what about then? How were women depicted in films then? Did women screenwriters, in an era that was still very harsh on women, use their stories and their power to break stereotypes and show women in a different light, or did they carry on with the stereotype, did they continue it and standardize it? This papers aims to understand how important it is to have more working women screenwriters in order to break stereotypes regarding the image of women on and off-screen. How much can a screenwriter (male or female) influence our gaze on women (on and off-screen)?

Keywords: cinema, gender bias, stereotype, women on-screen, women screenwriters

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Authors: Sophie Oakes-Rogers, Di Bailey, Karen Slade

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Female offenders are a uniquely vulnerable group, who are at high risk of suicide. Whilst the prevention of self-harm and suicide remains a key global priority, we need to better understand the relationship between these challenging behaviours that constitute a pressing problem, particularly in environments designed to prioritise safety and security. Method choice is unlikely to be random, and is instead influenced by a range of cultural, social, psychological and environmental factors, which change over time and between countries. A key aspect of self-harm and suicide in women receiving forensic care is the lack of free access to methods. At a time where self-harm and suicide rates continue to rise internationally, understanding the role of these influencing factors and the impact of current suicide prevention strategies on the use of near-lethal methods is crucial. This poster presentation will present findings from 25 interviews and 3 focus groups, which enlisted a Participatory Action Research approach to explore the differences between self-harming and suicidal behavior. A key element of this research was using the lived experiences of women receiving forensic care from one forensic pathway in the UK, and the staffs who care for them, to discuss the role of near-lethal self-harm (NLSH). The findings and suggestions from the lived accounts of the women and staff will inform a draft assessment tool, which better assesses the risk of suicide based on the lethality of methods. This tool will be the first of its kind, which specifically captures the needs of women receiving forensic services. Preliminary findings indicate women engage in NLSH for two key reasons and is determined by their history of self-harm. Women who have a history of superficial non-life threatening self-harm appear to engage in NLSH in response to a significant life event such as family bereavement or sentencing. For these women, suicide appears to be a realistic option to overcome their distress. This, however, differs from women who appear to have a lifetime history of NLSH, who engage in such behavior in a bid to overcome the grief and shame associated with historical abuse. NLSH in these women reflects a lifetime of suicidality and indicates they pose the greatest risk of completed suicide. Findings also indicate differences in method selection between forensic provisions. Restriction of means appears to play a role in method selection, and findings suggest it causes method substitution. Implications will be discussed relating to the screening of female forensic patients and improvements to the current suicide prevention strategies.

Keywords: forensic mental health, method substitution, restriction of means, suicide

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Authors: Ghiwa Dandach

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By challenging the anti-failure bias and contributing to the theoretical territory of the attribution theory, this thesis develops a comprehensive process for entrepreneurial learning from failure. The practical implication of the findings suggests assisting entrepreneurs (current, failing, and nascent) in effectively anticipating and reflecting upon failure. Additionally, the process is suggested to enhance the level of institutional and private (accelerators and financers) support provided to entrepreneurs, the implications of which may improve future opportunities for entrepreneurial success. Henceforth, exploring learning from failure is argued to impact the potential survival of future ventures, subsequently revitalizing the economic contribution of entrepreneurship. This learning process can be enhanced with the cognitive development of causal ascriptions for failure, which eventually impacts learning outcomes. However, the mechanism with which entrepreneurs make sense of failure, reflect on the journey, and transform experience into knowledge is still under-researched. More specifically, the cognitive process of failure attribution is under-explored, majorly in the context of developing economies, calling for a more insightful understanding on how entrepreneurs ascribe failure. Responding to the call for more thorough research in such cultural contexts, this study expands the understanding of the dimensions of failure attributions as perceived by entrepreneurs and the impact of these dimensions on learning outcomes in the Lebanese context. The research adopted the exploratory interpretivism paradigm and collected data from interviews with industry experts first, followed by narratives of entrepreneurs using the qualitative multimethod approach. The holistic and categorical content analysis of narratives, preceded by the thematic analysis of interviews, unveiled how entrepreneurs ascribe failure by developing minor and major dimensions of each failure attribution. The findings have also revealed how each dimension impacts the learning from failure when accompanied by emotional resilience. The thesis concludes that exploring in-depth the dimensions of failure attributions significantly determines the level of learning generated. They are moving beyond the simple categorisation of ascriptions as primary internal or external unveiled how learning may occur with each attribution at the individual, venture, and ecosystem levels. This has further accentuated that a major internal attribution of failure combined with a minor external attribution generated the highest levels of transformative and double-loop learning, emphasizing the role of personal blame and responsibility on enhancing learning outcomes.

Keywords: attribution, entrepreneurship, reflection, sense-making, emotions, learning outcomes, failure, exit

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Authors: Abdul Ghani Khan

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This paper focuses on the Buddhist rock carvings in the Diamer-Basha reservoir area, Gilgit-Baltistan, which is perhaps the largest rock art province of the world. The study region has thousands of rock carvings, particularly of the stupa carvings, engraved by artists, devotees or pilgrims, merchants have left their marks in the landscape or for the propagation of Buddhism. The Pak-German Archaeological Mission prepared, documented, and published the extensive catalogues of these carvings. Though, to date, very little systematic or statistically driven analysis was undertaken for in-depth understandings of the Buddhist rock carving tradition of the study region. This paper had made an attempt to examine stupa carvings and their constituent parts from the five selected sites, namely Oshibat, Shing Nala, Gichi Nala, Dadam Das, and Chilas Bridge. The statistical analyses and classification of the stupa carvings and their chronological contexts were carried out with the help of modern scientific tools such as STATA, FileMaker Pro, and MapSource softwares. The study had found that the tradition of stupa carvings on the surfaces of the rocks at the five selected sites continued for around 900 years, from the 1st century BCE to 8th century CE. There is a variation within the chronological settings of each of selected sites, possibly impacted by their utilization within particular landscapes, such as political (for example, change in political administrations or warfare) landscapes and geographical (for example, shifting of routes). The longer existence of the stupa carvings' tradition at these specific locations also indicates their central position on the trade and communication routes, and these were possibly also linked with religious ideologies within their particular times. The analyses of the different architectural elements of stupa carvings in the study area show that this tradition had structural similarities and differences in temporal and spatial contexts.

Keywords: rock carvings, stupa, stupa carvings, Buddhism, Pak-German archaeological mission

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Authors: Denisa Mackova, Andrea Pokorna

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The management of postoperative pain is a meaningful part of quality care. The experience and knowledge of registered nurses in postoperative pain management can be influenced by local know-how. Therefore, the research helps to understand the cultural differences between two countries with the aim of evaluating the management of postoperative pain management among the nurses from the Czech Republic and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Both countries have different procedures on managing postoperative pain and the research will provide an understanding of both the advantages and disadvantages of the procedures and also highlight the knowledge and experience of registered nurses in both countries. Between the Czech Republic and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the expectation is for differing results in the usage of opioid analgesia for the patients postoperatively and in the experience of registered nurses with Patient Controlled Analgesia. The aim is to evaluate the knowledge and awareness of registered nurses and to merge the data with the postoperative pain management in the early postoperative period in the Czech Republic and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Also, the aim is to assess the knowledge and experience of registered nurses by using Patient Controlled Analgesia and epidural analgesia treatment in the early postoperative period. The criteria for those providing input into the study, are registered nurses, working in surgical settings (standard departments, post-anesthesia care unit, day care surgery or ICU’s) caring for patients in the postoperative period. Method: Research is being conducted by questionnaires. It is a quantitative research, a comparative study of registered nurses in the Czech Republic and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Questionnaire surveys were distributed through an electronic Bristol online survey. Results: The collection of the data in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been completed successfully, with 550 respondents, 77 were excluded and 473 respondents were included for statistical data analysis. The outcome of the research is expected to highlight the differences in treatment through Patient Controlled Analgesia, with more frequent use in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A similar assumption is expected for treatment conducted by analgesia. We predict that opioids will be used more regularly in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, whilst therapy through NSAID’s being the most common approach in the Czech Republic. Discussion/Conclusion: The majority of respondents from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were female registered nurses from a multitude of nations. We are expecting a similar split in gender between the Czech Republic respondents; however, there will be a smaller number of nationalities. Relevance for research and practice: Output from the research will assess the knowledge, experience and practice of patient controlled analgesia and epidural analgesia treatment. Acknowledgement: This research was accepted and affiliated to the project: Postoperative pain management, knowledge and experience registered nurses (Czech Republic and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) – SGS05/2019-2020.

Keywords: acute postoperative pain, epidural analgesia, nursing care, patient controlled analgesia

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Authors: Samson Obiene, Khamati Shilabukha, Geoffrey Muga, James Kairo

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Mangroves play a vital role in the achievement of multiple goals of global sustainable development (SDG’s), particularly SDG SDG 14 (life under water). Their management, however, is faced with several shortcomings arising from inadequate knowledge on the perceptions of their ecosystem services, hence a need to map mangrove goods and services within SDGs while interrogating the disaggregated perceptions. This study therefore aimed at exploring the parities and disparities in attitudes and perceptions of mangrove ecosystem services among community members of Vanga and the link of the ecosystem services (ESs) to specific SDG targets. The study was based at the Kenya-Tanzania transboundary area in Vanga; where a carbon-offset project on mangroves is being up scaled. Mixed methods approach employing surveys, focus group discussions (FGDs) and reviews of secondary data were used in the study. A two stage cluster samplings was used to select the study population and the sample size. FGDs were conducted purposively selecting active participants in mangrove related activities with distinct socio-demographic characteristics. Sampled respondents comprised of males and females of different occupations and age groups. Secondary data review was used to select specific SDG targets against which mangrove ecosystem services identified through a value chain analysis were mapped. In Vanga, 20 ecosystem services were identified and categorized under supporting, cultural and aesthetic, provisioning and regulating services. According to the findings of this study, 63.9% (95% ci 56.6-69.3) perceived of the ESs as very important for economic development, 10.3% (95% ci 0-21.3) viewed them as important for environmental and ecological development while 25.8% (95% ci 2.2-32.8) were not sure of any role they play in development. In the social-economic disaggregation, ecosystem service values were found to vary with the level of interaction with the ecosystem which depended on gender and other social-economic classes within the study area. The youths, low income earners, women and those with low education levels were also identified as the primary beneficiaries of mangrove ecosystem services. The study also found that of the 17 SDGs, mangroves have a potential of influencing the achievement 12, including, SDGs 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 10, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 17 either directly or indirectly. Generally therefore, the local community is aware of the critical importance mangroves for enhanced livelihood and ecological services but challenges in sustainability still occur as a result the diverse values and of the services and the contradicting interests of the different actors around the ecosystem. It is therefore important to consider parities in values and perception to avoid a ‘tragedy of the commons’ while striving to enhance sustainability of the Mangrove ecosystem.

Keywords: sustainable development, community values, socio-demographics, Vanga, mangrove ecosystem services

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Authors: Hao Min Chuah, Tatsuya Yamazaki, Ryosui Iwasawa, Tatsumi Suto

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In recent years, with the advancement of digital technology, the movement to introduce so-called ICT (Information and Communication Technology), such as computer technology and network technology, to civil engineering construction sites and construction sites is accelerating. As part of this movement, attempts are being made in various situations to reproduce actual sites inside computers and use them for designing and construction planning, as well as for training inexperienced engineers. The installation of wave-dissipating blocks on coasts, etc., is a type of work that has been carried out by skilled workers based on their years of experience and is one of the tasks that is difficult for inexperienced workers to carry out on site. Wave-dissipating blocks are structures that are designed to protect coasts, beaches, and so on from erosion by reducing the energy of ocean waves. Wave-dissipating blocks usually weigh more than 1 t and are installed by being suspended by a crane, so it would be time-consuming and costly for inexperienced workers to train on-site. In this paper, therefore, a block installation simulator is developed based on Unity 3D, a game development engine. The simulator computes porosity. Porosity is defined as the ratio of the total volume of the wave breaker blocks inside the structure to the final shape of the ideal structure. Using the evaluation of porosity, the simulator can determine how well the user is able to install the blocks. The voxelization technique is used to calculate the porosity of the structure, simplifying the calculations. Other techniques, such as raycasting and box overlapping, are employed for accurate simulation. In the near future, the simulator will install an automatic block installation algorithm based on combinatorial optimization solutions and compare the user-demonstrated block installation and the appropriate installation solved by the algorithm.

Keywords: 3D simulator, porosity, user interface, voxelization, wave-dissipating blocks

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Authors: Jami Wang, Brian Kao, Davin Agustines

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COVID-19 highlighted the active discrimination against the Asian American population easily seen through media, social tension, and increased crimes against the specific population. It is well known that long-term racism can also have a large impact on both emotional and psychological well-being. However, the healthcare disparity during this time also revealed how the Asian American community lacked the research data, political support, and medical infrastructure for this particular population. During a time when Asian American fear for safety with decreasing mental health, telepsychiatry is particularly promising. COVID-19 demonstrated how well psychiatry could integrate with telemedicine, with psychiatry being the second most utilized telemedicine visits. However, the Asian American community did not utilize the telepsychiatry resources as much as other groups. Because of this, we wanted to understand why the patient population who was affected the most by COVID-19 mentally did not seek out care. To do this, we decided to study the top top telepsychiatry platforms. The current top telepsychiatry companies in the United States include Teladoc and BetterHelp. In the Teladoc mental health sector, they only had 4 available languages (English, Spanish, French, and Danis,) with none of them being an Asian language. In a similar manner, Teladoc’s top competitor in the telepsychiatry space, BetterHelp, only listed a total of 3 Asian languages, including Mandarin, Japanese, and Malaysian. However, this is still a short list considering they have over 20 languages available. The shortage of available physicians that speak multiple languages is concerning, as it could be difficult for the Asian American community to relate with. There are limited mental health resources that cater to their likely cultural needs, further exacerbating the structural racism and institutional barriers to appropriate care. It is important to note that these companies do provide interpreters to comply with the nondiscrimination and language assistance federal law. However, interactions with an interpreter are not only more time-consuming but also less personal than talking directly with a physician. Psychiatry is the field that emphasizes interpersonal relationships. The trust between a physician and the patient is critical in developing patient rapport to guide in better understanding the clinical picture and treating the patient appropriately. The language barrier creates an additional barrier between the physician and patient. Because Asian Americans are one of the largest growing patient population bases, these telehealth companies have much to gain by catering to the Asian American market. Without providing adequate access to bilingual and bicultural physicians, the current system will only further exacerbate the growing disparity. The healthcare community and telehealth companies need to recognize that the Asian American population is a severely underserved population in mental health and has much to gain from telepsychiatry. The lack of language is one of many reasons why there is a disparity for Asian Americans in the mental health space.

Keywords: telemedicine, psychiatry, Asian American, disparity

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Authors: Mohammed Isah Shehu

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This paper examined the context of globalization and Islam and accommodation or containment of one by the other. The paper is born out of the misconception and misunderstanding among many people that globalization is purely Western, anti-Islam and that Islam, globalization and Islam are diametrically opposed as such have no places for accommodating each other. The study used secondary sources to gather data. The study found that from its origin, Islam is in the whole context, a globalized religion and the contemporary globalization is already contained by Islam; that while contemporary globalization is centered on Western world, values and preferences (Western civilization, information and communication technology, free markets, trade and investments); some of the major foundation works that are aiding globalization were originally handiworks of past great Muslims (Islamic civilizations, Order of Algebra, tools of Navigation, Calligraphy, Medicine, Astronomy et cetera) whose major values are not Islamic; with globalization the Muslims have greater opportunities of spreading of Islam and practicing it in a most conducive atmosphere, easy and fast linkage with their fellow Muslim brothers wherever they may be; easier and freer world of trade and have the best opportunities to most things. The study however observed that Western contemporary globalization poses threats to religions such as those of globalization of immorality, injustice, trade with anti-Islamic terms and conditions, internationalized crime et cetera. Muslims would have to avoid or be cautious of many things for Islam is a complete religion that has what is forbidden and allowed (halaal and haramm) based on principles of (Shariah, justice to all, humanity and compassion, obedience to and seeking Allah’s pleasure); to Muslims, Contemporary globalization has to be in conformity with original provisions of Islam. The study recommended that Muslims must rise up in seeking knowledge on Islam and all other fields, further intellectual explorations of works by Muslim scholars/thinkers so that any advancement in globalization would be properly domesticated within Islam for the Muslims to make optimum use of any advancement to the benefit of Islam.

Keywords: accommodation, containment, Islam, globalization

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Authors: Zafar Iqbal Bhatti

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The present research aims to examine and evaluate the frequencies and practices of verb complementation patterns in English newspaper social columns published in Pakistan and Britain. The research will demonstrate that Pakistani English is a non-native variety of English having its own unique usual and logical characteristics, affected by way of the native languages and the culture, upon syntactic levels, making the variety users aware that any differences from British or American English that are systematic and regular, or another English language, are not even if they are unique, erroneous forms and typical characteristics of several kinds. The objectives are to examine the verb complementation patterns that British and Pakistani social columnists use in relation to their syntactic categories. Secondly, to compare the verb complementation patterns used in Pakistani and British English newspapers social columns. This study will figure out various verb complementation patterns in Pakistani and British English newspaper social columns and their occurrence and distribution. The word classes express different functions of words, such as action, event, or state of being. This research aims to evaluate whether there are any appreciable differences in the verb complementation patterns used in Pakistani and British English newspaper social columns. The results will show the number of varieties of verb complementation patterns in selected English newspapers social columns. This study will fill the gap of previous studies conducted in this field as they only explore a little about the differences between Pakistani and British English newspapers. It will also figure out a variety of languages used in Pakistani and British English journals, as well as regional and cultural values and variations. The researcher will use AntConc software in this study to extract the data for analysis. The researcher will use a concordance tool to identify verb complementation patterns in selected data. Then the researcher will manually categorize them because the same type of adverb can sometimes be used for various purposes. From 1st June 2022 to 30th Sep. 2022, a four-month written corpus of the social columns of PE and BE newspapers will be collected and analyzed. For the analysis of the research questions, 50 social columns will be selected from Pakistani newspapers and 50 from British newspapers. The researcher will collect a representative sample of data from Pakistani and British English newspaper social columns. The researcher will manually analyze the complementation patterns of each verb in each sentence, and then the researcher will determine how frequently each pattern occurs. The researcher will use syntactic characteristics of the verb complementation elements according to the description by Downing and Locke (2006). The researcher will examine all of the verb complementation patterns in the data, and the frequency and distribution of each verb complementation pattern will be evaluated using the software. The researcher will explore every possible verb complementation pattern in Pakistani and British English before calculating the occurrence and abundance of each verb pattern. The researcher will explore every possible verb complementation pattern in Pakistani English before calculating the frequency and distribution of each pattern.

Keywords: verb complementation, syntactic categories, newspaper social columns, corpus

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Authors: Jane Mullen

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Little research has been undertaken on adult dyslexia and the impact it has on those who have professional careers. There are many complexities behind the career decisions people make, but for teachers who are dyslexic, it can be even more complex. Dyslexia particularly impacts on written and verbal communication, as well as planning and organisation skills which are essential skills for a teacher. As the teachers are aware of their areas of weakness many, make the conscious decision not to disclose their disability at work. In England, the reduction to three attempts to pass the compulsory English and Maths tests prior to undertaking teacher training may mean that dyslexics are now excluded from trying to enter the profession. Together with the fact that dyslexic teachers often chose to remain ‘hidden’ the situation appears to be counter to the inclusive rhetoric that dominates the current educational discourse. This paper is based on in-depth narrative research that has been undertaken with a small group of teachers who are dyslexic in England and firstly explores the strategies and resources that the teachers have found useful. The narratives of the teachers are full of difficulties as well as diversity, consequently, the paper secondly examines how life experiences have impacted on the way the teachers see their dyslexia and how it affects them professionally. Using a narrative methodology enables the teachers to tell their ‘stories’ of how they feel their dyslexia impacts on their lives professionally. The first interview centred around a limited number of semi structured questions about family background, educational experiences, career development, management roles and professional disclosure. The second interview focused on the complexities of being a teacher who is dyslexic and to ‘unlock’ some of their work based narratives visual elicitation was used. Photographs of work-based strategies, issues or concerns were sent to the researcher and these were used as the basis for discussion in the second interview. The paper concludes by discussing possible reasonable adjustments and professional development that might benefit teachers who are dyslexic.

Keywords: dyslexia, life history, narrative, professional, professional development, strategies, teachers

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Authors: Sewe Silvanus Odhiambo

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Globally, many governments have publicly recognized private security firms as essential services providers. The private security firms face a lot of challenges, but the COVID-19 situation also has exacerbated them to another level. This paper locates its relevance in the post-coronavirus era. The COVID-19 pandemic has redefined the world operation, which shows a higher impact on the security field. Accordingly, the purpose of the study was to examine the role of corporate governance on the performance of private security firms in a post-covid pandemic era in Kenya. The study employed a descriptive research design, which included a quantitative approach and secondary data. The study was carried in the month of July 2021 from the registered private security firms. After targeting all private security firms, only 54 firms had disclosed their annual report by the time of conducting the study. The results depicted that pandemic has affected the performance of private security firms measures unfavorably. Further, boards of directors show a positive association with security firm performance. The study recommends that there is need board of directors to enhance management’s risk assessments in the midst of COVID-19; ensure that there are business continuity plans; there is organizational resilience; there is need for the development of new digital strategies; enabling the digital workforce in the firms and have effective communication plans with both internal and external stakeholders to deal with uncertainties and develop more post-COVID practices for boards of directors to improve performance of private security firms in Kenya. The practical implications of the study are that the research outcomes might assist regulatory bodies, investors, policymakers, and the security sector in general in their formulation of public and corporate governance strategies concerning future emergency preparedness and responses. This study also provides a unique contribution to the literature of COVID-19 and security firm performance in emerging economies context.

Keywords: COVID-19, corporate governance, firm performance, private security firms

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Authors: Sindhu Govardhan, Kenneth G. Crowther

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Modernisation of the water sector is leading to increased connectivity and integration of emerging technologies with traditional ones, leading to new security risks. The convergence of Information Technology (IT) with Operation Technology (OT) results in solutions that are spread across larger geographic areas, increasingly consist of interconnected Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) devices and software, rely on the integration of legacy with modern technologies, use of complex supply chain components leading to complex architectures and communication paths. The result is that multiple parties collectively own and operate these emergent technologies, threat actors find new paths to exploit, and traditional cybersecurity controls are inadequate. Our approach is to explicitly identify and draw data flows that cross trust boundaries between owners and operators of various aspects of these emerging and interconnected technologies. On these data flows, we layer potential attack vectors to create a frame of reference for evaluating possible risks against connected technologies. Finally, we identify where existing controls, mitigations, and other remediations exist across industry partners (e.g., suppliers, product vendors, integrators, water utilities, and regulators). From these, we are able to understand potential gaps in security, the roles in the supply chain that are most likely to effectively remediate those security gaps, and test cases to evaluate and strengthen security across these partners. This informs a “shared responsibility” solution that recognises that security is multi-layered and requires collaboration to be successful. This shared responsibility security framework improves visibility, understanding, and control across the entire supply chain, and particularly for those water utilities that are accountable for safe and continuous operations.

Keywords: cyber security, shared responsibility, IIOT, threat modelling

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Authors: Chong Jiang, Liang Zhao, Hua Jian, Xiaoguang Wang

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The belief that there is a strong relationship between reading narrative and morality has generally become the basic assumption of scholars, philosophers, critics, and cultural critics. The virtuality constructed by literary novels inspires readers to regard the narrative as a thinking experiment, creating the distance between readers and events so that they can freely and morally experience the positions of different roles. Therefore, the virtual narrative combined with literary characteristics is always considered as a "moral laboratory." Well-established findings revealed that people show less lying and deceptive behaviors in the morning than in the afternoon, called the morning morality effect. As a limited self-regulation resource, morality will be constantly depleted with the change of time rhythm under the influence of the morning morality effect. It can also be compensated and restored in various ways, such as eating, sleeping, etc. As a common form of entertainment in modern society, literary novel reading gives people more virtual experience and emotional catharsis, just as a relaxing afternoon tea that helps people break away from fast-paced work, restore physical strength, and relieve stress in a short period of leisure. In this paper, inspired by the compensation control theory, we wonder whether reading literary novels in the digital environment could replenish a kind of spiritual energy for self-regulation to compensate for people's moral loss in the afternoon. Based on this assumption, we leverage the social annotation text content generated by readers in digital reading to represent the readers' reading attention. We then recognized the semantics and calculated the readers' moral motivation expressed in the annotations and investigated the fine-grained dynamics of the moral motivation changing in each time slot within 24 hours of a day. Comprehensively comparing the division of different time intervals, sufficient experiments showed that the moral motivation reflected in the annotations in the afternoon is significantly higher than that in the morning. The results robustly verified the hypothesis that reading compensates for moral motivation, which we called the moral afternoon tea effect. Moreover, we quantitatively identified that such moral compensation can last until 14:00 in the afternoon and 21:00 in the evening. In addition, it is interesting to find that the division of time intervals of different units impacts the identification of moral rhythms. Dividing the time intervals by four-hour time slot brings more insights of moral rhythms compared with that of three-hour and six-hour time slot.

Keywords: digital reading, social annotation, moral motivation, morning morality effect, control compensation

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Authors: Menouni Aziza, Chbihi Kaoutar, El Jaafari Samir

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There is strong evidence connecting epidemics with the disruption of the human-animal-environment interaction. Despite the fact that several cases of emerging and endemic zoonotic diseases indifferent parts of Africa have been documented, there is limited data regarding which specific interventions are effective in preventing and managing the associated risks using a One Health approach. The aim of this study is to better understand perceptions and ongoing research related to interventions in Africa through the implementation of suitable projects and policies. A bibliometric review of the scientific literature on one health studies with a focus on African countries was conducted, followed by a qualitative survey among stakeholders involved in fields related to One Health research or management in the Africa, including veterinary experts, public health professionals, environmentalists and policy makers, to learn about determinants of their perceptions, as well as barriers to and promoters of successful interventions and governance. The project was concluded with an international workshop in March 2023, where a broad range of topics relevant to One Health were discussed. 94% of the respondents were aware of the importance of the One Health approach and strongly endorse it within their respective countries. The top reported barriers to One Health development in Africa included paucity of data, weak linkages and institutional communication between the different departments and the lack of funding. Key areas of improvement identified were the impact evaluation of current initiatives, awareness raising campaigns among citizens targeted at behavioral changes, capacity building of relevant professionals and stakeholders, as well as the implementation of adequate policies and enforcement of national and continental regulations, allowing for better coordination on the African level. All One Health sectors in Africa require strong governance and leadership, as well as inter-ministerial, inter-sectoral, and interdisciplinary cooperation.

Keywords: one health, perceptions, governance, Africa

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Authors: Neelam Kadyan, Pratima Ranga, Yogender

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Indigenous people are the One who are affected by the climate change the most, although there have contributed little to its causes. This is largely a result of their historic dependence on local biological diversity, ecosystem services and cultural landscapes as a source of their sustenance and well-being. Comprising only four percent of the world’s population they utilize 22 percent of the world’s land surface. Despite their high exposure-sensitivity indigenous peoples and local communities are actively responding to changing climatic conditions and have demonstrated their resourcefulness and resilience in the face of climate change. Traditional Indigenous territories encompass up to 22 percent of the world’s land surface and they coincide with areas that hold 80 percent of the planet’s biodiversity. Also, the greatest diversity of indigenous groups coincides with the world’s largest tropical forest wilderness areas in the Americas (including Amazon), Africa, and Asia, and 11 percent of world forest lands are legally owned by Indigenous Peoples and communities. This convergence of biodiversity-significant areas and indigenous territories presents an enormous opportunity to expand efforts to conserve biodiversity beyond parks, which tend to benefit from most of the funding for biodiversity conservation. Tapping on Ancestral Knowledge Indigenous Peoples are carriers of ancestral knowledge and wisdom about this biodiversity. Their effective participation in biodiversity conservation programs as experts in protecting and managing biodiversity and natural resources would result in more comprehensive and cost effective conservation and management of biodiversity worldwide. Addressing the Climate Change Agenda Indigenous Peoples has played a key role in climate change mitigation and adaptation. The territories of indigenous groups who have been given the rights to their lands have been better conserved than the adjacent lands (i.e., Brazil, Colombia, Nicaragua, etc.). Preserving large extensions of forests would not only support the climate change objectives, but it would respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and conserve biodiversity as well. A climate change agenda fully involving Indigenous Peoples has many more benefits than if only government and/or the private sector are involved. Indigenous peoples are some of the most vulnerable groups to the negative effects of climate change. Also, they are a source of knowledge to the many solutions that will be needed to avoid or ameliorate those effects. For example, ancestral territories often provide excellent examples of a landscape design that can resist the negatives effects of climate change. Over the millennia, Indigenous Peoples have developed adaptation models to climate change. They have also developed genetic varieties of medicinal and useful plants and animal breeds with a wider natural range of resistance to climatic and ecological variability.

Keywords: ancestral knowledge, cost effective conservation, management, indigenous peoples, climate change

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Authors: Desta Kebede Ayana, Lies Sercu, Demelash Mengistu

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The study is set in Ethiopia, a sub-Saharan multilingual, multiethnic African country, which has seen a significant increase in the number of universities in recent years. The aim of this growth is to provide access to education for all cultural and linguistic groups across the country. However, there are challenges in promoting intercultural competence among students in this diverse context. The aim of the study is to investigate the interculturalization of Ethiopian Higher Education Institutions as perceived by university lecturers and administrators. In particular, the study aims to determine the level of support for this educational innovation and gather suggestions for its implementation and institutionalization. The researchers employed semi-structured interviews with administrators and lecturers from two large Ethiopian universities to gather data. Thematic analysis was utilized for coding and analyzing the interview data, with the assistance of the NVIVO software. The findings obtained from the grounded analysis of the interview data reveal that while there are opportunities for interculturalization in the curriculum and campus life, support for educational innovation remains low. Administrators and lecturers also emphasize the government's responsibility to prioritize interculturalization over other educational innovation goals. The study contributes to the existing literature by examining an under-researched population in an under-researched context. Additionally, the study explores whether Western perspectives of intercultural competence align with the African context, adding to the theoretical understanding of intercultural education. The data for this study was collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with administrators and lecturers from two large Ethiopian universities. The interviews allowed for an in-depth exploration of the participants' views on interculturalization in higher education. Thematic analysis was applied to the interview data, allowing for the identification and organization of recurring themes and patterns. The analysis was conducted using the NVIVO software, which aided in coding and analyzing the data. The study addresses the extent to which administrators and lecturers support the interculturalization of Ethiopian Higher Education Institutions. It also explores their suggestions for implementing and institutionalizing intercultural education, as well as their perspectives on the current level of institutionalization. The study highlights the challenges in interculturalizing Ethiopian universities and emphasizes the need for greater support and prioritization of intercultural education. It also underscores the importance of considering the African context when conceptualizing intercultural competence. This research contributes to the understanding of intercultural education in diverse contexts and provides valuable insights for policymakers and educational institutions aiming to promote intercultural competence in higher education settings.

Keywords: administrators, educational change, Ethiopia, intercultural competence, lecturers

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Authors: Juan-Pedro Rica-Peromingo

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Nowadays, corpus linguistics has become a key research methodology for Translation Studies, which broadens the scope of cross-linguistic studies. In the case of the study presented here, the approach used focuses on learners with little or no experience to study, at an early stage, general mistakes and errors, the correct or incorrect use of translation strategies, and to improve the translational competence of the students. Led by Sylviane Granger and Marie-Aude Lefer of the Centre for English Corpus Linguistics of the University of Louvain, the MUST corpus (MUltilingual Student Translation Corpus) is an international project which brings together partners from Europe and worldwide universities and connects Learner Corpus Research (LCR) and Translation Studies (TS). It aims to build a corpus of translations carried out by students including both direct (L2 > L1) an indirect (L1 > L2) translations, from a great variety of text types, genres, and registers in a wide variety of languages: audiovisual translations (including dubbing, subtitling for hearing population and for deaf population), scientific, humanistic, literary, economic and legal translation texts. This paper focuses on the work carried out by the Spanish team from the Complutense University (UCMA), which is part of the MUST project, and it describes the specific features of the corpus built by its members. All the texts used by UCMA are either direct or indirect translations between English and Spanish. Students’ profiles comprise translation trainees, foreign language students with a major in English, engineers studying EFL and MA students, all of them with different English levels (from B1 to C1); for some of the students, this would be their first experience with translation. The MUST corpus is searchable via Hypal4MUST, a web-based interface developed by Adam Obrusnik from Masaryk University (Czech Republic), which includes a translation-oriented annotation system (TAS). A distinctive feature of the interface is that it allows source texts and target texts to be aligned, so we can be able to observe and compare in detail both language structures and study translation strategies used by students. The initial data obtained point out the kind of difficulties encountered by the students and reveal the most frequent strategies implemented by the learners according to their level of English, their translation experience and the text genres. We have also found common errors in the graduate and postgraduate university students’ translations: transfer errors, lexical errors, grammatical errors, text-specific translation errors, and cultural-related errors have been identified. Analyzing all these parameters will provide more material to bring better solutions to improve the quality of teaching and the translations produced by the students.

Keywords: corpus studies, students’ corpus, the MUST corpus, translation studies

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Authors: Betül Sönmez, Aytolan Yıldırım

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Objective: This systematic review aims to methodically analyze studies regarding mobbing behavior prevalence, individuals performing this behavior and the effects of mobbing on Turkish nurses. Background: Worldwide reports on mobbing cases have increased in the past years, a similar trend also observable in Turkey. It has been demonstrated that among healthcare workers, mobbing is significantly widespread in nurses. The number of studies carried out in this regard has also increased. Method: The main criteria for choosing articles in this systematic review were nurses located in Turkey, regardless of any specific date. In November 2014, a search using the keywords 'mobbing, bullying, psychological terror/violence, emotional violence, nurses, healthcare workers, Turkey' in PubMed, Science Direct, Ebscohost, National Thesis Centre database and Google search engine led to 71 studies in this field. 33 studies were not met the inclusion criteria specified for this study. Results: The findings were obtained using the results of 38 studies carried out in the past 13 years in Turkey, a large sample consisting of 8,877 nurses. Analysis of the incidences of mobbing behavior revealed a broad spectrum, ranging from none-slight experiences to 100% experiences. The most frequently observed mobbing behaviors include attacking personality, blocking communication and attacking professional and social reputation. Victims mostly experienced mobbing from their managers, the most common consequence of these actions being psychological effects. Conclusions: The results of studies with various scales indicate exposure of nurses to similar mobbing behavior. The high frequency of exposure of nurses to mobbing behavior in such a large sample highlights the importance of considering this issue in terms of individual and institutional consequences that adversely affect the performance of nurses.

Keywords: mobbing, bullying, workplace violence, nurses, Turkey

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Authors: Sumeyra Yakar

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The idea of this research had its genesis from the writer's interest in Shi'i school and religio-political atmosphere in contemporary Iran. The research aims to identify how the past dynamics between political and legal figures and their relationship between each other affect contemporary relationship between political and religious authorities at the local and global level. It attempts to explore religio-politic Shi'i figures and their relationship with the official jurisprudence from the 15th century to the contemporary period. The mutual interaction between the opinion and acts of political figures and jurisprudential institutions enlightens the role of religious values to control the mass population. After the collapse of the Safawīd Dynasty, Shi'i believers lost their political guardian and legal independence, and the situation gave them the inspiration to create unique ideologies or political approaches to solve the governance crisis. The analysis of authoritative political figures and their scholastic contributions elucidate the connection between political powers and religious doctrines under the protection of sectarian oriented theocratic governments. Additionally, understanding the incremental influence of political (historical) Shi'i figures into religious doctrines shed lights on the chronological development of peculiar government style and authoritative hierarchy in contemporary Shi’i communities. The research as being interdisciplinary one offers to create an academic awareness between legal and political factors in Shi’i school of thought and encompasses political, religious, social, financial and cultural atmospheres of the countries in which the political figures lived. The Iranian regime enshrines the principle of vilāyāt-i faqīh (guardianship of the jurist) which enables jurists to solve the conflict between law as an ideal system, in theory, and law in practice. The paper aims to show how the religious, educational system works in harmony with the governmental authorities with the concept of vilāyāt-i faqīh in Iran and contributes to the creation of religious custom in the society. Contemporary relationship between the political figures and religious authorities in Iran will be explained by religio-legal dimensions. The methodology that will be applied by the study has been chosen in order to acquire information and deduce conclusions from the opinions of the scholars. Thus, the research method is mainly descriptive and qualitative. Three lines of description are pursued throughout the study; the explanation of political ideas belonging to the religio-political figures theoretically depending on written texts; the description of approaches adopted by contemporary Iranian and Saudi scholars relating to the legal systems (theoretically); and the explanation of the responses of governmental authorities.

Keywords: clergy (‘ulamā), guardianship of the jurist (vilāyāt-i faqīh), Iran, Shi’i figures

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Authors: Ligia Nascimento, Manuela Faia Correia

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Nowadays, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are embedded in most professions. Technostress - or stress induced by the use of ICTs, has been studied in various sectors of activity and in different geographical areas, mainly from the perspective of its harmful impacts. In the context of work, the technological contexts capable of causing stress have been examined in-depth, as well as the type of individuals most likely to experience its negative effects. However, new lines of the research argue that the stress generated by the use of ICTs may not necessarily be detrimental (technodistress), admitting that, in contrast, and in addition, it may actually be beneficial to organizations and their employees (technoeustress). Any measures that succeed in reducing technodistress do not necessarily lead to the creation of technoeustress, justifying the study of this phenomenon in a focused and independent manner. Adopting the transactional model of stress as the basic theoretical framework, an ongoing research project aims to study technoeustress independently. Given the role played in the qualification and progress of society and the economy, it becomes particularly critical to care for the well-being of the higher education teacher. Particularly in recent times, when teleworking is prevalent, these professionals have made a huge, compulsive effort to adapt to a new teaching reality. Rather than limiting itself to mitigating adverse effects of ICT use, which featured earlier approaches, the present study seeks to understand how to activate the positive side of technostress in higher education teachers in order to obtain favorable personal and organizational outcomes from ICT use at work. The research model seeks to understand, upstream, the ICT characteristics that increase the perception of technoeustress among higher education teachers, studying the direct and moderating effects of individual and organizational variables and, downstream, the impacts that technoeustress has on job satisfaction and performance. This research contributes both to expanding the knowledge of the technostress phenomenon and to identify possible recommendations for management.

Keywords: higher education teachers, ICT, stress, technoeustress

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Authors: Mohammad Hossein Badamchi

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In Iran as well as other developing countries instituting innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems by government around the universities is the new imported fashion of modernization and development in the 21st century. In recent decade various statesmen, policy makers, university administrations, economists and development theorists are emphasizing excitingly about the new “start-ups” which are going to solve all economic problems and backwardness of the country. However, critical study of modernization practices in Iran implies that this new trend is suffering from conventional deficiency of modernization planning in 20th century. This article is going to depict the misunderstandings of a situation which we can name “Pseudo-innovation in a closed society” by presenting these 12 paradoxes of this new system, actually happening in Iran: (1) Innovation without freedom? Fiction of innovation in a patriarchal state (2) Entrepreneurship without free market? Fiction of entrepreneurship in a rentier-state. (3) Ecosystem or a state-glasshouse? Is it possible to make and plan an innovation? (4) Innovation; epistemic or practical? How academic innovation could happen abstractly out of context? (5) Risk and Lucre: innovation to protect power and property?! (6) Silicon-valley mirage: what is in common between American-Iranian polity? (7) Information or Communication? ICT startups to restrict the internet (8) The elite paradox: new proletariat of private sector, new governmental clerk or a new path of brain drain? (9) Innovation or commercialization? Revisiting Schumpeterian creative destruction (10) The friendship of Jungle and fire: paradox of public science and market (11) Innovation and revolution: top-down or bottom-up paradox in an Iranian experience (12) Technology instead of civil society: ultimate result of innovation in a closed society. Through explaining these paradoxes we can gradually penetrate the real rationality of Pseudo-innovation ecosystem in a closed society, which can be understood as new-Neopatriarchy reconstruction of traditional patriarchal politics, economy and culture in Iran.

Keywords: innovation, critical sociology, modernisation, Iran, closed society

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Authors: Elisabetta Cianfanelli, Margherita Tufarelli, Paolo Pupparo

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The dialectical mediation between desires and objects or between mass production and consumption continues to evolve over time. This relationship is influenced both by variable geometries of contexts that are distant from the mere design of product form and by aspects rooted in the very definition of industrial design. In particular, the overcoming of macro-areas of innovation in the technological, social, cultural, formal, and morphological spheres, supported by recent theories in critical and speculative design, seems to be moving further and further away from the design of the formal dimension of advanced products. The articulated fabric of theories and practices that feed the definition of “hyperobjects”, and no longer objects describes a common tension in all areas of design and production of industrial products. The latter are increasingly detached from the design of the form and meaning of the same in mass productions, thus losing the quality of products capable of social transformation. For years we have been living in a transformative moment as regards the design process in the definition of the industrial product. We are faced with a dichotomy in which there is, on the one hand, a reactionary aversion to the new techniques of industrial production and, on the other hand, a sterile adoption of the techniques of mass production that we can now consider traditional. This ambiguity becomes even more evident when we talk about industrial products, and we realize that we are moving further and further away from the concepts of "form" as a synthesis of a design thought aimed at the aesthetic-emotional component as well as the functional one. The design of forms and their contents, as statutes of social acts, allows us to investigate the tension on mass production that crosses seasons, trends, technicalities, and sterile determinisms. The design culture has always determined the formal qualities of objects as a sum of aesthetic characteristics functional and structural relationships that define a product as a coherent unit. The contribution proposes a reflection and a series of practical experiences of research on the form of advanced products. This form is understood as a kaleidoscope of relationships through the search for an identity, the desire for democratization, and between these two, the exploration of the aesthetic factor. The study of form also corresponds to the study of production processes, technological innovations, the definition of standards, distribution, advertising, the vicissitudes of taste and lifestyles. Specifically, we will investigate how the genesis of new forms for new meanings introduces a change in the relative innovative production techniques. It becomes, therefore, fundamental to investigate, through the reflections and the case studies exposed inside the contribution, also the new techniques of production and elaboration of the forms of the products, as new immanent and determining element inside the planning process.

Keywords: industrial design, product advanced design, mass productions, new meanings

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Authors: María-Dolores Olvera-Lobo, Bryan John Robinson, Juncal Gutierrez-Artacho

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Graduates are equipped with a wide range of generic competencies which complement solid curricular competencies and facilitate their access to the labour market in diverse fields and careers. However, some generic competencies such as instrumental, personal and systemic competencies related to teamwork and interpersonal communication skills, decision-making and organization skills are seldom taught explicitly and even less often assessed. In this context, translator training has embraced a broad range of competencies specified in the undergraduate program currently taught at universities and opens up the learning experience to cover areas often ignored due to the difficulties inherent in both teaching and assessment. In practice, translator training combines two well-established approaches to teaching/learning: project-based learning and genuinely cooperative – or merely collaborative – learning. Our professional approach to translator training is a model focused on and adapted to the teleworking context of professional translation and presented through the medium of blended e-learning. Teamwork-related competencies are extremely relevant, and they require explicit and implicit teaching so that graduates can be confident about their capacity to make their way in professional contexts. In order to highlight the importance of teamwork and intra-team relationships beyond the classroom, we aim to raise awareness of teamwork processes so as to empower translation students in managing their interaction and ensure that they gain valuable pre-professional experience. With these objectives, at the University of Granada (Spain) we have developed a range of classroom activities and assessment tools. The results of their application are summarized in this study.

Keywords: blended learning, collaborative teamwork, cross-curricular competencies, higher education, intra-team relationships, students’ perceptions, translator training

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Authors: Karima Adilla

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Aceh province, into which Islam convinced to have entered Indonesia in the 12th Century before spreading throughout the archipelago and the rest of Southeast Asia, has several early Islamic mosques that still exist until today. However, due to some circumstances, the restoration and rehabilitation towards those mosques have been made in some periods, while the background was diverse. Concerning this, the research will examine the physical changing aspects of 3 prominent historical mosques in Aceh Besar and Banda Aceh; those are, Indrapuri Mosque, Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, and Baiturrahim Mosque built coincided with the beginning of Islam’s development in Aceh and regarded as eventful mosques. The existence of Indrapuri Mosque built on the remains of the Lamuri Kingdom’s temple is a historical trace that there was Hindu-Buddhist civilization in Aceh before Islam entered and became the majority religion about 98% from Aceh total population. Also, there was the Dutch who colonialized Aceh behind the existence of two famous mosques in Aceh, namely Baiturrahman Grand Mosque and Baiturrahim Mosque, as the colonizer also assisted to rebuild those 2 sacred Mosques to quell the anger of the Acehnese people because their mosque was burnt by the Dutch. Interestingly, despite underwent a long history successively since the rise of Islam after the Hindu-Buddhist kingdom had collapsed, colonialization, conflict, in Aceh, and even experienced the earthquake and tsunami disaster in 2004, those mosques still exist. Therefore, those mosques have been considered as historical silent witnesses. However, it was not merely those reasons that led the mosques underwent several physical changes, otherwise economic, political, social, cultural and religious factors were also highly influential. Instead of directly illustrating the physical changing of those three mosques, this research intends to identify under what condition the physical appearance continuously changing during the sultanate era, the colonial period until post-independent in terms of the architectural style, detail elements, design philosophy, and how the remnants buildings act as medium to bridge the history. A framework will use qualitative research methods by collecting actual data of the mosque's physical change figures through field studies, investigations, library studies and interviews. This research aims to define every trace of historical issues embedded in the physical changing of those mosques as they are intertwined in collecting historical proof. Thus, the result will reveal the characteristic interrelation between history, the mosque architectural style in a certain period, the physical changes background and its impact. Eventually, this research will also explicate a clear inference of each mosque’s role in representing history in Aceh Besar and Banda Aceh specifically, as well as Aceh generally through architectural design concepts.

Keywords: Aceh ancient mosques, Aceh history, Islamic architecture, physical changing

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