Search results for: Arabic velar/ uvular articulation dependency

Authors: Elin Cahyaningsih, Dana Indra Sensuse, Wahyu Catur Wibowo, Sofiyanti Indriasari

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Bureaucracy reform program drives Indonesian government to change their management and supporting unit in order to enhance their organization performance. Information technology as one of supporting unit became one of strategic plan that organization tried to improve, because IT can automate and speed up process, reduce business process life cycle become more effective and efficient. Knowledge management system is a technology application for supporting knowledge management implementation in government which is requirement based on problem and potential functionality of each knowledge management process. Define knowledge management that suitable for each organization it is difficult, that why we should make the knowledge management system strategy as an alignment of knowledge management process in the organization. Knowledge management system is one of information system development in people perspective, because this system has high dependency in human interaction and participation. Strategic plan for developing knowledge management system can be determine using some of information system strategic methods. This research conducted to define type of strategic method of information system, stage of activity each method, the strategic method strength and weakness. The author use literature review methods for identify and classify strategic methods of information system for differentiate method type, categorize common activities, strength and weakness. Result of this research are determine and compare six strategic information system methods, there are Balanced Scorecard, Five Force Porter, SWOT analysis, Value Chain Analysis, Risk Analysis and Gap Analysis. Balanced Scorecard and Risk Analysis believe as common strategic method that usually used and have the highest excellence strength.

Keywords: knowledge management system, balanced scorecard, five force, risk analysis, gap analysis, value chain analysis, SWOT analysis

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Authors: Sujatha Shanmugasundaram

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Background: It has been since one year that COVID-19 has emerged into the world. Since then, healthcare professionals facing a great challenge in to fight against this deadly virus. According to World Health Organization (WHO) 2021, it is estimated that more than 131 million confirmed cases and 2million deaths around the world due to this pandemic. Nurses are the frontline workers who play a major role in safeguarding the lives of the people in acute care settings. Evidence suggests that there are numbers of research have been carried out on nurses' and healthcare provider’s experiences during the pandemic. But, unfortunately, there are no or little evidence available on Muslim nurse’s perspective. Hence, this research will investigate the experiences of Muslim nurses working in an acute care setting during the pandemic. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to explore the experiences of Muslim nurses working in an acute setting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research Methods: A qualitative research approach will be utilized for the study. Semi-structured interview schedule will be used to collect the data. Face to face interviews will be conducted. All interviews will be conducted in Arabic, and it will be audio recorded. Verbatim will be noted. Muslim nurses working in an acute setting will be included in the study. Convenient sampling technique will be used to recruit the participants. Ethical approval will be obtained from the study sites. Strauss and Corbin's thematic analysis will be used to analyze the data. Conclusion: Considering that nurses are the frontline workers, they have a significant role in dealing with this COVID-19. It is a great challenge for the nurses working in an acute care setting. Thus, this study will bring out significant findings that will impact the nursing practice.

Keywords: acute care, COVID-19, experiences, muslim nurses

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Authors: Joseph Ippolito, David Megenhardt

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In the United States, displaced workers, the unemployed and those seeking to build additional work skills are provided employment training and job placement services through a system of One-Stop Career Centers that are sponsored by the country’s 593 local Workforce Boards. During the period 2010-2015, these centers served roughly 8 million individuals each year. The quality of services provided at these centers rests upon professional employment specialists who work closely with clients to identify their job interests, to connect them to appropriate training opportunities, to match them with needed supportive social services and to guide them to eventual employment. Despite the crucial role these Employment Specialists play, currently there are no broadly accepted standards that establish what these individuals are expected to do in the workplace, nor are there indicators to assess how well an individual performs these responsibilities. Education Development Center (EDC) and the United Labor Agency (ULA) have partnered to create a foundation upon which curriculum can be developed that addresses the skills, knowledge and behaviors that Employment Specialists must master in order to serve their clients effectively. EDC is a non-profit, education research and development organization that designs, implements, and evaluates programs to improve education, health and economic opportunity worldwide. ULA is the social action arm of organized labor in Greater Cleveland, Ohio. ULA currently operates One-Stop Career Centers in both Cleveland and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This case study outlines efforts taken to create standards that define the work of Employment Specialists and to establish indicators that can guide assessment of work performance. The methodology involved in the study has engaged a panel of expert Employment Specialists in rigorous, structured dialogues that analyze and identify the characteristics that enable them to be effective in their jobs. It has also drawn upon and integrated reviews of the panel’s work by more than 100 other Employment Specialists across the country. The results of this process are two documents that provide resources for developing training curriculum for future Employment Specialists, namely: an occupational profile of an Employment Specialist that offers a detailed articulation of the skills, knowledge and behaviors that enable individuals to be successful at this job, and; a collection of performance based indicators, aligned to the profile, which illustrate what the work responsibilities of an Employment Specialist 'look like' a four levels of effectiveness ranging from novice to expert. The method of occupational analysis used by the study has application across a broad number of fields.

Keywords: assessment, employability, job standards, workforce development

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Authors: Tharwat N. Hijjawi

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Learning oral skills in an Arabic speaking environment is challenging. A blended course (material, activities, and individual/ group work tasks …) was implemented in a module of level B1 for undergraduate students of French as a foreign language in order to increase their opportunities to practice listening and speaking skills. This research investigates the influence of this modality on enhancing active learning and examines the effectiveness of provided strategies. Moreover, it aims at discovering how it allows teacher to flip the traditional classroom and create a learner-centered framework. Which approaches were integrated to motivate students and urge them to search, analyze, criticize, create and accomplish projects? What was the perception of students? This paper is based on the qualitative findings of a questionnaire and a focus group interview with learners. Despite the doubled time and effort both “teacher” and “student” needed, results revealed that the NTIC allowed a shift into a learning paradigm where learners were the “chiefs” of the process. Tasks and collaborative projects required higher intellectual capacities from them. Learners appreciated this experience and developed new life-long learning competencies at many levels: social, affective, ethical and cognitive. To conclude, they defined themselves as motivated young researchers, motivators and critical thinkers.

Keywords: active learning, critical thinking, inverted classroom, learning paradigm, problem-based

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Authors: Hussain Ali, Ahmad Ali, Syed Rashid Ali

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The maternal mortality is one of the basic health issues faced by rural women in Pakistan. There are various structural and socio-cultural determinants which confine women to domestic sphere. Such mobility restriction compels women for home delivery which causes high maternal mortality and morbidity. However, it is hard to find out the research findings and well-organized literature that explain the cultural factors act as determinant to home delivery among Pakhtun women. The overall objective of this research is to study men’s decision making within the household in Pakhtun society as determinant of home delivery among Pakhtun women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. In the present study, researchers used the quantitative research design in which the data are collected through household survey technique from (n=503) ever-married women having reproductive age (15-49 years) by using interview schedule. The data are analyzed through SPSS, and binary logistic regression was applied to draw the association between home as a place of delivery and men’s decision making in the Pakhtun society. The results show that majority (76%) of the husbands are key decision makers about the home delivery due to their superior position within household. Similarly, majority (88%) Pakhtun women prefer to stay in home for their delivery due to their dependency on husband’s decision. The researcher concludes that men are key decision makers in Pakhtun society and their decisions affect women maternal health care. Similarly, the women are in subordinate position, and their limited decision making in the domestic sphere are greatly responsible for home delivery which causing high maternal mortality rate in the study area. In order to achieve Sustainable Development Goal No. 3, the study recommends empowering women in the decision making about accessing and utilizing maternal health care services and given financial autonomy to them.

Keywords: home delivery, men’s decision, Pakhtun women, subordinate position

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Authors: Muhammad Anjum Aqueel, Muhammad Jaffar Hussain, Abu Bakar Muhammad Raza

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Diaeretiella rapae (M’Intosh) attack most of the aphid species. However, it is specialized in feeding on crucifer aphid, Brevicoryne brassicae. Biological potential of parasitoid is its density-dependency due to sharing of limited resources in few cases. The present study was carried out to check the biotic potential of D. rapae at its different densities (1, 2, 4, 8 and 10 pairs) on fixed number of B. brassicae (100 in number) as a host. The present study was performed under laboratory conditions (25 ± 2 ºC temperature and 65-70 % R.H.). Different biological parameters for parasitoid (e.g. percent parasitism, adult emergence, adult longevity and per pair parasitism) were evaluated to check its biotic potential. The present findings showed that maximum parasitism (43.09 % ± 0.63) was observed in highest density (10 pairs) and minimum parasitism (16.59 % ± 1.28) in lowest density (1 pair) of the parasitoid. Maximum adult emergence (80.31 % ± 1.33) was observed in highest density (10 pairs) and minimum parasitism (45.99 % ± 1.27) in lowest density (1 pair) of the parasitoid. In the case of adult longevity, highest (8.2 days ± 0.38) and lowest (6 days ± 0.32) longevity were observed in lowest (1 pair) and highest (10 pairs) densities of parasitoids respectively. However, per pair parasitism rate decreased with the increase in parasitoid densities due to intra-specific competition, developed between the parasitoids for parasitism. The positive but close relationship was observed between percent parasitism and adult emergence. The increase in parasitoid densities increased the percent parasitism and adult emergence of the parasitoid. So, we conclude that an inter-specific competition negatively affected the efficacy of parasitoids and may reduce the fitness of the emerging parasitoid.

Keywords: Diaeretiella rapae, Parasitoid densities, Percent parasitism, adult emergence

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Authors: Adel Ben Mohamed

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The widespread use of the English language around the world has pushed many countries to consider such a language as a top priority in their educational system. One of these countries is the Sultanate of Oman. In this frame, the Omani government has allocated huge budgets as well as resources in order to implement the English language in its education system. The importance of English is prevalent in Oman. This is clearly noticeable through remarkable signs. For instance, most of the official documents in Oman are in both Arabic (the mother tongue) or English. In addition to that, there is a mushroom of English language institutes all over the country. In 2020, there are over fourteen English language institutes and centers in Oman (esl base, 2020). Moreover, these days most of the Omani parents are sending their children for tuition to learn the English language. Hence, it is apparent that the Sultanate of Oman is giving a great value to the importance of English in attaining various goals. However, in the world of work, what is more, important today is fluency rather than accuracy. Therefore, many people go for communication English rather than technical English. For example, Oman Daily Observer newspaper published a job advertisement of a sale assistant on 23rd of November 2020, recommended that speaking very well English is a must to be hired for the position (Oman Observer, 2020). In line with this and because of the great importance of the English language in Oman, the ministry of higher education has placed much emphasis on this official foreign language. Therefore, in the Omani educational system, all post -secondary students must sit for one year in one of the higher education institutions as a General Foundation Programmes (GFP) prior to moving to their respective majors in diploma level. Accordingly, the implementation of any teaching approach is determined by different factors: some are directly linked to teachers while others are related to organizational variables.

Keywords: teaching approaches, communicative, ability, investigating

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Authors: Firas Alfwaress, Abdelraheem Bebers Abdelhadi Hamasha, Maha Abu Awaad

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Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of Palatal Lift Prosthesis (PLP) on speech clarity in patients with Flaccid Dysarthria. Five speech measures were investigated including Nasalance Scores, Diadchokinetic (DDK), Vowel Duration, airflow, and Sound Intensity. Participants: Twelve (7 Males and 5 females) native speakers of Jordanian Arabic with Flaccid Dysarthria following stroke, traumatic brain injury, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis were included. The age of the participants ranged from 8–65 years with an average of 31.75 years. Design: Nasalance Scores, Diadchokinetic rate, Vowel Duration, and Sound Intensity were obtained using the Nasometer II, Model 6450 in three conditions. The first condition included obtaining the five measures without wearing the customized Palatal Lift Prosthesis. The second and third conditions included obtaining the five measures immediately after wearing the Palatal Lift Prosthesis and three months later. Results: Palatal lift prosthesis was found to be effective in individuals with flaccid dysarthria. Results showed decrease in the Nasalance Scores for the syllable repetition tasks and vowel prolongation tasks when comparing the means in the pre PLP with the post PLP at p≤0.001 except for the /m/ prolongation task. Results showed increased DDK repetition task, airflow amount, and sound intensity, and a decrease in vowel length at p≤0.001. Conclusions: The use of palatal lift prosthesis is effective in improving the speech of patients with flaccid dysarthria.

Keywords: palatal lift prosthesis, flaccid dysarthria, hypernasality, speech clarity, diadchokinetic rate

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Authors: Guenther Schuh, Stephan Schroeder, Marcel Faulhaber

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Companies are facing an increasing pressure to innovate faster, cheaper and more radical in last years, due to shrinking product lifecycles and higher volatility of markets and customer demands. Especially established companies struggle meeting those demands. Thus, many producing companies are adapting their development processes to address this increasing pressure. One approach taken by many companies is the use of agile, highly iterative development processes to reduce development times and costs as well as to increase the fulfilled customer requirements and the realized level of innovation. At the same time decreasing depths of added value and increasing focus on core competencies as well as a growing product complexity result in a high dependency on suppliers and external development partners during the product development. Thus, a successful introduction of agile development methods into the development of physical products requires also a successful integration of the necessary external partners and suppliers into the new processes and procedures and an adaption of the organizational interfaces to external partners according to the new circumstances and requirements of agile development processes. For an effective and efficient product development, the design of customer-supplier-relationships should be demand-oriented. A significant influence on the required design has the characteristics of the procurement object. Examples therefore are the complexity of technical interfaces between supply object and final product or the importance of the supplied component for the major product functionalities. Thus, this paper presents an approach to derive general requirements on the design of supplier integration according to the characteristics of supply objects. First, therefore the most relevant evaluation criteria and characteristics have been identified based on a thorough literature review. Subsequently the resulting requirements on the design of the supplier integration were derived depending on the different possible values of these criteria.

Keywords: iterative development processes, agile new product development, procurement, supplier integration

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Authors: Elia Efraim, Boris Blostotsky

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Testing of columns in sway mode is performed in order to determine the maximal allowable load limited by plastic deformations or their end connections and a critical load limited by columns stability. Motivation to determine accurate value of critical force is caused by its using as follow: - critical load is maximal allowable load for given column configuration and can be used as criterion of perfection; - it is used in calculation prescribed by standards for design of structural elements under combined action of compression and bending; - it is used for verification of theoretical analysis of stability at various end conditions of columns. In the present work a new non-destructive method for determination of columns critical buckling load in sway mode is proposed. The method allows performing measurements during the tests under loads that exceeds the columns critical load without losing its stability. The possibility of such loading is achieved by structure of the loading system. The system is performed as frame with rigid girder, one of the columns is the tested column and the other is additional two-hinged strut. Loading of the frame is carried out by the flexible traction element attached to the girder. The load applied on the tested column can achieve values that exceed the critical load by choice of parameters of the traction element and the additional strut. The system lateral stiffness and the column critical load are obtained by the dynamic method. The experiment planning and the comparison between the experimental and theoretical values were performed based on the developed dependency of lateral stiffness of the system on vertical load, taking into account semi-rigid connections of the column's ends. The agreement between the obtained results was established. The method can be used for testing of real full-size columns in industrial conditions.

Keywords: buckling, columns, dynamic method, end-fixity factor, sway mode

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Authors: Zahrul Faizi M. S., Ali A., Norhuda A. M.

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Emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) from solid waste treatment and dependency on fossil fuel to produce electricity are the major concern in Malaysia as well as global. Innovation in downdraft gasification with combined heat and power (CHP) systems has the potential to minimize solid waste and reduce the emission of anthropogenic GHG from conventional fossil fuel power plants. However, the efficiency and capability of downdraft gasification to generate electricity from various alternative fuels, for instance, agriculture residues (i.e., woodchip, coconut shell) and municipal solid waste (MSW), are still controversial, on top of the toxicity level from the produced bottom ash. Thus this study evaluates the adaptability and reliability of the 20 kW downdraft gasification system to generate electricity (while considering environmental sustainability from the bottom ash) using flexible local feedstock at 20, 40, and 60% mixed ratio of MSW: agriculture residues. Feedstock properties such as feed particle size, moisture, and ash contents are also analyzed to identify optimal characteristics for the combination of feedstock (feedstock flexibility) to obtain maximum energy generation. Results show that the gasification system is capable to flexibly accommodate different feedstock compositions subjected to specific particle size (less than 2 inches) at a moisture content between 15 to 20%. These values exhibit enhance gasifier performance and provide a significant effect to the syngas composition utilizes by the internal combustion engine, which reflects energy production. The result obtained in this study is able to provide a new perspective on the transition of the conventional gasification system to a future reliable carbon-negative energy technology. Subsequently, promoting commercial scale-up of the downdraft gasification system.

Keywords: carbon-negative energy, feedstock flexibility, gasification, renewable energy

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Authors: Rana S. Alghamdi

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Play in early childhood education has been stifled across the world due to an overemphasis on academic achievement and a reduced focus on physical play and motor development. In Saudi Arabia, teachers reticent to allocate more time to play for fear of retribution from parents and administrators that children are losing academic seat time. This practice has proven to be detrimental to the social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development of children. Teachers are pressured to prioritize Arabic, math, and science while providing minimal time for physical activities. Administrators tend to push for an ever-increasing emphasis on academia in order to achieve higher test scores. However, young children often find it difficult to concentrate if they are not able to get out energy through physical play. Furthermore, many youth educators are not qualified to oversee physical activities, and many facilities are unprepared for safe, outdoor play. This results in children getting little to no outdoor activity. They are stuck in a strict academic regimen that may dampen the creativity and imagination easily fostered through cooperative play. For a stronger educational system and more well-rounded students, Saudi schools should enact policies that extend the number of required hours dedicated to outdoor and physical play. They should also offer training for unqualified teachers. This training should focus on the benefits of physical play and instruct them on how to facilitate these activities safely and effectively. School administrators must focus on providing adequate equipment and safe environments for the purpose of outdoor play and education. In doing so, they will be setting their students up for a successful future and improving their abilities in all aspects of education.

Keywords: early childhood education, play, outdoor, Saudi Arabia

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Authors: Anima Ashraf

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Over the past few decades biodiversity has become the issue of global concern for its rapid reduction worldwide. Bangladesh is no exception. The country is exceptionally endowed with a vast variety of flora and fauna, but due to tremendous population pressure, rural poverty and unemployment it has been decreased alarmingly. Since, both biodiversity and sustainable development are the part of human life in modern era and both work together to make our life safer and comfortable therefore balance should be kept in development and biodiversity conservation and priority should be given to alternative and sustainable development paths. This paper is based on study of two projects undertaken by Arannayk Foundation jointly with its local NGO partners. The aim was to understand previous, current and future scenarios for the hilly biodiversity of Khagrachari in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh. It is also observed how alternative income generating activities (AIGA) improve livelihood of the tribal inhabitants of the area, decrease their dependency on forest resources and also aid conservation activities. Intensive field visits were made and interviews were conducted with key informants to see the progress and achievements of local NGOs working with the tribal community for the past seven years to restore the denuded hills of Khagrachari. The paper also covers the impacts and interventions of the projects and the methods used to aid conservation activities. Raising awareness among the villagers has reduced extraction of forests resources by 47% and granting funds and access to microcredit to adopt AIGAs have increased their average annual income by 25%. Finally, the paper concludes that effective community-based conservation practices are fundamental to ensure biodiversity conservation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. In order to conserve biodiversity and restore the forests of CHT, livelihood development of the villagers has to be considered as the main component of the projects undertaken by all NGOs and the Government.

Keywords: biodiversity, conservation, forests, livelihood

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Authors: Boris Blostotsky, Elia Efraim

Abstract:

Testing of columns in sway mode is performed in order to determine the maximal allowable load limited by plastic deformations or their end connections and a critical load limited by columns stability. Motivation to determine accurate value of critical force is caused by its using as follow: - critical load is maximal allowable load for given column configuration and can be used as criterion of perfection; - it is used in calculation prescribed by standards for design of structural elements under combined action of compression and bending; - it is used for verification of theoretical analysis of stability at various end conditions of columns. In the present work a new non-destructive method for determination of columns critical buckling load in sway mode is proposed. The method allows performing measurements during the tests under loads that exceeds the columns critical load without losing its stability. The possibility of such loading is achieved by structure of the loading system. The system is performed as frame with rigid girder, one of the columns is the tested column and the other is additional two-hinged strut. Loading of the frame is carried out by the flexible traction element attached to the girder. The load applied on the tested column can achieve a values that exceed the critical load by choice of parameters of the traction element and the additional strut. The system lateral stiffness and the column critical load are obtained by the dynamic method. The experiment planning and the comparison between the experimental and theoretical values were performed based on the developed dependency of lateral stiffness of the system on vertical load, taking into account a semi-rigid connections of the column's ends. The agreement between the obtained results was established. The method can be used for testing of real full-size columns in industrial conditions.

Keywords: buckling, columns, dynamic method, semi-rigid connections, sway mode

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Authors: Aladdin Al-Tarawneh

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The Quran, as it is the sacred book of Islam and considered the literal word of God (Allah) in Arabic, is highly translated into many languages; however, the foreignising or the literal approach excessively stains the quality and discredits the final product in the eyes of its receptors. Such an approach fails to capture the intended meaning of the Quran and to communicate it in any language. Therefore, this study is conducted to propose a different approach that seeks involving other ones according to a hybrid model. Indeed, this study challenges the binary adherence that is highly used in Translation Studies (TS) in general and in the translation of the Quran in particular. Drawing on the genuine fact that the Quran can be communicated in any language in terms of meaning, and the translation is not sacred; this paper approaches the translation of the Quran by blending different methods like domestication or foreignisation in a systematic way, avoiding the binary choice made by many translators. To reach this aim, the paper has a conceptual part that seeks to elucidate and clarify the main methods employed in TS, and criticise and modify them to propose the new hybrid approach (the hybrid model) for translating the Quran – that is, the deductive method. To support and validate the outcome of the previous part, a comparative model is employed in order to highlight the differences between the suggested translation and other widely used ones – that is, the inductive method. By applying this methodology, the paper proves that there is a deficiency of communicating the original meaning of the Quran in light of the foreignising approach. In conclusion, the paper suggests producing a Quran translation has to take into account the adoption of many techniques to express the meaning of the Quran as understood in the original, and to offer this understanding in English in the most native-like manner to serve the intended target readers.

Keywords: Quran translation, hybrid approach, domestication, foreignization, hybrid model

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Authors: Sidi Ahmed Berrabah

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English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) is expanding rapidly in the world. A growing volume of research has been dedicated to investigating its introduction, with findings that describe a complex picture and suggest that the practicality and effectiveness of EMI are still the subjects of debate. However, considerably less attention has been given to understanding EMI in a context where its introduction has been discussed but not yet put into practice. One such context is Algeria, where discourses about a potential introduction of EMI have been going on for some time. It is likely that the first courses where EMI is introduced are Business degree programmes. This study aims to examine the current discourses and attitudes towards the potential implementation of EMI and the language practices in Business degree programmes in three Algerian universities. The research is conducted in three different universities in three different regions in Algeria with the aim of including both ‘centre’ and ‘periphery’ Algerian universities. In order to achieve the previous aims, a mixed research paradigm is used. Questionnaires, semi structured interviews, and classroom observations are used to gather data from three participant cohorts: university students of Business, lecturers of Business, and lecturers of English for specific purposes. The findings showed that students and lecturers of Business are found in favour of the introduction of English instead of French or standard Arabic as a medium of instruction. The reason is that English is seen as having internationalisation and instrumental benefits, while French was too closely linked to the colonial history of the country. The favourable attitudes towards EMI, however, seem to contrast with the daily classroom practices at the departments of Business studies, where students and lecturers make practical choices of using their language repertoire based on their linguistic background and skills. Classrooms in the three Algerian universities featured fluid and translanguaging practices that cannot be reduced to a monolingual EMI policy.

Keywords: EMI, Algerian universities, business degree programmes, translanguaging

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Authors: Hela Fathallah

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With 6,500 spoken languages all over the world but 80 percent of online content available only in 10 languages – English, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, Arabic, Portuguese, German, French, Russian, and Korean – language represents a barrier to the universal access to knowledge, information and services that the internet wants to provide. Translation and its related fields of localization, interpreting, globalization, and internationalization, remove that barrier for billions of people worldwide, unlocking new markets for technology companies, mobile device makers, service providers and language vendors as well. This paper gathers different surveys conducted in different regions of the world that demonstrate a growing demand for consumption of web content with distinctive values and in languages others than the aforementioned ones. It also adds new insights to the contribution of translation in languages preservation. The idea that English is the language of internet and that, in a globalized world, everyone should learn English to cope with new technologies is no longer true. This idea has reached its limits. It collides with cultural diversity and differences around the world and generates an accelerated rate of languages extinction. Studies prove that internet exacerbates this rate and web giants such as Facebook or Google are, today, facing the impact of such a misconception of globalization. For internet and dot-com companies, localization is the solution; they are spending a significant amount of time to understand what people want and to figure out how to provide it. They are committed to making their content accessible, if not in all the languages spoken today, at least in most of them, and to adapting it to most cultures. Technology has broken down the barriers of time and space, and it will break down the language barrier as well by undertaking a process of translation and localization and through a new definition of globalization that takes into consideration these two processes.

Keywords: globalization, internet, localization, translation

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Authors: Haitham Sarhan

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The experience of Mahmoud Darwish’s poetry represents one of the leading Arabic creative experiences because of its cultural specificity which is linked to the question of Palestine and its people. The poet Mahmoud Darwish does not stop there, but also reaches out to the whole of the cosmic and openness of the universal human experience. His poetry is rooted in a creative period, and was able to surpass its time. Mahmoud Darwish’s poetry contains diverse metaphors and worlds of genres, which overextends from direct romance to the lattice resistance and further stretches to the imaginary world and to the grand narratives. The poem "Identity Card" was published in his collections "Olive Leaves" and was issued in 1963. This collection highlighted the poems which included a revolutionary position, and formed a 'manifesto' and the statement of the Palestinian resistance, which represented the league of poets of Palestine. This poem has contributed along with other poems in creating a flame of resistance and increased it in the hearts of the Palestinian people. It also exercised considerable influence in the Arab world through what has been wrought from emotional responses and revolutionary impact which still remains. Moreover, this poem has succeeded with other resistance poems and postmodern poets like Nizar Qabbani in bringing modern poetry and culturally transmitted it among the Arab peoples and the masses. In spite of the fact that the poet Mahmoud Darwish exceeded this poem creatively through his other great works, "Identity Card" still has a great effect on peoples past memory’s and present. This need to hear this poem in Mahmoud Darwish’s poetic readings reflects peoples frustration and anger. It is safe to say that it is enticing people to this present day. This revolutionary poem had and still has a magical effect on Arab world.

Keywords: Arab contemporary poetry, identity, memory, argumentation

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Authors: Nawaf A. Alqahtani, Ali M. Alqahtani, Khalid A. Alqahtani, Huda S. Abdullfattah, Ebtehal A. Alessa, Khalid S. Al Gelban, Ossama A. Mostafa

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Background: The internet is an exciting medium that is becoming an essential part of everyday life. Although the internet is fully observed in Saudi Arabia, young people may be vulnerable to problematic internet use, possibly leading to addiction. Aim of study: To explore the magnitude of internet addiction (IA) among medical students associated risk factors and its impact on students' academic achievement. Subjects and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in 2014 on 571 medical students (293 males and 278 females) at the College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia. Data Collection was done through using the Arabic version of the Compulsive Internet Use Scale and a checklist of demographic characteristics. Results: Age of participants ranged from 19 to 26 years (Mean+SD: 21.9+1.5 years). Internet access was available to 97.4% of students at home and to 80.2% of students at their mobile phones. The most frequently accessed websites by medical students were the social media (90.7%), scientific website (50.4%) and the news websites (31.3%). IA was mild in 47.8% of medical students while 5.8% had moderate IA. None of the students had severe IA. Prevalence of IA was significantly higher among female medical students (p=0.002), availability of internet at home (p=0.022), and availability of internet at the students' mobile phone (p=0.041). The mean General Point Average (GPA) was highest among students with mild IA (4.0+0.6), compared with 3.6+0.6 among those with moderate addiction, and 3.9+0.6 among those who did not show IA. Differences in mean GPA according to grade of IA were statistically significant ((P=0.001). Conclusions: Prevalence of IA is high among medical students in Saudi Arabia. Risk factors for IA include female gender, availability of internet at home or at the mobile phone. IA has a significant impact on students' GPA. Periodic screening of medical students for IA and raising their awareness toward the possible risk of IA are recommended.

Keywords: internet addiction, medical students, risk factors, Saudi Arabia

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Authors: Emrehan Ozcan, Dilek Beyazlı

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The development of tourism depends on an accurate planning approach as well as on the right planning process. This dependency is also a key factor in ensuring sustainability of tourism. The types of tourism, social expectations, planning practice, the socio-economic and the cultural structure of the region are determinants of planning approaches for tourism development. The tourism plans prepared for the historic city centers are usually based on the revitalization of cultural and historical values. The preservation and development of the tourism potentials of the historic city centers are important for providing an economic contribution to the locality, creating livable solutions for local residents and also the sustainability of tourism. This research is about experiencing and discussing a planning approach that will provide tourism development based on historical and cultural values. Historical and cultural values in the historical city center of Trabzon -which has a settlement history of approximately 4000 years, is located on the Black Sea coast of Turkey- wear out over years and lose their tourism potential. A planning study has been experienced with strategic spatial planning approach for Trabzon, which has not done a tourism-oriented planning study until now. The stages of the planning process provided by strategic spatial planning approach are an assessment of the current situation; vision, strategies, and actions; action planning; designing and implementation of actions and monitoring-evaluation. In the discussion section, the advantages, planning process, methods and techniques of the approach are discussed for the possibilities and constraints in terms of tourism planning. In this context, it is aimed to put forth tourism planning process, stages, and implementation tools within the scope of strategic spatial planning approach by comparing approaches used in the tourism-oriented/priority planning of historical city centers. Suggestions on the position and effect of the preferred planning approach in the existing spatial planning practice are the outputs of the study.

Keywords: cultural heritage, tourism oriented planning, Trabzon, strategic spatial Planning

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Authors: Ambika Prasad Gupta, Harshit Sosan Lakra

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Food security is an important issue that has been widely discussed in literature. However, there is a lack of research on the specific food security challenges faced by tribal communities. Tribal food security refers to the ability of indigenous or tribal communities to consistently access and afford an adequate and nutritious supply of food. These communities often have unique cultural, social, and economic contexts that can impact their food security. The study aims to assess the food security status of all thirty-two major tribes, including Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) people living in various blocks of Jharkhand State. The methodology of this study focuses on measuring the food security index of indigenous people by developing and redefining a new Tribal Food Security Index (TFSI) as per the indigenous community-level indicators identified by the Global Food Security Index and other indicators relevant to food security. Affordability, availability, quality and safety, and natural resources were the dimensions used to calculate the overall Tribal Food Security Index. A survey was conducted for primary data collection of tribes and PVTGs at the household level in various districts of Jharkhand with a considerable tribal population. The result shows that due to the transition from rural to urban areas, there is a considerable change in TFSI and a decrease in forest dependency of tribal communities. Socioeconomic factors like occupation and household size had a significant correlation with TFSI. Tribal households living in forests have a higher food security index than tribal households residing in urban transition areas. The study also shows that alternative methodology adopted to measure specific community-level food security creates high significant impact than using commonly used indices.

Keywords: indigenous people, tribal food security, particularly vulnerable tribal groups, Jharkhand

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Authors: Nargess Fasihmardanloo

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The aim of this study was to comparatively study the motivations of women to physical activity in Iran and selected Arab countries Based on individual, social and Islamic components. The present study was a descriptive comparative study that was performed by field method. The statistical population of the study included female athletes in Iran and Arab countries. A total of 184 people from Iran and 179 people from Arab countries (Iraq, UAE, and Jordan) were selected through available sampling as a research sample. The research tool included a questionnaire. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed and its reliability in a pilot study was 0.95 through Cronbach's alpha. The questionnaire was translated into Persian in Iran and translated into Arabic for the selected countries and was provided to the participants electronically and through cyberspace. Finally, 363 questionnaires were collected. Manova multivariate analysis of variance using spss22 software was used to analyze the data. Findings showed that between Iranian women athletes and women athletes in selected Arab countries in the components of intrapersonal motivation (p = 0.009 and f = 6.978), interpersonal motivation (p = 0.050 and f = 3.875), There is a significant difference between social motives (p = 0.001 and f = 27.619) and Islamic motives (p = 0.001 and f = 11.339). And this difference is significant at the level of p <0.01 and p <0.05. In other words, in the component of intrapersonal motivations, the average of this component in Iranian female athletes (M = 59.77) was higher than female athletes in selected Arab countries (M = 55.53). In the interpersonal motivations component, the average of this component in Iranian female athletes (M = 26.87) was lower than in female athletes in selected Arab countries (M = 28.62). In the component of social motivations, the average of this component in Iranian female athletes (M = 33.08) was lower than female athletes in selected Arab countries (M = 39.64). In the component of Islamic motives, the average of this component in Iranian female athletes (M = 21.55) was higher than female athletes in selected Arab countries (M = 19.04).

Keywords: athletes, motivation, women, Islamic

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Authors: Rui Li, Min Wen, Kim Bang Salling

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For the modern railways, maintenance is critical for ensuring safety, train punctuality and overall capacity utilization. The cost of railway maintenance in Europe is high, on average between 30,000 – 100,000 Euros per kilometer per year. In order to reduce such maintenance expenditures, this paper presents a mixed 0-1 linear mathematical model designed to optimize the predictive railway tamping activities for ballast track in the planning horizon of three to four years. The objective function is to minimize the tamping machine actual costs. The approach of the research is using the simple dynamic model for modelling condition-based tamping process and the solution method for finding optimal condition-based tamping schedule. Seven technical and practical aspects are taken into account to schedule tamping: (1) track degradation of the standard deviation of the longitudinal level over time; (2) track geometrical alignment; (3) track quality thresholds based on the train speed limits; (4) the dependency of the track quality recovery on the track quality after tamping operation; (5) Tamping machine operation practices (6) tamping budgets and (7) differentiating the open track from the station sections. A Danish railway track between Odense and Fredericia with 42.6 km of length is applied for a time period of three and four years in the proposed maintenance model. The generated tamping schedule is reasonable and robust. Based on the result from the Danish railway corridor, the total costs can be reduced significantly (50%) than the previous model which is based on optimizing the number of tamping. The different maintenance strategies have been discussed in the paper. The analysis from the results obtained from the model also shows a longer period of predictive tamping planning has more optimal scheduling of maintenance actions than continuous short term preventive maintenance, namely yearly condition-based planning.

Keywords: integer programming, railway tamping, predictive maintenance model, preventive condition-based maintenance

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Authors: Manal Mohammed Hisham Said Najjar

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The Arab Grammarians shed light on the redundant kana (was) and gave it a considerable attention. However, their considerations and interpretations pertaining to using this verb varied: is it used to determine tense? Or used for further emphasis or for another function? Does it have a syntactic function? Morphologically, could it be used in other forms than the past? In addition, Arab Grammarians discussed the possibility of using kana to locate itself in between the syntactic constructs of a sentence, a phrase, or a collocation. Others questioned its position whether it is in initial or final. This study found out that the redundant kana (was) is cited in Quran and was used by the Arabs in their speech and poetry. This redundant kana, whether used in initial position or in a final position, or in between the constructs of a sentence, a phrase, or a collocation, implies pragmatic meanings intended by the speaker or the poet to serve different functions, such as to indicate the past tense, to provide emphasis, and to refer to the continuity of the effect and meaning of a verb or adjective. The study concludes that this verb kana can be utilized in different contexts to achieve a specific effect as did the old Arabs who used it to add specific shades of meanings. Kana as a redundant word could be added to further highlight the meaning aimed at in a specific utterance. In addition, this verb can be used in both the past and the present morphological form; and its availability in an utterance could be functional and could not be. In other words, the study found out that the redundant kana can be used in various positions in an utterance, initial, final, or in between a syntactic structure, provided that this use is pragmatically functional. In conclusion, this paper seeks to invite the scholars of the Arabic language to coin a new term which is the “pragmatic kana” to replace the term “kana alzae’da (redundant kana)” which might mean that its use is redundant and void of significance – a fact that is illogical due to its recurrent use in the Holy Quran. NOTE: Please take this study not the other one (sent by mistake) and titled kana alnaqisa

Keywords: redundan, kana, grammarians, quran

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Authors: Shadi Fathi, Moura Mehravar, Mujib Rahman

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The railwaytransportation network in the UK is over 100 years old and is known as one of the oldest mass transit systems in the world. This aged track network requires frequent closure for maintenance. One of the main reasons for closure is inadequate drainage due to the leakage in the buried drainage pipes. The leaking water can cause localised subgrade weakness, which subsequently can lead to major ground/substructure failure.Different condition assessment methods are available to assess the railway substructure. However, the existing condition assessment methods are not able to detect any local ground weakness/damageand provide details of the damage (e.g. size and location). To tackle this issue, a hybrid back-analysis technique based on artificial neural network (ANN) and genetic algorithm (GA) has been developed to predict the substructurelayers’ moduli and identify any soil weaknesses. At first, afinite element (FE) model of a railway track section under Falling Weight Deflection (FWD) testing was developed and validated against field trial. Then a drainage pipe and various scenarios of the local defect/ soil weakness around the buried pipe with various geometriesand physical properties were modelled. The impact of the soil local weaknesson the track surface deflection wasalso studied. The FE simulations results were used to generate a database for ANN training, and then a GA wasemployed as an optimisation tool to optimise and back-calculate layers’ moduli and soil weakness moduli (ANN’s input). The hybrid ANN-GA back-analysis technique is a computationally efficient method with no dependency on seed modulus values. The modelcan estimate substructures’ layer moduli and the presence of any localised foundation weakness.

Keywords: finite element (FE) model, drainage defect, falling weight deflectometer (FWD), hybrid ANN-GA

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Authors: Amani Hassan Abu Atieh

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This study aims at examining the patterns of ideology reflected in the written discourse of women writers in the media of Jordan; Lana Mamkgh is taken as an example. This study critically analyzes the discursive, linguistic, and cognitive representations that she employs as an agent in the institutionalized discourse of the media. Grounded in van Dijk’s critical discourse analysis approach to Sociocognitive Discourse Studies, the present study builds a multilayer framework that encompasses van Dijk’s triangle: discourse, society, and cognition. Specifically, the study attempts to analyze, at both micro and macro levels, the underlying cognitive processes and structures, mainly ideology and discursive strategies, which are functional in the production of women’s discourse in terms of meaning, forms, and functions. Cognitive processes that social actors adopt are underlined by experience/context and semantic mental models on the one hand and social cognition on the other. This study is based on qualitative research and adopts purposive sampling, taking as an example a sample of an opinion article written by Lana Mamkgh in the Arabic Jordanian Daily, Al Rai. Taking her role as an agent in the public sphere, she stresses the National and feminist ideologies, demonstrating the use of assertive, evaluative, and expressive linguistic and rhetorical devices that appeal to the logic, ethics, and emotions of the addressee. Highlighting the agency of Jordanian writers in the media, the study sought to achieve the macro goal of dispensing political and social justice to the underprivileged. Further, the study seeks to prove that the voice of Jordanian women, viewed as underrepresented and invisible in the public arena, has come through clearly.

Keywords: critical discourse analysis, sociocognitive theory, ideology, women discourse, media

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Authors: Rajkumar Ghosh

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Climate change has led to decreased water availability in the Gomti Nagar area of Uttar Pradesh, India. Climate change has reduced the amount of precipitation and increased the rate of evaporation. The region is heavily reliant on surface water sources (Gomti river, Sharda Canal) and groundwater. Efficient management of groundwater resources is crucial for addressing water shortages. These may include: Exploring alternative water sources, such as wastewater recycling and desalination, can help augment water supply and reduce dependency on rainfall-dependent sources. Promoting the use of water-efficient technologies in industries, agriculture, and water-efficient infrastructure in urban areas can contribute to reducing water demand and optimizing water use. Incorporating climate change considerations into urban planning and infrastructure development can help ensure water security in the face of future climate uncertainties. Addressing water scarcity in the Gomti Nagar area requires a multi-pronged approach that combines sustainable groundwater management practices, climate change adaptation strategies, and integrated water resource management. By implementing these measures, the region can work towards ensuring a more sustainable and reliable water supply in the context of climate change. Water is the most important natural resource for the existence of living beings in the Earth's ecosystem. On Earth, 1.2 percent of the water is drinkable, but only 0.3 percent is usable by people. Water scarcity is a growing concern in India due to the impact of climate change and over-exploitation of water resources. Excess groundwater withdrawal causes regular declines in groundwater level. Due to city boundary expansion and growing urbanization, the recharge point for groundwater tables is decreasing. Rainwater infiltration into the subsoil is also reduced by unplanned, uneven settlements in urban change.

Keywords: climate change, water scarcity, groundwater, rainfall, water supply

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Authors: Doddy T. P. Enggarsyah, Soebowo Musa

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Covid-19 pandemic has changed business environments and has spread economic contagion rapidly, as the stringent lockdowns and social distancing, which were initially intended to cut off the spread, have instead cut off the flow of economies. With no existing experience or playbook to deal with such a crisis, the prolonged pandemic can lead to bankruptcies, despite the fact that there are cases of companies that are not only able to survive but also to increase sales and create more jobs amid the economic crisis. This quantitative research study clarifies conflicting findings on organizational inertia whether it is a better strategy to implement during a disruptive environment. 316 respondents who worked in diverse firms operating in various industry types in Indonesia have completed the survey with a response rate of 63.2%. Further, this study clarifies the roles and relationships between organizational inertia, organizational creativity, organizational agility, and organizational resilience that potentially have determinants factors on firm performance in a disruptive environment. The findings of the study confirm that the organizational inertia of the firm will set up strong protection on the organization's fundamental orientation, which eventually will confine organizations to build adequate creative and adaptability responses—such fundamental orientation built from path dependency along with past success and prolonged firm performance. Organizational inertia acts like a control mechanism to ensure the adequacy of the given responses. The term adequate is important, as being overly creative during a disruptive environment may have a contradictory result since it can burden the firm performance. During a disruptive environment, organizations will limit creativity by focusing more on creativity that supports the resilience and new technology adoption will be limited since the cost of learning and implementation are perceived as greater than the potential gains. The optimal path towards firm performance is gained through organizational resilience, as in a disruptive environment, the survival of the organization takes precedence over firm performance.

Keywords: disruptive environment, organizational agility, organizational creativity, organizational inertia, organizational resilience

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Authors: Catarina Maria Neto da Cruz, Ana Maria Reis d'Azevedo Breda

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Emotions are manifestations of everything that happens around us, influencing, consequently, our actions. People experience emotions continuously when socialize with friends, when facing complex situations, and when at school, among many other situations. Although the influence of emotions in the teaching and learning process is nothing new, its study in the academic field has been more popular in recent years, distinguishing between positive (e.g., enjoyment and curiosity) and negative emotions (e.g., boredom and frustration). There is no doubt that emotions play an important role in the students’ learning process since the development of knowledge involves thoughts, actions, and emotions. Nowadays, one of the most significant changes in acquiring knowledge, accessing information, and communicating is the way we do it through technological and digital resources. Faced with an increasingly frequent use of technological or digital means with different purposes, whether in the acquisition of knowledge or in communicating with others, the emotions involved in these processes change naturally. The speed with which the Internet provides information reduces the excitement for searching for the answer, the gratification of discovering something through our own effort, the patience, the capacity for effort, and resilience. Thus, technological and digital devices are bringing changes to the emotional domain. For this reason and others, it is essential to educate children from an early age to understand that it is not possible to have everything with just one click and to deal with negative emotions. Currently, many curriculum guidelines highlight the importance of the development of so-called soft skills, in which the emotional domain is present, in academic contexts. The technical report “OECD Survey on Social and Emotional Skills”, developed by OECD, is one of them. Within the scope of the Portuguese reality, the “Students’ profile by the end of compulsory schooling” and the “Health education reference” also emphasizes the importance of emotions in education. There are several resources to stimulate good emotions in articulation with cognitive development. One of the most predictable and not very used resources in the most diverse areas of knowledge after pre-school education is the literature. Due to its characteristics, in the narrative or in the illustrations, literature provides the reader with a journey full of emotions. On the other hand, literature makes it possible to establish bridges between narrative and different areas of knowledge, reconciling the cognitive and emotional domains. This study results from the presentation session of a children's book, entitled “From the Outside to Inside and from the Inside to Outside”, to children attending the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years of basic education in the Portuguese education system. In this book, rationale and emotion are in constant dialogue, so in this session, based on excerpts from the book dramatized by the authors, some questions were asked to the children in a large group, with an aim to explore their perception regarding certain emotions or events that trigger them. According to the aim of this study, qualitative, descriptive, and interpretative research was carried out based on participant observation and audio records.

Keywords: emotions, basic education, children, soft skills

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Authors: Joao Barbosa

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After an intense dispute between the big bang cosmology and its big rival, the steady-state cosmology, some important experimental observations, such as the determination of helium abundance in the universe and the discovery of the cosmic background radiation in the 1960s were decisive for the progressive and wide acceptance of big bang cosmology and the inevitable abandonment of steady-state cosmology. But, despite solid theoretical support and those solid experimental observations favorable to big bang cosmology, Fred Hoyle, one of the proponents of the steady-state and the main opponent of the idea of the big bang (which, paradoxically, himself he baptized), never gave up and continued to fight for the idea of a stationary (or quasi-stationary) universe until the end of his life, even after decades of widespread consensus around the big bang cosmology. We can try to understand this persistent attitude of Hoyle by applying Holton’s thematic analysis to cosmology. Holton recognizes in the scientific activity a dimension that, even unconscious or not assumed, is nevertheless very important in the work of scientists, in implicit articulation with the experimental and the theoretical dimensions of science. This is the thematic dimension, constituted by themata – concepts, methodologies, and hypotheses with a metaphysical, aesthetic, logical, or epistemological nature, associated both with the cultural context and the individual psychology of scientists. In practice, themata can be expressed through personal preferences and choices that guide the individual and collective work of scientists. Thematic analysis shows that big bang cosmology is mainly based on a set of themata consisting of evolution, finitude, life cycle, and change; the cosmology of the steady-state is based on opposite themata: steady-state, infinity, continuous existence, and constancy. The passionate controversy that these cosmological views carried out is part of an old cosmological opposition: the thematic opposition between an evolutionary view of the world (associated with Heraclitus) and a stationary view (associated with Parmenides). Personal preferences seem to have been important in this (thematic) controversy, and the thematic analysis that was developed shows that Hoyle is a very illustrative example of a life-long personal commitment to some themata, in this case to the opposite themata of the big bang cosmology. His struggle against the big bang idea was strongly based on philosophical and even religious reasons – which, in a certain sense and in a Holtonian perspective, is related to thematic preferences. In this personal and persistent struggle, Hoyle always refused the way how some experimental observations were considered decisive in favor of the big bang idea, arguing that the success of this idea is based on sociological and cultural prejudices. This Hoyle’s attitude is a personal thematic attitude, in which the acceptance or rejection of what is presented as proof or scientific fact is conditioned by themata: what is a proof or a scientific fact for one scientist is something yet to be established for another scientist who defends different or even opposites themata.

Keywords: cosmology, experimental observations, fred hoyle, interpretation, life-long personal commitment, Themata

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