Exploring Teacher-Student Communication in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Classes in a Private University in China

This thesis explores the importance of teacher-student communication in English as a foreign language classes in a private university in China. It outlines the positive impacts of effective teacher-student communication on teaching and learning and reveals the perceived causes and negative impacts of teacher-student classroom communication problems. The research topic originated from the researcher’s personal experiences and her belief in the importance of teacher-student classroom communication. Drawing upon the literature and the researcher’s understanding of the researched area, research aims and questions were established which enabled a deep and critical exploration of the research topic. A conceptual framework was developed based on the exploration of the key contexts and concepts. This acted as a guide for this empirical work underpinning the researcher’s methodological decisions and capturing an early attempt to suggest a relationship between the concepts and ideas which help to explain teacher-student classroom communication. Underpinned by the philosophy of social constructivism, a qualitative research approach was adopted to conduct the empirical study. Thirteen participants were interviewed to collect in-depth data. The data was analyzed through a thematic data analysis approach. Key findings include the importance of teacher-student classroom communication in its two core roles—functional (pedagogical) roles and psychological roles. Teacher-student classroom communication is not only a medium to support the completion of academic learning, but also a facilitator to satisfy both teachers’ and students’ psychological needs. When teacher-student classroom communication can best serve both functional and psychological purposes, it results in the most positive influences on teaching and learning. Drawing on the findings, the original conceptual framework was refined. The new conceptual framework not only demonstrates how teacher-student classroom communication and the context in which it occurs influence each other, but also illustrates two important functions and positive impacts of effective teacher-student classroom communication on teaching and learning. The importance of teacher-student classroom communication lies its serving both functional and psychological purposes which includes knowledge transmission, giving instructions, asking and answering questions, assigning tasks, building and maintaining teacher-student relationships, creating a relaxing and active atmosphere, motivating and encouraging students, and helping students build confidence. When these purposes can be served via effective teacher-student classroom communication, knowledge can be better transmitted and received, meanings can be understood, misunderstandings can be reduced, students’ engagement and learning attitudes can be improved and mutual trust can be built. The findings have potential implications for policy and practice in the educational field. For the native English speaker language teachers, strategies such as using simple words and short sentences, slowing speaking speed, and properly using body languages and idioms are underlined as significant ways forward, based on my findings. In addition, taking teacher development courses are also effective ways for native English speaker language teachers to acquire cultural and contextual information. For non-native English speaker language teachers, a student-centered teaching mode which facilitates classroom communication is suggested. The students are advised to improve their English proficiency and raise the awareness of their roles in promoting effective teacher-student classroom communication. For the school leaders and policymakers, small-sized classes with fewer numbers of students are suggested. Further development activities for staff and policy makers would support greater understanding of the crucial nature of teacher-student classroom communication

Generative AI and deepfakes: a human rights approach to tackling harmful content

© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/).The EU's Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA) introduces necessary deepfake regulations. However, these could infringe on the rights of AI providers and deployers or users, potentially conflicting with privacy and free expression under Articles 8 and 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR). This paper critically examines how an unmodified AIA could enable voter manipulation, blackmail, and the generation of sexual abusive content, facilitating misinformation and potentially harming millions, both emotionally and financially. Through analysis of the AIA's provisions, GDPR's regulations, relevant case law, and academic literature, the paper identifies risks for both AI providers and users. While the AIA's yearly review cycle is important, the immediacy of these threats demands swifter action. This paper proposes two key amendments: 1) mandate structured synthetic data for deepfake detection, and 2) classify AI intended for malicious deepfakes as ‘high-risk’. These amendments, alongside clear definitions and robust safeguards would ensure effective deepfake regulation while protecting fundamental rights. The paper urges policymakers to adopt these amendments during the next review cycle to protect democracy, individual safety, and children. Only then will the AIA fully achieve its aims while safeguarding the freedoms it seeks to uphold.Peer reviewe

Impairments in psychological functioning in refugees and asylum seekers

© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Refugees are at increased risk for developing psychological impairments due to stressors in the pre-, peri- and post-migration periods. There is limited knowledge on how everyday functioning is affected by migration experience. In a secondary analysis of a study in a sample of refugees and asylum seekers, it was examined how aspects of psychological functioning were differentially affected. 1,101 eligible refugees and asylum seekers in Europe and Türkiye were included in a cross-sectional analysis. Gender, age, education, number of relatives and children living nearby, as well as indicators for depressive and posttraumatic symptoms, quality of life, psychological well-being and functioning, and lifetime potentially traumatic events were assessed. Correlations and multiple regression models with World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0) 12-item version’s total and six subdomains’ scores (‘mobility’, ‘life activities’, ‘cognition’, ‘participation’, ‘self-care’, ‘getting along’) as dependent variables were calculated. Tests for multicollinearity and Bonferroni correction were applied. Participants reported highest levels of impairment in ‘mobility’ and ‘participation’, followed by ‘life activities’ and ‘cognition’. Depression and posttraumatic symptoms were independently associated with overall psychological functioning and all subdomains. History of violence and abuse seemed to predict higher impairment in ‘participation’, while past events of being close to death were associated with fewer issues with ‘self-care’. Impairment in psychological functioning in asylum seekers and refugees was related to current psychological symptoms. Mobility and participation issues may explain difficulties arising after resettlement in integration and exchange with host communities in new contexts.Peer reviewe

Innovative Design of External Airbag System for Improved Automotive Safety

© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives CC BY-NC-ND licence, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Pedestrians are exceptionally vulnerable in road accidents, and despite the advancements in airbag technology for vehicle occupants, fatal injuries still occur due to contact between pedestrians and vehicle components. To address this issue, an innovative solution is introduced in this research: an external airbag system designed to safeguard pedestrians in cases of brake failure. The proposed system includes four airbag modules strategically positioned within the front bumper of the vehicle. These modules are specifically designed to deploy during a collision, providing protection for the pedestrian's head, legs, and body. Equipped with a highly sensitive sensor, the system triggers the airbag electronic controller unit (ECU) upon collision detection. The external airbag curtains deploy, shielding the pedestrian's head from striking the bonnet, while an additional airbag safeguards the pedestrian's legs from impact with the front bumper. With the introduction of this innovative external airbag system, the main goal is to significantly improve road safety for all individuals and prevent numerous fatalities. The introduction of the innovative external airbag system marks a significant advancement in pedestrian safety within the realm of road accidents. By strategically positioning four airbag modules within the vehicle's front bumper and equipping them with a highly sensitive sensor, this system effectively deploys during collisions to protect pedestrians' heads, legs, and bodies. The deployment of external airbag curtains shields pedestrians' heads from striking the bonnet, while an additional airbag safeguards their legs from impact with the front bumper. Through this research and implementation, the primary objective is to enhance road safety for all individuals and mitigate the occurrence of numerous fatalities resulting from pedestrian-vehicle collisions.Peer reviewe

Security Evaluation of Companion Android Applications in IoT: The Case of Smart Security Devices

© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Smart security devices, such as smart locks, smart cameras, and smart intruder alarms are increasingly popular with users due to the enhanced convenience and new features that they offer. A significant part of this convenience is provided by the device’s companion smartphone app. Information on whether secure and ethical development practices have been used in the creation of these applications is unavailable to the end user. As this work shows, this means that users are impacted both by potential third-party attackers that aim to compromise their device, and more subtle threats introduced by developers, who may track their use of their devices and illegally collect data that violate users’ privacy. Our results suggest that users of every application tested are susceptible to at least one potential commonly found vulnerability regardless of whether their device is offered by a known brand name or a lesser-known manufacturer. We present an overview of the most common vulnerabilities found in the scanned code and discuss the shortcomings of state-of-the-art automated scanners when looking at less structured programming languages such as C and C++. Finally, we also discuss potential methods for mitigation, and provide recommendations for developers to follow with respect to secure coding practices.Peer reviewe

The Ultraviolet Luminosity Function at 0.6 < z < 1 from UVCANDELS

© 2024. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. This work is licensed under the terms of under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/UVCANDELS is a Hubble Space Telescope Cycle-26 Treasury Program awarded 164 orbits of primary ultraviolet (UV) F275W imaging and coordinated parallel optical F435W imaging in four CANDELS fields—GOODS-N, GOODS-S, EGS, and COSMOS—covering a total area of ∼426 arcmin2. This is ∼2.7 times larger than the area covered by previous deep-field space UV data combined, reaching a depth of about 27 and 28 ABmag (5σ in 0.”2 apertures) for F275W and F435W, respectively. Along with new photometric catalogs, we present an analysis of the rest-frame UV luminosity function (LF), relying on our UV-optimized aperture photometry method, yielding a factor of 1.5 increase over H-isophot aperture photometry in the signal-to-noise ratios of galaxies in our F275W imaging. Using well-tested photometric redshift measurements, we identify 5810 galaxies at redshifts 0.6 < z < 1, down to an absolute magnitude of M UV = −14.2. In order to minimize the effect of uncertainties in estimating the completeness function, especially at the faint end, we restrict our analysis to sources above 30% completeness, which provides a final sample of 4726 galaxies at −21.5 < M UV < −15.5. We performed a maximum likelihood estimate to derive the best-fit parameters of the UV LF. We report a best-fit faint-end slope of α=−1.359−0.041+0.041 at z ∼ 0.8. Creating subsamples at z ∼ 0.7 and z ∼ 0.9, we observe a possible evolution of α with redshift. The unobscured UV luminosity density at M UV < −10 is derived as ρUV=1.339−0.030+0.027(×1026ergs−1Hz−1Mpc−3) using our best-fit LF parameters. The new F275W and F435 photometric catalogs from UVCANDELS have been made publicly available on the Barbara A. Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes.Peer reviewe

Is the Morriston Occupational Therapy Outcome Measure (MOTOM) an appropriate tool for reablement services?

© The Author(s) 2024. This is the accepted manuscript version of an article which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1177/03080226241269255Introduction: The Care Act (2014) requires local authorities to provide reablement services but does not standardise how to do this, leading to different services utilising different outcome measures. This article investigates the Morriston Occupational Therapy Outcome Measure, which has been under researched in community reablement settings. Method: A questionnaire was distributed to the staff working within one local authority to seek their experience of using the Morriston Occupational Therapy Outcome Measure. The questionnaire consisted of closed and open-ended questions to gain insights into their understanding and experience of the Morriston Occupational Therapy Outcome Measure. Findings: Quantitative findings showed that staff felt they understood the Morriston Occupational Therapy Outcome Measure, and most respondents agreed that the Morriston Occupational Therapy Outcome Measure was an effective tool for reablement services. However, staff provided contradictory responses as to whether the Morriston Occupational Therapy Outcome Measure was applied consistently or that service users understand the assessment. Qualitative: Findings showed the Morriston Occupational Therapy Outcome Measure is a service user tool, service provider tool, and it provides quality assurance. However, the Morriston Occupational Therapy Outcome Measure can have restricted applicability and within this local authority, more training was needed to improve the consistency of goal-scoring. Conclusion: The Morriston Occupational Therapy Outcome Measure does have strengths within reablement services; however, to ensure it is an effective tool, this research highlights the need for a high level of training.Peer reviewe

The Gaiaultracool dwarf sample – V: the ultracool dwarf companion catalogue

© 2024 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/We present the Ultracool Dwarf Companion Catalogue of 278 multiple systems, 32 of which are newly discovered, each with at least one spectroscopically confirmed Ultracool Dwarf, within a 100 pc volume-limited sample. This catalogue is compiled using the Gaia Catalogue of Nearby Stars for stellar primaries and the Gaia Ultracool Dwarf Sample for low-mass companions and includes 241 doubles, 33 triples, and 4 higher-order systems established from positional, proper motion, and parallax constraints. The catalogue seeks to identify probable benchmark systems within 100 pc to obtain model-independent astrophysical parameters of Ultracool Dwarfs. Chance alignment probabilities are calculated to evaluate the physical nature of each system. Astrometric and photometric data from Gaia Data Release 3 and the Two Micron All Sky Survey are included for all objects. We identify potential unseen companions using a combination of the renormalized unit weight error, image parameter determination statistics, non-single star solutions, and photometric blending as provided by Gaia, identifying hierarchical Ultracool triple systems. Our catalogue includes 17 White Dwarf - Ultracool Dwarf systems, whose ages are determined using cooling models. We also use the Gaia FLAME results and the BANYAN ς procedures to age 40 and 34 systems, respectively, and derive mass estimates from evolutionary models.Peer reviewe

Ozempic (Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist) in Social Media Posts: Unveiling User Perspectives through Reddit Topic Modeling

© 2024 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for the Study of Emerging Drugs. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Semaglutide, a Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist marketed under the brand name Ozempic, is originally prescribed for diabetes treatment and obesity management. However, healthy individuals without a medical cause use Ozempic without medical supervision to improve their physical appearance - a trend that has proliferated through social media, news coverage, and relevant celebrity endorsements. Thus, exploring social media posts can provide insight into understanding individuals’ experiences, beliefs, motivation, as well as misconceptions about Ozempic. To do so, this study utilizes BERTopic, a natural language processing approach for topic modeling, to analyze 46,491 Reddit posts from three subreddits (r/ozempic, r/ozempicforweightloss, r/semaglutide) dated between April 2019 and December 2023. The analysis revealed various discussion topics, including using Ozempic for weight loss, dosaging, insurance denial due to lack of a diabetes diagnosis, weight loss tracking, and side effect management. Overall, the overarching theme centered on the off-label use of Ozempic and its GLP-1 agonist counterparts for weight loss purposes. Moreover, awareness on the health hazards associated with the off-label and unsupervised use of Ozempic as an image enhancer do not frequently appear in the social media discussions. These findings, supported by a dynamic topic modeling analysis, offer ecological insights into the experiences and opinions of community members in Ozempic-related subreddits, reinforcing the growing evidence of the drug's increasing popularity for weight management as well as the role played by social media. The study also shows how information campaigns about the health risks associated with the off-label use of Ozempic by healthy individuals without a medical cause may help counterbalance the lack of risk awareness detected in social media discussions.Peer reviewe

A systematic study of the ultra-fast outflow responses to luminosity variations in active galactic nuclei

© 2024 The Author(s). Published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Context. Ultra-fast outflows (UFOs) have been revealed in a large number of active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the past two decades. Their extreme velocities and high ionization states make them a promising candidate for AGN feedback on the evolution of the host galaxy. However, their exact underlying driving mechanism is not yet fully understood. Aims. Given that the variability of UFOs may be used to distinguish among different launching mechanisms, we aim to search for and characterize the responses of the UFO properties to the variable irradiating luminosity. Methods. We perform a high-resolution time- and flux-resolved spectroscopy of archival XMM-Newton observations on six highly accreting narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies, selected by UFO detection and sufficient exposure times. The state-of-the-art methods of the blind Gaussian line scan and photoionization model scan are used to identify UFO solutions. We search for ionized winds and investigate the structure of ionized winds and their responses to the luminosity variations. The location, density, and kinetic energy of UFOs are estimated as well. Results. The powerful photoionization model scan reveals three previously unreported UFOs in RE J1034+396, PG 1244+026 and I ZW 1 with a detection significance above 3σ, and two new warm absorbers (WAs) in RE J1034+396. Five out of six (83%) AGN in our sample host multi-phase ionized winds, where outflows in I ZW 1 are energy-conserved. The relatively low-ionization entrained UFOs are discovered in four (66%) AGN of our sample, supporting the shocked outflow interpretation for ionized winds in AGN. We notice that two out of seven (28%) UFOs in our sample seem to respond to the radiation field and three (43%) UFOs hint at a radiatively accelerated nature, requiring further observations. Combined with published works, we do not find any correlations between UFO responses and AGN properties except for a tentative (∼1.8σ) anti-correlation between the UFO acceleration and the Eddington ratio, to be confirmed by further observations and an enlarged sample. The kinetic energy of UFOs, mostly detected in soft X-rays, is found to have a large uncertainty. We, therefore, cannot conclude whether soft X-ray UFOs have sufficient energy to drive the AGN feedback, although they are very promising based on some reasonable assumptions. The primary UFO in I ZW 1 (detected in the hard X-ray) is the only case in our sample to possess conclusively sufficient energy to affect the host galaxy.Peer reviewe