Resisting Translation: The Control Policy on Translation in the Arab World with Reference to Jordan

This paper investigates the influence of the control policy on translation in the Arab World and in Jordan particularly. It sheds light on the issues of the control policy, the raison d'être behind applying it in the Arab world, the translators’ role as decision makers (superiority or inferiority towards the language), its forms, and who controls what. Furthermore, this paper is an attempt to reach a better understanding of the circumstances of the influence of covert forms that led to resisting translating. Keywords: control policy, norms, translation, colonialism, conspiracy theory, the Othe

A Review Study of Error Analysis Theory

Up until the late sixties, the prominent theory in the field of second language acquisition or learning was almost behaviouristic, which claimed that the learning was a result of acquiring a set of new language patterns. Hence, second language errors were considered as only the result of learners' mother tongue habits in the target language. Errors which were not explained based on this assumption will definitely be underestimated. Therefore, there was a need for another approach in order to clearly describe second language learners' errors. Given this, the current study aims at reviewing and discussing the Error Analysis theory in terms of theoretical foundations, theoretical assumptions, limitations and significance of this theory. This review reveals that despite the criticism that this theory has received, it still plays a fundamental role in investigating, identifying and describing second language learners' errors and their causes. Most importantly, Error Analysis can enable second language teachers to find out different sources of second language errors and take some pedagogical precautions towards them. Moreover, Error Analysis can provide a good methodology for investigating second language learners' errors. Once the causes or sources of errors are discovered, it is probable to conclude and decide on the remedy

An Exploration of Cognitive Benefits of EFL Learning in a Monolingual Jordanian Context

Objective: This study examined the cognitive benefits of English language learning in Jordan’s predominantly monolingual context, an area that remains largely unexplored. Methodology: A methodically crafted, literature-based survey was administered to a representative sample of 365 Jordanians, selected through random sampling, utilizing a quantitative research design. Findings: The analysis underlined several pronounced cognitive benefits of English language mastery. Key enhancements spanned domains such as attentional control, memory retention, overall health, and creative thinking. Furthermore, the linguistic journey often translated into socio-cultural advantages, facilitating richer intercultural exchanges, fostering deeper friendships, and broadening global perspectives. Interestingly, urban residency and higher educational attainment emerged as influential variables, amplifying these benefits. Recommendations: This study provides essential insights for educators and policymakers to enhance these advantages in monolingual societies

The Pathogenic Role of the Human Mammary Tumor Virus (HMTV) in Human Breast Cancer

ABSTRACT A viral etiology of human breast cancer has been postulated for decades after the identification of MMTV (Murine Mammary Tumor Virus). The detection of HMTV (Human Mammary Tumor Virus) env exogenous sequences in 30-40% of invasive breast carcinoma increased the interest towards this hypothesis. To look for HMTV env exogenous sequences during cancer progression could contribute to a better understanding of their role in breast cancer. This work analyzes the presence of HMTV env exogenous sequences in the first phases of carcinogenesis, i.e. the pre-invasive, as well as in metastatic lesions. Formalin fixed and paraffin embedded samples were utilized: 20 Usual type Ductal Hyperplasia (UDH), 22 Atypical Ductal Hyperplasia (AH), 49 Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS), 20 Infiltrative Ductal Carcinoma (IDC), 26 Normal Epithelial Cells (NEC) collateral to DCIS or IDC, i.e. present in the same histological section, 22 primary breast cancers and their respective non metastatic lymph nodes, 23 primary breast cancers and their metastatic lymph nodes. As a negative control we used reductive mammoplasties, thyroid and colon carcinoma, and blood of healthy donors. All samples were laser microdissected. Fluorescent nested - PCR was used to detect the presence of HMTV env exogenous sequences. Generated fluorescent amplicons were sized on an automatic DNA sequencer. DNA extracted from tissues of 9 patients was analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR. Moreover, we created primary cell line of human breast cancer that was positive for HMTV env exogenous sequences, and then we treated the cells with 106 M Dexamethasone. HMTV env exogenous sequences were found in 19% of NEC collateral to DCIS or IDC, 27% of AH, 80% of DCIS, 35% of IDC, primary breast cancer cases that do not develop metastasis 50%, their respective lymphocytes 36%, primary breast cancers that develop metastasis 69.5%, and their metastatic cancer in lymph nodes 68.4%. Controls results were negative. RT-PCR and CISH confirmed these results. The expression of HMTV in primary breast cancer cell line was started to increase after 16 days of treatment with Dexamethasone. These data could contribute to understanding the meaning of the presence of HMTV in breast carcinogenesis

Integrated multi-layer perceptron neural network and novel feature extraction for handwritten Arabic recognition

Arabic handwritten script recognition presents an energetic area of study. These types of recognitions face several obstacles, such as vast open databases, boundless diversity in individuals' penmanship, and freestyle writing. Thus, Arabic handwriting requires effective techniques to achieve better recognition results. On the other hand, Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) is one of the most common Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) which deals with various problems efficiently. Therefore, this study introduces a new technique called Block Density and Location Feature (BDLF) with MLP, namely BDLF-MLP, which aims to extract novel features from letter images and estimate the letter's pixel density and its location for each equal-sized block in the image. In other words, BDLF-MLP can deal with various styles of Arabic handwritten, such as overlapping letters. The BDLF-MLP starts with the Block Feature Extraction (BFE) of the image by dividing the image into sixteen parts. After that, it calculates the density and location of each block (i.e., BDLF) by finding the sum of all values inside blocks. Finally, it determines the position of the greatest pixel density to obtain better recognition accuracy. The dataset containing 720 images is used to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed technique. Also, 1440 letters are used for training and testing divided evenly between them. The experiment results illustrate that BDLF-MLP outperformed the other algorithms in the literature with an accuracy of 97.26 %

The Amazing Race Repeated Update Q-Learning VS. Q-Learning

In this paper, we will conduct an experiment that aims to compare the performance of two reinforcement learning algorithms, the Repeated Update Q-learning algorithm (RUQL) [1] and the Q-learning algorithm(QL) [5]. A simulated version of a robot crawler developed by [6] will be used in this experiment, it is shown in figure (1). An investigation study about the difference in performance between RUQL and Q-learning algorithm (QL) [5] is discussed in this paper. Several trials and tests were conducted to estimate the difference in the crawler’s movement using both algorithms. Additionally, a detailed description of the Markovian decision processes (MDPs) elements [2] is introduced, MDP model includes states, actions and rewards for the task in hand. The parameters that were used and tuned in this experiment will be mentioned and the reasons for choosing their values will be explained.  Finally, the source code for the crawler robot was modified in order to implement RUQL and Q-Learning (QL) algorithms, Eclipse [3] and Java SE Development Kit 8 (JDK) [4] are used for this purpose. After running the crawler robot simulation, the results drawn from the experiment showed that RUQL significantly outperforms the traditional QL.  &nbsp

Affiliation Oriented Journals: Don’t Worry About Peer Review If You Have Good Affiliation

There has been a growing concern about fraud peer review articles that have been published in some journals in favor of their authors' affiliation, which have been discussed extensively by some researchers. This research paper introduces a new another challenge in academic world concerning journals’ editors who look at authors' affiliations rather than papers' contents. In this short paper, we will introduce this alarming problem and do an experimental test by submitting computer generated papers to some journals and finally present the results of our experiment. The paper is an expression of our concern about providing for maximum high ethics in and quality of publication policy of modern scientific journals

Predictors of First-Year Sultan Qaboos University Students’ Grade Point Average

This study investigated predictors of first-year university grade point average (GPA) using academic and non-academic variables. Data were collected from 1511 Omani students selected conveniently from the population of students entering Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in Fall 2010. Variables considered in the analysis were general education diploma average score, university readiness, critical thinking skills, motivational traits, learning strategies, gender, type of school education, type of first admitted college, and overall performance on the foundation placement tests. Results of the stepwise multiple linear regression analysis indicated that the final full model included general education diploma average score, gender, overall performance on the foundation placement tests, type of college, extrinsic goal orientation, university readiness, and critical thinking as collectively statistically significant predictors of the grade point average; accounting for 26.8% of the variance in the grade point average. Research and practical implications for the study of university student success are discussed. Keywords: first-year university, academic achievement, university GPA, motivation, learning strategies, predictive validit