INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF LEADERBOARDS, BADGES, AND EBUCKS ON HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS’ COGNITIVE ENGAGEMENT, SELF-EFFICACY AND INTRINSIC MOTIVATION TOWARD READING IN ENGLISH

This study examines the impact of gamification elements, in particular leaderboards, badges, and eBucks, on the cognitive engagement (CE), intrinsic motivation (IM), and self-efficacy (SE) of English Language Learners (ELLs) at a high school in the Southeastern United States. The investigation, conducted during optional weekly readings, utilizes a mixed methods design to investigate the effects of gamification on ELLs\u27 learning experiences. Through pre-post surveys and semi-structured interviews, data was collected to assess the gamified intervention\u27s impact. Utilizing a one-way covariate analysis (ANCOVA) in IBM SPSS Statistics (version 29), the study evaluates the effect of gamification while controlling for grade, gender, academic performance, reading importance, and gaming importance. Results indicate that while gamification elements did not significantly enhance CE and IM, they did result in a meaningful increase in SE among ELL students. Specifically, the impact of leaderboards and rewards varied based on individual preferences and learning goals. This study underscores the necessity for a personalized approach to address the diverse needs of ELL students in K-12 settings in the United States, advocating for adaptive technology and tailored learning experiences to cater to their unique requirements

Urban and Architectural Impacts of Religious Visits on the Architecture of Holy Shrines: The Case of Al Attaba Al Alaweya

تشكل الزيارة الدينية للعتبات المقدسة جانباً مهماً من حياة وسلوك المسلمين نظرا لارتباطها بقناعة عقائدية وروحية قائمة على احاديث وأقوال متواتره من الرسول الأعظم محمد (ص) واهل بيتة الأطهار المقدسين(ع)  هو ان الإمام المقصود بالزيارة حاضر يسمع السلام ويرده. للزيارة وقع على القلب من الناحية الروحية إضافة إلى طلب الشفاعة عندهم كونهم من المقربين عند الله، والزيارة لأي إمام هي زيارة للنبي وكذلك فكأنما زار عرش الله. ان أهمية الزيارة ومن ثم أعداد الزائرين تشكل من الناحية المعمارية والتخطيطية معياراً مهما في تطور وتغير عمارة العتبة والنسيج الحضري المتاخم لها لما تتضمنه من أبعاد وظيفية وسلوكية اجتماعية وثقافية علاوة على مراسيم وتقاليد الزيارة أثناء المناسبات الدينية. مشكلة البحث عدم وجود تصور معرفي واضح للتأثيرات العمرانية والحضرية للزيارات الدينية في عمارة العتبات المقدسة. هدف البحث دراسة وتحليل مدى تأثير مفهوم الزيارة وأعداد الزائرين في تطور عمارة العتبة والنسيج العمراني المحيط. وتتناول مديات استيعاب الفضاءات الحضرية للأعداد المتزايدة من الزائرين وفعالياتهم الدينية والاجتماعية والثقافية وضرورة دراستها كمعيار وظيفي في تطور عمارة العتبات بشكل عام والعتبة العلوية المقدسة موضوع البحث بشكل خاص.The religious visit to the holy shrines is an important aspect of the life and behavior of Muslims because of the connection to a religious and spiritual conviction based on frequent statements sayings by the great Prophet Muhammad and his holy family, that the imam intended to visit is present is hearing and responding the greeting. The visit has its impact on the heart from the spiritual point of view, in addition to the request for intercession because they are close to Allah. The visit to any imam is a visit to the Prophet, also as if he visited the throne of God. The importance of the visit and then the number of visitors from an architectural and planning point of view form important criterion in the development and change of the architecture of the threshold and the urban adjacent fabric because its include the behavioral, social and cultural functional dimensions, as well as the decrees and traditions of the visit during religious events. The absence of a clear knowledge of the architectural and urban influences of religious visits in the building of the holy shrines, The aim of this paper is to study and analyze the impact of the concept of the visit and the number of visitors in the development of the architecture of the threshold and surrounding urban fabric. It also deals with the ability of accommodating the urban spaces of the increasing numbers of visitors and their religious, social and cultural activities and the need to study them as a functional criterion in the development of the architecture of the thresholds in general and the Imam Ali threshold and sacred subject matter in particula

The Effect of the Constants and Variables of the Architecture of the Holy Shrines in the Adjacent Urban Fabric

إن من ثوابت عمارة العتبات المقدسة هي ارتباط عمارتها بقيم الدين الإسلامي وكثرة الزيارات وأعداد الزائرين إليها، لقد مرت حقب زمنية والزائرين في حالة تزايد لذا لجاْ القائمون عليها باتخاذ قرار التغير والتطوير سابقا، والذي كان يتلاءم مع زيادة الأعداد مع بقاء الثوابت العمرانية والمتعلقة بعمارتها المقدسة. ثم ان النسيج المتاخم لها يتغير تبعاً للتغير الذي يحصل في عمارتها، كما يشكل النسيج المتاخم وحدة واحدة مع عتباتها فبقي محافظاً على هيئته طوال قرون مضت. وفي ثلاثينيات القرن المنصرم تأثر نسيجها بقرار هدم أسوار المدن عامة ومنها مدن العتبات المقدسة، وفتح شوارع وذلك لتسهيل حركة مرور السيارات ووصول الزائرين بانسيابية عالية كما خطَط له في حينه. مشكلة البحث على الرغم من وضع مخططات اساس لمدن العتبات المقدسة بسبب تزايد أعداد الزائرين، ولكنها لم تفِ بحل المشكلة المطلوبة. هدف البحث أعتماد الزائر، وفعاليات الزائرين، والفضاءات التي تشغلها الفعاليات، والأنشطة الدينية، والعقائدية علاوة على الانشطة الثقافية، والاجتماعية معياراً مهماً في عمارة العتبة ونسيجها المتاخم الذي تأثر بازدياد الزائرين والذي لم يعد كافياً لهم ولا للفعاليات التي تقام في عموم المناسبات الدينية وعلى مدار السنة.Among the constants of holy attba building is the connection of its architecture with the values of the Islamic religion and the number of visits and the number of visitors to it. Time has passed and visitors are in a state of increasing, so their founders have taken the decision of change and development previously, which was compatible with the increase in numbers and maintaining the constants of the sacred architecture. The adjacent fabric changes according to the change in its holly architecture, and the adjacent fabric forms one unit with its attba, maintaining its shape for centuries. In the 1930s, its fabric was affected by the decision to demolish the walls of cities in general, including the holy cities, to open roads to facilitate the traffic movements of cars and the arrival of visitors with high speed as planned at the time. The Research problem despite  the development of master plans for the Holy City cities because of the increase in the number of visitors, but did not solve the problem required. The aim of the research is to identify the visitor, the activities of the visitors, the spaces occupied by the activities, the religious and ideological activities, as well as the cultural and social activities, an important criterion in the holy attba building and its adjacent fabric, which has been affected by the increase of visitors and which is no longer sufficient for the activities generally been done throughout the year

Structural Behavior of Short Thin-Walled Steel Columns Filled with High Strength Concrete Made of Recycled Aggregate

This paper introduces an experimental work to study the behavior of 12 recycled aggregate concrete-filled steel tubular (RACFST) short columns with high-strength concrete grade subjected to axial compression loading. These columns formed from six different cross-sections involving triangle, elliptical, and hexagon, whereas the other three sections included traditional forms for control purposes, involving square, rectangular, and circular. All RACFST columns used are made of mild steel plates. These columns were divided into two groups. The steel tube thickness was the only parameter modified to study its effect properly. In addition, the study included the search for the best effective section concerning the properties of stability and confinement, so these columns were designed so that the cross-sectional areas of steel tubes were approximately equal. Also, composite action and level of ductility for these columns were studied. The ultimate failure axial load, the reduction in the axial column length, the failure pattern of cross-section shape, and lateral displacement were recorded during the test. Regarding the two groups of columns with (1 and 2) mm thick steel plates, testing data obtained from RACFST columns with elliptical and circular cross-sections respectively showed better stability and confinement of concrete and the ability to withstand a higher ultimate failure stress. Moreover, columns with polygonal sections showed when the number of ribs for the steel plates of the model or increased the angle between the two sides is (90°) or more, column cross-sections can achieve more stability and confinement, respectively. In general , increasing the thickness of the steel tubes increases. Finally, for all columns, the higher values of the concrete contribution ratio (C.C.R) led to an increase in the strength index (S.I.) values. An increase in values of final failure stresses accompanied this increase

A Deep Learning Algorithm for Lung Cancer Detection Using EfficientNet-B3

Lung carcinoma is one of the main causes of deaths over the whole world, causing a global burden of morbidity and mortality. Detecting lung tumors at their early stages can help reducing the risk of having lung cancer. This paper proposes a deep learning algorithm using EfficientNet B3 for lung cancer detection. The purpose is to improve detection accuracy highlighting potential to revolutionize the field of medical imaging and improve patient care. The proposed approach is build based on EfficientNet B3 model to classify four different types of lung cancer. The approach used CT scan images labeled into Normal, Squamous.cell.carcinoma, Large.cell.carcinoma, and Adenocarcinoma for the purpose of lung cancer detection. The results showed that the proposed model provided an improvement rate of 2.13% compared with the best-trained classifier with accuracy of 96%. This model can be generalized to improve lung cancer detection. The finding of deep neural networks, particularly EfficientNet B3, in supporting the diagnosis and detection of the lung disease, particularly in its early times