Learners' Self-efficacy in Reading and its relation to Foreign Language Reading Anxiety and Reading Achievement

It is well documented that language learning success or failure is influenced by the affective side of the learner. Self-efficacy and anxiety are among the affective factors influencing language learning. This study first explores the relationship between EFL learners' self-efficacy in reading comprehension and their reading anxiety. Secondly, it explores the relationship between EFL learners' self-efficacy and their reading achievement. It also investigates whether high self-efficacious EFL learners experience higher anxiety than low self-efficacious EFL learners and whether high self-efficacious EFL learners perform better in reading or not. 150 sophomores majoring in English literature at three universities participated in the present study. Two instruments were used in this study: a) an author-designed scale on EFL learners' self-efficacy in reading comprehension, b) the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) developed by Saito et al.,. The Pearson formula and an independent T-Test were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that there was a significant negative correlation between the participants' reading self- efficacy and their reading anxiety. The results also showed that high self-efficacious participants achieved higher scores in reading comprehension course than low self-efficacious participants. The findings of the study draw the attention of EFL teachers to encourage their learners seek ways to reduce their anxiety in reading L2 texts by improving their self-efficac

A Scientometric Study of the Journal of Applied Research of Sport Management

Background and aim: Nowadays, one of the most important methods of scientific evaluation is scientometric studies. The results of these studies can be seen as a roadmap for research planners and policymakers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the Journal of Applied Research of Sport Management (JARSM) from a scientometric point of view. Material and methods: In this applied and scientometric study, all articles of the JARSM from 2012 to 2018 were analyzed. The data were collected through the journalchr ('39')s website and analyzed using Excel and NodeXL. Findings: Of the 279 articles published in the JARSM, 93% were multi-author publications and more than 31% were published in collaboration with scholars from Payame Noor University. This indicates the great interest of this journal in group collaboration as well as the publication of articles affiliated to their own university. Moreover, the thematic areas of sport management, organizational behavior and sport marketing have received more attention. Tehran and West Azerbaijan Provinces had the highest number of papers in JARSM. In addition, the journal has received the most impact from the Journal of Sport Management and Development, and has made the most scientific impact on the Journal of Sport Management. Conclusion: Overall, the results show that the publication trend in the JARSM is sinusoidal, and its citation rate has been accompanied by a downward trend after a period of an upward one

Using the Analytic Network Process Method for Prioritizing and Weighing Shift Work Disorders Among the Personnel of Hospitals of Kerman University of Medical Sciences

Introduction: Increasing population, the need for services, and industrialization of societies have led to a growing demand for shift work. Shiftwork causes several disorders, and determining the weight of each disorders is important for their prevention and treatment. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to use Analytic Network Process (ANP) to prioritize and weigh shift work disorders among the personnel of hospitals of Kerman University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study was conducted in 2017 among 300 shift work personnel of 10 public hospitals affiliated with Kerman University of Medical Sciences. ANP was used to prioritize and weigh shift work disorders. To this end, the criteria, sub-criteria, and alternatives were initially identified. Then, shift work disorders were categorized into 7 general criteria, 20 sub-criteria, and 3 alternatives. After designing the ANP and determining the effect of each criterion on the sub-criteria, the ANP questionnaire was developed and administered among the shift work personnel, who filled it out based on ANP. Super Decisions was subsequently used to weigh and prioritize shift work disorders. Results: The results indicated that shift work disorders among the nurses included sleep disorders (0.297), psychological disorders (0.275), digestive disorders (0.137), personal life disorders (0.122), etc., in that order of weighing. With respect to the support staff, the major shift work disorders involved sleep disorders (0.252), digestive disorders (0.198), personal life disorders (0.168), and psychological disorders (0.164). Considering security personnel, the top four shift work disorders were sleep disorders (0.201), digestive disorders (0.186), psychological disorders (0.174), and personal life disorders (0.145). Conclusion: According to the findings, sleep disorders had the highest weight in the three studied groups. Moreover, the night shift had the most profound effect on shift work disorders among the personnel in the three groups. It was followed by the evening shift. Morning shift had the lowest influence on shift work disorders. Therefore, the schedules should be taken to prevent these complications in the shift workers. It is suggested that work shift complications be included in the periodic examination program and, in case of discovery of any rhythmic disorder in each shift workers, the person should not remain in the shiftwork group for some time

Analyzing the legacy and scientific impact of Saeed-Ul Hassan: a Pakistani scientometrician, data scientist and winner of the Eugene Garfield Award 2017 and 2022

This study highlights the scientific legacy and impact of Dr Saeed-Ul Hassan’s research on the world of science. He was a remarkable researcher in the fields of scientometrics, altmetrics, artificial intelligence, and data science, as evidenced by the Eugene Garfield Awards he received for innovation in citation analysis in 2017 and 2022. Based on datasets retrieved from the Scopus database for the years 2009–2022, he collaborated with 157 researchers from 22 different nations and his research findings are published in reputable journals and conferences. In the last five years of his life, his scholarly publications and scientific impact significantly increased. His significant attention to Open Access publications and high levels of worldwide collaboration have greatly contributed to his impact in the world of science. The results of altmetric studies indicate that Dr SU Hassan’s scientific publications are widely accepted by researchers on Twitter and Mendeley. The majority of individuals that tweeted and read his publications were from European and American nations. His research had the greatest impact on experts in the fields of scientometrics, computer science and social sciences, according to the classification of the readers of his research articles

Analyzing the legacy and scientific impact of Saeed-Ul Hassan: A Pakistani scientometrician, data scientist and winner of the Eugene Garfield Award 2017 and 2022

This study highlights the scientific legacy and impact of Dr Saeed-Ul Hassan’s research on the world of science. He was a remarkable researcher in the fields of scientometrics, altmetrics, artificial intelligence, and data science, as evidenced by the Eugene Garfield Awards he received for innovation in citation analysis in 2017 and 2022. Based on datasets retrieved from the Scopus database for the years 2009–2022, he collaborated with 157 researchers from 22 different nations and his research findings are published in reputable journals and conferences. In the last five years of his life, his scholarly publications and scientific impact significantly increased. His significant attention to Open Access publications and high levels of worldwide collaboration have greatly contributed to his impact in the world of science. The results of altmetric studies indicate that Dr SU Hassan’s scientific publications are widely accepted by researchers on Twitter and Mendeley. The majority of individuals that tweeted and read his publications were from European and American nations. His research had the greatest impact on experts in the fields of scientometrics, computer science and social sciences, according to the classification of the readers of his research articles

Investigating the effects of external fields polarization on the coupling of pure magnetic waves in the human body in very low frequencies

In this paper we studied the effects of external fields' polarization on the coupling of pure magnetic fields into human body. Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method is used to calculate the current densities induced in a 1 cm resolution anatomically based model with proper tissue conductivities. Twenty different tissues have been considered in this investigation and scaled FDTD technique is used to convert the results of computer code run in 15 MHz to low frequencies which are encountered in the vicinity of industrial induction heating and melting devices. It has been found that external magnetic field's orientation due to human body has a pronounced impact on the level of induced currents in different body tissues. This may potentially help developing protecting strategies to mitigate the situations in which workers are exposed to high levels of external magnetic radiation

From mega-events hosting to scientific leadership: A seven-decade scientometric analysis of pioneer countries

Mega-events have always been an attractive topic for sports management academics. We used scientometric software packages to look at the studies on this topic that have been added to the Web of Science database in the last 68 years. Not only did we give an overview of the background information of the researchers, the status of their collaborations, and the countries and institutions they represented, but we also pointed out active and influential publication sources on this topic. We focused on the Olympic Games and other sports mega-events like the FIFA World Cups, as well as the environmental, tourism, economic, social, political, and cultural aspects of these events. We also made a list of the countries, organizations, and scholars who have made important contributions to the field. Researchers in sports management and sporting event hosts can both use this study as a guide for their own work

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed

Paired Associative Plasticity in Human Motor Cortex

This thesis consists of four chapters. In this thesis we explored associative plasticity of human motor cortex with the use of noninvasive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Paired Associative Stimulation (PAS) has grown in popularity because of its potential clinical applications. We used TMS techniques in combination with electromyographic (EMG) measurements to study cortical excitability and kinematic features of arm movement. This work has focused in a cohesive approach to answer certain fundamental questions about a) the rules of cortical plasticity and mechanism of PAS, b) the interaction between the state of neuronal excitability at the targeted cortical network and the effects of PAS, and c) translation of these effects into obvious measurable kinematic changes starting from network level changes and ending up with the behavioral modulation of arm movement. First we explored the role of GABAergic intracortical networks and intracortical facilitation on modulation of cortical excitability by showing for the first time that PAS can be conditioned by these inhibitory and facilitatory intracortical networks. Next, using standard indirect approaches utilizing peripheral EMG measures, we showed a graded excitability response for the PAS technique and showed that interactions of PAS with motor learning depends on the degree as well as the state of cortical excitability. Rules governing the interactions of brain stimulation techniques and motor learning are important because brain stimulation techniques can be used to modify, improve or disrupt motor adaptation and skill learning with great potential for clinical applications such as facilitation of recovery after stroke. TMS provide us with a unique opportunity to study the rules of plasticity at a systems level, which is a combination of synaptic and nonsynaptic (metaplastic) changes. These changes can occur either in the direction to limit the physiological range of neuronal functioning (homeostatic) or against the direction established state of neurons.Ph