Evaluating Critical Thinking Skills in Moroccan EFL Textbooks: Gateway to English 2 as a Case

The aim of this study is to evaluate critical thinking skills (CTS) in a Moroccan textbook of English as a foreign language entitled Gateway to English 2 (GTE2 henceforth) according to Bloom’s taxonomy. Alongside with this, a survey is conducted to investigate the perceptions and attitudes of a sample of Moroccan high school teachers towards CTS and their inclusion in the aforementioned textbook. The research design adopted in this study is the mixed methods research approach and three instruments are used to collect data: document analysis, a content analysis card and a questionnaire. The participants’ sample consists of 75 Moroccan high school teachers of English who use GTE2 textbook. The three instruments were intended to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. The findings of the study revealed that the current educational policy aims to foster the CTS of Moroccan students, but the textbooks used, namely GTE2, targets only lower order thinking skills, especially comprehension, and application at the expense of higher order thinking skills which will benefit students both academically and professionally. For this reason, the study suggests activities and materials to enrich the textbook in terms of thinking skills

La perception des compétences entrepreneuriales chez les doctorants marocains de l’université Sultan Moulay Slimane, Béni Mellal

Entrepreneurship is an interesting topic which is a vector of both economic growth and personal enrichment. It is based on self-employment of the youth unemployment policy. Yet it is a complex theme, reflecting different realities in very different sectors. The concept of "entrepreneurship" is extremely broad and can vary depending on geographic and cultural factors. It ranges from the creation and management of a one-man, ready-to-wear boutique, to the creation of a multinational company. Entrepreneurial skills are a vector of distinction between young people. The concept of soft skills development is a topical debate in all countries of the world. These are skills that do not relate to technical know-how or business knowledge are mentioned. These skills, which may relate to knowing how to be (creativity, autonomy, interpersonal skills, etc.) are sometimes called soft skills. It can also be cross-functional skills (project management, mastery of foreign languages, etc.). In this work we aim to treat how Moroccan doctoral students perceive these non-academic skills (entrepreneurial example) in their training process? at the same time, investigate the impact of these skills on their training path and on the creation of businesses? it is also showing the place of entrepreneurial skills in the training of young doctoral students from the Beni Mellal –Khénifra region via a sample of doctoral students from Sultan Moulay Slimane Beni Mellal University. Keywords: Skills, Soft Skills, entrepreneurship, Béni Mellal-khénifra Region. JEL Classification: A2, B55, C93. Paper type: Empirical researchL’entrepreneuriat est un sujet d’actualité et en même temps un vecteur de croissance économique et d’enrichissement personnel. C’est un moyen d’auto-emploi à base de la politique de lutte contre le chômage des jeunes. Or c’est un thème pourtant complexe reflétant des réalités différentes dans des secteurs très différents. Le concept d’« entrepreneuriat » est extrêmement large et peut varier selon les facteurs géographiques et culturels. Il va de la création et de la gestion de la boutique de prêt-à-porter appartenant à une seule personne, à la création d’une entreprise multinationale. Les compétences entrepreneuriales sont un vecteur de distinction entre les jeunes. Le développement de la notion de soft skills est un débat d’actualité dans tous les pays du monde.  Ce sont des compétences qui ne relèvent pas de savoir-faire technique ou connaissances métiers sont mentionnées. Ces compétences pouvant relever du savoir-être (créativité, autonomie, capacités relationnelles…) sont appelées parfois soft skills. Il peut s’agir également de savoir-faire transversaux (gestion de projet, maîtrise de langues étrangères…). Dans ce travail nous visons à traiter comment les doctorants marocains perçoivent ces compétences non académiques (exemple entrepreneuriales) dans leur processus de formation ? C’est en même temps savoir quel est l’impact de ces compétences sur leur parcours de formation et sur la création des entreprises ? C’est montrer aussi la place des compétences entrepreneuriales dans la formation des jeunes doctorants de la région Béni Mellal –Khénifra via un échantillon des doctorants de l’université Sultan Moulay Slimane Béni Mellal.   Mots clés : Compétences, Soft Skills, entrepreneuriat, Région Béni Mellal-khénifra. Classification JEL: A2, B55, C93. Type de l’article : Recherche appliqué

Can Intermarriage ‘Kokusai kekkon’ Prevent Return Migration? : The Case of Moroccan Migrant Returnees from Japan

The aim of this study is twofold: Firstly, it investigates the role of intermarriage or ‘Kokusai kekkon’ with Japanese natives in facilitating Moroccan migration to Japan. Secondly, it aims to understand the factors which have pushed Moroccan migrants to return home. Over the last decade, a growing number of Moroccan migrants have relied on ‘Kokusai kekkon’ or ‘intermarriage’ with Japanese natives as a strategy to migrate to Japan. Nevertheless, many of these migrants return to Morocco after years of residence and work in Japan. The study takes the hypothesis of structural reasons in Japan and Morocco as the causes of this act. Drawing from in-depth interviews with six former Moroccan migrants who have returned to Morocco, quantitative and qualitative data was collected and analyzed to understand some of the reasons behind this return migration. The study showed that intermarriage was strategic to migration for the majority of the informants; however, it was not a sufficient factor to prevent their return to Morocco. It also revealed many structural factors in both Japan and Morocco that have encouraged this return; including the inability to generate savings, the incapability to remit as well as Japan’s restrictive citizenship requirements Keywords:Kokusai kekkon Intermarriage, n, Moroccan Returnees, Japan’s Migration Policies           &nbsp

Understanding Moroccan Return Migration and Intermarriage Dynamics : The Case of Moroccan Returnees from Japan

The aim of this study is twofold: Firstly, it investigates the role of intermarriage or ‘Kokusai kekkon’ with Japanese natives in facilitating Moroccan migration to Japan. Secondly, it aims to understand the factors which have pushed Moroccan migrants to return home. Over the last decade, a growing number of Moroccan migrants have relied on ‘Kokusai kekkon’ or ‘intermarriage’ with Japanese natives as a strategy to migrate to Japan. Nevertheless, many of these migrants return to Morocco after years of residence and work in Japan. The study takes the hypothesis of structural reasons in Japan and Morocco as the causes of this act. Drawing from in-depth interviews with six former Moroccan migrants who have returned to Morocco, quantitative and qualitative data was collected and analyzed to understand some of the reasons behind this return migration. The study showed that intermarriage was strategic to migration for the majority of the informants; however, it was not a sufficient factor to prevent their return to Morocco. It also revealed many structural factors in both Japan and Morocco that have encouraged this return; including the inability to generate savings, the incapability to remit as well as Japan’s restrictive citizenship requirements

Transforming growth factor-β1 regulates chemokine and complement production by human proximal tubular epithelial cells

Transforming growth factor-γ1 regulates chemokine and complement production by human proximal tubular epithelial cells. Previously it has been demonstrated that human proximal tubular epithelial cells (PTEC) are able to produce chemokines (such as IL-8 and MCP-1) and complement components (such as C2, C3, C4 and factor H), and that production of these proteins is regulated by pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1α (IL-1α), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ). Since TGF-γ is also expressed in the renal interstitium during inflammation, we investigated the effect of TGF-γ on the production of chemokines and complement components by PTEC in culture. Transforming growth factor-γ1 up-regulated IL-8 production by an average of 4.11 ± 1.0-fold. macrophage chemoattractant phagocyte (MCP-1) production, on the other hand, was down-regulated by TGF-γ1 by an average of 2.2 ± 0.7-fold. The production of C3 and C4 was also down-regulated after incubation with TGF-γ1 (1.9 ± 0.3- and 3.0 ± 1.2-fold, respectively). All effects were dose- and time-dependent and were found to be specific for TGF-γ1, as assessed by inhibition of the effect with a neutralizing antibody against TGF-γ1. These data, together with the knowledge that TGF-γ, chemokines and complement components play a role in several types of renal disease, suggest that TGF-γ is involved in the regulation of local expression of chemokines and complement components by tubular cells

Evidence-based numerical building model enhancement and building energy efficiency evaluation in the case of Morocco

This paper presents a framework for numerical building validation enhancement based on detailed building specifications from in-situ measurements and evidence-based validation assessment undertaken on a detached sustainable lightweight building in a semi-arid climate. The validation process has been undergone in a set of controlled experiments – a free-float period, and steady-state internal temperatures. The validation was conducted for a complete year with a 1-min time step for the hourly indoor temperature and the variable refrigerant flow (VRF) energy consumption. The initial baseline model was improved by three series of validation steps per three different field measurements including thermal transmittance, glazing thermal and optical properties, and airtightness. Then, the accurate and validated model was used for building energy efficiency assessment in 12 regions of Morocco. This study aims to assess the effect of accurate building characteristics values on the numerical model enhancement. The initial CV(RMSE) and NMBE have improved respectively from 14.58 % and −11.23 %–7.85 % and 1.86 % for the indoor temperature. Besides, from 31.17 % to 14.37 %–20.57 % and 9.77 % for energy consumption. The findings demonstrate that the lightweight construction with the use of a variable refrigerant flow system could be energy efficient in the southern regions of Morocco

The Potential of Parsley Polyphenols and Their Antioxidant Capacity to Help in the Treatment of Depression and Anxiety: An In Vivo Subacute Study

Depression and anxiety are major mental health problems in all parts of the world. These illnesses are associated with a number of risk factors, including oxidative stress. Psychotropic drugs of a chemical nature have demonstrated several side effects that elevated the impact of those illnesses. Faced with this situation, natural products appear to be a promising alternative. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anxiolytic and antidepressant effects of the Petroselinum sativum polyphenols in vivo, as well as its correlated antioxidant properties in vitro. Anxiolytic activity of the extract (50 and 100 mg/kg) was evaluated using the open field and the light-dark chamber tests, while the antidepressant activity was evaluated using the forced swimming test. The antioxidant activity of the extract was evaluated by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical test and the FRAP (iron-reducing capacity) test. The phenolic extract showed very powerful anxiolytic and antidepressant-like effects, especially at a dose of 100 mg/kg, decreasing the depressive behavior in mice (decreased immobility time) and also the anxiolytic behavior (tendency for discovery in the center and illuminated areas) better even than those of paroxetine and bromazepam (classic drugs) concomitant with those results the extract also showed an important antioxidant capacity. These preliminary results suggest that Petroselinum sativum exhibits anxiolytic and antidepressant potential for use as a complement or independent phytomedicine to treat depression and anxiety

Perpendicularity assessment and uncertainty estimation using coordinate measuring machine

The validation of the conformity of parts according to the ISO 98-4 standard, cannot be achieved without an accurate estimation of the measurement uncertainty, which can become difficult when it comes to a complex measurement strategy to control a geometrical specification of a mechanical part using a Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM). The purpose of the study in this paper is to analyze the measurement strategy following the Geometric Product Specification (GPS) Standard, to estimate the associated uncertainty of the different parameters of each step, to be able to achieve the uncertainty of the measurement of a given specification (perpendicularity error in our study) using the Guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement (GUM). This uncertainty will be thereafter validated by a Monte Carlo simulation, and an interlaboratory comparison will be conducted to compare the obtained results according to the ISO 13528 standard. Our contribution is based on a more accurate estimation of the measurement strategy's parameters uncertainties. This approach can also be used by accredited calibration laboratories (ISO 17025) or in the general case in the control of perpendicularity specification of mechanical parts using a coordinate measuring machine. A case study has been conducted, controlling a perpendicularity specification with a tolerance limit of 15 µm, after the calibration of the CMM to obtain the variance-covariance matrices. The mechanical part perpendicularity error (12.55 µm) was below the limit, however, was judged “not conform” when considering the estimated uncertainty (4.06 µm) and the interlaboratory comparison was satisfactory despite the difference of the acceptance criterion