174 research outputs found
Developing Critical Thinking Skill Through Text Structure In Esl Reading Classes
The main purpose of this experimental study was to determine the effects of
awareness of the structure of the text on enhancing critical thinking skills in
Malaysian undergraduate ESL reading classes. A comparative study of two groups;
namely Experimental and Control group were involved in this study. The study was
conducted at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) with total participants of thirty-two
students who were randomly sampled.
An experimental pre-test post-test study was conducted to investigate the objectives
of the study. At the initial stage of the study, the test of English reading proficiency
(TOEFL) was administered to the participants. The scores were used to categorize
students into three levels of proficiency in reading skills: good readers, intermediate and low readers as used in the TOEFL test. The participants were then divided in to
two homogenous groups: the Experimental and control groups. Each group was
having the same number of readers with different reading proficiency level. In the
pre-test, all participants from both groups (experimental and control) sat for a
reading comprehension test using a reading passage. Three questions were posed
based on the passage: two questions tested the analyzing skills of the participants
while one question tested the participants’ creative skills. This was done by asking
the participants from both groups to write the topic and the main idea of the passage
as well as writing the summary of the passage. The experimental group (N=16) was
given instructions in how to find the main idea of the texts, using text structures for
the purpose of utilizing the ‘analyzing’ and ‘summarizing’ skills while reading the
expository texts. The control group (n=16), on the other hand, was given the
traditional instruction while handling the texts. A Post-test was conducted for both
groups after the instructions, which were conducted in 10 sessions.
Independent t-test and Paired sample t-test were used to analyze the data. Data
analysis showed that the students, who received instruction on how to analyze and
summarize the text using text structure strategy, had better performance in applying
critical thinking skills while reading (M=59.53) as compared to the control group
(M=36.25). The results of the paired sample t-test showed that the differences were
indeed significant; t(15)=7.64, p=0.000 (p<0.05).The results showed a significant difference in distinguishing the main idea from
supporting details as well as summary writing between the experimental group’s
performance and the control group’s. Experimental group showed significant
improvement in the Post-test (M=2.59) over the Pre-test (M=1.74) in answering
question number 3. The lower standard deviation in Post-test (SD=0.78) over Pretest
(SD=0.88) indicated that the improvement was evenly distributed in the group.
The main focus on the students’ summary writing was to differentiate the main idea
as well as the important details in their summaries.
The results of the study stipulated the fact that the ‘critical thinking’ skill was found
to be strongly enhanced in English reading classes by having direct teaching of
‘analyzing’ and ‘creating’ skills
A study of chekhovian elements in Radi's drama
As one of the outstanding Iranian playwrights, Akbar Radi (1939-2007) is known to be influenced by Henrik Ibsen and Anton Chekhov. Occasionally by his critics, he was called as "The Persian Chekhov" but they never expounded comprehensively the details of the given epithet which might be derived from similarities, influences and inspirations among Radi and Chekov. By analyzing these similarity cases, this essay attempts to figure out whether this resemblance is resulted from the conscious impressionability. Or otherwise, the similar life conditions of the authors -which caused their parallel worldviews- are displayed in the world of their plays. By analyzing the social, economical and geographical conditions of the authors' lives and also studying the resemblance of the content of their works which consist of different aspects of characterization in their plays and also examining the structure and diction of their plays; this essay is going to give a comprehensive view of the epithet of "The Persian Chekhov"
Text structure awareness : another look at reading comprehension strategy in L2 Classes.
Researchers have shown that skilled readers use variety of strategies to comprehend written texts (Stanovich,
2000; Sweet & Snow, 2003). Hence many readers are not aware of reading strategies; there is a need of explicit
teaching instruction to develop those strategies. In fact, in most English reading classes there is absence of teaching
comprehension strategies to readers, the strategy usually employed is, finding the meaning of the unknown vocabularies
or translating the texts in to students’ native language, this approach only enables students to comprehend the passage partially. Reading research has indicated that readers’ awareness of different kinds of text structure has been a useful strategy for better comprehension. All texts have certain styles of writing, which not only distinguishes them from other types of texts but they are also of great help in conveying the authors’ messages and recalling the texts. Teachers play an important role in assisting students in developing reading comprehension strategies including expository text structure awareness (Pearson & Duke, 2002)
The Role of Low-Level Laser in Periodontal Surgeries
Treatment protocols with low-level Laser (also called ‘soft laser therapy) have been used in health care systems for more than three decades. Bearing in mind the suitable sub-cellular absorption and the cellular-vascular impacts, low-level laser may be a treatment of choice for soft tissues. Low-level lasers have played crucial and colorful roles in performing periodontal surgeries. Their anti-inflammatory and painless effects have been variously reported in in-vitro studies. In this present review article, searches have been made in Pub Med, Google Scholar, and Science Direct, focusing on the studies which included low-level lasers, flap-periodontal surgeries, gingivectomy, and periodontal graft. The present study has sought to review the cellular impacts of low-level lasers and its role on reducing pain and inflammation following soft tissue surgical treatments.
Land use optimization using the fuzzy mathematical-spatial approach: a case study of Chelgerd watershed, Iran
In recent years, inappropriate land use, urban and industrial development along with different pollutions emanating from it gives rise to loss of natural resources and further leads to destructive floods, soil erosion, sedimentation and other various environmental, economic and social damages. Thus, management and planning are essential for the proper utilization, protection and revival of these resources. This study aimed to develop a mathematical-spatial optimum utilization model using FGP – MOLA in watershed including environmental and economic objectives while considering social issues. The results showed that the proposed model can lead to economic growth to 37% and decreasing the environmental damages to 2.4%. Under optimized condition, the area allocated to dry farming lands will decrease about 12% and gardens will increase about 423% and the other land uses remain unchanged too. In addition to, the results demonstrated the usefulness and efficiency of the proposed fuzzy model due to its flexibility and capability to simultaneously provide both optimum values and location of production resources
Is tele-education a proper substitute for regular method to train anesthesiology residents?
Background: Communication technology development has provided easier and quicker services in various medical fields. One of the main applications of tele-communication is tele-education, which helps in remote education of students. This study was designed to compare impact of tele-education and regular education methods on anesthesiology residents.Methods and Materials: Anesthesiology residents participated in both tele-education and regular courses during a one-year period. Various related subjects were taught in tele conference and regular sessions. In each course, residents were assessed by pretest and posttest exams. Finally, satisfaction was evaluated regarding quality of sessions using questionnaires especially prepared for the purpose.Results: Mann-Whitney U test showed no statistically significant difference in pretest (p=0.15) and posttest (p=0.07) results of both courses, although this difference was notably in favor of tele- posttest results. The highest rate of satisfaction among residents was dedicated to "saving time" to get to tele conference classes. Moreover, 92.59% of residents preferred to take part in tele conference classes.Conclusion: The study showed that tele-education and regular methods could be equally effective in the education of residents. Some advantages of tele-education for anesthesiology residents were high satisfaction of residents, time saving, and overcoming long distance. Tele-education could be regarded as an effective substitute for regular education of anesthesiology residents.s
Model-free neural network-based predictive control for robust operation of power converters
An accurate definition of a system model significantly affects the performance of model-based control strategies, for example, model predictive control (MPC). In this paper, a model-free predictive control strategy is presented to mitigate all ramifications of the model’s uncertainties and parameter mismatch between the plant and controller for the control of power electronic converters in applications such as microgrids. A specific recurrent neural network structure called state-space neural network (ssNN) is proposed as a model-free current predictive control for a three-phase power converter. In this approach, NN weights are updated through particle swarm optimization (PSO) for faster convergence. After the training process, the proposed ssNN-PSO combined with the predictive controller using a performance criterion overcomes parameter variations in the physical system. A comparison has been carried out between the conventional MPC and the proposed model-free predictive control in different scenarios. The simulation results of the proposed control scheme exhibit more robustness compared to the conventional finite-control-set MPC
Clarifying the Role of Cooperation Networks in New Product Development (NPD)
The significant role of small and medium enterprises in the economy of developing countries has led researchers to search for ways to create efficiency and advantages for the firms in the process of economic and industrial development. Thus, new product development has always been important for managers and business owners. Given the limited funding for research and development in small and medium businesses, maintaining a competitive advantage and new product development of the network has been offered as solutions. Therefore, in this paper, it is tried to explain cooperation networks and their advantages in new product development of small and medium firms with a descriptive method and study the research carried out
Synthesis and structural properties of Polyvinylpyrrolidone based nanocomposite hydrogels for isoniazid drug delivery
In this study, several examples of hydrogels and nanocomposite hydrogels based on PVP with different content of montmorillonite nanoclay were prepared. Then, the swelling of hydrogels and kinetics of drug delivery of hydrogel in an environment similar to the body (pH 7.4) were examined. The effect of nanoparticle different percentages on the hydrogel was clearly observed. Then kinetics of drug (Isoniazid) delivery for various samples of hydrogel with nanoparticles and without nanoparticles were obtained via Peppas and Higuchi models. The comparison of Peppas model results with experimental data showed that nanocomposite with 4% nanoclay exhibited better compliance. The morphology and microstructure of the prepared nanocomposites were studied by FT-IR, XRD and SEM
The Causes of Morphological and Sedimentary Changes of Jajrood River Upstream of Latyan Dam
Studying the morphology of rivers leads to a better prediction of the rivers' behavior. Two categories of natural and human factors affect the behavior of rivers. Natural factors such as floods, soil erosion, landslides and human factors such as construction and installation of facilities, change of land use along the river and sand removal from the riverbed have an impact on the intensification of river morphological changes. In this research, it has been investigated the morphological changes of Jajrood river and its causes upstream of the dam with an approximate length of 140 km. For ease of work, the river is divided into four zones: A) mountainous and high area, B) split zone under the influence of Mosha -Fasham fault, C) transition zone between the riffle and the mountain, D) the river riffle and Latyan dam. In general, Jajrood river is morphologically steep (average slope of 4%), mountainous, braided and gravel. The torsion factor of the river is 1.06. Jajrood River is a straight river upstream, and braided and gravel downstream that particle size and sorting changes from upstream to downstream does not follow a specific trend. Tectonic activity in the Mosha Fasham fault causes the large particles to enter the river environment as the debris streams. Some erosion-sensitive geological formations, such as the shale units of the Shemshak Formation and the shale parts of the Karaj Formation in the Mosha-Fasham fault zone, under the influence of landslide processes, introduce a large sedimentary load into the river channel during heavy rainfall. In general, common forms of river canals in the region include canal bed sediments, inter Channel Islands, foothills and old alluvial terraces in the downstream areas (Lavasan). Examination of the longitudinal profile of the main part the river from the junction of Sarbandan and Shemshak tributaries downstream to the dam site showed that the middle part of this section of the river is affected by a sudden change of slope due to the Mosha Fasham fault. The changes in the bed level and the increase of the mentioned slope in the river route are due to the function of fault displacements in the region and the entry of large volumes of gravel flows from the river valley walls into the river channel flow path. In the riffle of Jajrood River, Lavasan Municipality has implemented dams to beautify and build a park for tourism that have upset the balance of the waterway. This raises the bed level upstream. Besides, river water quality has also been affected due to time delays in water flow.O estudo da morfologia dos rios permite uma melhor previsão do comportamento dos rios. Duas categorias de fatores naturais e humanos afetam o comportamento dos rios. Fatores naturais como inundações, erosão do solo, deslizamentos de terra e fatores humanos como construção e instalação de instalações, alteração do uso do solo ao longo do rio e remoção de areia do leito do rio têm impacto na intensificação das mudanças morfológicas do rio. Nesta pesquisa, foram investigadas as mudanças morfológicas do rio Jajrood e suas causas a montante da barragem com extensão aproximada de 140 km. Para facilitar o trabalho, o rio está dividido em quatro zonas: A) zona montanhosa e alta, B) zona dividida sob a influência de Mosha -Falha de Fasham, C) zona de transição entre o riffle e a montanha, D) o riffle e Barragem da Letônia. Em geral, o rio Jajrood é morfologicamente íngreme (declive médio de 4%), montanhoso, trançado e de cascalho. O fator de torção do rio é 1,06. O Rio Jajrood é um rio direto a montante, e trançado e cascalho a jusante que o tamanho das partículas e as mudanças de classificação de montante para jusante não seguem uma tendência específica. A atividade tectônica na falha de Mosha Fasham faz com que as grandes partículas entrem no ambiente do rio como o fluxo de detritos. Algumas formações geológicas sensíveis à erosão, como as unidades de xisto da Formação Shemshak e as partes de xisto da Formação Karaj na zona de falha de Mosha-Fasham, sob a influência de processos de deslizamento de terra, introduzem uma grande carga sedimentar no canal do rio durante chuva. Em geral, as formas comuns de canais de rios na região incluem sedimentos do leito do canal, ilhas do canal inter, contrafortes e antigos terraços aluviais nas áreas a jusante (Lavasan). O exame do perfil longitudinal da parte principal do rio da junção dos afluentes Sarbandan e Shemshak a jusante até o local da barragem mostrou que a parte média desta seção do rio é afetada por uma mudança repentina de declive devido à falha de Mosha Fasham. As alterações no nível do leito e o aumento da referida declividade no percurso do rio devem-se à função de deslocamentos de falhas na região e à entrada de grandes volumes de fluxos de cascalho das paredes do vale do rio para o curso de escoamento do canal do rio. No riffle do rio Jajrood, o município de Lavasan implantou represas para embelezar e construir um parque turístico que alterou o equilíbrio do curso de água. Isso aumenta o nível do leito rio acima. Além disso, a qualidade da água do rio também foi afetada devido a atrasos no fluxo de água
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