Phonological, Morphological and Syntactical Influences of Mother Tongue on Arab Learners

Arab learners' mother tongue influence on target language (English) is a very usual and well-known phenomenon in schools and universities. The present study attempts to find and analyze phonological, morphological and syntactical influences of mother tongue on Arab learners. The study aims to critically analyze students’ writing samples and focus on the problems like capitalization, punctuation, language use and spelling. It critically diagnoses teachers’ perception on the above-mentioned writing problems through a personal interview and offers some recommendations based on the findings through writing samples and interview responses. To achieve these objectives, researcher analyzes forty writing samples of students from first and second midterm examinations at PYP (Preparatory Year Program), Najran University. To the surprise of researcher, writing samples had ridiculous errors. Four writing samples are attached to expose errors of students. Twenty teachers, especially teaching writing at PYP, Najran University, were interviewed in order to investigate the real causes of extremely poor performance of students. Teachers, in the interview, denoted various causes for the present condition of students. They admitted that use of mother in the classroom was one of the major causes of the present condition of students. The study offered some recommendations (based on the findings) like elimination of GT method and implementation of CLT approach in the classroom.Key words: GT method, mother tongue influences, target languag

ASSESSING TEACHERS’ PERCEPTION ON THE EFFICIENCY (SUCCESS) OF INDUCTIVE APPROACH IN AN ESL/EFL CLASSROOM: GRAMMAR IN CONTEXT

The present research attempts to assess teachers' perception on the success of using inductive approach in the classroom at Preparatory Year Program, Najran University. It also inquires the difficulties that are usually faced by students (in teachers' opinion) in a grammar class. In order to collect data, 20 teachers were requested to fill in a questionnaire consisting of ten statements (based on key elements of inductive teaching). The questionnaires were analyzed by using 5-Point Likert-scales of agreement. Besides, the researcher also personally interviewed the teachers by using a set of certain questions covering the same theme. The study is divided into two parts; the first part contains detailed analysis and discussion on the statements of the questionnaire and the second part comprises a detailed analysis and discussion on the responses of interview. As results, it is revealed that a majority of teachers supported the use of inductive approach in the classroom because of its learner-centred nature. Inductive methods help students acquire the critical thinking and self-directed learning skills (Prince Felder, 2007).  However, some teachers (with a negligible percentage) were not so enthusiastic about using inductive approach. Keywords: teachers' perceptions, descriptive and prescriptive grammar, inductive approac

Baloch nationalism: Its origin and development up to 1980.

This dissertation is a case study in nationalism. It examines the theoretical writings on the subject and concludes that nationalism is the sense of identity shared by a group of people who are linked by either a civic-territorial or by a linguistic-ethnic bond and by the belief that their corporate interests can best be protected by control of their own state. The central theme of the dissertation revolves around two basic questions: 1. Is there a Baloch nationality with a sufficiently developed national consciousness and distinctive characteristics shared by the members of this nationality? 2. If so, is the national consciousness of the Baloch, their determination to maintain their national identity, and their desire for political self-government, strong enough to say that there is a Baloch national movement. The dissertation serves several purposes. It fills a gap in our knowledge of Baloch nationalism in Pakistan and Iran and explores in detail its development in the 1920-80 period. By adopting a comparative approach it contributes to a better understanding of sub-national movements in both countries. The main approach to the study is historical; using primary and secondary sources, it describes and analyses the foundations, evolution, dynamics and implications of Baloch nationalism

Chatbot Design Challenges and the Effect on User Behavior

Chatbots are efficient artificial intelligence tools employed frequently across various industries such as healthcare, tourism, entertainment, and education, to assist in performing repetitive activities requiring a conversation, thereby facilitating humans to focus on more innovative tasks. This chapter reviews the design challenges of two types of chatbots classified based on their interaction modes: dyadic chatbots interacting with one individual at a time; and polyadic chatbots interacting with multiple individuals simultaneously. Further, the chapter identified the associated challenges in the chatbots, namely: engagement, trust, and human likeliness based on personality types - at a higher level in the chatbot design, together with the impact of each challenge on the user behavior. The authors review the literature in the relevant areas to pinpoint the research gaps requiring more focus within each area of challenge. The research community can address these identified research areas, which will eventually promote a more efficient human-machine collaboration

Analysis of Clonal Relationships among Shigella spp. Isolated from Children with Shigellosis in Ahvaz, Iran

Shigellosis is one of the important gastrointestinal bacterial infections, particularly among children of developing countries such as Iran. Antibiotic susceptibility pattern and genetic typing for epidemiological purposes are of significant issues in Shigella infectious control. The aim of this study was to investigate the antibiotic susceptibility and genetic relationship among Shigella strains isolated from children with shigellosis at paediatric hospital in Ahvaz, south west of Iran. This study included all Shigella strains isolated from paediatric patients with diarrhea admitted to Abuzar pediatric hospitals in Ahvaz, during January-June 2015. Shigella isolates were identified using standard microbiological and serological methods. Shigella spp strains also were studied by antimicrobial susceptibility testing and Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus (ERIC) - PCR analysis. Total of 50 Shigella strains were isolated from children with dysentery diarrhea. In total, 31 (62%) were identified as Shigella flexneri, 16(32%) and 3 (6%) were Shigella sonnei and Shigella boydii respectively. High level resistance were detected against ampicillin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and cephalotine. All isolates were sensitive to ceftriaxone, imipenem gentamicin and amikacin. The results of ERIC-PCR data analysis showed 11 different types of Shigella with four closely-related patterns. S. flexneri was the predominant serogroup of Shigella spp. in children in the referral pediatric hospital in Ahvaz. Ampicillin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is no longer recommended for shigellosis empirical treatment and should be replaced by other antibiotics such as ceftriaxone or ciprofloxcacin. Diverse but genetically close strains of shigella were responsible for shigellosis in paediatric patients in Ahvaz, south west of Iran.

Analyzing the Knock-on Impacts of 2022 Floods on Rabi 2023 Using Remote Sensing and Field Surveys

While the world's attention is focused on immediate relief and rescue operations for the affectees of the current floods in Pakistan, knock-on effects are expected to play further havoc with the country's economy and food security in the coming months. Significant crop yield losses had already occurred for Winter (Rabi) 2021-22 due to a heatwave earlier in the year and estimates for the Summer (Kharif) 2022 crop damage due to flood inundation have already been determined to be very high. With the next sowing season already upon the flood affectees, there is a big question mark over the resumption of agricultural activity in disaster-struck districts. This study is aimed at analyzing the range of influences of the 2022 floods on the upcoming winter (Rabi) crop. Satellite-based remote sensing data, state-of-the-art Earth system models, and field observations will be leveraged to estimate the impacts of the flood on the resumption of agricultural activity in the most impacted districts of Southern Punjab, Sindh, and Baluchistan. The field surveys are conducted during multiple visits to the study area to maximize the monitoring of on-ground conditions and provide a larger validation dataset for the satellite-based inundation and crop classification maps. The project leverages on the expertise and previous experiences of the LUMS team in performing satellite-based land/crop classification, estimation of soil moisture levels for irrigation activity, and determining changes in land-use patterns for detecting key agricultural activities. Delays in the sowing of the winter crop and its effects on crop-yield were analyzed through this study

Smart Relay Selection Scheme Based on Fuzzy Logic with Optimal Power Allocation and Adaptive Data Rate Assignment

In this paper fuzzy logic-based algorithm with improved process of relay selection is presented which not only allocate optimal power for transmission but also help in choosing adaptive data rate. This algorithm utilizes channel gain, cooperative gain and signal to noise ratio with two cases considered in this paper: In case-I nodes do not have their geographical location information while in case-II nodes are having their geographical location information. From Monte Carlo simulations, it can be observed that both cases improve the selection process along with data rate assignment and power allocation, but case-II is the most reliable with almost zero probability of error at the cost of computational complexity which is 10 times more than case-I

Relationship between Iron Deficiency Anemia and Febrile Seizures

ObjectiveFebrile seizure is the most common convulsive disorder in childhood. The role of iron in metabolism of neurotransmitters and carrying oxygen to the brain suggests the possibility of a relationship between iron deficiency anemia and febrile seizures.The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between iron deficiency anemia and febrile seizures.Materials & MethodsThis case - control study was performed on 132 cases and 88 controls, aged 9 months to 5 years, from July 2007 to June 2009 in Baqyiatallah Hospital. Patients were selected using simple random sampling. The case group included children with first febrile seizure (core temperature over 38.5˚C during  seizure) without a central nervous system infection or an acute brain insult. The control group included children suffering from a febrile illness without seizure. Iron deficiency anemia was defined with one of these laboratory indexes: 1) Hemoglobin (Hb) <10.5mg/dl 2) Plasma ferritin <12ng/dl 3) Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) <70  fl. The data collected from patients were analyzed with SPSS.13 software.ResultsLow plasma ferritin was found in 35 cases (26.5%) compared to 26 controls (29.5%), low Hb level was found in 4 cases (3%) compared to 6 controls (6.8%) and low MCV was found in 5 cases (3.8%) compared to 6 controls (6.8%).There was no significant difference in plasma ferritin , Hb level and MCV indices between the two group.ConclusionConsidering the above-mentioned results, there is no relationship between iron deficiency anemia and febrile seizures