Iranian EFL Teachers’ Voices on the Pedagogy of Word and World

Critical pedagogy (CP) with the eventual aim of creating changes in society towards the socially just world rests upon the premise that language learning is understood as a sociopolitical event. Schools and classrooms are not merely seen as the neutral and apolitical sites or oxymoron of transmitting taken-for-granted knowledge and common sense to students but rather as the political and democratic sites in which teachers, through praxis-oriented activities, furnish opportunities for students to critically question oppressive systems, hierarchies, and sociopolitical inequalities. Through the connection of word to the world, or the relationship between classroom learning and students’ lived experiences and worlds, teachers can create social transformation and empowerment in the marginalized students’ lives. However, teachers as the transformative intellectuals can facilitate this transformative process only if they are equipped with the critical theories, theoretical underpinnings and practical implications of CP. A brief look at the CP literature reveals that most of the researches center on its theories and conceptual dimensions without presenting any pragmatic discourse or practical realizations to critical pedagogues. In fact, this study intends to investigate the problems, concerns, and frustrations that Iranian EFL teachers encounter while enacting this alternative pedagogy. So, the researchers adopted purposive sampling to choose thirty-four EFL teachers from private English language institutes in Tehran, Yazd and Shiraz, Iran; and focused interview as the appropriate data gathering instrument of qualitative research. Finally, the researchers unearthed the relevant themes concerning the practical dimensions as the supplementary components of CP in EFL context of Iran

Di-μ-iodido-bis{[hydroxy(methoxy)bis(2-pyridyl)methane-κ3 N,O,N′]iodidocadmium(II)}

In the centrosymmetric dinuclear title compound, [Cd2I4(C12H12N2O2)2], two μ-I atoms bridge two CdII atoms and each CdII atom is also bonded to a terminal I atom and a hy­droxy-meth­oxy-bis­(2-pyrid­yl)methane ligand, which functions in an N,O,N′-tridentate mode, resulting in a distorted octa­hedral coordination environment. Inter­molecular O—H⋯I hydrogen bonds and π–π stacking inter­actions between the pyridine rings [centroid–centroid distance = 3.790 (2) Å] are present in the crystal structure

(2,2′-Biquinoline-κ2 N,N′)dichlorido­iron(II)

In the title compound, [FeCl2(C18H12N2)], the FeII atom is four-coordinated in a distorted tetra­hedral arrangement by an N,N′-bidentate 2,2′-biquinoline ligand and two chloride ions. In the crystal, there are extensive π–π contacts between the pyridine rings [centroid–centroid distances = 3.7611 (3), 3.7603 (4), 3.5292 (4), 3.5336 (5) and 3.6656 (4) Å]

(4,5-Diaza­fluoren-9-one-κ2 N,N′)bis­(thio­cyanato-κS)mercury(II)

In the title compound, [Hg(NCS)2(C11H6N2O)], the HgII atom, lying on a twofold rotation axis, is four-coordinated in a distorted tetra­hedral geometry by an N,N′-bidentate diaza­fluoren-9-one ligand and two thio­cyanate anions. In the crystal, inter­molecular C—H⋯N and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds are effective in the stabilization of the structure

The effect of the petrography, mineralogy, and physical properties of limestone on Mode I fracture toughness under dry and saturated conditions

Determining the fracture toughness of rock materials is a challenging, costly, and time-consuming task, as fabricating a sharp crack in rock specimens will lead to failure of the specimen, and preparing specimens for determining the rock fracture toughness requires special equipment. In this paper, the relationship between mode I fracture toughness (KIC) with the rock index properties, mineralogy, and petrography of limestone is investigated using simple nonlinear and simple/multiple linear regression analyses to provide alternative methods for estimating the fracture toughness of limestones. The cracked chevron notched Brazilian disk (CCNBD) method was applied to 30 limestones with different petrographic and mineralogical characteristics under both dry and saturated conditions. Moreover, the index properties of the same rocks, including the density, porosity, electrical resistivity, P and S wave velocities, Schmidt rebound hardness, and point load index, were determined. According to the statistical analyses, a classification based on the petrography of the studied rocks was required for predicting the fracture toughness from index properties. By classifying the limestones based on petrography, reliable relationships with high correlations can be introduced for estimating the fracture toughness of different limestones using simple tests. © 2022 by the authors

2,9-Dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthrolin-1-ium tetra­chloridoaurate(III)

Both the cation and anion of the title compound, (C26H21N2)[AuCl4], are disposed about a plane of mirror symmetry. The 2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthrolinium ring is oriented at a dihedral angle of 44.2 (1)° with respect to the planar phenyl ring systems. The AuIII atom has a square-planar environment defined by four Cl atoms. The crystal structure is stabilized by C—H⋯π and Au⋯π ring–metal (3.551 Å) inter­actions. In the crystal structure, the mol­ecules stack along the c axis via N—H⋯N hydrogen-bond inter­actions

2-[3-(2-Pyrid­yl)pyrazin-2-yl]pyridinium tetra­chloridoaurate(III)

In the anion of the title compound, (C14H11N4)[AuCl4], the AuIII atom has an almost perfect square-planar coordination. In the crystal structure, an intra­molecular N—H⋯N and intermolecular C—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds are observed. In addition, there is also a ring–metal inter­action between the pyrazine ring and the AuIII atom; the distance between the centroid of the pyrazine ring and the AuIII atom is 3.628 (2) Å

9-Oxo-4,5-diaza­fluoren-4-ium tetra­chloridoaurate(III)–4,5-diaza­fluoren-9-one (1/1)

The AuIII atom in the title compound, (C11H7N2O)[AuCl4]·C11H6N2O, is in a nearly square-planar environment defined by four Cl atoms. The protonated 9-oxo-4,5-diaza­fluoren-4-ium cation forms an N—H⋯N hydrogen bond with the neutral 4,5-diaza­fluoren-9-one mol­ecule

Tris(4,4′-bi-1,3-thia­zole-κ2 N,N′)iron(II) tetra­bromidoferrate(III) bromide

In the [Fe(4,4′-bit)3]2+ (4,4′-bit is 4,4′-bi-1,3-thia­zole) cation of the title compound, [Fe(C6H4N2S2)3][FeBr4]Br, the FeII atom (3 symmetry) is six-coordinated in a distorted octa­hedral geometry by six N atoms from three 4,4′-bit ligands. In the [FeBr4]− anion, the FeIII atom (3 symmetry) is four-coordinated in a distorted tetra­hedral geometry. In the crystal, inter­molecular C—H⋯Br hydrogen bonds and Br⋯π inter­actions [Br⋯centroid distances = 3.562 (3) and 3.765 (2) Å] link the cations and anions, stabilizing the structure