Sources of Inflation in Iran: An application of the ARDL Approach

This paper examines the major determinants of inflation in Iran using annual time series data (1971 to 2006) by applying the ARDL approach. Taking into account the special characteristics of Iran’s economy and by considering recent empirical studies in the context of inflation, an empirical model has been constructed which emphasizes the effects of liquidity, the exchange rate, GDP, the expected rate of inflation and imported inflation factors along with the dummy variable presenting the effect of Iran/Iraq war on Iran’s economy. The empirical results show that in the long-run, the main determinants of inflation in Iran are liquidity, the exchange rate, the rate of expected inflation and the rate of imported inflation. All these variables had significant effects on the inflation rate in the short run. Moreover the destructive eight year war with Iraq had a positive effect on the inflation rate in the Iranian economy. Finally, the error correction term (-0.3995) is found to be negative and statistically significant suggesting a quick adjustment process.Inflation, Liquidity, ARDL approach, Iran’s economy

Incongruence Between Learning Style and Written Corrective Feedback Type: Mediating Effect of Implicit Theory of Learning Style

Implicit theory (Dweck, 2000) suggests that learners’ theories about the malleability of their individual traits (learning style, here) determine the extent to which they can stretch their learning style (Gregersen & MacIntyre, 2014; Young, 2010) and benefit from the instruction that mismatches their preferred styles. The present study aimed at investigating the extent to which Iranian EFL learners with inductive vs. deductive learning styles would benefit from the written corrective feedback (WCF) that does not match their learning styles (i.e., implicit vs. explicit WCF). The study also examined if their success (or lack of) in style stretching and improving their written accuracy is due to the implicit theory (entity vs. incremental) they hold about their learning style. The result showed that students with an incremental theory significantly improved their written accuracy more than those with an entity theory. Also, the findings revealed that inductive learners were more successful in adapting to the mismatched WCF (explicit) and made greater improvement in their written accuracy than deductive students who received implicit WCF.La théorie implicite d’un apprenant (Dweck, 2000) sur la malléabilité de ses traits individuels (styles d’apprentissage, ici) détermine dans quelle mesure il peut étirer son style d’apprentissage (Gregersen et MacIntyre, 2014; Young, 2010) et profiter de l’instruction qui ne correspond pas à leurs styles préférés. Cette étude vise à déterminer dans quelle mesure les apprenants iraniens de l’anglais langue étrangère ayant des styles d’apprentissage inductifs ou déductifs bénéficient de la rétroaction corrective écrite qui ne correspond pas à leurs styles d’apprentissage (c.-à-d. implicite ou explicite). Cette étude examine également si leur succès (ou leur manque) dans l’étirement de style et l’amélioration de leur précision écrite est dû aux théories implicites (entité vs incrémentales) qu’ils détiennent sur leur style d’apprentissage. Les résultats ont montré que les étudiants avec une théorie incrémentale ont considérablement amélioré leur précision écrite beaucoup plus que ceux qui ont eu une théorie d’entité. De plus, les résultats ont révélé que les apprenants inductifs ont réussi mieux à s’adapter à la rétroaction corrective explicite (qui ne correspond pas à leur style d’apprentissage) et ont amélioré davantage leur précision écrite que les élèves déductifs qui ont reçu la rétroaction corrective implicite

Shape dynamics, lipid hydrodynamics, and the complex viscoelasticity of bilayer membranes

Biological membranes are continuously brought out of equilibrium, as they shape organelles, package and transport cargo, or respond to external actions. Even the dynamics of plain lipid membranes in experimental model systems are very complex due to the tight interplay between the bilayer architecture, the shape dynamics, and the rearrangement of the lipid molecules. We formulate and numerically implement a continuum model of the shape dynamics and lipid hydrodynamics, which describes the bilayer by its midsurface and by a lipid density field for each monolayer. The viscoelastic response of bilayers is determined by the stretching and curvature elasticity, and by the inter-monolayer friction and the membrane interfacial shear viscosity. While the bilayer equilibria are well understood theoretically, dynamical calculations have relied on simplified continuum approaches of uncertain transferability, or on molecular simulations reaching very limited length and time scales. Our approach incorporates the main physics, is fully nonlinear, does not assume predefined shapes, and can access a wide range of time and length scales. We validate it with the well understood tether extension. We investigate the tubular lipid transport between cells, the dynamics of bud absorption by a planar membrane, and the fate of a localized lipid density asymmetry in vesicles. These axisymmetric examples bear biological relevance and highlight the diversity of dynamical regimes that bilayers can experience

Experimental Investigation of Interfacial Tension Measurement and Oil Recovery by Carbonated Water Injection : A Case Study Using Core Samples from an Iranian Carbonate Oil Reservoir

The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge and appreciate the Department of Petroleum Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Marvdasht Islamic Azad University, Marvdasht, 73711-13119, Iran, for the provision of the laboratory facilities necessary for completing this work.Peer reviewedPostprin

L2 teachers' knowledge of L2 learners’ listening and oral interpretation problems: Any correspondence?

The study was aimed at comparing learners’ knowledge of their listening and oral interpretation problems with their teachers’ perception and knowledge of the same problems. Fifty two learners in company with their three instructors participated in the study. The study tapped the students’ reflections on cognitive, affective and linguistic factors impinging on listening and oral interpretation processes and teachers’ perception and knowledge of the same real time listening and interpretation tasks. Introspection techniques, observation and interviews were the main techniques of data collection. Data analysis revealed many congruencies between the learners and their instructors in terms of the listening experiences and perceptions. They included such themes as ‘ineffective strategy of focusing on words’, ‘speedy delivery’, ‘difficulty level of the material’, ‘accent effect’ and ‘parsing problem’. However, some discrepancies were also identified with regard to such core themes as ‘modality’ and affective issues such as ‘stress’, ‘sense of fatigue’ and ‘concentration loss’. The results suggest that instructors’ perception and awareness of their learners’ listening processing and oral translation skills coupled with those of learners can provide rich information in developing listening and oral interpretation programs for translation students and trainers.  Key words: oral interpretation, listening processing, knowledge, perceptio