From AMI Schools to EMI Universities: A Critical Examination of the Arab Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of their Academic Arabic Proficiency and Arab Identity in Three EMI Universities in the UAE.

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the use of English as a medium of instruction (MI) has been a naturalized and taken-for-granted practice without thorough questioning or problematizing. This very adoption of English medium instruction (EMI) policy is done at the expense of academic Arabic that is almost absent from the academic scene in higher education. What is more problematic is the association of academic Arabic with few elective courses in humanities that can be taken in English, while reserving for English all the major courses. The study aims to problematize the use of English as medium of instruction at three universities in the UAE. It aims to critically explore the perceptions of Arab undergraduate students, who were in Arabic schools, vis-a-vis their proficiency in academic Arabic that they previously studied in. It also aims to examine the psychological, academic, social and cultural transitional changes that accompanied the shift of the language of instruction from Arabic to English. Another aim of the study is to assess the preferences of these students regarding language of instruction and the utility of academic Arabic in their academic life and future jobs. The last aim is to examine how students perceive their Arab identity after studying in EMI universities. The study is based on critical theoretical framework because the decision to use English as medium of instruction is political rather than pedagogical. The study was approached from the interpretive and critical paradigms. A sequential mixed-methods approach of quantitative and qualitative data collection was used. 268 surveys, and 20 semi-structured interviews were used in Fall 2017. The findings suggest that students were aware of the decline in their academic Arabic proficiency. The findings also suggest that students showed symptoms of academic Arabic language attrition based on forgetting academic words they knew before, needing more time to remember and facing difficulty coming up with the right words when talking about their major courses. They also reported psychological, academic, social and cultural difficulties associated with the transition from Arabic medium instruction schools to English medium instruction universities. Results also showed that many of the students seem to have lost their faith in academic Arabic as a language of academia and see English Medium Instruction (EMI) as the normal and required language of instruction, but still consider academic Arabic an essential part of their identity that cannot be wiped away, which raises questions about their sense of self-worth and self-esteem. Overall, the study had several implications related to language policy and its impact on the status of academic Arabic in academic contexts. Students did not seem ready for EMI linguistically, socially or culturally but tolerated these challenges because the unbalanced diglossia between English and academic Arabic in academia seems to mislead them into believing that the relation between English and science is organic and that English is the only valued language in academia. Also, the use of EMI seems responsible for their declining abilities in academic Arabic and for acquiring new knowledge only in English. The study makes several recommendations that can help regain the balance in academia. First, language policy should be problematized, thought of and revisited because it is clear that any attempt to save academic Arabic cannot be effective if it is outside the academic arena. Only then, academic Arabic can be revived to reclaim its legacy as a language of academia and sciences. Also, students should be given the choice to study their major courses in English or Arabic. We need to embrace a discourse of hope intertwined with action because hopelessness is a form of sterile silence (Freire, 1972)

Pencarian Jalur Terpendek Pada Snake Game Menggunakan Algoritma A*

Game sebagai media hiburan telah berkembang dengan pesatseiring juga teknologi. Salah satu unsur yang berperan penting dalam sebuah game adalah kecerdasan buatan. Dengan kecerdasan buatan, diharapkan elemen-elemen permainan Ular ( Snake ) ini penulis menerapkan konsep logika fuzzy dalam menentukan starategi pada ular.Dalam penelitian ini, penulis menggunakan bentuk penelitian studi litelatur.Penulis menggunakan metode perancangan Agile Software Development.Di dalam perancangan game ini, penulis menggunakan perangkat lunak Visual basic 6.0 dan Algoritma A-Star.Algoritma A Star (A*) pada komputer dalam permainan ini teruji sangat efektif dalam mendapatkan makanannya dengan jalur terpendek.Komputer menggunakan Algoritma A Star (A*) untuk mencari makanannya. Algortima A Star (A*) adalah algoritma pencarian terbaik dalam mencari jalur terpendek dengan perhitungan terkecil pada jalur dengan simpul awal menuju simpul akhir

Identification of nonlinear vibrating structures: Part I -- Formulation

A self-starting multistage, time-domain procedure is presented for the identification of nonlinear, multi-degree-of-freedom systems undergoing free oscillations or subjected to arbitrary direct force excitations and/or nonuniform support motions. Recursive least-squares parameter estimation methods combined with nonparametric identification techniques are used to represent, with sufficient accuracy, the identified system in a form that allows the convenient prediction of its transient response under excitations that differ from the test signals. The utility of this procedure is demonstrated in a companion paper

Identification of nonlinear vibrating structures: Part II -- Applications

A time-domain procedure for the identification of nonlinear vibrating structures, presented in a companion paper, is applied to a "calibration" problem which incorporates realistic test situations and nonlinear structural characteristics widely encountered in the applied mechanics field. The "data" set is analyzed to develop suitable, approximate nonlinear system representations. Subsequently, a "validation" test is conducted to demonstrate the range of validity of the method under discussion. It is shown that the procedure furnishes a convenient means for constructing reduced-order nonlinear nonparametric mathematical models of reasonably high fidelity in regard to reproducing the response of the test article under dynamic loads that differ from the identification test loads

Pengaruh Penambahan Aspal Terhadap Stabilitas Marshall Pada Material Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) Di Ruas Jalan Jenderal Sudirmal–Rijali Kota Ambon

Penanganan kerusakan jalan  dengan cara pembongkaran lapis permukaan jalan lama dengan alat Cold Milling Machine (CMM) untuk memperbaiki nilai daerah permukaan jalan. Tujuan penelitian mengevaluasi karakteristik aspal beton pada campuran panas dengan menggunakan kembali material Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) hasil dari ekstraksi dan menambahkan material  yang baru berupa agregat dan Aspal Pen 60/70 sehingga dapat menghasilkan campuran dengan kinerja yang baik. Metode eksperimen, dimana kegiatan penelitian dilakukan di laboratorium dan jenis pengujian yaitu pengujian Marshall untuk mendapatkan nilai stabilitas dan flow. Cara pengujian untuk mendapatkan nilai stabilitas dan flow yaitu dengan membaca nilai arloji pada alat Marshall. Pengujian yang akan dilakukan mengacu pada Spesifikasi Bina Marga 2018. Hasil dari penelitian diperoleh nilai karakteristik campuran beraspal daur ulang AC-WC dengan penggunaan material Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) 20% dan penambahan aspal Pen 60/70. Berdasarkan hasil analisis terhadap penggunaan material RAP 20% dengan formulasi batu pecah 10/20 = 19,10%, batu pecah 5/10 = 32%, pasir = 20%, abu batu 8,9% dan lima variasi kadar aspal Pen 60/70 diperoleh nilai Kadar Aspal Optimum (KAO) = 6%. Karakteristik campuran dengan pengunaan RAP 20% dengan niai rata – rata yang di peroleh yaitu nilai VIM = 4,28%, nilai VMA = 15,89%, nilai VFB = 72,91%, nilai stabilitas marshall = 1.067,43 kg, nilai flow =3.56 mm, nilai marshall Quotient = 301,91 kg/mm dan memenuhi batas spesifikasi Bina Marga 2018 untuk campuran laston AC-WC

Institutional Change in the Syrian Rangelands

Summaries During the past forty years, the Syrian rangelands have been the focal point of government interventions. These had four major components: assertion of state ownership over rangelands, settlement and transformation of herders into farmers, formal reorganization of the Bedouin population into range improvement and sheep husbandry cooperatives, and development of rangeland reserves. Each of these interventions has had many implications for livestock production, on rangeland management as well as on the livelihood strategies of herding households and communities. In 1994, the Syrian government took a major decision by banning cultivation in rangelands and committed itself to enhancing livestock production through better conservation, improvement and management of rangeland resources. The ban on cultivation, which is transforming sheep production systems and livelihood strategies of herding communities, is forcing herding communities to devise new strategies for overcoming their production constraints. Under present range conditions, it is clear that herding communities cannot stay there all year round and have, necessarily, to seek alternative feed resources. This article asks the questions: are herding communities likely to revert to old Bedouin livestock production systems based on trans?humance and reciprocity or will they opt to use more individualistic and market?based feed resources? Are feed access strategies differentiated by livestock ownership? How will these changes affect their production systems and livelihood strategies

Leading edge stabilisation of vertical boundary layer diffusion flames

The leading edge stability of vertical boundary layer diffusion flames established over a 3D-printed porous gas burner is revealed through Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence imaging of the OH radical (OH-PLIF). Flame stability is studied by premixing methane and ethylene with increasing volume fractions of bromotrifluoromethane (CF3Br/Halon-1301) to increase the characteristic chemical timescale. Blow-off occurs at 15.7% and 37.3% CF3Br addition for methane and ethylene respectively, which are remarkably large limits compared to other flame configurations. As CF3Br is added, the flame stand-off distance increases and the reaction zone broadens, thereby increasing the flame length. This accelerates the buoyancy-induced flow ahead of the leading edge, promoting O2 entrainment into the flame anchor. Consequently, the radical scavenging effects on the flame anchor reactivity are dampened, resulting in the flame re-anchoring slightly downstream along the plate. Towards extinction, the flame shortens dramatically due to efficient catalytic cycling and radiative quenching at the flame tip resulting from the brominated species and excessive soot formation. This reduces the O2 mass flux into the kinetically dampened flame anchor resulting in blow-off extinction. Therefore, blow-off is controlled by both the leading edge reactivity and trailing edge length. Methane is shown to be considerably more sensitive compared to ethylene to CF3Br owing to its larger flame speed. These results demonstrate that fire-induced buoyancy greatly increases blow-off limits when using chemically active or inert agents in vertical wall fire configurations

Ionospheric Effects on GPS Signal in Low-Latitude Region: A Case Study Review of South East Asia and Africa

The ionosphere is a significant source of errors affecting L-Band (1-2 GHz) signal propagation using Global Position System (GPS). The propagated GPS signals that passes through the Earth’s atmosphere where affected by ionosphere and troposphere irregularities and caused the signal propagation delay. However, the velocity of signals that propagate within the atmosphere deviates from vacuum line of sight (LOS), while the refractivity of ionosphere and troposphere influence the signal propagation delay causing atmospheric effects due to high electrons density.  Both affect the signal in different ways due to their particular refractive properties. The review focuses of some of the previous research studies conducted on empirical modeling of the ionospheric effect in low latitude region. The tabulated findings of such models presented in this article.http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v34i3.1