Investigating Arabic Pragmatic Markers in Teacher Talk: A Multi-layered Analytical Approach

Through this descriptive qualitative case study of three native speaking Arabic teachers in an L2 Arabic classroom in a private school setting in the U.S., this study presented a four-stage multi-layered analytical approach demonstrating functional, interactional and pedagogical analyses of the uses of Arabic PMs in teacher talk and also providing a detailed emic analysis of the phenomena by incorporating teachers’ perceptions of their uses of those elements in their classroom talks. Findings of the functional analysis clearly showed that Arabic PMs perform different micro functions at four macro levels (structural, interpersonal, referential and multi- functional). Moreover, linking results from the uses of Arabic PMs in the three teachers’ actual productions to their perceived uses of those linguistic devices leads us to have a better understanding of why specific functional, interactional and pedagogical uses of those Arabic PMs are highlighted in each teacher talk. The analysis of the three teachers interview answers demonstrated that their classroom context is strongly associated with important variables such as students’ age and fluency level, teacher’s beliefs and language ideologies and those factors can have a significant impact on how Arabic was taught in their classrooms in general and how Arabic PMs were used in their classroom talks in particular. Finally, the present study concluded with significant pedagogical implications in relation to Arabic classroom pedagogy and Arabic teacher education in a foreign language context

Factors Affecting the Implementation of Electronic Medical Records Systems (EMRs) in Jordanian Hospitals

An Electronic Medical Record System (EMRS) is an application that enables access and retrieval of a patient's medical history. Currently EMRS implementation does not encompass more than 50% of the hospitals in Jordan, and limited research has been done in Jordan to identify the main factors affecting the implementation of EMRS. The aim of this study is to explore the factors that affect the EMRS implementation in Jordanian hospitals. A conceptual model, adapted from Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), was built to relate Organizational Factors (OF) and Individual Characteristic Factors (ICF) to EMRS implementation in Jordanian hospitals. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect the data from healthcare professionals in two major hospitals that have full implementation of EMRS. Findings indicated that OF has significant relationships with Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) and Perceived Usefulness (PU), ICF has significant relationships with PEOU, User-Patient relationship has significant relationships with PU with exception of User Autonomy, PEOU has a significant effects with PU, PU has significant relationship with Attitude Toward Using (ATU) exception of PEOU, and ATU has a significant relationship with Behavioural Intention to Use. The finding of this study has led to the enhancement of the theoretical knowledge of TAM'S application in the health informatics domain. This study has extended the current model comprising PEOU and PU, by adding the OF and ICF. Consequently, the findings can assist decision makers in formulating EMRS implementation strategies in Jordan

SMART ENERGY SAVING CLASSROOM AND MONITORING SYSTEM USING PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC CONTROLLER

The rise in energy costs urged the need in minimizing the energy consumption. As significant amount of energy is used for illuminating in educational buildings such as lecture halls and lecture rooms, improvements is needed to avoid energy waste for unoccupied and daylight hour. The lighting will be controlled based on demand to save the energy costs. The project is to design a smart energy saving classroom system using programmable logic controller (PLC). It integrates the lighting and air conditioner control system. Software for this project includes Simatic Manager, Wincc Flexible and Microsoft Visio 2010.The hardware includes Siemens S300 series PLC, Siemens 10 inch touch screen, network cable and MPI cable. The inputs are sensor at the door and sensors at each of the student seat while the outputs are the projector dc motor, lights, air-conditioner and touch screen. The proposed system offers a costs-saving solution with low maintenance and gives great performance results

International business and the political environment: an exploratory study: "comparative study of Iraqi, Saudi oil trade"

This paper is a Master thesis for the master’s program in International studies in the Department of Sociology and Public Policies at ISCTE University. As the title indicates, the aim of this thesis is to explore what is the political environment and present the concept of international business, and the impact of those works on the political environment by setting the theoretical context and draw that context from a comparative analysis of the historical context of the Iraqi and Saudi oil trade and their impact on the political environment of the stakeholders. The research questions are: What is the concept of the political environment and its components?; Does international business have an impact on the political environment?; How has the Iraqi and Saudi oil trade affected the political environment of these countries?; In order to answer the questions and fulfill the aim of this paper, a qualitative research method has been chosen. The study is mainly based on secondary sources such as textbooks, articles, magazines, and newspapers as well as internet resources. In making the comparative analysis Examination of different historical stages of oil trade and for two different regions and the extent of theoretical convergence of theoretical concepts with the practical realism derived from the events of those stages. This proves the argument of this theory and completed it and how its practical impact on the political environment. The conclusion drawn from the study is that international business affects the political environment and its elements, and the theoretical results coincide with the results of the analysis of the practical experience derived from the historical context of a century, that the Iraqi and Saudi oil trade as one of the international business influenced the political environment of stakeholders, They drew their political behavior, which was reflected in the internal political situation and international relations, which in turn reflected on the security of stakeholders, whether in the form of political risks or development processes for those countries.Este artigo é uma dissertação de mestrado para o programa de mestrado em Estudos Internacionais no Departamento de Sociologia e Políticas Públicas da Universidade Iscte. Como o título indica, o objetivo desta tese é explorar o que é o ambiente político e apresentar o conceito de negócios internacionais e o impacto desses trabalhos no ambiente político, definindo o contexto teórico e extrair esse contexto de uma análise comparativa. do contexto histórico do comércio de petróleo iraquiano e saudita e seu impacto no ambiente político das partes interessadas. As questões de pesquisa são: Qual é o conceito do ambiente político e seus componentes?; Os negócios internacionais têm impacto no ambiente político?; Como o comércio de petróleo do Iraque e da Arábia Saudita afetou o ambiente político desses países?; A fim de responder às questões supracitadas e cumprir o objetivo deste trabalho, optou-se por um método de pesquisa qualitativa. O estudo baseia-se principalmente em fontes secundárias, como livros didáticos, artigos, revistas e jornais, bem como recursos da Internet. Ao fazer a análise comparativa Análise de diferentes estágios históricos do comércio de petróleo e para duas regiões diferentes e a extensão da convergência teórica de conceitos teóricos com o realismo prático derivado dos eventos dessas etapas. Isso prova o argumento dessa teoria e a completou e como seu impacto prático no ambiente político A conclusão tirada do estudo é que os negócios internacionais afetam o ambiente político e seus elementos, e os resultados teóricos coincidem com os resultados da análise da experiência prática derivada do contexto histórico de um século, que o comércio de petróleo iraquiano e saudita como um dos negócios internacionais influenciou o ambiente político das partes interessadas, Eles desenhou seu comportamento político, o que se refletiu na situação política interna e relações internacionais, que por sua vez refletiu sobre a segurança das partes interessadas, seja na forma de riscos políticos ou processos de desenvolvimento para esses países

Geochemistry of the Ground Water in the Sinkhole Area at Ghor El Haditha, Southeast Dead Sea, Jordan

Twenty water geochemical samples collected from the sinkhole, spring at Ghor Al Haditha area and from the upstream running in Wadi Ibin Hammad area. The samples analyzed by Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS) to determine their major cation (Na, K, Mg, Ca,), and anion (HCO3, Cl, SO4) and TDS. The results of the analyses water samples shows high concentration of all the elements for the samples spring after the sinkhole area at along eastern shoreline of the Dead Sea caver the study area, TDS range between 3170 to 419519 mg/l. The samples sinkhole shows high concentration of major cation and anion elements, TDS range between 4844 to 31275mg/l. The high concentration of Na, K, Mg, Ca, Cl, HCO3, SO4, and TDS as a result to dissolve the salt, evaporate halite and gypsum layers under the sinkhole area, and the sinkhole body as indication to the sinkhole sudden within dissolved the salt. It is reflects the motion and movement of the ground water by affected the decline the Dead Sea Level at the last 30 years ago. Keywords:  Geochemistry, Groundwater, Sinkhole, Ghor Al Haditha, Jordan.

Transformation Towards Self-Built Architecture

أُسْتُثِمَر مفهوم التحول في العمارة باستخدام المحاكاة الحيوية وسيلة لإنتاج عمارة تستجيب للمؤثرات المختلفة. هذه القدرة تعود على العمارة بفوائد وظيفية مع استجابة ذكية للبيئة المبنية, فالتشابه بين البيئة الطبيعية والبيئة المبنية ظهر بوضوح في محاولات المعماريين لإدخال هوية جديدة للعمارة , بإظهار مقومات الحياة في العمارة المعاصرة, يتحول المبنى بطريقة مشابهة الى سلوك الكائنات الحية  في تكيفها مع المؤثرات البيئية خلال أنشاء بنيتها, فظهرت أعمال أبداعية تحمل صفات لكيانات ذاتية البناء, ولغياب الأطار المعرفي الذي يوضح مفهوم عمارة ذاتية البناء بالرغم من وجود مشاريع ضمن النتاج المعماري المعاصر تحمل طابع البناء الذاتي إلا أنه لم يظهر هذا المفهوم بشكل واضح , مما يؤكد وجود نقص معرفي والحاجة الى توضيح مفهوم ومنهج التحول نحو عمارة ذاتية البناء والذي يٌعبر عن هدف البحث في بناء إطار نظري لدراسة المشكلة البحثية واستخلاصه من طرق التصميم والتنفيذ المختلفة في المشاريع المعمارية والتوصل الى عدد من المفردات الرئيسية والثانوية وتطبيقها على مشاريع منتخبة  وإجراء القياس وكانت نتائج البحث التركيز على استخدام آليات النمو والتصنيع الرقمي بإستخدام مواد متطورة  وهو التوجه المستقبلي للعمارة لتكون ذاتية البناء.The concept of transformation has been invested in architecture using bio-simulation as a means to produce architecture that responds to different influences. In a similar way, the building transforms the behavior of living organisms in its adaptation to environmental influences during the construction of its structure. The need to clarify the concept and approach to the transition towards self-construction architecture, which expresses the goal of research in building a theoretical framework to study the research problem and extracted from the various design and implementation methods in architectural projects and to reach a number of key and secondary vocabulary and applied to selected projects and conduct measurement. Using mechanics of growth and manufacturing using advanced digital materials is the future orientation ofarchitecture to be self-construct

Superluminal light group velocity in tapered optical microfibers

Superluminal light group velocity was formerly reported in anomalous dispersion, nonlinear amplification of light pulse, high-gain lasers' cavities, and waveguides. Motivated by a recent observation of light acceleration in optical microfiber [1], the possibility of attaining the light group velocity exceeds its value in vacuum is investigated. The investigation of superluminal velocity is in tapered optical microfiber that has a radius decreases with propagation axis by a factor 10-3. Our results show the possibility of attaining superluminal group velocity in this microfiber at length of about 1080µm. At this length the instantaneous acceleration of light is found to be 13×1019 m/s2 which its corresponding Unruh temperature is 0.527K