Afghan EFL Teachers’ Perceptions Toward Challenges They Encounter in Implementing CLT in Their Classes

This study aimed to identify the challenges that Afghan EFL teachers encounter when implementing Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in their classes. The study utilized a descriptive quantitative research design, employing a survey questionnaire.  A total of 25 EFL teachers from different public universities of Afghanistan participated in this study. The results revealed that in teacher-related challenges, insufficiency in spoken English, lack of training in CLT, shortage of time for developing communicative materials, and lack of knowledge about the culture of the target language are the primary obstacles to the application of CLT. Additionally, challenges in student-related factors such as low English proficiency, passive learning styles, and lack of motivation were identified as critical difficulties hindering the implementation of CLT in their classes

Augmented tour construction heuristics for the travelling salesman problem

Tour construction heuristics serve as fundamental techniques in optimizing the routes of a traveling salesman. These heuristics remain significant as foundational methods for generating initial solutions to the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP), facilitating subsequent applications of tour improvement heuristics. These heuristics effectively comprise the iterative application of city node selection and insertion. However, thus far, no attempts have been made to enhance the basic structure of tour construction heuristics to bring a better initial solution for the advanced heuristics. This study aims to enhance tour construction heuristics without compromising their theoretical complexity. Specifically, an iterative step of partial tour deconstruction has been introduced to the existing heuristics. This additional step has been implemented and evaluated with three highly performing tour construction heuristics: the farthest insertion heuristic, the max difference insertion heuristic, and the fast max difference insertion heuristic. The results demonstrate that augmenting these heuristics with the partial tour deconstruction step improves the best, worst, and average solutions while preserving their theoretical complexit

Driver Fatigue Detection using Mean Intensity, SVM, and SIFT

Driver fatigue is one of the major causes of accidents. This has increased the need for driver fatigue detection mechanism in the vehicles to reduce human and vehicle loss during accidents. In the proposed scheme, we capture videos from a camera mounted inside the vehicle. From the captured video, we localize the eyes using Viola-Jones algorithm. Once the eyes have been localized, they are classified as open or closed using three different techniques namely mean intensity, SVM, and SIFT. If eyes are found closed for a considerable amount of time, it indicates fatigue and consequently an alarm is generated to alert the driver. Our experiments show that SIFT outperforms both mean intensity and SVM, achieving an average accuracy of 97.45% on a dataset of five videos, each having a length of two minutes

Upaya Meningkatkan Hasil Belajar Gerak Dasar Bermain Rounders Menggunakan Alat Bantu Pembelajaran Pada Siswa Kelas V MI Negeri Sroyo Jaten Karanganyar Tahun Ajaran 2017/2018

Tujuan Penelitian ini adalah untuk meningkatkan hasil belajar gerak dasar bermain rounders menggunakan alat bantu pembelajaran pada siswa kelas V MI Negeri Sroyo Jaten Karanganyar tahun ajaran 2017/2018. Penelitian ini merupakan Penelitian Tindakan Kelas (PTK). Penelitian ini dilakukan dalam dua siklus, terdiri dari empat tahap dalam setiap siklusnya yang terdiri dari perencanaan, pelaksanaan tindakan, observasi dan refleksi. Subjek dalam Penelitian Tindakan Kelas ini adalah siswa kelas V MI Negeri Sroyo Jaten Karanganyar yang berjumlah 38 siswa terdiri dari 14 siswa putra dan 24 siswa putri. Sumber data dalam Penelitian ini berasal dari siswa, peneliti dan guru yang bertindak sebagai kolaborator. Teknik pengumpulan data menggunakan tes dan observasi. Validitas data menggunkan teknik triangulasi data. Analisis data menggunakan teknik deskriptif kualitatif yang didasarkan pada analisis kualitatif persentase. Hasil penelitian pada prasiklus hanya 15 siswa yang tuntas (39,47%) dan 23 siswa tidak tuntas (60,52%). Pada siklus I diperoleh hasil belajar siswa yang telah tuntas sebanyak 21 siswa (55,26%) dan 17 siswa tidak tuntas (44,74%). Dengan perolehan rata-rata afektif (76,31%), kognitif (78,94%) dan psikomotor (42,10%). Pada siklus II diperoleh hasil belajar siswa yang telah tuntas sebanyak 31 siswa (81,58%) dan 7 siswa tidak tuntas (18,42%). Dengan perolehan rata-rata afektif (97,36%), kognitif (78,94%) dan psikomotor (71,05%). Berdasarkan hasil analisis dari siklus I dan siklus II menunjukkan adanya peningkatan hasil belajar dari siswa. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian diperoleh simpulan bahwa : Penggunaan alat bantu sederhana dalam pembelajaran dapat meningkatkan hasil belajar gerak dasar bermain rounders pada siswa kelas V MI Negeri Sroyo Jaten Karanganyar tahun ajaran 2017/2018. Kata kunci : Hasil Belajar, Gerak Dasar Bermain Rounders, Alat Bantu Pembelajara

Multiband Atmospheric Correction Algorithm for Ocean Color Retrievals

National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) current atmospheric correction (AC) algorithm for ocean color utilizes two bands and their ratio in the near infrared (NIR) to estimate aerosol reflectance and aerosol type. The algorithm then extrapolates the spectral dependence of aerosol reflectance to the visible wavelengths based on modeled spectral dependence of the identified aerosol type. Future advanced ocean color sensors, such as the Ocean Color Instrument (OCI) that will be carried on the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, and ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite, will be capable of measuring the hyperspectral radiance from 340 to 890 nm at 5-nm spectral resolution and at seven discrete short-wave infrared (SWIR) channels: 940, 1,038, 1,250, 1,378, 1,615, 2,130, and 2,260 nm. To optimally employ this unprecedented instrument capability, we propose an improved AC algorithm that utilizes all atmospheric-window channels in the NIR to SWIR spectral range to reduce the uncertainty in the AC process. A theoretical uncertainty analysis of this, namely, multiband AC (MBAC), indicates that the algorithm can reduce the uncertainty in remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) retrievals of the ocean caused by sensor random noise. Furthermore, in optically complex waters, where the NIR signal is affected by contributions from highly reflective turbid waters, the MBAC algorithm can be adaptively weighted to the strongly absorbing SWIR channels to enable improved ocean color retrievals in coastal waters. We provide here a description of the algorithm and demonstrate the improved performance in ocean color retrievals, relative to the current NASA standard AC algorithm, through comparison with field measurements and assessment of propagated uncertainties in applying the MBAC algorithm to MODIS and simulated PACE OCI data

Afghan EFL Learners’ Perceptions towards Factors Causing Demotivation in Learning English and Strategies to Make Them Motivated

Demotivation is a significant concern for foreign and second language researchers, as it has a direct impact on the academic success of students at various educational levels, including primary, high school, and university. This study aimed to explore the demotivation factors that affect English language learning among EFL students at Jawzjan University, as well as to identify strategies for re-motivating these learners. The study employed a qualitative approach, and an open-ended interview question was conducted to collect data. The findings revealed several demotivating factors that have a negative influence on learners, including a lack of information about the dominance of the English language, insufficient support from teachers and family, economic challenges, an excessive focus on nonprofessional courses, the use of local languages in English classes, and a lack of opportunities to practice English outside the classroom. Based on the findings, the study suggests that English teachers should pay attention to their feedback, incorporate audiovisual materials into their teaching, and consider the students' interests and proficiency levels when selecting teaching materials

Consumer Ethnocentric Tendencies in Purchasing Foreign Products: A Study in Afghanistan / Tüketicilerin Etnosentrik Eğilimleri ve Yabancı Ürün Satın Alma Niyetleri: Afganistan’da Bir Araştırma

The major goal of this study is to ascertain the level of ethnocentrism to which Afghan consumers exhibit these tendencies when purchasing products from other countries as well as how their attitudes affect their intention to buy foreign items. It also aims to determine whether gender, marital status and visiting other countries have moderating role or not. Data were collected from 180 respondents in Kabul city, Afghanistan. Descriptive statistics and the structural equation model were used to examine the participant's demographic traits and to test the research Hypotheses. The result of this study shows that Afghan consumers are highly ethnocentric in consuming foreign products. As Afghanistan is an underdeveloped country, Afghan consumers usually evaluate the products and brands of their own countries as inferior to the products and brands of developed countries, and therefore, despite their ethnocentrism, they prefer foreign products. Additionally, gender, marital status and visiting other countries have moderating effects on the variables