RKBExplorer.com:A Knowledge Driven Infrastructure for Linked Data Providers

RKB Explorer is a Semantic Web application that is able to present unified views of a significant number of heterogeneous data sources. We have developed an underlying information infrastructure which is mediated by ontologies and consists of many independent triplestores. Our current dataset totals many tens of millions of triples each publicly available through both SPARQL endpoints and resolvable URIs. To realise this synergy of disparate information sources, we have deployed tools to identify co-referent URIs, and devised an architecture to allow the information to be represented and used. This paper provides a brief overview of the system including the underlying infrastructure, and a number of associated tools for both knowledge acquisition and publishing

Head to toe, in the head

Sometime about 250,000 y ago, primates started talking to each other (1). Before that time facial expressions and body language were the main modes of communication among primates. Even today in the presence of our sophisticated language system, face and body gestures play a major role in human communication. If someone tells you that she is not bored with a conversation but her half-open eyelids, raised eyebrows, dropped shoulders, and the way she puts her hand under her chin “tell” you the opposite, you would probably trust the ancient signal more than the modern sounds that we call words. In a recent PNAS article, Fisher and Freiwald (2) might have unveiled where in the brain such signals are encoded

The Effect of Bubble Cards on Word Stress Errors and Retention of EFL Learners: A Comparison of Turkish and Farsi Native Speakers

The present study recommends an influential teaching English sentence stress technique based on Bubble Cards for instructing sentence stress sufficiently. Males and females have been chosen randomly and homogeneously as Turkish and Farsi groups. A production-test was made from 40 sentences to force the participants read aloud the sentences obviously and their sounds were recorded for evaluating. The test has been implemented as pre-, post-, and delay pot-test. For evaluating its reliability in advance, it was piloted on a small group of participants. The aim of the second delayed test was to subject whether Bubble Cards had more influence on the learners’ sentence stress retentions and mightsave their sentence stress memorizing for a longer period of time. The satisfactory outcomes of the study approvedthe encouragement of Bubble Cards for studding sentence stress and retention of Farsi group better than the Turkish grou

A Textbook Evaluation of Speech Acts and Language Functions in High School English Textbooks (I, II AndIII) and Interchange Series, Books I, II, And III

Although English textbooks are considered as a key component in English language teaching programs, they have been criticized for not offering classroom learner’s adequate opportunity for learning authentic language (Vellenga, 2004). This is because, instead of making use of language samples that native speakers actually produce, many textbooks have drawn on native speakers’ intuition about language use, which might not always be reliable. This study investigated the use of speech acts presented in Iranian high School English Textbooks I, II, and III and New Interchange series (I, II, III) which are quite popular in Iranian language schools and institutions. For this purpose, speech acts in the conversations were analyzed to see how they were presented through Searle’s (1976) speech act model. There were 1100 different speech acts used in New Interchange series while there were only 275 speech acts used in high school textbooks. The language functions in the two mentioned series were also compared, there were a variety of language functions used in the New Interchange series while in the high school English textbooks they were presented unequally and some of them recurred throughout the books which followed no specific pattern. Since high school English textbooks in Iran are not communicatively oriented, the researcher concluded that these books cannot develop the pragmatic competence in the language learners or students. Finally, some recommendations were offered for the textbook designers and language teachers in dealing with the speech acts in high school English textbooks

The Relationship between Teachers' and Students' Preferences about Different Classroom Activities among EFL Learners in National Iran Oil Company(NIOC) in Iran

The trend towards bilingual education has been a big focus in many places around the world Communicative language teaching, which stresses preparing students with communicative competence needed for real-life purposes, is replacing traditional audio-lingual teaching methods. Some organizations and institutes are implementing educational reforms to advance toward globalization. At the present time, English is taught in many organizations such as National Iran Oil Company in order to promote his/her staff to higher level of English proficiency. The purpose of this study was to examine Iranian teachers' and students' preferences regarding implementing different types of classroom activities in adult EFL classrooms in NIOC in Iran. The selected sample consists of 59 students and 25 teachers. The questionnaire selected for this study includes 41 items, categorized as communicative versus non-communicative activities, speech based versus text-based activities, feedback, grammar, participation modes, and web-based activities. Significantly, the results indicated that teachers prefer to implement communicative activities related to speech-based areas to help promote oral proficiency in the English language, and to utilize cooperative learning to build up students' writing skills. However, some students displayed negative attitudes when asked to participate in some of the activities. In conclusion, the analysis of the data from teachers and students indicated a considerable mismatch between students' and teachers' preferences for some of both communicative and non-communicative activities. In addition, the results pose for educators and administrators in NIOC include what teachers and administrators can do to minimize the potential mismatch in teachers' and students' preference and beliefs on language learning activities. The result of the study can contribute to future modifications of syllabus/curriculum design, and teaching decision-making process in NIOC teaching centers

The Relationship between Teachers' and Students' Preferences about Different Classroom Activities among EFL Learners in National Iran Oil Company(NIOC) in Iran

The trend towards bilingual education has been a big focus in many places around the world Communicative language teaching, which stresses preparing students with communicative competence needed for real-life purposes, is replacing traditional audio-lingual teaching methods. Some organizations and institutes are implementing educational reforms to advance toward globalization. At the present time, English is taught in many organizations such as National Iran Oil Company in order to promote his/her staff to higher level of English proficiency. The purpose of this study was to examine Iranian teachers' and students' preferences regarding implementing different types of classroom activities in adult EFL classrooms in NIOC in Iran. The selected sample consists of 59 students and 25 teachers. The questionnaire selected for this study includes 41 items, categorized as communicative versus non-communicative activities, speech based versus text-based activities, feedback, grammar, participation modes, and web-based activities. Significantly, the results indicated that teachers prefer to implement communicative activities related to speech-based areas to help promote oral proficiency in the English language, and to utilize cooperative learning to build up students' writing skills. However, some students displayed negative attitudes when asked to participate in some of the activities. In conclusion, the analysis of the data from teachers and students indicated a considerable mismatch between students' and teachers' preferences for some of both communicative and non-communicative activities. In addition, the results pose for educators and administrators in NIOC include what teachers and administrators can do to minimize the potential mismatch in teachers' and students' preference and beliefs on language learning activities. The result of the study can contribute to future modifications of syllabus/curriculum design, and teaching decision-making process in NIOC teaching centers

URI Disambiguation in the Context of Linked Data

The Linked Data initiative has given rise to an increasing number of RDF datasets, many of which are freely accessible online. These resources often arise as a result of database exports; however sufficient consideration may not be given to the unseen implications caused when they are used in the wider context of the Semantic Web. This paper investigates two popular resources, DBLP and DBpedia, and discusses whether the issues regarding identity management and co-reference resolution have been suitably addressed. We find that a large percentage of authors in DBLP have been conflated, and that disambiguation pages have been incorrectly linked using owl:sameAs within DBpedia. Systems for dealing with these issues are presented, and directions are given for future research

The Effect of Vocabulary Strategy Training among Autonomous and Non-Autonomous Learners in Iranian EFL Context

Vocabulary has been regarded as a fundamental element of learning English as a Foreign Language (FL). However, the present situation suggests that students in this context are not learning vocabulary at a feasible pace that will help them develop sufficient competency for handling academic studies at tertiary level of education. The present study aims at looking at the effect of Iranian EFL learners’ vocabulary strategy training on the retention of vocabulary and to study this effect among autonomous and non-autonomous learners. Eighty students from four intact classes in Gogan were selected for the purpose of this study. Each intact class was randomly selected as an experimental group and a control group. After the pretest was given to the participants, they were taught by three types of vocabulary instruction including word parts, elaboration technique, context clues or guessing meaning from context. The findings revealed that experimental group made progress over time, that is, the students from this group attained an increase in scores from pretest to posttest. Further, there was a significant difference between autonomous and non-autonomous learners in posttest in experimental group. The results of this study raise more questions and point out the need for the implementation of autonomy in relation to vocabulary achievement.