Archives-January 2014

An environmentally benign and one-pot method for the synthesis of 1-naphthol azo dyes has been developed by using polymer-supported periodic acid (PPIA) as a new solid acid via grinding followed by a diazo coupling reaction by 1-naphthol under solvent-free conditions at room temperature. The obtained aryl diazonium salts supported on polymer (aryl diazonium polymer periodate), ArN2 +IO4 - were sufficiently stable to be kept at room temperature in the dry state. This method has the advantages such as: eco-friendly, heterogeneous reaction conditions, simple experimental procedure, high purity. The structures of the products have been characterized by several techniques using UV-Vis, FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and mass spectra.

Audiolingual is a method of teaching used in teaching languages based on behaviourist psychology and structuralist linguistics. At first, this method had many advocates, but later it was rejected as the result of having some problems. Later on new communicative methods were introduced. They emphasized the role of interaction as the means and the aim of learning a language. Similarly, they had their own problems. Therefore, it has been suggested that it is better not to hold rigidly to a single method, but instead use the points of strength of various methods. This paper intends to combine useful points of the two methods to devise an efficient method for teaching more especially in EFL contexts.

This paper effort to describe a pioneering method of generating eco-friendly electrical energy that could be obtained from the wind energy harnessed from train. The energy generated from this method can be used to partially fulfil the daily power needs of human being. The method for generating electricity is by using the wind pressure which is generated by fast moving vehicles (train). By channelling the induced wind in the direction of the wind turbine and to convert the kinetic energy of the wind into mechanical energy with the help of wind turbine. The converted mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy with the help of an alternator. The ultimate aim of this project is to develop much cleaner and cost effective way of power generation, which in turns helps to bring down the global warming and to reduce the power shortages. The idea explained here does not interfere in the normal working of the moving train.

Reaching the goal of using a language -communication and interaction- is only possible with choosing the most appropriate language devices in both spoken and written genres. There are a plenty of such devices of which discourse markers are paramount. Speakers need to be able to master discourse markers, particularly discourse markers of reformulation, in order to be able to communicate as well as to be recognized as a proficient member of their community. In response to research recommending a more explicit focus on variation among adolescent, this article aims to add to the study of adolescent speech production from a reformulation-centered perspective as well as to add to socio-pragmatic studies. This paper was an attempt to presents the results of analyzing transcriptions of reciprocal oral interaction in a simulated informal context, for Iranian female adolescents, discussing the importance, frequency, and distribution of the different types of reformulation markers (namely paraphrastic and non-paraphrastic) through employing Gülich and Kotschi’s (1995) classification. The analysis revealed no significant differences in employing different types of reformulators. The low frequency of observed reformulation samples revealed that Farsi adolescent speakers are not highly concerned with the use of reformulation markers. They took advantage of a few non-paraphrastic reformulators to clarify their intention. Regarding reformulators of explanation, as a sub category of paraphrastic reformulators, they tended to employ it more in comparison with other subcategories. Accordingly, some suggestions on further research of the present study are proposed.

In this information era in which people are facing huge amounts of incoming information and communicating too many people who are trying to convince others, teachers’ ability to think and to teach critically gains an ever greater saliency as a prime goal of education. To this end, the present study was an attempt to investigate whether collaborative assessment can enhance teachers’ critical thinking abilities through empowering them. The collected data consisted of think aloud protocols of 24 individual and 12 collaborative raters. The results were qualitatively analyzed in search of themes relevant to empowerment as a critical educational practice among raters/teachers. Transcription of think aloud protocols, comments written down by raters, marginal notes of papers, and qualitative analyses revealed that collaborative assessment as an activity in EFL pedagogy seems to empower raters and provide them with opportunities to express their ‘voice’. The findings of this study provide insight into a more effective assessment which contribute to enhancing teachers/raters’ critical thinking and present suggestions for further research.

Despite the great emphasis laid on the importance of being critical, it is not really known whether English teachers are all aware of Critical pedagogy principles in ELT or whether different components of ELT curriculum, widely practiced in educational system, including material development, teaching styles and strategies, and testing methods and outcomes are consistent with principles of critical pedagogy. Therefore the present study was carried out to substantiate the relationship between the teachers’ critical thinking and their awareness of critical pedagogy principles as the vital essence of language teaching (Birjandi & Bagherkazemi, 2010; Braa & Callero, 2006; Canagarajah, 1999, 2003). To fulfill this aim, measures of critical thinking ability of 112 Iranian EFL teachers, obtained by the Farsi version of Watson–Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, Form YM (Watson–Glaser, 1961), were estimated and compared with the data collected through Critical Pedagogy Questionnaire (Maki, 2011). A statistically significant correlation between these two measures (r= 0.55, p ? 0.01) was indicated through analysis done by Pearson Product–moment correlation. The findings of this study provide insight into the effective teaching and present suggestions for further research.

Since long twin functions that have been attributed to literature include entertaining and educating the audience. It was the Roman poet Horace who more than thousand years ago claimed literature to be 'sweet' and 'useful'. Since then it is believed that the primary role of literature is to delight and instruct. However, it is not always that a piece of literature is composed by the artists with that effect in mind. More often than not, it is their way of expressing the innermost thoughts and desires creatively. Thus, we have literature dealing with various values drawn from the diverse spheres of life and society viz. environment, social justice, mysticism and the like. Rabindranath Tagore as a renowned and prolific Indian poet was inspired by the spirituality in oneslf and thus his poetry reflects his love for creation and mysticism. He could equate his love for nature with the love for god and like a true romantic seeks spiritual enlightenment in them. The paper analyses his collection of songs, Gitanjali to explore spirituality in his songs and the way he achieves spiritual gratification by dwelling on the world of the divine.

Nowadays museums and historical places are taken into account as of the attractive places for tourisms. In between and besides attracting customers for these centers preserving and customers loyalty are at the high importance. In this practical research, the researcher has attempted to investigate the relationship between the perceived investments with customer’s commitment. The population of this research is all museums historical places tourists of Kermanshah, who are known as an unlimited community. The numbers of the samples which are selected by chance are 384 people. The researcher has a standard questionnaire and the obtained permanency which is %81 is distributed in the so-called sample. After collecting the questionnaires, the hypothesis of the research is tested by LISREL and SPSS software. The obtained results of the research’s hypothesis, show that generally the perceived relational investment has a positive and meaningful relation with the 3 variations, commitment, knowledge and relationship value. (Knowledge and relation value are known as the mediator variation of the perceived relation investment and commitment .And commitment also has positive and meaningful relation with knowledge and relation with knowledge and relation value.

This article presents some tools of discourse analysis through twenty spoken medical texts, ten in English and ten in Persian. The main objective of this article is to explain and exemplify different concepts regarding the field of discourse analysis in order to study these spoken texts in two languages to find the points of difference between them. First twenty spoken medical texts were recorded and transcribed. About one hundred sentences in each language that contained these features were chosen Then they were compared from the perspectives of fourteen features, including turn-taking, different types of interruptions, back-channel support, filled pauses, spoken discourse markers, intonation, repetition and false starts. The transcriptions were analyzed for the points of difference in each language and it was found that English speakers use more turn taking, silent interruption, filled pauses and intonation markers in their speech. Persian speakers are more active in using spoken discourse markers, .repetition, back channel support and false start. Chi-square was used to see whether these differences are significant and meaningful or not. It was estimated through chi-square that there was a significant difference between the two groups in turn taking, silent interruption, back- channel support, filled pauses, Falling-rising intonation, Rising intonation, Level intonation, and repetition and false starts in the way that English speakers are more inclined in using these features than Persian ones.

The present study set out to explore the effect of an instructional strategies; i.e. explicit web based teaching on developing Iranian upper-intermediate level learners’ pragmatic knowledge of the speech act of thanking. To fulfill this objective, 60 freshmen undergraduate students of Tonekabon Islamic Azad university were selected based on an OPT test. Participants in the study were randomly divided into two groups of explicit and implicit instruction. A newly developed DCT was administered to test both groups' pragmatic knowledge of speech act of thanking. the reliability was obtained through the K-R21 reliability formula. Then the treatment started. The explicit group practice learning speech act of thanking through www.iles.umn.edu/introspeechacts website, and the implicit group start learning it through videos and other authentic materials. Another researcher made DCT was given to explore any probable improvements on their pragmatic knowledge. T- test was used to see whether there was a significant difference between two groups regarding these two strategies. The results proved superiority of the explicit web-based teaching over the implicit teaching .