Volume 1, Issue 1 , June 2022
Volume 1, Issue 2 , December 2022
Volume 2, Issue 1 , June 2023
Volume 2, Issue 2 , December 2023
Volume 3, Issue 2 , December 2024
Mohammad Hossein Akbari; Reza Pishghadam
Abstract
Technology plays a crucial role in fully understanding all aspects of language and uncovering the hidden patterns, such as sense and emotion density in texts. Yet, it seems that remarkable attention has not been paid to the sensory and emotional loads of learning texts as the primary source ...
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Technology plays a crucial role in fully understanding all aspects of language and uncovering the hidden patterns, such as sense and emotion density in texts. Yet, it seems that remarkable attention has not been paid to the sensory and emotional loads of learning texts as the primary source of learning. This study attempts to present an objective way of analyzing English learning texts from both emotional and sensory perspectives to provide material developers to measure the emotional and sensory loads of the texts. For this purpose, a new kind of software was developed using two datasets; Sensicon and EmoLex. Then as an example, an English course book series, Interchange (5th ed.), was analyzed by this software to determine any probable pattern(s) concerning sensory and emotional loads. The results showed that the dominant sense in these books is hearing at all levels of language proficiency. In the emotion analysis part, the eight basic emotions were categorized as positive and negative emotions, and the results showed a higher frequency of positive emotions. It was also found that the frequency of negative emotions increases at higher levels, resulting in more authenticity.
Shima Ebrahimi; Maryam Sadat Tabatabaeian; Taqi Al Abdwani
Abstract
Struggling with basic restrictions in mental operations, information processing, and social and communicative skills, mentally-challenged children learn with delay. Numerous methods have been proposed to enhance learning among the mentally challenged. One is emo-sensory education which highlights the ...
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Struggling with basic restrictions in mental operations, information processing, and social and communicative skills, mentally-challenged children learn with delay. Numerous methods have been proposed to enhance learning among the mentally challenged. One is emo-sensory education which highlights the interplay of senses and emotions and raises teachers’ awareness of practical sense and emotion utilization in class. This study analyzed emo-sensory text on Persian literature, basic sciences, and theology books of mentally-challenged fourth-graders in terms of senses and emotions. These books were compared to those utilized for normal fourth graders. The emo-sensory text analysis revealed no significant differences between these two sets of books regarding applying emo-sensory words. Material developers merely paid attention to the visual sense, while mentally-challenged and normal children are considerably different. Various senses have to be integrated into the textbooks to enhance learning and communicative skills, which seems to have been overlooked. As a result, authors should include more emo-sensory stimuli to boost information processing and benefit the mentally challenged.
Nasim Boustani; Taqi Al Abdwani
Abstract
Vocabulary growth predicts communication ability and communication without vocabulary is impossible. The study was done among 50 EFL learners to examine the effect of music-based instruction on their vocabulary retention and attitudes. They were divided into experimental and control groups. First, a ...
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Vocabulary growth predicts communication ability and communication without vocabulary is impossible. The study was done among 50 EFL learners to examine the effect of music-based instruction on their vocabulary retention and attitudes. They were divided into experimental and control groups. First, a pre-test was conducted to fulfill the homogeneity assumption. Then, the photo dictionary part of the “English for Schools Prospect 1” book was set to music and the experimental group underwent music-based practices. While the control group received audio-visual instruction. Immediately after the instructions, a 20-item test was given to the groups. Subsequently, a 9-item attitude scale was distributed among the teacher, observer, and groups. After two weeks, a long-term memory test was conducted between the two groups. Results presented that the experimental group significantly outscored in the short- and long-term memory tests compared with the control group. Moreover, results from the attitude scale indicated that they welcomed music-based instruction allowing more profound vocabulary learning and communication ability than the audio-visual practices.
Haitham Yousef Adarbah; Ali H. Al-Badi
Abstract
Cloud computing facilitates the online provisioning of IT resources, and banks are progressively adopting it to enhance operational efficiency. Despite its usefulness, combining cloud services is not without its difficulties. This study examines the pros and cons of using cloud services in banking, focusing ...
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Cloud computing facilitates the online provisioning of IT resources, and banks are progressively adopting it to enhance operational efficiency. Despite its usefulness, combining cloud services is not without its difficulties. This study examines the pros and cons of using cloud services in banking, focusing on data security, infrastructure stability, and ongoing business functions. For the purpose of this study, we interviewed a number of leaders in the field, such as officials from a major cloud provider and an Omani bank. The importance of addressing environmental considerations, personnel training, data privacy, security, and system integration was highlighted through key insights. It was concluded that, in order to make a smooth shift to the cloud, financial institution employees must have a thorough understanding of its features. The findings of this research add to the ongoing discussion about banking’s embrace of the cloud and provide useful pointers for working with the cloud.
Ulla Hakala; Paula Sjöblom; Terhi Ainiala
Abstract
The purpose of this multidisciplinary study is to investigate how municipalities position themselves in their slogans as unique places among competitors, namely other municipalities in their region or country. Empirically, discourse analysis was used to investigate the semantic features of municipal ...
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The purpose of this multidisciplinary study is to investigate how municipalities position themselves in their slogans as unique places among competitors, namely other municipalities in their region or country. Empirically, discourse analysis was used to investigate the semantic features of municipal slogans in the context of place branding in Finland. The major findings demonstrate similarity in commonness rather than uniqueness: the slogans resembled each other thematically and did not distinctively differentiate places from one another. Academic research on slogans and their relation to linguistics and place branding is scarce. This study aims to narrow this gap. Nevertheless, further research is needed on slogans from different countries and languages. The study recommends that place managers should invest time and thought in the creation of slogans based on the factual attributes and values of the place as well as its strategies.
Abir S. Al-Harrasi; Haitham Y. Adarbah; Ali H. Al-Badi; Abdul K. Shaikh; Hafidh Al-Shihi; ِAlyaa Al-Barrak
Abstract
The oil and gas industry relies heavily on IT innovations to manage business processes, but the exponential generation of data has led to concerns about processing big data, generating valuable insights, and making timely decisions. Many companies have adopted Big Data Analytics (BDA) solutions to address ...
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The oil and gas industry relies heavily on IT innovations to manage business processes, but the exponential generation of data has led to concerns about processing big data, generating valuable insights, and making timely decisions. Many companies have adopted Big Data Analytics (BDA) solutions to address these challenges. However, determining the adoption of BDA solutions requires a thorough understanding of the contextual factors influencing these decisions. This research explores these factors using a new Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) framework, presenting technological, organisational, and environmental factors. The study used a Delphi research method and seven heterogeneous panelists from an Oman oil and gas company. The paper provides theoretical and practical contributions to BDA research, adding three new factors to the TOE framework and building a conceptual framework that fits the industry context. The findings revealed twenty factors, with organisational strategy, business framework, and suitability being added to the TOE framework. Among all, data quality was identified as the most significant factor.
Ahmad Fawad Kakar; Kawita Sarwari
Abstract
A vast body of available literature presents controversial perspectives on the role of L1 in learning and communicating an L2. The current exploratory qualitative study attempted to investigate the reported experiences of ten Afghan EFL learners regarding their L1 (Farsi Dari) role in communicating an ...
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A vast body of available literature presents controversial perspectives on the role of L1 in learning and communicating an L2. The current exploratory qualitative study attempted to investigate the reported experiences of ten Afghan EFL learners regarding their L1 (Farsi Dari) role in communicating an L2 (English). The data collected through Skype interviews with ten participants were analyzed thematically. The findings indicated that both positive and negative transfers of L1 occur at different levels in L2. The emerging themes revealed that L2 is scaffolded with L1 proficiency; further, it helps generate ideas, improve self-esteem, and reduce anxiety. The findings also indicated some L1 interferences in L2 communication particularly pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. The current study's findings suggest that the language instructors should be aware of the language transfers, both positive and negative, to provide quality teaching to EFL learners. Further research studies can be conducted through a different research design such as quantitative or mixed-method exploring the EFL perspectives.
Akin Gürbüz; Mehmet Abi; Bekir Canlı
Abstract
A common challenge for most students in intercultural contexts both in their academic studies and future careers is balancing speaking opportunities for talkative and less talkative students. The differences in individuals’ communication styles due to their backgrounds may lead to some ...
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A common challenge for most students in intercultural contexts both in their academic studies and future careers is balancing speaking opportunities for talkative and less talkative students. The differences in individuals’ communication styles due to their backgrounds may lead to some concerns about intercultural competencies. In this respect, this study intends to explore the possible relationship between students' confidence in communication levels, their self-perception of English proficiency levels, and cultural styles. For this purpose, three questionnaires were carried out by the participation of 106 students at a state university. The obtained data were analyzed by conducting ANOVA tests. The findings indicated that participants have low to medium levels of English proficiency and as their language levels increase, their cultural self-awareness and cross-cultural communication levels increase as well. In addition, there is a significant relationship between their levels of confidence in communication and having outgoing personalities.
Ali H. Al-Badi; Ashar Khan
Abstract
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have recently gained significance among companies, organizations, higher education institutions, and business owners in Oman. Delving into the implementation and success of ERP systems is a time-consuming process and mostly requires longitudinal research. In ...
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Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have recently gained significance among companies, organizations, higher education institutions, and business owners in Oman. Delving into the implementation and success of ERP systems is a time-consuming process and mostly requires longitudinal research. In line with the significance of such systems, we conducted a qualitative study to understand the practices involved in developing ERP systems from the perspectives of the software project managers and developers. In doing so, we interviewed a software project management and development team. The interview included both structured and semi-structured questions. We focused on three factors, including a) the software project managers’ and developers’ viewpoints about the ERP systems development in the HEIs, b) the methods and processes followed by the team while developing ERP systems for the HEIs, and c) the technical and non-technical challenges encountered within the development, implementation, and deployment stages.
Seema Varshney; Neelufer Aslam Kulkarni; Rodrigo Velasco
Abstract
Gamification has become a prevalent approach for appealing users and encouraging desired behaviours in many fields, comprising marketing, education, banking, healthcare, and numerous other fields. This paper explores in what way integrating gamified elements, such as Points, Badges, Rewards, Challenges, ...
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Gamification has become a prevalent approach for appealing users and encouraging desired behaviours in many fields, comprising marketing, education, banking, healthcare, and numerous other fields. This paper explores in what way integrating gamified elements, such as Points, Badges, Rewards, Challenges, Leaderboards, and Interactive Activities, impacts the online shopping experience for buyers. This study investigates the influence of gamification on the buying intention of the buyers adopting online shopping. It examines the role of perceived ease of use, social interaction, perceived utility and perceived enjoyment in impacting buyers’ intention in online buying. The findings of this study intend to provide a valuable insight for e-commerce firms and sellers, aiding them to design and enhance online shopping platforms personalized to the inclinations of consumers. Finally, this study contributes to the wider understanding of consumer behaviour in the digital era and highlights approaches that can enhance the online shopping experience for buyers, nurturing customer engagement, and growth of the business.
Samyra Ghadirzade Toosy; Haniyeh Jajarmi
Abstract
Individuals are not always willing to communicate in L2 due to different factors. Given the essential role of effective communication in all aspects of life and the vital role of communicative ability in successful communication, this study investigated the role of emo-sensory intelligence (ESQ) in L2 ...
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Individuals are not always willing to communicate in L2 due to different factors. Given the essential role of effective communication in all aspects of life and the vital role of communicative ability in successful communication, this study investigated the role of emo-sensory intelligence (ESQ) in L2 willingness to communicate (L2WTC) and the communicative ability (COA) of Iranian EFL learners. Towards this end, 220 EFL learners took the ESQ and L2WTC scales. Moreover, their last language achievement scores were regarded for the assessment of their COA. The results of the correlational analyses showed that all the sub-constructs of ESQ are significantly correlated with the sub-constructs of L2WTC. Moreover, a significant relationship was found between COA and ESQ''s visual and auditory sub-constructs. There was also a positive correlation between COA and all the sub-constructs of L2WTC. Furthermore, structural equation modeling (SEM) results revealed that while ESQ does not directly predict the students’ COA, mediated by L2WTC, it is a positive predictor of COA. These findings suggest that improving ESQ can positively affect L2 WTC, leading to improved communicative ability in Iranian EFL learners.
Nasim Boustani
Abstract
In the fast-paced era of digital communication, technology-mediated communication (TMC) has created remarkable changes in users’ behaviors. Unraveling passive and active behaviors of TMC users, this study investigated the psychological patterns that emerge when individuals rely on technology for outcomes. ...
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In the fast-paced era of digital communication, technology-mediated communication (TMC) has created remarkable changes in users’ behaviors. Unraveling passive and active behaviors of TMC users, this study investigated the psychological patterns that emerge when individuals rely on technology for outcomes. Adopting Pishghadam’s (2024) “waitance” model, the research explored the TMC users’ psychological patterns during waiting behavior and addresses the complicated involvement of emotional-cognitive processes during the waiting period, especially when one expects others to complete tasks. The paradoxical nature of waitance and technology was delineated, first by describing the waitance period, which encompasses the underlying senses of physical stillness and psychological involvement, and then by discussing the dual nature of technology, which simultaneously facilitates and exacerbates communication. Some discussions of technology users’ passive behaviors emphasized the importance of active involvement. Understanding waitance psychological patterns can inform technology users about their behavior and encourage them to mitigate prolonged periods of waitance.
Anna C. Bocar; Gina G. Jocson
Abstract
The primary objective of this study is to discover the challenges faced by social media users. To this end, the researchers first designed a scale and then asked 272 individuals from Indonesia and Oman to take it. Frequency, percentile distribution, and weighted mean were used to analyze the data qualitatively. ...
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The primary objective of this study is to discover the challenges faced by social media users. To this end, the researchers first designed a scale and then asked 272 individuals from Indonesia and Oman to take it. Frequency, percentile distribution, and weighted mean were used to analyze the data qualitatively. The findings reveal that the respondents in two countries spent five hours on their social media, and with its use, they got more than one hundred online friends. Facebook and YouTube were found to be the most common social media platforms used by the two groups, and keeping in contact with their family and friends was the reason that was common to them. While Indonesian respondents highly rated the majority of the positive effects of social media use, the Omani respondents showed that the use of social media affected a lot on their sleeping patterns. In closing, the two groups of respondents had common ideas in some of the indicators utilized in this study.
Peyman Nouraey
Abstract
The General Foundation Program (GFP) is a pre-requisite program for nearly all undergraduate students in Oman in both private and government higher education institutions. The GFP elements include English Language, Computing, Mathematics, and General Study Skills. The present study aimed at evaluating ...
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The General Foundation Program (GFP) is a pre-requisite program for nearly all undergraduate students in Oman in both private and government higher education institutions. The GFP elements include English Language, Computing, Mathematics, and General Study Skills. The present study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of the GFP with special reference to its Computing element. To do so, 106 (72 females and 34 males) post-GFP students’ perceptions of their competencies in the Computing element were evaluated. Data were collected through a 5-point Likert Scale author-designed questionnaire created based on the Learning Outcomes (LOs) of the component. The chi-square results revealed statistically significant differences among the frequencies of the students’ responses in rating their competencies in Computing LOs. Based on the findings, the participants were mostly competent in all the 6 main LOs of the Computing element. In addition, a few criteria with positive effects on achieving the LOs of educational programs were discussed.
Minoo Alemi; Zahra Maleknia; Babak Meschi Nezami
Abstract
This quasi-experimental study scrutinized the impact of technology-mediated TBLT in an online collaborative and individual EFL learning environment on the development of request production of 20 male and female B.A. students of TEFL. The participants were divided into two equal individual and collaborative ...
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This quasi-experimental study scrutinized the impact of technology-mediated TBLT in an online collaborative and individual EFL learning environment on the development of request production of 20 male and female B.A. students of TEFL. The participants were divided into two equal individual and collaborative experimental groups to receive online video-prompt task-based instruction on request speech act production in six distinct situations defined based on different contextual variables including distance, power, and imposition. Two similar versions of video-prompt Discourse Completion Tests (DCTs) focusing on six situations covered in online classes were given to the participants as a pretest and posttest. The results indicated that both groups’ request speech act production improved significantly after the intervention. However, there was no significant difference between the performance of the two groups. It was then concluded that both techniques are facilitative in boosting students’ pragmatic competence; however, more time is required to find out the extent to which these techniques differ in terms of their productiveness.
Anna Bocar; Ruel Ancheta
Abstract
This study aimed to determine the degree of students’ knowledge and practice of digital citizenship in relation to the nine digital dimensions, and the importance of their awareness, benefits, and drawbacks. A descriptive survey approach was used to gather the data from one hundred fifty-one undergraduate ...
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This study aimed to determine the degree of students’ knowledge and practice of digital citizenship in relation to the nine digital dimensions, and the importance of their awareness, benefits, and drawbacks. A descriptive survey approach was used to gather the data from one hundred fifty-one undergraduate students. The results show that the participants have a sufficient level of knowledge about good digital citizenship. The result also exhibited that of nine digital dimensions, “digital health” (µ = 3.16) and “digital trading” are the ones with the highest mean (µ = 2.79). This indicates that very seldom do the participants follow and practice the dimensions. The participants revealed that they are unaware of the effects of their actions in terms of using digital technology. In addition, forty-one percent of the participants are using digital technology on the average level and thirty-eight percent on the high level. The students who are more exposed to using digital devices are interpreted that they are at risk for abuse.
Mohammad Javad Gholami; Taqi Al Abdwani
Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities in natural language processing are rapidly advancing and transforming communication practices across diverse contexts. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of AI's emerging roles in mediating and participating in direct communication to highlight key ...
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Artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities in natural language processing are rapidly advancing and transforming communication practices across diverse contexts. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of AI's emerging roles in mediating and participating in direct communication to highlight key opportunities and research priorities around responsible innovation. The study surveys the extensive literature on major applications of AI, including virtual assistants, chatbots, smart replies, sentiment analysis tools, and automatic translation technologies. It also closely examines their current and potential usage and benefits across interpersonal, organizational, and societal communication. The analysis reveals these AI technologies promise enhanced efficiency, personalization, accessibility, and new modalities of expression in communication. The study found that if judiciously and ethically applied, they could incrementally improve communication speed, quality, relationships, and even therapists' capabilities over time. However, more rigorous research is still recommended to investigate longitudinal impacts on human well-being, increase accessibility for vulnerable demographic groups, advance multimodality AI systems, and develop tailored guidelines and user-centered studies to ensure ethical, socially responsible progress. Overall, this review synthesizes the current state of the science and pressing research needs in this rapidly emerging field.
Md Khalid Hassan; Shahnaz Parvin; Jahangir Alam Siddikee
Abstract
This paper reviews the practice of ChatGPT in the field of finance and banking through a natural language processing (NLP) system developed by OpenAI. We also discuss applications of ChatGPT in finance and banking, such as the detection of fraud, risk management, forecasting and analysis of the market, ...
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This paper reviews the practice of ChatGPT in the field of finance and banking through a natural language processing (NLP) system developed by OpenAI. We also discuss applications of ChatGPT in finance and banking, such as the detection of fraud, risk management, forecasting and analysis of the market, management of investments, chatbots for customer service, personal financial management, impact investing, and asset management along with its challenges, limitations and extremely encouraging future potentials. We also recommend taking necessary steps by the authorities to create and enhance ChatGPT-related legislation and regulations to avoid illegal and criminal offences. The paper concludes that ChatGPT will perform better and offer a better user experience for a variety of banking and finance sectors. It is worth remembering that in a relatively short period of time, ChatGPT has garnered significant attention from research, industry, and academia. This study will be helpful for policy makers, practitioners, and researchers.
Mohammad Abbasian; Ghasem Modarresi
Abstract
Despite the theoretical importance of online learning, there is a lack of research on oral communication skills. The present study, adopting a mixed-methods design, aimed at 1) examining whether Adobe Connect and Skype could improve listening skills for pre-intermediate EFL learners and 2) exploring ...
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Despite the theoretical importance of online learning, there is a lack of research on oral communication skills. The present study, adopting a mixed-methods design, aimed at 1) examining whether Adobe Connect and Skype could improve listening skills for pre-intermediate EFL learners and 2) exploring the students’ reactions to the role of online learning in enhancing their listening skills. In doing so, a pool of 30 homogeneous Iranian pre-intermediate students participated in the study. The one-way ANCOVA results confirmed a statistically significant difference at the p<.05 level in students’ scores for the two sets of scores. Adobe Connect group outperformed the Skype group concerning listening skills. Moreover, taking the coding reliability and agreement into account, 14 common codes emerged from the students’ responses to the semi-structured interview questions regarding the role of online learning in listening development. Finally, practical implications are offered for EFL students, teachers, and syllabus designers.
