مطالب

Critical thinking (CT) abilities have failed to receive the necessary consideration in applied linguistics. Thus, this study was intended to explore English as a Foreign Language (EFL) academics and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) candidates’ perceptions of embedding CT into the EFL curricula in Iran. Moreover, it aimed to identify the primary obstacles teachers may have while employing CT skills, and suggest some necessary strategies to strengthen students' CT abilities. To do so, a total of 50 male and female EFL academics as well as 50 male and female PhD candidates specializing in Applied Linguistics, Linguistics and Literature, as well as Translation at different universities in Iran participated in this study. The present investigation employed a mixed-methods design. To this end, an adapted version of Stapleton's (2011) CT questionnaire was used. Moreover, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with a cohort of 5 EFL academics and 5 PhD candidates. The outcomes underscore the need for educational policymakers and curriculum developers to recognize the significance of CT in language learning and to infuse more systematic and explicit approaches to teaching CT in Iranian EFL context. The pedagogical implications of the study were accordingly discussed. 

Adolescence is characterized by physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and behavioral changes capable of resulting in the development of a healthy and autonomous individual, as well as contributing to self-injurious behavior. This review aimed to analyze the 11 available papers on risk factors for self-mutilation in adolescents. Integrative review performed in MEDLINE and LILACS databases using primary studies published between 2018 and 2023, in Portuguese, English, and Spanish with the descriptors “Self-destructive Behavior”; "Adolescent"; and “Risk Factors” combined with the Boolean operator AND. After analyzing the data, two main themes emerged. The first theme, referred to as "intrapersonal risk factors," encompassed a range of categories including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, substance/alcohol abuse, disruptive, impulse and conduct control disorders, cyclothymic-hypersensitive temperament, impulsivity, avoidance/coping-focused on affect, and emotional dysregulation. The second theme, labeled as "interpersonal risk factors," consisted of categories such as bullying, parental neglect, parental psychopathology, social exclusion, peers with people with self-destructive behavior, hetero-aggressiveness, and sexual and gender minority populations. The findings of this review highlight the importance of increased awareness, early detection, and targeted interventions for self-mutilation. This study lays the ground for future research and interventions in mental health. Future studies could further explore psychological factors, societal influences, effective treatments, and prevention methods for self-mutilation. By expanding upon current knowledge, clinicians and researchers can better support individuals struggling with self-harm, leading to improved outcomes and reduced harm.  

This paper examines recent literature in the quest to uncover emerging patterns in the use of business intelligence in marketing. We conducted searches in pertinent academic journals and identified 1044 articles published between 2000 and 2023. To sift through this substantial body of work, we employed text mining techniques to extract pertinent terms in the realms of business intelligence and marketing. Additionally, we applied latent Dirichlet allocation modeling to categorize the articles into various pertinent topics. This analysis was performed within the domains of marketing and business intelligence. This approach enabled us to discover connections between terms and topics, which in turn allowed us to generate hypotheses regarding future research directions. To validate these hypotheses, we gathered and closely examined relevant articles. By pinpointing current research areas, this study underscores potential avenues for future investigation. The findings reveal that the predominant trend in business intelligence applications for marketing is the utilization of business intelligence systems, with a particular emphasis on marketing planning to enhance marketing strategies. Additionally, there is considerable interest in areas such as pricing models for marketing, enhancing brand value through effective social media marketing, employing predictive algorithms for customer data analysis, and harnessing big data for marketing analytics.