مطالب

The current inquiry aimed at examining the effect of first language by Iranian learners as Foreign Language (EFL) in task preparation on their speaking accuracy, fluency and complexity. For this purpose, 40 Iranian EFL learners with intermediate level were selected based on a placement test, and divided into two equal groups. Then, the speaking fluency, accuracy, and complexity test was administered as the pretest. The treatment lasted for five sessions of 60 minutes. In these sessions, the learners did oral opinion tasks. In the first group, participants were supposed to spend 10 minutes to cooperate with a partner to read a proposed problem, discuss their solutions, and jot down by in a planning sheet. Within 10 minutes, they prepared for the task using only their L1 (Persian) for improving both speaking and writing skills. Following that, the participants were separated in various rooms, and were given two minutes to plan the task in English prior to doing the task. In contrast, the second group completed the planning sheet and prepared the task in English as their second/foreign language. The instruction lasted five sessions. At the final session, the speaking fluency, accuracy, and complexity posttest was conducted. The effects of the task planning conditions were analyzed and compared during and after the task performance. The data were analyzed via ANCOVA. The findings indicated that using L1 by Iranian EFL learners in task preparation significantly affected speaking accuracy, fluency and complexity. Finally, the pedagogical and theoretical implications of the study are provided.

The development of sports infrastructure is crucial for promoting sports culture in society; however, this process is challenged by a lack of financial resources. Donors can complement government resources by financing and accelerating sports projects, but utilizing their capacity faces obstacles. The present study aimed to identify barriers to utilizing donors' capacity in developing sports infrastructure in Iran. This study employed a qualitative content analysis method using the thematic analysis technique, which is exploratory in nature. The research population included sports experts, managers, and individuals active in the field of sports philanthropy. Sampling was conducted through purposive and snowball methods, reaching theoretical saturation after 17 interviews. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews conducted through direct communication and telephone calls. To assess validity and reliability, acceptability, transferability, confirmability, and test-retest methods were used. Data analysis yielded 52 open codes, categorized into 17 sub-themes and 6 main themes: organizational barriers, planning and management barriers, legal barriers, cultural barriers, economic barriers, and awareness and educational barriers. The present findings can serve as a crucial guide for sports organizations and the government in identifying barriers to utilize donors' capacity in developing sports infrastructure, thereby facilitating improved actual performance in this domain.

Given the importance of increasing and decreasing procreation, the present study aims to address contradictory verses and narrations on this topic using a descriptive and analytical method and answer the question: ‘What are the solutions for resolving contradictory verses and narrations regarding the increase and decrease of procreation?’ The research findings show that by applying two solutions, namely governmental decrees and the rules of conflict, balance, and preference, the conflict among the verses and narrations in the field of prolificacy and population control is resolved. In the first approach, the verses and narrations of prolificacy and population control, based on the primary principle and rule, indicate the preference and desirability of increasing procreation. However, if the individual and social conditions of the Islamic community change, the primary rule may change. The ruler and the supreme jurisprudent can issue a decree according to the circumstances of the time. Consequently, both an increase and a decrease in procreation may occur in different times and conditions in the Islamic community, thus avoiding a conflict. In the second approach, considering that the contradictory verses and narrations in the field of prolificacy and population control are divided into three categories: Conflict between verses of prolificacy and verses of population control, conflict between verses and narrations of prolificacy and population control, and conflict between narrations of prolificacy and narrations of population control. In the conflict between verses of prolificacy and verses of population control, the verses of prolificacy are preferred. In the conflict between verses and narrations of prolificacy and population control, two scenarios are possible: Sometimes the verses of prolificacy conflict with the narrations of population control, in which case the verses of prolificacy are preferred because they are definite in meaning ( Dalālah ) and definite in origin ( Ṣudūr ), while the narrations of population control are speculative in meaning ( Dalālah ) and speculative in origin ( Ṣudūr ); and sometimes, the verses of population control conflict with the narrations of prolificacy. The narrations of prolificacy are preferred because the verses of population control do not indicate procreation and increasing progeny. In the conflict between narrations of prolificacy and narrations of population control, since the conflict between these narrations is of the type of absolute and restricted conflict, the narrations of population control are restricted by the narrations of prolificacy. Accordingly, according to the verses and narrations, the abundance and increase of procreation are desirable.

Software-Defined Network (SDN) introduces centralized network control via the OpenFlow protocol, enhancing network management, traffic routing, and security policy enforcement. However, SDN's centralized nature also introduces vulnerabilities, particularly to cyberattacks targeting the controller and communication channels. This study presents a resilience assessment methodology for SDN under cyberattack conditions, leveraging Markov process theory to model system states and transitions. Three SDN architectures were evaluated under various attack scenarios, revealing that traditional configurations lack sufficient resilience against synchronous attacks and controller breaches. To address these vulnerabilities, we propose an enhanced SDN protection framework integrating controller redundancy, automatic reconfiguration mechanisms, and anomaly detection using Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks. The methodology was validated through simulations in the EVE-NG environment, demonstrating improved SDN stability under cyber threats. These findings provide a foundation for designing more resilient SDN infrastructures, ensuring network continuity and security against evolving cyber threats.

Objective: This review explores the trustworthiness of multimodal artificial intelligence (AI) systems, specifically focusing on vision-language tasks. It addresses critical challenges related to fairness, transparency, and ethical implications in these systems, providing a comparative analysis of key tasks such as Visual Question Answering (VQA), image captioning, and visual dialogue. Background: Multimodal models, particularly vision-language models, enhance artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities by integrating visual and textual data, mimicking human learning processes. Despite significant advancements, the trustworthiness of these models remains a crucial concern, particularly as AI systems increasingly confront issues regarding fairness, transparency, and ethics. Methods: This review examines research conducted from 2017 to 2024, focusing on forenamed core vision-language tasks. It employs a comparative approach to analyze these tasks through the lens of trustworthiness, underlining fairness, explainability, and ethics. This study synthesizes findings from recent literature to identify trends, challenges, and state-of-the-art solutions. Results: Several key findings were highlighted. Transparency: The explainability of vision language tasks is important for user trust. Techniques, such as attention maps and gradient-based methods, have successfully addressed this issue. Fairness: Bias mitigation in VQA and visual dialogue systems is essential for ensuring unbiased outcomes across diverse demographic groups. Ethical Implications: Addressing biases in multilingual models and ensuring ethical data handling is critical for the responsible deployment of vision-language systems. Conclusion: This study underscores the importance of integrating fairness, transparency, and ethical considerations in developing vision-language models within a unified framework.

This study aimed at examining the effect of cognitive-based learning on Iranian EFL learners' reading comprehension components; identifying the main idea, making Inferences, recognizing unfamiliar vocabulary, text organization, and information recall. In doing so, the researchers selected 84 homogeneous intermediate level male and female EFL learners with the age range 18 to 25 out of 110 conveniently nominated sample of students majoring in different fields in a Vocational and Technical college in Dezful. A standard version of Quick Oxford Placement Test (QPT) was used to homogenize the participants and the selected ones whose scores were within one SD above and below the mean, were considered as the experimental (i.e., cognitive-based learning, n=41) and control (n=43) groups in line with the nature of convenience non-random sampling. Then, the learners in both groups experienced the processes of pretesting, 12 sessions of intervention which were presented through synchronous online Interactions using Adobe Connect, and post-testing. A validated researcher-made L2 reading comprehension test tapping different reading components was used to collect the data. The results of Analysis of Covariates (ANCOVA) and Multivariate Analysis of Covariates (MANCOVA) proved the effectiveness of cognitive based learning, using Bloom’s Taxonomy levels in developing L2 reading and its components among the participants. The findings can be used to enrich cognitive learning and analytical views in the L2 reading classroom, helping both teachers and learners in this regard.

Social well-being is an important aspect of health that has not been given due attention so far. Especially in the teachers' group, who play an important role in nurturing the country's future leaders, and the need to pay attention to this issue is felt. Accordingly, the aim of the present study is to determine the role of optimism and self-compassion in teachers' social well-being. The method of conducting the research was descriptive correlational research. The statistical population of this study consisted of all teachers (male and female) in the primary school of Nimroz city, of whom 148 people were selected using a random stratified sampling method according to the Cochran formula. The research tools used were three questionnaires: optimism (Scheyer and Carver, 1985), self-compassion (Neff et al., 2012), and social well-being (Keyes, 2011). Linear and stepwise regression, Pearson correlation coefficient, were used to analyze the research hypotheses. The results showed that optimism and self-compassion were able to significantly predict the social well-being of teachers in Nimroz city. Among the components of optimism, the component of intrinsic optimism and among the components of self-compassion, the component of self-kindness played the most important role in the social well-being of teachers. Also, a significant relationship was observed between optimism and self-compassion and its components with the social well-being of teachers.