مطالب

English textbooks can be the frontiers of Second Language (L2) and world views for English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners. This qualitative study aimed to uncover how pictures of Iranian-published English textbooks represent identities in terms of gender, race, and nation. To this end, an intersectional lens was employed for analyzing the English textbook Vision 2 taught in Iranian high school as the subject of the study. Analysis of visual data, using the models proposed by Nelson (2019) and Zarza (2018), indicated that Vision 2 failed to offer a successful and realistic representation of gender, race, and nation for EFL learners. Insufficient representations of female characters, different races, and nations were the most prominent findings of the present research. This study provided some explanations and suggestions for the following revision of EFL textbooks.

Background and Theoretical Foundations: Search and rescue operations at sea are one of the most important humanitarian actions that governments and the International Maritime Organization, on behalf of the United Nations, attempted to organize from a normative, structural, and behavioral perspective in the 20th century, and have dealt with shipwrecks and groundings, oil pollution, ship fires, and engine failure. This research aims to investigate the legal regime governing the unintended salvage operations of various maritime cargoes in the Persian Gulf islands and their surrounding waters, with a case study of Abu Musa, Greater and Lesser Tunb Islands. Methodology: In this research, with a descriptive-analytical approach, the unwanted rescue operations of various maritime cargoes in the Persian Gulf islands and their surrounding waters have been studied, focusing on the islands of Abu Musa, Greater and Lesser Tunb, and international treaties, Iranian domestic laws, and related legal provisions have been legally analyzed to ensure the rule of law. Findings: assistance to seagoing vessels in danger and their rescue, as well as the rescue of objects contained in them, the carriage of cargo and passengers, and similar services that seagoing vessels and ships special for navigation in inland waters and other maritime areas such as the surveillance zone and the exclusive economic zone, provide to each other, regardless of the type of service, location, and occurrence, are recognized in the Iranian legal system. Conclusion: Iran's legal system has taken into account the Maritime Law approved in 1964 in Chapter Eleven - Assistance and Rescue at Sea in 10 articles from Article 173 to Article 183. This law, in Article 173, has recognized assistance to seagoing vessels in danger and their rescue, as well as the rescue of objects contained in them, the carriage of cargo and passengers, and similar services that seagoing vessels and ships special for navigation in inland waters provide to each other, regardless of the type of service, location, and occurrence. Also, Article 174 explains the remuneration for assistance and rescue, and any type of assistance and rescue that has a beneficial result is entitled to fair remuneration. In addition, this article states that if the assistance or rescue does not have a beneficial result, no remuneration will be due for it, and in no case will the amount paid exceed the value of the rescued objects. Iran has also ratified two important conventions on rescue and salvage, such as the 1989 Convention on the Survival of Life at Sea and the 1989 International Convention on Maritime Salvage (SALVAGE), in its legal system. Therefore, these islands are part of Iranian territory based on domestic and international laws and are subject to Iranian laws and regulations, and all rescue and relief operations must be institutionalized based on Iranian laws and regulations and international conventions.

The present study investigates the impact of English language hegemony on the different industries in Iranian context. A sample of eighty food, health, and beauty products was selected to examine the prevalence of English on product labels. Data were collected on label content, including legal requirements of labeling, statements, claims, and nutritional information, both in Persian and their corresponding English translations. Statistical analysis revealed that although both producers and consumers of these products were Persian speakers and there was no legal requirement to translate the labels, approximately 75 percent of the labels featured English translations. This finding suggests that translation serves as a linguistic tool that reinforces language hegemony within the industry. Despite the absence of legal mandates, English operates as a symbolic tool, potentially enhancing product appeal through its association with success and high quality. This study contributes to understanding industrial contexts by illuminating the complex interplay between language, power, and commerce. Additionally, it highlights the need for further examination of the socio-cultural implications of English language hegemony in non-Anglophone countries, offering valuable insights for policymakers, industry professionals, and scholars in translation studies and cultural studies.

This study intended to assess how ELT teachers evaluate the quality of Pre and In-service TPD Programs in an EFL context. Data for this study came from a survey and follow-up interviews with 300 high school EFL teachers. The findings suggest that the ELT teachers recommend professional development programs that prioritize continuous learning, knowledge and skills updates, subject matter expertise, and technology integration in teaching practices. The study reveals challenges faced by the ELT teachers in participating in TPD programs, such as the need for innovative and updated programs, practical application focus, budget constraints, and high-quality facilitation. The characteristics of a good TPD program from the perspective of ELT teachers were also discussed, emphasizing the importance of addressing immediate needs, incorporating the latest trends and innovations, aligning with international standards, and providing support systems and collaboration opportunities. In addition, the study highlighted the motivation of the ELT teachers for professional development and the need for targeted programs to support their specific needs. Finally, suggestions were made and implications were discussed.

This study queries into the ethical functions of diasporic fiction through carrying out a textual as well as a contextual study of The Famished Road. As an account of the politically marginal and the socially displaced, the diasporic novel is imbued with a singularity of form and content. Formally speaking, diasporic fiction is non-canonical, since it belongs to the space between nations and cultures. Furthermore, it partakes of a dialogic form which novelizes minor discourses and genres. In terms of content, the diasporic fiction opens up and narrates a liminal space and consists of the search for a utopian alternative to the dystopian status quo. The concurrence of these four qualities turns the diasporic novel into an account of experience at its extremes. However, the diasporic fiction is ethically radical not because it shows how different human experience is at the moment of exception, but because it points toward what Badiou calls an ethics of truths in singular situations. The diasporic experience results in a radical ethical system of truths that, far from succumbing to an overarching ethics of difference and a logic of us versus them, highlights the human truth at the heart of the experience of diaspora.