مطالب

The present study examined the comparability of Paper-Based (PB) and Computer-Delivered (CD) IELTS in the academic module reading section, focusing on Iranian IELTS candidates' cognitive and metacognitive strategies. The study intended to determine if the delivery mode had any impact on the use of these strategies. To this aim, 200 upper-intermediate learners were randomly selected and divided into two groups to participate in the study under the two aforementioned test conditions. They completed a test-taking strategy survey under both test conditions. Moreover, five participants from each test condition group took part in think-aloud protocols. The quantitative data were analyzed by means of Independent-sample t-test and Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) to test the research hypotheses. Content analysis of the think-aloud protocols was also conducted to identify the strategies employed by the IELTS candidates in both PB and CD formats. The results revealed that the PB group had a significantly higher mean than the CD group on the cognitive and metacognitive processes used in academic IELTS. However, the think-aloud protocols indicated that, in many cases, these differences were minimal, with cognitive and metacognitive processes being similarly employed across both formats. Moreover, significant differences were observed between the PB and CD groups in their reading test-taking strategies. The implications of these findings for test preparation and design are discussed.

Hobbes's tendency to connect the two fields of ethics and politics has a historical background. Historical analysis shows that upon entering the modern era, with Machi-avelli and Hobbes and their contemporaries, politics and ethics find a realistic, relativ-istic, utilitarian and anti-ultra centric nature. Hobbes's systematic explanation of hu-man nature, ethics and politics begins with the fundamental characteristics of humans. He proposes a political system based on two scenarios of the natural state and the gov-ernment (commonwealth). According to him, if the unruly nature of man is not limited by an absolute ruler with full power, the return to the natural state or the war of all against all will be inevitable. Hobbes belonged to his own time and his concern was order, peace and security, and therefore, by combining moral philosophy (natural laws) and political philosophy (civil laws), and presenting an ethical view of human self-preservation, he builds a system consisting of do’s and don'ts based on the description of the characteristics of human nature to form a peaceful government based on the so-cial contract theory to lead everyone towards a society with security. Hobbes's moral philosophy originates from his theory about natural law, and natural law also includes his theory about natural rights. Natural law and natural rights are the two foundations on which Hobbes based his theory of ethics and politics, respectively.