مطالب

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Sandplay Therapy on enhancing perceptual reasoning and neuropsychological functioning in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A randomized controlled trial design was used, involving 30 children aged 6-12 years diagnosed with ASD. Participants were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (n=15) or the control group (n=15). The intervention group received eight 90-minute sessions of Sandplay Therapy over two months, while the control group received standard care. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V) and NEPSY-II were used to measure perceptual reasoning and neuropsychological functioning, respectively, at baseline, post-intervention, and five-month follow-up. Data were analyzed using mixed-design ANOVA with repeated measurements and Bonferroni post-hoc tests in SPSS-27. Descriptive statistics showed significant improvements in the intervention group for both perceptual reasoning (M=95.53, SD=7.48 at baseline to M=107.45, SD=8.21 post-intervention) and neuropsychological functioning (M=89.74, SD=6.95 at baseline to M=101.29, SD=7.56 post-intervention). Mixed-design ANOVA revealed significant main effects of time (F(2, 56)=30.15, p<.001, η²=0.52 for perceptual reasoning; F(2, 56)=32.75, p<.001, η²=0.54 for neuropsychological functioning) and group-by-time interactions (F(2, 56)=24.12, p<.001, η²=0.47 for perceptual reasoning; F(2, 56)=28.75, p<.001, η²=0.50 for neuropsychological functioning). Bonferroni post-hoc tests confirmed significant differences between baseline and post-intervention (p<.001) and baseline and follow-up (p<.001) for the intervention group. Sandplay Therapy significantly enhances perceptual reasoning and neuropsychological functioning in children with ASD. These improvements were sustained at follow-up, suggesting that Sandplay Therapy is an effective and sustainable intervention for this population.

Strong reading comprehension skills and reading motivation are essential for personal growth, academic success, and overall well-being. Developing these skills can positively impact individuals' lives in various ways. Thus, this investigation aimed to examine the influence of massed and spaced instructions on the reading comprehension and reading motivation of Iranian EFL students. The researchers selected 150 Iranian participants from 300 based on their Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT) performance. The selected intermediate participants were randomly assigned into two experimental groups (massed and spaced) and one control group. The participants were given a reading comprehension pretest and post-test and a reading motivation questionnaire before and after the treatment. Three groups were provided with instruction on reading skills by English texts and new words from American English File 3. The massed group received a 90-minute session for each text, whereas the spaced group received three 30-minute sessions; the first session lasted 30 minutes, followed by two more sessions, each lasting 30 minutes, scheduled two days apart. The results of data analysis utilizing one-way ANOVA showed a considerable difference between the post-tests of the spaced and massed groups compared to the control group. The findings demonstrated that the spaced group outperformed the massed and control groups (p < .05) in terms of reading comprehension and reading motivation. The results have some pedagogical implications for English instructors, learners, and curriculum developers.

Although there have been many studies concentrating on writing development and techniques to improve it, there still remains the need to investigate more and give extra insight to the EFL language learners and teachers on these issues. Using a grounded model of research, the researchers performed an investigation to examine the various aspects concerning writing challenges, and requirements to improve it. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with an aim to achieve a thorough understanding of the topic by recruiting 25 male and female experienced EFL teachers along with 25 male and female intermediate EFL learners from language institutes in Tehran as the participants of the study through purposeful sampling technique. Then, 5 distinctive questions were chosen for the teachers and another set of 5 different questions for the learners to elicit their perceptions. After gathering the data and identifying the initial codes, the sub-categories emerged and helped the researcher to form the final model. Among the categories, writing strategies like collaborative and game-based, requirements like background, vocabulary, and grammatical knowledge were found to be essential. Based on the findings, a model was developed which is believed to support EFL learners in improving their writing proficiency.

The issue of arbitrability in foreign investment treaties poses ongoing challenges for both host nations and foreign investors. Iranian law imposes constitutional constraints on resorting to arbitration, in addition to the provisions outlined in international commercial arbitration regulations. Persistent issues revolve around the requirement of parliamentary ratification of arbitration, the timeframe for such ratification, and the applicability of pre-existing doctrines to treaties concluded prior to the ratification of the Constitution. Despite the fact that Iranian Petroleum Contracts (IPCs) are among the most important foreign investment contracts in Iran, their intricacies create additional challenges. This article examines the legal theories and practices surrounding the arbitrability of contracts in the field of foreign investment, with a specific focus on IPCs, using a descriptive-analytical approach. At the end, Findings reveal that from a domestic standpoint, parliamentary approval must precede the signing of any treaty. The same approach can also be applied to IPCs However, this paper argues that this requirement does not apply to treaties enforced prior to the enactment of the Iranian Constitution. This approach finds support in existing laws and precedents established by the Iranian Court of Administrative Justice.

The armed conflict in Yemen is one of the most devastating and catastrophic crises the international community is currently facing. It is entering its seventh year. This situation has raised numerous questions under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) as the set of rules the main aim of which is to limit the effects of armed conflicts for humanitarian reasons. This is also an occasion to test the pertinence and efficiency of IHL rules in the face of current armed conflicts. Accordingly, the present article seeks to study certain important issues in IHL raised by Yemen armed conflict. Doing so, firstly, the type of armed conflict in Yemen is addressed (1). Then, it goes through the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions (2). Thereafter, the issues of blockade and siege are dealt with (3). After that, the situation of certain persons is examined (4). And finally, the very challenging and significant question of humanitarian assistance is studied (5). I will conclude that most of the humanitarian problems except the issue of humanitarian assistance and sieges are adequately regulated by IHL and that the problem is mainly that those rules are not respected. The controversy about the classification of the conflict, whether it is an international armed conflict (IAC) or a non-international armed conflict (NIAC), does not fundamentally affect those rules.

Language teachers should be aware of the effect of various task types on L2 writing. The purpose of the present study was twofold: To investigate the effect of various task types, including graphic-writing task, decision-making task, and reasoning task, on L2 writing and to examine the relationship between working memory and L2 writing ability under three task conditions. To that end, 55 upper-intermediate male and female language learners from Dorsa Institute and Zabankadeh Meli in Hashtgerd participated in this study. Oxford Placement Test (OPT) test was used to homogenize the participants and Reading Span Test to test the working memory. Participants wrote an argumentative writing before and after the treatment. SPSS (version 25) was utilized to analyze the data. Results of data analysis showed statistically significant differences between graphic-writing task and the other two tasks while no significant differences were found between decision-making and reasoning tasks. Finding of the study showed the positive relationship between L2 writing and working memory. Implications of the study for the language learners are discussed.