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The main objective of the present study is to explore whether there are variations in the employment of evaluative language resources by male and female writers. More specifically, the study focuses on variations, if any, that can be attributed to difference in gender.

The study compared and contrasted forty recommendation letters written by male academics to the same number of letters written by female recommenders. The study uses both quantitative and qualitative approaches.

The investigation of three attitudinal resources in letters of recommendations showed that the most employed resource was the judgment sub-system. The appreciation domain was in the second position, and the least frequent was the affect. The results also revealed no statistically significant variations in attitude sub-systems: Affect and appreciation as the writers in both groups (males and females) employed almost the same options in each. In respect with judgment, however, the analysis explored significant differences between the two sets as male academics used more judgment resources than females.

The main contributions of this study may be as follows: first, it is one of very few studies drawing on the attitude-category of appraisal system, as an analytical tool to examine gender differences in recommendation letters very particularly on the ones written by non-native speakers of English. Second, the gender factor is central in the genre of the recommendation letters and hence researchers should be cognizant of its role as certain variations might be impacted by it. Third, the lists of tokens can be offered as heuristics for academics to have most common words or phrases to use in their letters. Finally, the findings can hopefully bear some important pedagogical implications, very specifically for novice and non-native academic writers of recommendations letters.

Grounded in second-language acquisition (SLA) field, with a particular focus on the positive psychology (PP) theoretical perspective, this study examined the potential interplay between learning engagement (LE) and language learning strategies (LLSs), and their impact on language learning achievement of Saudi English as a foreign language (EFL) learners.

This quantitative study adopted a cross-sectional design using an online questionnaire distributed to 168 Saudi EFL college-level students in Saudi Arabia. Various statistical analyses (descriptive analyses, correlations and simple linear regression) were used.

The findings revealed that the most frequently LLSs used were metacognitive, followed by compensation, cognitive, affective, social and memory strategies. High levels of behavioral, followed by cognitive, emotional and agentic, engagement were reported. There was a significant and positive correlation between LLS and LE. LLS use and LE were significant predictors of language learning achievement.

The findings contribute to the domain of second language (L2) educational research and SLA field by emphasizing the importance of researching positive psychological factors such as engagement in relation to individual learners' learning strategies and styles to enhance learners' language learning achievement. A number of pedagogical implications for policymakers, educational stakeholders and foreign language teachers were provided.

This paper examines how politeness strategies are used in Omani schools and professional development classrooms. It is a qualitative study following an interactional sociolinguistic analysis approach. The study adopts Brown and Levinson (1987) model to analyse the use of politeness and the notion of face in two different contexts.

This is a qualitative study because it includes descriptive findings. It will follow an interactional sociolinguistic analysis approach and adopts Brown and Levinson (1987) model to analyse the use of politeness and the notion of face in two different contexts. It aims at studying student–teacher interaction in two different groups: Omani private school and Professional development Academy. Two classes will be attended in the school and two classes in the Academy. A mix of female and male teachers from both groups will be observed. The first age group is young learners of grades 7 and 9 and the age range of the second group is adult learners aged between 25 and 40 years old.

The results are as follows: young learners want to be perceived with their positive face while adult learners with negative face. More face saving acts (FSA) are performed by teachers than face threatening acts (FTAs). More FTAs are performed by young students than adult students. More FSAs are performed than FTAs by female teachers than their counterparts. All teachers agreed that when their face is put into threat, they will save it even if it meant putting the student's face in threat. These results imply that there is a big awareness of politeness and face in the modern day Omani classroom in different contexts and that teachers are actually using it and trying to help students to be aware of it.

The findings of this study will reverberate throughout the field of education and pedagogical techniques since before this study, there has not been sufficient investigation exploring politeness strategies or FSAs of adults in this age group in Oman. In fact, there have not been sufficient studies conducted in this area in Oman within all age groups. To this purpose, this paper will contribute to the existing literature in this field by examining how politeness strategies are used and factors that directly affect their use in the classroom in a new context, Oman. Moreover, the analysis that is presented in this study conveys valuable information for future research exploring this topic but within a broader age range and a bigger sample.

The purpose of the current study was to examine the role of distance learning in enhancing introverted students’ lack of communication and social interaction to improve their performance in translation class. Cain (2013) and Kuzeljevich (2017) agreed that identifying “introverted” and “extroverted” students is important for meeting their learning needs. While extroverted students have strong social skills that allow them to interact comfortably in different learning environments, introverted students tend to be more shy, quiet, and silent, thus, requiring more careful planning in classroom settings. Therefore, educators need to support introverted students in reaching their full academic and social potential.

The present case study adopted a qualitative research method to explore the role of online/distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in enhancing introverted students’ performance and communication abilities in translation classes. The researcher of the current study spent a considerable time observing and set herself as part of the group (i.e. translation students of level 6 class) to understand the phenomenon, events and the new situation of having translation students interact in online settings. Data collection was based on this observation, interviews with the participants and archival documents. To enhance the validity and credibility of this research, the researcher employed the method of triangulation.

The results (see Appendixes A, B and C) revealed the level of students interactions in translation classes and their attitudes toward online learning. Based on the observations made by the instructor, the researcher found that the involvement of the introverted students during online translation learning was remarkable, as they provided their translation outputs in the chat window of Microsoft Teams with no hesitation. Consequently, 65% of the students were providing their translation output through the chat window, which indicates that they are more introverted and preferred not to speak. Comparing this result to face-to-face translation class, the researcher found that 25% of the students provided their translation outputs through oral participation.

This study contributes to the field of translation and education. Previous studies have not sufficiently examined the role of distance learning in enhancing the performance and communication of introverted students in translation classes. The current study is also expected to provide insight into the field of technical translation in remote teaching and learning settings.

The purpose of this study is to explore the link between aggregate production efficiency and the extent of linguistic clustering in Indonesia.

The author draws on the stochastic frontier model and applies it to the data on Indonesian provinces to compute the effects of various determinants on these provinces' aggregate production efficiency. The key determinant is the spatial index of linguistic clustering that the author believes has never been applied before in this context.

Linguistic clustering is an important determinant of aggregate production efficiency. Linguistic diversity is positively associated with productive efficiency if members of a specific linguistic group are not clustered beyond a certain level.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study that links the spatial index of linguistic clustering (because of Massey and Danton) to production efficiency. In other words, the contribution of this study is to introduce a geographical dimension to the mainstream analysis of the association between ethnic diversity and economic performance.

Effective translation has become essential for seamless cross-cultural communication in an era of global interconnectedness. Translation management systems (TMS) have redefined the translation landscape, revolutionizing project management and execution. This study examines the attitudes of translation agencies and professional translators towards integrating and utilizing TMS, with a specific focus on Saudi Arabia.

The study's design was based on a thorough mixed-methods strategy that purposefully combined quantitative and qualitative procedures to create an array of findings. Through a survey involving 35 participants (both project managers and professional translators) and a series of interviews, this research explores the adoption of TMS, perceived benefits, influencing factors and future considerations. This integrated approach sought to investigate the nuanced perceptions of Saudi translation companies and expert translators about TMS. By combining the strengths of quantitative data's broad scopes and qualitative insights' depth, this mixed-methods approach sought to overcome the limitations of each method, ultimately resulting in a holistic understanding of the multifaceted factors shaping attitudes within Saudi Arabia's unique translation landscape.

Based on questionnaires and interviews, the study shows that 80% of participants were familiar with TMS, and 57% had adopted it in their work. Benefits included enhanced project efficiency, collaboration and quality assurance. Factors influencing adoption encompassed cost, compatibility and resistance to change. The study further delved into participants' demographic profiles and years of experience, with a notable concentration in the 6–10 years range. TMS adoption was linked to improved translation processes, and participants expressed interest in AI integration and mobile compatibility. Deployment models favored cloud-based solutions, and compliance with industry standards was deemed vital. The findings underscore the evolving nature of TMS adoption in Saudi Arabia, with diverse attitudes shaped by cultural influences, technological compatibility and awareness.

This research provides a holistic and profound perspective on the integration of TMS, fostering a more comprehensive understanding of the opportunities, obstacles and potential pathways to success. As the translation landscape continues to evolve, the findings from this study will serve as a valuable compass guiding practitioners and researchers towards effectively harnessing the power of technology for enhanced translation outcomes.

Drawing on the dual process theory and the cultural dimension of power distance, the current research investigates the impact of a specific service clue—the linguistic style of address forms (salutation) in hotel manager letters to guests—on customer satisfaction in a hotel context in Ecuador.

Following an experimental design research approach, this research conducted a series of two studies to examine how customers' cultural values (high vs low power distance), linguistic style of address forms (formal vs casual) and service valence (service success vs service failure) together influenced customer satisfaction. Specifically, Study 1 examined the service success condition, and Study 2 investigated the service failure condition.

The research results show that, in the service success condition, customers follow their distinct cultural orientations (high vs low power distance) when responding to the different linguistic styles (formal vs casual). On the other hand, in the service failure situation, as customers desire for expressions of respect that can be reflected in a formal address form, the level of satisfaction is lower when the casual address form is used in guest communications, regardless of customers' cultural orientations in power distance.

This research adds to existing cross-cultural service research, particularly in terms of service valence, and provides practical implications for enhancing service providers' cultural awareness and sociolinguistic competence to effectively communicate with customers from diverse cultural backgrounds.

This exploratory study aims to help contribute to the understanding of online information search behaviour of PhD students from different humanities fields, with a focus on subject searching.

The methodology is based on a semi-structured interview within which the participants are asked to conduct both a controlled search task and a free search task. The sample comprises eight PhD students in several humanities disciplines at Linnaeus University, a medium-sized Swedish university from 2020.

Most humanities PhD students in the study have received training in information searching, but it has been too basic. Most rely on web search engines like Google and Google Scholar for publications' search, and university's discovery system for known-item searching. As these systems do not rely on controlled vocabularies, the participants often struggle with too many retrieved documents that are not relevant. Most only rarely or never use disciplinary bibliographic databases. The controlled search task has shown some benefits of using controlled vocabularies in the disciplinary databases, but incomplete synonym or concept coverage as well as user unfriendly search interface present hindrances.

The paper illuminates an often-forgotten but pervasive challenge of subject searching, especially for humanities researchers. It demonstrates difficulties and shows how most PhD students have missed finding an important resource in their research. It calls for the need to reconsider training in information searching and the need to make use of controlled vocabularies implemented in various search systems with usable search and browse user interfaces.

Halal integrity assurance is the primary objective of Halal supply chain management. Several halal-related risks are present that have the potential to breach halal integrity. Therefore, this study aims to develop the framework for the assessment of halal-related risk from a supply chain perspective.

Risk related to halal is identified through the combined approach of the systematic literature review and experts’ input. Further, these risks are assessed using the integrated approach of intuitionistic fuzzy number (IFN) and D-number based on their severity score. This integrated approach can handle fuzziness, inconsistency and incomplete information that are present in the expert’s input.

Eighteen significant risks related to halal are identified and grouped into four categories. These risks are further prioritised based on their severity score and classified as “high priority risk” or “low priority risks”. The findings of the study suggests that raw material status, processing methods, the wholesomeness of raw materials and common facilities for halal and non-halal products are more severe risks.

This study only focusses on halal-related risks and does not capture the other types of risks occurring in the supply chain. Risks related to halal supply chain management are not considered in this study. Prioritisation of the risks is based on the expert’s input which can be biased to the experts' background.

The proposed risk assessment framework is beneficial for risk managers to assess the halal related risks and develop their mitigation strategies accordingly. Furthermore, the prioritisation of the risks also assists managers in the optimal utilisation of resources to mitigate high-priority risks.

This study provides significant risks related to halal integrity, therefore helping in a better understanding of the halal supply chain. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study for developing a risk assessment model for the halal supply chain.

As the number of school-aged children living outside their country of birth continues to rise, domestic governments should examine whether their education systems have the appropriate policies and practices in place to provide equitable accountability for migrant students. Specifically, domestic governments should work to ensure immigrant students who are not yet proficient in the host country's language are being systematically identified and provided the language supports necessary to engage in their education.

Over the past two decades, the US has been able to hone its approach to educating immigrant children. Drawing from this experience, this brief will show how the federal government has used education policy to increase access and accountability for immigrant children enrolled in US schools. Specifically, this brief will highlight the policies the US has adopted to facilitate uniform and objective procedures in how schools:

• identify immigrant students with linguistic needs upon enrollment;

• assess their language skills upon enrollment to create a baseline; and

• systemically and continually support and assess immigrant students' linguistic needs to ensure they can engage with age-appropriate academic content.

identify immigrant students with linguistic needs upon enrollment;

assess their language skills upon enrollment to create a baseline; and

systemically and continually support and assess immigrant students' linguistic needs to ensure they can engage with age-appropriate academic content.

By highlighting these practices and policies, this brief will show key steps other domestic governments can take to increase the visibility of and accountability over the education of migrant children by ensuring their linguistic needs are proactively addressed.