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The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a discoursal approach on Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ reading comprehension ability. A Quick Placement Test (QPT) was used to select 60 intermediate EFL learners as the participants of this study. Then, they were divided into experimental and control groups. Each group consisted of 30 learners. Prior to the treatment, the participants of both groups were given a pre-test to determine their reading comprehension levels. The experimental group was exposed to the Hymes’ model. In the control group the researcher used a traditional approach for teaching the reading skill. Then a post-test was administered to both groups. An independent samples t-test between post-tests of the study and a paired-samples t-test between the pre-test and post-test of the groups of the study were run. The results of the study indicated that applying Hymes’ model improved the learners’ reading comprehension while the traditional approach did not.

ﻛﺎ ن اﻟ ﮭد ف ﻣ ن ھذه اﻟ د را ﺳﺔ ھو اﻟﺗﺣ ﻘﯾ ق ﻓ ﻲ ﺗﺄﺛﯾ ر اﻟﻧﮭ ﺞ اﻟﺗد ر ﯾﺑ ﻲ ﻋ ﻠ ﻰ ﻗد ر ة اﻟ ط ﻼ ب ا ﻹ ﯾ ر اﻧ ﯾﯾ ن ﻋ ﻠ ﻰ ﺗ ﻌﻠ م اﻟﻘ ر ا ءة واﻟ ﻛﺗﺎﺑ ﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻠ ﻐﺔ ا ﻹﻧ ﺟﻠﯾ زﯾﺔ ﻛﻠ ﻐﺔ أ ﺟﻧﺑﯾﺔ. ﺗم ا ﺳﺗ ﺧدام ا ﺧﺗﺑﺎ ر ﺗ ﺣدﯾد اﻟ ﻣ ﺳﺗ و ى اﻟ ﺳرﯾ ﻊ (QPT) ( ﻟﻠﺗﺄ ﻛد ﻣ ن ﺗ ﺟﺎﻧ س ﻣﺗ ﻌﻠ ﻣ ﻲ اﻟﻠ ﻐﺔ اﻹ ﻧ ﺟﻠﯾ زﯾ ﺔ ﻛﻠ ﻐﺔ أ ﺟﻧﺑﯾ ﺔ اﻟذﯾ ن ﻛﺎﻧ وا ﻓ ﻲ ﻓ ﺻ ﻠﯾ ن د را ﺳﯾﯾ ن. ﺛم، ﺗم ﺗﻘ ﺳﯾ ﻣﮭم ﺑ ﺷﻛل ﻋﺷواﺋ ﻲ إﻟ ﻰ ﻣ ﺟﻣوﻋﺎ ت ﺗ ﺟرﯾﺑﯾ ﺔ وﻣراﻗﺑ ﺔ. ﻛل ﻣ ﺟﻣوﻋﺔ ﺗﺗﺄﻟ ف ﻣ 30 ﻣﺗ ﻌﻠ ﻣﺎ. ﻗﺑ ل اﻟ ﻌ ﻼج، ﺗم إ ﻋطﺎ ء اﻟ ﻣ ﺷﺎ رﻛﯾ ن ﻣ ن ﻛ ﻼ اﻟ ﻣ ﺟﻣوﻋﺗﯾ ن ﻗﺑ ل ا ﻻﺧﺗﺑﺎ ر ﻟﺗ ﺣدﯾد ﻣ ﺳﺗ وﯾﺎ ت اﻟ ﻔ ﮭم اﻟ ﻘ ر ا ءة ﻟ دﯾ ﮭم. ﺗ ﻌر ﺿ ت اﻟﻣ ﺟ ﻣو ﻋ ﺔ اﻟ ﺗ ﺟ ر ﯾﺑﯾ ﺔ ﻟﻧ ﻣو ذ ج اﻟ ﺗ ر اﺗﯾ ل . ﻓ ﻲ اﻟﻣ ﺟ ﻣو ﻋ ﺔ اﻟ ﺿ ﺎﺑ ط ﺔ، ا ﺳ ﺗ ﺧ دم اﻟ ﺑﺎ ﺣ ث اﻟﻣﻧ ﮭ ﺞ اﻟ ﺗﻘﻠﯾد ي ﻟﺗد ر ﯾ س ﻣﮭﺎ ر ة اﻟ ﻘ ر ا ءة. ﺛم ﺗدا ر ﺑ ﻌد ا ﻻ ﺧ ﺗﺑﺎ ر ﻟ ﻛ ﻼ اﻟ ﻔ ر ﯾﻘﯾ ن . ﺗم إ ﺟ ر ا ء ا ﺧ ﺗﺑﺎ ر ﻣ ﺳ ﺗﻘ ل ﻟ ﻌﯾﻧﺎ ت t ﺑﯾن ا ﻻ ﺧ ﺗﺑ ﺎ ر ﯾ ن اﻟﻼ ﺣ ﻘﯾ ن ﻟﻠد ر ا ﺳ ﺔ و ا ﺧ ﺗﺑﺎ ر t اﻟﻣﻘﺗ ر ن ﺑﺎﻟ ﻌﯾﻧﺎ ت ﺑﯾ ن ا ﻻ ﺧ ﺗﺑﺎ ر اﻟﻣ ﺳ ﺑ ق و ا ﻻ ﺧ ﺗﺑﺎ ر اﻟﻼ ﺣ ق ﻟ ﻣ ﺟ ﻣو ﻋ ﺎ ت اﻟد ر ا ﺳ ﺔ. أ ﺷ ﺎ ر ت ﻧﺗﺎﺋ ﺞ اﻟد ر ا ﺳ ﺔ إﻟﻰ أ ن ﺗ ط ﺑﯾ ق ﻧ ﻣو ذ ج ھ ﺎﯾ ﻣز ﻗد ﺣ ﺳ ن ﻣ ن ﻓ ﮭم اﻟ ﻘ ر ا ءة ﻟﻠﻣﺗ ﻌﻠ ﻣﯾ ن ﻓ ﻲ ﺣ ﯾ ن أ ن اﻟ ﻧ ﮭ ﺞ اﻟ ﺗﻘﻠﯾد ي ﻟ م ﯾﻔ ﻌل ذﻟ ك

Students of mixed-ability learning together in one class is a challenge for all educators, especially in English as foreign language (EFL) contexts. Timed reading activity (TRA) is an activity that can help educators address the learning needs of students in such a context. The present study investigated the effectiveness of the TRA in enhancing EFL students' reading rate and reading comprehension as well as in making them aware of potentially wrong reading strategies that they may be using.

A classroom intervention was designed for a group of preparatory year (PY) students at a Saudi university. The study sample consisted of one intact class of 29 students. Data were collected from pre- and post-tests of students' reading rate and reading comprehension as well as progress charts. In addition, a questionnaire was used to identify the reading strategies used by the students.

The results showed that the TRA generally enhanced the reading comprehension and the reading rate of EFL mixed-ability students as well as raised their awareness of their use of wrong fast reading strategies.

The results of the study support the use of TRA as a remedial reading activity in EFL mixed-ability classes.

This experimental study aimed to examine the effects of annotating a historical text as a reading comprehension strategy on student academic achievement in an eighth-grade social studies class.

A mixed-method design was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data sequentially. First, the authors collected quantitative data with a series of pre- and post-tests from all student participants during a six-week instructional time frame. Next, the authors collected quantitative and qualitative data with a survey from teacher and intervention group student participants. Quantitative data were analyzed to evaluate the mean differences in participants' test scores and survey responses. Finally, qualitative data from open-ended survey questions were transcribed and analyzed using an inductive approach to supplement the quantitative findings and develop a holistic picture of the participants' learning experiences.

The results showed that the annotating strategy increased student engagement, reading comprehension and thus academic achievement in social studies. Annotating helped students visualize key points, break down complex texts and slow down when reading complex historical texts. As a result, it helped students focus, think critically and discourse to understand complex content.

The study was conducted with eighth-grade students in one middle school in South Georgia.

The findings of this study provide evidence that the reading comprehension strategy of annotating is a valuable teaching and learning tool for daily use in social studies classrooms.

Educators must prepare students to use reading comprehension strategies such as annotating in all content areas and not only in a traditional academic setting.

This study adds to the current body of research and undergirds reading comprehension strategies used to improve the learning outcomes in content other than reading.

Literature is replete with studies indicating the need to develop students’ language skills; however, little research has emphasized the importance of language proficiency in enhancing learning or performance in specific content-area courses. This study investigates whether a student’s English language proficiency can be associated with her performance in specific cognitive skills (knowledge, comprehension, application, and analysis) in an introductory accounting course. Data is summarized from students’ performance on their first financial accounting examination as well as from students’ academic history records as maintained by the university. A correlation analysis of the cognitive skills score with student language proficiency is used to identify initial relationships; and multiple regression analysis is subsequently used to identify interrelations between combined multiple dependent variables and the language proficiency variables. While the results show no association between TOEFL and overall performance, the mean of the English composition courses do show a significant association with knowledge and comprehension cognitive skills scores on the first financial accounting course. No associations are attached to the application and analysis cognitive skills. The results are meaningful to faculty in balancing language proficiency with quality instruction in content-area courses.

This paper presents a study of Emirati university students learning mathematics in a second language (English). The study focused on students' responses to mathematical word problems in different versions: simpler/more complex versions of the problem in English; an Arabic translation of the problem; and the addition of a picture to support the text of the problem. Our findings suggest that neither language simplification nor pictures significantly affect students' comprehension and performance on word problem assessments; the lexical and syntactic features of the word problems have little effect on their understanding and ability to answer the questions presented to them. In addition, evidence suggests that there is no first-language (Arabic) advantage when answering these assessments. These findings are in line with previous studies that found no evidence that simplifying the language of mathematics tests had a significant positive effect on student performance. Implications on the appropriate theoretical perspectives to use when studying the relationship of language and mathematics learning are discussed. In addition, practical recommendations are presented for instructors and professors in ‘globalist’ multilingual classrooms (Barwell, 2003).

This research has developed a one-stop service supply chain mobile application for the purpose of marketing, product distribution and location-based logistics for elderly farmers and consumers in accordance with the Thailand 4.0 economic model. This is an investigation into the agricultural product distribution supply chain which focuses on marketing, distribution and logistics using the Dijkstra’s and Ant Colony Algorithms to respectively explore the major and minor product transport routes. The accuracy rate was determined to be 97%. The application is congruent with the product distribution, supply chain, in a value-based economy. The effectiveness of the mobile application was indicated to be at the highest level of results of learning outcomes, user comprehension and user experience of users. That is, the developed mobile application could be effectively used as a tool to support elderly farmers to distribute their agricultural products in the one-stop service supply chain which emphasizes marketing, distribution and location-based logistics for elderly farmers and consumers with respect to Thailand 4.0.

Cognitive computing is part of AI and cognitive applications consists of cognitive services, which are building blocks of the cognitive systems. These applications mimic the human brain functions, for example, recognize the speaker, sense the tone of the text. On this paper, we present the similarities of these with human cognitive functions. We establish a framework which gathers cognitive functions into nine intentional processes from the substructures of the human brain. The framework, underpins human cognitive functions, and categorizes cognitive computing functions into the functional hierarchy, through which we present the functional similarities between cognitive service and human cognitive functions to illustrate what kind of functions are cognitive in the computing. The results from the comparison of the functional hierarchy of cognitive functions are consistent with cognitive computing literature. Thus, the functional hierarchy allows us to find the type of cognition and reach the comparability between the applications.

Knowledge-intensive entrepreneurial firms (KIE) strongly rely on scientific and strategic research and development (R&D) capabilities to achieve higher performance levels. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to disentangle the effects of scientific capabilities and strategic R&D on KIE performance; and how the constituent elements of these dimensions can be configured to generate conditions for high performance.

The authors’ empirical setting involves companies that submitted projects to the Innovative Research in Small Businesses (PIPE) program in Brazil. The authors then run partial least square structural equation modeling to verify how scientific and strategic R&D capabilities influence the performance construct. Second, the authors apply fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to identify configurations that are equifinal in terms of generating superior performance.

Findings indicate a strong association between scientific capabilities and KIE performance. The configurational approach outlines the existence of multiple paths to success, but human capital stands as a core condition throughout estimations.

The authors’ assessment has implications for how KIE firms are managed according to their organizational profiles and trajectories. Also, it advances the authors’ comprehension on how entrepreneurship policies can better target these distinct profiles.

The authors’ analysis provides new evidence on the inherent complexity behind the generation of high performance in KIE when addressing their portfolios of knowledge-related capabilities. More than that, the authors were able to identify the existence of heterogeneous profiles that can equally lead to higher levels of performance.

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive examination of corporate sustainability reporting strategies, focusing on the rationale for adopting the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards, the challenges to be faced and the implications that can arise for accounting professionals, managers, policymakers and scholars alike.

The single case study approach was followed. Qualitative content analysis and thematic analysis were used for an in-depth, contextual examination of Enel Green Power's sustainability reporting practices and the adoption of the GRI Standards. The documents analyzed include annual sustainability reports, integrated reports and press releases over the period ranging from 2018 to 2022.

The GRI Standards' adaptability, modular structure and emphasis on stakeholder involvement emerged as stimulating factors for Enel Green Power. GRI Standards allowed the company to benchmark its sustainability performance against competitors and identify areas for improvement. The company faced challenges during the implementation of the GRI Standards concerning data collection and management across global operations, stakeholder identification and engagement and alignment of sustainability reporting with corporate strategy. The company addressed these challenges by investing in robust data management systems, maintaining active communication with stakeholders and embedding sustainability into its corporate culture.

This research contributes to the academic literature on sustainability reporting and accounting, offers valuable insights for managers and professionals and informs policymakers about the potential benefits and challenges associated with the adoption of GRI Standards. The paper highlights the importance of aligning organizational strategies with global sustainability frameworks and fostering a culture of transparency and stakeholder engagement.

This work offers a novel contribution to the scholarly discourse on sustainability reporting standardization, shedding light on the governance challenges to be faced and providing potential solutions.

This paper aims to focus on how reading for pleasure is transmitted within the family. Using data taken from the Programme for International Student Assessment test of 2009, which dealt in depth with the reading proficiency of students, the authors show that children of parents who read for pleasure are better readers. Within the extensive research and published results on reading performance, the authors focused on the transmission of parents’ reading attitudes to their children.

In this study, the authors have opted for an approach of “difference in differences”, applied to a population that represents all 15-year-olds from five countries (Germany, Denmark, Hungary, Italy and Portugal). To support this study, the authors chose as a response variable the difference between reading performance and maths performance of each student, taking into account five plausible values for each student. The authors have several explanatory variables, among them what we call the “treatment”, which is the parents’ enthusiasm for reading.

The calculated estimations clearly indicate that there is a positive effect for four out of the five countries analysed, ranging from 4 points for Italy to 6.5 points for Germany and Portugal. As for the significance of the effect, with the exception of Hungary, the result is reliable and robust. It should also be noted that the variable that indicates the existence of a reading habit by children (daily reading for pleasure) is seen as a factor that positively affects the difference between competence in reading and mathematics in four out of the five countries analysed.

The results show positive effects on children whose parents read for pleasure, and this fact should be used to further encourage parents to promote their own reading time for pleasure. In view of the already quantified trend in international reports that adults are reading less, it seems crucial to involve educational authorities in reversing this phenomenon, knowing the impact that adult reading habits have on the reading competence of young people.