Academic Lectures Research Articles

EFL Students’ Challenges & Solutions During and After the Pandemic: A Four-Year Study in an Academic Writing Class

Academic writing is a genre of writing which is considered challenging and difficult by many language learners. The underlying reason is that there are many requirements to make a good piece of writing. Many skills are required in this type of writing, including, for example, paraphrasing, synthesizing, and summarizing. Academic Writing students therefore often face various problems in this “nightmare” course. This study was thus conducted to delve into the problems that 60 Academic Writing students faced, and their alternative solutions during and after the pandemic. From the data collected, it was found that in general, the students faced similar problems like having difficulties in paraphrasing, finding ideas, collaborating with others, understanding the materials, having a lack of confidence, and concentrating on the lectures. In a particular situation, that is, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were two other significant problems faced by the students: an unstable Internet connection and hindrances to work collaboratively online. Three university lecturers were also interviewed to find their opinions about what Academic Writing lecturers could do to help students minimize their learning obstacles. This study is hopefully useful for teachers of Academic Writing to discover the common problems that their students may encounter. As for the students, it is hoped that through this study, they can anticipate emerging problems and solve them.

Teaching Listening Strategies Through Genre-Based Approaches

Listening comprehension is a critical skill in second language acquisition, yet it remains one of the most challenging aspects of language learning. Traditional listening instruction often focuses on passive exposure rather than actively developing learners' strategic competence. A genre-based approach offers a structured method for teaching listening strategies by emphasizing the linguistic, structural, and contextual characteristics of different spoken genres, such as news reports, academic lectures, and casual conversations. This study explores the integration of genre-based listening instruction with key listening strategies, including predicting content, recognizing discourse markers, inferring meaning, listening for specific information, recognizing speech variability, and taking effective notes. By explicitly teaching students how different genres function, they can improve their ability to anticipate, process, and interpret spoken texts more efficiently. The findings suggest that applying genre-based approaches enhances listening comprehension by fostering active engagement, improving discourse awareness, and strengthening learners' ability to navigate real-world communicative situations. This article discusses the theoretical foundations, essential listening strategies, and practical applications of genre-based instruction in second language education.

TIC HYPERKINESIS IN FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS AGED 17-19

The clinical picture of tics and hyperkinesis manifested by involuntary movements and/or sounds is relevant primarily due to its impact on the quality of life and social adaptation of people, especially during their studies and early careers. To analyze tics in young people, we examined 80 people (37 women (46.3%) and 43 men (53.7%)), first-year students of a medical university aged 17 to 19 years without complaints and clear anamnestic indications of tic hyperkinesis during the routine educational process. Along with the standard clinical and neurological examination, we assessed hyperkinesis during 32 academic lectures lasting 90 minutes once a week for 2 semesters. Tics and hyperkinesis were detected in 38.7% of men and women aged 17-19 without complaints and clear anamnestic indications of tic hyperkinesis during the routine educational process (men - 64.5%, women - 35.5%). The most common tics were facial tics (35.1%), oculomotor disorders (21%) and smirking (15%). Sexual dimorphism of tics in first-year students aged 17-19 during the routine educational process was revealed in the predominance of motor tics and chronic tic disorders in men, and simple and complex vocal tics in women.

Favorable Strategies for oral biology learning from dental students’ perception

Oral biology is an important tool in clinical dental training. Therefore, a good understanding of oral biology is crucial for improving the outcomes of dental education. This study aims to assess dental students’ perceptions of the relevance of oral biology in dentistry and investigate their attitudes toward learning and study approaches. We also investigated the acceptance of each teaching method and study resources. Materials and methodsA Likert scale-based online questionnaire was administered to undergraduate dental students, dental interns and to a group of postgraduate dental students at the College of Dentistry, Umm AlQura university in the end of the academic year.Results and conclusion:The results indicated that most dental students consider oral biology relevant to dental education and clinical practice. Academic lectures appear to be the most favorable learning method for dental students, followed by practical sessions. Regarding preferred study resources, handouts appeared to be the most preferred, followed by online resources. Furthermore, it appears that students’ preferences for teaching methods and study resources often vary according to their academic level; overall, it appears that students depend more on passive learning than active learning.

Teacher educators’ subjective theories on education for sustainable development in higher education

In educational settings, educators’ individual perceptions of theories and concepts (e.g. about teaching and learning) are crucial for their professional performance. Thus, regarding education for sustainable development (ESD), it is vital to focus on teacher educators’ (TEs’) perceptions of this concept. As ESD is a comparatively young and dynamic field of research, not all academic lecturers are familiar with it. Therefore, it cannot be assumed that they all have a well-founded or similar understanding of it. In this study, we surveyed TEs’ perceptions of ESD and provided further insight into the understanding and application of ESD in teacher education, thereby contributing to the professional development of TEs in the context of ESD. We characterised the presented perceptions as subjective theories and used the research programme subjective theories (RPST) procedure to describe them. We found that aspects of instrumental and emancipatory ESD and transformative learning were mixed in the subjective theories. Moreover, the TEs in our study presented learning objectives and methods that could be assigned to the key competencies of ESD in higher education. Our results serve to describe TEs more precisely and thus enrich the basis for their involvement in ESD implementation processes and suitable support services.

Automatic patient centering in computed tomography: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

To comprehensively examine the influence of auto-patient centering technologies on positioning accuracy, radiation dose, image quality, and time efficiency of computed tomography (CT) scans. A systematic search of peer-reviewed English publications was performed between January 2000 and November 2023 in PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, and Web of Science. Two postgraduate students and an academic lecturer independently reviewed the articles to verify adherence to the inclusion criteria. The QUADAS-2 tool was employed to evaluate study quality. We derived summary estimates on positioning accuracy, radiation dose reduction, image quality, and time efficiency using proportion and meta-analysis methodologies. Nine studies were identified comparing automatic and manual CT positioning. Automatic positioning improved accuracy by reducing vertical offsets to 7 mm and 4 mm for thorax and abdominal CTs, compared to 19 mm and 18 mm with manual methods. Most studies showed significant reductions in radiation dose, ranging from 5.71 to 31%. Image quality results were mixed, automatic methods generally produced images with less noise, but differences were minimal. Time efficiency was better, with automatic positioning reducing preparation time from 0.48 min versus 0.67 min for manual positioning. This review confirms that automatic patient-centering technologies enhance positioning accuracy and decrease preparation times in CT scans. While reductions in radiation doses and some improvements in image quality were observed, the evidence remains mixed. Findings support integrating these technologies into clinical practice to optimize patient care. Question Does automatic patient centering in CT enhance positioning accuracy, reduce radiation exposure, and improve image quality? Findings Findings indicate that automatic centering can optimize image quality, reduce examination times and contribute to overall improvements in imaging efficiency. Clinical relevance Automatic patient centering in CT improves positioning accuracy, minimizes radiation exposure, enhances image quality, and accelerates imaging workflows, contributing to safer, more efficient imaging procedures that benefit patient care.

An automatized semantic analysis of two large-scale listening tests: A corpus-based study

This study examined the semantic features of the simulated mini-lectures in the listening sections of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) based on automatized semantic analysis to explore the content validity of the two tests. Two study corpora were utilized, the IELTS corpus with 56 mini-lectures (38,944 words) and the TOEFL corpus with 285 mini-lectures (207,296 words). The reference corpus comprised 59 lectures from the Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English (MICASE), totaling 571,354 words. The corpora were submitted to automatized semantic tagging using Wmatrix5. Three comparisons were conducted: IELTS versus TOEFL, IELTS versus MICASE lectures, and TOEFL versus MICASE lectures. The results suggest that IELTS and TOEFL mini-lectures shared 78% and 64% of the same semantic features as MICASE, respectively, supporting their relative content validity. Nevertheless, specific semantic categories, such as politics, war, and intimate and sexual relationships, were notably absent from the test corpora, even though they appeared in the academic lecture corpus. In addition, causal connectors are frequently used in both tests, while the mini-lectures of IELTS listening tests cover fewer academic discourse fields than TOEFL mini-lectures. Implications for content validity are discussed.

Lexical complexity in academic lectures: Comparative analysis of EMI and Non-EMI settings and influential factors

Despite the substantial body of research on vocabulary in English Medium Instruction (EMI), there is a noticeable dearth of corpus-based studies examining lexical complexity of EMI lectures, particularly in specific disciplines. To fill this gap, this study developed an EMI spoken academic corpus in Business (EMIB) with 120 lectures collected from 54 lecturers with nine different first languages (L1), reaching 1.12 million tokens. The study compared the lexical complexity of EMI Business lectures in China with academic lectures in Anglophone and non-Anglophone settings, represented by teachers’ speech in the British Academic Spoken English Corpus (BASE) and the Corpus of English as a Lingua Franca in Academic Settings (ELFA), respectively. Lexical complexity was conceptualised by lexical sophistication (operationalised by lexical frequency profile and mean frequency band score) and lexical diversity (operationalised by the VOCD-D). Results show that ELFA has significantly higher lexical sophistication than BASE, and significantly lower lexical diversity than BASE and EMIB. This study further explored whether speaker L1, speaker gender, and discipline contributed to the lexical complexity of lectures using multiple linear regression with interaction terms. Results show that speaker L1 and discipline significantly impacted the lexical complexity of lectures. Pedagogical implications are discussed.

Кантовская антропология в русской христологии: случай свящ. Иоанна Петропавловского

The article is devoted to the discussion of the late 19th century between the priest Ioann Petropavlovsky and the famous archbishop Savva (Tikhomirov) on the problem of the moral perfections of Christ according to His human nature. The published academic lecture by Petropavlovsky "Jesus Christ is the God-Man", its criticism in the "Diary" of Savva (Tikhomirov), Petropavlovsky's response to criticism and response to the discussion by protopresbyter Ioann Yanyshev are analyzed. According to Petropavlovsky, who acted for reasons of proving the divinity of Christ, the Savior, during His earthly life, struggled with the instincts of His humanity, what was an important moment on the path of His free acquisition of His moral perfections. Thus, Christ can be an effective example for us to follow. Savva (Tikhomirov) considered this position to be contrary to the teaching of the Church, while Yanyshev supported ideas of Petropavlovsky. I examine the genesis of this problem about the nature of the moral perfections of Christ in Russian theology, which is rooted in the theology of st. Innokenty of Kherson. The latter, accepting the Kantian setting of practical philosophy – freedom of choice between good and evil is the possibility of moral development – was the first in the history of Russian theological thought to put forward the hypothesis that Christ could have sinned during His earthly life, but did not sin. The hypothesis made sense as a response to Kant's subtle criticism of traditional Christology, put forward by him in his work "Religion within the Limits of Reason Alone". Along with the consideration of these problems, the article attempts to clarify the genesis of the moral-apologetic logic used by Petropavlovsky to prove the divinity of Christ. At the end of the article, Petropavlovsky's theses are considered on the subject of their self-contradictions and examined in the context of patristic theology.

Second Language Listeners’ Emotion and Eye Gaze: A Web-Based Eye-Tracking Study

ABSTRACT While previous studies have shown that L2 listeners tend to focus more on videos with additional information, like presentation slides, the amount of eye gaze did not necessarily translate to higher listening test scores . Unlike previous research focusing on the benefits of additional visual cues, this study explores how emotions impact L2 listeners’ viewing behavior. Sixty-four adults completed the Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Scale (FLLAS), watched three academic lectures with their eye movements tracked, and answered comprehension questions. According to the results, listening anxiety was not a significant predictor of viewing videos. The relationship between viewing time and comprehension scores was non-significant. Interviews and survey responses highlighted diverse attitudes toward the videos. The findings suggest that individual differences in listening anxiety may not significantly influence how much participants look at the videos. Furthermore, adding context videos to listening tests to increase authenticity does not seem to affect comprehension scores, consistent with previous studies. The implications for developing video-based listening tests are discussed.

‘Like to comment on that?’

Abstract Questions are powerful interactional devices which academic lecturers may use to facilitate learning, engage students and add to a lecture’s interactivity. This contrastive and corpus-based study examines student-oriented questions, i.e. those initiating a student response, in British and Montenegrin university linguistics lectures. It aims to answer research questions regarding what forms of this question category are employed; how frequent they are, what functions they commonly perform, and whether there are any similarities and differences in these respects between the two groups of lectures. The data include 12 lectures in linguistics from several British academic corpora and a specially created corpus of 12 Montenegrin linguistics lectures. We combine quantitative and qualitative approaches to arrive at results which point to certain similarities and differences between the corpora. Some of these might be explained by the language differences between English and BCMS (Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin/Serbian), while others seem to have stemmed from academic lecturing style differences. The findings add to the literature on questions in academic lectures and, together with other contrastive studies, may contribute to revealing the universal and culturally-specific discourse features of academic lectures across academic cultures, as well as be pedagogically useful for lecturers, particularly novices, who are teaching linguistics in English and BCMS.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice of Guided Dentistry Among Dental Personnel of North India: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and awareness of guided dentistry among various dental professionals. Materials and methods The study was carried out as a cross-sectional descriptive observational study among dental professionals (students, practitioners, and teaching faculty in academic institutions) in North India. A web-based electronic survey using Google Forms was designed to obtain the responses of participants toward awareness of guided dentistry and its applications in dentistry. A total of 2200 responses were collected with a response rate of 71.6%. The stratified sampling method was used to allocate participants into different strata. Results Among different professionals, teaching faculty in academics had the highest level of awareness about the concept of guided dentistry. Academic lectures and dental workshops were the major sources of information about this concept. A significantly higher level of awareness regarding the Dynamic Navigation System was there among academicians as compared to other dental professionals (p<0.01). Expensive nature and limited learning opportunities were cited as the major cause for the limited practice of this procedure. Conclusions Within the limitation, the majority of dental professionals in North India had a decent awareness of guided dentistry but a limited clinical approach owing to strata-specific factors. Academic faculty, dental students, and dental practitioners had better awareness and positive attitudes toward its frequent clinical approach.

Hadith Preservation: Techniques And Contemporary Efforts

Hadith is an important source of Islamic teachings. The method of Hadith preservation during the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and after his demise has constantly been criticised by Orientalists and critics of Islam. Most of their objections emphasise that Hadith could not have been accurately transmitted orally over a century. Thus, conducting research on how Hadith has been preserved is crucial, particularly to remind the critics that Allah’s (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala) promise to protect His Book is not limited to the Qur’an, but also extends to the Hadith, which explains the meanings of the Qur’an. Additionally, it is crucial to continuously discuss the painstaking efforts that went into Hadith preservation, which make Muslims believe with absolute certainty that Hadith were accurately preserved. On this basis, this article discusses the multifaceted landscape of Hadith preservation by exploring the techniques employed and contemporary efforts in preserving this rich Islamic heritage. Relevant books, academic journal articles, lecture notes, and webpages were reviewed in writing this article. The three main techniques that played a significant role in preserving Hadith are memorisation, the principle of practice, and documentation. Moreover, the contemporary efforts that contributed to Hadith preservation include the massive publication of academic books and journals on Hadith, the establishment of faculties in major universities that offer Hadith studies as a specialised academic program, the increase in comparative jurisprudence studies that refer to Hadith as one of the most important references, the need to respond to Orientalist theories on Hadith, and the advent of digital technology.

Perception of the Academic Lecturer’s Profile: From Research Orientation to Pedagogic Orientation, and Implications for the Digital Learning of Students

Aim. This study aims to examine the effect of lecturers’ teaching orientations, as perceived by students, on students’ digital learning patterns, differentiating between research-oriented and pedagogy-oriented teaching approaches. Methods. A survey method was employed to collect data from undergraduate students regarding their perceptions of their lecturers’ orientations and their own digital learning patterns. Descriptive statistical analysis, Pearson correlation, and mediation models were utilized to analyse the relationships between variables. Results. The findings indicate that when students perceived the lecturer as research-oriented, no significant indirect association mediated by the digital learning experience was found between the lecturer’s profile and both active and passive digital learning patterns. However, the association between the research-oriented lecturer and active digital learning was partially mediated by the student’s reading habits, while the association with passive digital learning was fully mediated by reading habits. For pedagogy-oriented lecturers, both active and passive digital learning patterns were partially mediated by the student’s learning experience, with no significant mediation by reading habits. Conclusion. The study suggests that research-oriented lecturers influence active digital learning through students’ reading habits, while pedagogy-oriented lecturers influence both active and passive digital learning through students’ digital learning experiences. Understanding these dynamics can help educational institutions support lecturers in their professional development and improve student learning outcomes in digital environments.

The Effectiveness of Instagram Account @Bima.Kemdikbudristek as a Medium for Disseminating Information for Lecturers of Academic Education Colleges

The Directorate of Research, Technology, and Community Service (DRTPM) disseminates research and community service information to lecturers of academic education colleges through social media @Bima.Kemdikbudristek. This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of the Instagram account @Bima.Kemdikbudristek as a medium for disseminating information to lecturers of academic education colleges using the AISAS method (Attention, Interest, Search, Action, and Share) as well as factors related to the effectiveness of Instagram. The research method used in this research is a quantitative method with a survey method. Respondents in this study were 101 academic education college lecturers who were obtained using quota sampling techniques. The results of this study indicate that the dissemination of information carried out by the @Bima.Kemdikbudristek Instagram account is effective for disseminating information to lecturers of academic education colleges, and there are factors related to the effectiveness of Instagram as a medium for disseminating research and community service information, namely information quality (completeness, relevance, accuracy, timeliness, and presentation of information). The results show that information quality has a very real relationship with the effectiveness of the Instagram account @Bima.Kemdikbudristek.

Was Copernicus an Astrologer? From the Perspective of a Historian of Astrology

Nicolaus Copernicus’s achievements in the field of astronomy are widely known and undisputed, but few people know that he also studied astrology – in his time recognised as a science and a subject of academic lectures. Evidence of this activity, though scarce, is preserved in the margins of one of the popular astrological treatises of the 15th and 16th centuries, which was owned by Nicolaus Copernicus. Thanks to these marginal notes it is possible to undertake a consideration of the scale and reasons for the involvement of the astronomer in the exploration of astrology.

Sosialisasi Pencegahan dan Penanganan Kekerasan Seksual di Perguruan Tinggi Melalui Pameran Karya Seni

This Community Service research This PKM (Community Service) activity aims to; Increased understanding of scholarship recipient students, scholarship recipient alumni, STMA Trisakti leaders, academic assistant lecturers for scholarship recipient students, alumni, and the surrounding community regarding activities to prevent and handle sexual violence in higher education through art exhibitions, and so it is hoped that this will increase the desire of students and alumni. , leaders of STMA Trisakti, academic assistant lecturers for scholarship recipient students and the surrounding community in activities to prevent and handle sexual violence. Using the Art Exhibition method. Participants who attended this PKM were 100 who came from scholarship recipients, both KIP, YBT, internship scholarships from STMA Trisakti, and in general from Trisakti Foundation Education units, such as the Trisakti Logistics Transportation Institute, STMK Trisakti, TSM Trisakti, IPT Trisakti, and Universities Trisakti.

Communication Skills Assessments and Rubrics In The Higher Education: A Meta-Analysis

Effective communication skills are crucial in the higher education system. Consequently, there is a growing concern about how higher education institutions can better equip students with the communication skills required for success in both academic and professional settings. The assessment of communication skills, especially in higher education, is complex and can have a substantial impact on students' academic achievements, preparedness for their careers, and overall professional growth. Due to this disparities and assessment challenges, this meta-analysis sought to answer the following research questions: (a) What are the assessments employed for communication skills in multi-discipline studies in higher education? (b) What are the “key findings” contributing to the issues of communication skills assessment in higher education? In this article, a meta-analysis was conducted to determine the types of communication skill assessments and other key findings concerning the assessment issues in this area. Sources were identified using Scopus, Web of Science, Wiley Online Library, Taylor &amp; Francis Online and Springerlink, and, after inclusion criteria were applied, 21 samples of articles were included in the meta-analysis. The findings demonstrate the existence of issues from the aspects of audience, mode, and purpose of the assessments, which mainly are: (1) impact of language proficiency and ICT competency; (2) communication skills approach to non-scientific audience; (3) blended assessment and feedback communication; (4) use of explicit and direct teaching assessment; (5) critical thinking and opportunity for justifying scientific ideas; and (6) benefit of early and continuous communication tasks. The review finds an extensive gap on the communication skills assessment related to higher-order thinking and problem-solving abilities in junior students. This meta-analysis may be of great interest to university policymakers, language lecturers, and academic lecturers from other disciplines who are searching for the best assessments strategies to measure students' communication skills.

Exploring the Activities of the Academic Lecture Tour Group of Hyŏndae P"yŏngnon in 1927

Exploring the Activities of the Academic Lecture Tour Group of Hyŏndae P"yŏngnon in 1927

Detecting Voice Fatigue With Artificial Intelligence

Voice fatigue (VF) has many symptoms and can occur after extended or brief voice use, depending on the presence or absence of voice pathology, and other factors. However, fatigue is difficult to detect and quantify through current approaches. This study explores the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the automatic detection and analysis of voice fatigue, presenting a novel approach to detect and monitor the condition. ObjectiveThis study aims to create an AI-based system for detecting voice fatigue. The AI model’s performance is evaluated against traditional methods of assessment conducted by speech-language pathologists (SLPs). MethodsVoice samples were collected from individuals experiencing varying levels of voice fatigue. To validate these samples, we calculated fo, increases which have been shown to be correlated with voice fatigue, at the beginning and end of the recordings. The samples were processed using a machine learning model trained to recognize patterns associated with voice fatigue. To build the model, we extracted embeddings from an ECAPA-TDNN model that has been shown to capture changes in the voice characteristics of a speaker over time and used a convolutional neural network for classification. To validate the model, the model’s accuracy in detecting voice fatigue was compared to assessments from SLPs. ResultsWe achieved an accuracy score of 93% on our dataset of English academic lectures and podcasts. As further validation, we asked 3 experienced SLPs to classify audio segments from our dataset and compared their responses to the classifications from our model, and achieved an accuracy of 86% as compared to their ratings. ConclusionThe application of AI in the detection of voice fatigue shows a generalizable approach for the analysis of voice fatigue. Future research will incorporate patient data to validate further the models that we created.