Balanced Reading Research Articles

Sub Aqua : Latona And The Frogs In Ovid, Metamorphoses (6.313–81)

Abstract: After giving birth Latona arrives tired and thirsty in Lycia, but the locals refuse her a drink from their lake, so she turns them into frogs. Critics usually endorse Latona’s justice. This article reexamines the episode to develop a balanced reading and then historicizes that reading in relation to law and Augustus’ aqueduct projects. The conflict between goddess and mortals dramatizes tensions between emperor and citizens with conflicting interests in water. Ovid’s Lycian myth opens new perspectives on these conflicts and, more generally, on the place of law in Augustan Rome.

الاستشراق اليهوديّ وتجلّياته في الدرس اللغويّ الحديث

This study deals with the impact of Jewish Orientalism and its manifestations in the modern Arabic linguistic study, understanding its danger, especially since it was built, for the most part, on political, religious, or other foundations that distance it from science and objectivity to a great extent. The importance of this study lies in calling for a re-reading of the Orientalist output that invaded linguistic studies, a balanced and careful reading, far from influence and fascination, far from isolation and disapproval, in order to capture what is compatible with the Arab cultural identity, and what its mechanisms are suitable for enriching knowledge, revealing the patterns and aesthetics of the Arab heritage. As well as taking serious and clear critical positions on Orientalist approaches, based on cognitive foundations. Especially since those approaches that continued to benefit from other Oriental outputs with their terminology. Some Arab critics in the cultural arena continued to reproduce them, making them a field for application. This study follows the inductive analytical approach, which is based on tracking different opinions about Jewish Orientalism, its problems, its characteristics, its use in serving Jewish purposes, and its danger. This study reassured that any Jewish researcher could prefer to work within the Orientalist movement as a European Orientalist, and not as a Jewish one. They greatly benefited from it in serving their Zionist issues by presenting them in a Western form, to ensure their acceptance among Arabs and Muslims, taking advantage of the Eastern inferiority complex towards the West. As for the Arab modern scholars, their linguistic study ranged between a study largely influenced by what they learned from the West under the slogan of modernity, science and objectivity; it began to be read through the eyes of the Orientalists. And on the other side, a study that relied on a cultural reference represented in preserving and protecting Arabic from malicious calls. Another method represented in following the linguistic theories developed by the West in its own context, based on combining the borrowed approach with the Arabic subject in addition to a study represented in investing the outcome of accumulated efforts, to form a scientific awareness of Arabic and a general linguistic one, in which Arabic raises its own questions and issues.

توظيف مقاصد القرآن في قصة ضيف إبراهيم ودواعيه في إقامة الدعوة الاسلامية دراسة تحليلية

Honouring guests is an Islamic religious doctrine and a concern and humanity that is a parameter of the quality of one's faith. So far, the study that discusses visiting from the perspective of the Qur'an has only answered part of the problem regarding the manners and ethics of honoring guests, while the discussion of a verse can be explored for the purposes and objectives behind it, including knowing the values of Islamic values that uphold the morality and behaviour of a Muslim in the Qur'an. This study uses a type of library research with the method of maqasidi interpretation approach to describe the maqasid al-Qur'an initiated by Wshfi Asyur with the aim of examining the intention behind the verse. The conclusions that can be drawn from this study are; first, that the maqasidi interpretation of the verse glorifying a guest in the story of dhayif Ibrahim proves one of the aspects and essence of Islam as a whole, because the behaviour of glorifying guests is oriented towards solving the problems of people, not only for Muslims but for humanity as a whole. Secondly, this study emphasises that an in-depth, balanced and comprehensive reading makes the interpretation of the verse glorifying guests capable of presenting Islam as it is as a whole. And create a unity of concern

Urban morphology in architecture and urban design education

ABSTRACT Mainstream practice on the built environment has often become closed in its own idiosyncrasies, disconnected from fundamental socioeconomic and environmental challenges. This paper argues for a change in practice, sustained by research and teaching. It claims for urban morphology as a scientific support for architecture and urban design education. A methodology is proposed, grounded on the comprehensive historico-geographical analysis of human settlements and on a balanced reading of each settlement ground plan (street systems, plot patterns and building arrangements), building fabric, and land uses. In this methodology analysis and design are two sequential parts of the same process. As the design object, goals and programme are site-specific, they are defined after analysis. The paper describes the methodology’s application in Ganpu, Hangzhou Bay (China), under the framework of a Design Studio at Zhejiang University.

The Effect of a Single Session of Balance and Coordination Training on Cognitive Function in Older Adults

The cognitive decline that is characteristic of older adults has led researchers to seek methods for improving cognitive functions in this population in the short and long term. One broadly studied aspect relates to physical activity interventions and their impact on cognitive functions in older adults. This study examines the effect of a single session of balance and coordination exercises on the cognitive functions in older adults compared to that of a single session of aerobic exercises or a single control session of reading. The study included 30 physically active participants (23 females), with an average age of 73 (±5) years. The participants completed computerized cognitive tests to assess attention and executive functions in five separate sessions: two without interventions and three with interventions (aerobic exercise; balance and coordination and reading while sitting). The interval between each session was at least two weeks. The order of interventions between participants was random. While no differences were seen between the three types of intervention in executive function scores, our findings indicate that a single session of aerobic exercises and a single session of balance and coordination exercises led to higher scores on the attention test than in the control condition. This suggests that older adults may benefit from a single 30-min session of aerobic exercises or balance and coordination exercises prior to performing attention-demanding tasks.

Debriefing hermeneutics for a balanced reading of the biblical text

In this study, it is argued that the trust of previous (and existing) hermeneutical approaches of promoting ancient biblical texts as applicable to the everyday life of contemporary readers is not only imaginable but also too ambitious. The Hebrew Bible emerged from an Israelite cultural context, which neither speaks to nor deliberates on issues concerning the African cultural contexts. The present essay utilises a narrative approach comprising three main overtures. Firstly, some examples of previous contributions on hermeneutics will be discussed. Secondly, this study interrogates the legitimacy of employing African biblical hermeneutics that utilises ancient Jewish texts as applicable to African societies today. Thirdly and finally, the study will critically appraise for a balanced reading of the biblical text.Contribution: The present study aims at engaging (debriefing) existing hermeneutical contributions towards proposing a balanced reading of the biblical text. In order to achieve that goal, the study engages into a dialogue following hermeneutical approaches, which are popular amongst most African scholars, namely African biblical hermeneutics, black biblical hermeneutics, contextual biblical hermeneutics, feminist hermeneutics and oral hermeneutics.

Testing the Ion AmpliSeq™ HID Y-SNP Research Panel v1 for performance and resolution in admixed South Americans of haplogroup Q

Y haplogroups, defined by Y-SNPs, allow the reconstruction of the human Y chromosome genealogy, which is important for population, evolutionary and forensic genetics. In this study, Y-SNPs were typed and haplogroups inferred with the MPS Ion AmpliSeq™ HID Y-SNP Research Panel v1, as a high-throughput approach. Firstly, the performance of the panel was evaluated with different DNA input amounts, reagent volumes and cycle numbers. DNA-inputs from 0.5 to 1 ng generated the most balanced read depth. Combined with full reagent and 19 cycles, this offered the highest number of amplicons with a sequencing read depth of at least 20 reads. Secondly, the sub-haplogroups of 182 admixed South Americans and Greenlanders belonging to haplogroup Q were inferred and tested for potential improvement in resolution. Most samples were assigned to lineage Q-M3 with some samples assigned to lineages upstream (Q-M346, L56, L57; Q-L331, L53; Q-L54; Q-CTS11969, CTS11970) or parallel (Q-L330, L334; Q-Z780/M971) to Q-M3. Only one sample was assigned to a downstream lineage (Q-Z35615, Z35616). Most individuals of haplogroup Q with NAM ancestry could neither be distinguished from each other, nor from half of the Greenlandic samples. Typing additional, known SNPs within lineage Q-M3, Z19483 and SA05, increased the resolution of predicted haplogroups. The search for novel variants in the sequenced regions allowed the detection of 42 variants and the subdivision of lineage Q-M3 into new subclades. The variants found in six of these subclades were exclusive to certain South American countries. In light of the limited differentiation of haplogroup Q samples, the additional information on known or novel SNPs disclosed in this study when using MPS Ion AmpliSeq™ HID Y-SNP Research Panel v1 should be included in the Yleaf software, to increase the differentiation of lineage Q-M3.

Machiavelli and Spartan Equality

In this article, I explore the meaning and function of Lycurgus in Machiavelli’s thought. While the exemplarity of the mythical Spartan legislator progressively fades in Machiavelli’s thought in favour of the Roman model, Lycurgus’ reforms are central in Machiavelli’s works on two issues of primary importance: wealth and land distribution. First, I analyse Machiavelli’s use of the ancient sources on both Lycurgus and other Spartan legislators to show how the former builds a selective and strategically balanced reading of the ancient sources to build an image of the latter as a pro-popular ruler and of the subsequent Spartan reformers as followers not only of the mythical legislator generally, but also of his most controversial and popularly oriented attempts to reform property ownership in ancient Sparta. Lycurgus reveals how Machiavelli, far from seeing mixed government as the best form of government, promotes a strongly anti-aristocratic model. Second, I show that in Machiavelli’s thought the Spartan question can largely be seen as a background for his reading of Roman history, particularly its most crucial, conflictual and controversial period – that in which the Gracchi brothers’ attempted to achieve agrarian reform.

When Your Pituitary Fails - A Rare Case of Pituitary Dysfunction Due to Nivolumab and Ipilimumab

Introduction: Immunomodulators like Nivolumab and Ipilimumab are important regimens in many malignancies. However, their use is linked with the rare side effect of pituitary dysfunction that if screened and treated can prevent misdiagnosis. Case Description: A 56-year-old male with a history of renal cell carcinoma status post bilateral partial nephrectomy with metastasis to the lung on Nivolumab/Ipilimumab presented with dizziness. He endorsed difficulty with balance, nausea, decreased appetite, feeling dehydrated and recent blood pressure readings in the 90s. Vitals on presentation were stable. An MRI, from 2 weeks ago, showed a slightly enlarged sella but no metastatic disease. The next day, he became hypotensive with minimal response to fluids and was started on Midodrine. However, considering his persistent hypotension, his cortisol level was checked and found to be profoundly low (<1). Literature review of his immunomodulator revealed the possibility of central adrenal insufficiency. In addition, he was noted to have a low TSH (0.02) with normal FT4 (1.08). Subsequently, his ACTH level was also found to be low (<1.5) which further elucidated a central cause for his adrenal insufficiency. Therefore, he was ultimately treated with PO hydrocortisone with plans to taper off in the next few weeks. Conclusion: This case demonstrates a rare yet significant side effect of Nivolumab/Ipilimumab therapy. Timely diagnosis and therapy can alleviate symptoms due to associated hormonal deficiencies. Moving forward it will be interesting to see if starting prophylactic steroids or routine screening will allow us to diagnose pituitary dysfunction due to Nivolumab/Ipilimumab earlier.

Effect of reading passage length on quantitative acoustic speech assessment in Czech-speaking individuals with Parkinson's disease treated with subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation.

Little is known about the minimum sample length required for the stable acoustic assessment of speech in Parkinson's disease (PD). This study aimed to investigate the effect of the duration of the reading passage on the determination of reliable acoustic patterns in individuals with PD treated with subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation. A phonetically balanced reading text of 313 words was collected from 32 Czech persons with PD, and 32 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. The reading passage was segmented to produce ten sub-texts of increasing length ranging from a one- to a ten-segment-long sub-text. An error rate analysis was used to estimate the required stabilization value by evaluating the differences between the sub-texts and the entire text across seven hypokinetic dysarthria features. The minimum length of a reading passage equal to 128 words was found to be necessary for acoustic assessment, with similar lengths being required for the controls (120 words) and the two PD subgroups, including Parkinsonian individuals with a mild (126 words) and moderate (128 words) dysarthria severity. The current study provides important guidelines for the necessary sample length for future expert instrumental dysarthria assessments and assists in decreasing the time required for clinical speech evaluations.

Effective of Reading Pictures Entrance in Development of Reading Understanding &amp; Live Activities through Arabic language course (Lughti Al-Jamila) for Primary Sixth Female Students: فاعلية مدخل قراءة الصورة في تنمية الفهم القرائي والمهارات الحياتية في مادة لغتي الجميلة لتلميذات الصف السادس الابتدائي

This study aimed to know the effectiveness of the image- reading approach in developing reading comprehension and life skills in Arabic language course (lughti aljamila) for sixth- grade primary students in the Al- Baha region in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The researcher used quasi- experimental approach to achieve the goal of the study, and to find out the effect of the experimental factor (the effectiveness of the image reading approach) on (developing reading comprehension and life skills) on the experimental group. The study tool has been prepared and represented in the achievement test, where the students were divided into two groups, the experimental group, which will be applied to the study, composed of (37) students, and the control group consisted of (37) students. The study's result showed the following: 1) The study reached (23) reading comprehension skills needed for sixth graders in a course in my Arabic language in Al Baha schools (Al Baha city), it was included in five main areas, namely; (Literacy comprehension skills, literal deduction skills, critical comprehension skills, taste comprehension skills, creative comprehension skills), in addition to the study reaching (10) life skills required for sixth graders in the Arabic language subject in Al Baha region schools. The results of the statistical analysis showed that there are statistically significant differences between the mean scores of female students in the experimental and controlling groups in reading comprehension skills and dimensional life skills in favor of the experimental group, which means that employing the entrance to the images takes a clear effectiveness in the female students' teaching. The study recommended the following: asking specialists in curriculum planning in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to reconsider forming education activities, and work to balance reading comprehension skills and life skills in all areas in a balanced manner and according to a specific methodology.

Prickles and goo: Human rights and spirituality

Although there appears to be a growing interest in exploring the crossroads between spirituality and social change, spirituality remains a relatively obscure topic within mainstream international human rights. This article will explore what a more spiritual grounding for human rights might look like and how it might change perspectives and practices from the comparatively conventional and mainstream. Viewing conventional human rights thinking, policy, and practice through the lens of spirituality can facilitate a better and more balanced reading of the human rights corpus and, ultimately, better and more sustainable human rights practice. Although no panacea, spiritual perspectives that enhance a sense of interconnectedness and inclusionary identity may be one way of reinvigorating the human rights project at a time when it is said to be in a state of crisis.

Isn’t Infringement Ever Apparent?: Toward a Balanced Reading of §512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act

This Article argues for a moderate but significant recalibration of the dominant interpretation of §512 of the DMCA. While ISPs are correct that the existing language of §512 does not give copyright owners a right to the “take down and stay down” regime they would prefer, it does ask more of them than is presently being required. Receipt of a takedown notice does provide an ISP with information that is supposed to be relevant to its awareness of other apparent infringement beyond that specifically identified in the notice. Moreover, the standards for what facts and circumstances give rise to knowledge of “apparent” infringement have been construed in a manner more stringent than those commonly applied even to criminal defendants or persons facing civil forfeiture. Finally, the doctrine of willful blindness means that where circumstances indicate an objectively high likelihood that certain conduct is illegal, one has a duty to avail oneself of obvious opportunities to disconfirm the inference. This duty is narrow, and does not require an ISP to engage in comprehensive monitoring, filtering, or affirmatively searching for instances of infringement for which no red flag has been raised. But indicia of infringement are not as radically elusive as has been made out, and §512(m) should not be read so as to equate efforts to disconfirm already-known instances of likely infringement with the affirmative seeking out of evidence of infringement that the statute says is not generally required.

Looking behind Grand Façades: The Ambiguous Visibility of Urban Wealth in The Unknown Terrorist, Saturday, and The White Tiger

FThe raison d’etre of cities is, and always has been, the accumulation of capital. Even so, scholarship on literary renderings of the urban has focussed primarily on poverty and thus contributed to a somewhat one-sided perception of the social inequalities shaping today’s cities. For the sake of a more balanced reading of such inequalities, this essay first reviews work on urban wealth in other fields, before probing into the “fantastic conspicuousness of consumption and affluence” (Baudrillard 25) purportedly characterising modern cities. It argues that conspicuousness is only one aspect of urban wealth, which in actual fact is subject to a neoliberal politics of subterfuge ensuring that capital concentrations are always spectacle and well-screened privilege at once. Drawing on Andrea Brighenti’s theorisation of (in)visibility as a social category, I explore how this politics plays out in the dramatic encounters of urban rich and poor orchestrated in the novels Saturday (2005) by Ian McEwan, The Unknown Terrorist (2006) by Richard Flanagan, and The White Tiger (2008) by Aravind Adiga. In doing so, I show how three otherwise radically dissimilar texts advance very similar ways of seeing urban wealth that a reading focussed solely on disadvantage and abjection cannot reveal.

A Quasi-Experimental Study of a Web-Based English Literacy Tool for Grade 3 Students in China

Purpose: This study explores the effectiveness of a A Balanced Reading Approach for Children Always Designed to Achieve Best Results for All (ABRACADABRA; hereinafter, ABRA)—a web-based literacy program designed by Concordia University in Canada—on third-grade students in Nanjing, China. Design/Approach/Methods: Participants comprised 999 students from three treatment schools (N = 711) and three control schools (N = 288). Three different approaches were used in the treatment schools: namely, a computer laboratory once a week, noontime study after lunch, and single-game instruction (SG) during every English lesson. Interviews were also conducted with teachers, producing qualitative data. Findings: Following 20 weeks of intervention, the overall effect size was +0.05. The SG group reflected the smallest effect size (d = -0.52). The noontime study group produced an effect size of 0.39, and the laboratory group an effect size of 0.55. This study conducted interviews with teachers to gain a qualitative understanding of the differential impacts. In doing so, this study found that teachers in the SG group were poorly motivated due to a lack of school support and heavy workload, resulting in passive roles and low ABRA program intensity. Originality/Value: The results of this study indicate that ABRA is an effective means of improving Chinese students’ English literacy skills. Results also underscore the need for critical measures to encourage teachers to actively participate in the program.

Arabic Learning Based On E-Learning Using Arabic Teacher Website In The Pandemic Era Of Covid-19

This study aims to describe the Arabic Teacher's website as e-learning based Arabic language learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. The method used in this research is a descriptive qualitative method. There have been many studies that discuss learning Arabic based on E-Learning. However, it is only limited to one aspect while learning Arabic using the Arabic teacher website covers various skills and theoretical issues. The results showed 1) E-Learning Arabic Teacher is a complete website designed as an advanced learning Arabic during the Covid-19 pandemic; 2) The Arabic learning approach by using the Arabic teacher E-Learning website is based on the same teaching method programmed, develop internet-based independent learning effectively using a purposeful computer so that learners can learn Arabic in a balanced way read, write, listen, and speak. 3) E-Learning Arabic Teacher provides several main menus including; Arabic languages such as reading, stories (basic, intermediate, advanced), grammar (nahwu), structures (sentence patterns), dictation (imla'), songs and games (songs and games), Questionnaires (assessment sheets) accompanied by an electronic book, MP3, and Video.

Persepsi Metode Yanbu’a dan Pengaruh Terhadap Hasil Belajar Membaca Al Qur’an di TPQ Raudlatul Mubtadi-ien Kediri

A quantitative approach is used in this research using non-parametric statistical analysis of the Kendall tau formula. This form of research is based on field research conducted at TPQ Raudlatul Mubtadi-ien Kediri. The researcher used the data collection method by interviewing and distributing questionnaires with a sample of 48% of the 125 students, who were studied, namely the students of TPQ Raudlatul Mubtadi-ien Kediri who were class II and III ibtida 'who recited with the yanbu'a method. In this study, the researcher will look for the influence of the yanbu'a learning method on the reading potential of the students of TPQ Raudlatul Mubtadi-ien. This Al Qur'an reading program is available at the TPQ Raudlatul Mubtadi-ien from kindergarten to ibtida 'class III. The findings of this research are balanced students' perceptions and reading potential of the Qur'an at a high level, however, in the hypothesis test it is rejected with a value of 0.106 with a significance of 0.130, which means that most of the students do not understand and are not aware of learning with the yanbu'a method, students only focus on the Koran.

The Effect of Clinical History on Diagnostic Imaging Interpretation – A Systematic Review

To provide updated information on the effect of clinical history on diagnostic image interpretation and to provide study methodology and design recommendations for future studies assessing the effect of clinical history on diagnostic image performance. A literature search of Medline, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases was conducted from database inception to July 21, 2020. Studies comparing diagnostic imaging performance with and without clinical history, using observers reading images under both conditions that used an independent reference standard were included. Twenty-two studies met the inclusion criteria, with 15 showing clinical history improved diagnostic performance. One study reported a decrease in diagnostic performance with clinical history and the remaining six studies found no significant change in performance. Two studies used the free response paradigm with both reporting clinical history increased location sensitivity, decreased specificity and had no overall change in diagnostic performance. The disease spectrum of included cases was largely unreported and a balanced reading design was not used in 19 studies. Most published studies found that clinical history improved diagnostic performance. More recent studies accounting for abnormality location and multiple abnormalities showed an increase in false positives and no significant change in overall diagnostic performance with clinical history.

Between Political Meritocracy and Participatory Democracy: Toward Realist Confucian Democracy

Abstract In this article, I examine the textual underpinnings of participatory Confucian democracy and Confucian meritocracy and propose realist Confucian democracy as an alternative following a balanced reading of classic Confucianism. I argue that Confucian plebeian values do not square with the political meritocrats’ (Daniel A. Bell and Tongdong Bai) advocacy for meritocratic rule while Confucian elitist values undermine participatory democrats’ (Sor-hoon Tan and Stephen Angle) ardor for justifications of active democratic participation. A shared difficulty with both groups is that they tend to overuse one aspect of Confucianism while leaving the status of other elements in limbo. The discussion of participatory democracy and meritocracy is followed by the introduction of an eclectic reading that strikes a dynamic balance between elitist and plebeian values in Confucianism, and which points to the wide gamut of realist democracy that combines democratic election with strong leadership.

Reading Sacred Texts: A Qualitative Study of Religious Educators’ Literacy Processes

Conceptualizing religious literacy as the processes used to construct meaning of sacred texts, this article focuses on how three religious educators read scripture. Data were generated through verbal protocols in which participants read scripture and verbalized their thinking. Inductive thematic analysis yielded a selection of scripture-reading processes in which participants amended scripture by adding, omitting, and substituting words; recognized and evaluated scripture-reading confusion; and tried to balance reading purposes with in-the-moment points of interest. As an empirical examination of the real-life, scripture-reading experiences of religious educators, this study can help clarify how religious educators approach sacred texts.