Reference Framework Research Articles

Language maintenance, emotional investments, family values and imagined futures

ABSTRACT This research investigates how Jewish-Israeli immigrant parents’ approach to Hebrew maintenance relates to their emotional investments and connection to their homeland. It integrates a values-based perspective with Tannenbaum's Coping and Defence Mechanism framework, which centres the emotional aspect of family’s language maintenance decisions. The connection between language maintenance efforts and emotions is an understudied phenomenon that is increasingly relevant to the lived experience of immigrants. Whilst some authors have mentioned Tannenbaum’s framework in reference to the emotional aspect of language maintenance, it has yet to be applied on a theoretical or practical level to determine its pertinence to particular immigrant populations. Furthermore, New Zealand’s Israeli immigrant population remains an understudied minority group for whom emotionality is likely to impact language maintenance efforts. Thematic analysis of six semi-structured interviews revealed participants’ language maintenance efforts were inconsistently aligned with their connection to their homeland, however, could be described as coping or defence mechanisms in other ways. In particular, participants showed an investment in pursuing ‘imagined futures’ they wanted for their children through their language choices. A suggestion for the inclusion of this alongside a values-based perspective within Tannenbaum's framework is provided with the intention of broadening the framework’s applicability.

The Structure and the Distribution of Phraseological Units in Intermediate and Upper- Intermediate EFL Textbooks

The knowledge of native phrases and idiomatic expressions is considered to be an essential aspect of one’s fluency in a foreign language and can advance learners toward more excellent proficiency in foreign language acquisition. However, not much research has been dedicated to how they are implemented in the school textbooks. This research work aims to examine the occurrence of phraseological units in the four selected English textbooks for B1 and B2 levels, which are recommended for use at secondary grammar schools and secondary vocational schools in Slovakia by the Ministry of Education. They aim to prepare the secondary school learners for their final school-leaving exams – which are based on and in line with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages requirements for the specific proficiency levels. To fill the gap in present studies, a detailed analysis was implemented, which included not only the exercises explicitly aimed at phraseological units but also the parts of the textbook, which dealt with the formulaic language implicitly. The main question posed dealt with the categories of phraseological units and their distribution in the analyzed textbooks. Phraseological units were identified, classified, analyzed, and counted by quantitative content analysis. The results showed that although there were phraseological units found in all analyzed textbooks, their distribution and classification differed significantly. Once they were included in the very limited number and variety of exercises, they were never used or mentioned again. Moreover, their explanation was absent or insufficient. The listed findings indicate that learners might encounter significant issues when trying to advance toward higher EFL proficiency levels.

Совершенствование профессиональных компетенций преподавателя иностранного языка в условиях непрерывного педагогического образования

Pedagogy is currently a priority area of Russian higher education. The authors analyzed research publications, regulatory documents, and international foreign language assessment standards to determine professional competencies of a foreign language teacher. Pedagogical qualifications were studied in the context of pedagogical education as a structure. Any complete level of pedagogical education allows for professional activity; however, each level has a different pedagogical trajectory. Bachelor’s degree is the basic level of teacher education while Master’s degree provides a universal pedagogical trajectory for any education level. Competence is defined as a set of competencies that allow the teacher to organize an effective academic process. Pedagogical competence is a combination of professional and methodological competencies, which are of utmost importance for any teacher. The article introduces a number of ways to improve these competencies in line with formal and informal models. For a foreign language teacher, foreign language communication is the core competence. Its improvement is effective if it follows the system of international exams, e.g., the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages. Higher pedagogical education provides a foundation for continuous professional development in an informal learning model, i.e., advanced training programs based on international exams.

Translation as a Mediation Activity for Vocabulary Retention: An Empirical Study

This study investigates whether translation as a mediation activity in the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) fosters better vocabulary retention than English-only vocabulary exercises for students of English as a foreign language. Translation as a language instruction and acquisition method has been the topic of much debate between proponents of English-only methodologies and advocates of bi/multilingual philosophies. This study intends to spotlight the pedagogical value of translation in the EFL classroom. To that end, quantitative data were collected from 82 students at the Classes Préparatoires aux Grandes Écoles (Preparatory Classes for Engineering and Management Schools) (henceforth, CPGE) in Marrakesh, Morocco. The Statistical Package for Social Science (henceforth, SPSS) was used to analyze the data collected from two posttests. The results prove that translation as a mediation activity leads to better vocabulary retention than English-only vocabulary exercises. This study suggests that translation as mediation is a valid language learning activity to implement in English classrooms.

Production Decision Model for the Cement Industry in Pursuit of Carbon Neutrality: Analysis of the Impact of Carbon Tax and Carbon Credit Costs

One of the solutions to achieve the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 is to try to reduce the carbon emission by using the carbon tax or carbon credit (carbon right). This paper examines the impact of carbon taxes and carbon credit costs on the cement industry, focusing on ESG indicators and corporate profits. Utilizing Activity-Based Costing and the Theory of Constraints, a production decision model is developed and analyzed using mathematical programming. The paper categorizes carbon tax models into continuous and discontinuous progressive tax rates, taking into account potential government policies like emission tax exemptions and carbon trading. It finds that reducing emission caps is more effective than increasing carbon tax rates in curbing emissions. These insights can assist governments in policy formulation and provide a reference framework for establishing carbon tax systems.

Selection of soil health indicators for modelling soil functions to promote smart urban planning

The contribution of soil health to global health receives a growing interest, especially in urban environment. Therefore, there is a true need to develop methods to evaluate ecological functions provided by urban soils in order to promote smart urban planning. This work aims first at identifying relevant soil indicators based either on in situ description, in situ measurement or lab analysis. Then, 9 soil functions and sub-functions were selected to meet the main expectations regarding soil health in urban contexts. A crucial step of the present research was then to select adequate indicators for each soil function and then to create adapted reference frameworks; they were in the form of 4 classes with scores ranging from 0 to 3. All the reference frameworks were developed to evaluate soil indicators in order to score soil functions, either by using existing scientific or technical standards or references or based on the expertise of the co-authors. Our model was later tested on an original database of 109 different urban soils located in 7 cities of Western Europe and under various land uses. The scores calculated for 8 soil functions of 109 soils followed a Gaussian distribution. The scoring successfully expressed the strong contrasts between the various soils; the lowest scores were calculated for sealed soils and soils located in urban brownfields, whereas the highest were found for soils located in city parks or urban agriculture. Despite requiring a soil expertise, the proposed approach is easy to implement and could help reveal the true potential of urban soils in order to promote smart urban planning and enhance their contribution to global health.

CEFR vocabulary level as a predictor of user interest in English Wiktionary entries

This contribution explores the relationship between the English CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) vocabulary levels and user interest in English Wiktionary entries. User interest was operationalized through the number of views of these entries in Wikimedia server logs covering a period of four years (2019–2022). Our findings reveal a significant relationship between CEFR levels and user interest: entries classified at lower CEFR levels tend to attract more views, which suggests a greater user interest in more basic vocabulary. A multiple regression model controlling for other known or potential factors affecting interest: corpus frequency, polysemy, word prevalence, and age of acquisition confirmed that lower CEFR levels attract significantly more views even after taking into account the other predictors. These findings highlight the importance of CEFR levels in predicting which words users are likely to look up, with implications for lexicography and the development of language learning materials.

Causes of Low Communicative Competences in English as a Foreign Language: Considerations and Reflections

Mastering English as a lingua franca has become a first-rate skill for new professionals in most jobs around the world. According to the bilingualism policies in Colombia it is expected that students from higher education achieve a level of English between B1 or B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL), with students from bachelor degree programs in foreign languages, the level must be C1, in this sense the Ministry of Education has implemented projects and strategies to get a bilingual professional with high communicative competences, according to the demands of the globalized world. However, most students show low levels of communicative proficiency in English according to the results of the test applied by ICFES. Despite the demands of learning English, weaknesses persist in the mastery of communicative competences. A constant concern is to investigate some causes of low communication skills in this language. This article presents the results of some research conducted in various countries around the world that has attempted to investigate these causes. The causes, according to the results of the research, have to do with social and cultural aspects, but more importantly, teacher performance is one of the most frequent causes. This requires special attention to start programs and projects aimed at training teachers in didactic competencies.

AN APPLICATION OF VIDEO SCREENCAST FEEDBACK ON WRITING ASSIGNMENTS: A CASE STUDY

Most research on screencast feedback has focused on student’s writing progress without scrutinizing the attitude of students towards this type of feedback, especially in the context of developing countries. This research was carried out to explore the perspectives of Vietnamese foreign language students on screencast feedback in their writing practices. Participants were two B1 level (Common European Framework of Reference for languages - CEFR) students who had studied academic writing for a year during which they had only received oral and written feedback. In this study, a three-month experiment was performed to provide video-based feedback to ensure the participants had enough time to experience this new type of feedback. Afterwards, two indepth interviews were conducted. The results revealed that both students expressed their favorable attitude to screencast feedback, especially in the aspects of convenience, clarity, learning engagement and motivation stimuli. However, they also showed concern about some issues relating to technology and interaction.

Recommendations for using artificial intelligence in clinical flow cytometry.

Flow cytometry is a key clinical tool in the diagnosis of many hematologic malignancies and traditionally requires close inspection of digital data by hematopathologists with expert domain knowledge. Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are transferable to flow cytometry and have the potential to improve efficiency and prioritization of cases, reduce errors, and highlight fundamental, previously unrecognized associations with underlying biological processes. As a multidisciplinary group of stakeholders, we review a range of critical considerations for appropriately applying AI to clinical flow cytometry, including use case identification, low and high risk use cases, validation, revalidation, computational considerations, and the present regulatory frameworks surrounding AI in clinical medicine. In particular, we provide practical guidance for the development, implementation, and suggestions for potential regulation of AI-based methods in the clinical flow cytometry laboratory. We expect these recommendations to be a helpful initial framework of reference, which will also require additional updates as the field matures.

Humanitarian principles and humanitarian disarmament: An operator's perspective

Abstract Conceptually rooted in the efforts to ban indiscriminate weapons and both their immediate and long-term effects, humanitarian mine action and humanitarian disarmament operations have developed significantly since 1988, when the United Nations first took on work on mine action operations for the protection and benefit of local communities. A large part of those operations has been carried out by humanitarian disarmament NGOs such as the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), one of the first organizations to be established on this issue. Drawing on MAG's experience and perspective, this article explores how the humanitarian principles apply to humanitarian disarmament operations. The aim of the article is to show that as an operator on the humanitarian–development nexus, MAG considers the four humanitarian principles as a critical and necessary part of its reference framework due to the influence of the humanitarian disarmament framework, even when operating in the development space. All in all, the case of humanitarian disarmament and MAG's experience are good examples to illustrate where the humanitarian horizon is extended because of long-terms serious needs, and that humanitarian principles remain essential to keep the focus on the needs of affected populations.

Patients’ preferences, feelings, and benefits on Music-Based Intervention: A Pilot Study in COVID-19 Hospitalization

Introduction: COVID-19 patients survive in isolation with stringent measures of infection containment, leading to anxiety, fear, stress, loneliness, and depression. Music is recognized as useful to promote multiple health outcomes, including anxiolytic effects, pain-relieving, and relaxing effects that favour well-being and social interaction in healthcare settings. Objective: This study aimed to determine the impact of a pre-recorded music-based intervention on the music perception in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Music appreciation, evoked emotions, and self-reported effects were explored and compared before and after music-based intervention, also considering the gender of the patients. Methods: This prospective study consisted of a pre-recorded music-based intervention administered to 272 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 by piping the music into rooms of inpatient medical area. Pre-recorded musical pieces of were selected by a music therapist considering specific formal and parametric characteristics, with the purposes of distraction, entertainment, relaxation, and emotional support. The patients’ opinions were collected using an ad hoc self-report questionnaire and a short data survey that followed the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) guidelines. Results: Music resulted to be the preferred entertainment activity during hospitalization by 84.6% of patients, with 96.6% of them expecting a positive effect and a very high grade of usefulness attributed to music before hospitalization and even higher afterwards. The music intervention significantly changed the patients’ perception of music from everyday life to hospitalization (p<0.0001). It proved successful in evoking pleasure and fun, which raised from 18.4% of everyday life to 41.1% during hospitalization. The usefulness of listening music to alleviate unpleasant feelings including anxiety, fear, loneliness, and low mood in COVID-19 disease, had a significant increase from 22.5% to 60.0% after the music intervention. Conclusion: Music-based intervention, directed according to reference frameworks, provides self-reported social and emotional support in hospitalized patients for COVID-19.

Aligned ICTs to the CEFR in the Cuban foreign language teaching program.

This study examines integrating information and communication technologies (ICTs) into foreign language teacher preparation aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) standards at a Cuban university. A mixed methods approach combined surveys, interviews, assessments and observations to evaluate effects on trainees’ communicative competence development, interpreting uneven gains across reading, writing, listening and speaking abilities. Questionnaire and assessment analysis evidenced perceived and actual progress towards CEFR alignment among fifth year versus first year students resulting from sustained ICT incorporation over their progression. However variability disadvantages persisted in some competencies. Qualitative insights emphasized technology’s enablement of contextualized practice and real-world application as instrumental for competence growth. Despite affirmative outcomes overall, optimizing consistency by motivation and engagement-focused implementations is recommended. Intensive, systematic ICT integration shows potential for helping future foreign language teachers attain key standards-based competencies. Findings inform initial teacher training advancement in Cuba and beyond.

Enjoyment and oral English proficiency in future teachers

This study analyzed the relationship between enjoyment and oral English proficiency in Peruvian future teachers. It previously validated a measurement instrument of enjoyment setting for future teachers who are learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and then delved into understanding the role of enjoyment as a predictor of oral proficiency. The sample comprised 119 students from a State Higher School of Education in Peru, randomly selected from various careers and grouped according to English language competency levels ranging from A1 to B1+ based on a subscale inspired by the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). Students’ oral proficiency was evaluated using a rubric covering five aspects, and enjoyment was assessed through a nine-question questionnaire. The results initially demonstrated a significant positive relationship (r = 0.900, p < 0.001) between enjoyment and oral proficiency in EFL. Secondly, a linear regression model determined that enjoyment was a highly significant predictor (β = 0.957, p < 0.001) of oral proficiency. These findings support the importance of enjoyment in developing oral proficiency as a reliable tool to predict oral proficiency in EFL in the context of EFL teacher education. This study highlighted a significant influence of enjoyment on oral proficiency in learning EFL to prospective teachers. Results analysis underscored the importance of enjoyment as a significant predictor of oral proficiency, suggesting that promoting enjoyment in the learning and teaching process can be an effective strategy to foster significant development of oral skills in English. These findings have significant implications for teacher education, emphasizing the need to integrate activities and psycho-pedagogical approaches that promote enjoyment in the English classroom. Furthermore, the proposed model was validated as a reliable tool to assess teachers’ enjoyment of learning EFL. Understanding and nurturing enjoyment in learning English can significantly enhance the oral English proficiency of future teachers and, ultimately, contribute to a more robust command of the EFL.

Un flux de activități didactice pentru dezvoltarea competenței pragmatice în limba română ca limbă străină

The following article discusses various strategies on how to develop L2 pragmatics in a classroom setting. Drawing on the importance of developing learners’ pluricultural repertoire raised by the Companion Volume of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) (Council of Europe 2020), we will argue in favour of developing the pragmatic competence together with the intercultural communicative competence (Byram 1997). In the study case we suggest – ordering at the restaurant – we put forward a string of didactic activities as a possibile teaching resource for teachers of Romanian as a second language in multicultural environments. The article is divided into six sections, as follows: 1) Introduction; 2) CEFR on the pluricultural repertoire; 3) On the intercultural competence and the intercultural communicative competence; 4) Case study – teaching a directive speech act (how to order at a restaurant) in Romanian; 5) Conclusions; 6) Annex 1 to the article consisting in the transcripts used for the case study.

TRADEMARK REGISTRATION: FOR THE STRENGTHENING OF SMALL AND MEDIUM INDUSTRIES IN NORTH ACEH REGENCY

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to examine the constraints of trademark registration in North Aceh Regency and how the influence of the brand on consumer interest. Theoretical reference framework: Trademark is an identifier for a product, goods, or services that has specific value or characteristics protected by law and may not be imitated by others. Legal protection for a product's trademark is granted after the trademark registration process, as emphasized in Article 3 of Law Number 20 of 2016 concerning Trademarks and Geographical Indications, stating that the rights to a trademark are obtained after it is registered. Method: This research is an empirical legal study using primary and secondary data sources. Primary data is obtained through interview techniques, while secondary data is gathered through literature review. The data is then analyzed to draw conclusions. Result and Conclusion: The research findings indicate that the registration of trademarks for small and medium-sized industries in North Aceh Regency is still low. Consequently, small and medium-sized industries in North Aceh Regency lack legal protection and are vulnerable to product counterfeiting, leading to a lack of promotional opportunities. Research implication: This research has an impact on trademark registration services and the understanding of small and medium-sized industry players in trademark registration in North Aceh Regency. Originalitas/value: This research is a new endeavor in analyzing trademark registration models that can be utilized to strengthen small and medium-sized industries in North Aceh Regency. There has been no prior research related to trademark registration in North Aceh Regency.

Alter_azioni: Designing Between Biological and Artifactual. Scenarios for a Short-Term Future

The contribution describes the activities of a teaching and research experience, named Alter_Azioni. It consists of three main parts. Firstly, it introduces the lagoon context as the reference framework used to experiment with a design local based to address the problems of the local territory and the environment. The paper moves on to discuss the design approach proposed to the students, contextualizing research and experiences based on the needs of the region and its inhabitants, through the exploration of a possible balance between the biological approach and the artifactual one. Furthermore, it summarizes some references about these issues, in order to gain a deeper insight into the chances or the pitfalls of this project. The second part provides an overview of the possible design range of concerns scenarios for a short-term future, focusing on the design projects developed and mapping them following three paths. Finally, in the third part, a look back points out what has been experienced as possible alternative scenarios.

Asymmetries in Infants' Vowel Perception: Changes in Vowel Discrimination in German Learning 6- and 9-Month-Old Infants.

Infants' speech perception is characterized by substantial changes during the first year of life that attune the processing mechanisms to the specific properties of the ambient language. This paper focuses on these developmental changes in vowel perception. More specifically, the emergence and potential cause of perceptual asymmetries in vowel perception are investigated by an experimental study on German 6- and 9-month-olds' discrimination of a vowel contrast that is not phonemic in German. Results show discrimination without any asymmetry in the 6-month-olds but an asymmetrical pattern with better performance when the vowel changes from the less focal to the more focal vowel than vice versa by the 9-month-olds. The results concerning the asymmetries are compatible with the Natural Referent Framework as well as with the Native Language Magnet model. Our results foster two main conclusions. First, bi-directional testing must be mandatory when testing vowel perception. Second, when testing non-native vowel perception, the relation of the stimuli to the native language vowel system has to be considered very carefully as this system impacts the perception of non-native vowels.

Real options analysis for regional investment decisions of household PV-ESS in China

This paper takes 30 provinces in China as the research subjects and constructs a real options model to explore the impact of carbon emissions trading market, energy storage subsidies, and their synergy on the optimal investment decision of household PV-ESS projects. The results show that a single factor has a catalytic effect on project investment, and both together have a better effect. And, project investment benefits are better in areas with abundant light resources and higher than average electricity prices. In addition, a sensitivity analysis is conducted on the initial investment cost, CO2 price, and energy storage subsidies. The results show that immediate investment in all provincial projects can be achieved when the initial investment cost is reduced by 50%, or the CO2 price is increased by about 33 times, indicating that the current environment is insufficient to attract investors. The results provide a reference framework for investment in household PV-ESS projects.

Exploring the Applicability of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) in Shaping English Curriculum: Insights From Lecturers and Students

CEFR is now widely used as the reference in developing English language program curricula in many higher educations worldwide. The framework has not been commonly adopted in the Indonesian context and attracts scholars to investigate. This research revealed how lecturers and students perceive CEFR as the basis for curriculum development for English courses. To gain the data, 8 lecturers and 94 students were purposefully chosen as respondents and were given a questionnaire developed from C1 level CEFR descriptors. Meanwhile, some respondents were interviewed to collect in-depth information about their perceptions. The quantitative data were analyzed by computing the average score and revealed that the students have a positive perception towards CEFR with an average of 3.78. The data from the interview uncovered that both lecturers and students agreed with the CEFR descriptors for four reasons: job requirements, communication tools, community expectations, and the need to support their learning. The findings imply that the stakeholders must specify the curriculum framework in which CEFR adoption can be an option.