Special Purpose Research Articles

The iSPAC

Special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) are one of the most celebrated investment vehicles in recent years. Relative to traditional IPOs, SPACs are much more cash-strapped and speculative. Resultantly, the scope for SPACs remains sparse for certain segments of the financial system notwithstanding the SPAC euphoria surrounding the financial markets: one notable exception is Islamic banking and finance. The Islamic banking business model is based upon the ethical ontologies and epistemologies – informed by the divine sources of Quran and Sunnah: the Shariah – operating with the mandate to promote socio-economic justice through a fair redistribution of wealth while embargoing speculative trading or investments and adopting a risk-sharing model between economic agents. Unsurprisingly, – owing to the speculative nature of SPACs – the Islamic finance industry remains reluctant to participate in the SPAC-mania despite the frenzy engulfing global securities markets. This work addresses the misaligned incentives inherent in a conventional SPAC structure and proposes alternative SPAC structure terms i.e., the iSPAC, which potentially mitigates the noted misaligned incentives and offers less dilutive SPAC terms to shareholders. Specifically, iSPAC structure terms address the issues of speculation (gharar), information asymmetry, and transparency in the pre-IPO phase, which may lead to adverse selection and moral hazard. Equally, the proposed structure reconciles post-IPO operational and investment-related risks such as the treatment of proceeds, interest rate (riba), opportunity costs, and management costs in consort with unethical behavior i.e. cashing-out opportunities that may lead to uneven redistribution of wealth thereby, widening the socio-economic voids in the society.

Decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine as interpretation legal acts

The article examines the legal nature of decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine as interpretative legal acts. It is noted that constitutional law-making is a special form (variety) of law-making, which has a multi-level and multi-aspect nature, which is determined by its special nature, essence and functional purpose. Constitutional law-making is a special activity of competent law-making subjects, which is carried out in a special procedural order and is aimed at adopting, changing and canceling the norms of the Basic Law of the state and constitutional acts of law-making. The specificity of the activity of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine is that it does not administer justice in the direct sense. Its powers include: resolving issues of compliance with the Constitution of Ukraine (constitutionality), laws of Ukraine and other legal acts of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, acts of the President of Ukraine, acts of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, legal acts of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea; official interpretation of the Constitution of Ukraine; resolution of questions about the conformity of the Constitution of Ukraine (constitutionality) of the laws of Ukraine (their individual provisions) on the constitutional complaint of a person who believes that the law of Ukraine applied in the final court decision in his case contradicts the Constitution of Ukraine. It is emphasized that the legal positions formulated by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine at making decisions are based on the systematic interpretation of constitutional norms in their interrelationship, the systematic and substantive analysis of constitutional provisions. However, the interpretative activity of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine is broader than the provision of official interpretation of the norms of the Constitution of Ukraine, it also covers interpretation during the constitutional review of normative acts, public (domestic and international) treaties and during the consideration of constitutional complaints. It was concluded that the interpretive activity of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine is broader than the provision of official interpretation of constitutional norms, it also covers interpretation during the constitutionality check of normative acts, public (domestic and international) treaties (and during the consideration of constitutional complaints). Interpretative acts are an auxiliary means of constitutional and legal policy, they have a derivative, secondary character in relation to normative and legal acts. However, their role in the activity of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine is difficult to overestimate, because they are able to ensure the implementation of high-quality constitutional and legal policy in almost all directions of its influence on legal validity. They are entrusted with the function of specifying the legal norms established by the legislator for their correct and effective implementation. As a tool of activity of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, interpretative acts are characterized by the following features: they contain confirmation of the results of the interpretation of legal norms; are drawn up in accordance with the rules of legal technique; are accepted in a procedurally determined manner; are mandatory; capable of causing legal consequences.

Factors Affecting Bachelors of Engineering and Technology Academic Performance in Teaching English for Special Purposes: Corpus Approach and Terminological Units

Factors Affecting Bachelors of Engineering and Technology Academic Performance in Teaching English for Special Purposes: Corpus Approach and Terminological Units

The information content of SPAC securities

Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) have taken the initial public offering (IPO) market by storm. SPACs were 2/3 of all IPOs in 2021 and have continued to be a significant portion of IPOs since. A unique feature of SPACs is that the SPAC shares trade for weeks/months after a target has been announced, but before the proposed deal is consummated, giving a window into the market's sentiment towards the deal terms. Although Shareholders' redemption option reduces the informativeness of SPAC shares, SPAC rights (& warrants) provide a window into the eventual pricing of SPAC shares post de-SPAC because they aren't redeemable. We explore the informativeness of the portfolio of SPAC securities and find new insight into the pricing of these transactions. Prices of rights and warrants are far more informative about the value of a proposed business combination than share prices, and warrant prices are predictive of future redemptions.

The effect of team teaching on Iranian ESP learners reading comprehension

This article defines team teaching as a teaching approach that utilizes the expertise and instructional capabilities of distinct educators to enrich the process of learning. Team teaching refers to an instructional strategy that involves the collaborative efforts of multiple teachers who jointly plan, deliver, and assess the learning experiences of a group of students. This approach integrates the diverse knowledge, skills, and perspectives of the participating educators to create a more comprehensive and engaging educational environment. This paper has examined the use of team teaching as a means of enhancing reading comprehension of English for specific purposes in Iranian context. A number of 100 intermediate-level ESP students in Iran participated in this study. They were divided to two groups, control group with 50 students and experimental group with 50 ones. Team teaching or collaborative teaching strategy was used for experimental group. For control group individual teaching or none collaborative teaching was employed. The data obtained from the study was given to SPSS software. Statistical procedure appropriate for this study was analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The results of the study showed that in comparison with individual or none collaborative teaching, collaborative or team teaching has a better effect on Iranian ESP learners reading comprehension. It is also found that multilevel class has positive effect on learning language skills.

Quick Roadmap for Exposure Assessment of Contaminants in Food

The presence of chemical contaminants in food is often unavoidable and associated with many adverse health effects. Exposure assessment is the essential element of an overall risk assessment process. While the specific purpose of the exposure assessment process can vary, the main goal is to provide a foundation for health-protective decisions. In recent years, there have been significant advances in exposure assessment methodologies and procedures, subsequently contributing to an increased complexity of the process. This paper aims to provide a generalized, simplified, and practical road map for exposure assessment, pointing to the pros and cons of different methods and challenges that occur while performing this type of study.

Place and role of specially protected natural areas in the preservation of cultural heritage objects

The article emphasizes the special purpose of heritage sites located in specially protected natural areas (SPNA). Historical memory of the interaction between man and nature is preserved and our understanding of the authenticity of heritage is expanded due to these objects, as true authenticity can only be achieved through the cultural and natural landscapes, that contain heritage sites, for many years they remained unaffected by intensive human activity or were used for traditional environmental management – hunting, fishing, grazing, farming and other activities not associated with a destructive impact on natural landscapes. The leading role of protected areas is most noticeably manifested in connection with the preservation of sacred, ethnographic and archaeological heritage, monuments of traditional environmental management, ethnology, historical communications, and examples of traditional economic and socio-cultural activities. The article raises the question of the need to establish close contacts between bodies for the protection of cultural heritage and nature conservation, as well as institutions subordinate to them, primarily nature reserves, national and natural parks, museum reserves and estate museums.

Developing a Supplementary Material for English Specific Purposes for Architecture Major

Due to the lack of specific English materials for architecture students, this present study is aimed at developing a supplementary material for architecture students in Politeknik Negeri Pontianak, specifically a list of vocabulary related to the architecture major. This study employed ADDIE model in developing the material; analyze, design, develop, implement and evaluation. There are 47 of first Semester students participated in this research. Based on the need analysis, most of them need a supplementary material that conforms to their field, which in this case is the architecture major. The supplementary material is developed into five units: Architectural Style for Unit 1, Floor Plan for Unit 2, Building Materials for Unit 3, Roofs and Floors for Unit 4 and Interior Design for Unit 5. The implemantation phase shows that the students have a positive attitude toward the supplementary materials. They express satisfaction in using it since the design and content are interesting. The material from this study can help students learn English that is related to their major, which can help them in their future careers.Keywords: ESP; discipline-specific vocabulary; architecture major

From EAP to ESP

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) are language training pathways for students to meet target language proficiency requirements towards further tertiary studies (Keefe & Shi, 2017; Walková & Bradford, 2022). Yet, these can be highly debatable terms, controversial over their appropriate usage (Flowerdew, 2016; Li, 2020; Maleki, 2008; Mpofu & Maphalala, 2021; Wette, 2018). A main reason for this discord is a lack of firm definitions between these two constructs, which leads to vague and blurred boundaries. This article will describe the process where a small western Canadian university modified an existing EAP course consisting of broad reading and writing topics into an ESP one with a narrow culturally and medically themed focus towards internationally educated nurses (IENs). These modifications assisted in the identification of the similarities and differences of both EAP and ESP for the institution. The new ESP course, piloted over two terms was found to have strengthened student outcomes in their non-native target language, commonly known as L2 (Saville-Toike, 2012) while their disciplinary knowledge contributions also enriched the curriculum. Rooted within the debate between determining appropriate language pathways, recommendations to determine the suitability of an EAP versus an ESP course within a “negotiated syllabus” utilizing learner input are offered (Breen & Littlejohn, 2000; Prior, 2020).

Effect of cross-linking agents on sodium alginate-based quercetin beads: physicochemical properties and controlled release kinetics

Alginates have a variety of biological, physical, and chemical properties that can be modified to meet a specific purpose. Ionic crosslinking is an easy method of alginate modification. This study examined the ionic crosslinking agents (Ca2+, Ba2+, Mg2+) on swelling ratio, water solubility, and % sol-gel fraction of modified alginate. The performance of the modified alginate used to encapsulate quercetin, such as % encapsulation efficiency (% EE), % release of quercetin, and quercetin release kinetics were examined. The variables used in this study were the concentration of alginate and ionic crosslinking agents. At 3% alginate concentration and 0.3 M, ionic crosslinking agent concentration positively correlated with swelling ratio and water solubility. In contrast, the ionic crosslinking agent that positively correlates to the % sol-gel fraction is Ca2+. Encapsulation of quercetin using a crosslinking agent with ion Ca2+ and 2.5 ppm of quercetin concentration showed the highest % EE of 87%. Modified alginate induced quercetin release from beads at pH 1.4 and 7. The release of quercetin from modified alginate followed the Korsmeyer-Peppas kinetic model (R2 >0.99). The results of the FTIR analysis confirmed that a new peak at 1271 cm-1 was C-O-C characteristic of quercetin, indicating quercetin loaded on encapsulated beads. The morphological analysis showed that the surface of modified alginate (Ca-Ag/Ba-Ag/Mg-Ag) was rough and porous. This study established that modified alginate using different ionic crosslinking agents can be a suitable matrix for encapsulating quercetin.

Psychophysiological strategies for enhancing performance through imagery–skin conductance level analysis in guided vs. self-produced imagery

Athletes need to achieve their optimal level of arousal for peak performance. Visualization or mental rehearsal (i.e., Imagery) often helps to obtain an appropriate level of activation, which can be detected by monitoring Skin Conductance Level (SCL). However, different types of imagery could elicit different amount of physiological arousal. Therefore, this study aims: (1) to investigate differences in SCL associated with two instructional modalities of imagery (guided vs. self-produced) and six different scripts; (2) to check if SCL could differentiate respondents according to their sport expertise. Thirty participants, aged between 14 and 42 years (M = 22.93; SD = 5.24), with different sport levels took part in the study. Participants listened to each previously recorded script and then were asked to imagine the scene for a minute. During the task, SCL was monitored. We analysed the mean value, variance, slope and number of fluctuations per minute of the electrodermal signal. Unsupervised machine learning models were used for measuring the resemblance of the signal. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for distinguishing guided and self-produced imagery, and The Mann–Whitney U test was used for distinguishing results of different level athletes. We discovered that among others, self-produced imagery generates lower SCL, higher variance, and a higher number of fluctuations compared to guided imagery. Moreover, we found similarities of the SCL signal among the groups of athletes (i.e. expertise level). From a practical point of view, our findings suggest that different imagery instructional modalities can be implemented for specific purposes of mental preparation.

Application of a group of ground-based robotic means as a modular means of evacuation of equipment

The possibilities of improving the means of evacuation of general and special purpose vehicles on a wheeled and tracked platform have reached technological limits. The prospects for further development of evacuation facilities are associated with their construction on a modular principle. A group of ground-based robotic means, generally heterogeneous, can be used as evacuation vehicle modules. In relation to a group of homogeneous robotic means, a method has been developed for calculating the required number of them to achieve the necessary trac-tion force, taking into account the significant variability of possible physical-geographical and road-ground condi-tions. The obtained results of mathematical modeling allow us to conclude about the high efficiency of the use of modular means of evacuation of equipment.

Oil Company Investment in Offshore Windfarms: A Business Case

European petroleum majors have moved into offshore windfarm projects, with large investments and ambitious capacity and production targets. In aggressive bidding for Contracts for Difference in the UK, where oil companies have played a key part, we have seen the inflation-adjusted strike price fall 65% from 2015 to 2019. Researchers question whether LCOE will fall to the same extent and would like to see more research on the economic return of the companies making offshore wind investment. We address this by a transparent project economics analysis of the UK bottom-fixed Dogger Bank project. It is the largest offshore windfarm project in the world under development and the UK is the country with highest off-shore wind capacity. The project is owned by Equinor, SSE Renewables and ENI. Our analysis shows that the project is expected to be unprofitable. Several of the input variables, however, are subject to considerable estimation uncertainty. We also present a low case and a high case scenario. Decomposition of the high case reveals factors that can contribute to a profitable wind power industry. We discuss financial issues facing oil company investment portfolios combining low return/ low risk renewables and high return/high risk petroleum. Offshore windfarms are organised as special purpose vehicle (SPV) companies. We analyse the economic interactions between the SPVs and the oil companies, and address accounting and financial issues.

노작교육론 기반의 ‘공동체 역량’신장을 위한 침선 공예 프로그램 개발: 두루주머니형 파빌리온 제작 사례를 중심으로

As the untact culture spread due to post-COVID-19 and Edutech emerged as a spotlight industry, the craft program was developed while sympathizing with the reality that students' solidarity with the community was weakening. This study focuses on finding out the effectiveness of pavilion production classes using sewing crafts programs based on work-oriented education in cultivating community competence. This study aims to integrate sewing crafts and art programs, provide a place for students to learn to develop a sense of community and improve their abilities, analyze the educational value of sewing crafts as a medium for com-munity harmony, and propose a nine-session instructional plan using it. This plan encourages students to promote relationships, mutual reciprocity, empathy/care, which are elements of community competence by creating pavilions. Pavilion refers to a building made temporarily for special purposes at an exhibition hall or fair and is established as a meaningful outdoor project in the field of architecture and culture and arts. In this study, students must build structures for pavilion production, and the structures are wrapped by a material called Gwangmok through hand sewing. This study aims to suggest the necessity of effective edu-cational research in emphasizing the importance of promoting a sense of community and strengthening community ties by integrating work-oriented education into art education.

Business peoples’ perceptions of English language use and its importance in the Chinese business world: a mixed-methods study

ABSTRACT This article presents the findings of a study measuring business people’s perceptions of English language use and its importance in the Chinese business community. Utilizing a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design, an analysis of cross-validated data from 1505 questionnaire participants and 30 interviewees revealed that business people in China do not use English as frequently as their national language, Mandarin Chinese, in their dealings. Nevertheless, the findings also indicated that business people are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of English as a medium of communication in the business world. The findings have meaningful implications for practitioners of English for specific purposes, policymakers, and materials developers.

Readiness and Challenges of Prishtina University Students for ESP Classes

Learning and teaching a language for specific purposes, in our case English language, is quite a new approach at the Public University of Prishtina, which was established only in 1970. Considering this fact, English language teaching in Kosovo has been around ever since. It was initially taught as General English (GE) in the schools of the capital city and later, namely from the 1980s to date throughout the country. Nevertheless, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is one of the most recent courses that have started to attract the attention of the domestic teaching authorities, mainly at the university level, while it continues to be absent in secondary schools. Despite this, the reason for the absence of ESP in secondary education relates to the lack of planning, extracurricular teaching materials or specific textbooks. In this paper, we will review the current state of GE at the University of Prishtina by assessing the English language first-term exam results for two groups of students in the first year in the Departments of History and Political Sciences, with the aim of finding out whether they are ready to attend ESP courses in the second semester. Research has taken place amongst male and female students, aged 18-19, who attended the A1 and B2+GE level as per the CEFR requirements. The students who pass the exam may be qualified to attend the ESP classes in the second semester, whereas students who did not should continue with GE classes.

“I notice I'm getting more involved, interested, and excited about my future topic.” Action research as a transition from research steps to navigating graduate students' scholarly dispositions

Graduate students often approach research with predefined steps emphasising procedural aspects that occasionally expose their inadequate preparation for research as social practice. The purpose of this paper is to show how an action research (AR) methodology, in conjunction with English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), has facilitated the scaffolding of explicit formal, rhetorical, procedural, and strategic knowledge in research discourse. We followed a cyclical action research model consisting of 1) recognising students' limited understanding of research as a social practice, 2) developing interventions to promote understanding of how language is structured, represented, and negotiated in scientific discourse, 3) results of the intervention, and 4) reflection. Thematic analysis of six participants' data, including their tasks, reflections, and draft proposals, revealed a discernible progression towards scholarly thinking, transformative learning, and the embodiment of scholarly identity. Integrating ESP and SFL frameworks enhanced our ability to guide students through research-specific discourses, moving beyond a purely theoretical understanding to engage in authentic practices. This approach contributed to the cultivation of Communities of Practice (CoP) in which student-faculty collaboration fostered a shared scholarly mindset and facilitated the gradual integration of students into these academic communities.

Shape optimization of the energy efficiency of building retrofitted facade

The current state of research indicates a necessity of further examination in both numerical and experimental studies related to optimizing shapes of building enclosures for the enhancement of their energy efficiency. The demand for research primarily arises due to the numerical complexities associated with optimizing shapes for this specific purpose. Consequently, the primary objective of this article is to address and bridge these gaps in the field. To achieve this, a two-dimensional steady-state heat diffusion model is assumed to represent the physical processes occurring within building facades of varying shapes. A third type boundary condition is applied to the exterior boundary, encompassing convective and incident short-wave solar radiation effects. The calculation of short-wave radiation accounts for factors such as sunlight exposure and shading, influenced by the surrounding urban environment. The internal boundary interfaces with the indoor ambient air, and thus, a Robin boundary condition is adopted. To tackle the computational demands while ensuring accuracy, the boundary element method (BEM) is employed by discretizing the domain boundary into discrete elements. Then, two heat transfer design objectives are define according to the period of investigations: ones related to enhancing heat transfer and ones focused on thermal insulation problem. Last, a real-world case study is conducted, considering a house wall under varying climate conditions throughout the year. Optimal shapes for the external wall boundary are determined with the constraint that the optimized facade utilizes the same amount of material as the reference flat one. The results demonstrate a substantial increase in energy efficiency compared to the reference flat wall case.

A Mobility Based Approach to Strengthen the Network Lifetime of Wireless Sensor Networks in 3D Region

Background: In this era of emerging technologies, Mobile Wireless Sensor Network (MWSN) has emerged as a powerful tool for many applications. Applications such as battlefield and traffic surveillance, agriculture and environment monitoring, smart homes and smart cities require a specific protocol to fulfill a specific purpose. WSN is composed of numerous tiny Sensor Nodes (SNs) along with one or more sinks, where sinks have unlimited sources of energy and SNs are battery- operated. SN tasks are to sense the data and transmit it to sink through the formation of dynamic topology. The SNs nearer to the sink rapidly exhaust their energy due to the heavy burden. Due to this, SNs became dead affecting the performance of the network lifespan. To overcome this problem, the concept of MWSN has been proposed. In MWSN, the sink can move from one location to another, and collect data from SNs. With the help of MWSN, the problem of energy holes can be resolved. An energy hole is a problem in which nodes are alive but they are not able to send the data due to low energy left. To overcome this problem, MWSN plays an important role. MSWN can move around the region and collect the data from SNs. Methods: In this work, we have proposed a Mobile Sink (MS) that can move on fixed or random locations for data collection from SNs. The comparative analysis of various MS strategies such as MS on boundaries, 4 sojourn locations in the region, random position in the region and fixed path to collect the data has been done. Results: SNs become dead in 2246 rounds in static approach. In the MS boundary approach, all SNs are dead in 2593 rounds. In the sojourn location, it lasts up to 4827. But in MS random and fixed location approaches, all SNs are dead in 11568 and 11513 rounds, respectively. Conclusion: The simulation results depict that the MS strategies having fixed or random positions in the region enhanced the network lifetime 4 to 5 times more than the static sink.

Pembelajaran Bahasa Arab oleh Pelajar Bukan Muslim Menerusi Penggunaan Transliterasi Arab-Rumi/ Learning Arabic by Non-Muslim Students Through the Use of Arabic-Roman Transliteration

The situation of non-Muslim students who learn Arabic language calls for the need to present specific teaching and learning methods that can help them in mastering the Arabic language. Thus, this paper will discuss several scenarios related to learning Arabic by non-Muslim students at the university level. The use of Arabic-Roman Transliteration in the learning process is emphasized in this paper as a method for Arabic for Specific Purposes (AFSP). This paper contains a study in the form of a qualitative study using a questionnaire technique with an open question format as a data collection instrument. The research data was obtained from a group of non-Muslim students studying Arabic course at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA). The findings of the study show that non-Muslim’s perception towards teaching and learning Arabic language is very positive if the learning process can be implemented effectively. The use of Arabic-Rumi Transliteration is seen as one of the innovative teaching approaches that can inculcate learning motivation to non-Muslim students in learning Arabic language.