مطالب

Tasks are as useful devices for identifying learners’ needs and thus for designing specific purpose courses. Hence, the present study aimed at examining the viable effects of three varieties of task manipulation, i.e., oral reproduction, role-play, and group discussion, on the accuracy and fluency components of Iranian EFL learners’ oral speech. For the sake of homogeneity of the participants, 60 L1 Persian EFL students were selected through Oxford Placement Test (OPT) and divided into three 20-participant comparison groups: Oral Reproduction Group (ORG), Role-play Group (RPG), and Group Discussion Group (GDG). Each of the three comparison groups was treated just through a single task. ORG, RPG, and GDG were treated by oral reproduction, role-play, and group discussion tasks, respectively. The participants were pretested and posttested by the speaking part of Preliminary English Test (PET). The three groups were exposed to ten sessions of treatment, each of which lasted one hour and thirty minutes. The results of the study, obtained through ANOVA and Post Hoc analyses, revealed that the three types of task manipulation had significant influence on the fluency and accuracy of the participants’ speech. It was also revealed that GDG, treated through group discussion type of task manipulation, outperformed the other groups in terms of accuracy and fluency achievement. Tasks are hence recommended to be used in EFL teaching and testing contexts in that they are assumed to be effective tools to enhance the accuracy and fluency of English learners’ oral speech.

Pragmatic competence, a fundamental component of language ability, involves understanding a speaker’s intended meaning through various communicative functions. Among these functions, speech acts such as refusals and complaints play a crucial role in everyday interactions, allowing interlocutors to convey information and perform social actions. This study examines the production of refusal and complaint speech acts by English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, addressing a gap in previous research that has often overlooked the potential influence of learners’ language proficiency, social status, gender, and mother tongue. Through purposive sampling, 120 participants were selected to respond to 10 role-play scenarios designed to elicit refusals and complaints. The data were analyzed qualitatively to identify patterns in speech act production. The findings reveal that most participants favored indirect strategies when expressing refusals and complaints. Moreover, the study found no significant effects of language proficiency, sociocultural background, mother tongue, or gender on how EFL learners produce these speech acts. These results contribute to a better understanding of pragmatic competence in EFL contexts and suggest that these sociolinguistic factors may have less impact on refusal and complaint strategies than previously assumed.

The implementation of an effective tax system requires specific conditions, among the most critical being equity and efficiency. Taxation on income must align with the principle of the ability to pay; therefore, governments strive to set tax rates appropriately and impactfully. An disproportionate increase in income tax rates can lead to significant social repercussions on income distribution and public welfare. Consequently, calculating the optimal tax rate to maximize social welfare is deemed essential. This paper models the strategic interaction between taxpayers and the tax authority to achieve an optimal tax rate and identifies the factors influencing this rate. By designing a game among taxpayers, assumed to be uniformly distributed within the interval [0, 1], and evaluating the revenue generation of the tax authority, the paper delves into the game formulation and analyses the results. Findings indicate that the optimal tax rate exhibits an inverse relationship with the assessment rates set by investigating groups. Additionally, under specific conditions, the optimal performance tax rate has been determined to be 18%.

Cet article présent, nous ne projetons en aucune façon d'établir ou de définir ce qu'est l'art, dont l'œuvre d'art en ontologie. Ce n'est pas notre préoccupation aujourd'hui, et non plus davantage de la plupart des artistes contemporains. À la recherche d'une ontologie bien particulière sur l’œuvre d’art contemporain, Roger Pouivet, le philosophe contemporain français, l'appelle « l'ontologie appliquée ». Il s’agit de considérer l'œuvre en tant que telle, sans se préoccuper des catégories fondamentales qui la possèdent. À ce stade, il paraît nécessaire de parler du changement de paradigme dans le champ d’arts plastiques, qui résulte de l'apparition des œuvres des textes écrits ou oraux.  En ce qui concerne le concept de « Zugganzes » de ’Heidegger, il faut bien comprendre, quoi qu'il en soit, le cumul des éléments nécessaires jusqu’à ce que l’établissement d’un système s’achève. Cela veut dire que pour un processus de créer une œuvre d'art contemporain il explique qu’à la fois chaque élément a son rôle clé, même indispensable, et une mission pour compléter le rôle des autres éléments. Au fur et à mesure de cet article, nous répondrons aux questions de recherche : 1) Comment peut-on mettre en avant un processus de détermination d'une œuvre d'art qui s'enrichit des textes écrits ou oraux, en époque contemporaine ? 2.) Pourquoi et pour quelle raison a-t-on choisi de mettre en lien les deux concepts de « Zugganzes » et de l'hypothèse de « l'ontologie appliquée » dans ce travail de recherche ? Cette recherche essaye de nous montrer que: les œuvres d'art contemporaines qui sont considérées comme des textes visuels enrichissent des textes écrits ou oraux. En effet, cet acte vise à attirer l'attention des spectateurs en tout temps et en tous lieux. À la fin, on comprendra qu’il est possible de créer visuellement des textes symboliques en pratiquant simultanément les textes écrits ou oraux comme des éléments visuels et en profitant de leurs contextes.   

The purpose of this study was to assess how socio-demographic factors affect quality of life, emotional intelligence, and organizational commitment among employees of transmittal companies in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran. The sample included 268 employees from the Sistan and Baluchestan Transmittal Company who were selected through a convenience sampling method. The Quality of Life Scale created by Dueby et al. (1988), Singh's Emotional Intelligence Scale (2004), and the Organizational Commitment Scale by Khan and Mishra (2002) were employed for gathering data. The results from one way ANOVA indicated that individuals aged 31-40 years and those aged 41 years and older exhibited notably higher average mean scores for quality of life in comparison to the 22-30 years age group. However, people between 22 and 30 demonstrated notably higher average scores in emotional intelligence compared to those in the 31-40 age group and individuals aged 41 and older. The results of the independent t-test revealed that male employees achieved significantly greater average scores on quality of life compared to their female counterparts. The results from the one-way ANOVA indicated a notable difference in quality of life scores; employees with 11-20 years and those with 21 or more years of experience showed significantly higher average mean scores in quality of life compared to employees with less than 10 years of experience.