Sharif Digital Repository

The present study is a nationwide survey of language identity among English language learners in Iran. The participants who completed the survey in this research included 1851 English language learners from different parts of the country who belonged to different genders, age groups and English language proficiency levels. The main instrument was a validated questionnaire which included 19 items and was administered online and by hand. The results of this survey revealed that Iranian English language learners had a moderate level of language identity and there was no significant difference between the language identity of male and female participants. In addition, the results indicated that... 

According to Arthur (2006, p. 200), “Through the use of literature, a language learning experience might become at the same time a source of immediate pleasure and satisfaction for the student. This possibility makes literature an appealing teaching device for ESL teachers”. However, numerous factors may contribute to the teachers’ lack of interest in using literary texts as a teaching tool. This study was an attempt to investigate Iranian EFL teachers’ attitude toward using literature in language classes and their perception toward the probable reasons of some teachers’ lack of interest in doing so. Altogether forty-four language teachers (19 females and 25 males, with a mean age of 26)... 

The galaxy bispectrum on scales around and above the equality scale receives contributions from relativistic effects. Some of these arise from lightcone deformation effects, which come from local and line-of-sight integrated contributions. Here we calculate the local contributions from the generated vector and tensor background which is formed as scalar modes couple and enter the horizon. We show that these modes are sub-dominant when compared with other relativistic contributions  

The use of cell phone is a significant source of driver distraction. Phone use while driving can impair a number of factors critical for safe driving which can cause serious traffic safety problems. The objective of this paper was to investigate the frequency of using cell phones while driving in Iran's roads through an observational survey with a random sample of drivers, to recognize contributing factors to cell phone usage and to understand the magnitude of the problem. A total of 1794 observations were collected from 12 sites at controlled intersections, entrance and exit points of highways. The cell phone use rate among drivers (talking or texting) was estimated at 10% which is... 

The use of cell phone is a significant source of driver distraction. Phone use while driving can impair a number of factors critical for safe driving which can cause serious traffic safety problems. The objective of this paper was to investigate the frequency of using cell phones while driving in Iran's roads through an observational survey with a random sample of drivers, to recognize contributing factors to cell phone usage and to understand the magnitude of the problem. A total of 1794 observations were collected from 12 sites at controlled intersections, entrance and exit points of highways. The cell phone use rate among drivers (talking or texting) was estimated at 10% which is... 

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine cigarette consumption behavior of younger cohorts in the urban and rural areas of Iran. The authors use Iran’s annual Household Income and Expenditures Surveys (HIES) database over 2007–2013 for the statistical analysis. In order to control for a large number of households with zero expenditure on cigarette consumption, the authors have used the double-hurdle modeling approach for counting the outcomes of interest. The authors have also limited the sample to cases in which the head of household is between the ages of 21 and 45 and all children are younger than 18. Design/methodology/approach: In this study, the authors have conducted a... 

This paper presents the results of a power quality survey in a distribution system. More than fifty nodes are selected and monitored. Power quality indices are extracted based on IEEE and IEC Standards. The evaluation includes field data collection, extraction of statistical power quality indices and comparing the results against standard limits. Experimental data as well as clarifying tables and graphs are presented. The results are then discussed to evaluate the strength and weaknesses of applying standard limits when real observations are to be performed. Some proposals are also made in order to make standard procedures and limits more effective based on practical observations. © 2007,... 

A limited number of studies have tried to apply behavioral models to freight policy analysis, but due to the lack of data, most have not produced satisfactory results. Many decision-makers are unwilling to participate in surveys that inquire about their shipping decisions, since such information is an important part of their business strategies, and understandably, they fear jeopardizing their competitive edge by participating. This results in generally poor participation rates for freight surveys and makes them very expensive in many cases. However, recent empirical findings suggest that the linkage between non-response rates and non-response biases is often nonexistent. This paper examines... 

In this study, a conceptual framework is postulated to mathematically evaluate and ascertain the hypothesised relationship that perceived value and interactivity has with customer dissatisfaction issues. Then, the relationship between customer satisfaction issues and loyalty and customer acquisition, will be tested to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. For the qualitative part of the research, an interview survey was conducted of 40 employees at the Fremantle port of Western Australia and the collected data was analysed using NVivo. In the second data collection phase, a survey questionnaire was distributed to 60 port customers. Using data envelopment analysis (DEA), the important... 

The population of nearby dwarf galaxies in the Local Group constitutes a complete galactic environment, perfect suited for studying the connection between stellar populations and galaxy evolution. In this study, we are conducting an optical monitoring survey of the majority of dwarf galaxies in the Local Group, with the Isaac Newton Telescope (INT), to identify long period variable stars (LPVs). These stars are at the end points of their evolution and therefore their luminosity can be directly translated into their birth masses; this enables us to reconstruct the star formation history. By the end of the monitoring survey, we will have performed observations over ten epochs, spaced... 

The purpose of the research is to define and analyze the dominant organizational culture in Kish and to conduct a pilot research in Iran. Designed as a survey, the research employs the five cultural dimensions of Hofstede in organizations, and by different methodology, defines the ranking of each dimension. The sample consists of 254 employees working in two public and five private organizations on Kish-Island. In addition to define the ranking for each of the five dimensions, for the first time in Iran, the survey measures the ranking of long-term orientation, and shows differences between dominant culture in Iran and the Arab countries (opposed to Hofstede's recommendation). The... 

We report follow-up observations of 477 program Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) using nine telescopes of the EURONEAR network having apertures between 0.3 and 4.2 m. Adding these NEAs to our previous results we now count 739 program NEAs followed-up by the EURONEAR network since 2006. The targets were selected using EURONEAR planning tools focusing on high priority objects. Analyzing the resulting orbital improvements suggests astrometric follow-up is most important days to weeks after discovery, with recovery at a new opposition also valuable. Additionally we observed 40 survey fields spanning three nights covering 11 square degrees near opposition, using the Wide Field Camera on the 2.5 m... 

Rectifiers are an integral part of power harvesting systems. In this paper, the literature on RF power rectifiers is surveyed, starting from the well-known voltage doubler. Effects of using low turn-on voltage devices on forward and reverse losses, and therefore, on conversion efficiency, is discussed. Samples of rectifiers with external devices, such as Schottky diodes are presented. Idea of external Vth cancellation through a rechargeable battery, self Vth cancellation, and floating gate transistors with charge injection onto the gates are demonstrated. Then, standard bridge rectifier and its modified versions, including Vth cancellation technique, are explained. Using low voltage devices... 

A Software Process Line (SPrL) is potentially suitable for constructing software development methodologies by reusing core assets. However, adopting this approach without prior assessment of its suitability can lead to failure. The aim of this paper is to identify a set of requirements that can be used for deciding whether to adopt the SPrL approach in an organization. Identification of the requirements was accomplished in two stages: the characteristics important in method tailoring were first identified via a Systematic Mapping Study (SMS) that focused on analyzing 43 primary studies; the degree of importance of the identified characteristics was then determined using a questionnaire... 

Workers' absence considerably a ects the performance of labor-intensive construction projects. Identifying such absence patterns assists construction project managers in preparing proper project organization, reducing the absence rate, and improving the project performance. Despite its critical role, no study has investigated the absence pattern in the construction industry in Iran. This study addresses this gap by identifying the worker's absence pattern and providing recommendations to reduce the absence rate. First, a comprehensive literature review is conducted on the impacts of in uential factors in the worker's absence. Then, a questionnaire-based survey is designed and distributed... 

This study aims at examining the effect of Robot Assisted language learning (RALL) on the anxiety level and attitude in the English language learning classroom. Forty-six female students who were beginners at the age of 12 participated in this study and were randomly assigned into two groups of RALL (30 students) and non-RALL (16 students). The treatment was given by a teacher accompanied by a humanoid robot assistant for the RALL group. Two questionnaires of anxiety [15] and attitude [19] were utilized to measure the students' anxiety and attitude. The results of descriptive and t-tests indicated that there was lower anxiety and positive attitude towards English learning in the RALL group... 

The interest in action and gesture recognition has grown considerably in the last years. In this paper, we present a survey on current deep learning methodologies for action and gesture recognition in image sequences. We introduce a taxonomy that summarizes important aspects of deep learning for approaching both tasks. We review the details of the proposed architectures, fusion strategies, main datasets, and competitions. We summarize and discuss the main works proposed so far with particular interest on how they treat the temporal dimension of data, discussing their main features and identify opportunities and challenges for future research. © 2017 IEEE  

Give a triangulation of a set of points on the plane, dilation of any two points is defined as the ratio between the length of the shortest path of these points and their Euclidean distance. Minimum dilation triangulation is a triangulation in which the maximum dilation between any pair of the points is minimized. We give upper bounds on the dilation of the minimum dilation triangulation for two kinds of point sets: An upper bound of nsin⁡(π/n)/2 for a centrally symmetric convex point set containing n points, and an upper bound of 1.19098 for a set of points on the boundary of a semicircle. © 2018 Elsevier B.V  

This paper is a complete survey of flowshop-scheduling problems and contributions from early works of Johnson of 1954 to recent approaches of metaheuristics of 2004. It mainly considers a flowshop problem with a makespan criterion and it surveys some exact methods (for small size problems), constructive heuristics and developed improving metaheuristic and evolutionary approaches as well as some well-known properties and rules for this problem. Each part has a brief literature review of the contributions and a glimpse of that approach before discussing the implementation for a flowshop problem. Moreover, in the first section, a complete literature review of flowshop-related scheduling...