ABSTRACT
Whether or not listening skills can be used to measure grammatical ability has been a hot topic of controversy in the language learning community. However, existing study results aren't satisfactory in and of themselves. As a result, considering the current research gap, this study was carried out to solve the issue. To begin, the researchers used a mean listening score to assess the listening skills of 50 ESL first-year students at a public institution. Second, frequency and sentence analysis were used to identify the students' most frequent mistakes and difficulty in listening for grammatical differences. When hearing comprehension outcomes were being evaluated, a written composition activity was used to verify them. There was a strong correlation between the degree of skill of the respondents in listening for grammatical differences between the single and plural forms of subjects and predicates, as well as in the ability to distinguish between the present and past tense verbs. However, more complicated syntactic formulations were discovered to have specific issues. According to the results, the listeners get disoriented and disturbed when the test sentence contains intermediate words, phrases, or subordinate sentences. These difficulties in remembering what they learned at school may result from socio-psychological issues—the intervening words impaired their ability to concentrate and recall information when they were not in a classroom. As a result of the COVID 19 epidemic, instructors and students alike have been compelled to adapt to a new learning environment: the virtual classroom. Online testing and results processing was done under this, considering that electronic platforms are a moderating factor. EFL and ESL specialists like (Shao et al., 2019) and (Walsh & Rsquez 2020) have recognized that this alteration in the modality of teaching influences methods of learning that have not necessarily been delineated previously. While not the primary focus of the research, this work still underlines the new socio-technological component as an essential mediator of listening evaluation for greater grammatical competence © 2023, Journal for ReAttach Therapy and Developmental Diversities.All Rights Reserved.
ABSTRACT
Oil industry construction is a very high risk from a safety and health perspective. Thousands of workers die while working in onshore oil refineries and pipeline projects worldwide, and despite many advancements in research and technology, fatal injuries are still happening. Construction products involving oil refineries and pipelines always need successful strategies in mitigating health and safety risks. After the recent Covid-19 pandemic, the industry became more conscious of increasing workers' safety on construction sites. The lack of a comprehensive literature review involving raking and prioritization of critical health and safety risk factors is the reason behind conducting a new secondary study. This study aimed to show the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) on risk analysis of health and safety issues construction workers face in onshore oil refineries and pipeline construction projects. The SLR methodology involved searching and reviewing the most relevant research papers from the perspective of safety risk factors and proven mitigation techniques. The SLR involves 30 research papers that are of high significance from 2011 to 2022. Fifteen health and safety risk factors are ranked according to arguments from previous studies, with falling from height at the top and scaffolding failure at the lowest position. The successful mitigation techniques are discussed in the existing literature, and the study provides positive theoretical and practical implications for the workers in oil refinery and pipeline construction projects. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Sarcoidosis is a rare granulomatosis. The absence of well-defined criteria for definition and the existence of differential diagnosis makes the positive diagnosis difficult. Method(s): We report a case of sarcoidosis that illustrates the difficulty of this diagnosis in the presence of atypical clinical manifestations and a strong suspicion of tuberculosis. Ultimately, renal histology allowed the positive diagnosis and the response to corticosteroids confirmed it retrospectively. Result(s): Our patient was a 66 years-old female with a history of hypertension who presented with a sensory and motor polyneuropathy a couple of months after a mild COVID-19 pneumonia, hospitalized for exploration of a worsening renal function due to a tubulointerstitial neuropathy (creatinine upon admission at 250 micromol/l, eGFR = 16 ml/min/1,73m2 -MDRD). Kidney biopsy revealed an interstitial infiltrate of monocytes and fibrosis alongside non-necrotic and giant-cell epithelioid interstitial granulomas. Extra-renal signs consisted of the above-mentioned neuropathy, bilateral mediastinal adenopathies with no signs of a pulmonary disease at the bodyscan, a hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, a pleural and pericardial effusion of low abundance, and a peritoneal thickening. Bronchoscopy and bronchoalveolar washing found no evidence for malignancies and screening for mycobacterial infections by polymerase chain reaction was negative. No granulomas were found at the hepatic biopsy. Digestive tract endoscopy and biopsies showed no abnormalities. During hospitalization, the patient presented an episode of acute polyradiculonevritis confirmed by cerebral-spine fluid study and nerve conduction study results. Our patient received intraveinous immunoglobulins (IgIV) with a favorable outcome but relapsed one month later, showing signs of respiratory failure. Upon the second relapse of the chronic polyradiculonevritis and based on the absence of bacteriological and histological evidence for a mycobacterial infection and the results or the renal biopsy, the patient received high-dose corticosteroids alongside a second course of IgIV. The neuropathy regressed totally within a month with a decrease of creatinine level to 140 micromol/l (eGFR = 35ml/min/1,73m2) alongside the polyserositis and organomegaly. The final diagnosis was that of a sarcoidosis with pulmonary and renal involvement. Although the neuropathy could be considered a manifestation of sarcoidosis, its origin was intricated as post-viral original could not be formally excluded. Conclusion(s): The etiological diagnosis for granulomatous interstitial nephropathies can be challenging due to similar clinical presentations and the need to start specific treatments especially in the presence of life-threatening situations and the absence of clear criteria defining sarcoidosis further enhances the level of difficulty. No conflict of interestCopyright © 2023
ABSTRACT
The Covid-19 pandemic had changed the business model in various industries. Companies have switched to digital business processes in order to survive in this challenging situation. Financial Technology (Fintech), especially digital payment services, has become the most preferred solution for handling financial transactions in conditions of limited mobility and interaction. The phenomenal emergence of Fintech has captured the attention of the world and the Asian region, including Malaysia and Indonesia. Despite various benefits offered by Fintech, the adoption rate is still relatively low, especially for IT-savvy groups of fresh graduates in both countries. This comparative study aims to analyze the adoption of Fintech payment services in Malaysia and Indonesia using the UTAUT theory approach. The research measures the relationships between performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, consumers’ trust, and national culture with the adoption of Fintech. Each indicator of national culture, such as individualism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity and long-term orientation, was measured to see its relationship with the adoption rate. The quantitative method was employed, and the data were collected via an online survey of a total of 486 respondents. Using multivariate regression analysis, 57.9 % behavioral adoption of Fintech payment services both in Malaysia and Indonesia was explained through performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, customer trust and national culture. The study revealed that performance expectancy and the cultural factor individualism had the highest effect on the decision to adopt digital payment services. This study contributes to the Fintech ecosystem in both countries by providing some recommendations to Fintech providers, financial institutions, and governments in policy making. It is also expected that the research will support the government’s goal to become a cashless society as a strategy to increase financial inclusion © 2022, Authors. This is an open access article under the Creative Commons CC BY license