Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of pre-listening activities on Arabic-speaking EFL learners’ comprehension of spoken texts. Background: This study aims to contribute to the current research and to increase our understanding about the effectiveness of pre-listening activities. Specifically, this study seeks to clarify some of the research in this area that seems to be incongruent. Methodology: The study investigates two widely implemented activities in second language (L2) classrooms: vocabulary preteaching and content previewing. Ninety-three native-Arabic speaking EFL learners, whose proficiently levels were beginner, intermediate, or advanced, were randomly assigned to a control group or one of three experimental groups: the vocabulary-only (VO) group, content-only (CO) group, or vocabulary + content (VC) group. Each of the experimental groups received one of the treatments to determine which pre-listening activity was more effective and whether additional pre-listening activities yield additional comprehension. Listening comprehension of the aural text was measured by a test comprising 13 multiple-choice and true-false questions. Contribution: The present study provided additional explanations regarding the long-standing contradicting results about vocabulary preteaching and content previewing. Findings: The results showed that pre-listening activities had a positive impact on Arabic-speaking EFL learners’ listening comprehension, with the VO group significantly increasing their scores on the posttest compared to those of the control or other groups. Vocabulary preteaching was particularly beneficial for more advanced learners. With regard to which pre-listening activity contributed the most to better listening comprehension, vocabulary preteaching was the most effective. Content previewing did not increase comprehension for the CO group and had no additional benefit for the VC group. Recommendation for Researchers: This paper recommends that researchers explore new pre-listening activities that have never studied. Future research should be extended to include other nations and contextual situations to extend our knowledge about the effect of pre-listening activities. As far as listening comprehension can only be achieved when listeners are attentive and engaged, the listening text should be interesting and the lexical coverage of the listening text should be appropriate for all participants. Future Research: The results are to be interpreted carefully because they are limited by the students’ L2 proficiency, demographic, and cultural backgrounds (i.e., first language (L1) proficiency, age, gender, Middle Eastern culture). Results might be quite different if the study was conducted with different populations who have different life and language learning experiences (Vandergrift & Baker, 2015). Therefore, the results of this study indicate there is much room for improvement and a need for further research.

An optimisation-based decision-making support is proposed in this study in the form of fuzzy-probabilistic programming, which can be used to solve integrated order allocation, production planning, and inventory management problems in fuzzy and probabilistic uncertain environments. The problem was modelled in an uncertain mathematical optimisation model with two objectives: maximising the expectation of production volume and minimising the expectation of total operational cost subject to demand and other constraints. The model belongs to fuzzy-probabilistic bi-objective integer linear programming, and the generalised reduced gradient method combined with the branch-and-bound algorithm was utilised to solve the derived model. Numerical simulations were performed to illustrate how the optimal decision was formulated. The results showed that the proposed decision-making support was successful in providing the optimal decision with the maximum expectation of the production volume and minimum expectation of the total operational cost. Therefore, the approach can be implemented by decision-makers in manufacturing companies.

Nan WU,Xiaocong LAI,Mei CHEN,Ying PAN, Vol.E107-D, No.11, pp.1433-1443
With the development of the Semantic Web, an increasing number of researchers are utilizing ontology technology to construct domain ontology. Since there is no unified construction standard, ontology heterogeneity occurs. The ontology matching method can fuse heterogeneous ontologies, which realizes the interoperability between knowledge and associates to more relevant semantic information. In the case of differences between ontologies, how to reduce false matching and unsuccessful matching is a critical problem to be solved. Moreover, as the number of ontologies increases, the semantic relationship between ontologies becomes increasingly complex. Nevertheless, the current methods that solely find the similarity of names between concepts are no longer sufficient. Consequently, this paper proposes an ontology matching method based on semantic association. Accurate matching pairs are discovered by existing semantic knowledge, and then the potential semantic associations between concepts are mined according to the characteristics of the contextual structure. The matching method can better carry out matching work based on reliable knowledge. In addition, this paper introduces a probabilistic logic repair method, which can detect and repair the conflict of matching results, to enhance the availability and reliability of matching results. The experimental results show that the proposed method effectively improves the quality of matching between ontologies and saves time on repairing incorrect matching pairs. Besides, compared with the existing ontology matching systems, the proposed method has better stability.
Publication Date: 2024/11/01

We consider how social and psychological connections among CEOs explain the propensity for corporate leaders to distance themselves socially from journalists who engage in negative reporting about firm leadership at other companies, and we examine the consequences for the valence of journalists' subsequent coverage. Our theoretical framework suggests that journalists who have engaged in negative coverage of a firm's leadership and strategy are especially likely to experience distancing from other leaders who (i) have friendship ties to the firm's CEO, (ii) are demographically similar to the CEO on salient dimensions, or (iii) are socially identified with the CEO as a fellow member of the corporate elite. Our theory and findings ultimately suggest that, due to the multiple sources of social identification between CEOs, journalists who engage in negative coverage of firm leadership tend to experience social distancing from multiple CEOs, and such distancing has a powerful influence on the valence of journalists' subsequent reporting about firm leadership and strategy across all the firms that they cover. We also extend our theoretical framework to suggest how the effect of social distancing on the valence of journalists' coverage is moderated by the early and late stages of a journalist's career.

Female corporate leadership has drawn increasing attention from academia and practitioners. We contribute to the literature by examining the impact of CEO succession with gender change—i.e., a male CEO succeeded by a female or vice versa. We propose that due to gender differences in executive leadership positions, CEO succession with gender change may amplify the disruption of the CEO succession process and thus adversely affect post-succession firm performance and increase the likelihood of successor early departure. Using data from 3,320 CEO successions in companies listed in China's Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 1997 to 2010, we find evidence to support this argument. We also find that the negative (positive) impact of male-to-female succession on firm performance (the likelihood of successor early departure) may be weakened by positive organizational attitudes toward female leadership as indicated by the presence of other female leaders on the firm's board of directors and/or top management team, and the successor's inside origin.

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A heart-wrenching ode to friendship and Jawad Ahmad’s powerhouse vocals make this a timeless track

Just how brilliant is the most iconic Pakistani hit of all time?

From Iqra to Alia, brides are switching it up when it comes to their wedding day looks

When you have nowhere else to go in a metal contraption, these tracks will soothe your soul

Imran Khan had earlier defended Gandapur, calling on PTI to expel the 'weak cowards' who had apologised for the K-P CM

Vienna-based Figlmüller topped the list for its century-long specialisation in the Schnitzel Wiener Art

This article is going to show you where can you find the store list of Shopify stores. There are several ways to do this, let's review the most helpful ones.

The post Where can I find store list of Shopify stores? appeared first on Template Monster Help.

Indian police raid NewsClick and journalists' homes in foreign funding probe, raising media freedom concerns

Renowned media figures, analysts urge Nawaz Sharif to submit to mandate of winners and concede defeat

Journalists looked to report inside the Kursk region after a Ukrainian cross-border incursion

A database of pirate sites maintained by City of London Police for more than a decade is set for a makeover. Earlier this year vendors were invited to bid for a contract to supply
a new portal for Operation Creative, the anti-piracy initiative responsible for the Infringing Website List. Nominated for inclusion by mainly overseas rightsholders, the list predominantly features overseas pirate sites. The winning bid of just over £221,000 will be settled from the UK public purse.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Washington had sanctioned China-based companies in October 2023 for supplying missile-applicable items to Pakistan

It is of note that incoming first lady Melania Trump's autobiography remains No. 1 on Amazon's "most sold" bestseller list. Her book -- which was published Oct. 8 by Skyhorse -- has also reached No. 1 in the categories of memoirs, political leader biographies and -- interestingly enough -- in traveler and explorer biographies.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is a finalist for his first National League MVP award after winning the AL honor twice, joined among the top three in NL voting by New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor and Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte.

When Willie Green learned Friday that starting guard CJ McCollum and top defender Herb Jones would be joining point guard Dejounte Murray on the injury list for multiple weeks, the New Orleans Pelicans coach tried to look on the bright side.

Olympic silver medalist race walker Koki Ikeda of Japan has been provisionally banned for suspected blood doping, track and field's Athletics Integrity Unit said on Friday.

Integrating mechanisms into macroecology 

8^th Annual Meeting of the Specialist Group for Macroecology of the Ecological Society of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (GfÖ)

Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of Biology, Department Geobotany & Botanical Garden, Am Kirchtor 1, 06108 Halle (Saale), Germany

Linking processes and mechanistic approaches (e.g., from physiology, experimental ecology, demography, and evolution) with macroecological approaches, scales, and methods has long been discussed among macroecologists. Still, only few steps toward implementing such links have been taken, yet. With the 8th Annual Meeting of the Specialist Group for Macroecology of the GfÖ, we want to offer a forum for presenting and discussing both tested approaches and new ideas to make these links. Additionally, in order to move beyond discussion, we invite all participants to join the conference workshop on the 2nd day. Here, we plan to intensively discuss gaps in existing approaches and possible ways for bridging these gaps in several discussion groups and to take first steps towards publishing the summarized workshop results. 

http://www.macroecology.org/

While the Red Sox aren't the odds-on for any player, they hold the third-best odds or better for three of the top free agents.

The post Red Sox listed among betting favorites for handful of top free agents this offseason appeared first on Boston.com.

“If not for the sign in the window, it’d be easy to mistake Frankie’s for a residential home whose owners love hosting dinner parties.”

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You'll find it in Fall River.

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You can always count on Craigslist for some highly questionable listings but we all know the free online classifieds site has a reputation for publishing some unusual, ... Read more

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Your guide to discounts around Greater Boston with a valid student ID.

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The bands paired up to take the house down on their Take Me Home Tour Thursday night.

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Police said they have not made any arrests, but are investigating the incident.

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The Massachusetts House passed a bill that requires employers to disclose data about wages and post salary ranges on job listings.

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This executive order will allow the state to bring more diversity into its hiring processes, benefitting the overall workforce, according to the governor.

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The Texas-raised neo-soul singer gave Boston a performance that was both intimate and jubilant.

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After openers by Boston's DJ P1no and local singer Raveena, streaming sensation Tinashe very successfully brought 'Nasty' back.

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The audience devised much of the setlist, but Folds was very much in command at a stellar Cabot Theatre concert.

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When US presidents get on the phone to speak with foreign leaders, staff are on hand to take diligent notes. But is there a set procedure of how calls with foreign dignitaries are handled? Tom Blanford from the National Security Archives in Washington, DC says that Trump’s style has been very different compared with his predecessors.

Also, TikTok, is one of the most popular social media apps in the world but the company that owns it is based in China, and some say that's leading to censorship; When you think about the Soviet Union, you don’t often think about comedy, Michael Idov’s film ‘The Humorist’ delves into the life of a Soviet comic; the power of comedy is something stand-up comedian Noam Shuster-Eliassi is trying to harness in order to start a more honest conversation between Israelis and Palestinians; and the tale of a Russian ship captain whose message in a bottle was recently discovered on a beach in Alaska.

Image: Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump (Credit: Ukraine Presidential Press Service via EPA)

Families can take part in scavenger hunts, nightly s’mores, and more.

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The site has a similar address to one that promotes a film adaptation of the hit musical. The toymaker apologized for the “unfortunate error.”

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*** SPOILER ALERT! You will not find that list here, but you will find what hopefully will be some thought-provoking tips on putting yours together and even some resources to help in the process.

For the worship leader, one of the year’s highlights but most difficult tasks is that of putting together the set list for Easter weekend. We’d venture to say that most start thinking about it as soon as they get on the other side of the current year’s celebration. We keep a running list of possible songs and then as soon as Christmas is over we hit the ground running mulling over every possible combination of titles. But there are so many moving parts and components to consider that it’s just not as easy as whipping out the 5 most popular songs from that year. Some of the things we have to think about are:

• The personality of the worshippers in your church
  • Are they more expressive or more subdued? This question is very important. If you lead a more passionate, charismatic congregation, you definitely want to allow them plenty of opportunities to worship freely, but you also want to pick songs that will draw them to a place of introspection and contemplation. For the more reflective and meditative crowds, you don’t want to make them so uncomfortable that you lose them by doing a bunch of high energy songs, but you also want to get them out of their comfort zones to celebrate in a way that challenges them a little.
• The prominent age and demographic of your people
  • If you serve at an older church whose majority is made up of those from the more “experienced” generations, you may find that they respond more to the older hymns but are open to one or two newer songs. Whereas, if you are leading a group of those not raised in the church, songs of more than about five years old may not resonate. 
• The theme of the weekend
  • This may seem like a no brainer given that it’s Easter, but your pastor may be approaching the weekend from a very specific perspective (i.e. love, grace, salvation, etc . . .). So you will want to choose songs that draw the people’s minds and hearts to that particular idea.
• Those first-timers or twice-a-yearers (not a Webster-approved word, but I’m working on it)
  • Obviously we are not going to let this piece take the wheel of decision-making too much, but it does need to be considered. One way to accomplish this is to make sure there are at least a couple of songs that are well-known enough that they may have heard it, or are easy to catch onto by someone who is brand new to it.
• The number of new songs
  • In that same vein, a good general rule of thumb is to not introduce more than one or two new songs per week, and the same goes for Easter. There are few things that will bum churchgoers out more than arriving Easter Sunday only to do a bunch of songs they’ve never heard before. So make sure you’ve started introducing any newer songs you want to incorporate well before that weekend and maybe just save that one zinger for the actual celebration.
• The level of difficulty
  • Unless you’re hiring in a bunch of professionals, the skill level of your band is going to be the same on Easter weekend as it is the rest of the year. So don’t pick a bunch of songs they aren’t going to be able to pull off, simply because they’re “perfect for Easter Sunday”. If there’s a song that you just HAVE to do and it’s more challenging than your normal roster, consider introducing it to your band months in advance and working it until they’ve got it, or create an arrangement of it that is less complex.

There are plenty of other things to take into consideration as you prepare for this special weekend in the life of the Church, but these are some of the more common ones. We’d love to hear other things that influence your process in the comments.

Let’s talk actual songs now. For those of you who don’t have a lot of time on your hands to research, we’ve compiled a handful of lists that might help get your creative juices flowing with regard to the right set list for your church body’s Easter services. These lists are by no means exhaustive and we’re 100% confident there are songs out there that we’ve missed. Again, we’d love for you to put more ideas in the comments. Our hope and prayer is that, as Easter quickly approaches, God would put the songs on your hearts that will stir and move His people to life-changing encounters with His Presence, and that your own hearts would be filled to overflowing as you prepare to lead the Church. 

Top 10 Brand New Songs
(These are all songs that have been released since last Easter)

Top 20 Fairly Recent Songs
(These are all songs that were released between Easters of 2012 and 2016)

1. Resurrecting – Elevation Worship
2. Forever – Kari Jobe
3. Praise The King – Corey Voss
4. O Praise (The Only One) – Michael Farren
5. My Victory – David Crowder
6. Salvation’s Tide – Passion
7. Great Are You Lord – All Sons and Daughters
8. The Wondrous Cross – Christy Nockels
9. This I Believe (The Creed) – Hillsong Worship
10. Break Every Chain – Jesus Culture
11. Lamb of God – Vertical Church Band
12. Because He Lives (Amen) – Matt Maher
13. Hallelujah For The Cross – Newsboys
14. How Can It Be – Lauren Daigle
15. Grace To Grace – Hillsong Worship
16. Jesus, Only Jesus – Matt Redman
17. No Longer Slaves – Bethel Music
18. Come As You Are – David Crowder
19. For The Cross – Bethel Music
20. O Come To The Altar – Elevation Worship
     

Top 10 Older Songs
(These are all songs released between 2000 and 2011)

1. Revelation Song – Gateway Worship
2. Your Great Name – Natalie Grant
3. Forever Reign – Hillsong
4. Mighty To Save – Hillsong
5. Worthy Is The Lamb – Hillsong
6. Hosanna – Paul Baloche
7. Hosanna (King Of Glory ) – Hillsong United
8. Happy Day – Tim Hughes
9. How Great Is Our God – Chris Tomlin
10. One Thing Remains – Bethel 
     

Top 10 Hymns
(These are all songs that are rebooted hymns or newer songs that have that hymn-like feel, regardless of age)

1. Jesus Paid It All – Passion
2. Turn Your Eyes (Jesus Won) – 121 Community Church
3. The Wonderful Cross – Chris Tomlin
4. All Hail The Power of Jesus’ Name – Paul Baloche
5. Cornerstone – Hillsong
6. Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) – Chris Tomlin
7. How Marvelous (I Stand Amazed) – Passion
8. How Deep The Father’s Love For Us – Stuart Townend
9. In Christ Alone – Stuart Townend
10. Crown Him (Majesty) – Chris Tomlin w/Kari Jobe

* Note that the content of these lists are in no particular order and are merely suggestions based on research done through a variety of music resources, online surveys, chart rankings, and probably a pinch of personal preferences.

Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but also brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. He’s actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won’t quit until it’s all cleansed. God himself is Fire! - Hebrews 12: 28-29 (The Message)

What is so important about worship?  

How many of us come for the singing and completely forget what the first part of our service is about? There can be two people standing beside each other during service - one can be in the “Holy of Holies” and the other can be thinking about the business meeting he has next week. One person can have an encounter with God and the other person say it’s just “ok”. 

Every time I enter into God’s presence, God speaks. He promises to do just that!

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. - Revelation 3:20 

 This passage is appropriate for the unbeliever but is written directly to the Church. When we come to church we get really excited about the Word of God. That’s good. We love to be fed. I think many people are missing that it is not just what we are eating but with whom we are eating. Church is not just that we get a good meal but that Jesus is dining with us.

LOOK - LISTEN - LEARN

 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.” So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” - Exodus 3:1-5

LOOK . . .   

My wife and I went to Maui, Hawaii for our honeymoon. We were on a beautiful walk along the beach one night when I heard many voices yelling, “Look!” I glanced over and didn’t see anything. It wasn’t until I turned the right direction and went from a glance to truly looking that I saw huge whales breaching the waters. 

 When I say the word LOOK, I don’t mean glance in God’s direction when you come to church. When we gather together to worship, that’s your cue to turn aside from whatever you were doing or whatever you have to do this week. Look at God. That is why the songs we sing have to do with God’s greatness and attributes. It’s time to look at God.  This of course goes way beyond a Sunday or service experience, but that’s definitely a great starting point. 

LISTEN . . .

So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” - Exodus 3:4

 God was waiting until He had his attention to speak. I will tell my kid’s to look at me when I’m talking to them. It is so irritating to try to teach them something as they are walking off doing other things or focused on something else. Let’s not do that to God. Honor stands at attention. I know if they are not looking at me they are not focused. I wonder how many people need to hear from God but He is waiting to see if they will look. 

LEARN . . . 

Anyone can learn; the question is do you realize your need to learn. The moment you stop seeing your need to learn is the moment you leave dry and empty. God said to take your sandals off, for the place you are standing is holy ground. The first thing we learn is that anything God touches is Holy. How could Moses write the 1^st five books of the bible? God taught Him. He spent time in the presence of God 

He made known His ways to Moses,His acts to the children of Israel. - Psalm 103:7

Our perspective changes in the presence of God. So when He calls to you . . . LOOK! When we LOOK, we are able to LISTEN. When we truly LISTEN, that’s where we LEARN. When we LEARN, that’s when we know what it looks like to ABIDE. And when we ABIDE, we WORSHIP! 

The Milwaukee Brewers are adding to their fraternity of Gold Glove winners, and it's not a very long list. Here are the Brewers who previously won.

The Baseball Writers' Association of America on Nov. 11 announced the finalists for its Rookie of the Year Awards. Many Boston Red Sox fans take issue with its American League selections. Red Sox rookie Wilyer Abreu was not selected among the three AL ROY finalists. Colton Cowser, Austin Wells and Luis Gil — all AL East rivals — are the three youngsters nominated for this season's title.

Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers and outfielder Jarren Duran were both finalists for AL Silver Slugger awards but neither won. Guardians' José Ramírez won for AL third basemen. Yankees sluggers Aaron Judge and Juan Soto as well as Orioles' Anthony Santander were the three AL outfield winners. BETTING: Check out our MA sports betting guide , where you can learn basic terminology, definitions and how to read odds for those interested in learning how to bet in Massachusetts. Duran, who was a finalist for the first time, led the majors in doubles with 48. He also tied with Arizona's Corbin Carroll for the major league lead in triples (14). He batted .285 with a .342 on-base percentage, .492 slugging

To help you navigate the messy world of streaming services availability, Next Episode has a few new features: All lists (search, browse, top/discovery charts, watchlist, track episodes) now also show streaming availability You can now filter by streaming services availability In addition, you can add the streaming services you use to My Services and filter through that as wellThis is not just for US - your country should've been automatically detected, but if not - you can easily switch it here. Basically, it should now be easier than ever to find out where your stuff is streaming and find new great shows on the streaming services you use. Our movies section will get the same treatment soon. Let me know your thoughts and as always - if you appreciate my efforts here - consider getting Premium. Thank you!

For many business owners, it is estimated that as much as 80 to 90 percent of their net worth is tied up in the value of their company.

After a year at the Gypsum Association, Technical Services Specialist Greg Woolley is more than ready to answer your questions related to gypsum panel products.