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Volume 1, Issue 1 (1-2013)
Abstract
The wide variety of ethnic groups and cultures in Iran has been a great advantage for this country, providing a rich substantial culture and a lively society. However, this variety and multiplicity has sometimes been used by the country's enemies as means for engendering the national identity and unity. Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, due to its richness and profundity, can play its traditional role of providing national identity and unity. In order to demonstrate the significant role of Shahnameh in providing Iranian groups with a single national identity, we considered the effect of Shahnameh on naming the geographical phenomena in Ghorveh with four towns and twelve rural areas. This research, registering geographical names and being impressed of Shahnameh, prevents this national unity from obliteration.
Volume 2, Issue 3 (8-2014)
Abstract
Myth and archetype represent the universal aspirations and ideas of human. On the other hand, they represent religious experience and exposure to Holy Existence. On this basis, the mystical narratives are the basic vehicle for development and exposure of archetypes and myths. As for symbolism, and the significance of mystical narratives, necessary to interpret for understanding their texts and to obtain narrative functions, we have surveyed three authentic and effective texts of Attar`s Tazkarat-ol-Olya, Hojviri`s Kashf-ol-Mahjoob and Goshairieh’s Resaleh with mythology approach. Because the mystical narratives benefit from all components of the thought and culture sphere of human, especially archetype, we have reviewed, classified and decoded, according to the their texture, have archetypes such as tree, mountains, caves, animals, colors, cycle and center, the names and numbers in the mentioned three texts. This review illustrates that mystical narratives like other areas of human thought, benefit from myth and archetype to achieve its objectives and functions as one of the dominant elements. Based on these features, many mystical narratives use narrative folk or close to their structure. Archetype and myths explain religious experiences in mystical narratives, which are covered in symbolic forms. Although mythological elements have a bond with Holy Existence, they take distinctive color and odor to the mystical narratives, and describe and three stages of birth, death, and rebirth, and encounter with Holy Existence.
Volume 8, Issue 4 (Fall 2020)
Abstract
Aims: Children with epilepsy are exposed to oral disease due to the lack of self-care and antiepileptic medicines' side effects. The present study aimed to assess the association between mothers' oral health literacy with a child who has epilepsy and the children's oral health status.
Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed during the fall and winter of 2017 in Ahvaz, Iran. Mothers of one-hundred 3-6 years' children with epilepsy referred to Golestan hospital were selected through the available sampling method and completed a valid and reliable questionnaire on oral health literacy. The children's oral and dental health was also examined by a dentist to determine decayed, missed, and filled teeth and simplified oral hygiene index. ANOVA and Pearson correlations were used to analyze data in SPSS 15.
Findings: The mean age of mothers, OHI-S index, and the average number of decayed teeth in children were 30.28±4.3, 2.75±0.75, and 2.86±1.65, respectively. Besides, the mean numbers of extracted and filled teeth of children were respectively 0.31±0.48 and 0.19±0.41. A significant relationship was seen between the mother's education and the simplified oral hygiene index. Also, there was a significant relationship between mothers' oral health literacy and decayed, missed, and filled teeth (p<0.005). Moreover, no statistically significant relationship was observed between mothers' oral health literacy and simplified oral hygiene index score (p>0.05).
Conclusion: The present study showed an association between maternal Oral Health Literacy and children's oral health with epilepsy.
Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed during the fall and winter of 2017 in Ahvaz, Iran. Mothers of one-hundred 3-6 years' children with epilepsy referred to Golestan hospital were selected through the available sampling method and completed a valid and reliable questionnaire on oral health literacy. The children's oral and dental health was also examined by a dentist to determine decayed, missed, and filled teeth and simplified oral hygiene index. ANOVA and Pearson correlations were used to analyze data in SPSS 15.
Findings: The mean age of mothers, OHI-S index, and the average number of decayed teeth in children were 30.28±4.3, 2.75±0.75, and 2.86±1.65, respectively. Besides, the mean numbers of extracted and filled teeth of children were respectively 0.31±0.48 and 0.19±0.41. A significant relationship was seen between the mother's education and the simplified oral hygiene index. Also, there was a significant relationship between mothers' oral health literacy and decayed, missed, and filled teeth (p<0.005). Moreover, no statistically significant relationship was observed between mothers' oral health literacy and simplified oral hygiene index score (p>0.05).
Conclusion: The present study showed an association between maternal Oral Health Literacy and children's oral health with epilepsy.
Volume 9, Issue 1 (Winter 2021)
Abstract
Aims: Fathers' low health literacy is one factor contributing to children's poorer oral health. This work aims to evaluate the relationship between the father's oral health literacy and the children's oral health in a sample of children with epilepsy.
Materials & Methods: The present research is a descriptive-analytical study carried out during 2017 in Ahvaz, Iran. One hundred pairs of 3-6 aged children with epilepsy and their fathers referred to a specialized neurologic clinic were included in the study. Children's oral conditions were evaluated by a dentist based on dmft and simplified oral hygiene (OHI-S) indices. A valid and reliable researcher-made questionnaire on oral health literacy was filled out by children's fathers. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and Pearson correlation using SPSS 15.
Findings: The mean±SD of OHI-S and dmft index were 2.75±0.95 and 3.51±1.97, respectively. Besides, the mean±SD number of decayed, extracted, and filled teeth of children were obtained to be 2.86±1.65, 0.31±0.48, and 0.19±0.41, respectively. Significant differences were observed between the father's oral health literacy and the oral health condition of children; dmft value and OHI-S index, (p<0.005). Pearson correlations showed a weak relationship between the comprehension dimension of OHL and dmft and a moderate relationship between the performance dimension of OHL and dmft (p<0.001).
Conclusion: The study showed a significant relationship of the father's oral health literacy with dmft value and OHI-S score. Therefore, the results highlighted the importance of a family-centered approach to oral health promotion of children with epilepsy and their careers.
Materials & Methods: The present research is a descriptive-analytical study carried out during 2017 in Ahvaz, Iran. One hundred pairs of 3-6 aged children with epilepsy and their fathers referred to a specialized neurologic clinic were included in the study. Children's oral conditions were evaluated by a dentist based on dmft and simplified oral hygiene (OHI-S) indices. A valid and reliable researcher-made questionnaire on oral health literacy was filled out by children's fathers. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and Pearson correlation using SPSS 15.
Findings: The mean±SD of OHI-S and dmft index were 2.75±0.95 and 3.51±1.97, respectively. Besides, the mean±SD number of decayed, extracted, and filled teeth of children were obtained to be 2.86±1.65, 0.31±0.48, and 0.19±0.41, respectively. Significant differences were observed between the father's oral health literacy and the oral health condition of children; dmft value and OHI-S index, (p<0.005). Pearson correlations showed a weak relationship between the comprehension dimension of OHL and dmft and a moderate relationship between the performance dimension of OHL and dmft (p<0.001).
Conclusion: The study showed a significant relationship of the father's oral health literacy with dmft value and OHI-S score. Therefore, the results highlighted the importance of a family-centered approach to oral health promotion of children with epilepsy and their careers.
Volume 12, Issue 3 (August & September 2021 (Articles in English & French) 2021)
Abstract
Despite the critical relationships among pragmatic action, context, and linguistic vs. non-linguistic resources for producing various adjacency pairs in foreign or second language (L2) exchanges, their interplay has not been adequately investigated. Therefore, the present study examined these relations in the production of request-refusal adjacency pairs. The needed data were collected from 108 upper-intermediate to advanced EFL learners. Three hundred conversations were audio-recorded from learners’ role-plays that involved making request-refusal adjacency pairs. MAXQDA software was used for data transcription, codification, and analysis. Data analysis revealed that request-refusal adjacency pairs were co-constructed in discursive contexts through multiple turns using both linguistic and nonlinguistic turn construction units (TCUs). Learners significantly used more linguistic rather than nonlinguistic TCUs and more sentential and clausal TCUs than phrasal and lexical TCUs. Moreover, the use of pauses and continuers was significantly more than laughter, facial expression, and body language. These findings have some pedagogical implications for teachers to raise learners’ awareness of context, action, and linguistic and nonlinguistic TCUs in the production of speech act adjacency pairs.
Volume 14, Issue 2 (May & June 2023 2023)
Abstract
Due the importance of the lexicography and the scarcity of empirical research on the attitudes of the bilingual dictionary users, the current mixed-methods research attempted to investigate Iranian EFL learners, teachers, and translators’ attitudes toward the equality of the online and off-line bilingual English-Persian dictionaries. In doing so, first, a five-point Linkert scale questionnaire including 30 multiple-choice and five open-ended items that was developed and validated by the researches, was filled out by 34 translators, 86 university professors who taught translation courses at BA, MA, and Ph.D. levels, and 254 English translation studies students. Then, 10% of the participants were orally interviewed. Finally, focus group discussions (FGDs) were carried out with translation students. Participants mentioned negative attitudes toward the use of the current bilingual Persian-English dictionaries and they mentioned problems such as inadequate equivalents, inappropriate translations, obsolete use of Persian words, absence of all meanings and so forth. They mentioned that printed dictionaries were better than off-line and online ones. Kruskal-Wallis test showed no significant differences among the attitudes of the three groups of the participants. The findings of this study can help Iranian lexicographers develop better printed, offline, and online bilingual English-Persian dictionaries.
1. Introduction
The important position of English language as the most commonly used international language that is the first language of the United Nations and the mostly learned language of the world, has prompted its inclusion in the Iranian educational system from high school to university. Moreover, the translation from English language into Persian and vice versa has been very important at least from two centuries ago because of the extensive relationships between Iran and the English word (Safavi, 2015). Many attempts have been made to develop bilingual English-Persian dictionaries specifically over the past 100 years and some successful dictionaries have been compiled in Iran for this purpose (Lotfipour Saedi, 2013). Currently, many printed hardcover bilingual dictionaries and a dozen more off-line and online e-dictionaries are used by Iranian language learners, instructors, and translators. Despite all the attempts in lexicography in the Iranian context for developing better bilingual English-Persian dictionaries and despite many theoretical strengths claimed for such dictionaries, very few empirical studies have been done to date to investigate the effectiveness and comprehensive of the hardcover and e-dictionaries from the perspective of the real users. Accordingly, the present study sought to investigate Iranian EFL learners, teachers, and translators’ attitudes toward the quality of the available online and off-line bilingual English-Persian dictionaries using a mixed-methods research design. Specifically, the current study was launched to answer the two following research questions.
Research Questions:
- What are the attitudes of Iranian language learners, professors, and translators toward the quality of bilingual English Persian dictionaries? What are the most important features of a good dictionary? And what are the most useful hardcover, off-line, and online bilingual English-Persian dictionaries?
- Are there any significant differences between the attitudes of Iranian language learners, professors, and translators toward the quality of bilingual offline and online English-Persian dictionaries?
Lexicography has always been a very crucial practice for the communication among world languages specifically after the 18th century when trade, travel, and socio-political relationships among nations exponentially increased (Atkins, 1991). Lexicographers claimed that a good quality dictionary should possess some specific characteristics the first of which is the number of the words a bilingual dictionary includes (Hartmann et al., 2012; Nelson, 2020). The quantity or the number of the words a dictionary covers is still the most important element in its success. The inclusion of various meanings of the target words with regard to their different parts of speech and derivative forms also are remarkably important. However, deciding about the sequence of the meanings of the words was a difficult task for the early lexicographers although the new technologies and corpora can help the current lexicographers in better ways compared with their earlier counterparts. Researchers also claimed that the equivalents for various parts of speech are also important yardsticks for the quality of a dictionary (Bergenholtz & Agerbo, 2015). Moreover, according to lexicographers, a comprehensive and successful dictionary should also provide the most important collocations, multiword expressions, and idioms of the target language with very effective L1 equivalents (e.g. Cowie, 2009; Fuertes-Olivera, 2016; Ghanei Fard, 2005).
Providing the dictionary users with correct L1 equivalents is the biggest challenge in developing any bilingual dictionary. Hartmann (2001) said that, the appropriateness of the L1 equivalents seems to be the most important foundation for an effective dictionary. Of course, providing appropriate equivalents for all single words, multiword expressions, idiomatic expressions, and proverbs is a daunting task which requires extensive and assiduous work, cost, and time. Rundell (2012) mentioned that he appropriate equivalents can be singled out as the best the Rosetta Stone for judging the quality of bilingual dictionary. Dictionaries should also provide correct orthography and pronunciation for all the entries. Accordingly, dictionaries cannot represent all the dialects and accents of the same language and therefore they should limit their pronunciation to more standard dialects and accents. Lexicographers have also stated that bilingual dictionaries can and should provide very short examples for some of the most important words and wherever it is possible they should also include pictures, maps, charts, and visual and schematic representations to help the users get the appropriate meanings (Durkin, 2016).
Bilingual dictionaries should also provide users with the required information about the degree of formality and informality, the slang or colloquial usage, the ordinary or literary use, the archaic or current use of the words, and some information about the grammatical behaviour of the words. Using reader-friendly phonetic symbols to show the correct pronunciation is also of utmost importance from the point of lexicographers all over the world (e.g. Cowie, 2009; Hartmann et al., 2012; Jackson, 2013).
The above-mentioned criteria, as the most important criteria for comprehensive and effective bilingual dictionary, stand true for both printed and e-dictionaries. Of course, e-dictionaries enjoy some unique features like greater space for lexicographers to develop more comprehensive dictionaries without concerns for the entries that can be put in the same page and the print matters. Moreover, e-dictionaries can be upgraded more easily and quickly in comparison with the printed dictionaries (Nelson, 2020).
Concerning the quality of the bilingual Persian to English dictionaries, most of the aforementioned criteria have been pointed out by Persian lexicographers (e.g. Doroudian, 2013; Rezaei, 2009; Vosoughi, 2004).
Persian lexicography has also witnessed many positive changes in the turn-of-the-century in comparison with earlier versions of the dictionaries that developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Nonetheless, most of the claims about the quantitative nature of such dictionaries including both hardcover and e-dictionaries has been made by the dictionary developers and the lexicographers who helped the development of those dictionaries. Unfortunately, comparatively little empirical research has been done to investigate the quality of such dictionaries from the viewpoint of the true users of these dictionaries including language learners, instructors and university professors, and translators. Therefore, the present study aimed at filling this research gap in bilingual dictionary lexicography by examining the attitudes of the three aforementioned users of such dictionaries.
3. Methodology
The current mixed-methods study was conducted in some consecutive stages. First, a five-point Linkert scale questionnaire comprising 30 multiple-choice and five open-ended items was developed by the researches based on the existing literature about the quality of effective bilingual dictionaries and the attitudes of the lexicographers. The developed questionnaire was later validated in a pilot study and a reliability index of 0.84 was obtained and the needed modifications were made. Second, the developed questionnaire was distributed to the dictionary users in Iran (N=374) and 34 translators, 86 university professors, and 254 English translation studies students completed the questionnaire and sent it to the researcher through online social channels or in person. These participants were selected from the students and university professors at the State and Azad universities located in the capital cities of 20 Iranian provinces. The translators were also selected from among the successful Iranian translators who were the managers of formal translation institutes. After analysing the quantitative data gathered through the questionnaire, 10% of the participants were orally interviewed. During the final stage, some focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with 26 of the translation students to further delve into their attitudes about a quality of bilingual English-Persian dictionaries.
4. Results
Based on the study results, all three groups of participants mentioned that the current online and off-line bilingual English-Persian dictionaries had some serious problems with regard to the content, coverage, equivalents, up-to-datedness, and availability. Moreover, participants mentioned that most of these dictionaries suffered from inadequate equivalents, inappropriate translations, obsolete use of Persian words, absence of all meanings, lack of correct sequence of various meanings, absence of some recent idiomatic and multiword expressions and so forth. Generally, they pointed out that printed dictionaries had higher qualities than e-dictionaries including both off-line and online ones. Furthermore, data analysis using Kruskal-Wallis test revealed that the three groups of the participants had rather similar attitudes toward the shortcomings of the current bilingual English-Persian dictionaries. The attitudes were not significantly different from each other (χ2 (2) = 1.452, n=374, p= 0.314 > .05). The findings of the present study can provide some insights for Iranian lexicographers to develop more effective and comprehensive bilingual dictionaries and specifically they can develop a new generation of e-dictionaries which are more comprehensive and useful for the users
Volume 18, Issue 117 (November 2021)
Abstract
Snacks such as puffed corn are food products that have high consumption particularly by children. But unfortunately, these products have high calorie and low amount of useful components. One way to enhance their nutritional value can be using fruit powders in their formulation. In this study, barberry fruit powder (BFP) being as a rich source of bioactive components, was used in the formulation of puffed corn at levels of 0 (control sample), 2.5%, 5%, 7.5% and 10% and in the quality properties were analysed in the finished product. Results showed that antocyanins (from 3 to 110 ppm) increased by increasing the BFP, but pH (from 5.5 to 4.1) and oil content (from 25.5 to 19.5%) and water activity (from 0.8 to 0.65) were decreased. Also, samples containing BFP were in standard range. In addition, organoleptic tests of samples showed that sample containing 5% of BFP obtained the highest score and in higher amount of BFP the scores were decreased. In conclusion, the obtained results showed that there is possibility to produce puffed corn containing BFP which can be a new product with suitable nutritional properties and healthful in the market.
Volume 19, Issue 133 (February 2023)
Abstract
The cinnamon essential oil and extract nanoliposomes were prepared through thin layer hydration-ultrasonication technique, using lecithin and three different co-surfactants namely, glycerol, triacetin and propylene glycol, and Tween 80 as surfactant. Results showed that the propylene glycol led to production of the nanoliposomes with the smallest mean particle size (92.03 nm) with spherical-shaped and the greatest net-zeta potential value (-24.1 mV) and was selected as more suitable cosurfactant. Although antibacterial activity of cinnamon essential oil and extract were greater than those were encapsulated into nanoliposomes, both cinnamon essential oil and extract nanoliposomes exhibited high antibacterial activities against Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes bacteria strains. Results indicated that based on the minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations of the prepared samples, L. monocytogenes had higher resistance to the prepared cinnamon nanoliposomes. Then, six treatments including control, extract, nano-extract, essential oil, nano-essential oil and extract- essential oil were used for investigate the effect of cinnamon extract on shelf life of ground beef. Chemical (pH, TBA and TVN) and microbial parameters were detected periodically, as well as the effect of different treatments on ground beef inoculated with Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes were examined. The results showed that the extract has an antimicrobial and antioxidant properties and the nanoencapsulation process enhances the attributes mentioned, so that bacterial spoilage and oxidation process delayed in the ground meet contains nano-extract (p <0.05). The highest value of pH (6.58), TBA (0.081MDA/kg) and TVB-N (72.5mg/100g) in the control treatment on the 9th day was observed. While, the value of pH (6.09), TBA (0.002MDA/kg) and TVB-N (11.5mg/100g) was detected on the 9th day in the nanoencapsulated essence. According to the results obtained in present study nano-liposomal cinnamon extract can be used for extending shelf-life ground beef without causing undesirable effect in terms of oxidative stability and low microbial spoilage.
Volume 21, Issue 152 (October 2024)
Abstract
Buttermilk has many functional and nutritional impacts due to the presence of phospholipids and proteins in the membrane of fat cells. Based on this, the present study was designed to investigate the use of sweet buttermilk in free-fat strained yogurt (FFSY). For this purpose, ratios of 5, 10, and 15% (w/w) sweet buttermilk were used in the preparation of the yogurt base. This research was conducted in the form of a completely random design. On days 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20, the pH, dry matter (%), and protein (%) of the FFSY were evaluated. In addition, the viscosity (mPa.s) and the sensory analysis of the FFSY, including appearance, odor, taste & flavor, mouthfeel and, and general acceptance, were examined during the first and 20th days. The results showed that the pH of the samples containing buttermilk decreased more during shelf life (P > 0.05). Dry matter (%) decreased with increasing the buttermilk (%), although no significant change in dry matter was observed during the shelf life (P > 0.05). With increasing buttermilk (%), the protein (%) decreased and it did not change over the shelf life (P > 0.05). By reducing the buttermilk (%), the viscosity (mPa.s) also decreased (P > 0.05). The sensory evaluation test showed the FFSY containing 10% (w/w) buttermilk possessed the highest score for taste & flavor, mouthfeel, and general acceptance. Therefore, this treatment was selected as the best sample. In general, the present study showed that the use of buttermilk in the production of FFSY is functionally and practically useful.
Volume 29, Issue 4 (Winter 2023)
Abstract
Conceptual metaphor can be considered from modern linguistic theories that are concerned with metaphor in terms of meaning and connotation. This is fundamentally different with metaphor theory in classical literature. The new theorists see that the aesthetic of the metaphor is not confined to rhetoric and literature only, but also to meanings and connotations as well. In the related context, "Janson" and "Lykaf" are considered among the vanguard theorists in the field of conceptual metaphor who view the metaphor from a semantic perspective. In this research, and based on the descriptive-analytical method, we have studied the meaning of life in the poetry “Baland Al-Haidari”. And one of the most important findings that we reached in this article is that Al-Haidari mostly carries a pessimistic view that sometimes turns into absurdity. However, his poems may be interspersed with poems that carry a spirit of optimism in their folds accompanied by a glimmer of hope. Then Al-Haidari used the conceptual metaphor as a tool to express his viewpoint on the life that he lived with his flesh and blood. It can be said that the conceptual metaphor in Baland Al-Haidari's poetry stemmed from his bitter and tragic experiences in the reality of his life.
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