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Background: Self-harm is a conscious behavior in which a person damages his/her body tissues, but this behavior is not done with the intention of suicide. The present study compared cognitive fusion, risk-taking, and fathers' communication style between adolescents with and without self-harm. Methods: The population of this study included all adolescents with a history of self-harm who were referred to treatment centers in Shiraz, Iran, from April to September 2023. The research sample included 200 subjects (100 healthy people and 100 adolescents with a history of self-harm) who were selected using the convenience and purposeful sampling method. The participants completed the Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ; Gillanders et al., 2014), Iranian Adolescents Risk-taking Scale (IARS; Zadeh Mohammadi, Ahmadabadi, & Heidari, 2011), and Parent-Child Relationship Scale (PCRS; Fine, Moreland, & Schwebel, 1983). The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software with a two-tailed 5% level of significance. Results: The results showed a significant difference between adolescents with and without self-harm in terms of cognitive fusion (F = 41.38; P < 0.050), cognitive defusion (F = 45.09; P < 0.050), cognitive fusion (F = 29.37; P < 0.050), risk-taking (F = 47.72; P < 0.050), and communication style with their father (F = 31.86; P < 0.001). Moreover, the group of adolescents with self-harm scored higher in cognitive fusion, risk-taking, and communication style with the father. Conclusion: According to the results, adolescents with self-harm have higher cognitive fusion and risk-taking and an unfavorable communication style with their father compared to adolescents without self-harm, so these variables are crucial in clinical interventions for treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Tuberculosis (TB) is a significant public health concern in Afghanistan, with a high burden of disease in the western province of Herat. This study explored the risk factors of TB and TB's impact on the quality of life of patients in Herat. Methods: A total of 422 TB patients and 514 controls were recruited at Herat Regional Hospital and relevant TB laboratories between October 2020 and February 2021. Data was collected through interviews using a structured questionnaire and the SF-36 questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, Multivariate General Linear Model, and logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Results: The results showed that male sex (p = 0.023), chronic disease (p = 0.038), lower education levels (p < 0.001), and worse health status (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with higher odds of TB infection. The study also found that TB patients had significantly lower quality of life scores in almost all components (p < 0.05). Conclusion: This study provides important insights into the specific ways in which TB affects the wellbeing of patients in Afghanistan. The findings highlight the importance of addressing the psychological and social dimensions of TB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teacher self-disclosure (TSD) as a communication behavior can influence students' learning by increasing their engagement and class participation as well as helping them establish effective interpersonal relationships. Owning to its context-sensitive and culture-dependent nature, however, TSD topics, purposes, and considerations may vary cross-culturally. This study was an attempt to explore Iranian EFL teachers' perceptions of appropriateness of TSD as well as to investigate whether there was a significant difference between male and female teachers' perceptions of appropriateness of TSD. To this end, the Appropriateness of Teacher Self-Disclosure Scale was distributed among 68 Iranian EFL teachers (34 females and 34 males) from six language institutes. The results of the study indicated the extent to which the Iranian EFL teachers perceived TSD topics, purposes, and considerations to be appropriate or inappropriate. Furthermore, the study found convergence and divergence between male and female teachers' perceptions in terms of the topics used in TSD, the purposes TSD serves in classroom, and considerations the teachers take into account when practicing TSD. The results of the study suggest that Iranian EFL teachers can practice TSD as a pedagogical tool to enhance learning although they should be wary of its consequences in some aspects as TSD is contingent upon context and culture.

The study aimed at presenting how materials developers can design materials based on the tenets of Critical Pedagogy (CP). Having reviewed the literature on CP, the present study attempted to propose ideas for the selection and gradation phase of Materials Development in line with the tenets of CP. The distinguishing feature of the study was to exemplify a critical class with critical materials by drawing upon Freires' Problem Posing, Generative Themes, and Concentric Circles concepts. Additionally, the study proposed Immediacy and Comparison to be employed as tools to select and gradate the content of critical materials.

In recent years, teachers' self-efficacy has demonstrated a profound influence on the daily lives of teachers and their students. However, little is known about the relationship between teachers' personality traits and their self-efficacy. To gain more insight into this area, this study sought to explore the interface between 100 male and female EFL instructors' personality and their self-efficacy at 11 English language institutes in Bandar Abbas, Iran. In order to glean data, two instruments were applied: the NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFIR), and Second Language Teaching Efficacy Scale (SLTES). Moreover, to see whether there was a significant relationship between the variables under study, Spearman Rank Order Correlation was applied to analyze the data. At the end, the results revealed a significant relationship between EFL instructors' personality and their self-efficacy. In addition, it is concluded that there is a meaningful and positive relationship between Extroversion, Openness, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and the traits of self-efficacy; nevertheless, the relationship between Neuroticism and each trait of self-efficacy turns out to be negative. Moreover, the results revealed that Agreeableness is the best predictor for student engagement, extraversion is the most important predictor for instructional strategies and classroom management, and the best predictors of self-efficacy are classroom management for extraversion and student engagement for agreeableness.

Due to the unquestionable roles of technology in language classes, it might be necessary to use computers in assessing language knowledge. This study aimed to examine how computers may be used to assess language ability of [English for Specific Purposes] ESP students. Sixty computer-major university students at Abadan University are the participants of this study. They have taken an ESP course for a four-month academic term. To measure these participants' ESP knowledge, two types of tests were used: a final achievement test based on course content, and a computer-assisted test based on [target language use] TLU domain. The study used a computer-assisted test to highlight the validity of the final achievement test. This study also investigated ESP students' perception of computer-supported assessment and highlighted some obstacles that may hinder e-supported activities in an Iranian context. Regarding the findings, the study points to the possibility of using computer-assisted assessment as an alternative to the present a mainstream testing system.

This study aims to explore the effects of implementing a CALL framework on the students' perceptions of their communication classroom environments. The What Is Happening In This Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire was distributed twice among 34 (F=14 and M=20) Iranian EFL students, the first time after a ten-session-long regular no-tech communication class and the other time after a ten-session-long communication class informed by a CALL framework. The data were analyzed using SPSS and the results showed that there was a significant difference (p<0.05) between the participants' perceptions of each dimension (i.e, Student cohesiveness, Teacher support, Involvement, Task orientation, Cooperation, and Equity) of their communication classroom before and after introducing the CALL framework. The CALL-informed communication class led to a learning environment that was perceived by students as more efficient and learner-centered. The work uses the concept of learning environment, which is claimed to take into account many different aspects of a learning context and hence comprehensive, to explore practicality of CALL ideas for an EFL classroom.

A growing body of investigations on second language teaching and learning is now being devoted to the international use of network information and communication technology known as e-learning. Individualized self-paced e-learning offline and online are two of the common e-learning modalities used by language teachers and learners (Romiszowski (2004). Since one of the aspects of language learning is reading comprehension, this study aimed at finding out whether online or offline reading materials could make a significant difference in the comprehension of English or not. For this purpose, a number of 85 EFL students at Islamic Azad University, Abadeh and Shiraz Branch were selected. After they were proved to be homogeneous through a reading comprehension pre-test, they were divided into two groups; one of them was assigned the already printed materials selected from the online pages of different newspapers for their reading comprehension practice, whereas the second group was given the homepage of the same online-paper pages to surf the net and read online. After a period of three months, the same reading comprehension test used in the pre-test was administered to both groups as the pos-test. The results showed that with the same hypertexts, learners who read online were able to improve their reading comprehension more and outperformed the other group. This implies that since online reading gives the learners a better opportunity to use related links on the page, they are exposed to more reading materials and accordingly can enhance their comprehension better.

This study uses a multilevel hedonic model to examine information from official sources including the population census, the land-use map, and the field survey to draw conclusions about the 32,108 Tehran residences that make up the statistical sample. These results show that other factors besides proximity to urban facilities are important in determining the value of a home in Tehran, Iran. The results show that proximity to education, culture, entertainment, tourism, administration, and social service centers has a positive effect on housing prices, while proximity to some urban amenities, such as medical centers, commercial strips, and parks, has a negative effect on housing prices. This gap can be explained in part by the externalities of these facilities, including the creation of through traffic, congestion, and reduced security levels, which discourage home buyers from getting too close to these amenities. Furthermore, the study found that the effect of proximity differs from that of service provision at the neighborhood level. For example, while the presence of a medical/health center at neighborhood level was found to be a positive determinant of house prices, its proximity had a negative effect on house prices. In fact, home buyers prefer to purchase properties in neighborhoods that offer such amenities but are less likely to purchase properties in areas adjacent to such amenities. The higher the ratio of nonresidential to residential uses, the higher the price of housing in those areas. In fact, this shows the advantage of neighborhoods with a variety of uses more than single-use neighborhoods. The data also demonstrate that the variances across neighborhoods in Tehran account for a significant amount of the housing price variation, with 11% and 48% of the total variance attributed to local and regional levels of analysis, respectively. This highlights the nested and hierarchical nature of housing price data and the use of multilevel modeling for estimating home prices in Tehran. The results presented in this work may have theoretical and practical uses for scholars, insurance firms, banks, real estate developers, and others in the field of property economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Parenting is a difficult but enjoyable process. When aligned with children's developmental process, parenting reduces problems and empowers children for better behavioral and emotional functioning. Therefore, this study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of positive parenting program (Triple P) and mindful parenting (MP) on the level of preschool children's social development. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest, control design and a 3-month follow-up. The study population included all mothers of preschool children in Shiraz in the educational year 2019-2020. The sample consisted of 45 mothers who were selected using convenience sampling and were then randomly assigned to two experimental groups, each including 15 mothers. First, the Children's Communication Checklist (CCC) (Bishop, 1998) was completed by the children's mothers. Then, the first experimental group participated in Triple P sessions (Sanders et al., 2005) and the second experimental group took part in mindful parenting sessions (Duncan, Coatsworth, Gayles, Geier, & Greenberg, 2015). The control group did not receive any treatment. Subsequently, the aforementioned questionnaire was completed again by the mothers in the three groups. The collected data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA in SPSS software. Results: The results indicated that Triple P had a more positive effect on children's social development level (p < 0.05) and the components of suitable initiation (P < 0.01) and social skills (p < 0.001) than MP training. Furthermore, the effectiveness of MP training on the children's ability for suitable communication (P < 0.01) was greater than the Triple P. Conclusion: Therefore, positive parenting and MP are both good ways to promote a child's social development. Thus, positive parenting program can be used as the preferred method for mothers to increase the social development of their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) has infected about 50% of the world's population and it is the main cause for peptic ulcer, gastric adenocarcinoma and even a major cause for gastric MALT lymphoma. Methods: This study was performed in Mazandaran, Sari, situated in North of Iran. Three-hundred and twenty-eight adult patients with endoscopically approved gastric or duodenal ulcers or erosions and H. pylori infection were randomly divided into 2 groups to receive either 14 days PABT (Pantoprazole 40 mg, Amoxicillin 1 g, Bismuth 425 mg (all twice daily) and Tetracycline 500 mg four times a day) and PACM (Pantoprazole 40 mg, Amoxicillin 1g, Clarithromycin 500 mg, and Metronidazole 500 mg, all twice daily). To evaluate H. pylori eradication, fecal H. pylori antigen test was performed 8 weeks after treatment. Results: The eradication rates were 94.51% in the PABT and 91.46% in PACM group based on the intention to treat analysis. Moreover, the eradication rates were 95.58% and 92.72% according to per-protocol analysis, respectively. Also, both groups had very low rates of severe side effects. Conclusion: Regarding the ideal eradication rates achieved by both treatment groups and the low rates of severe side effects, both treatment protocols can be prescribed for H. pylori eradication in North of Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]