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Ecological consciousness and ecosophical participation in Ki. Rajanarayanan’s Pinjugal
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: children’s literature, ecocriticism, ecofeminism, eco-literacy, ecosophy Ecocriticism, as an interdisciplinary field, seeks to understand the intricate connections between humankind and the biosphere as represented in literature and other cultural artifacts. It ultimately calls for a shift from human-centric lifestyles toward ecological harmony. Rooted in textual analysis and theoretical synthesis, the present study draws on insights from ecocriticism and its allied fields – ecosophy and ecofeminism – to examine the ecological consciousness expressed in Pinjugal (1979), a Tamil children’s novella by the acclaimed writer Ki. Rajanarayanan. The analysis interprets the value of nonhuman entities—particularly the rural landscape and its life-forms—that gradually guide the young protagonist Venkatesu (a dropout schoolboy) toward active ecological participation and ultimately towards eco-wisdom. The study also explores the eco-ethics held by the characters (though marked by inherent contradictions) that demonstrate their heightened awareness of the natural world. Pinjugal is thus posed as a testament to the potential of indigenous children’s literature to instill eco-ethics and sustainable living.
children’s literature, ecocriticism, ecofeminism, eco-literacy, ecosophy
Copyright (c) 2026 M.S. Siddharth Prabhu, D. Praveen Sam https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Analytical review of contemporary speculative literature: Foresighting the future of health, energy, and economics within strategic pillars and the 2030 SDG framework
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: speculative literature, cultural foresight, ecocriticism, medical humanities, energy humanities, political economy, critical dystopia, Sustainable Development Goals This article argues that contemporary speculative literature operates as a mode of cultural foresight through which writers test, complicate, and ethically evaluate possible futures of health, energy, and economics. Rather than treating speculative fiction as a crude predictive machine, I read it as a literary practice of scenario-making that reveals hidden interdependencies between bodily vulnerability, infrastructural power, and political economy. Situated at the intersection of English literary studies, speculative fiction studies, ecocriticism, medical humanities, energy humanities, and sustainability discourse, the essay examines how narrative form, temporality, metaphor, and world-building render the future thinkable at human scale while keeping structural forces in view. The discussion proceeds through three major clusters. First, it reads pandemic, biotechnological, and biopolitical narratives to show that speculative literature imagines health not merely as a medical condition but as a question of care, access, reproductive justice, disability, and institutional trust. Second, it turns to climate crisis, fossil-fuel dependence, extractivism, water stress, and renewable imaginaries to show how speculative texts make energy legible as culture, conflict, and planetary infrastructure. Third, it examines labor, automation, inequality, scarcity, and post-growth possibilities to demonstrate that the genre persistently turns economic abstraction into lived experience. Throughout, the article connects these literary futures to the strategic logics of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDGs 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 13. I conclude that contemporary speculative literature does not deliver policy blueprints, but it performs an equally important task: it trains ethical attention, widens political imagination, and offers narrative laboratories for more just and sustainable futures.
speculative literature, cultural foresight, ecocriticism, medical humanities, energy humanities, political economy, critical dystopia, Sustainable Development Goals
Copyright (c) 2026 Ghassan Nawaf Jaber Alhomoud, Sayed M Ismail, Nisar Ahmad Koka https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
The impact of teacher feedback strategies on writing accuracy among EFL learners
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: teacher feedback, writing accuracy, EFL learners, corrective feedback, learning opportunities This study investigates the effectiveness of different teacher feedback strategies on improving writing accuracy among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in Pakistani higher education contexts. Writing accuracy remains a critical challenge for Pakistani EFL learners due to limited exposure to English in authentic communicative settings, traditional grammar-translation pedagogies, and insufficient writing instruction. Employing a mixed-methods approach, this research examines three feedback strategies, direct corrective feedback, indirect coded feedback, and metalinguistic feedback applied to 120 undergraduate students across three intact classes at a public sector university in Punjab, Pakistan. Quantitative analysis of pre-test and post-test writing samples measured changes in grammatical accuracy, lexical accuracy, and mechanical accuracy over a 12-week intervention period. Qualitative data from student interviews and teacher reflective journals provided insights into learner perceptions and implementation challenges. Findings reveal that indirect coded feedback produced the most significant improvements in overall writing accuracy (p < 0.001), particularly in grammatical accuracy, while direct corrective feedback showed effectiveness for lower-proficiency learners in mechanical accuracy. Metalinguistic feedback enhanced learners' metalinguistic awareness but required more instructional time. Student interviews revealed preferences for feedback that balanced clarity with cognitive engagement. The study contributes empirical evidence to the ongoing debate about optimal feedback strategies in resource-constrained EFL contexts and offers practical recommendations for Pakistani English language educators seeking to enhance writing instruction through strategic feedback implementation.
teacher feedback, writing accuracy, EFL learners, corrective feedback, learning opportunities
Copyright (c) 2026 Shamim Akhter, Tribhuwan Kumar, Dr. Madhurima Srivastava, Rabindra Dev Prasad, Anindita Borah https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
James McCreet’s Neo-Victorian novels and the critique of Victorian culture
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: Neo-Victorian fiction, Victorian culture, James McCreet, cultural critique, historical fiction, postmodernism, intertextuality, marginalized groups, deformity, freak show performers, penal deportation, crime fiction This study explores how contemporary novelist James McCreet revisits Victorian society to challenge dominant historical narratives and give voice to marginalized figures. In his novels, McCreet exposes the marginalization of the physically deformed, the transportees, and the poor. By examining how neo-Victorian fiction reimagines the past, the paper highlights the importance of questioning inherited cultural hierarchies and binary oppositions that continue to shape modern thinking. This paper examines the way James McCreet (b. 1971) writes back to the Victorian center. As a neo-Victorianist, McCreet views the Victorian society as a site for conflicting voices. As such, he brings the marginalized individuals from the Victorian society to the center.
Neo-Victorian fiction, Victorian culture, James McCreet, cultural critique, historical fiction, postmodernism, intertextuality, marginalized groups, deformity, freak show performers, penal deportation, crime fiction
Copyright (c) 2026 Inas Ababneh https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
An applied linguistic comparison of basic and critical reading skills among EFL learners
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: critical reading, linguistics, English, ELT, reading skill, students, universities This study compared students’ competence in basic reading skills and critical reading skills. The researcher chose a reading comprehension text entitled The Buy Nothing Movement and designed ten questions to test the competence of the basic reading skills of the students and another ten questions to test the competence of their critical reading skills. The participants in this study were forty BA English language students at the Applied Science Private University, in the English Language and Translation Department. The results revealed that the students’ competence in answering the basic reading skills questions was much better than answering the critical reading skills questions; the answers to the basic questions were more complete, correct, and competent than the answers to the critical questions. In the end, the researcher recommended that English teachers must give special attention to critical reading questions while teaching reading skills.
critical reading, linguistics, English, ELT, reading skill, students, universities
Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Niveen Mohammad Zayed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Kazim Ali's poetry: Sky Ward negotiating postmodern identity
Section: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: postmodernist features, Kazim Ali’s poetry, technology, technological advancements The postmodern belief is more mental structures in response to rapid changes in thinking, creativity, awareness, conduct, and authority. Kazim Ali is a contemporary poet inspired by technology. Sky Ward, his poetry book, examines how technology affects relationships and creativity. In this research, postmodernist features in Kazim Ali's poetry are analyzed, along with how he metaphorically reflects his native North America and his ancestors' homelands in his writing. This study takes a multifaceted look at the poetics of diaspora, with a particular focus on the diasporic identities of those who are of the second generation of immigrant families. This study also investigates the ways in which second-generation immigrants construct metaphorical homelands via the use of familial narrative and early recollections of their ancestors. In addition to this, it investigates the ways in which loss expresses itself for authors who live in liminality, as well as the ways in which contradicting experiences or plurality are depicted by gaps in both the formal structure of a poem and its intellectual landscape.
postmodernist features, Kazim Ali’s poetry, technology, technological advancements
Copyright (c) 2026 Nehal Ali, Dr. Mohsen Abbas https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
The effectiveness of an integration based training program in developing interdisciplinary thinking skills and students’ attitudes towards transdisciplinary projects
Section: Articles Keywords: postmodernist features, Kazim Ali’s poetry, technology, technological advancements This research aims to investigate the effectiveness of an integration-based training program in developing interdisciplinary thinking skills and students' attitudes towards Transdisciplinary Projects. To achieve this, a quasi-experimental design with a single group and pre- and post-testing was used. The measurement tools consisted of an interdisciplinary thinking skills test and an attitude questionnaire towards Transdisciplinary Projects. The research was conducted with a group of (60) first-year students at the College of Public Health, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, during the second semester of the academic year (2024-2025). The research yielded several results, most notably that the integration-based training program contributed to developing interdisciplinary thinking skills and improving students' attitudes towards Transdisciplinary projects. This has already led to their inclusion in the curriculum of some courses. Based on these results, the research recommends a set of recommendations
Copyright (c) 2026 Ali Alwardany Ali Omar, Walaa Saleh Megahed Saleh, Mona Abdelmoneim Ebrahim, Marwa Torki, Noha Hamoudah, Manal ElSayed Ahmed Ali https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Trauma through cognitive lenses: Disrupted time and memory in slaughterhouse-five
Section: Articles Keywords: mental spaces theory, trauma, corpora, narrative, challenges, strategies This study intends to assess Slaughterhouse-Five using Mental Spaces Theory, finding out how the war trauma disturbs our understanding of time and memory. It investigates how Billy Pilgrim’s involvements of existence ‘unstuck in time’ characterize the psychological properties of war. In merging trauma, cognitive linguistics and literary studies, the study expands multidisciplinary practices for examining combat tales. It drives beyond symbolic or historical readings of Slaughterhouse-Five, emphasizing the descriptive power of Mental Spaces Theory in understanding narrative ruin. A hybrid textual analysis utilised on Fauconnier’s Mental Spaces Theory and trauma theory. Significant instants including time shifts, memory loops, and mythical places such as Tralfamadore are thematically investigated as created mental concepts that help the protagonist traverse terrible trials. The findings indicated chronicle tendencies which identified to determine the cognitive reform of time and memory in the scenery of trauma. Accordingly, the scrappy timeline in Slaughterhouse-Five allows the mind to deal with unpleasant experiences. The theory enables past, present, and potential futures’ coexistence, representing the nonlinear nature of traumatic memory recollection. Further implications are identified for policymakers and translation education through understanding trauma tales as mental operations more willingly than narrative deviations.
mental spaces theory, trauma, corpora, narrative, challenges, strategies
Copyright (c) 2026 Bilal K Khalaf, Linda S Al-Abbas, Sarah N Hasan, Marwan H Alqaryouti, Omar M Alali https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Voices of learning: Investigating the impact of Nasheed (Hymns) on language acquisition among international students in Jordan
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: Reading Skill, Teaching Curricula, Language Skills, Communication Skills This study aimed to study the effect of nasheed in enhancing language acquisition among international students at the Applied Science Private University in Jordan. The semi-experimental approach was used, and the study members consisted of 40 foreign students who did not speak Arabic at the Applied Science Private University. The sample was divided into two parts: an experimental group (20 students) and a control group (20 students). The experimental group studied the use of chants to develop Language skills, especially oral expression, which are important for communicating with the outside community, while the control group was studied using traditional methods. Pre- and post-tests were applied to the study samples. The achievement test was prepared as a tool, and the data was analysed statistically. The results showed that there were statistically significant differences in favour of the experimental group, which confirms the effectiveness of using songs in developing Arabic language skills among non-native Arabic-speaking foreigners. I recommend activating the role of nasheed in the educational process because of its positive impact, which leads to improving the performance of students in general.
Copyright (c) 2026 Zakaria Mahmoud Almubasher, Mohammed O. Abu-Rahme, Almu'tasembellah Mustafa Kh. Dabash, Ahmad Mohammad AL-Salman https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Translating food idioms across the English-Arabic language divide: A comparative study of human translators, ChatGPT, and Gemini
Section: Articles Keywords: food idioms, English–Arabic translation, Arabic–English translation, idiom translation, ChatGPT, Gemini, human translation, cultural equivalence, pragmatic appropriateness Idiomatic expressions, especially those rooted in the universal domain of food, represent one of the most culture-embedded and translation-difficult forms of language. The current study aims to examine the translation of twenty English food idioms into Arabic and twenty Arabic food idioms into English by human professional translators, as well as two of the most prominent large language models (LLMs): ChatGPT (GPT-4o) and Google Gemini Advanced. A mixed-methods approach is used to evaluate the performance of all sixty translations of each idiom on four criteria: semantic equivalence (SE)1., pragmatic appropriateness (PA), cultural adaptation (CA), and natural fluency (NF), with a five-point scale for each. A composite translation quality score is derived for each translator/agent. The results show that human professional translators outperform the two LLMs on all criteria with a mean translation quality score of 5.00, compared to 3.83 for ChatGPT and 3.60 for Gemini. The results also show the greatest performance gap between human translators and the two LLMs is on cultural adaptation. The results of the current study have important implications for the pedagogy of translation, translation practice, and the development of culturally sensitive AI translation tools.
food idioms, English–Arabic translation, Arabic–English translation, idiom translation, ChatGPT, Gemini, human translation, cultural equivalence, pragmatic appropriateness
Copyright (c) 2026 Sadam Megdadi, Zakaryia Almahasees, Ahmad Al-Harahsheh, Rafat M Alrousan, Mohammad Anwar Al-Taher, Islam Husienat https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Visual paradox as a means of visual semantic foregrounding
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: Advertising imagery, semantic foregrounding, visual paradox This study explores the role of visual paradox as a stylistic device for achieving semantic foregrounding in advertising imagery, addressing an overlooked gap in research on visual semiotics. It focuses on how paradox shapes meaning and enhances communicative impact within multimodal contexts. The study investigates two selected advertisements—Seiko Lassale and Nestlé Munch Bunch—and adopts a triangulated qualitative approach that integrates semiotic-stylistic analysis, audience reception through a questionnaire involving 30 university students, and expert interviews with specialists in visual communication and cognitive semiotics. The findings demonstrate that paradox, created through techniques such as spatial disruption, role reversal, and unexpected visual juxtapositions, provokes psychological defamiliarization, captures the viewer’s attention, and stimulates deeper interpretive engagement. Key visual strategies, including compositional structure, contrasts in lighting, nuanced color blending, and the application of linear perspective via the Ponzo illusion, are shown to be essential in generating paradoxical effects. The study argues that paradox should not be viewed merely as an aesthetic ornament but as an intentional cognitive and persuasive strategy that reinforces the communicative strength of advertising images. It further highlights their stylistic and psychological dimensions, showing how paradox simultaneously activates cognitive processing and emotional response, thereby enhancing both the memorability and persuasive power of advertising discourse. Ultimately, the study offers a fresh contribution to multimodal stylistics and visual semiotics by positioning paradox as a central tool for semantic foregrounding in contemporary advertising.
Copyright (c) 2026 Hanene Lahiani, Fawzi Alghazali, Moustafa Mohamed Abouelnour, Ahmad Mohammad Al Mahamed, Mohamad Abou Adel https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Translating culture through AI: Evaluating the performance of ChatGPT and Gemini in rendering Arabic and English proverbs
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: translation, artificial intelligence, ChatGPT, Gemini, idiomatic expressions, proverbs, translation strategies, English, Arabic The use of artificial intelligence in various areas is a growing phenomenon. Translation is a field that has long been associated with machine assistance and automation. This study examines AI translation tools' abilities to adequately transfer meaning culturally and functionally beyond word replacement. For this purpose, a sample of 50 proverbs was selected due to their cultural non-literal sense. The prominent AI tools, namely Gemini and ChatGPT, were selected as translation programs due to their growing use, especially in translation. The analysis worked with Arabic and English, each serving as both source and target languages. The results showed that the translation program and translation direction influenced the outcomes. Additionally, the quantitative analysis showed that among literal translation, paraphrasing, and cultural substitution, GPT was most likely to employ the first strategy while Gemini showed a tendency for the last. Furthermore, GPT showed a more balanced distribution of strategies even across languages. Meanwhile, Gemini’s strategy use varied especially when comparing the use of paraphrase in each direction. The qualitative analysis indicated that Gemini outperformed ChatGPT. The analysis also showed that cultural substitution has the highest potential in recreating the function of the ST, while literal translation was most likely to cause translation loss. Moreover, the programs, especially ChatGPT, could still commit translation errors that modified sense even when employing strategies like paraphrase and cultural substitution as they lack cultural nuance and critical thinking skills. The study recommends the development of parallel corpora that contain culturally equivalent idioms based on usage, so people do not rely on programs that may fall short in transferring meaning.
translation, artificial intelligence, ChatGPT, Gemini, idiomatic expressions, proverbs, translation strategies, English, Arabic
Copyright (c) 2026 Eman Alshammari https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Reading power, violence, and gender anxiety in Shakespeare’s Macbeth: Re-reading the play in a contemporary context
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: Macbeth, Shakespeare, power, violence, gender anxiety, sovereignty, toxic masculinity, witchcraft, adaptation, contemporary criticism This manuscript argues that Macbeth is best understood not simply as a tragedy of vaulting ambition, but as a dense dramatic inquiry into the unstable relationship among sovereign power, spectacular violence, and gender anxiety. Through close reading and interdisciplinary synthesis, the essay shows that the play imagines kingship as a problem of legitimacy that is never fully separable from force. Duncan’s rule depends upon military violence, Macbeth’s rise converts publicly sanctioned violence into terroristic self-preservation, and Malcolm’s restoration remains shadowed by the same structures of martial masculinity that enabled the usurpation in the first place. At the level of imagery and embodiment, Macbeth repeatedly stages wounded, violated, and threatened bodies: the bleeding captain, the floating dagger, the murdered sleepers, Banquo’s ghost, Lady Macduff and her child, Macduff’s “pretty chickens,” and Lady Macbeth’s compulsively washing hands. These bodies are not incidental. They are the means by which political order is made visible, contested, and internalized. The essay further contends that gender anxiety is not a secondary theme but one of the principal motors of the tragedy. Lady Macbeth’s prayer to be “unsexed,” the witches’ bearded bodies, the recurrent language of milk, gall, birth, and children, and the repeated testing of manhood all indicate that Macbeth locates political crisis in unstable fantasies about sex, gender, and reproduction. Masculinity in the play requires constant proof; femininity is idealized as nurture and simultaneously feared as a source of disorder; and reproductive futurity becomes a field of intense violence. A contemporary re-reading therefore reveals Macbeth as an uncannily durable drama of authoritarian desire, toxic masculinity, crisis rhetoric, charisma, media spectacle, and the destruction of intimate life by militarized politics. To make that contemporary argument, the essay brings established Shakespeare criticism into conversation with broader theoretical work on sovereignty, trauma, affect, performativity, and adaptation, while also drawing on twenty sources from Ianna Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies as an interdisciplinary bridge to current debates on women’s empowerment, media representation, digital democracy, marginalization, gendered labor, trauma, and collective violence. The conclusion is that Macbeth endures because it shows how power secured through violence produces not mastery but psychic disintegration, institutional fragility, and a permanently anxious theater of gender.
Macbeth, Shakespeare, power, violence, gender anxiety, sovereignty, toxic masculinity, witchcraft, adaptation, contemporary criticism
Copyright (c) 2026 Rommel Mahmoud AlAli, Mohammad Ahmad Shehadeh Alomari, Aayesha Sagir Khan, Ali Abdullatif https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Reading the waste land in the age of anxiety: Fragmentation, cultural dislocation, power, and violence in contemporary perspective
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: T. S. Eliot, The Waste Land, modernism; anxiety, fragmentation, cultural dislocation, violence, media, precarity, contemporary criticism This manuscript argues that T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land remains one of the most illuminating poetic anatomies of anxiety because it does not merely describe crisis; it formalizes it. The poem’s abrupt shifts of speaker, place, register, quotation, and language do not function as ornamented modernist difficulty alone. They enact the lived temporality of fractured attention, deferred mourning, historical overload, and cultural dislocation. By reading the poem through modernist criticism, trauma theory, affect studies, urban theory, media theory, and contemporary discussions of digital precarity, climate unease, disinformation, and social fragmentation, this study shows how The Waste Land continues to speak powerfully to the present. Its “heap of broken images” is not simply a figure for postwar ruin; it is also a durable model of what it feels like to inhabit institutions, mediascapes, and economies that disrupt continuity, weaken shared meaning, and estrange subjects from place, memory, and one another. The article therefore brings together canonical Eliot scholarship with contemporary interdisciplinary work, including recent studies from the Ianna Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies on mental health, social media, disinformation, climate perception, cultural resilience, and ethical digital life. The central claim is that The Waste Land should be read today not as an artifact safely enclosed within the crisis of 1922, but as a continuing diagnostic poem whose form anticipates contemporary structures of anxious life: accelerated perception, intimate depletion, mediated violence, ecological dread, and the difficulty of imagining collective repair.
T. S. Eliot, The Waste Land, modernism; anxiety, fragmentation, cultural dislocation, violence, media, precarity, contemporary criticism
Copyright (c) 2026 Shoeb Saleh, Mohammad Ahmad Shehadeh Alomari, Eid Awad Abd Elsayed Hassan, Aayesha Sagir Khan, Ashraf M Zaher https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Blended learning as a pedagogical framework for developing e-marketing literacy and applied skills among secondary school English language students
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: blended learning strategy, digital marketing concepts, digital marketing skills, knowledge acquisition The study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the blended learning strategy in developing the concepts and skills of e-marketing among female students in the first grade of commercial secondary school. The intervention of study was administrated to a sample of (40) female students at Tema E- Educational Commercial Secondary School, using a test of cognitive achievement to measure the conceptual aspect, and a card to evaluate the outcome to measure performance skills. A comprehensive list was developed that included (30) concepts and (4) main skills subdivided into (24) sub-skills, all of which were implemented within the framework of a blended learning environment designed according to design models Educational. The results showed the effectiveness of strategy in improving cognitive achievement and developing practical skills, in addition to enhancing interaction and motivation towards learning, which reflects the feasibility of employing blended learning environments in technical and commercial education, and it is consistent with the results of previous studies that confirmed its positive effect on improving achievement and skills development.
blended learning strategy, digital marketing concepts, digital marketing skills, knowledge acquisition
Copyright (c) 2026 Shoeb Saleh, Eid Awad Abd Elsayed Hassan, Adam Basheer Adam Kegour, Anees Abdulatif Masha, Nisar Ahmad Koka, Mohammad Ahmad Shehadeh Alomari https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Reimagining service learning in the AI Era: Novice teachers’ perceptions of life and career skills and community participation
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: service learning, artificial intelligence, novice teachers, life and career skills, community participation This study explores how novice teachers make sense of life and career skills, community participation, and the role of artificial intelligence within service learning in the AI era. It adopts a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design, drawing on data from 362 novice teachers across Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Sudan. A structured questionnaire was used to examine three key dimensions: perceptions of life and career skills, perceptions of community participation, and perceptions of artificial intelligence in service learning contexts, followed by semi-structured interviews with a randomly selected group of participants to gain deeper insights. The findings suggest that novice teachers place strong value on life and career skills, especially problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication, which they see as essential for dealing with everyday classroom challenges. However, some areas, such as leadership and time management, appear less consistently developed, reflecting the realities of early career teaching. Community participation is also viewed positively, yet actual engagement remains limited, with teachers pointing to workload, time constraints, and limited institutional support as key barriers. In relation to artificial intelligence, teachers generally express positive attitudes, particularly regarding its role in supporting teaching practices, improving access to resources, and encouraging creativity. However, uncertainty remains about how to meaningfully integrate AI into service learning and community engagement. Overall, the study highlights a transitional stage in teaching, where professional skills, community engagement, and technology are present but not yet fully integrated, pointing to the need for more connected and practice-oriented approaches in teacher development.
service learning, artificial intelligence, novice teachers, life and career skills, community participation
Copyright (c) 2026 Samia Mokhtar Shahpo, Nora A Almadani, Noha Hsan Alfadil, Maryam Ahmed Alomair, Alaaeldin Ahmed Hamid, Mahmoud Mohamed Yaseen https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Separation and the modified and interposition between the adjective noun- The Holy Qur’an as a model
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: separation and interposition, adjective and modified noun (Al-Sifa wa al-Mawsuf), The Holy Qur’an, model The Arabic language generally does not permit the separation of a follower* (Tabi’) from its antecedent (Matbu’) except in rare instances, often regarded as poetic necessity or linguistic anomalies that are memorized rather than used as a basis for analogy. Accordingly, this research aims to identify the interpolations separating the adjective (Sifa) and the modified noun (Mawsuf) within the Holy Qur’an. It provides a structural and semantic analysis of these separators while uncovering their functional dimensions and discussing related linguistic issues to determine what aligns with or contradicts the views of traditional grammarians. The research adopts a descriptive-analytical methodology. Among its key findings is the diversity of separators between the adjective and the modified noun in the Qur’anic text, including: (The delayed subject, the predicate, the agent/subject, the object, exception, conjunction, verbal clauses, apodosis of an oath, parenthetical sentences, explanatory sentences, phrasal structures, and conditional particles with their subsequent clauses). Furthermore, the study highlights novel instances not previously addressed by grammarians, such as the separation between an adjective and its noun located within a conditional response by the conditional particle and its clause, and separation via conjunctions and the coordinated noun. The semantic study also revealed significant rhetorical purposes, most notably: reinforcing and establishing facts in the listener's mind (as seen in separation by a delayed subject); glorification and suspense (evident in separation by parenthetical sentences); and capturing the listener's attention to emphasize the magnitude of an oath (as seen in separation by conditional structures). The researcher suggests further scientific studies on this separation within poems and prose texts to identify additional types of separators.
separation and interposition, adjective and modified noun (Al-Sifa wa al-Mawsuf), The Holy Qur’an, model
Copyright (c) 2026 Mohamed Taha Abd Alkhaleek Alagiri, Amr Khater Abd Elghany Wahdan, Mohamed Ibraheem Hasanen, Mohamed Eliwa Aly Ismail, Naaman Abdulhamid Bouguerra, Mohamed Abdelnabi Mohamed Ahmed, Mohamed Abd Elrahman Mohamed Sayed, Gomaa Elsayed Abd Elmaksoud Ibraheem https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
When knowledge is not enough: Faculty competencies, training challenges, and AI integration in higher ed-ucation aligned with SDG 4
Section: Articles Categories: Digital Humanities Keywords: artificial intelligence integration, faculty competencies; pedagogical readiness, technical readiness, training paradox, higher education, SDG 4 Faculty AI integration in higher education depends critically on educator competencies, yet studies examining multiple predictors simultaneously remain scarce. This cross-sectional quantitative study surveyed 329 higher education faculty members to model AI integration as a function of five predictors: AI literacy, pedagogical readiness, technical readiness, ethical awareness, and AI-related challenges, while also examining variation by academic rank and formal AI training experience using OLS regression, moderation analysis, ANOVA, and independent-samples t-tests implemented in a reproducible Python-based pipeline. Technical Readiness emerged as the strongest independent predictor of AI integration (β = 0.43, p < .001), followed by Pedagogical Readiness (β = 0.35, p < .001), together explaining 35% of outcome variance, while AI Literacy and Ethical Awareness showed no significant direct effects. Counterintuitively, formally trained faculty reported lower AI integration than untrained peers alongside heightened perceptions of AI-related challenges, suggesting a knowing–doing gap whereby professional development raises critical awareness without proportionally enabling classroom experimentation. Academic rank significantly influenced integration levels, with Lecturers and Professors reporting the highest scores. Sustainable AI adoption in higher education requires institutional strategies that build technical confidence and pedagogical adaptability concurrently, supplemented by structured experimentation opportunities and differentiated career-stage support rather than awareness-focused training alone.
faculty competencies; pedagogical readiness
Copyright (c) 2026 Safar Bakheet Almudara, Amira Mohamed Algizani, Abdalla Alameen, Mohamed Sayed Abdellatif, Mohamed Ali Nemt-allah https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Mapping AI-mediated pragmatic competence in EFL: A systematic review of Human–AI interaction and communicative development
Section: Articles Keywords: pragmatic competence, EFL, AI-mediated interaction, bibliometric analysis, Generative AI The study of AI-mediated pragmatic competence in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) is theoretically divided and methodologically disproportionate models, and there is no pre-existing synthesis of the intellectual organization of the field. The current systematic review fills this gap by considering 361 articles in the Web of Science Core Collection (2021–2025). The study based on the improved bibliometric and science mapping methods (co-occurrence networks, thematic mapping, Lovaka Law and factorial analysis) through Bibloshyny shows the explosive annual growth (74.56%), most significant in China (168 records) and with the terms ChatGPT, artificial intelligence, and discourse. Results indicate that productivity of authors does not follow the Lotka law and thematic maps put Generative AI and Pragmatics as thematic motors. Findings suggest that the existing AI interaction can perhaps socialize learners into machine compatible hybrid pragmatic competences in lieu of entirely genuine competence. The review offers practical solutions to teachers and curriculum creators to intelligently incorporate AI without losing the sociocultural richness. It sets out a methodological model of applied linguistics that is replicable. The originality of the study lies in the fact that it is the first systematic multi-dimensional synthesis of AI-mediated pragmatic competence in EFL, as the individual studies have been replaced by a unifying knowledge structure.
pragmatic competence, EFL, AI-mediated interaction, bibliometric analysis, Generative AI
Copyright (c) 2026 Muza A E Abunamous, Khadijah AlQarni https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Working memory and generative AI tools in higher education: A systematic review
Section: Articles Categories: Digital Humanities Keywords: generative artificial intelligence, working memory, cognitive offloading, critical thinking, higher education, cognitive load, metacognition Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools have rapidly permeated higher education, yet their cognitive consequences for working memory, cognitive offloading, and higher-order thinking remain insufficiently synthesized. This systematic review, conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020 guidelines, aimed to consolidate and critically evaluate empirical and theoretical evidence examining GenAI's effects on university students' cognitive functioning. A comprehensive search across six bibliographic databases covering 2023 to 2025 yielded 27 eligible peer-reviewed studies, appraised using design-matched quality instruments including RoB 2, AMSTAR-2, and MMAT. Findings reveal that unrestricted GenAI use measurably impairs long-term knowledge retention and critical thinking by substituting for the generative cognitive effort essential to durable memory encoding. However, structured, metacognitively scaffolded AI integration demonstrably preserves cognitive engagement and may enhance learning outcomes. Humanities students demonstrated disproportionate vulnerability to cognitive decline relative to STEM peers. Institutional policy frameworks, discipline-specific pedagogical redesign, and deliberate scaffolding strategies are identified as essential mitigating responses. The review concludes that cognitively informed, policy-guided GenAI integration represents the most defensible institutional approach, while urgent calls are made for longitudinal experimental research to establish stronger causal evidence.
Copyright (c) 2026 Safar Almudara, Omar Alshehri, Swead Alzahrani, Mohamed Abdellatif, Abdelfattah Idris, Ashraf Ibrahim https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
The effects of digital multi-tasking and task switching on working memory: A systematic review
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: digital multitasking, working memory, task switching, attentional control, executive function, academic performance Digital multitasking — defined as concurrent or rapidly alternating engagement with two or more technology-mediated tasks — has emerged as a pervasive feature of contemporary cognitive life with measurable consequences for working memory capacity and executive function. This systematic review synthesized empirical evidence from 28 studies published between 2016 and 2025, identified through searches of PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Scopus, and ERIC, following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Findings converge on three domains: cognitive costs, academic performance, and neural mechanisms. Across behavioral, neuroimaging, and electrophysiological paradigms, digital multitasking consistently degraded working memory capacity, increased attentional lapses, elevated switch costs, and impaired metacognitive monitoring. In academic contexts, media multitasking during instruction reliably predicted reduced comprehension, recall, and cumulative achievement. At the neural level, chronic digital multitasking was associated with reduced functional efficiency within fronto-parietal control networks and diminished hippocampal encoding activity. Self-regulatory capacity emerged as a meaningful moderating variable. Methodological limitations — including cross-sectional designs, convenience sampling, and heterogeneous operationalizations — precluded meta-analytic synthesis and causal inference. Longitudinal research, standardized measurement, and rigorously evaluated interventions targeting digital self-regulation represent critical priorities for advancing this field.
digital multitasking, working memory, task switching, attentional control, executive function, academic performance
Copyright (c) 2026 Amal Mubarak Alsuwaylim, Omar Abdullah Alshehri, Swead Yahya Alzahrani, Faisal Bin Shabib Mosleet Alsubaie, Mohamed Osama Ali, Shaban Atiya Yacoub https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Mapping the global landscape of research on cultural values and moral values: A bibliometric analysis of research evolution and collaboration networks
Section: Articles Categories: Culture, Media & Film Keywords: Cultural values, Moral values, Bibliometric analysis, International collaboration, Interdisciplinary Alongside increasing globalization, digitalization, and social change, research on cultural and moral values has grown rapidly. This study aims to map the development of literature in this field using a mixed-methods bibliometric approach. Data were obtained from the Scopus database for the period 1968–2025 and analyzed using RStudio, Biblioshiny, and VOSviewer to identify publication trends, academic collaboration networks, thematic clusters, and research gaps. The analysis results reveal a consistent increase in publications, with international collaboration among the United States, China, and Southeast Asian countries serving as the primary drivers of cross-cultural knowledge exchange and interdisciplinary research development. Three main clusters were identified: the development of basic concepts of cultural and moral values, education and internalization of values in social and gender contexts, and the influence of technology and contemporary social changes on the formation of intergenerational morality. Despite the growth in publications, research on emerging topics such as the influence of social media, big data, and cultural-moral interactions in the digital age remains limited. These findings underscore the importance of interdisciplinary approaches and cross-national collaboration in broadening the understanding of cultural and moral values. This study provides a systematic contribution to the academic landscape of this field and highlights opportunities for further research that is more adaptive, inclusive, and responsive to the social and cultural dynamics of modern global societies.
Copyright (c) 2026 saefudin saefudin, Hasni Dyah Kurniawati Hasni Dyah Kurniawati2, Azmi Muhammad Islam Azmi Muhammad Islam, SAAP Gunaasih SAAP Gunaasih, Puspa Ratri Prajnasari Puspa Ratri Prajnasari; Rino Purnomo Rino Purnomo, Fulgentius Adelbertus Dole Fulgentius Adelbertus Dole, Elizabeth Nabitha Ezmeralda Rihi Elizabeth Nabitha Ezmeralda Rihi; Dhino Suprayogo Dhino Suprayogo https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Artificial intelligence in athletics coaching: Barriers, constraints, and practical challenges
Section: Articles Keywords: artificial intelligence, athletics coaching, barriers, constraints, practical This study aimed to identify the Challenges facing athletics coaches in applying artificial intelligence techniques, the researchers used the descriptive method in his survey method due to its suitability and the nature of the study, the study sample consisted of (364) athletics coaches from the directorates of education of the Jordanian Ministry of Education, and to address the analytical aspects of the subject of the study, the researchers turned to collecting raw data by building a questionnaire for the Challenges facing athletics coaches in the application of artificial intelligence techniques, which consists of (28) paragraphs distributed over three axes ( the cognitive axis (8) paragraphs, the technical axis: (10) paragraphs, and the organisational axis (10) paragraphs. The researchers used the following statistical methods (arithmetic mean, standard deviation, Cronbach's alpha coefficient to measure internal consistency, and Pearson correlation coefficient. As for the technical Challenges, "the two institutions do not have the necessary technical infrastructure to use artificial intelligence technologies when training for athletics", while the organizational Challenges were "there are not enough financial resources for the use of artificial intelligence systems", and the study recommended many recommendations, the most important of which are: equipping the various institutions concerned with athletics with a modern infrastructure for the use of artificial intelligence systems.
artificial intelligence, athletics coaching, barriers, constraints, practical
Copyright (c) 2026 Rawa'ah Sukkarieh, Hazem Al-Nahar, Karam Abu A’Aqoulah, Maysaloun Alshadideh, Ayat Alshaer, Salwa Adnan Al-Sharman, Maryam Majed Al-Dhmour https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Decolonizing the Mind: The politics of survival in Sinan Antoon’s The Corpse Washer (2013)
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism This study traces the intersection of trauma, war, and the politics of survival in post-war Iraqi fiction through a keen critical analysis of Sinan Antoon’s masterpiece, The Corpse Washer (2013). The study examines how prolonged violence, foreign occupation, sectarian war, and political instability influence both individual subjectivity and social memory in contemporary Iraqi landscape, situating the novel within postcolonial and trauma theory frameworks. The study explores how the novel challenges prevailing imperial trajectories and narratives Iraqi lived experience through intimate storytelling, drawing on theories of decolonization, especially Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s idea of “decolonizing the mind.” The novel illustrates how individual and collective identities are fragmented under implications of occupation and systemic ruin through the protagonist Jawad, an aspiring sculptor forced by fate to take on his father’s skill of washing the corpses. A sheer crisis of self in a culture where death consistently eclipses art, beauty, and normalcy is reflected in Jawad’s internal struggle. The study argues that this conflict between ceremonial work and creative desire represents the fight to protect humanity in the face of dehumanizing mechanism. Through the lens of Ngũgĩ Thiongʼo’s theory of decolonization, Antoon’s novel offers a significant contribution to decolonization of the mind as a “writing history back” narrative that challenge dominant western mindset of Iraq as solely site of war, violence, and radical thoughts. Through the multifaceted figure of Jawad, the protagonist, who works as corpse’s washer, Antoon asserts Iraqi subjectivity, showing a deeply human outlook on trauma, chaos, and survival.
Copyright (c) 2026 Ahmed Saad Aziz https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Transforming national folklore in digital space: A case study of Internet memes in modern Kazakhstan
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: correlation, creolized text, culture, digital folklore This paper seeks to contribute to the semiotic analysis of hybrid forms in digital communication. It aims to explore the transformation of Kazakh folklore in digital spaces through a case study of 236 Internet memes featuring Kazakh cultural elements drawn from digital platforms such as Instagram, Tik Tok, and Telegram. The study has a mixed-methods design and combines thematic and semiotic analyses to look at how traditional oral narratives transform into multimodal, or creolized, digital phenomena. It allowed identifying the main thematic and semantic features characteristic of digital folklore. The thematic analysis identified the most frequently recurring themes in Internet memes and an essential dominance of spiritual values reflecting national Kazakh identity combining Nomadic traditionalism and modernity. The semantic analysis identified the main semantic features of Kazakh digital folklore depending on the number of semiotic components used, the nature of creolization tools, the composition of visual components, the significance of components, the degree of component correlation, and the method of component correlation. The findings of the research emphasize the shift from sacred extended narratives in traditional folklore to compressed creolized texts, which allows referring Kazakh digital folklore to glocal folklore combining global meme formats with local Kazakh specificity. The study fills gaps in digital folklore investigations in Central Asian contexts and offers insights into creolized semiotics for non-Western contexts.
Kunimzhan Tynyshyqbekovna Kudaibergenova
Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Ainur Kenbayeva, Dr. Zhanat Saltakova https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Minangkabau local wisdom in coastal environmental conservation: An ecocritical review of Wisran Hadi’s drama script Nilonali
Section: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: coastal environment, ecocriticism, local wisdom, Minangkabau, Nilonali Environmental degradation, particularly in coastal areas, has emerged as a critical challenge facing contemporary society. Addressing this issue requires a comprehensive approach, including the revitalization of local wisdom. This study examined the representation of Minangkabau local wisdom in coastal environmental conservation as portrayed in Nilonali, a drama script by Wisran Hadi, through the lens of ecocriticism. The research identified and analyzed forms of indigenous knowledge, belief systems, and cultural practices contributing to coastal ecological sustainability. Employing qualitative analysis, the study revealed three interrelated categories of local wisdom: (1) local knowledge, encompassing environmentally friendly fishing methods and an understanding of coastal climatology and geophysics; (2) local belief systems, including religious and superstitious values that function as social controls; and (3) cultural practices, particularly the tradition of berpantun (reciting traditional rhymed quatrains), whose lyrical content is inspired by the coastal environment. The findings highlight the ecological significance of Minangkabau local wisdom in fostering environmental protection and ecological awareness among coastal communities.
coastal environment, ecocriticism, local wisdom, Minangkabau, Nilonali
Copyright (c) 2026 Rafdisyam, Yenni Hayati, Harris Effendi Thahar https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Demographic patterns in technical vocabulary acquisition and retention strategies among ESL engineering students in India
Section: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: Vocabulary acquisition and retention strategies, Technical Vocabulary, Demographic, English as a Second Language (ESL), Engineering Education, ELT. Technical vocabulary, the domain-specific terms, is central to ESL engineering students' access to disciplinary knowledge. This study investigates the range and interaction of Technical Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Strategies (TVARSs) employed by ESL engineering undergraduates in Tamil Nadu, India. Forty strategies divided into 11 categories were examined with attention to patterns of use and learner rationales. Using a mixed-methods design, data were collected from 331 undergraduate engineering students from rural, semi-urban, and urban backgrounds through a structured questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Descriptive, correlational, and network-based modelling analyses were done. Findings reveal that technical vocabulary acquisition operates as a networked system of interrelated strategies rather than isolated practices. Major strategies provide structural support for vocabulary acquisition, while low-frequency strategies help as connectors that enhance adaptability, transferability, and learning resilience across demographic contexts. Network analysis further demonstrates that effective vocabulary development depends more on strategic coordination than on the frequency of individual strategies. The study identifies demographic variation in strategy access linked to learning environments and technological resources, and argues for demographic-responsive instruction that strengthens core strategies, promotes integrative connector strategies, and supports equitable access to reflective and technology-assisted learning practices.
Vocabulary acquisition and retention strategies, Technical Vocabulary, Demographic, English as a Second Language (ESL), Engineering Education, ELT.
Copyright (c) 2026 V. Sabarethinam, D. Praveen Sam, A. Vijaya Lakshmi, R. Rajmohan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Mentoring for excellence: A constructivist approach to developing pre-service English language teachers’ skills
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: English literature learning practices, constructivist learning, pre-service English teachers, field-based training This study examines the pivotal role of mentor teachers in fostering constructivist learning experiences among pre-service English teachers during field-based training. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 177 pre-service teachers using a structured questionnaire, providing robust insights into the effectiveness of mentorship practices. The instrument assessed four core dimensions: lesson planning and organization, demonstration of constructivist strategies, support and guidance, and feedback and assessment practices. Findings indicated that mentor teachers play a critical role in developing learner-centered instructional skills. They provide structured lesson planning frameworks, model effective constructivist strategies, offer continuous guidance, and deliver constructive feedback, all of which enhance pre-service teachers’ instructional confidence, pedagogical reasoning, and ability to foster critical thinking, creativity, and active learner engagement. The results suggest that mentorship functions not only as a tool for knowledge transfer but also as a transformative mechanism for professional growth and reflective practice. These results underscore the essential contribution of mentorship in bridging theory and practice, highlighting the need for structured mentor training, reflective guidance sessions, and multi-method evaluation approaches. The study provides empirical evidence that systematic mentorship programs are instrumental in equipping pre-service English teachers with the competencies required to implement effective constructivist pedagogy. Future research should explore how the intensity and duration of mentorship influence the acquisition and internalization of constructivist teaching practices.
English literature learning practices, constructivist learning, pre-service English teachers, field-based training
Copyright (c) 2026 Ali Ahmad Al-Barakat, Bushra Alakashee , Eid Kanaan, Omayya M. Al-Hassan , Rommel Mahmoud AlAli, Ali Abdullatif, Yusra Aboud, Ashraf Zaher https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Towards deep reading learning: Language teachers’ practices in employing reflective thinking skills among primary school students
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: Deep reading learning, reflective thinking, reading instruction, primary education, language teachers. This study investigates the practices of language teachers in employing reflective thinking skills to promote deep reading learning among primary school students. A quantitative descriptive approach was adopted, and data were collected through a structured classroom observation checklist designed to document teachers’ actual instructional practices during reading lessons. The observation tool was developed based on an extensive review of the literature on reflective thinking and reading pedagogy, and it comprised five key domains representing reflective practices in reading instruction: Visual Perception Skills (VPS), Identifying Fallacies Skills (IFS), Drawing Conclusions Skills (DCS), Providing Convincing Explanations Skills (CES), and Proposing Solutions Skills (PSS). The checklist was reviewed by experts to ensure content validity, and its reliability was verified through pilot testing prior to the main data collection. The study sample consisted of 60 primary language teachers from schools in Amman, Jordan, selected using a convenience sampling method. Each teacher was observed twice during reading lessons, resulting in a total of 120 classroom observations. Descriptive statistics and a three-way ANOVA were employed to analyze the data and examine whether teachers’ practices differed according to teaching experience, gender, and academic qualification. The results indicated that language teachers demonstrated a high level of performance in employing reflective thinking skills across all five domains. Teachers consistently encouraged students to analyze textual details, identify inconsistencies, draw conclusions, justify interpretations, and propose possible solutions, reflecting a strong emphasis on reflective and analytical engagement with reading materials. The findings also revealed no statistically significant differences in teachers’ practices attributable to teaching experience, gender, or academic qualification. Overall, the study provides empirical evidence of the integration of reflective thinking practices within primary reading instruction. The findings highlight the importance of classroom practices in fostering deeper comprehension and critical engagement with texts, and they offer practical insights that may inform teacher professional development programs and curriculum design aimed at strengthening deep reading learning in primary education.
Deep reading learning, reflective thinking, reading instruction, primary education, language teachers.
Copyright (c) 2026 Ali Ahmad Al-Barakat, Rommel Mahmoud AlAli, Ruba Fahmi Bataineh , Omayya M. Al-Hassan , Rula Fahmi Bataineh, Ali Khalifa A. Abdullatif, Yusra Zaki Aboud, Ashraf Zaher https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Sustainable environmental protection from pollution: A comparative study between Islamic Sharia and international law
Section: Articles Categories: Philosophy & Religion Keywords: sustainable development, Maqasid Al-sharia, Islamic Sharia, international environmental law, environmental governance, environmental justice This paper explores the issue of pollution as a source of environmental pollution that can be tackled by the Islamic Sharia and the international law by a comparative framework of sustainable environmental protection challenges in air, water, soil, biodiversity, human health, and intergenerational equity in view of the increasing environmental problems threatening our environment. Although over an advanced system of international environmental regime has been developed based on some vital principles like precautionary principle, polluter pays principle and intergenerational equity, combined with the principle of common, but differentiated responsibilities, the prevalent gaps in implementation and the weak enforcement mechanisms have remained as tactics of negating its overall effectiveness. Conversely, the study previews the normative basis of Islamic Sharia in governing human-environment relations which is anchored on the notion of khilafah (stewardship), amanah (trust), and mizan (balance), and the ban on fasad (environmental corruption). It shows that environmental protection is natural continuation of higher goals of Sharia (maqasid al-sharia) especially the protection of life, generation, and property. The maxims of the foundation of Islamic law like no harm and no reciprocating harm, and harm must be removed offer an excellent normative grounding of an environmental accountability that portrays a significant conceptual consistency with the modern international environmental law. Based on a comparative-synthetic approach, the research constructs a multi-level integrative model between Sharia values and international law by inclusivity in normative underpinnings, that genes equalization environmental governance in Muslim acquired countries and can also play a role in global discussions about sustainability and environmental justice.
sustainable development, Maqasid Al-sharia, Islamic Sharia, international environmental law, environmental governance, environmental justice
Copyright (c) 2026 Faihan Farraj Al-Haqshah https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Threads of Abraham: Interfaith memory and sacred survival in Geraldine Brooks’ People of the Book
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: Geraldine Brooks; People of the Book; Sarajevo Haggadah; Abrahamic religions; interfaith memory; material religion; historical fiction; sacred survival; Jewish memory; Bosnia Geraldine Brooks’s People of the Book is often introduced as a historical novel about the Sarajevo Haggadah, yet its deeper achievement lies in the way it turns a Jewish ritual manuscript into an Abrahamic archive of shared custody, injury, and repair. This article proposes the concept of interfaith memory to describe how Brooks’s fiction connects Judaism, Christianity, and Islam not by smoothing their differences into a sentimental theology of harmony, but by staging the material survival of a sacred object across scenes of exile, censorship, war, artistic borrowing, and bodily risk. The Sarajevo Haggadah, a Passover book associated with Jewish telling and transmission, becomes in the novel a witness to Christian persecution, Muslim protection, secular conservation, and the unstable intimacy of cultures that have often lived together without living peacefully. Reading the novel through cultural memory studies, book history, material religion, trauma theory, and historiographic metafiction, the article argues that Brooks reimagines sacred survival as an ethical practice rather than a miraculous fact. Hanna Heath’s forensic conservation, the reverse chronology of the manuscript’s imagined past, and the repeated intervention of marginal figures—women, converts, artisans, librarians, servants, and endangered strangers—together form a narrative in which religious interconnection is carried by hands before it is declared by doctrines. At the same time, the article evaluates the limits of Brooks’s rescue plot, especially its tendency to make coexistence legible through exceptional acts of goodness. The novel’s value, I argue, is strongest when it refuses grand reconciliation and lets the damaged book remain damaged: a fragile, stubborn, humanly handled reminder that Abrahamic kinship is never pure inheritance but an unfinished labor of preservation.
Geraldine Brooks; People of the Book; Sarajevo Haggadah; Abrahamic religions; interfaith memory; material religion; historical fiction; sacred survival; Jewish memory; Bosnia
Copyright (c) 2026 Shoeb Saleh, Sayed M Ismail, Eid Awad Abd Elsayed Hassan, Ali Abdullatif, Nisar Ahmad Koka https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Resilience, mindfulness, and self-efficacy as predictors of foreign language anxiety among EFL learners
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: foreign language anxiety, resilience, mindfulness, self-efficacy, EFL learners Background: Foreign language anxiety remains one of the most persistent emotional barriers in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning. Although anxious learners may be motivated and hardworking, anxiety can narrow attention, reduce willingness to communicate, interrupt retrieval during performance, and make ordinary classroom tasks feel evaluative. At the same time, educational psychology has shown that learners are not passive recipients of stress. They enter the classroom with personal resources such as resilience, mindfulness, and self-efficacy, and these resources may change how anxiety is experienced, interpreted, and managed. Objective: This article develops a research-based model in which resilience, mindfulness, and English learning self-efficacy predict foreign language anxiety among EFL learners. The article is written as a full manuscript draft for adaptation into an empirical study. Because no dataset was provided, it does not report fabricated numerical findings; instead, it offers a theoretically grounded review, a transparent quantitative design, hypotheses, and an interpretation plan that can be implemented with real data. Methodology: The proposed study uses a cross-sectional quantitative design with EFL learners in secondary-school or university contexts. The recommended instruments include the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale, an academic or general resilience scale, a mindfulness awareness scale, and an English learning self-efficacy scale. Data analysis would involve reliability testing, descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, multiple regression, and, where the sample is large enough, structural equation modelling. Expected contribution: The model expects resilience, mindfulness, and self-efficacy to be negatively associated with foreign language anxiety, with self-efficacy likely to function as the most direct classroom-linked predictor. Resilience is expected to support recovery from failure and persistence in difficult tasks, while mindfulness is expected to reduce rumination and help learners notice anxiety without becoming controlled by it. Conclusion: The article argues that anxiety reduction in EFL classrooms should not be limited to relaxation advice or test preparation. A more sustainable approach is to design classrooms that build confidence through mastery experiences, normalize setbacks, cultivate reflective awareness, and treat anxiety as a manageable part of learning rather than a sign of linguistic inadequacy.
foreign language anxiety, resilience, mindfulness, self-efficacy, EFL learners
Copyright (c) 2026 Shoeb Saleh, Khaled Ahmed Abdel-Al Ibrahim, Mohammad Mahmoud Suleiman Alsadi, Eid Awad Abd Elsayed Hassan, Ali Abdullatif, Nisar Ahmad Koka https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Framing the Gen Z protesters in Kenyan daily newspapers: A discourse-historical approach
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: construction, daily newspapers, discourse-historical approach, framing theory, Gen Z, media discourse This study examines how Kenya’s mainstream newspapers, The Daily Nation and The Standard, discursively constructed Gen Z protesters during the June 24 anti-Finance Bill demonstrations. Existing studies of Gen Z protests in Kenya and globally overwhelmingly focus on digital media. Relatively little attention has been given to how newspapers frame such political movements. To address this gap, this study analyses front-page headlines and editorials in the newspapers to explore how Gen Z are constructed. Drawing on Ruth Wodak’s Discourse-Historical Approach and Framing Theory, the findings reveal a systematic pattern of positive representation, in which Gen Z protesters are constructed as heroic, victorious, revolutionary, victims of police brutality, and morally legitimate actors. Their actions are intensified when aligned with democratic ideals, while negative aspects are mitigated through nominalization, backgrounding, and silence. This framing is reinforced through intertextual references to Gen Z protests in other parts of the world. The interdiscursivity in the editorials further gives the protesters legal justification. Recontexualization of constitutional language in journalistic discourse, particularly the constant reference to articles 1 and 37, legitimizes the actions of the protesters. This study demonstrates the ideological role of newspapers in influencing the way we think about politics and youth activism. These findings are aligned with the observations of media scholars that newspapers are an important site for studying politics and ideology.
construction, daily newspapers, discourse-historical approach, framing theory, Gen Z, media discourse
Copyright (c) 2026 Joy Karambu, Mugambi C. Ngumo, Lillian Kemunto Omoke https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
The role of Arabic literature arts in developing critical thinking skills among high school students from the teachers' point of view
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: Arabic literature arts, critical thinking skills, secondary school students, Arabic language teachers At a time when educational systems are under increasing pressure to cultivate analytical, interpretive, and evaluative capacities rather than rote knowledge alone, this study addresses a highly consequential question: how can Arabic literary arts serve as an effective pedagogical pathway for developing critical thinking among secondary school students? The study responds to a clear research gap in the limited empirical attention given to the relationship between Arabic literary genres and critical thinking skills within school-based Arab educational contexts. Using a descriptive-analytical design, the researchers employed an electronic questionnaire administered to 90 Arabic language teachers in Abu Dhabi, with 35 items covering poetry, short story, literary essay, and the skills of interpretation, inference, induction, analysis, and evaluation. The study aimed to examine the contribution of Arabic literary arts to critical thinking development, measure the statistical relationship between these variables, and identify differences associated with teachers’ qualifications and experience. The findings revealed a high level of teacher awareness regarding the role of Arabic literature in enhancing critical thinking, as well as a strong statistically significant relationship between literary arts and critical thinking skills. Literary essay and short story showed comparatively stronger effects than poetry. The study recommends curriculum redesign, specialized teacher training, and further comparative and experimental research to strengthen the pedagogical integration of Arabic literature in contemporary education.
Arabic literature arts, critical thinking skills, secondary school students, Arabic language teachers
Copyright (c) 2026 Mohammad Issa Alhourani, Wesal Al Zoubi, Ahmad Mohammad Al Mahamed, Moustafa Mohamed Abouelnour https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Mecca Al-Mukarramah and its development during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1520–1566 CE): An analytical study based on the Ottoman Daftar al-Mahāmm
Section: Articles Categories: History and Anthropology Keywords: Administrative History, Mecca Al-Mukarramah, Ottoman Archives, Ottoman Empire, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent This study aims to demonstrate that the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1520–1566 CE) marked a decisive shift in Mecca’s governance from symbolic suzerainty to a systematized religio-imperial administration. Drawing on Ottoman archival sources, particularly the Daftar al-Maḥāmm (Registers of Imperial Decrees), it reconstructs how Mecca was integrated into the Ottoman administrative framework through decrees regulating pilgrimage logistics, fiscal endowments, and Sharifian authority. The findings reveal Suleiman’s interventions in curbing corruption among Egyptian pilgrimage commanders, financing major urban projects such as the ʿAyn ʿArafah water canal and public housing, and standardizing the judiciary to ensure accountability. These reforms transformed the Hijaz from a peripheral sanctuary into a governed province, balancing Ottoman central control with local elites. The study concludes that this structured governance reinforced the Sultan’s legitimacy as Khādim al-Ḥaramayn al-Sharīfayn and established a foundational model for uniting religious authority with bureaucratic centralization in early modern Islamic rule.
Copyright (c) 2026 Ehab Mohammad Zahir, Anas Nayef Al-Omoush https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Social resonance and the transformation of meaning of Gondang Sabangunan through arts education at SMK Negeri 11 Medan
Section: Articles Categories: Visual & Performing Arts Keywords: Gondang Sabangunan, Toba Batak, Intangible Cultural Heritage, Ethnomusicology, Cultural Identity Gondang Sabangunan, a traditional musical ensemble of the Toba Batak community, plays an important role in preserving cultural identity, social solidarity, and the philosophy of Dalihan Na Tolu. However, within the urban context of Medan City, the practice of gondang has experienced a shift in meaning from a sacred ritual domain to spaces of entertainment, cultural festivals, and digital media. This transformation creates a dilemma between maintaining authenticity and adapting to modernity, while also revealing a generational gap in cultural understanding. Younger generations tend to be more familiar with global popular culture than with traditional arts, leading to a decline in appreciation for gondang. This study aims to examine the social resonance and transformation of the meaning of Gondang Sabangunan in an urban context and to analyze the role of arts education at SMK Negeri 11 Medan as a strategy for cultural preservation. The research employs a qualitative approach with an ethnographic design, utilizing in-depth interviews, participatory observation, and documentation of gondang practices in the school environment. Data were analyzed thematically using semiotic and sociological approaches, while validity was ensured through triangulation and member checking. The findings reveal that arts education functions as a space for cultural revitalization, a medium for intergenerational value transmission, and an instrument for strengthening local identity resilience. The integration of Gondang Sabangunan into the curriculum not only enhances students’ understanding of cultural heritage but also makes traditional arts relevant to contemporary urban life.
Copyright (c) 2026 Ezra Susilawaty P., Widodo Widodo, Muh. Ibnan Syarif, Junita Batubara https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Psychological adaptation of the disabled in Sharon Draper’s Out of My Mind and Raquel Palacio’s Wonder: A comparative post-traumatic study
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: Cerebral Palsy, disability, Out of My Mind, post-traumatic, psychological adaptation, resilience, Wonder Referring to a post-traumatic study, the paper deals with the psychological adaptation of children with disabilities in Sharon Draper’s Out of My Mind (2010) and Raquel Palacio’s Wonder (2012). Post-Traumatic challenges the idea of idealism and tries to transform the negative perception of the idea of disability. Therefore, the study aims to examine the psychological adaptation of children with disabilities through a post-traumatic perspective. It claims that the stimulus of trauma in such stories is not a physical disability but a social marginalization, misidentification, and marginalization of feelings. The study determines the depiction of trauma, coping mechanisms, family support, and identity reconstruction process in each of the novels through a comparative literary analysis. Both novels break the stereotypes and move towards emotional regeneration as opposed to physical change. Focusing on how characters develop emotionally and oppose the normative expectations, Draper and Palacio re-establish disability literature as the place of agency, identity formation and narrative resistance. These conclusions imply that literature may transform cultural attitudes to disability by cultivating compassion, disrupting normative beliefs, and creating emotionally rich and multi-dimensional disabled characters.
Cerebral Palsy, disability, Out of My Mind, post-traumatic, psychological adaptation, resilience, Wonder
Copyright (c) 2026 Majed Alenzi, Ayman Elhalafway, Samir Khalifa, Sara Ismail, Obaid Alwethairi, Faiz Algobaei, Abeer A. Alrefai https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
A discourse analysis approach to English language translation
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism This paper examines how discourse analysis enriches translation studies by treating translation as language in use situated within social, cultural, and ideological contexts. Drawing on key discourse traditions—text linguistics, Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)—and on translation-oriented models (notably Hatim & Mason, Neubert & Shreve, Trosborg, House, and Munday), the study maps analytic tools for pre-translational text analysis, register and metafunctional comparison, shift identification, and quality assessment. Through applied analyses of John F. Kennedy’s famous exhortation and an Arabic–English account of Ramadan practices, the paper demonstrates how register (field, tenor, mode) and Hallidayan metafunctions (ideational, interpersonal, textual) reveal pragmatic and ideological shifts that occur in translation—such as changes in politeness strategies, argumentation patterns, and the reframing of religious specificity into broader cultural terms. The discussion highlights the translator’s agency and the role of intertextuality in producing target texts that are culturally appropriate yet potentially ideologically reframed. The paper concludes that integrating close SFL-based textual analysis with broader CDA perspectives offers a robust, context-sensitive methodology for translation research and pedagogy, and calls for further empirical work across more genres, languages, and multimodal texts to deepen understanding of discourse-driven translation practices.
Copyright (c) 2026 Saddam Salim Hmood https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Legal discourse analysis: Foundations of forensic linguistics and its applications in legislation and litigation
Section: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Forensic Linguistics, Judicial Evidence, Linguistic Profiling, Stylometry Forensic linguistics has become an exciting area that combines law and linguistics. This study highlights how language, through its precise analysis, can act as valid judicial evidence in resolving legal cases. This paper examines how this field has developed over time, starting with Jan Svartvik’s important contributions in 1968, moving into the professionalisation of the discipline during the 1980s and 1990s, and highlighting its growth in the digital age today. It also examines forensic phonetics, author attribution, discourse analysis, and linguistic profiling, showing how they can be applied in criminal investigations, civil lawsuits, contract interpretation, and safeguarding intellectual property. The authors use a descriptive-analytical approach, supported by comparative case studies, and examine global examples in which linguistic evidence has played an important role. Artificial Intelligence and Large Language Models are able to process a huge amount of data in shorter time compared to humans, yet they still raise important legal and ethical challenges regarding their fairness, transparency, and comprehensibility. This paper had concluded that forensic linguistics has evolved and became a significant component of the legal system. It enhances justice by providing people with the resources to uncover the truth, protect their rights, and comprehend laws more easily.
Artificial Intelligence, Forensic Linguistics, Judicial Evidence, Linguistic Profiling, Stylometry
Copyright (c) 2026 Yassine Chami, Elsoghair Mahdy, Enas Qutieshat, Mohammed A. Adel, Maya Khater https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Islamophobia and the use of the Qur’anic text: A critical discourse analysis of distortion mechanisms and their impact on Western perception
Section: Articles Categories: Philosophy & Religion Keywords: Islamophobia, Quranic text, critical discourse analysis, semantic distortion, Western discourse, stereotype This research aims to analyze the phenomenon of Islamophobia by tracing the mechanisms of employing the Qur’anic text within Islamophobic discourse, and revealing the patterns of semantic and interpretive distortion practiced on the text in contemporary Western media and cultural contexts. The research begins with the premise that this discourse not only extracts Qur’anic texts from their historical and interpretive contexts, but also goes further, reproducing them within pre-existing narrative and ideological frameworks that contribute to perpetuating negative stereotypes about Islam and Muslims, and reshaping the meaning of the text to serve preconceived notions of violence or exclusion. This research employs a critical analytical approach, drawing on critical discourse analysis methodologies. It examines selected Quranic verses that are among the most frequently cited texts in Islamophobic debates, comparing them with their interpretations in the Islamic exegetical tradition and contextual understanding methodologies. The research also addresses prominent patterns of methodological distortion, such as contextual selectivity, biased translation, cultural generalization, and the imposition of contemporary meanings onto the texts. Furthermore, it deconstructs the mechanisms by which religious texts are exploited for media and political purposes. The research concludes that the use of Quranic texts in Islamophobic discourse directly contributes to shaping Western perceptions of Islam by producing distorted cognitive representations based on a fragmented and unscientific reading of religious texts. It emphasizes that these practices do not represent mere differences in interpretation but rather reflect a discursive structure that produces ideological meaning. The research concludes by stressing the importance of developing contemporary interpretive and critical approaches capable of deconstructing this discourse and reinterpreting the Quranic text within its integrated epistemological, humanistic, and rhetorical context.
Islamophobia, Quranic text, critical discourse analysis, semantic distortion, Western discourse, stereotype
Copyright (c) 2026 Mahmood Matnee Khalaf, Taha Ibrahim Shabeeb, Ali Ali Gobaili Saged https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
ETS-TDSVM for personalized French learning: An advanced framework for Vietnamese police cadets
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism, Sociology and Community Development, Digital Humanities Keywords: personalized learning, French language acquisition, machine learning (ML), adaptive instruction, police education In the context of globalized policing and international co-operation, the ability to communicate effectively in foreign languages has become increasingly essential for law enforcement officers. This research presents a machine learning (ML)-based frameworks to overcome the limitations of static models and provide real-time, personalized French language instruction at the People's Police Academy of Vietnam. The system leverages learner-specific data to dynamically adapt instructional content and progression, thereby enhancing language acquisition efficiency in a professional training environment. Data was collected over 16 weeks from 378 police cadets in Vietnam using a blended learning platform. Sources included weekly digital assessments, pronunciation accuracy metrics, user interaction logs, response times, and in-app feedback. The framework integrates the K-means clustering algorithm that initially segments learners based on behavioral and performance patterns. An Enriched Transient Search Tree-tuned Dynamic Support Vector Machine (ETS-TDSVM) model is applied to classify language proficiency levels, enabling adaptive content delivery. Implemented in Python, the ETS-TDSVM classifier achieved a high accuracy of 93.5% in proficiency level prediction. The integration of adaptive parameter optimization through the Enriched Transient Search Tree significantly enhances the convergence speed and predictive reliability of the Dynamic Support Vector Machine. Experimental evaluation demonstrates improved learner clustering consistency and reduced misclassification rates compared with baseline models. The results indicate that data-driven adaptive learning systems can substantially improve personalized instruction and learner engagement in specialized professional education environments. The high accuracy of the proposed framework demonstrates the potential to enhance language acquisition efficiency in specialized professional training institutions globally.
personalized learning, French language acquisition, machine learning (ML), adaptive instruction, police education
Copyright (c) 2026 Hue Nguyen Thi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Language teachers’ perspectives on artificial intelligence in education: administrative and pedagogical standards in Jordan
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: artificial Intelligence, administrative decisions, artificial intelligence technologies, education, educational administrators The study aims to identify the necessary conditions for implementing artificial intelligence technologies in the educational administrative process, as perceived by administrators and language educators in the Ministry of Education and its directorates in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. A total of 350 language educators were included in the sample, selected through a random process. The study employed a descriptive analytical approach and utilised a questionnaire as the primary research instrument. The inclusion comprised three axes that symbolise the educational, administrative, and technical prerequisites for the utilisation of artificial intelligence technologies in the educational administrative procedure. The study's findings indicated that the participants exhibited a moderate level of agreement regarding the educational requirements, while demonstrating a high level of agreement regarding the administrative requirements. The level of consensus regarding the technical requirements was significantly higher in comparison to the educational and administrative requirements. Furthermore, it was evident that there were no statistically significant disparities in the responses of the participants based on gender, academic rank, and years of experience, in relation to the educational, administrative, and technical prerequisites for utilising artificial intelligence technologies. The study provided several recommendations, with the most crucial one being to thoroughly examine the anticipated challenges in implementing artificial intelligence in educational institutions and addressing them.
artificial Intelligence, administrative decisions, artificial intelligence technologies, education, educational administrators
Copyright (c) 2026 Zakaria Mahmoud Almubasher https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Green libraries as sustainability discourse communities a discourse analysis of environmental communication and ecological citizenship
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: green libraries, discourse analysis, environmental sustainability, ecological citizenship, ecolinguistics, sustainability communication, green information literacy, library discourse Green libraries are usually described through physical indicators such as sustainable buildings, efficient energy use, paper reduction, ecological collections, and environmentally responsible services. This article rewrites that account from a discourse-analysis perspective. It argues that a green library is not only a sustainable facility or a provider of climate-related information; it is also a sustainability discourse community that produces, circulates, legitimizes, and evaluates environmental meaning. The article examines how library language, institutional genres, public signs, digital interfaces, exhibitions, workshops, catalogues, social media messages, and user-service encounters transform environmental sustainability into a shared social practice. Drawing on discourse analysis, pragmatics, ecolinguistics, environmental communication, library sustainability research, and language-oriented sustainability studies, the article develops the Green Library Sustainability Discourse Model. The model identifies eight interrelated dimensions: ecological naming and framing, institutional commitment discourse, directive and instructional discourse, dialogic participation, multimodal spatial communication, multilingual and access-oriented discourse, ecological memory narratives, and accountability discourse. The article also integrates four studies by Sayed M. Ismail and collaborators to strengthen the linguistic and sustainability foundation of the argument: ecological consciousness in literature, eco-translation and environmental governance, Arabic linguistic foresight for sustainable development, and AI-driven heritage tourism. The study concludes that green-library sustainability depends not only on operational practice but also on the quality of the discourse through which libraries make environmental responsibility intelligible, credible, inclusive, and actionable. A discourse-analysis approach helps libraries avoid vague green branding, design clearer public communication, support ecological citizenship, and connect sustainability claims with evidence, participation, and continuous improvement.
green libraries, discourse analysis, environmental sustainability, ecological citizenship, ecolinguistics, sustainability communication, green information literacy, library discourse
Copyright (c) 2026 Lama Mahmoud Saleh Hababi, Khaled Ahmed Abdel-Al Ibrahim, Nisar Ahmad Koka, Ayman Ahmed Youssef Ibrahim https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Beyond memorization: AI-driven vocabulary learning in Kuwaiti primary EFL education
Section: Articles Categories: Digital Humanities Keywords: artificial intelligence (AI), gamification, Kuwait, primary education, vocabulary acquisition, vocabulary retention Vocabulary knowledge underpins EFL development, particularly at the primary level where lexical competence predicts later academic success. This quasi-experimental study examined the effectiveness of Conker.ai-based instruction in improving vocabulary acquisition and retention among Kuwaiti fifth-grade pupils. Fifty fifth-grade students from two intact classes were allocated to experimental (n = 25) and control (n = 25) groups through random assignment of classroom sections, with the experimental group receiving AI-supported instruction and the control group receiving conventional textbook-based instruction over eight weeks. A researcher-developed vocabulary test was administered as a pre-test, post-test, and delayed post-test. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), controlling for pre-test scores, revealed statistically significant differences in favor of the experimental group in both vocabulary acquisition (F(1, 47) = 168.53, p < .001, η² = .23) and retention (F(1, 47) = 141.27, p < .001, η² = .26). These findings suggest that AI-supported, gamified vocabulary instruction, when implemented as an integrated pedagogical system, is associated with improved short- and long-term lexical learning outcomes.
artificial intelligence (AI), gamification, Kuwait, primary education, vocabulary acquisition, vocabulary retention
Copyright (c) 2026 Dalal Rwayn Al-Dhafiri, Ruba Fahmi Bataineh https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
The character of performing masculinities in Gengetone music genre in contemporary Kenyan verbal arts
Section: Articles Keywords: masculinities, gengetone, deconstruction and gender performativity This study examines the character of performing masculinities in Gengetone music, a contemporary Kenyan urban youth genre that has gained cultural visibility through its distinctive linguistic, visual, and performative aesthetics. Guided by Judith Butler’s Gender Performativity Theory and Deconstructionist perspectives, the study explores how masculinity is constructed, exaggerated, and negotiated through repeated performances in Gengetone music videos and lyrics. A qualitative research design was adopted, employing multimodal content analysis of six purposively selected songs: Ting Ting, Pesa Ndogo, Sipangwingwi, Kidungi, Usherati and Ngumi Mbwegze. Using a multimodal approach, the study analyzes how lyrics, bodily gestures, costumes, spatial control, and material props interact to produce recognizable masculine identities within urban youth culture. The findings reveal three dominant modes of masculinity: sexual bravado and gender hierarchy, hegemonic masculinity expressed through dominance, toughness, and spatial authority, and rebellious or hedonistic masculinity characterized by defiance, autonomy, pleasure, and resistance to social norms. These performances rely heavily on the Sheng language, exaggerated bodily expression, and symbolic displays of power and materiality. From a deconstructive perspective, the study demonstrates that these performances simultaneously reinforce and destabilize dominant masculine ideals, revealing masculinity as fluid, contingent, and dependent on repetition and audience recognition. The study concludes that Gengetone serves as a dynamic space where urban youth negotiate identity, authority, and social meaning through highly visible, performative constructions of masculinity.
masculinities, gengetone, deconstruction and gender performativity
Copyright (c) 2026 Ephantus Waiharo Kamuhuro, Justus Kizito Siboe Makokha, Eunice Wanja Kangangi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Local identity, counter-conduct, and the cultural politics of labor recruitment in the asahan III hydropower project: A multi-actor ethnographic approach
Section: Articles Categories: Sociology and Community Development Keywords: counter-conduct, cultural politics, governmentality, labor recruitment, local identity, multi-actor ethnography This study examines the power relations surrounding labor recruitment in the Asahan III Hydropower Project through the lens of local identity, counter-conduct, and the cultural politics of development. The recruitment of local workers became one of the main arenas of social contestation as multiple actors sought to obtain, control, and maintain access to the benefits generated by the project. Development actors attempted to regulate these dynamics through a series of institutional arrangements, techniques, and strategies aimed at directing community behavior and creating a conducive social order. Referring to Michel Foucault’s concept of governmentality, these efforts represent attempts to shape and govern subjects through regulatory mechanisms. However, the target community of regulation was not an empty social space that could be directed uniformly. Various actors mobilized local identity, social networks, and collective actions as forms of counter-conduct to negotiate access and challenge regulatory arrangements. Using a multi-actor ethnographic approach, this study employed participatory observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation studies involving development actors, village authorities, community organizations, and other stakeholders connected to the project. The findings show that labor recruitment was not merely an administrative process but a culturally and politically contested arena in which competing claims of belonging and legitimacy shaped access to project opportunities. Power relations between development actors and local groups continuously transformed recruitment mechanisms through negotiation, resistance, compromise, and adjustment. This study argues that infrastructure development operates not only as a technical or economic project but also as a cultural and political arena in which governance, local identity, and access are constantly contested and reconfigured.
counter-conduct, cultural politics, governmentality, labor recruitment, local identity, multi-actor ethnography
Copyright (c) 2026 Saruhum Rambe, R. Hamdani Harahap, Zulkifli Lubis, Harmona Daulay https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Culinary language as cultural practice: An anthropological linguistic comparison of Indonesian and French food
Section: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: anthropological linguistics, culinary linguistics, cultural ideology, French gastronomy, Indonesian cuisine This study examines culinary language in Indonesian and French culinary traditions as a reflection of cultural values, social norms, and ideological orientations through the analysis of food naming practices. This study departs from an anthropological linguistic perspective. This study used a qualitative method. The data were collected from restaurant menus, traditional culinary documentation, and official gastronomic sources in Indonesia and France. The findings reveal distinct ideological orientations reflected in culinary language across the two traditions. Indonesian culinary language tends to exhibit transparent and functional naming patterns that directly reference ingredients or cooking techniques, reflecting pragmatic cultural values, communal interaction, and social accessibility. In contrast, French culinary language demonstrates higher symbolic complexity and strong institutional connections through gastronomic heritage and territorial identity, particularly reinforced by regulatory systems such as Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) and Indication Géographique Protégée (IGP). This study contributes to anthropological linguistics by conceptualizing culinary naming as an everyday symbolic practice through which cultural values, social identities, and ideological meanings are reproduced. By providing a comparative perspective on Indonesian and French culinary discourse, the research highlights culinary language as an important semiotic domain for understanding the intersection of language, culture, and social structure in a global context.
anthropological linguistics, culinary linguistics, cultural ideology, French gastronomy, Indonesian cuisine
Copyright (c) 2026 Nurilam Harianja, Robert Sibarani, Gustianingsih, Mahriyuni, Mulyadi, Dwi Widayati https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Narrating future economies in Saudi Arabia: A discourse-historical analysis of identity, modernity, and risk
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: Saudi Vision 2030; future economies; Discourse-Historical Approach; identity; modernity; risk; institutional discourse; economic transformation This article develops a discourse-historical account of how Saudi Arabia's transition from an oil-centered economy to a set of future-oriented economic imaginaries that can be studied as institutional discourse. Rather than treating future economies as self-evident policy objects, the article argues that they are narrated through historically situated claims about national identity, modernity, and risk. Drawing on the Discourse-Historical Approach, critical policy discourse studies, sociotechnical imaginaries, and cultural political economy, the article proposes an Identity-Modernity-Risk Narrative Model for analyzing official Saudi institutional texts related to Vision 2030 and associated transformation programs. The article is conceptual and methodological: it does not claim to report the results of a finalized corpus analysis, but it provides a rigorous framework for future empirical work using a curated corpus of Vision 2030 documents, national transformation materials, sovereign investment communication, and future-economy project texts. The central argument is that future-economy discourse makes transformation intelligible by anchoring it in national continuity, desirable by framing it as innovation and global competitiveness, and urgent by representing oil dependency, inaction, and global technological competition as manageable risks. The article contributes to discourse studies by linking DHA strategies, argumentative topoi, and future-oriented policy narratives in one model. It also contributes to Saudi Vision 2030 research by showing that economic transformation is not only institutional and material, but also narrative, linguistic, and historically legitimized.
Saudi Vision 2030; future economies; Discourse-Historical Approach; identity; modernity; risk; institutional discourse; economic transformation
Copyright (c) 2026 Rami A. Sa’di, Asma Jadallah Khasawneh, Sayed M. Ismail, Nisar Ahmad Koka https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Educational technology for disseminating Islamic values: A systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis
Section: Articles Categories: Philosophy & Religion Keywords: educational technology, Islamic education, Islamic values, digital da’wah, social media The rapid advancement of digital technologies has transformed how religious knowledge is produced, accessed, and disseminated, including within Islamic education through digital learning environments, social media platforms, and emerging intelligent systems. However, existing research on the use of educational technology to disseminate Islamic values remains fragmented across different technological approaches, educational contexts, and disciplinary perspectives. This study aims to systematically review the literature on the use of educational technology in disseminating Islamic values and to identify research trends, technological categories, pedagogical practices, and learning impacts within this field. A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted following the PRISMA framework to ensure methodological transparency and rigor. A total of 207 articles published between 2015 and 2026 were included for bibliometric analysis. From this dataset, 30 articles were further analyzed through qualitative content analysis to examine the types of technologies employed, modes of technology utilization, and their impacts on Islamic learning outcomes. Bibliometric analysis was performed using the Biblioshiny interface of the bibliometrix R package to map publication trends, research productivity, collaboration patterns, and thematic structures. The findings reveal a substantial growth in research output over the past decade, with Indonesia and Malaysia emerging as the most productive countries. Thematic and keyword network analyses indicate that the research field is structured around three major themes: Islamic education as the conceptual foundation, social media–based digital da’wah as the dominant communication channel, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence as an expanding research frontier. Content analysis further identifies five major categories of educational technologies used to disseminate Islamic values: social media platforms, artificial intelligence–based systems, institutional digital learning systems, multimedia learning technologies, and mobile-based religious applications. These technologies contribute to learning outcomes across cognitive, affective, behavioral, and social dimensions, although challenges related to misinformation, fragmented religious understanding, and digital literacy remain important concerns.
educational technology, Islamic education, Islamic values, digital da’wah, social media
Copyright (c) 2026 Agus Trimulyo, Al Kodri, Muhammad Aldiyansah, Ahmad Anas, Abdul Basith, Ahmad Yahya, Muhammad A’inul Haq, Dibi Afriansyah, Lathifah Al Husna, Arik Maghfirotul Mukarom https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
The impact of motivation on language learning
Section: Articles Keywords: ntrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, EFL learning, self-confidence, classroom participation In every classroom, there are some students who are unmotivated to learn. One school in Basra, South Iraq is no exception. Some students are academically failing and many educators believe that motivation is not the solution. Previous studies have discussed two concepts of motivation that inspire students to learn namely; intrinsic and extrinsic which are used in this study, in addition to several process theories of motivation such as: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Vroom’s theory of expectancy, and the Incentive Theory of Motivation. This study aims at finding out if both forms of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic, are needed to help EFL students at a school in build their self-confidence which leads to increased participation levels, higher grades, and consequently academic success. The participants are all the students in three sections of Grade 8 (age 13-14 years). Students in the first section were motivated extrinsically using rewards, medals, surprises, praise, and gifts. Students in the second section were motivated intrinsically through using activities, curiosity-aroused tasks, games, plans of actions, and examples from daily life. Students in the third section were motivated intrinsically and extrinsically using medals, rewards, gifts, praise, and surprises as well as activities, curiosity-aroused tasks, games, plans of actions, and examples from daily life. The data results were analyzed quantitatively and were divided into two parts, first and second term data results, and third term data results. The researcher employed a questionnaire to collect data from 70 participants in order to measure their motivation level, confidence level, and participation level in the classroom before the motivation process, during the process, and after it in addition to observing the students participation in the classroom. The effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation were evaluated by comparing responses to the questions that were asked in the three terms and by comparing grades of the first, second, and the third test of each student. The questionnaires, observation scores, and test results were data collection methods of the study. Findings revealed that the two concepts of motivation had a considerable impact on the self-confidence of students, participation level, and their academic results and revealed that students who were motivated extrinsically and intrinsically scored better on the reading and writing exams than the students who were only motivated extrinsically. Furthermore, there were several limitations on this study including the small sample size chosen and the undermining of individual factors of students such as backgrounds and critical thinking. As for future expectations, it is recommended to conduct further research studies supplementing this quantitative analysis with qualitative evidence that analyzes issues related to the effects of motivation on self-confidence, participation, and academic success, for example, conducting in-depth interviews with a number of participants.
ntrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, EFL learning, self-confidence, classroom participation
Copyright (c) 2026 Batool Dahham Al Ali https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Foreign language classroom anxiety: An applied study for EFL students in AL Farqadeen non-governmental university in Basra
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: foreign language classroom anxiety, EFL learners, speaking performance, communication apprehension, IELTS speaking test Through a mixed-methods research approach to exploring foreign language classroom anxiety, this study focuses on intermediate-level Iraqi students studying English as a foreign language at a university that is not affiliated with the government and located in Basra Iraq. The study utilized the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Speaking Test, as well as semi-structured interviews, to ascertain anxiety levels, the types of presentation of anxiety when speaking, and how these presentational patterns affect their performance while speaking. Findings from the quantitative portion of the study showed that all three dimensions of FLCAS showed moderate to high rates of anxiety (e.g., Communication Apprehension, Test Anxiety, and Fear of Negative Evaluation). Communication Apprehension had the highest level of anxiety, followed by Test Anxiety, and then Fear of Negative Evaluation. There was a statistically significant negative correlation between speaking anxiety and speaking performance, which indicates a strong relationship that if students have higher levels of anxiety, then they will have lower scores on their IELTS Speaking Test. There was no statistically significant difference between male and female students regarding their anxiety levels. Multiple students expressed anxiety in different ways with respect to presentation (i.e., through hesitation patterns, different levels of stress, and interruptions in fluency). Each student experienced a unique anxiety profile (i.e., confident speakers with little to no visual indicators of being anxious compared to individuals with significant anxiety who displayed multiple signs of anxiety). The results provide valuable insight into the understanding of EFL speaking anxiety as well as the urgent need for intervention approaches that alleviate psychological obstacles in Iraqi English education. The results also emphasize that an understanding of both cognitive and emotional dimensions of language acquisition must be taken into account.
foreign language classroom anxiety, EFL learners, speaking performance, communication apprehension, IELTS speaking test
Copyright (c) 2026 Narjis Faris Abdullah, Hadeel Khalid Sheaan, Hayder Yaqoob Yousif https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Conceptual metaphors of morality in Indonesian language: A corpus-based cognitive semantic study
Section: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: cognitive semantics, conceptual metaphor, corpus linguistics, Indonesian language, morality This study examines conceptual metaphors of morality in the Indonesian language using a corpus-based cognitive linguistic approach. Morality, as an abstract value system, is often understood through metaphors rooted in physical and cultural experiences. This study aims to identify and analyze conceptual metaphors of morality. The data consists of 650 sentence samples obtained from the Leipzig Corpora Collection (2020–2024) and analyzed using Sketch Engine through the Metaphoric Pattern Analysis method and Conceptual Metaphor Theory. The results identified 453 metaphorical expressions (69.69%) classified into 25 conceptual metaphors. The findings show that the dominant metaphor is MORALITY IS A BUILDING (26.49%), followed by MORALITY IS SPACE (11.70%) and MORALITY IS CLOTHING (9.71%). This pattern reflects the tendency of Indonesian society to understand morality as a solid yet fragile entity (a building), as a social environment or identity (space and clothing), and as something that can be measured vertically and is potentially vulnerable to damage. This study contributes to metaphor studies in cognitive linguistics by providing empirical data from Indonesia and offering insights into the construction of moral values in contemporary public discourse.
cognitive semantics, conceptual metaphor, corpus linguistics, Indonesian language, morality
Copyright (c) 2026 Nurainun Hasibuan, Mulyadi, Mahriyuni, Khairina Nasution, Nurlela, Rusdi Noor Rosa https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Mapping the current development of Arabic stylistics research in Indonesia: A bibliometric analysis
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: Arabic rhetorics, arabic stylistics, bibliometrics, research development This study aims to analyze the development of Arabic stylistics research, including those related to the Qur’an in Indonesia and identify trends in research topics published in Indonesian journals accredited by Sinta and indexed by Scopus. The urgency of this research lies in the indication of stagnation in Arabic stylistics studies in Indonesia, where emerging research themes tend to be repetitive and have not shown significant diversity or innovation. This study analyzes previous publications related to Arabic stylistics that have been published in Sinta-accredited and Scopus-indexed journals in Indonesia. Data were collected through Publish or Perish, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Semantic Scholar databases, with source limitations in the form of journals accredited by Sinta 1 to 6 and journals indexed by Scopus within the publication period of 2015–2024. The analysis was conducted using a bibliometric approach. Based on the search results, there are 113 articles related to Arabic stylistics consisting of 112 articles from Sinta journals and 1 article from Scopus journals. Data collection was carried out using Zotero. Data processing was carried out using VOSviewer to obtain data visualization results. Microsoft Excel was used to generate graphical visuals. The results show that research in Arabic stylistics in Indonesian journals experienced fluctuating developments between 2015 and 2024. Three main topic clusters emerged as trending topics: rhetorical stylistics, linguistic stylistics, and literary stylistics. From the visualization of Arabic stylistics research topics, this field is primarily used for theoretical applications and has not yet explored multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary studies.
Copyright (c) 2026 Saila Fadhila Ulfa, Luthfi Zain, Azhar Ismail Hasibuan, Muhammad Fadhil Syahridho, Muhtarul Alif, Fitria Susan Meliyana, Ilham Ramadhan, Rahmat, Intifa Fadhillah, Alifia Zahratul Adha, Dian Puspita Sari Habib, Nurjanah https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Textual cohesion and procedural pragmatics in Arabic digital banking discourse: A pragmatic-linguistic way to samples from UAE banking applications
Section: Articles Keywords: textual cohesion, procedural pragmatics, digital banking discourse, Arabic content, linguistic security, user experience This study puts forward a pragmatic-linguistic angle toward textual cohesion in the Arabic part of banking applications. Here, it is treated as procedural digital discourse, not only that it sends information, but it sort of leads the user toward certain financial actions , and in the same time it shapes how people understand, trust, and feel secured. The work starts from the assumption that short banking messages e.g. verification, alert, confirmation, error, and transfer notices, are not kind of standalone verbal pieces. Instead, they work as links in an interactive path where textual organization meets user experience requirements and also digital-security constraints. For the study, a descriptive-analytical method is adopted. It relies on Arabic banking phrases and texts that are available via the official digital channels of selected UAE banks as well as Islamic financial institutions, and these are used as discourse material fit for pragmatic, and text-linguistic examination. The analysis looks at referential cohesion, lexical cohesion, conjunction, procedural sequencing, pragmatic consistency, and linguistic security. The results suggest that the “power” of digital banking text is not assessed by grammatical accuracy only. It is rather about how well it lowers confusion, holds terminology stable, arranges the steps, signals risk, and finally directs the user to the correct action. Overall, the study concludes that Arabic banking-application content forms a promising field for text linguistics and digital pragmatics, and that improving it needs teamwork among linguists, content editors, user-experience designers , and digital-security specialists.
textual cohesion, procedural pragmatics, digital banking discourse, Arabic content, linguistic security, user experience
Copyright (c) 2026 Saad Abd Allah Meqdad, Hamzeh Abu Issa, Essam Eid AbuGharbiah, Talal Ahmed Salim Al Zaabi, Ali Hamed Ali Al Riyami https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Technological mediation and social isolation in Dave Eggers’s The Circle (2013): A Foucauldian perspective
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: technological mediation, digital surveillance, panopticism, social media, isolation, identity construction, surveillance capitalism, digital humanities, contemporary fiction, The Circle (2013) In this essay, I will discuss the relationship between technological mediation and the isolation of humans in the writings of Dave Eggers, paying special attention to The Circle (2013). In his discussion, the author suggests that Dave Eggers addresses the issue of digital culture and the influence that such factors as surveillance, data transparency, and algorithms have on characters' lives. Based on the theories of digital humanities and panopticism, which Michel Foucault described in his book, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (1975), this paper explains the role of technology in forming the modern panopticon and producing self-monitored individuals. With the use of textual analysis, this essay demonstrates that the novel not only describes technology as the tool for connecting people but rather the factor that increases their emotional separation, undermines the value of their privacy, and changes them from ordinary humans into performative beings who are motivated by numerical measures of success like likes, rating, and visibility. Also, the paper argues that through his novel, Eggers opposes the notion of connectivity and illustrates how, by fulfilling that ideology, one ends up being more isolated despite constant communication. As such, the paper contributes to the discussion surrounding The Circle by placing it within the context of surveillance capitalism and the construction of the digital self in the contemporary literary conversation.
technological mediation, digital surveillance, panopticism, social media, isolation, identity construction, surveillance capitalism, digital humanities, contemporary fiction, The Circle (2013)
Copyright (c) 2026 Aysha Juma Alshamsi , Marwan Alqaryouti, Omar Alali, Linda S Al-Abbas https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Computational stylistics in the age of artificial intelligence: A linguistic perspective
Section: Articles Categories: Digital Humanities Keywords: computational stylistics, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, computational linguistics, machine learning, text analysis, stylistic variation, deep learning, language technology The swift development of artificial intelligence has led to a revolution within the realm of stylistics, thus introducing the new interdisciplinary approach known as computational stylistics. This research paper discusses the current state of affairs when it comes to using AI-based methods for stylistic analysis, namely how approaches used in Computational Linguistics and NLP (Natural Language Processing) help to further advance the field. Rather than relying solely on rule-based and purely qualitative means of analysis, this study takes a step toward data-driven methods based on machine learning models, including both deep learning networks and transformer-based architectures. Based on experimental results, the current study seeks to explore whether various computational models can be successfully applied to stylistics and help identify such stylistic markers as lexis, syntax, and semantics within texts. It turns out that the use of contextual representation models helps to achieve better results when it comes to recognizing and classifying stylistic phenomena. In addition, large-scale pretraining becomes another critical factor in this type of stylistics research. However, in addition to its achievements, the work also highlights important problems, such as issues related to model interpretability, biases within the training dataset, and the underrepresentation of different styles of speech. In terms of the theoretical approach, the study claims that the use of artificial intelligence is not intended to supersede traditional stylistic approaches, but rather complements them. In conclusion, this paper can be considered a contribution to the increasing amount of literature on computational stylistics, which demonstrates how artificial intelligence transforms the study of language style and underlines the importance of combining computational approaches and stylistics in an equal measure.
computational stylistics, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, computational linguistics, machine learning, text analysis, stylistic variation, deep learning, language technology
Copyright (c) 2026 Wasan Khalid Ahmed , Marwan Alqaryouti, Hussein W. Alkhawaja, Linda S. Al-Abbas, Ayad Hammood Ahmed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
A critical discourse analysis of legitimacy, stakeholder voices, and calls to action in Saudi environmental associations
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: critical discourse analysis, environmental communication, Saudi Arabia, environmental associations, legitimacy, stakeholder voice, calls to action, ecolinguistics This article examines how Saudi environmental associations construct legitimacy, represent stakeholder voices, and formulate calls to action in their public discourse. Positioned at the intersection of Critical Discourse Analysis, environmental communication, nonprofit communication, stakeholder theory, and ecolinguistics, the study asks how association discourse authorizes environmental action and how it converts public concern into civic participation. The article uses a qualitative CDA design with a bounded illustrative corpus of official public-facing texts from Saudi environmental associations and association-type civic/scientific bodies, including mission statements, activity descriptions, campaign language, membership or registration prompts, and partnership-oriented webpages. The analysis develops a three-dimensional framework: legitimacy construction, stakeholder voice, and calls to action. The findings suggest that legitimacy is commonly built through national alignment, institutional affiliation, expertise, public benefit, and moral responsibility. Stakeholder voices are visible through references to citizens, volunteers, youth, communities, partners, and public/private actors, but these voices are often represented by the association rather than quoted directly. Calls to action move between operational invitations, such as registration and volunteering, and broader moral appeals to protect the environment. The article contributes a humanized, replicable CDA framework for analyzing how environmental associations use language to build trust, organize participation, and shape civic environmental responsibility, while cautioning against claims of actual environmental impact without independent evidence.
critical discourse analysis, environmental communication, Saudi Arabia, environmental associations, legitimacy, stakeholder voice, calls to action, ecolinguistics
Copyright (c) 2026 Omar Nooh Almotiry, Neelofar Hussain Wani https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
The role of strategic foresight in overcoming environmental sustainability challenges: A social framework based on discourse analysis for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: strategic foresight, environmental sustainability, discourse analysis, Saudi Arabia, environmental communication, stakeholder voices, legitimacy, calls to action, social framework Environmental sustainability in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is often discussed through the language of policy, investment, regulation, and technological transition. These dimensions are necessary, but they are not sufficient. Sustainability also depends on how institutions imagine the future, how they make environmental challenges socially meaningful, how they legitimate difficult choices, and how they invite citizens, associations, universities, companies, and local communities to act. This article develops a humanized discourse-analytical account of the role of strategic foresight in overcoming environmental sustainability challenges in Saudi Arabia. It argues that strategic foresight should not be treated simply as prediction, scenario writing, or long-term planning. It is also a communicative practice through which possible futures are narrated, risks are prioritized, responsibilities are distributed, and collective action becomes thinkable. Drawing on critical discourse analysis, the discourse-historical approach, legitimation theory, stakeholder theory, environmental communication, and foresight studies, the article proposes a social framework that connects five pillars: future-oriented environmental awareness, institutional legitimacy and trust, stakeholder voice and participation, actionable environmental communication, and feedback-based learning. The article is conceptual and methodological rather than a report of completed corpus findings. It offers a framework for analyzing public texts produced by Saudi environmental associations and sustainability institutions and for designing clearer, more participatory, and more action-oriented environmental discourse. The contribution is to show that environmental sustainability is not only a technical transition; it is also a discursive and social transition that requires legitimacy, voice, trust, and practical calls to action.
strategic foresight, environmental sustainability, discourse analysis, Saudi Arabia, environmental communication, stakeholder voices, legitimacy, calls to action, social framework
Copyright (c) 2026 Salman Fahad Alqahtani, Neelofar Hussain Wani https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
AI-assisted content generation and its impact on ESL learners’ speaking skills: A Quasi-experimental study
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, ESL students, speaking, learner autonomy, formative feedback, AI-based learning, language pedagogy The study explores the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as an additional tool to improve speaking proficiency among tertiary-level English as a Second Language (ESL) students. The study is based on a mixed, quasi-experimental design, including two stages: a preliminary survey (N = 149) to conduct research on the perceptions of learners toward AI-assisted learning, and an intervention phase with a purposive sample (n = 60). The intervention consisted of AI-assisted speaking tasks aimed at content generation and validation, conducted over eight weeks. The data were gathered using a Likert scale questionnaire and pre-test/ post-test of speaking performance. High internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.912) was established through reliability analysis. The survey results show that there is a largely favourable attitude towards AI, especially in terms of assisting with cognitive planning, increasing linguistic accuracy, facilitating learner autonomy and motivation. Two-way ANOVA in the inferential statistical analysis showed a significant increase in the post-test scores, which proved the effectiveness of AI-assisted interventions. Nonetheless, regression analysis showed that individual AI-based activities did not have strong predictive power on performance, which emphasised the multifactorial development of speaking skills. The study summarises that AI, as a pedagogical support tool, when applied wisely, can be used to promote cognitive and affective aspects of language acquisition.
Artificial Intelligence, ESL students, speaking, learner autonomy, formative feedback, AI-based learning, language pedagogy
Copyright (c) 2026 D. Praveen Sam, Suresh G S, Vijaya Baskar C , Saravanan V https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
The formation of cultural identity through the adaptive digital humanities platform: Evidence of poetry writing among Indonesian children
Section: Articles Categories: Digital Humanities Keywords: mobile learning, AI-driven mobile learning, adaptive prompt engineering, learning analytics, culturally responsive pedagogy, human–AI interaction in education This study proposes an intelligent culturally aware mobile learning system that integrates adaptive prompt generation and user interaction analytics to support creative writing processes. Unlike conventional mobile learning applications that primarily focus on content delivery, the proposed system is designed as an adaptive digital architecture consisting of a user interface layer, a cultural knowledge module, an adaptive prompt generation engine, a feedback mechanism, and an interaction analytics component. The system transforms user-generated input, writing progression, and culturally embedded knowledge into structured prompts and iterative feedback cycles, enabling dynamic and personalized learning interactions. To address the limited system-level validation in culturally responsive mobile learning research, this study evaluates the proposed system using both deployment and performance indicators, including usability, feature-level interaction, session duration, daily active use, and implementation fidelity. A quasi-experimental deployment involving 120 users across multiple schools was conducted over eight weeks. The system demonstrated stable real-world operation, high engagement levels, and a System Usability Scale score of 84.2. Interaction analytics indicated consistent feature adoption, particularly within adaptive writing and cultural interaction modules. In addition, outcome analysis revealed significant improvements in user-generated outputs, while structural modeling showed that cultural awareness mediated the relationship between system interaction and performance. These findings position the proposed approach as an intelligent mobile learning system that operationalizes adaptive interaction, cultural knowledge integration, and analytics-based validation within a scalable digital environment.
Copyright (c) 2026 Anang Sudigdo, Eko Suroso, Onok Yayang Pamungkas, Daru Tunggul Aji, Rochmad Novian Inderanata, Edi Jatmiko, Nani Darheni, Nailul Mukorobin https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Linguistic reconstruction of Central Asian toponyms: Evidence from Eastern historical sources
Section: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: Central Asia, cultural heritage, historical etymology, topoformant, toponym Central Asia is a key region for the ethnogenesis and civilizational development of the Turkic peoples, yet its toponyms have a complex history shaped by centuries of migration and multilingual interaction. Drawing on a historical-etymological approach and the concept of topoformants, this study linguistically reconstructs the historical etymology of approximately 1,000 Central Asian toponyms based on a wide range of Eastern historical documents. The corpus was compiled through purposeful sampling from Eastern chronicles and corroborated by works of renowned Orientalists and Turkologists. The analysis helped reconstruct original forms, identify probable root languages, and explore semantic shifts caused by social and environmental changes. Toponyms were classified by geographic features and linguistic origin, revealing Iranian and Turkic layers, as well as Arab-Islamic influences. The study demonstrates that Central Asian toponyms are multilayered constructs reflecting complex historical and cultural contacts. By integrating various Eastern sources, the study fills the gap in the comparative analysis of regional toponymy, contributing to Turkic onomastics, and highlighting the role of toponyms in preserving collective heritage and strengthening solidarity among Turkic-speaking communities. The study offers valuable insights into the shared historical heritage of Central Asia and its significance for contemporary identity and cultural memory.
Copyright (c) 2026 Bibaisha Nurdauletova, Ainur Kenbayeva https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Algorithmic power in autocratic regimes: Critical analysis for democratic resilience in the digital age
Section: Articles Categories: Digital Humanities Keywords: AI surveillance, algorithmic politics, democratic resilience, digital authoritarianism, power theory This article examines the influence of algorithms in the context of digital authoritarianism and their impact on democratic resilience. Drawing on a synthesis of literature, this work addresses political algorithmics, artificial surveillance technologies, and information control through digital gatekeeping. The article highlights the logic of power algorithms as a form of predictive power relations that obscure and automate control. Case studies from Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia, illustrate how autocratic governments use algorithms to filter public sentiment, suppress dissent, and control narratives. The analysis reveals three components of algorithmic politics: predictive and personalized automation, repressive algorithms, and manipulation of information systems. These components demonstrate the extent to which algorithmic power reinforces authoritarian rule while simultaneously eroding the foundation of democratic resilience by dismantling the public sphere of reasoned debate, deepening societal divisions, and diminishing the level of critical citizenship and digital civic engagement. The article urgently proposes rethinking the political theory of power to incorporate technological, epistemological, and emotional frameworks in the digital age.
Copyright (c) 2026 Caroline Paskarina https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
The discursive construction of youth and government in Kenya’s 2024 Finance Bill digital protests
Section: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: connective action, Digital protest discourse, discursive strategies, discourse historical approach, Kenya Finance Bill, Youth activism Kenya’s 2024 Finance Bill protests marked a decisive shift in how political resistance is organized and expressed, with digitally mediated participation replacing traditional, centralized forms of mobilization. This study explores how youth-led social media discourse not only reflected but actively shaped the unfolding crisis. Discourse-Historical Approach and Connective Action Theory were used in the analysis of textual data from Twitter/X, Facebook, and TikTok collected during the months of May and June 2024 when there was heated online mobilization against the bill and the ultimate protest on 25 June, 2024. High-engagement posts were examined through qualitative discourse analysis. The analysis reveals a patterned use of language through which protesters constructed a sharp contrast between themselves and political elites. Political leadership was constructed as corrupt, detached, and failing; while citizens, particularly Gen Z, were positioned as corrective and morally grounded actors. This is achieved through a combination of nomination, predication, argumentation, and strategic modality. At the same time, slogans, metaphors, and lexical innovations generated a sense of collective identity. Intertextual references to historical, religious, and cultural narratives further anchor the protests within broader moral frameworks.
connective action, Digital protest discourse, discursive strategies, discourse historical approach, Kenya Finance Bill, Youth activism
Copyright (c) 2026 Lillian Kemunto Omoke https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Green university as seeds of change: A strategic digital humanities framework for sustainability transformation in Saudi higher education
Section: Articles Categories: Digital Humanities Keywords: green university, digital humanities, sustainability transformation, Saudi higher education, Vision 2030, environmental culture, institutional change This conceptual article proposes a strategic digital humanities framework for advancing green university transformation in Saudi higher education. It begins from a simple but often neglected argument: universities cannot become sustainable by greening infrastructure alone. Energy efficiency, waste management, water conservation, transport planning, and environmental reporting are necessary, yet they do not by themselves transform how academic communities imagine their responsibilities toward land, resources, culture, knowledge, and future generations. In Saudi Arabia, where higher education reform, digital transformation, and sustainability ambitions are closely connected to Vision 2030 and the Saudi Green Initiative, the green university can function as a seed of change when it becomes a cultural and intellectual project as well as an operational one. The article develops a Strategic Digital Humanities for Green University Transformation framework organized around seven interrelated dimensions: digital sustainability curriculum, green digital archives, data storytelling and visualization, the campus as a living laboratory, community and cultural engagement, digital ethics and environmental responsibility, and policy and institutional governance. Drawing on scholarship in sustainability in higher education, digital humanities, education for sustainable development, and Saudi campus sustainability studies, the article argues that digital humanities can humanize sustainability by linking environmental issues with memory, language, place, identity, ethics, narrative, and public participation. The contribution is a context-sensitive framework that Saudi universities can adapt for teaching, research, institutional culture, community engagement, and national development priorities.
green university, digital humanities, sustainability transformation, Saudi higher education, Vision 2030, environmental culture, institutional change
Copyright (c) 2026 Ibrahim Mohammed Alasmari, Khaled Ahmed Abdel-Al Ibrahim, Salaheddin Mohammad Daklalah Mohammad, Nisar Ahmad Koka https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Metaphors of sustainable environment and essential-needs supply in Saudi Arabia: A framing-theory approach
Section: Articles Categories: Literature, Linguistics & Criticism Keywords: metaphor, framing theory, Saudi Arabia, sustainability discourse, food security, water security, Arabic discourse, critical metaphor analysis, discourse analysis This article examines how public Saudi discourse frames sustainable environment and essential-needs supply through metaphor. It analyzes a purposive bilingual sample of official Arabic and English discourse from the Saudi Green Initiative, the General Food Security Authority, and the Saudi Water Authority. The study is empirical in a qualitative discourse-analytic sense: it works with real-life institutional expressions rather than invented examples, while avoiding the stronger claim that the sample statistically represents all Saudi media. The article asks how recurrent metaphorical expressions define environmental and supply problems, allocate responsibility, evaluate policy action, and recommend solutions. The method combines framing theory, conceptual metaphor analysis, and critical metaphor analysis. Every Arabic expression cited in the analysis is presented in Arabic script, romanized form, and English translation. The results show that Saudi sustainability discourse repeatedly presents environmental transformation as movement toward a green future, climate action as struggle, governance as coordination under an umbrella, and food and water provision as security, continuity, reserve, system management, and early-warning preparedness. The article argues that these metaphors form an integrated discourse of governable transformation: the sustainable environment is framed not as a detached ecological ideal but as a national project linked to quality of life, strategic planning, future generations, and the protection of essential resources. At the same time, the analysis shows that the same frames can narrow public visibility. Journey metaphors make transformation appear orderly; war metaphors sharpen urgency; greening metaphors give ecological change a hopeful developmental vocabulary; security metaphors legitimize coordination and preparedness. Yet each metaphor also backgrounds something: conflict over pace, ecological tradeoffs, energy-sector tensions, demand restraint, import dependence, and the deliberative dimensions of sustainability. The article concludes that metaphor is one of the central mechanisms through which Saudi sustainability and essential-needs supply become publicly intelligible.
metaphor, framing theory, Saudi Arabia, sustainability discourse, food security, water security, Arabic discourse, critical metaphor analysis, discourse analysis
Copyright (c) 2026 Saif Abdullah Mohammed, Neelofar Hussain Wani https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
International commercial arbitration and the governance of cross-border e-commerce: A comparative study of Saudi Arabia and Jordan
Section: Articles Keywords: Commercial Arbitration, E-Commerce, SDG 8, Digital Transformation, Digital Investment. The rapid growth of cross-border e-commerce has reshaped international trade by enabling digital transactions beyond territorial boundaries while creating complex legal challenges relating to jurisdiction, applicable law, electronic evidence, and enforcement. These challenges highlight the need for effective legal governance mechanisms capable of ensuring certainty and maintaining confidence in digital markets. International commercial arbitration has become a key mechanism for resolving cross-border commercial disputes because of its neutrality, procedural flexibility, confidentiality, and international enforceability. This study examines the relationship between international commercial arbitration and the governance of cross-border e-commerce through a comparative analysis of the legal frameworks of Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Using doctrinal, comparative, and analytical legal methodologies, it evaluates arbitration legislation, institutional arbitration systems, judicial supervision, recognition and enforcement procedures, and compatibility with international arbitration standards, particularly the UNCITRAL Model Law and the New York Convention. The study finds that both Saudi Arabia and Jordan have adopted modern arbitration legislation broadly aligned with international standards, yet differences remain in institutional effectiveness, regulatory implementation, and governance of digital commercial disputes. It argues that stronger arbitration governance enhances legal predictability, increases confidence in cross-border digital transactions, and supports a more secure legal environment for international e-commerce.
Commercial Arbitration, E-Commerce, SDG 8, Digital Transformation, Digital Investment.
Copyright (c) 2026 Omar Abu Al-Majd Alnoimi, Eman Al-Wreikat, Saad Ben Obaid Alrefdi, Soltan Ben Helaiil Almatrafi, Mohammad Mahmoud said Al dawoud, Yasar Alhiniti https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Compensation for Environmental Damages occurring within the Transition towards Sustainable Development: A Comparative Study regarding the UAE Legislation
Section: Articles Keywords: compensation for environmental damage, civil liability, sustainable development, Emirati legislation, legal protection of the environment. Compensation for environmental damage is considered one of the most important contemporary legal issues, in light of the global shift toward sustainable development, which has led to the promotion of legal liability rules to balance the requirements of economic development and the need for environmental protection. However, this research aims to clarify the concept of environmental damage and its characteristics, analyze the legal basis of civil liability for environmental damage, and explain the mechanisms of compensation for such damage in light of the provisions of Emirati legislation, while comparing this with some comparative legislation and modern trends in international environmental law. It also highlights the extent to which the Emirati legal system aligns with the legal principles governing environmental protection, foremost among them the principle of sustainable development. It should be noted that the researcher has relied on a descriptive-analytical method to explore the relevant legal texts and judicial rulings, in addition to adopting a comparative method with which the similarities and differences between Emirati legislation and some comparative legislations have been highlighted, in a way that helps identify the strengths and the aspects that require legislative development. As a matter of fact, Emirati legislation has paid increasing attention to environmental protection by establishing rules that also address environmental damage compensation, in line with the state's orientation toward achieving sustainable development. Nevertheless, the special nature of environmental damage, and its complexity and the difficulty of proving causality and evaluating the extent of the damage, requires indeed further legislative and procedural development to enhance the effectiveness of compensation, including the adoption of specialized mechanisms for assessing environmental damage, the establishment of funds to compensate for serious environmental damage, and the expansion of the scope of liability in a way that would achieve better protection for the environment and the rights of present and future generations.
compensation for environmental damage, civil liability, sustainable development, Emirati legislation, legal protection of the environment.
Copyright (c) 2026 nadia yas, Amira Badr, Ahmed Mohamed Barak, Hussein Ahmed Alghushami, Ahmed Al-Jumaili https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0