ACADEMIC WRITING CHALLENGES OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNERS IN PAKISTAN

This descriptive qualitative research sought to explore as what would be the best writing approach adopted to teach academic writing skill to the undergraduate university students to identify and minimize the identified problems. The aim of the study was to strengthen the academic writing skill of university students. For this purpose, thirty undergraduate students were selected and involved in focus group discussions to highlight the problematic area in the field of academic writing. Thematic analysis helped to understand the problems faced by the students and suggestions were made on the basis of the study’s findings. The study revealed the students’ inability to use appropriate vocabulary. These students lacked the skill to express themselves in their own words, and often their written work would look patchy. English being the foreign language to the students hampered their ability to think in the target language. The present study contributed to understand the problems and suggested process approach of writing to be adopted by the faculty to overcome the academic writing related problems. Key Words: Process Approach, Product Approach, Genre Approach, Academic Writing

Use of Obturating Pills Combined with Low Concentration Acid Pills to Overcome Differential Stuck Challenges in Highly Deviated Wells

In 2020, A Major Offshore Operating Company in UAE faced a high differential pressure stuck event. This took place, during the execution of formation evaluation with a conveyed pipe sampling BHA. It is well known that after a differentially stuck pipe event happens, the success ratio will be time dependent (i.e. the less time a pipe remains stuck, the more chances there will be for it to become released) and the chances of releasing the BHA are always limited to the logging tools tensile limitations. One of the most common and successful methods to release differentially stuck BHA's specifically in limestone formations is by pumping and soaking acid pills. However, under such a high differential pressure environment, the use of acid may induce losses in the so called "thief zones", causing worse problems. The standard release procedure started by working the string within the tensile limits, followed by pumping acid pills (using the available volume mobilized before spudding each drilling section). During the first acid pills pumped to attempt to release the stuck pipe, loss volume pump rates, acid pill position(s) and coverage in the annulus was assessed and evaluated. Based on the results it was observed that the thief zone was in direct contact with the Pipe Conveyed circulation port, at the latching assembly. This then created a situation whereby, the acid pills were lost immediately after the acid came into contact with the formation. Utilizing low acid concentration pills also had the same effect. The solution was to pump an Obturating pill made-up of a weighting agent as a spacer behind the high volume, low concentration acid pill with crosslinking divergent chemicals, pumped at a high flow rate. This solution reduced the acid losses across the thief zone and once the Obturating pill came into contact with the loss zone, it facilitated the seal and cured the losses, by allowing the acid to move up the annulus until it reached the differentially stuck point and soaked across the problematic area. Once the acid pill was successfully placed at the required location using this method, the string was worked and successfully released. This combination of low concentration acid along with crosslinking divergent chemicals coupled with the Obturating pill behind the acid helped a major offshore operating company to pump the acid pill under partial losses only, to regain full circulation after only 10 bbl. of Obturating pill had entered inside the annulus. It allowed the acid pill to react across the stuck point, while keeping the string under low torque and compression. The operator was able to release the sampling BHA and bring it back to surface avoiding a lost in hole cost of around 4 MM$. The Obturating pill combined with low concentration CDC acid pill is proven to be a successful method in drilling operations when trying to release differentially stuck BHA's within a wellbore.

Investigation of Instructors' Views on the Accreditation Process of Schools of Foreign Languages

The main purpose of this study is to determine the views of instructors who work at accredited schools of foreign languages about the accreditation process that they have been through. This study follows the qualitative case study research design. The participants were 31 English instructors working at 12 different foreign language schools in Turkey. A set of semi-structured interview questions created by the researchers were used as the data collection tool. The collected data were then subjected to content analysis. It was found that documentation was the most problematic area for the institutions during the accreditation process, so it was the most labor-intensive area for the instructors. Also, it was found that there were significant improvements in the learning and teaching process at these institutions, which resulted in a higher quality of instruction. In addition, it was observed that the accreditation process triggers creation of a culture of quality and continuous development among the instructors. It can be recommended that all teaching staff should be well informed about the accreditation purpose and process, ensuring staff readiness. Furthermore, the burden of work involved in accreditation should be shared by all the staff, with a well-planned and balanced division of labor among them.

THE HIGHER HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL-SCIENTIFIC EDUCATION IN A CRISIS - A NEW APPROACH OR A DEAD END? AN ATTEMPT TO UPDATE A “REPLICA“ OF HANS ROBERT JAUSS 'S IDEAS

The article develops two problem areas: The first substantiates the thesis that the basis of the “problems“ of the educational process in higher humanitarian education is not the Covid-19 pandemic crisis. This basis lies in the new historical (“human“) situation of the early 21st century. This situation requires the development of modern theoretical models in the humanities and social sciences and a new “propaedeutic“ model for their study. This new model must reject the traditions of “remembering“ and “reproducing“ a certain amount of information by students and provoke their active participation in the educational process. In addition, views on the “secondary“ and / or even the “death“ of humanitarian and social knowledge are asserted. That is why this study, especially at the university, is somehow isolated within the educational space. The second problematic area deals with the question of the essence, content and heuristic-propaedeutic possibilities of the reflexive synoptic paradigmatic approach. The position that the paradigmatic approach overcomes the extremes of the other two main approaches in the reflective methodology of scientific knowledge: philosophical-methodological historicism and contextualism is defended by uniting them in a new “synoptic“ “philosophical-contextual“ approach. This view does not allow to present the theory and history of humanitarian and social knowledge as the “chronology“ of its existence, nor only as a linear cumulative process of accumulation of ideas or a set of separate “contextual“ analytical texts, but as a “reconstruction“ which presents a theoretical model of the dialectical “becoming“ of the history and theory of humanitarian and social-scientific thought. This model is the means by which the methodological activity and heuristics of the “synoptic“ paradigmatic approach are “verified“, finding expression not only in the elaboration of the general explanatory scheme, but also in revealing the content of the separate theories, which gives huge opportunities for realization not of “reproducing“, but of “mental“, “creative“ research and educational process.

The problem of text generation in teaching philological fundamentals of professional activity

The subject of this research is the problem of text generation in teaching students the philological fundamentals of professional activity. The practice of creating media texts and communication products implies not only a set of representations on the media trends, process of medicalization, and pragmalinguistic characteristics of mass media texts, but also consistent philological knowledge, specific condition and strategies of media education, which contribute to successful production of the necessary content. Methodological framework is comprised of the general scientific method of comparative analysis, as well as the methods of philology – compositional and semantic-stylistic analysis that allowed determining typical difficulties faced by the students in the process of text generation: incomprehension of the genre boundaries and content benchmarks, problem of selecting the necessary text modality, lack of factual information on the topic, its unreasonable duplication. The author assesses the quality and specificity of the creative speeches of the students (announcements, peer reviews, interview texts); as well as analyzes their perception by the students for clarifying the problematic area of text generation and search for effective solutions within the framework of educational communication. The acquired results allow outlining the key and additional conditions for the improvement of text generating skill of the future specialists in the field of mass communications, the stages of solution of the problem of text generation and their content. The defining in formation of the text generating skill became the approach towards media text as a multilevel message, the key parameters of which are determined by the implied communication medium, form of perception, peculiarities of creation, category of authorship, and thematic orientation.

Investigating the Problems encountered by EFL Students in Translating English Idioms into Arabic or Vice Versa

Translating idioms is an indispensable part of human life which involves language, thought and action. This study aims to investigate the problems encountered by EFL students in translating English idioms into Arabic or vice versa and set up some solutions. The study hypothesizes that university students are unable to translate idioms from English to Arabic and vice versa. To fulfil this study, the descriptive-analytic method is used and to be followed. A questionnaire is used as data collection instruments. The sample of the study consisted of (20) students from the third and fourth school year at Onaizah Colleges, Qassim, K.S.A. The study found that the differences in the average of the consensus are in favour of the variables that translating idioms is a problematic area for Saudi EFL students. Likewise, EFL students are confused in translating idioms from English to Arabic and vice versa due to poor vocabulary and fixed idiomatic expressions. Moreover, EFL students translate the idioms from English to Arabic and vice versa literally. The study recommends that EFL students should be exposed to a variety of vocabulary, fixed and idiomatic expression in translation tasks. Also, they must be aware of the cultural differences in translation idioms. The study further recommends that deploying fixed and idiomatic expressions in schools' and colleges' aisles could benefit the students in translation.

Dragline Stripping Method Review to Maximize Productivity and Coal Recovery at Major Fault Zone - A Case Study

Strategic mine planning is substantial to ensure maximum coal recovery across severely faulted geological conditions with predicted below water table excavation. An optimum plan would improve multiple engineering constraints to deliver high recovery with safety and best possible efficiency of machineries deployed at the problematic area. One such case is of Southern pit at Sasan coal mine, India with fault throw varying from 3m to 40m through a series of parallel merging faults located closely within strike length of 800m. It has challenged the mine for better coal recovery, machine performance and scheduled pit progression over recent corner strips. This paper describes how the mine has overcome complexities of operating in the fault area with localised consistent water seepage. It discusses new pre-strip parameters adopted to enhance dragline productivity, preparation of stable dragline operating bench under given bottom wet overburden conditions, and coal extraction plan which has been incorporated together with dragline stripping plan to improve recovery at the area of study. Several aspects of process have been highlighted during implementation, such as requirement of early dewatering setup for dragline low-wall stability and coal roof cleaning.

INFLUENCE OF GEOMAGNETIC DISTURBANCE ON THE PSYCHOLOGICALSTATE OFTHEINHABITANTS OFTHE N

The aim of the work was to determine the influence of geomagnetic disturbance on the psychoemotional status of residents of polar and Subpolar latitudes. Materials and methods. 44 male and female volunteers with an average age of 49.2 (41.7; 55.4) years, living in auroral and sub – auroral latitudes were examined using tests of Ch. Spielberger-Yu. Hanin, E. Khaimah and psychosomatic techniques. The daily CR index (Computed Radiography) was used as an integral indicator of geomagnetic disturbance. Results. The volunteers were divided into two groups: psychologically sensitive to changes in space weather (I) and-not having such sensitivity (II) (based on the presence or absence of certain coincidences of the peak values of reactive anxiety and the CR index). The groups had an equal number of persons. It was found that the most problematic area of stress-overcoming behavior in both groups was behavioral, the most effective for group I — cognitive, for group II — emotional sphere. Individuals with psychological sensitivity to geomagnetic disturbances were significantly more anxious than those who did not have this sensitivity. Conclusion. Thus, despite the fact that all the inhabitants of the Northern latitudes observed by us were not sufficiently effective in constructing the actual stressovercoming behavior, the risk of developing psychosomatic diseases was higher in the owners of psychological sensitivity to geomagnetic disturbance, taking into account their tendency to suppress emotions and significantly higher anxiety.

Conscious and unconscious in the problem space attitude of students to physical education

The challenges and risks to the human biological basis are related to the minimization of motor activity of the individual and the subsequent consequences of permanent hypodynamic. Regular use of physical exercises and loads in the modern information society is gaining new importance. Students, in theory, are aware of these risks and the positive impact of regular exercise on their body and life aspects in general. But this knowledge not always encourages a person to systemic efforts in the context of physical self-training. According to the authors, theoretical knowledge about physical development and improvement of the person’s motor function who has limited motor experience, enter into the cognitive dissonance with the whole list of contingent factors, such as laziness, phobias, negative emotions, etc. There is an assumption that in the area of physical activity, not only conscious cognitions occur, but also unconscious or partly-conscious, in mentioned above cognitive dissonance. The final choice is made by finding out the attitude to the perspectives of the state of one’s physical body and means of correcting unacceptable deviations of the personality in such a dissonance. Goal if our research is to reveal existence and correlation of conscious and unconscious in problematic area of shaping of the attitude to the exercising. Proposed goal of the research determines usage of interdisciplinary approach. During the research we used complex of methods, among which are: evaluation of the literature and practical experience, questionnaires, methods of mathematical statistics, explication of personal logical systems. During the research theoretical diagrams and developments were checked in accordance with the results of the questionnaire. 272 freshmen of the National Aviation University took part in this questionnaire. Results determined that 28,6% of students would use conscious cognitions relatively to physical training, and 71,4% would use unconscious. Students in the process of final selecting of attitude to personal physical state, unconscious (not controlled), is one of the main influential factors.