Employment and Labor Union Laws in Japan between the 1889 and 1946 Constitutions: A Comparative Study

This research is based on the descriptive and analytical methodology. The importance of studying labor laws and labor unions in Japan between 1889 and 1946 constitutions is because Japan was out of a feudal phase, and had no idea about the factory system and industrialization in their modern sense before the Meiji era. Generally, its labor system used to be mostly familial, and the economic system was based on agriculture. This called for the enactment of legislations and laws appropriate for the coming phase in Meiji era. Thus, this paper examines the role of Meiji government in enacting labor legislations and laws when he came to power in 1896, and his new constitution in 1889 and the civil code of 1896. It further examines the way Meiji government and the following Japanese governments until the end of World War II did not abide by Meiji laws and stipulations of the constitution with their abusive actions in ending the workers’ strikes and disputes, with the inequality between genders in labor and wages, and the use of child labor in factories in an inhuman way. The paper clarifies the role of the American occupation of Japan (1945-1952) after dissolving Meiji constitution and legislations and the government measures that followed them to enact new legislations, laws and constitution for Japan on November 3, 1946, which was active in May 3, 1947. The paper has concluded that the American occupation policy of Japan was able to avoid the dissidence of millions of Japanese workers, whose level of livelihood was deteriorating after their country lost the war, and convert them from a dissident group against the occupation to a peaceful group which did not target the occupation in their future goals.

The Effectiveness of Using Narrative Approach in Teaching the Course of Interpretation (Tafseer) in Developing the First Intermediate Female Students’ Conceptual Understanding

This study aims at examining the effectiveness of using the narrative approach in teaching the Interpretation of the Qur'an course in the development of conceptual comprehension among first-grade middle school female students. To achieve the objective of this study, a quantitative quasi-experimental design has been used. The sample consisted of first-grade middle school female students at "the third middle school" in Buraidah city, as this school suits the objective of the study. A test of conceptual understanding has been built by the researchers according to a list of conceptual understating skills at a significance level of α ≤ 0.05. Results have shown that there are statistically significant differences at the level (α ≤ 0,05) between the mean scores of the experimental group and the control group students regarding the conceptual comprehension test in favour of the experimental group. Moreover, there are statistically significant differences between the mean scores of the experimental group students in the pre- and post-conceptual comprehension tests in favour of the post-test. Based on these results, the researchers have provided a set of related recommendations and suggestions, such as: accentuating the importance of using the narrative approach in constructing Sharia sciences courses in general and the interpretation of the Qur'an course in particular. Accordingly, the researchers have recommended conducting a study entitled the effectiveness of using the narrative approach in teaching the interpretation of the Qur'an course in developing the first-grade secondary school students’ conceptual comprehension.

انتشار التعليم الأهلي: دراسة جغرافية تحليلية لعوامل ظهوره وانتشاره وكفاءته الوظيفية في مدينة بغداد

The research aims to assess the functional efficiency of private education institutions when performing their task at a high level to satisfy the needs of the city’s residents. It has been recently noticed that people favor private education to government institutions education; a matter which has led to the phenomenon of its spread, and to access its consequences. Its spread has competed not only the governmental institutions, but also the private institutions among themselves in providing the best educational services and survive accordingly. The present paper further examines the pressing negative side on the teaching faculty, especially with regard to their monthly income. The positive and negative points altogether have made it urgent to find the best and proper solutions to enhance faculty members’ output, and increase their positive sides to serve the educational service. Such steps cannot be achieved without conducting tests inside these private educational institutions to interpret all their scientific queries. The study has used the descriptive, functional and analytical approach, and adopted a field study by collecting relevant data and information for the purpose of the research and its problem based on the reality of the facilities of this service for the year (2020). The first two questionnaire forms were distributed to a sample of (1520) parents of students in private schools, by taking one student per family. The second sample amounted to (200) survey forms distributed to the teaching faculty. Results have shown that the high percentage of students registered in the primary stage greatly surpassed the rest of the educational stages. Besides, the increase in the educational level provided by these institutions is the reason for its spread; that is why, the level of students’ parents’ satisfaction has increased to (good) level.

The Skills of Intended Meaning behind the Context when Reading Poetry among Fifth Grade Students- Literary Branch from Teachers’ Perspectives

The current research aims to investigate the skills of the intended meaning beyond the context when reading poetry among fifth literary students. To achieve the aim of the research, the researcher has followed the descriptive approach and used two tools: an open questionnaire that includes an inquiry about the skills of the intended meaning beyond the poetic context, and a closed questionnaire that were examined by the juries, and modified accordingly. Besides, its validity and stability were examined by applying the study on an exploratory sample of (15) teachers to reach its final version and determine the time required to answer it. Then, the researcher applied it on the research sample of (96) male and female teachers selected from various schools in the center of Babylon Governorate, who teach fifth grade of the literary branch. After processing the responses statistically, the research has concluded the following: three intended meaning skills have been identified to determine the intended meaning beyond the poetic context. Regarding the item (training students to be able to determine the meaning of difficult words in the text) of the first item of the skill, it has the highest score, as its intensity reached (4,41) and its percentage weight reached (%88,3). The item (training students to be able to understand the hidden meaning of the text and the recognition of its aesthetic value) of the second item of the skill has gained the highest score which amounts to (4.33) with a percentage weight of (%86.6). The item (training the students on the use of educational aids related to the text, which may be pictures or phrases) of the third item of the skill has received the highest score, as its intensity reached (4.5) a percentage weight of (%90). According to these results, the researcher has recommended that students should be given enough time to be able to consider and understand the meaning of a text.

The Impact of the Seven Principles of Good Practice as a Teaching Technique on EFL Student –Teachers' Performance

The interest in pre-service teacher training has become influential in teaching English as a foreign language, and the purpose of this training course is to prepare qualified teachers to teach effectively through the application of this technique by undergraduate students. This research aims to find out the effect of using the seven principles of good practice as a teaching technique on the fourth stage student-teachers’ performance at the College of Education for Women/University of Baghdad, during the academic year 2017-2018. The sample includes (60) students selected according to the stratified sampling method. The observational checklist used by the department to assess the student teachers’ performance during the practicum period is used as a study instrument. This quantitative study used the quasi-experimental design of two independent samples, experimental control groups and the control group trained traditionally. The former group is designed to verify the hypothesis that states, “there is no statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the experimental group trained by seven principles of good practice and that of the control group trained traditionally in their teaching performance”. The study has concluded that the hypothesis is rejected according to the result of the T-test of two independent samples. Accordingly, the researcher recommends the university administration to use new techniques in learning and overcoming the difficulties that the student teachers face and the shortcoming encountered during the educational process.

The Degree of Secondary School Managers' Practice of Servant Leadership in Gaza from the Teachers’ Perspective

The study aims to know the degree of secondary school managers' practice of servant leadership in Gaza from their teachers’ perspective. It further aims to examine whether there are any statistically significant differences at (α 0.05≥) between the means of the study sample’s members attributed to variables such as (gender, educational qualification, and years of experience). To achieve the objectives of the study, the study adopted the descriptive survey method, using a questionnaire consisting of (30) items distributed to four domains: (workers service, ethical dealing, motivation & influence, and building an organized, integrated society). Then, the questionnaire was distributed to the sample, which consisted of (262) teachers. The study has shown that the total estimation degree of the sample regarding their managers’ use of servant leadership is great at a mean of (3.94) and a relative weight equal to (78.8%). The study has further revealed that the dimension of (ethical dealing) occupied the first rank with a relative weight of (81.4%), whereas the dimension of “workers service and motivation & influence”, scored the second rank with a relative weight of (78.7%). As for the dimension of building an organized and integrated society, it took the last rank with a relative weight of (75%). It has been further noticed that there are no statistically significant differences at (α 0.05 ≥) between the average degree of the study sample in relation to the variables (gender, educational qualification, and years of experience).

Birth Order and its Relationship to the Lifestyles of Adolescent Students

This study aims to know the relationship between the birth order and lifestyles among a sample of adolescent students. The sample of the study consisted of (200) students selected from the governmental schools in the Directorate of Education of Qabatiya, in the second semester of the academic year 2020/2021. The results of the study have revealed that the most common lifestyles among the sample of the study are represented by: (the belonging) style, (the submissive) style, (the avenger) style, (the pampered) style, respectively. The study has also found that there are statistically significant differences in the lifestyles of: (the victim, the domineering, the avenger, and the harmful) which are ascribed to the gender variable. Moreover, there are statistically significant differences in (the pampered) style in favour of the female students. The study has also indicated that there is no statistically significant relationship between the birth order and the lifestyles among the sample of the study. The researcher has recommended conducting more studies which deal with birth order and the lifestyles with other variables and other categories.

A Speech Acts Analysis of English COVID-19 News Headlines

News headlines are key elements in spreading news. They are unique texts written in a special language which enables readers understand the overall nature and importance of the topic. However, this special language causes difficulty for readers in understanding the headline. To illuminate this difficulty, it is argued that a pragmatic analysis from a speech act theory perspective is a plausible tool for a headline analysis. The main objective of the study is to pragmatically analyze the most frequently employed types of speech acts in the news headlines covering COVID-19 in Aljazeera English website. To this end, Bach and Harnish's (1979) Taxonomy of Speech Acts has been adopted to analyze the data. Thirty headlines have been collected from Aljazeera English news website. The findings have shown that constatives and directives occur more frequently than commissives. Other types, like acknowledgments, effectives and verdictives are not employed. The study has concluded that to pay a special emphasis on COVID-19 as an issue that preoccupied and endangered the world, headline writers of Aljazeera website uses specific speech acts, constatives and directives, more frequently than others. This makes it clear that using specific speech acts in writing headlines is an effective way for inspiring readers to easily understand the intended message.

Difficulties of Understanding English Breaking News Headlines by Iraqi EFL Learners at the University Level

Understanding breaking news necessitates a special attention, since they are written with a special style. The study aims at identifying the difficulties faced by the Iraqi university EFL learners in comprehending English breaking news. The study included 10 fourth year students enrolled at the Department of English, College of Education for Humanities, University of Anbar. Thus, a questionnaire as a research instrument, was sent online to the students. The questionnaire points were related to the identification of difficulties faced by the learners in comprehending English breaking news. The data of the study were (10) headlines selected purposively from Euronews website. The data were qualitatively analyzed based on quantifying the quality procedure. The findings showed that (54%) of the total number of the students stated that the headlines are difficult to understand, and (46%) considered them easy. Based on these findings, the study has concluded that students faced four main difficulties: neologism, difficult vocabulary, ellipsis, and passive voice when reading news headlines. Neologism has scored the highest percentage (32.4324%), while passive voice has been the lowest (5.4054%).

Impact of Electronic Games on the Increase of School Dropout among Students in the Basic Stage in Jordan from their teachers’ Perspective

The study aims to identify the impact of electronic games on increasing the dropout rate among students in the basic stage in Jordan from their teachers’ point of view. The study adopted a descriptive survey method. Its community consisted of all fe(male) teachers of the basic stage in public and private schools, (First Amman, Irbid, and special education in Zarqa and Amman). The electronic questionnaire was used as a tool for the study. The results have shown that the effect of electronic games on increasing the dropout rate among students in the basic stage in Jordan was high. Besides, there are statistically significant differences due to the gender variable for males. There are statistically significant differences due to the variables of the school sector and private schools. Besides, there are statistically significant differences due to the variable of specialization and in favor of humanities. The study finally recommended to have more stringent controls by the Ministry of Education on dropout students. It has further recommended to activate the role of the educational counselor in educating students about electronic games, and hold workshops for them on how to invest time properly