جاوید فریدونی

This study investigates the use of apologizing strategies by speakers of Azerbaijani Turkish in Iran. One hundred and twenty (60 male and 60 female) randomly selected speakers of Azerbaijani Turkish from Tabriz participated in a Discourse Completion Test (DCT) and returned 2400 apology speech acts. The DCT included 20 scenarios representing 10 discourse situations. The acts were analyzed based on the categorization suggested by Blum-Kulka and Olshtain (1984), which included Illocutionary Force Indicating Device, Taking on responsibility, Explanation, Offer of repair, Promise of forbearance, Concern for the hearer, and Nonverbal strategies. The findings indicated that the highly preferred apology strategies among the participants are explanation and offer of repair. Moreover, there was a statistically significant association between the independent variables (the participants’ age, gender, and level of education) and the choice of apology strategies. However, such an association was only significant for some discourse situations; e.g., in interaction with relatives that are in an equal status with the participant and in an adult-child interaction where the participant has a superior status.

This article examines the impact of gender, age, and education on the attitudes of Kurdish speakers in Mahabad towards standard Persian and the Kurdish language. Since people’s emotions towards their own or others’ languages are related to their language attitudes, this important component plays a significant role in measuring success in language planning, learning speed, language selection and use, and predicting the extinction or sustainability of a language. The study’s statistical population consisted of 80 Kurdish-Persian bilinguals in Mahabad who were randomly selected. This study is situated within the theoretical framework of sociocognitive linguistics, and the research perspective was measured through an indirect method (matched-guise test). After distributing the questionnaire and conducting the matched-guise test, the collected data were analyzed. The results of the statistical analysis showed that the variables of gender, age, and education in Mahabad had no significant impact on the attitudes of bilingual Kurdish speakers towards standard Persian and the Kurdish language. The Kurdish speakers of Mahabad exhibited numerically positive attitude towards the standard Persian language compared to Kurdish language, but no significant difference in terms of any of the mentioned variables was observed between the two languages under study.

An important issue in learning a second language is to withdraw from learning the second language which affects directly the learning quality and arriving at educational objectives and its adverse consequences have been always aimed at language learners. Therefore, studying the effective factors in this social complex issue to take appropriate prohibitory strategies seems necessary. The statistical population of this study constitutes of 800 language learners of UACECR. The volume of the statistical sample was considered 261 persons using Morgan Table and with a 95% confidence coefficient. After arranging the statistical population based on the total score and given the provided categorization in this article, 261 statistical samples were selected with a simple random method from the first, third, and fourth quarters. The samples were composed of 12 to 18 years old boy and girl learners at the elementary level. The effect of the "gender" factor was studied in addition to the correlation between "absence" and "withdrawal of learning" factors. For this purpose, the samples were separated into two groups "the language learners with a total score higher than 90" and "the language learners with a total score lower than 80". The study's assumptions were studied using the chi-square test at SPSS V.24 software. The results of obtained data analysis indicated that the total absence coefficient of the boys is 123.2% which is 15.1% higher than the total girls. It is worth noting that girls in the diligent group absented 26.8% less, and the girls in the less diligent group absented 10.6% more compared to their boys' counterpart group. Meanwhile, the less diligent boys and girls absented 48% and 10.6% more compared to their same gender in the diligent group. The relative percentage indicated the learning withdrawal of the studied groups to the total complex. As indicated 19.95 of the girls in the studied population withdraw from learning the language in the next term of which 27.6% were related to the less diligent group and 47.4% were related to the diligent boys' group.  The coefficient of absence and learning withdrawal were significantly correlated with  0.048 and 0.011 respectively for diligent and less diligent groups at a 5% level. No significant correlation was seen among other variables at the 5% level. It can be also said that although according to structural strain theory, totally boys are more subjected to language learning withdrawal, this is completely reversed in the "less diligent" girl group. In other words, this group of girl language learners even withdraw more compared to their boy counterparts. Finally, it seems that the "absence" variable can be considered an appropriate factor to predict language learning withdrawal of English learners.

Code switching, as an outcome of linguistic contact, can be seen in most of the multilingual societies. The present field study was conducted in Urmia, a multilingual city of Iran. The purpose of the study was to compare the frequency and direction of code switching among female elementary and high-school students representing high, middle, and low social classes. Applying a non-participant observation method, the required data was extracted from the casual conversations of the students through voice recording. The extracted data was then, exposed to statistical analysis using SPSS software. According to the findings, there was a statistically significant relationship between the direction of code switching and social class of the participants, i.e. the dominant code switching direction among high-class was Fasri-Turkish, while students in the low and middle classes mostly switched in the reverse direction. Furthermore, the results showed no significant relationship between sex and frequency of code switching. Also, no significant relationship was observed between sex and direction of code switching neither.

Code switching, as an outcome of linguistic contact, can be seen in most of the multilingual societies, including Urmia, the capital city of West Azerbaijan province, Iran. The present field study aimed to compare the frequency, direction (from Turkish to Persian or vice versa), and categorical levels (affix, word, phrase, or sentence) of code switching among female elementary and high-school students representing high, middle, and low social classes. In order to do this, the required data were extracted from the casual conversations of the students which were collected using a non-participant observation method through voice recording in public places. According to the findings, code switching was more frequent among high-school students representing the middle social class. Besides, according to the results, words were the most frequent, and affixes were the rarest code-switched elements in the data. Moreover, most of the students switched the code when their mother language was the dominant language of the conversation. Also, high-school students favored code-switching at word level, compared to the elementary students who switched sentences most.

The occurrence of errors in writing skill in English language is a typical issue among the foreign language learners that requires an error analysis in detail. Accordingly, the purpose of present study is to analysis the type of written errors in papers submitted to Nursing and Midwifery Journal of Urmia University of Medical Sciences before conducting any scientific editing. In order to analyze the errors, from among a number of papers submitted to the journal, the English abstract of 50 papers were selected randomly, and the type of written errors were analyzed regarding the frequency and percentage of their occurrence. To analyze the data, SPSS software, version 16 was used. The findings revealed that the ratio of errors in terms of interlanguage interference (first language interference) in the target language (English) was more than the errors in the intralanguage interference (the target language itself), and they were more related to grammatical and lexical errors. The findings showed that first language has a significant effect on the occurrence of written errors in the target language. Therefore, by analyzing the type of errors, and rooting out their causes, we can evaluate the writing proficiency level of the submitters in the target language (English), to prevent the repetition of same written errors in their written materials.

Methodology as a critical factor plays a significant role in achieving the acceptable results in educational fields, particularly in the process of language teaching and learning in applied linguistics. Analyzing the teaching methodology from different perspectives such as satisfaction is also important. Accordingly, the purpose of present paper is to evaluate the satisfaction level the students of medicine about GTM and CLT methods in UMSU.
To this end, a designed questionnaire was used among 35 students of medicine (17 males and 18 females) as a convenience sample ranging from 19 to 22 years to assess their beliefs about GTM and CLT. The quantitative and descriptive statistical methods were used to evaluate the students’ satisfactions level toward GTM and CLT. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software, version 17. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) test was applied to evaluate the normal distribution of data in different variables (p> 0.05). In order to compare the mean scores of two methods, a paired t-test was used, respectively.
The findings indicated that there is a significant difference in students’ perception between GTM and CLT method in the presentation of contents. Students had positive attitudes toward deductive and lectured-based learning, and they were satisfied with GTM. In other four remained options, no significant differences were observed.
According to the results, it was revealed that although CLT method is confirmed and suggested by a large number of scholars to be an effective method in language teaching, its state of the practice is not in favor of learners in some cases, mainly among the students of medicine at UMSU.

Pressure ulcer or Bed sores are one of the major problems in medicine. Understanding، prevention، diagnosis and treatment of this condition are very important because of adverse effects of health condition and high costs of medical care. Pressure ulcer frequently complicated by secondary infection; than can be spreads to soft tissues، bones، osteomyelitis and sepsis and can lead is death. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and risk factors for pressure ulcer based on Norton''s scale at educational centers of Urmia University of Medical Sciences. This cross-sectional study performed on 355 patients at centers in Urmia University of Medical sciences in 2011- 2012 by direct observation. All admitted patients at target wards (orthopedic، Neurology، Intensive Care Unit، Neurosurgery، Internal Medicine، Cardiology) visited at the first and every other day during 3 months and observed by Norton scale. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (chi- square test)، and using SPSS 19 software. The mean age of the 355 studied patients was 62. 18 year with S. D. 17. 91. The minimum age was 16 and the maximum age was 91 years. 54. 9% of the patients were male and 45. 1% were female. Of 355 patients، 39. 2 % (139 patient) developed pressure ulcers: 65/4% of ulcer was grade I، 36. 6% grade II، 0. 1% grade III ulcers. 15. 8% of the ulcers developed on sacral، 2. 7% on gluteal region، 5. 6 on heel and head and 2 ulcers on lateral malleus. The most frequent risk factors in this study were prolonged hospitalization (78. 3% for 31 days) and immobilizing due to stroke and trauma، aging (47. 5% of the patients was 71 years). There was significant relationship between age and incidence of pressure ulcer (p<0. 05). The study shows that the most prevalent risk factors were the after effects of prolonged hospitalization and immobilizing due to stroke and trauma. The study emphasizes on the recognizing of the predisposed cases to carry out the necessary actions to prevent the incidence of pressure ulcer.

Parasitic infections have got on importance in Iran and is considered as one of the health problems in our society. Upgrading hygienic level in different rural and urban centers, decreased its prevalence. This study tries to in investigate the frequency and number of infectious and noninfectious intestinal parasites. The patients characteristics were filed in the laboratory in special notebooks. Then all of the stool samples were investigated by direct observations Formalin ‑ ether concentration method and by staining. The results were referred to the physician. To all of the 1788 patients referring to Ghods clinic, 182 patients were infected by parasites. Form all the positive cases, 92.85 % were infected by protozoan parasites whereas 7.14% were infected by helminthic parasites. Giardia by 59% was the most prevalent. The percent of the parasitic infections were as following. Entamoeba histolytica (1.65%), Entamoba coli (21.97%), (Chilmastix mesili (7.69%) Lodamoeba butschlii (1.09%), Blastoeystis hominis (0.55%), Trichomonas hominis (0.55%), Taenia saginata (0.55%), Hymenolepis nana (1.65%), Ascaris lumbricoides (0.55%), Oxyuris (4.39%). Parasitic infection is one of the important hygienic factors in every society. As its frequency differs in different times and places, so its periodical investigation is quite necessary, This study showed that parasitic infections reduced during recent years but it also showed that Giardia has got the highest rank among all other parasites.