Community-led total sanitation(CLTS)implementation in West Mamprusi Municipal Assembly in Ghana.What do communities think eleven years on?

Objective Access to improved sanitation is a fundamental human right and an important aspect of Public Health.However,an estimated thousands of people in Ghana especially,the West Mamprusi Municipal Assembly(WMMA)still have no access to adequate toilet facilities.This has brought untold health repercussions to the inhabitants,the community,and the environment at large.To address this menace,the community-led total sanitation(CLTS)was implemented.This study aimed to assess communities’perspectives on the implementation of CLTS and to understand the factors influencing its success and failures.Methods A mixed-method approach involving sequential qualitative and quantitative methods was employed in this study.Participants for the quantitative study were randomly selected and surveyed using questionnaires.The qualitative study employed focus group discussion involving purposively sampled participants including assembly members,opinion leaders,and assembly staff.Results The CLTS program in WMMA realized an apparent use of construction and proper use of household latrines leading to a reduction of open defecation free(ODF)and two communities achieving sanitized status in the history of the study area,enabling the training of latrine artisans and natural leaders to facilitate the CLTS expansion and sustainability,improved sanitation and hygiene,strengthened the enforcement of community rules and regulations and many others.Conclusion The CLTS program has received more widespread acceptance in the study area than the previous government policy of constructing public toilets,which was greeted with massive failures due to poor implementation.To ensure that gains achieved through CLTS implementation are sustained longer,it is recommended that chiefs and opinion leaders should be involved in the CLTS programs to ensure checks and enforcement.The entrenchment of bylaws and more education to address enduring myths and misconceptions will sustain the program.Subsidies in the form of sanitation loans for latrine construction materials by the government and supporting non-governmental organizations(NGOs)will be paramount in sustaining ODF.

Towards Lessening Learners’Aversive Emotions and Promoting Their Mental Health:Developing and Validating a Measurement of English Speaking Demotivation in the Chinese EFL Context

While a plethora of studies has been conducted to explore demotivation and its impact on mental health in second language(L2)education,scanty research focuses on demotivation in L2 speaking learning.Particularly,little research explores the measures to quantify L2 speaking demotivation.The present two-phase study attempts to develop and validate an English Speaking Demotivation Scale(ESDS).To this end,an independent sample of 207 Chinese tertiary learners of English as a Foreign Language(EFL)participated in the development phase,and another group of 188 Chinese EFL learners was recruited for the validation of the scale.Exploratory Factor Analysis(EFA)and Confirmatory Factor Analysis(CFA)were employed to determine the factor structure of the scale.The EFA results revealed a six-factor solution with Teacher-related Factors in Learning Spoken English(TFLSE),Interest and Valence in Learning Spoken English(IVLSE),Self-efficacy in Learning Spoken English(SELSE),Negative Peer Influence in Learning Spoken English(NPILSE),Undesirable Environment for Learning Spoken English(UELSE),and Negative Influence of Assessment and Learning Materials in speaking class(NIALM).In the validation phase,Confirmatory Factor Analysis(CFA)was performed to validate the internal structure of the scale.The CFA results showed that the model fits the data well.Overall,the ESDS is a robust and trustworthy psychometric tool that could be utilized to examine L2 speaking demotivation.Implications for diminishing EFL learners’demotivation,lessening their aversive emotions and promoting their mental health are also discussed.

Analysis of Distribution of Public Toilets within Walking Range around Communities of the Elderly under the Model of Community Home-based Care for the Elderly: A Case Study of Changxindian, Fengtai District, Beijing

In recent years,under the influence of multiple factors such as traditional ideas and living economic conditions,the aging population in China continues to increase.Most of the elderly are more inclined to aged at home,and the first places for elderly activities are communities and the surrounding environment,which greatly affects the convenience of life and happiness of the elderly.In this paper,Changxindian area in Fengtai District of Beijing was as the research object,and detailed calculation and analysis were carried out by using POI data and arcGIS software.The relative location of residential areas and surrounding public toilets was explored,and the best location of public toilets in the daily walking area under the model of community home-based care for the elderly was further studied.

The Impact of Comment Style on Learners’ Essay Revisions

This paper investigates how the type of written feedback provided by teachers affects learners’ ability to revise essays. A total of 120 participants participated in two rounds of essay composition and feedback delivery. The findings indicate that learners who receive comments in the form of questions are more prone to make revisions compared to those receiving statements or imperatives. These results hold significant implications for educators and the ways they utilize written feedback to enhance learners’ writing skills.

Analyzing the Essay Writing Patterns of Iranian Intermediate-Level Korean Language Learners: A Study Based on the TOPIK Exam

This study examines the writing abilities of Iranian intermediate Korean learners,specifically their performance in the compositional writing section of the Test of Proficiency in Korean(TOPIK).By utilizing the many FACETS-Rasch Model,we meticulously analyzed nine writing samples from the 52nd TOPIK.These samples were evaluated using a modified rubric ranging from 0 to 3 based on predefined criteria for written composition.The results underscored that the sections on“appropriateness of spacing and spelling,”“relevance of vocabulary,”and“content diversity”presented the most significant challenges for the learners.On the other hand,“the quantity of writing”emerged as the least challenging aspect.These findings reveal substantial disparities in various aspects of writing proficiency among learners.The study not only pinpoints issue areas in writing skills,but also underscores the necessity of customized teaching strategies within the TOPIK framework to address these weaknesses.Consequently,it offers valuable insights that could bolster the effectiveness of teaching writing to Korean language learners.The findings of this study are not only significant for the field of language education,but also contribute to a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by intermediate learners and provide a roadmap for improving language instruction.

Analysis of Young Learners’Listening Skills

The importance of listening as one of the communication skills cannot be overstated.However,in many areas,listening is neglected.For young learners,learning to listen is even more beneficial for their future studies,therefore,listening skills should be given due importance.

Enhancing Learners’Performance in Grade 7 Mathematics Through 50-30-20 Exercise

Assessment exercises constitute a crucial component of the teaching and learning process,serving the purpose of gauging the degree to which learning objectives have been accomplished.This study aims to assess the mathematics performance of Grade 7 learners using the 50-30-20 exercise.Specifically,this study seeks to determine the learners’pre-test and post-test mean scores,identify significant differences between the pre-test and post-test results,evaluate learners’exercises,and propose enhanced exercises.The research employs a quasi-experimental design,with 40 Grade 7 learners in the school year 2023-2024 as participants,selected through purposive non-random sampling.Statistical data analysis involves the use of mean,standard deviation,paired t-test,and Cohen’s D effect size.Ethical considerations were paramount,as evidenced by a letter of authorization from the school head outlining the strict adherence to voluntary participation,informed parental consent,anonymity,confidentiality,risk mitigation,results-sharing protocols,and the commitment to keeping research data confidential.The data yielded a remarkable outcome:the experimental group exhibited improvement in both the pre-test and post-test.This result substantiates the initial objective of the study,showcasing a noteworthy and favorable performance among the participants.Consequently,it suggests that a majority of the participants strongly agree that the 50-30-20 exercises contribute to enhancing their understanding and problem-solving skills,as well as their ability to grasp mathematical concepts and improve their overall performance in mathematics.Therefore,the 50-30-20 exercises not only facilitated students in understanding mathematics lessons but were also aligned with the Department of Education’s development plan.

Entangled relationship:Chinese parents’involvement in young learners’English tests

Young learners’English(YLE)tests have become increasingly prevalent among and important to Chinese English learners and their parents.In China,parents are actively involved in their children’s education and test-taking decisions,and their participation has given rise to a series of social impacts.Although parent involvement has received increasing public and academic attention in newspaper and scholarly articles,there exists no thorough analysis of current research on parents’roles in young learners’test-taking.To address this gap,we systemically analyzed Chinese newspaper articles and academic articles between 2011 and 2021 to elicit Chinese parents’roles in YLE test-taking.Our thematic analysis of the literature identifies the ways in which parents influence their children’s test-taking experiences,and how the tests affect this influence.Specifically,our results elicit 1)parents’engagement in YLE testing;2)parents’understanding of the intended uses of YLE tests;3)parents’perception and consequences of their involvement in YLE testing;and 4)parents’backgrounds.This analysis reveals the popularity of YLE tests among young learners and their parents in China and public concern over test-related issues.It also broadens our understanding of YLE testing impact and suggests future potential research directions.

Nontraditional energy-assisted mechanical machining of difficult-to-cut materials and components in aerospace community:a comparative analysis

The aerospace community widely uses difficult-to-cut materials,such as titanium alloys,high-temperature alloys,metal/ceramic/polymer matrix composites,hard and brittle materials,and geometrically complex components,such as thin-walled structures,microchannels,and complex surfaces.Mechanical machining is the main material removal process for the vast majority of aerospace components.However,many problems exist,including severe and rapid tool wear,low machining efficiency,and poor surface integrity.Nontraditional energy-assisted mechanical machining is a hybrid process that uses nontraditional energies(vibration,laser,electricity,etc)to improve the machinability of local materials and decrease the burden of mechanical machining.This provides a feasible and promising method to improve the material removal rate and surface quality,reduce process forces,and prolong tool life.However,systematic reviews of this technology are lacking with respect to the current research status and development direction.This paper reviews the recent progress in the nontraditional energy-assisted mechanical machining of difficult-to-cut materials and components in the aerospace community.In addition,this paper focuses on the processing principles,material responses under nontraditional energy,resultant forces and temperatures,material removal mechanisms,and applications of these processes,including vibration-,laser-,electric-,magnetic-,chemical-,advanced coolant-,and hybrid nontraditional energy-assisted mechanical machining.Finally,a comprehensive summary of the principles,advantages,and limitations of each hybrid process is provided,and future perspectives on forward design,device development,and sustainability of nontraditional energy-assisted mechanical machining processes are discussed.

Implication of community-level ecophysiological parameterization to modelling ecosystem productivity:a case study across nine contrasting forest sites in eastern China

Parameterization is a critical step in modelling ecosystem dynamics.However,assigning parameter values can be a technical challenge for structurally complex natural plant communities;uncertainties in model simulations often arise from inappropriate model parameterization.Here we compared five methods for defining community-level specific leaf area(SLA)and leaf C:N across nine contrasting forest sites along the North-South Transect of Eastern China,including biomass-weighted average for the entire plant community(AP_BW)and four simplified selective sampling(biomass-weighted average over five dominant tree species[5DT_BW],basal area weighted average over five dominant tree species[5DT_AW],biomass-weighted average over all tree species[AT_BW]and basal area weighted average over all tree species[AT_AW]).We found that the default values for SLA and leaf C:N embedded in the Biome-BGC v4.2 were higher than the five computational methods produced across the nine sites,with deviations ranging from 28.0 to 73.3%.In addition,there were only slight deviations(<10%)between the whole plant community sampling(AP_BW)predicted NPP and the four simplified selective sampling methods,and no significant difference between the predictions of AT_BW and AP_BW except the Shennongjia site.The findings in this study highlights the critical importance of computational strategies for community-level parameterization in ecosystem process modelling,and will support the choice of parameterization methods.

Manure substitution improves maize yield by promoting soil fertility and mediating the microbial community in lime concretion black soil

Synthetic nitrogen(N)fertilizer has made a great contribution to the improvement of soil fertility and productivity,but excessive application of synthetic N fertilizer may cause agroecosystem risks,such as soil acidification,groundwater contamination and biodiversity reduction.Meanwhile,organic substitution has received increasing attention for its ecologically and environmentally friendly and productivity benefits.However,the linkages between manure substitution,crop yield and the underlying microbial mechanisms remain uncertain.To bridge this gap,a three-year field experiment was conducted with five fertilization regimes:i)Control,non-fertilization;CF,conventional synthetic fertilizer application;CF_(1/2)M_(1/2),1/2 N input via synthetic fertilizer and 1/2 N input via manure;CF_(1/4)M_(3/4),1/4 N input synthetic fertilizer and 3/4 N input via manure;M,manure application.All fertilization treatments were designed to have equal N input.Our results showed that all manure substituted treatments achieved high soil fertility indexes(SFI)and productivities by increasing the soil organic carbon(SOC),total N(TN)and available phosphorus(AP)concentrations,and by altering the bacterial community diversity and composition compared with CF.SOC,AP,and the soil C:N ratio were mainly responsible for microbial community variations.The co-occurrence network revealed that SOC and AP had strong positive associations with Rhodospirillales and Burkholderiales,while TN and C:N ratio had positive and negative associations with Micromonosporaceae,respectively.These specific taxa are implicated in soil macroelement turnover.Random Forest analysis predicted that both biotic(bacterial composition and Micromonosporaceae)and abiotic(AP,SOC,SFI,and TN)factors had significant effects on crop yield.The present work strengthens our understanding of the effects of manure substitution on crop yield and provides theoretical support for optimizing fertilization strategies.

Insights into microbiota community dynamics and flavor development mechanism during golden pomfret(Trachinotus ovatus)fermentation based on single-molecule real-time sequencing and molecular networking analysis

Popular fermented golden pomfret(Trachinotus ovatus)is prepared via spontaneous fermentation;however,the mechanisms underlying the regulation of its flavor development remain unclear.This study shows the roles of the complex microbiota and the dynamic changes in microbial community and flavor compounds during fish fermentation.Single-molecule real-time sequencing and molecular networking analysis revealed the correlations among different microbial genera and the relationships between microbial taxa and volatile compounds.Mechanisms underlying flavor development were also elucidated via KEGG based functional annotations.Clostridium,Shewanella,and Staphylococcus were the dominant microbial genera.Forty-nine volatile compounds were detected in the fermented fish samples,with thirteen identified as characteristic volatile compounds(ROAV>1).Volatile profiles resulted from the interactions among the microorganisms and derived enzymes,with the main metabolic pathways being amino acid biosynthesis/metabolism,carbon metabolism,and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis.This study demonstrated the approaches for distinguishing key microbiota associated with volatile compounds and monitoring the industrial production of high-quality fermented fish products.

Community structure and species diversity dynamics of a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest in China:2005 to 2020

Here,we characterize the temporal and spatial dynamics of forest community structure and species diversity in a subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest in China.We found that community structure in this forest changed over a 15-year period.Specifically,renewal and death of common species was large,with the renewal of individuals mainly concentrated within a few populations,especially those of Aidia canthioides and Cryptocarya concinna.The numbers of individual deaths for common species were concentrated in the small and mid-diameter level.The spatial distribution of community species diversity fluctuated in each monitoring period,showing a more dispersed diversity after the 15-year study period,and the coefficient of variation on quadrats increased.In 2010,the death and renewal of the community and the spatial variation of species diversity were different compared to other survey years.Extreme weather may have affected species regeneration and community stability in our subtropical monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forests.Our findings suggest that strengthening the monitoring and management of the forest community will help better understand the long-and short-term causes of dynamic fluctuations of community structure and species diversity,and reveal the factors that drive changes in community structure.

Language Transfer Manifested in English Idiom Acquisition by Chinese EFL Learners

Idiom acquisition plays an important role in the process of second language learning and acquisition.Proper understanding of linguistic transfer in terms of English idiom acquisition is helpful for EFL learners to improve the efficiency of learning English and also facilitates the process of English teaching.This study examines the Chinese learner’s language transfer features manifested in their understanding of English idioms which are classified into five different types according to their linguistic forms and conceptual bases.The results suggest that equivalent linguistic forms and equivalent conceptual bases of idioms are helpful to cause positive transfer while different conceptual bases of idioms may result in negative cross-linguistic transfer.This article may contribute to the development of language transfer theory and provide pedagogical implications of how English idioms should be learned by students and taught by English teachers.

Relationships Between Chinese EFL Learners’IELTS Band Score and Motivated Strategies for Learning

EFL learners,who study English as a foreign language,often use different learning strategies in the learning process,with positive and negative results in their academic performance.Whether these learning strategies are effective or not are questions to be explored.So,the author examined the relationship between Chinese EFL learners’test results and the use of motivated strategies for learning in English learning.Participants are students who have taken a high-stake standardized English proficiency test:IELTS(International English Language Testing System)with band score obtained.The results show that students’performance on high-stakes assessment is significantly associated with the use of motivated learning strategies like internal value in sharp contrast to test anxiety,which bears no relevance.Interviews are then implemented to candidates with different levels of English proficiency to figure out other related factors contributing to the test results.

The Effectiveness of Explicit Vocabulary Instruction on Productive Vocabulary Learning in Writing Among Intermediate School Learners in Saudi Arabia

This study aimed to identify the effectiveness of explicit vocabulary instruction on productive vocabulary learning in writing among intermediate school learners in Saudi Arabia,verify the existence of any statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the post-test of the control group and the experimental group in the vocabulary test,and verify the existence of any statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the pre-and post-test of the experimental group in the vocabulary test in favor of the post-test.The study community consisted of all intermediate school students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,while the study sample included 30 students.The experimental method was adopted to identify the effectiveness of explicit vocabulary instruction on productive vocabulary learning in writing and the achievement test was used as the study tool.The study reached many results including there were no statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the post-test of the control group and the experimental group in the vocabulary test and there were no statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the pre-and post-test of the experimental group in the vocabulary test in favor of the post-test.According to these results,some recommendations and proposals were made including training English teachers at the intermediate school level in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,on explicit vocabulary instruction and conducting future researches on the trends of English teachers at the intermediate school level,in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,regarding the adoption of explicit vocabulary instruction while teaching the English language.

A Study on the Different Levels of“Attention”in the Processing of English Subjunctive Mood by Chinese Learners

“Attention”is a very vital cognitive mechanism.Cognitive psychology considers“attention”as the focus of mental activity and consciousness on an object.People engage their senses and memory to actively process the object in front of them.Theories of second language acquisition suggest that a large amount of input is the basis for language acquisition.At the same time,what is actively noticed by the learner can be effectively internalized.Thus,“attention”is also a non-linguistic factor that plays a significant role in language acquisition.The subjunctive mood is a major challenge in the teaching of English grammar.Generally speaking,the verbs in a sentence are used to distinguish between subjunctive and declarative sentences.In this paper,experimental utterances were written based on previous research by using verbs that are easy to cause ambiguity and confusion,and then set up the reinforced and non-reinforced attention conditions with different levels of“attention”to investigate whether there are different results and effects on subjects’comprehension of sentences under different levels of“attention”conditions.Under the different levels of“attention”,the subjects were examined to see whether there were different results in comprehension of the sentences and the impact of the different levels of“attention”.It was found that subjects in the reinforced“attention”condition comprehended sentences better,answered questions faster,and answered questions more correctly than subjects in the non-reinforced condition.This study also shed some light on English second language grammar teaching.

Effects of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning on Young Learners’Linguistic Skills

Mobile-assisted language learning(MALL)has been regarded as an excellent tool in the field of language acquisition as modern technology develops.The popularity of using mobile devices in education makes it possible for people to learn languages through platforms like tablets and smartphones from anywhere and at any time.However,the application of MALL in a collaborative student-centered environment has received comparatively little attention.Since spoken fluency and vocabulary size are the two crucial components of language proficiency,this study aims to investigate if young learners can improve their native language level through learning online beyond the classroom.The quantitative data reveal that MALL does make a difference in students’linguistic skills.The results show that the incorporation of mobile applications into language learning could better help learners achieve the learning outcomes and improve their communication skills than simply using conventional methods.In addition,the data of the questionnaire exposed some issues that need to be continuously improved.The viable suggestions are also discussed to share ideas about building a more sustainable learning environment in a data-driven age.

A Comparative Study on Verb-Noun Collocation Errors of Chinese EFL Learners with Different Language Proficiency

This study presents a comparative analysis of verb-noun collocation errors made by Chinese EFL learners with different language proficiency.Linguistic data from two sub-corpora of CLEC(Chinese Learner English Corpus,Gui&Yang,1999)consist of the compositions written freely by Chinese senior high school students(ST2)and the 3rd-and 4th-year English majors of Chinese universities(ST6).The study results show that four types of verb-noun collocation errors are frequently made due to incorrect L1 translation,misuse of relative synonyms,misuse of delexical verbs,and misuse of part of speech;the number of errors decreases with the development of language proficiency,especially errors by incorrect L1 translation and relative synonyms.And for both ST2 and ST6 EFL learners,errors resulted from incorrect L1 translation account for nearly a half with the same high-frequency words.It is also found that ST6 learners’competence in collocation and synonym identification doesn’t grow with the increase of their vocabulary,as is shown in the case of overusing delexical verbs in collocation,the same error made by ST2 learners,who have a significantly weaker command of delexical verbs.Implications of the findings are also discussed with the purpose of raising the awareness of collocation pedagogy and enhancing EFL learners’collocation competence.

Sport Participation and Community Capacity Building in Disadvantaged Urban Communities

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between sport and community by examining the role played by sports participation in community engagement and community capacity building in disadvantaged urban communities.From a conceptual standpoint,the study is based on the sociological theory of the community and Community Capacity Building(CCB)theory,which provide overviews of the concept of community and community capacity and its characteristics.Four disadvantaged urban communities were investigated.Two of these communities had sports programs,while the other two did not.The online questionnaire methodology was adopted to assess the socio-demographic characteristics and community engagement of the participants(knowledge of programs and participation in community activities),and subsequently,an analysis of the online social media narratives of the community members themselves was developed to measure the characteristics of their community capacity building.We found that community engagement and community capacity values were higher in the communities with sports programs.These findings are promising and suggest that approaches based on sports participation development could be fruitful,particularly in disadvantaged communities.