Social Factors

The purpose of this study was to uncover challenges facing Arabic-speaking ESL students as well as teachers in the middle school classroom. Two Arabic-speaking ESL students and eight teachers in a public middle school located in Washington State participated in this exploratory study. Research questions focused on the needs of the Arabic-speaking ESL students, the factors that influence their learning, and the problems the teachers face in supporting these students. Data sources included teacher and student interviews, classroom observations, and a parent survey. Data showed that the students face challenges to learn the English language, the culture, and curricular content using their limited English. The study concluded that several important challenges for teachers and students exist, including time, language support, and knowledge. 13 | P a g e classroom and discover how the students' needs are being met. To do so, this paper first presents what the literature says about Arabic-speaking ESL students as well as teachers, then it discusses the study method and data collection, and finally presents the results according to the research questions. This is followed by conclusions and implications for future research and instruction.

Learning a foreign language encompasses a process of trial and error that can lead to the progression of the learner’s interlanguage, meaning that the learners make use of their language knowledge that receives feedback and brings about progress through diagnosis of the problems and being corrected by the teacher. Therefore, there exists a need to analyze the underlying reasons causing the students to remain taciturn with a low willingness to communicate (WTC) during a language class. There has been much work done investigating the role of the learner’s stable personal characteristics (traits) along with their situational changes at a specific time (states) that influence the student’s participation and interaction. In this study, we analyze the effect of a teacher’s gender on female /male student’s WTC in language classes where speaking is the focus. The research focuses on the potentials of male or female EFL teachers in isolation, and their varying roles in language classes of the opposite and same gender students. The analysis proposed here establishes that some of the effects found are due to different characteristics of men and women, and some are influenced by social/cultural orientations.

Keywords: Foreign Language Teaching, Willingness to Communicate, Gender, Social Factors, Cultural Orientations

A literatura sobre o apagamento de marcas morfológicas nos verbos e a inserção de novos pronomes no sistema linguístico, em diferentes análises e em diferentes dialetos do português no Brasil, é extensa. Sobre a perda das marcas morfológicas no verbo, podemos citar dois autores que, desde os anos 70, descrevem o fenômeno sob o enfoque da sociolinguística quantitativa: Naro (1981), Scherre (1989), Scherre & Naro (1992), Naro & Scherre (1999). Posteriormente, houve também contribuições acerca das variáveis de concordância verbal em estudos de variedades “rurbanas” (dialetos falados por migrantes pobres em grandes capitais do Brasil): mais especificamente Rodrigues (1987), na cidade de São Paulo, e Bortoni-Ricardo (1985), em Brasília.

Uma outra linha de pesquisa pode ser descrita como aquela que se iniciou com as sistematizações propostas por Tarallo (1991) para explicar os padrões de mudança sintática observados em tempo real de longa duração no “português brasileiro”.

Dessa análise, surgiram inúmeros trabalhos que de algum modo mantêm diálogo com a proposta do autor até os dias mais atuais. As explicações sistemáticas de propriedades sintáticas, em variedades brasileiras, deram molde a fenômenos antes descritos isoladamente (classificados apenas como “brasileirismos”, cf. Tarallo,1991:75-81). O trabalho seminal
teve mais recentemente novas interpretações. Estes representam, por um lado, um aprofundamento formalista no estudo de fenômenos observados também por Tarallo (Kato et alli, 2001; Negrão& Viotti, 2001) e por outro representam possíveis aplicações de seus postulados a certas teorias sobre o fenômeno lingüístico chamado de gramaticalização (Zilles, 2002; Zilles, 2004; Ramos, 1997; e Vitral, 1996).
A partir desses trabalhos de referência, a pesquisa que se apresenta inicia uma discussão de como as características observadas em variedades do português no Brasil estão relacionadas a significados sociais que identificam falantes estratificados e pertencentes a
determinadas comunidades de fala (Labov, 2001; Milroy, 1980; Eckert, 1996). Já em Tarallo (1991:75-99) encontramos essa preocupação, quando descreve a “emergência” de uma gramática simultaneamente ao desenvolvimento de uma nova “noção de cidadania” na elite nacional.

Nesse quadro mais geral, a pesquisa enfoca a variação dos pronomes e da concordância verbal para a expressão de primeira pessoa do plural no dialeto falado por migrantes e filhos de migrantes, moradores de bairros de periferia da cidade de São Paulo.

De modo mais específico, essa pesquisa mantém diálogo com dois estudos sobre os pronomes de primeira pessoa do plural (Omena, 2003; Zilles, 2005) e com dois outros estudos sobre a concordância verbal na fala de migrantes em cidades grandes (Bortoni- Ricardo, 1985; Rodrigues, 1987).

Nosso objetivo central é demonstrar que a variedade falada nos bairros de periferia em São Paulo apresenta duas tendências contrárias às outras variedades: (a) a gente não constitui necessariamente o pronome favorito na comunidade e (b) o fenômeno de perda de marca morfológica tende a generalizar-se para a expressão da primeira pessoa do plural no verbo (por exemplo, nóis é).

A diferença observada no uso dos pronomes encontra motivação sobretudo no perfil sociolinguístico das comunidades em estudo: enquanto Omena (2003) e Zilles (2005) consideram falantes naturais de centros urbanos com distribuição social segundo a escolaridade, a atual pesquisa enfoca falantes moradores de bairros periféricos da cidade de São Paulo, muitos deles migrantes de zonas pobres do país, ou filhos destes.

No caso do apagamento do sufixo -mos, vamos verificar que filhos paulistanos com perfis semelhantes aos daqueles estudados por Bortoni-Ricardo (1985) e por Rodrigues (1987) não se comportam, como era esperado, de acordo com o processo de urbanização de dialetos rurais. Para as duas autoras, esse processo se dá basicamente com o reconhecimento, por parte do migrante, de que seus hábitos linguísticos são estigmatizados, e que portanto devem ser mudados. Nesses trabalhos, os falantes, que passaram por esse processo de mudança, somente demonstraram alterações no uso da variável de primeira pessoa do plural, se comparado à de terceira do plural.

O corpus para análise foi constituído com um trabalho de campo realizado num sub-distrito, de origem favelada, do bairro Brasilândia (Jardim Paulistano - zona norte da cidade de São Paulo). Foram gravadas vinte e quatro entrevistas sociolinguísticas com falantes de diferentes grupos representativos do bairro (associação de moradores, cooperativa de costureiras, jovens assistidos por programas sociais, frequentadores de quadras esportivas etc).

The objective of this paper is to review, systematize, and summarize empirical research on the antecedents and consequences of brand loyalty. The literature review has identified five categories of antecedents to brand loyalty associated with consumer, brand, social, corporate and relational factors. The type of loyalty formed varies according to the combination of various antecedents, with premium loyalty being considered the most desirable. Apart from summarizing the literature on brand loyalty, this review has practical implications for marketing managers. Customer expectations at each stage of the customer decision process must be understood, and therefore combined with the various antecedents to incite premium loyalty. Managers must apply not just behavioural but also affective components in their marketing strategies to achieve optimal results.

Cette étude a comme objectif spécifique d'analyser les prévalences des comportements sexuels à risque et leurs facteurs sociaux dans les pays francophones d'Afrique subsaharienne parmi les adolescents et jeunes, en mettant en exergue les diversités entre pays. Les données utilisées sont celles des Enquêtes nationales Démographiques et de Santé. Les principaux résultats obtenus sont les suivants : 1°) parmi les garçons, les âges médians aux premiers rapports sexuels sont plus faibles au Congo et en RDC, en Afrique Centrale, et au Bénin qu'au Burkina Faso, au Rwanda et dans les pays fortement islamisés comme le Tchad, le Sénégal et le Mali ; 2°) parmi les filles, un schéma opposé a, dans une certaine mesure, été observé ; 3°) dans les pays étudiés, l'activité sexuelle multipartenariale persiste mais le Cameroun, le Congo, la Côte d'Ivoire, le Bénin et la Guinée en sont plus concernés que d'autres pays ; 4°) dans ces pays, le taux d'utilisation des condoms aux derniers rapports sexuels s'est amélioré mais certains d'entre eux comme le Burkina Faso, la Côte d'ivoire, le Sénégal et le Cameroun sont plus avancés que d'autres ; 5°) plusieurs facteurs familiaux, extrafamiliaux et individuels y influencent les comportements sexuels à risque mais l'intensité et le sens des relations observées ne convergent pas nécessairement. L'approche globale d'explication de la sexualité des adolescents et jeunes est donc pertinente dans les pays étudiés mais le poids de ses différentes dimensions dans l'explication de ce phénomène varie d'un groupe de pays à l'autre. Ces résultats devraient être pris en compte dans l'orientation des stratégies de lutte contre le VIH/SIDA dans ces pays. (Afr J Reprod Health 2013; 17[1]: 49-66).

Researchers studying entrepreneurship have lent great value by exploring the factors that explain how entrepreneurs create new businesses and therefore, how societies and economies grow and prosper. Although there is considerable research based on psychological and economic approaches to entrepreneurship, the influence of cultural factors on the development of the company remains under study. However, the purpose of this article is to integrate, from a theoretical point of view, the socio-cultural factors and entrepreneurial activity.

This paper focuses on the multiple concepts regarding learning design in teaching and learning process, sheding light in the arguments that arising from its true content. It discusses the multiple definitions of learning design, highlighting their similarities and differences and underlines the contributing factors for these differences

Context
Several intergovernmental organizations (Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development, World Health Organization, United Nations) are urging countries to use well‐being indicators (e.g., life satisfaction) in addition to traditional economic indicators when making important policy decisions. As the number of governments implementing this new approach grows, so does the need to continue evaluating the health and well‐being outcomes we might observe from policies aimed at improving life satisfaction.

Methods
We evaluated whether positive change in life satisfaction (between t0;2006/2008 and t1;2010/2012) was associated with better outcomes on 35 indicators of physical, behavioral, and psychosocial health and well‐being (in t2;2014/2016). Data were from 12,998 participants in the University of Michigan's Health and Retirement Study—a prospective and nationally representative cohort of US adults over age 50.

Findings
Participants with the highest (versus lowest) life satisfaction had better subsequent outcomes on some physical health indicators (lower risk of pain, physical functioning limitations, and mortality; lower number of chronic conditions; and higher self‐rated health) and health behaviors (lower risk of sleep problems and more frequent physical activity), and nearly all psychosocial indicators (higher positive affect, optimism, purpose in life, mastery, health mastery, financial mastery, and likelihood of living with spouse/partner; and lower depression, depressive symptoms, hopelessness, negative affect, perceived constraints, and loneliness) over the 4‐year follow‐up period. However, life satisfaction was not subsequently associated with many specific health conditions (i.e., diabetes, hypertension, stroke, cancer, heart disease, lung disease, arthritis, overweight/obesity, or cognitive impairment), other health behaviors (i.e., binge drinking or smoking), or frequency of contact with children, family, or friends.

Conclusions
These results suggest that life satisfaction is a valuable target for policies aiming to enhance several indicators of psychosocial well‐being, health behaviors, and physical health outcomes.

Convergence is an oft-used notion in contact linguistics and historical linguistics. Yet it is problematic as an explanatory account for the changes it represents. In this study, we model one specific case of convergence (Duoxu, an endangered Tibeto-Burman language with 9 last speakers) to contribute to a more systematic understanding of the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. The goals are (1) to address the role of some linguistic and social factors assumed to have an effect on the process of convergence, and (2) to test the following explanations of empirical observations related to phonological convergence: (a) the loss of phonological segments in a language that has undergone convergence is correlated with the relative frequency and markedness of these segments in the combined bilingual repertoire, and (b) widespread bilingualism is a prerequisite for convergence. The results of our agent-based simulation affirm the importance of frequency and markedness of phonological segments in the process of convergence. At the same time, they suggest that the explanation related to widespread bilingualism may not be valid. Our study suggests computer simulations as a promising tool for investigation of complex cases of language change in contact settings.

Variation in Address Forms for Arab Married and Unmarried Women in the Workplace: A Sociolinguistic Study


Mays Qasem Ajlouni
Department of English language and literature
Faculty of Arts, Yarmouk University,
Irbid – Jordan.
Lutfi Abulhaija
Department of English language and literature
Faculty of Arts, Yarmouk University,
Irbid – Jordan.



Abstract:
This study aims at investigating address forms that are usually used in the workplace to address Arab married and unmarried women, from a sociolinguistic point of view. Despite the universality of the notion of using address forms, the elements that make them up and the rules that govern their use are cultural and social bound. It examines the use of address forms in relation to the impact of social variables such as gender, age and status on the form being used. To this end, a discourse completion task (DCT) was used to collect data. Analysis of 2000 occurrences of using address terms was carried out. Occurrences were collected from 100 Jordanian people working for JHAS organization. The collected data were analyzed quantitatively. Data were categorized into ten major categories. Results of the study highlight the most persistent terms of address. Results show that personal ‘first name’ form was the most frequently used address form, while ‘kinship terms’ were the least used form of address.

Key words: address form, first name, (un)married woman, social factor, sociolinguistics, workplace

This research explores the specific use of the prominent social media website Twitter during the 2010 Pakistan floods to examine whether users tend to tweet/retweet links from traditional versus social media, what countries these users are tweeting from, and whether there is a correlation between location and the linking of traditional versus social media. The study finds that Western users have an overwhelming preference for linking to traditional media and Pakistani users have a slight preference for linking to social media. The study also concludes that authorities and hubs in our sample have a significant preference for linking to social media rather than traditional media sites. The findings of this study suggest that there is a perceived legitimacy of social media during disasters by users in Pakistan. Additionally, it provides insights into how social media may be – albeit minimally – challenging the dominant position of traditional media in disaster reporting in developing countries.

This paper is an endeavor to depict the conditions of the female workers from two perspectives. One is social perspective and the other is economic perspective. The analysis is based on the survey of 151 female workers of 29 garment industrial units located in different parts of Chittagong Metropolitan area. This study suggests that the standard of living of the female garment workers is still in precarious condition and they are not free from the vicious circle of poverty and face extreme difficulties in obtaining their basic needs for survival even. This paper recommends measures for improving the prevailing socio-economic facilities, to a great extent, to achieve female workers' satisfaction at the maximum level.

In the first half of the 20th century, Arab countries were mainly colonized by Britain and France. English and French became dominant in education and business. As most Arab countries gained independence in the 1950-1960’s, the cultural and linguistic influence of those colonizers continued. Therefore, use of Arabic as a national language was called for. Arabization became a widespread endeavor. Despite that, English became a dominant second/foreign language in some Arab countries, French in others, especially in the past decade or so with the advent of satellite T.V., Internet, social media and advancements in technology. A new linguistic phenomenon has appeared. Many Arabs, T.V. anchors and social media users prefer to use English or French words although Arabic equivalents exist. For example, students use "class, project, cancel, mobile"; Facebook and Twitter users use "share, comment, like, profile, message, tweet, hashtag"; and T.V. anchors use "break, agenda, politic, media" and others. A corpus of commonly used English/French words was collected.

A sample of language and translation students and faculty was tested and surveyed to find out whether they were familiar with the Arabic equivalents to foreign words commonly used, reasons for preferring to use foreign words, although Arabic equivalents exist, and the effects of this phenomenon on Arabic and education.

Results showed that instructors identified 56% of the Arabic equivalents to foreign words on the test, whereas students identified 52%. Students gave more accurate Arabic equivalents.

The participants gave historical, sociolinguistic, technological and globalization factors that affect the preference of foreign words to Arabic equivalents, in addition to brevity, poor knowledge of Arabic equivalents, especially new coinages. They think it is more prestigious to use foreign words, "everybody is doing it" and "it's a habit". Foreign words attract customers' attention more than native words, and more customers can be reached worldwide.

SUMMARY Energy use in Australia faces three major challenges: air pollution arising from fossil fuel combustion, depletion of our modest oil reserves, and global warming contributions from greenhouse gas emissions. Energy conservation is a means of responding to all three challenges. This paper focuses on conservation of residential and passenger transport energy. These are directly controlled by households, hence social factors are likely to be important in energy conservation. On the basis of an analysis of energy consumption patterns from 1950 to 1995, it is argued that greater emphasis will need to be placed on enhancing social efficiency, that is, the effectiveness with which a given output is used to satisfy human needs. To date the emphasis has been on increasing technical efficiency. It is found that in certain important cases, promoting technical efficiency can be detrimental to social efficiency, leading to an overall rise in household energy use. Finally, the various policy options available for achieving energy savings are analysed, and it is concluded that in general non-price policies are more equitable and usually more effective.

The purpose of this study was to investigate influence of social factors on vocational career choices of students in Catholic-sponsored technical institutions located in the Catholic Diocese of Nakuru, Kenya. The study was guided by the research question: What is the influence of social factors on vocational career choices in the aforementioned institutions? The study was grounded on Krumboltz theory of social learning. The empirical literature covered various societal factors. A Convergent parallel mixed method design was used whereby 292 respondents participated in the study. Purposive, stratified and simple random sampling techniques were applied in sampling of institutions, administrators, teachers and students respectively. For data collection, interview guides were used for teachers and principals while questionnaires were employed to facilitate data collection from students. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences programme was used to aid analysis of quantitative data from the students while qualitative data from teachers and principals were organized into themes. Analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data were done independently then mixed at the end during interpretation. The study revealed that 91.6% of students are influenced by immediate people they interact with. It was also found that 55.6% never had prior working experience. The study revealed that as family and friends influence students in technical and vocational training institutions there is still a large number (49.3%) who make choices according to their own personal interest. Majority of the students (61.8%) perceived the courses they were pursuing as being very difficult but also marketable. Electrical installation was found to have the highest number of enrollment for national examinations followed by mechanics. The study recommended to Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development to introduce subjects at high school level that could expose students to vocational careers. It was further recommended that technical institutions should come up with guiding policies on how to help and streamline student’s choices on vocational careers.

Background: Almost no research has examined the impact of explanatory style on social adjustment. We hypothesised that adolescents with a pessimistic style would be less likely to develop and maintain social support networks. Methods: Seven hundred and nineteen students (351 males and 366 females; 2 unknown; MAGE = 12.28, SD = .49) completed an anonymous survey in Grades 7 through 10. Explanatory style was assessed in Grades 7 and 9, sadness was assessed in Grades 7 through 10, and quantity and quality of social support was assessed in Grades 8, 9, and 10. Results: Structural equation modelling was used to conduct cross-lagged panel analyses of the four waves of data. Pessimistic explanatory style predicted lower levels of social support, and lower social support from the family predicted higher levels of pessimistic explanatory style. Additional analyses suggested that the effects could not be explained by sadness or by assuming that pessimistic adolescents where less liked by their peers. Conclusions: Pessimistic adolescents feel unable to influence their social worlds in positive ways and consequently may not take actions to develop and maintain social support networks.

The main objective of the study is to find out the social and economic factors affecting frequency of re-hospitalization. A cross sectional survey was conducted at the public and private hospitals of Southern Punjab, Pakistan. Saturation sampling technique was utilized to gather information. SPSS version 21 was used for statistical analysis. Results showed that one’s emotional state in
terms of worry about heath seems to be most closely related to frequency of being admitted in hospital. Older people are more likely to have been in the hospital more often than younger people. Not having a hospital in the community reduces the frequency of re-hospitalizations.

The main objective of the study is to examine the social causes of diseases. The association among social determinants and diseases is intended to find out because in our society, importance of social factors is not fully recognized. The questionnaire based survey was conducted at public and private hospitals of Southern Punjab, Pakistan. Fifteen hundred in home patients were interviewed to gather the required data. It is found that there is a strong association between disease and social determinants. Stress causes a negative effect on a person’s health. It is also found that low literacy rate and inadequate health care facilities are the major factors impacting the health status. Majority of areas have medical facilities but most of these medical facilities are not fully facilitated.

Religious culture shapes the characters of space and it reflects people's attitudes towards the relationships between people and gods. Every religious architecture, such as a temple or a church, demonstrates its physical connections with life. This paper focuses on comparing different countries' religious architectures to better understand the dominant cultural elements which influence design concepts of these architectures. In Western cultures, the religious architecture format is the church. However, Tadao Ando designs the Church of the Light with oriental features. It changes western religious cultures to adapt to local conditions. Ando's work is just one of many examples in which the local culture can transform religious architecture form with their own characters, and nake it become an iconic mark to represent their country. This paper, analyzing project thinking and development invovling a local citizen, user, artist, and architect, tries to find out how design concepts, decisions on site location, and construction method will be determined. In these case studies on architectural formats from all over the world, this paper uses valuable data to show what elements will be the most critical ones to influence people's thinking about religious cultures and religious architectural transformation. Furthermore, in this research, it compares religious cultural characters between western and oriental regions. This research also answers questions about how cultures change local people's behaviors. This is the most valuable point of religious architectures, because they can comfort people and mitigate their sorrow. The research demonstrates how religious cultures and understanding about life can further develop architecture forms. Local materials and conditions are key factors which greatly influence architectural designs. Moreover, this paper compares the latest technology and development of construction materials to illustrate how technology reshapes religious designs in our age. It links local cultures with contemporary architectures to help local architectures continue to develop with their unique characters instead of being eliminated by globalization.

This article investigates the role of gender as an effective parameter on the success of language learners. The knowledge about such parameters affects the process of a foreign language learning / teaching. The role of gender in foreign language learning has always been accompanied by different ideas. This question has long been on the table if the ability of foreign language learning is related to the gender of the learner. Boy's learning process differs from that of the girls. It is believed that girls are generally proved to be more successful than boys. In this article the authors have tried to investigate the role of gender by considering several factors like: endeavor, motivation, learning styles, social factors, and physiological activities. The results indicate that there is a significant correlation between the foreign language learning process, proficiency and gender, which influences the process.

The main objective of the study is to find out the social and economic determinants of
cardiovascular disease. A cross sectional survey was conducted at the public cardiology wards
and private cardiologist clinics. Saturation sampling technique was utilized to gather
information. SPSS version 21 was used for statistical analysis. Results showed that high blood
pressure and low fruits consumption are the major causes of cardiovascular disease for all age
groups. Stress, smoking, education and physical inactivity are also causes of cardiovascular
disease.

The present study focuses on emotional reactions to platform movements onboard an offshore installation, and to investigate to what degree the safety climate onboard the installation had impact on such reactions. The sample consisted of 179 respondents, taking all three work shifts into consideration, representing all fields of work onboard. In general. emotional reactions to platform movements were not associated with the safety climate. The exception was instrumental protection. However, this tendency was to some extent altered when controlling for various job related and demographic variables. Gender, marital status and offshore experience promoted a moderate relationship between social support and emotional reactions. Moderate associations between emotional reactions and safety involvement were promoted by personnel category, offshore experience and age. Personnel category, offshore experience and age also promoted moderate associations between emotional reactions and satisfaction with aspects of safety and contingency measures. The respondents indicated engagement in emotion-focused and perception-focused coping responses when anticipating platform movements onboard.

The Global Council on Brain Health (GCBH) is an independent collaborative of scientists, health professionals, scholars, and policy experts from around the world working in areas of brain health related to human cognition. The GCBH focuses on brain health relating to people's ability to think and reason as they age, including aspects of memory, perception, and judgment. This is sometimes also called cognitive health, cognitive function or mental fitness. The GCBH is convened by AARP with support from Age UK to offer the best possible advice about what adults age 50 and older can do to maintain and improve their brain health. GCBH members come together to discuss specific lifestyle issue areas that may impact people's brain health as they age with the goal of providing evidence-based recommendations for people to consider incorporating into their lives. We know that many people across the globe are interested in learning what they can do to maintain their brain health as they age. An abundance of sources are now available for people to find information, but it can be difficult to know what the weight of current science says when new and sometimes conflicting studies are reported. The GCBH makes its recommendations to help people know what practical steps they can take to foster better brain health and feel confident that it is based on reliable and scientifically credible information. We aim to be a trustworthy source of information basing recommendations on current evidence supplemented by a consensus of experts from a broad array of disciplines and perspectives. We intend to create a set of resources offering practical advice to the public, health care providers, and policy makers seeking to make and promote informed choices relating to brain health.

The research was conducted with the objective of bribery election in Jordan and
different causes to this crime and the impact of these reasons and causes on election,
were excluded for three different causes for bribe’s election’s spread to recommend
Jordan legislator to amend election code by imposing a deterrent punishment to this
crime beside to aware citizen’s with a serious effect of such practices.

The aftermath of World War II in 1945 witnessed the dawn of a new era of global development system. Over 50 years down the line, globalisation has not brought true global development as is evident in the development gap between countries. The paper examines development trajectories of countries since the colonial era and attempts to explain the factors accountable for the different development levels today. Comparing Ghana and Singapore, the paper argues that in terms of political dispensation, the combined-factors of slave trade and colonialism, coupled with political instability, leadership deficit and institutional incapacity have affected Ghana's development. Similarly, in the economic sector, foreign aid went against Ghana whilst foreign trade and investment favoured Singapore. Finally, education and technology have been the social bedrock for the steady progress of Singapore as compared to Ghana. The paper concludes that, underdevelopment stems from a complex combination of both internal and external political, economic and social factors that are both historic and current. In the end, this paper argues that no single theory or discourse can fully explain development. Rather, an in-depth diagnosis of such historic and current factors provides a stouter platform on which sustainable development can be achieved.

В статье рассмотрены аспекты экономической обоснованности разработки технологий продления жиз-ни. Предложены критерии расчета экономической эффективности и длительности жизненной среды для формирования предложений по возникновению и расширению рыночной технологии продления жизненных стратегий. Определено, что значение технологий продления жизни воздействует на социальную сферу в раз-деле прибавочной стоимости опосредованного типа и прямого развития понимания социального капитала индивида. В работе использованы методы математической статистики, экономического анализа, факторной оценки и эмпирического диалектического опыта. Новизной исследования является применение зарубежного методологического аппарата как основы для реализации исследований в Российской Федерации и перспек-тивы интернационализации деятельности компании. Центральной мыслью экономического развития любого государства является утверждение того, что оно способно к развитию в течение длительного периода жизни. Ключевые слова: технологическая среда, биологическое равновесие, продление жизни, качественный уровень, структурные особенности, социальный фактор The article discusses aspects of the economic feasibility of the development of life extension technologies. The criteria for calculating the cost-effectiveness and the duration of the living environment for the formation of proposals for the emergence and expansion of market technology prolongation of life strategies. It was determined that the value of life extension technology affects the social sphere under the surplus value of indirect and direct type of understanding of the social capital of the individual. We used the methods of mathematical statistics, economic analysis and empirical evaluation factor dialectical experience. The novelty of this study is the use of foreign aid at a methodological framework for the implementation of research in the Russian Federation and the prospects for the internationalization of the company. Central idea of economic development of any country is the assertion that it is able to develop over a long period of life.

The objective of this paper is to review, systematize, and summarize empirical research on the antecedents and consequences of brand loyalty. The literature review has identified five categories of antecedents to brand loyalty associated with consumer, brand, social, corporate and relational factors. The type of loyalty formed varies according to the combination of various antecedents, with premium loyalty being considered the most desirable. Apart from summarizing the literature on brand loyalty, this review has practical implications for marketing managers. Customer expectations at each stage of the customer decision process must be understood, and therefore combined with the various antecedents to incite premium loyalty. Managers must apply not just behavioural but also affective components in their marketing strategies to achieve optimal results.

Emails have great potential in facilitating academic communication. However, writing effective academic emails depends on many factors including students' knowledge, experiences and perceptions about emails. According to Brown and Levinson (1987), people use certain politeness strategies to enhance face between themselves and their interlocutors. Yet, the underlying processes of email communication may be poorly understood, especially as far as politeness is concerned. This study seeks to examine the perceptions, practices and attitudes of 38 postgraduateTunisian students towards email communication through a questionnaire. The aim is to reveal whether the sociolinguistic and pragmatic dynamics of writing emails in English are adequately understood by Tunisian postgraduate students. The questionnaire comprises four parts which include email use, participants' attitudes towards emails, email practices and social factors. Each section includes closed and open-ended questions. The findings show that the informants have a positive attitude towards the use of emails in their academic life. However, their perceptions concerning politeness and their comment on the effect of social factors show a relative variability. A possible avenue for pedagogical intervention with regard to the instruction of pragmatics in general and politeness routines in particular in email communication is presented.

The analysis is an attempt to support the process of education in the subject Social conflicts of the students of Social activities specialty at the Faculty of Medicine at Trakia University in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. Without ignoring the significance of many other factors destabilizing the social sphere and leading to social conflicts, the present work focuses only on poverty as a significant and negatively affecting the national security factor. The aim is to provide an opportunity to reflect on the impact of poverty, its characteristics and legal nature, its social significance and role, as well as its negative impact on social and national security. Therefore its characteristics are analyzed with a keen interest.

Current practice in software engineering suggests a radical change in perspective: where once stood fixed teams of people following a development plan, now stand just-intime Dynamic Networked Organizations (DyNOs), adopting a common flexible strategy for development, rather than a plan. This shift in perspective has gone relatively unnoticed by current software engineering research. This paper offers a glimpse at what processes and instruments lie beyond “current ” software engineering research, where studying emergent DyNOs, their creation and steering becomes critical. To understand the underpinnings of this evolution, we explored a simple yet vivid scenario from real-life industrial practice. Using scenario analysis we elicited a number of social and organizational requirements in working with DyNOs. Also, comparing our evidence with literature, we made some key observations. First, managing DyNOs makes organizational requirements a first-class entity for development success. Sec...

Objective:
Very preterm born children are at risk for impairments in multiple neurodevelopmental domains, but outcomes vary between individuals. The present study aimed to distinguish subgroups with distinct profiles of functioning across motor, cognitive, behavioral, and psychosocial domains. These profiles were related to neonatal and social/environmental factors.
Method:
The sample included 1977 children born very preterm (<32 weeks’ gestation) in 2011 from the French population-based EPIPAGE-2 cohort. Using latent profile analysis, subgroups of children were distinguished based on their functioning at 5.5 years. The relation between outcome profiles and neonatal and social/environmental factors was tested using multivariable multinomial logistic regression analysis.
Results:
Four subgroups with distinct outcome profiles were distinguished: no deficit in any domain (45%); motor and cognitive deficits without behavioral/psychosocial deficits (31%); primarily behavioral and psychosocial deficits (16%); and deficits in multiple domains (8%). Male sex (odds ratio [OR] = 2.1−2.7), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (OR = 2.1−2.8), low parental education level (OR = 1.8−2.1), and parental non-European immigrant status (OR = 2.3−3.0) were independently associated with higher odds for all suboptimal outcome profiles compared to the favorable outcome profile.
Conclusion:
Among 5.5-year-old very preterm born children, subgroups can be distinguished with distinct outcome profiles that vary in severity, type, and combinations of deficits. This information is important for the development of interventions that are tailored to the needs of large subgroups of children across multiple domains of functioning. General neonatal and social/environmental factors may be useful for early identification of very preterm born children at risk for general rather than domain-specific impairments.

This article examines the social characteristics of artists. The idea is that artists share some common characteristics that may have an effect on their becoming an artist. The process of acquiring the identification of artist is a multidimen-sional one, which is related to creativity, alongside many other factors that are inherently social. Here, emphasis is on the second kind of factors, the social ones. In order to show the importance of such factors, data from the author's previous research are presented. The theoretical field of study is sociology of art with an emphasis on Janet Wolff's ideas. The main hypothesis is that creativity and genius are preconditions for a person to become an artist, but are not sufficient in themselves. The individual's emergence as artist also relies on their social conditions. If certain social conditions are right, then an individual may be able to pursue artistic activities and become known as an artist. keywords: artist ✦ social factors ✦ sociology of art