Reliability and validity of the Oxford Happiness Inventory among university students in Iran

The aim of the present study was to examine the internal reliability, content validity, construct validity, and concurrent validity of the Persian translation/Farsi version of the Oxford Happiness Inventory. The Oxford Happiness Inventory and Fordyce Happiness Inventory were completed by a sample of 727 Iranian university students. Findings confirmed the internal reliability, construct, and concurrent validity of the Oxford Happiness Inventory. Thus, it can be recommended for use as a trait-measure of happiness among Iranian samples.     

Muslims,identity and multimodal communication on the internet

The Internet provides a space and medium within which Muslims can shape the relationship between their religious identity and their social and political affiliations. The subjectivities of Muslims who use online space are in turn shaped by the parameters and possibilities of the Internet’s architecture and language. The multiple linkages of online spaces and the particular vernacular spoken in these spaces, a mix of written text, imagery and sound, privilege new kinds of actors and new forms of expressive and rhetorical activities. In this new space and medium, the question of imagining (or rejecting) a global Muslim identity demonstrates the subtle interplay involved in the formation of religious and media subjectivities. Developing a critical understanding of multimodal representation and communication is an essential component in studying Muslim engagement with the Internet.     

Technique Feature Analysis or Involvement Load Hypothesis: Estimating Their Predictive Power in Vocabulary Learning

Vocabulary learning has always been a great concern and has attracted the attention of many researchers. Among the vocabulary learning hypotheses, involvement load hypothesis and technique feature analysis have been proposed which attempt to bring some concepts like noticing, motivation, and generation into focus. In the current study, 90 high proficiency EFL students were assigned into three vocabulary tasks of sentence making, composition, and reading comprehension in order to examine the power of involvement load hypothesis and technique feature analysis frameworks in predicting vocabulary learning. It was unraveled that involvement load hypothesis cannot be a good predictor, and technique feature analysis was a good predictor in pretest to posttest score change and not in during-task activity. The implications of the results will be discussed in the light of preparing vocabulary tasks.     

EEG phase synchronization during semantic unification relates to individual differences in children’s vocabulary skill

As we listen to speech, our ability to understand what was said requires us to retrieve and bind together individual word meanings into a coherent discourse representation. This so‐called semantic unification is a fundamental cognitive skill, and its development relies on the integration of neural activity throughout widely distributed functional brain networks. In this proof‐of‐concept study, we examine, for the first time, how these functional brain networks develop in children. Twenty‐six children (ages 4–17) listened to well‐formed sentences and sentences containing a semantic violation, while EEG was recorded. Children with stronger vocabulary showed N400 effects that were more concentrated to centroparietal electrodes and greater EEG phase synchrony (phase lag index; PLI) between right centroparietal and bilateral frontocentral electrodes in the delta frequency band (1–3 Hz) 1.27–1.53 s after listening to well‐formed sentences compared to sentences containing a semantic violation. These effects related specifically to individual differences in receptive vocabulary, perhaps pointing to greater recruitment of functional brain networks important for top‐down semantic unification with development. Less skilled children showed greater delta phase synchrony for violation sentences 3.41–3.64 s after critical word onset. This later effect was partly driven by individual differences in nonverbal reasoning, perhaps pointing to non‐verbal compensatory processing to extract meaning from speech in children with less developed vocabulary. We suggest that functional brain network communication, as measured by momentary changes in the phase synchrony of EEG oscillations, develops throughout the school years to support language comprehension in different ways depending on children's verbal and nonverbal skill levels.     

Language as power in the therapy room: A study of bilingual (Arabic–English) therapists' experiences

The topic of language as power (LaP) in individual therapeutic encounters has thus far been overlooked, and as bilingual therapists have the ability to use more than one language in the therapy room, their experience of LaP is a compelling research area that this paper attempts to explore. This qualitative, inductive, phenomenological study used interviews and interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore five bilingual Arabic–English-speaking therapists' experiences of LaP in the therapeutic encounter. The study identifies two overarching themes: (a) the emergence of identity and power from language and (b) comparisons of power in the English and Arabic languages. Within these themes, the study finds that therapists experience LaP through multiple avenues: self-disclosure, intersectionality, being transported to different identities and expressions of power and power of expression in Arabic–English. These multiple avenues illustrate the complexity of LaP in the therapeutic encounter. The study sheds light on an underexplored area in psychotherapy, illuminating an important area for psychotherapists and training institutions to consider when working with clients.     

Involvement of hippocampal nitric oxide in spatial learning in the rat

Nitric oxide (NO) is thought to be involved in synaptic plasticity contributing to learning and memory in several brain areas including the hippocampus. The hippocampus is believed to have a critical role in the processing of spatial information. But, data on the role of hippocampal NO in spatial learning are not consistent. So the effect of NO synthase (NOS) inhibition in the CA1 region of rat hippocampus on spatial localization was investigated in the Morris water maze (MWM). Male albino Wistar rats cannulated in their CA1 region received bilateral injections of vehicle (saline) or N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), a NOS inhibitor (50, 100 and 200 microg/0.5 microl) through the cannulae 30 min before training each day. Animals were subjected to 5 days of training in the MWM; 4 days with the invisible platform to test spatial learning and the 5th day with the visible platform to test motivation and sensorimotor coordination. The results showed dose-dependent increases (p<0.001) in escape latency, traveled distance, heading angle, and dose-dependent decreases (p<0.01) in target quadrant entries in L-NAME-received groups as compared to the control group. This impairment was reversed by co-administration of mole-equivalent doses of L-arginine (L-Arg), the NO precursor. L-Arg alone at the dose of 129.2 microg, increased heading angle (p<0.01) with no effect on other parameters. On the basis of the present data, it is concluded that processes mediated by NO synthesis in the hippocampus are essentially involved in spatial learning.     

Passive smoking is associated with cognitive and emotional impairment in adolescent girls

It is well established that smoking is associated with impaired mental health and sleep problems. However, the possible effects of passive smoking on cognitive and emotional characteristics have not previously been evaluated in adolescents. We investigated the association between passive smoking and cognitive and emotional function, and sleep patterns in 940 adolescent girls. The girls were divided into two groups [305 exposed subjects and 635 non-exposed subjects (the controls)]. The passive smokers had a significantly lower cognitive function and higher depression, aggression, and insomnia scores compared to the control group (P?<?0.05). No significant difference was detected with respect to day-time sleepiness and sleep apnea. Logistic regression analyses showed that the passive smokers were more likely than the controls to have cognitive impairments, depressive mood, aggressive behavior, and insomnia. Adolescent passive smokers had significant differences in their cognitive abilities and emotional function.     

Spirituality and Health Care in Iran: Time to Reconsider

Spirituality is increasingly recognized as an essential element of care. This article investigates the role of spirituality in Iranian health care system and provides some guidelines to integrate spirituality in routine health care practice in Iran.