Fairness in assessment can be one of the important goals in the field of language teaching and assessment. Assessment experts acknowledge the relations hip between validity and fairness. Some believe that validity itself is part of fairness. On the other hand, some believe that achieving fairness is in fact the achieving a test validity. The Common European framework of Reference (CEFR) has developed a system of descriptors to achieve educational equality and assessment of learning. The purpose of this research is to validate a test consisting of 25 items based on CEFR descriptors. In order to obtain the necessary information to determine the validity of the test, 150 male and female participants answered multiple-choice questions. Then, the data were analyzed to determine the differential functioning of each item (DIF) by item response theory (IRT). In addition, a 75-item questionnaire was used to separate groups of participants based on their interests and goals. The results showed that in addit ion to the usual criteria for categorizing participants, including gender and linguistic and cultural background, personal interests and goals can be considered. It also became clear that these criteria could be used for determining test validity.

Introduction: The ethical dimensions of agriculture need to be explored, distinguishing between ethics in agriculture and ethics of agriculture. Ethics in agriculture is traditionally based on abstract moral theory, formulated through logical reasoning, but often found inadequate to address the complex ethical challenges within agriculture due to its abstract nature and lack of practical visibility. Conversely, ethics of agriculture is approached within a context-specific framework derived from the research topic with the aim of providing more tailored solutions. Materials and Methods: A comprehensive review of the relevant literature is conducted, using a descriptive-analytical approach to provide a conceptual framework for understanding agricultural ethics. Conclusion: The article highlights the critical need for a comprehensive ethical framework to address the multifaceted ethical challenges in the agricultural sector. The importance of analyzing and resolving ethical dilemmas at all stages of agriculture is underscored in order to align practices with human ideals and to ensure ethical decision-making by stakeholders involved in agriculture.

The Japanese adaptation of the Common European framework of Reference (CEFR-J) is a tailored version of the Common European framework of Reference (CEFR), designed to better meet the needs of Japanese learners of English. The CEFR-J, like the CEFR, uses illustrative descriptors known as can-do statements, that describe achievement goals for five skills (listening, reading, spoken production, spoken interaction and writing) across twelve levels instead of the CEFR’s original six. The goal of the present analysis is to provide validity evidence in support of the inherent difficulty hierarchy within the 5 A level sub-categories (A1.1, A1.2, A1.3, A2.1 and A2.2) in two ways: 1) by testing whether the difficulty of the can-do statements for each skill increases with the levels, and 2) by determining if there are significant differences in difficulty ratings between each level. It was found that for most skills, the rank ordering from difficulty ratings made by Japanese university students somewhat matched the level hierarchy of the CEFR-J but that significant differences between many adjacent levels were not found. The localization of a general framework for use by a specific population of users and the limitations related to using a system of can-dos that is derived from estimates of difficulty are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to determine a listening level based on Common European framework of Reference (CEFR) for undergraduate students of engineering and also to compare the self-reporting of their listening comprehension on the DIALANG and the CEFR listening self-assessment descriptors with their level on the academic and general listening tasks. The participants of this study were 200 Iranian male and female learners (male=148, female=52) at the BS level at the Iran University of Science and Technology. The instruments of this research were the CEFR and the DIALANG listening self-assessment grids and eight listening comprehension tasks at four levels (i. e., A2, B1, B2, & C1) and in two different genres (academic and general). The results revealed that female learners performed better on the general and academic listening tasks than male learners did. The results also indicated that the learners' self-assessment did not correspond closely with their performance on the listening tasks as both groups rated their listening comprehension higher on the CEFR and DIALANG grids. The number of matches on the DIALANG grid was also greater than that of the CEFR, and the matches on the academic tasks were greater than those of the general tasks.

The purposes of this study were to determine a reading ability level based on the CEFR for male and female engineering students and to compare their reading levels on the CEFR and DIALANG self-assessment grids with the level based on their performance on the reading tasks. The participants were 162 Iranian male and female undergraduate students at the Iran University of Science and Technology. DIALANG and CEFR reading self-assessment grids and four reading tasks at four levels (i. e., A2, B1, B2, and C1) were administered to the participants. Considering the students’ performance on the reading tasks, the results revealed that female learners outperformed the male learners; however, a considerable number of learners (about 40%) in both groups were considered ‘ Below B1’ . The results also showed that learners’ self-assessment did not closely correspond with their performance on the reading tasks as both groups of learners rated their reading ability lower on the CEFR and DIALANG grids; nevertheless, the highest matches were related to the female learners' ratings on the DIALANG grid.

There are two approaches for simulating memory as well as learning in artificial intelligence; the functionalistic approach and the cognitive approach. The necessary condition to put the second approach into account is to provide a model of brain activity that contains a quite good congruence with observational facts such as mistakes and forgotten experiences. Given that human memory has a solid core that includes the components of our identity, our family and our hometown, the major and determinative events of our lives, and the countless repeated and accepted facts of our culture, the more we go to the peripheral spots the data becomes flimsier and more easily exposed to oblivion. It was essential to propose a model in which the topographical differences are quite distinguishable. In our proposed model, we have translated this topographical situation into quantities, which are attributed to the nodes. The result is an edge-weighted graph with mass-based values on the nodes which demonstrates the importance of each atomic proposition, as a truth, for an intelligent being. Furthermore, it dynamically develops and modifies, and in successive phases, it changes the mass of the nodes and weight of the edges depending on gathered inputs from the environment.

The aim of this research is creating a mesoporous structure in the MFI zeolite membrane layer and increase the pores diameter in order to increase the water permeability. The mesoporous structure was created by adding carbon black to the synthesis solution of the membrane in the in-situ hydrothermal method. The X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Berner-Emmett-Taylor (BET) and nitrogen gas permeability tests were used to characterize and the water permeation test was used to investigate the performance. The results showed the successful synthesis of the MFI zeolite membrane layer with proper crystallinity on the α-alumina support with the thickness of about 15 µm and the pore size between 4.5-20 nm, so that the largest amount of meso-pores had a diameter of 7.4 nm. The diameter of the pores has increased by 10 times compared to the synthesis without the presence of carbon black. The results of the water permeation test showed that increasing the the pores diameter using carbon black could increase the water flux of the membrane (26 L/m2.hr) up to 14-75 times compared to microporous membranes (0.35-1.74 L/m2.hr). Investigating the water flux of the membrane for water containing dissolved solids showed that the water flux of the mesoporous membrane (12 L/m2.hr) is still higher than the microporous membranes after 2 hr.

The importance of words in speech and writing is so much so that in the absence of words, it would be impossible to talk, converse or communicate with others. At the same time, not every word will create or maintain a connection. Improper and misleading use of words may even lead to a loss of verbal or written communication with misunderstanding.Since so far most of the researches have been done on how to practice vocabulary, due to the importance of using the right vocabulary and lexical combinations in conveying and communicating with the audience and in order to improve and upgrade the educational level of German language teaching institutions, this article examines the errors of Iranian language learners in grade B from the Common European framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).The criterion for this study is a field study conducted at the beginning of 2019 in one of the German educational institutions. This study shows the type and amount of mistakes of Iranian adult language learners in using German language