Vygotsky's writings on Sociocultural Theory (SCT) of mind, his concept of Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and its related metaphor, scaffolding, serve as the theoretical basis for the study of peer collaboration. This paper aimed at examining the effects of peer-scaffolding on EFL writing ability and finding out how revising techniques are constructed and expanded when two learners are working in their ZPDs. Two intermediate EFL university students (a "reader" and a "writer") collaboratively revised a cause and effect composition written by one of them. A microgenetic approach was applied for analyzing the interactions. Results showed that even though the role of the reader was more significant as mediator at first, both reader and writer actively took part in revising the text with assistance transferring mutually between them at the end of the session. Results also indicated that peer scaffolding could be reciprocal rather than unidirectional. As a concluding remark, it was noted that teachers can enhance the quality of collaborative writing processes by helping students to work together and take into account joint efforts in the writing tasks. Learners can also take more participation, learn evaluative feedback strategies, and benefit from their co-mediators.

Microgenetic method is a specific method for studying change in abilities, knowledge, and understanding during short time spans, through dense observations, and over a relatively long period of time. In this paper I will attempt to provide a brief overview of microgenetic method and will point out its potential advantages and disadvantages in the context of second language acquisition. To illustrate the utility of microgenetic method in SLA research, I will then discuss a SLA-related issue which could be addressed via this research method, namely the effects of written corrective feedback on L2 acquisition.

AbstractIn this study, the researchers examined the possible effects of a sociocultural model of teaching reading comprehension on the learners’ performance using a mixed-method approach. The authors relied on Vygotsky's theory of learning and his notion of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) to analyze scaffolding behaviors among two experimental groups (teacher scaffolding and peer scaffolding) and a control group contributing to reading comprehension using both qualitative and quantitative analyses. The learners were intermediate-level students participating in a 15-session private reading comprehension course. At every session, individual learners received scaffolding helps provided by the teacher in teacher scaffolding and the peer in peer scaffolding groups while performing reading comprehension tasks. Each group of peers included one low and one high intermediate student. In the quantitative phase, the data collected through pretest and posttest were analyzed using ANOVA test. Moreover, the qualitative part, the data including audio recorded talks between the teacher and students (teacher scaffolding), were analyzed through a microgenetic approach. In the qualitative phase, the applicability of the teacher's scaffolding instructions in different levels was presented. The levels and variety of guidance required by the learner to successfully perform a given task were analyzed applying Lidz's (1991) scaffolding instructions. The results in the quantitative phase supported the benefit of the practicality of scaffolding techniques in teaching reading comprehension.

Teachers’ capability in shaping learner contributions (SLC), as a part of Classroom Interactional Competence (CIC), has been evidenced to play a key role in opening up precious opportunities for learners’ involvement, and consequently learning. Yet, very few studies to date have explored how teacher education programs (TEPs) can develop teachers’ capability to SLC. To fill up this lacuna, a TEP, founded on the principles of dynamic assessment (DA), was implemented with four EFL teachers serving as participants. In so doing, initially twelve hours of video- and audio-recorded data of the teachers were analyzed to identify the samples in which they missed the opportunity for SLC. Then one-on-one DA sessions were held with each of the teachers, during which the teacher educator tried to assist them to develop a deepened insight into the strategies they adopted to shape their learners’ contributions. In such dialogic context, the feedback was calibrated to create and nurture the zone of proximal teacher development (ZPTD). After instructional sessions, conversation analysis of the teachers' regular classrooms indicated a rise in the total frequency and variety of the SLC strategies employed. Furthermore, it was found that teachers' type of development differed greatly from one another. Results are discussed and some pedagogical implications are presented.

The present study explored the effect of computer language learning games on learning grammar by Iranian English learners in a microgenetic development setting. Forty male elementary English learners aged between 8 and 12, participated in the study. Based on the placement test scores, the homogenized participants were placed in one experimental and one control group. The experimental group received the treatment using computer language learning games to teach English grammar-simple present, present continuous, simple past, and past continuous-while the control group received traditional methods. The research data were obtained from a 40-item multiple choice tests in six times-as a pre-test, four post-tests, and a delayed post-test. The results of t-test revealed better performance of experimental group learners in post-tests than the pre-test. However, a statistically significant difference was found. The findings are valuable for teachers and learners, methodologists and syllabus designers, linguists and CALL experts.

In this study, a comprehensive meta-analysis was conducted using a random-effects model to examine the relationship between money supply and inflation and to address inconsistencies in previous research. The overall effect of money supply on inflation was estimated at 0/578, providing a broad measure of its impact. However, an assessment using a funnel plot and Egger's test revealed publication bias. To correct for this bias, the "trim and fill" method was applied, reducing the adjusted overall effect to 0/475. Additionally, meta-regression and subgroup analyses were performed to investigate moderating variables. The results showed that the effect of money supply on inflation differs across fixed and floating exchange rate regimes, time periods before and after 2000, and between static and dynamic models. These findings contribute to a clearer understanding of the impact of monetary and economic policies on inflation and provide a foundation for future research.

Purpose: The flourishing of political parties and currents is one of the signs of the degree of development in societies. In contemporary Iran and since the formation of the constitutional movement, political currents have gone through many ups and downs and it can be said that political currents in Iran after the Islamic Revolution have not yet reached the stage of institutionalization and stability. A characteristic feature of political currents in Iran is the divergence and division among political currents in recent decades, and this can be one of the reasons for the instability and cross-sectional and seasonal activity of political parties in Iran. Therefore, the necessity of leading research seeks to answer the question of how factors and divergence among political currents in Iran after the victory of the Islamic Revolution can be analyzed? And what are the scenarios for the advancement of political currents in Iran?Method: To answer this question, the method of causal-layer analysis, which is one of the qualitative methods in futures research, has been used.Findings: The research findings indicate that this divergence is due to a wide range of reasons from the level of causal systems (from the institutionalization of power to the formation of parties as elitist initiatives), worldview and discourse (from charismatic political authority to culture). Subsidiary-follower politics to myth-metaphor (Iranian individualism to belief in a strong state-weak society) can be analyzed.Conclusions: Three scenarios for the future of Iranian political currents can be considered: integration of currents as the security valve of the political system, the collapse of political currents in the traditional form, integration and consolidation in new social movements (virtualized parties).

Recognition and understanding the genetic control of traits, combining ability and genetic structure are directly related to the success of breeding programs. For this purpose, a 7 × 7 one-way diallel design was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The measured traits were included plant height, height to the first capsule, number of days to 50% and 90% of flowering, number of capsules per plant, number of seeds per capsule, number of days to physiological ripening, number of branches, leaves number and length, 1000-seeds weight, capsule weight, length and width, chlorophyll a, b and total chlorophyll, biological andeconomic yields, harvest index, oil and protein percentage. Analysis of variance showed that there was a significant difference between genotypes and diallel analysis showed that the additive variance of all traits and dominant variance of all traits except height to the first fruit-bearing capsule were significant. The oltan cultivar was the best and Ardestan genotype was the worst genotype in terms of general combining ability. Sabzevar×TS-3 and Sirjan×Fars were the best hybrids in most traits. The general heritability was between 0.90 to 0.96 for biologic yield and number of branches, respectively and narrow heritability was between 0.36 to 0.91 for the number of branches and harvest index, respectively. The analysis of variance by Hayman method confirmed the results of Griffing analysis.

As the most complex manufactured structures, cities face excessive population growth. Their expansion has intensified on high-risk sites, and the available evidence also indicates the continuous increase of all types of natural crises in terms of intensity and frequency. Scientific and experimental findings show that the best way to deal with danger is to promote the resilience of settlements in different dimensions (social, economic-livelihood, physical-spatial and institutional); in other words, resilience in both human and environmental dimensions comprehensively. It decreases and increases. This research has evaluated and analyzed the components of resilience in Sari. The method of the present study is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical and field in nature. The statistical population in this research includes citizens living in the four districts of Sari, and the sample size was determined based on Cochran's formula of 383 people, who were selected from among the statistical population by stratified sampling. The questionnaire is the method of collecting library and field information and its most important tool. For data analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics (one-sample t-test and structural equation modeling) were used by SPSS and Smart PLS software, and entropy and SAW models were exerted. The research results indicate that the situation of the four regions of Sari regarding social components has better conditions than other dimensions of resilience. In terms of institutional components, they have a vulnerable state. According to the entropy model, among the components of resilience, the institutional dimension has the most weight, and the economic dimension has the least weight. Moreover, according to the SAV model, Region 1 ranks first, and Region 3 of Sari ranks last in having the components of resilience dimensions.