The current investigation sought to examine the learning and target needs of mechanical engineering (ME) students based on the learners and instructors’ attitudes though an explanatory mixed-method design. To elicit learners’ perceptions of English for Science and Technology (EST), 114 ME undergraduate students and 13 EST instructors from four Iranian state universities took part in a large qua...

We show that the following unlinking strategy does not always yield an optimal sequence of crossing changes: first split the link with the minimal number of crossing changes, and then unknot the resulting components. The unlinking number u(L) of a link L in S is the minimal number of crossing changes required to turn a diagram of L into a diagram of the unlink. Here we take the minimum over all...

This paper presents a new family of complex spreading sequences designed using mutually orthogonal(MO) complementary sets. Based on the technique described in this paper, the correlation properties ofsets ofsequences are compared to well-known Walsh-Hadamard sequence sets. Further improvement of correlation qualities can be achieved by employing a diagonal modification method. We also present s...

Background: The purpose of this study was to describe advertisements of children's entertainment products in a popular magazine, Parents, and to determine if they illustrated behavior that was physically active or sedentary. Methods: The sample was comprised of Parents magazines (January 2010 to December 2015). Coding involved determining if the advertisement was promoting sedentary or active b...

In Japan, attention is currently focused on designing ecological networks for wildlife animals. However there is an obvious lack of the species spatial information. This study aims (a) to acquire the potential spatial distribution of Asiatic black bear and Japanese serow to identify core areas, and (b) to propose a methodology for assessing needs for ecological networks. 1836 species’ point rec...

There are many user interests on coasts and in estuaries, including economic activities (ports, harbours, navigation, fishing, mineral extraction), recreation (bathing, walking, sailing, fishing, birdwatching), flood defence, water quality, nature conservation, and conservation of the historical and archaeological heritage. Often these interests are conflicting, and managers frequently have to ...