314 10 3494 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/abe809ca90b9658db6e64444d9bbe85b.pdf 896e4a60c5a24eed54c659ee39494069 PDF Text Text The Utilization of Modified Rye Straws as Biosorbents for Cr (VI) Ions Huseyin Deveci Faculty of Engineering-Architecture, Department of Chemical Engineering, Selcuk University, Campus, 42079 Konya, Turkey hdeveci@selcuk.edu.tr Erol Pehlivan Faculty of Engineering-Architecture, Department of Chemical Engineering, Selcuk University, Campus, 42079 Konya, Turkey erolpehlivan@gmail.com Abstract: The potential to remove Cr (VI) ion from aqueous solutions using modified rye straws (MRS), through adsorption was investigated in batch experiments. Rye straws were collected from vicinity of Konya, Turkey and modified with various amount of citric acid (CA). The parameter for modification was selected by trying different parameters such as time, temperature and citric acid quantity. The rate of adsorption was studied under a variety of conditions including initial Cr (VI) concentration (1.10-4-4.10-3M), amount of adsorbent (0.050.4 g), pH (1.5 to 7), and contact time (5-240 min). Adsorption of Cr (VI) uptake is in all cases pH-dependent showing a maximum at equilibrium at pH values of 1.5-2.0 for (MRS). The batch sorption kinetics has been tested and the applicability of the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms for the present system has been tested at 25°C. The experimental results inferred that adsorption, electrostatic attraction, complexation and chelation are major adsorption mechanisms for binding Cr (VI) ion to the (MRS). Compared to the various other adsorbents reported in the literature, the (MRS) shows very good alternative adsorbent for practical applicability for waste streams and the results indicated that MRS can be employed as a low cost alternative in the removal of Cr (VI) ion from wastewater. Introduction The increasing contamination of urban and industrial wastewaters by toxic metal ions causes important environmental pollutions. These inorganic micro-pollutants are of considerable concern because they are nonbiodegradable, highly toxic and have a probable carcinogenic effect (Madoni et al., 1996). The traditional techniques for the removal of toxic metals from aqueous effluents are incapable of reducing concentration to the levels required by law. Cr(III) and Cr(VI) are the chromium oxidation states usually encountered in the environment. The hexavalent form is of particular concern because of its greater toxicity. Several other methods are utilized to remove chromium from industrial wastewater. These include: reduction, ion exchange, activated carbon adsorption, electrolytic removal, reverse osmosis, membrane filtration (Cimino et al., 2000; Gode and Pehlivan, 2003; Lu et al., 2006). There are other systems for treating wastewaters containing toxic metal ions is today the use of micro-organisms such as bacteria, fungi and algae but as yet not suitable for applications on a large scale (Ho et al.1995). Several studies have established the potential of peat and brown coal to capture dissolved metals from contaminated waters (McKay and Porter, 1997; Lakatos et al., 2002). Chromium, in its hexavalent form, is one of the undesirable heavy metals because it affects human physiology accumulates in the food chain and cause several ailments. Chromium exists in different oxidation states in aqueous solutions. Although Cr(III) is an essential element for humans, water soluble Cr(VI) is highly irritating and toxic to humans and animals. The main industrial sources of chromium pollution are leather tanning, electroplating, printing, mining, metal processing, wood preservatives, paint and pigments, particularly yellow road paints, textile, metallurgical engineering, battery manufacturing processes and as an anticorrosion agent in cooling waters (Raji and Anirudhan, 1996; Yu et al., 2003; Sharma and Forster, 1993). Biosorption is an emergent and low cost option to treat heavy metal pollutants that would otherwise create serious environmental hazard. A wide range of physical and chemical processes is available for the removal of Cr(VI) from wastewater. The lignocellulosic waste materials are accomplished requirements for good adsorbent, they possess some adsorption capacities, and they are locally available and have a low cost. Several natural adsorbents, including rice bran, soybean and cottonseed hulls (Marshall and Johns, 1996), sawdust (Bryant et al., 301 �1992), straw (Aderhold et al., 1996) have been investigated for their ability to sequester metal ion from water. However, limited information exists on the removal efficiency of anions (Achari and Anirudhan, 1995). New economical, easily available and highly effective adsorbents are still needed. The purpose of this research was aimed to gain a fundamental understanding of the chemical and physical phenomena associated with the binding of Cr(VI) to rye straw (RS) obtained as by-product from locally used wood. The modification of rye straws (RS) by citric acid with the highest sorption capacity was subsequently investigated for its potential as a sorbent for the removal of Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions. This study reports the use of citric acid modified MRS as a biosorbent to remove hexavalent chromium from aqueous solutions. The effects of solution pH, contact time, adsorbent concentration, and initial metal concentration on chromium (VI) adsorption were investigated in detail. Materials and Methods Materials (RS) was collected from vicinity of Konya-Turkey. Straws were ground with Retsch RM 100 model grinding machine. They were ground and sieved to obtain size of 100 µm. Before the use, all the sorbents were washed thoroughly with deionized water and dried in air oven at 120°C for 24 h. All chemicals were of an analytical grade. Double distilled water was used to prepare all solutions throughout the experiments. Cr (VI) stock solution (from Merck) was prepared by dissolving K2Cr2O7 salt in double distilled water. Solutions were stored in plastic sealed beakers. Solutions of 0.01 M NaOH and HCl (from Merck) were used for pH adjustment. Modification of Rye Straws (Rs) with Citric Acid (Ca) First citric acid (10 g) was dissolved in water (50 ml), added over 100 µm 10 g (RS) thoroughly mixed and allowed to soak for 24 hours at 60°C in the oven. At this period, all surface moisture was removed and (RS) particles were coated with CA. Then, the dry sample was reacted for 2 hours by elevating oven temperature at 120°C. The oven temperature and reaction time were raised to the desired level (120°C) for 2 to 24 hours and mixtures were allowed for reacting. Reaction products were mixed with distillated water for 30 min, filtered and washed with water and the product was dried in the oven. Finally, the modified straws were vacuum oven dried for 24 h at 45 °C. The thermally treated sample was then cooled to room temperature and then ground. IR Spectra of RS and MRS To decide whether citric acid was esterified into RS, IR spectroscopic analysis of both untreated RS and MRS were studied. The two major changes in the IR spectrum of MRS could be observed by comparing it with that of MRS: a) a quite evidently increase in the carbonyl (C=O) stretching vibration absorbance in the range of 1730-1750 cm-1; b) a reduction in the hydroxyl (O-H) stretching band in the range of 3430-3440 cm-1. It reflected the result of citric acid etherification. For high amounts of introduced free carboxyl groups, it can be concluded that CA modified (MRS) presented an adequate physical and chemical characteristics to adsorb Cr (VI) ions. Carboxyl Determination 0.1 g dry sample was slurried in water and 0.1 N NaOH was added and stirred for 24 h. The mixture was back-titrated with 0.1 M HCl until the phenolphthalein end point. Conversion factors were determined using citric acid as standards. Untreated RS was used for comparison in carboxyl determination. Carboxylic acid (%) has been calculated as 11% for (RS)l and 17% for (MRS) respectively. Preparation of Cr(VI) solution An accurately weighed quantity of the K2Cr2O7 (purchased from Merck Company) was dissolved in doubledistilled water to prepare a stock solution (500 mg/L). Experimental solutions of the desired concentrations were obtained by successive dilutions (1x10-4- 4x10-3 mol/L). Experiments were carried out at initial pH values ranging from 1.5 to 7.0; initial pH was controlled by addition of dilute HCl or NaOH solutions. 0.1 M KNO3 solution is used for ionic strength. All chemicals used were of analytical reagent grade. 302 �Adsorption Experiments The sorption mixture was consisted of 0.1 g of sorbent in 50 mL of chromium solution from 1x10-4-4x10-3 mol/L K2Cr2O7 for 2 h at 25 °C. After equilibration, the sorbent-solution passed through a filter and was analyzed for Cr(VI) ion content using an UV- spectrometer. The sorbent dosage was changed in the range of 0.01-0.4 g. The chromium concentration (1x10-4-4x10-3 mol/L) was adjusted in the batch experiments. Contact time adsorption experiments were conducted at 25°C in a well-mixed Pyrex glass vessel with a cover. Cr(VI) removal is built up; equilibrium conditions are attained after nearly 2 h. To study the effect of pH on sorption, the pH of the chromium solution was adjusted to values in the pH range of 1.5-7.0 by the addition of 0.1 M HC1 or 0.1 M NaOH prior to experiment. All pH measurements were performed with a Crison Basic 20 Model pH meter. Time dependent experiments were carried out by shaking the adsorption mixture at various predetermined intervals and analyzing the Cr(VI) content at the end of the contact time. Results and discussion Effect of pH on Cr(VI) Removal There are methods available for contacting sorbent materials with solutions contacting metal ions. Batch contacting process has been employed to investigate the performance of the modified straws in removing Cr(VI) from aqueous solution. Lignocelluloses resources and the cell walls of RS mainly consist of polyphenolic compounds, hydroxyl groups such as tannin and lignin, which are believed to be the active sites for attachment of heavy metal cations. All those components are active ion exchange compounds. The lignin content of woods is usually in the range of 18–35%. Tannins are complex polyhydric phenols that are soluble in water and they occur chiefly in hardwoods, and are present in many barks, including softwoods barks. Lignin molecule is built up from the phenyl propane nucleus, i.e. an aromatic ring with a three-carbon side chain. Natural tannins are classified as either hydrolysable or condensed tannins. The hydrolysable tannins are esters of glucose with one or more polyphenolic acids, commonly gallic, digallic, or ellagic acid. The interactions of Cr(VI) ions with RS surface molecules are complex, dominated by adsorption, ion exchange and chelation. Hunt (1986) notes as a generalization the binding of Cr(VI) ions involved two mechanism, the first of these being simple ion exchange and the second through the formation of complexes, which may be chelates. According to the mechanism and the discussion of pH effect, the adsorption will lead to a decrease in pH as equivalent H+ will be released along with the adsorption. Hexavalent chromium existing as negative species in solution may release hydroxide (OH−) instead of proton (H+) when they are adsorbed by RS, and therefore result in an increase in pH. This is the case for most metal adsorption, but there is always exception. Because of the complexity of most biomaterials, it is very likely that both of these processes of Cr(VI) binding will take place in a system at the same time. The following equation (1) describes the chemical adsorption involving exchange with hydroxyl ions: R–CO + H2O + HCrO4− ↔ R–COHO3Cr+ + 2OH− (1) The effect of pH is presented in Fig. 1. The effect of pH on adsorption of Cr(VI) was studied at room temperature be varying the pH of metal solution–MRS suspension from 1.5 to 7.0. The percent adsorption decreases in the pH range of 2.0–7.0, showing the maximum adsorption at pH 1.5. The pH dependence of adsorption may suggest that Cr(VI) ions are adsorbed according to the ion-exchange mechanism, and deacetylation dependence of adsorption may indicate the chelation mechanism. The pH increase was lesser at lower initial pH values. It may be due to hydrolysis of the adsorbent in water, which will create positively charged sites (Dakiky et al., 2002). Percentage removal of Cr(VI) was maximum at the initial pH of 1.5 (92.21%, by MRS) and decreased at higher initial pH values. As described in Eq. (1), hydroxyl species are released from the process of Cr(VI) adsorption instead of hydrogen ions. 303 �Fig. 1. Effect of pH on the adsorption of Cr(VI) At initial pH of 1.5, the adsorbent surfaces might be highly protonated which favor the uptake Cr(VI) in the predominant anionic form (HCrO4-) (Srinivas Rao et al, 1992). With increase in pH from 2.0 to 7.0, the degree of protonation of carbon surfaces reduced gradually and hence removal was decreased. The rate of adsorption of Cr(VI) ion on (MRS) was great for pH changes from 1.5 to 2.0 for Cr(VI) ion. An increase in pH above pH 2 shows a slight decrease in adsorption in which the surface of the adsorbent is negatively charged. Decrease in adsorption at higher pH is due to the formation of soluble hydroxyl complexes. Different mechanisms, such as electrostatic forces, ion exchange, chemical complexation, must be taken into account when examining the effect of pH on Cr(VI) sorption. One of the common proposed mechanisms is electrostatic attraction/repulsion between sorbent and sorbate. Thus, the increase of Cr(VI) sorption at acidic pH should be due to the electrostatic attraction between positively charged groups of biomaterial surface and the HCrO4- anion, which is the dominant species at low pH. Moreover, the decrease of the sorption with increasing pH could be due to the decrease of electrostatic attraction and to the competitiveness between the chromium anionic species (HCrO4– and CrO42–) and OH– ions in the bulk for the adsorption on active sites of the sorbent. From these assumptions it can be suggested that Cr(VI) removal also takes place by physical adsorption. Speciation studies of Cr(VI) in aqueous solution, on the basis of spectrophotometer, electrochemistry, indicates the existence of the following equilibrium; H2CrO4 = H+ + HCrO4HCrO4- = H+ + CrO422HCrO4- = Cr2O72- + H2O (2) (3) (4) Equilibrium is dependent on pH, with HCrO4- and Cr2O72- existing primarily in acidic media and CrO42being the lone species of Cr(VI) above pH 7.0. At higher pH range, the fraction of Cr2O72- species rapidly decreases with increasing pH above 5. In the removal of Cr(VI) process, the anion is not a simple monovalent anion but rather a series of chromate anions depending upon the pH and concentration of the solution. The total chromate species will be represented as Cr(VI). In the neutral solution at low concentrations, Cr(VI) will be present in the form of HCrO4− and CrO42−. At acidic pH, HCrO4− is the predominant Cr(VI) species in the aqueous phase. The decrease in adsorption at high pH values may be due to the competitiveness of the oxyanion of chromium and OH- ions in the bulk. Processes of oxo group protonation and Cr(VI) reduction were lowering because both these reactions require protons. The decrease in the adsorption with increase of pH may be due to the decrease in electrostatic force of attraction between the sorbent and sorbate ions. At lower pH ranges, due to the high electrostatic force of attraction, the percentage of Cr(VI) removal is high. At very low pH value, the surface of sorbent would also be surrounded by the hydronium ions which enhance the Cr(VI) interaction with binding sites of the biosorbents by greater attractive forces. A decrease in adsorption above pH 4.5 may be due to occupation of the adsorption sites by anionic species like HCrO4-, Cr2O27-, CrO24-, etc., which retards the approach of such ions further toward the sorbent surface (Donmez and Aksu, 2002). 304 �Effect of time on the removal of Cr(VI) Cr(VI) adsorption by (MRS) was studied by mixing for a predetermined time interval. An initial concentration of Cr(VI) 2.10-3 M was tried and the concentration of Cr(VI) remaining in the equilibrated solution was plotted as a function of the equilibration period for the (MRS). The plots for Cr(VI) sorption (%) versus time for (MRS) (Fig. 2) showed that equilibrium was attained in 90 min for the adsorption of Cr(VI). The uptake of Cr(VI) is initially rapid then continues at a much slower rate. The concentration of Cr(VI) in the solution increased rapidly within 60-90 min and the sorption was virtually completed within 90-110 min. Fig. 2. Effect of contact time on the sorption of Cr(VI) The metal uptake versus time curves was single, smooth and continuously leading to the saturation suggesting the possible monolayer coverage of metal ions on the surface of the adsorbent. The capacity of (MRS) reached in this study is 0.89 mmol Cr(VI) per gram of (MRS) at pH 2.0. Therefore, in addition to other some natural sorbents, (MRS) provides relatively cheap alternatives for Cr(VI) ion removal . Effect of initial Cr(VI) ion concentration The effect of Cr(VI) concentration on the sorption by the (MRS) sorbents was investigated by varying the concentration (1.10-4 M to 4.10-3 M) at a pH of 2 for 120 min equilibrium time. The percent Cr(VI) ion removal efficiency of (MRS) increased with increasing metal concentration. At higher concentrations, more Cr(VI) ions are left unabsorbed in solution due to the saturation of binding sites. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms have both been used to describe observed sorption phenomena of various metal ions on sorbents (Madoni et al. 1996). The sorption data of Cr(VI) ion have been correlated with Langmuir and Freundlich models [Eqs. (5) and (6)]. These isotherms relate metal uptake per unit weight of resin qe to the equilibrium metal ion concentration in the bulk fluid phase Ce. Langmuir equation: Ce C 1 = + e q e K b AS AS (5) where, As and Kb are coefficients, qe is the weight adsorbed per unit weight of adsorbent and Ce is the metal concentration in bulk solution at equilibrium. Fig. 4 conforms to the Langmuir and Freundlich models. Freundlich equation: n (6) q = Kf C e 305 �where, n is the Freundlich constant, and Kf is the adsorption coefficient, q is the weight adsorbed per unit weight of adsorbent and Ce is the equilibrium metal concentration in fluid. Taking logs and rearranging the equation (6), equation (7) was obtained. log q = log Kf + n logCe (7) The linear plots of Ceq/q vs Ceq show that adsorption follows the Langmuir adsorption model and the correlation coefficients are calculated 0.97 for (MRS). The Langmuir-type sorption isotherm was suitable for equilibrium studies suggesting the formation of monolayer coverage of the adsorbate on the surface of adsorbent in the concentration studied. The data for the uptake of metal ions by the resin has been processed in accordance with a linear form of the Langmuir isotherm equation. Effect of Ionic Strength Ionic strength is one of the important factors influencing aqueous phase equilibrium. Generally, adsorption decreases with increasing ionic strength of the aqueous solution. The effect of the interfering ion KNO3 was evaluated. The electrostatic attraction at low ionic strength appears to play a negligible role in the removal of Cr(VI) for sorbents. The results indicate that there was no significant decrease in the removal of Cr(VI) ion for the interval of (0.0001-0.001M) KNO3 ionic concentration. Amount of sorbent The effect of variation of (MRS) amount on the removal of chromium by (MRS) is shown in Fig. 3. It is apparent that the equilibrium concentration in solution phase decreases with increasing (MRS) amount for a given initial chromium concentration. The fraction of metal removed from the aqueous phase increases as the sorbent amount is increased in the batch vessel with a fixed initial metal concentration (Fig. 3). This result was anticipated because for a fixed initial solute concentration, increasing amount of adsorbent provides greater surface area (or adsorption sites). 100 Sorption, % . 75 50 25 0 0 0,05 0,1 0,15 0,2 0,25 0,3 0,35 0,4 0,45 Adsorbent amount (g) Fig. 3. Effect of sorbent dosage on the sorption of Cr(VI) Conclusion The studies indicated that equilibrium in the adsorption of Cr(VI) on (MRS) was reached in 90 min of contact time between the (MRS) and the solution. The optimum pH corresponding to the maximum adsorption was found to be at pH 2.0 for (MRS). Cr(VI) adsorption on the (MRS) was described by the Freundlich isotherm model. The adsorption of Cr(VI) increased with an increase in the concentrations of these metals in solution. 306 �References Achari, V.S., Anirudhan, T.S. (1995). Phenol removal from aqueous systems by sorption on Jackwood sawdust., Ind. J. Chem. Technol. 2, 137-141. Aderhold, D., Williams, C.J., Edyvean, R.G.J. (1996). The removal of heavy-metal ions by seaweeds and their derivatives, Bioresource Technol., 58,1, 1-6. Bryant, P.S., Petersen, J.N., Lee, J.M., Brouns, T.M. (1992). Sorption of heavy metals by untreated red fir dust, Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 34-35, 778-788. Cimino, G., Passerini, A. and Toscano, G. (2000). Removal of toxic cations and Cr(VI) from aqueous solution by hazelnut shell. Water Research 34(11), 2955-2962. Dakiky, M., Khamis, M., Manassra, A., Mer’eb, M. (2002). Selective adsorption of chromium(VI) in industrial wastewater using low-cost abundantly available adsorbents, Adv. Environ. Res. 6: 533–540. Dönmez G. and Aksu Z. (2002). Removal of chromium (VI) from saline wastewaters by Dunaliella species. Process Biochemistry, 38(5): 751-762. Gode, F., Pehlivan, E. (2003). A comparative study of two chelating ion-exchange resins for the removal of chromium(III) from aqueous solution. J. Hazardous Mat. B100, 231–243. Ho, Y.S., Wase, D.A.J. and Forster, C. F. (1995). Batch nickel removal from aqueous solution by Sphagnum moss peat. Water Research 29(5), 1327-1332. Hunt, S. 1986. Diversity of Biopolymer Structure and its Potential for Ion Binding Aplications, In: Immobilization of Ions by Biosorption, Eccles, H. And Hunt, S. (Eds), Ellis Horwood, Chichester. Lakatos, J., Brown, S.D., Snape, C.E. (2002). Coals as sorbents for the removal and reduction of hexavalent chromium from aqueous waste streams. Fuel 81, 691-698. Lu, A., Zhong, S., Chen, J., Shi, J., Tang, J., Lu, X. (2006). Removal of Cr(VI) and Cr(III) from aqueous solutions and industrial wastewaters by natural clino-pyrrhotite. Environmental Science & technology. 40(9), 3064-3069. Madoni, P., Davoli, D., Gorbi, G. and Vescovi, L. (1996). Toxic effect of heavy metals on the activated sludge protozoan community. Wat. Res. 30, 135-142. Marshall, W.E., Johns, M.M. (1996). Agricultural by-products as metal adsorbents: sorption properties and resistance to mechanical abrasion”, J Chem. Techn. Biotech., 66, 192-198. McKay, G. and Porter, J.F. (1997). Equilibrium parameters for the sorption of copper, cadmium, and zinc ions onto peat. J. Chemical Technology and Biotechnology 69, 309-320. Raji, C., Anirudhan, T.S. (1996). Preparation and metal±adsorption properties of the polyacrylamide-grafted sawdust having carboxylate functional group. Ind. J. Chem. Technol. 3, 345-350. Sharma, D.C., Forster, C.F. (1993). Removal of Hexavalent Chromium Using Sphagnum Moss Peat, Water Research, 27(7), 1201-1208. Srinivas Rao, P., Shashikant, R., Munjunatha, G.S. (1992). Kinetic studies on adsorption of chromium by coconut shell carbons from synthetic effluents, J. Environ. Sci. Health A 27 (8) 2227-2241. Yu L.J., Shukla S.S., Dorris K.L., Shukla A., Margrave J.L., (2003). Adsorption of chromium from aqueous solutions by maple sawdust, J. Hazard. Mater. B 100 : 53–63. 307 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 445 Title A name given to the resource The Utilization of Modified Rye Straws as Biosorbents for Cr (VI) Ions Author Author Deveci, Huseyin Pehlivan, Erol Abstract A summary of the resource. The potential to remove Cr (VI) ion from aqueous solutions using modified rye straws (MRS), through adsorption was investigated in batch experiments. Rye straws were collected from vicinity of Konya, Turkey and modified with various amount of citric acid (CA). The parameter for modification was selected by trying different parameters such as time, temperature and citric acid quantity. The rate of adsorption was studied under a variety of conditions including initial Cr (VI) concentration (1.10-4-4.10-3M), amount of adsorbent (0.05- 0.4 g), pH (1.5 to 7), and contact time (5-240 min). Adsorption of Cr (VI) uptake is in all cases pH-dependent showing a maximum at equilibrium at pH values of 1.5-2.0 for (MRS). The batch sorption kinetics has been tested and the applicability of the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms for the present system has been tested at 25°C. The experimental results inferred that adsorption, electrostatic attraction, complexation and chelation are major adsorption mechanisms for binding Cr (VI) ion to the (MRS). Compared to the various other adsorbents reported in the literature, the (MRS) shows very good alternative adsorbent for practical applicability for waste streams and the results indicated that MRS can be employed as a low cost alternative in the removal of Cr (VI) ion from wastewater. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-06 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed Q Science (General) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 3487 Title A name given to the resource THE V-ING FORM OF THE VERB IN THE POSITION OF NUCLEAR PREDICATIVE COMPONENT (NP2) Author Author Mastura Mizrobovna, Oblokulova Abstract A summary of the resource. The article deals with the V-ing form of the verb in the position of nuclear predicative component. The author analyses the structure of the sentences with V-ing form of the verb, revealing syntactic connections of it. Keywords: nuclear predicative component, subordinative connection, homogeneous elements, syntactical elements. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed PE English https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/5f2a19477fb4f856fcf73305506c467b.pdf c970e1804b564b8c7f2c1f12ff8aa8ee PDF Text Text 1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo The Value of Language and Content Needs Analysis in English for Legal Purposes Courses: Example from Croatia Ivana Lukica (Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb) PhD Programme in Foreign Language Learning, University of Zagreb ivana.lukica@pravo.hr, Agnieszka Kałdonek (Eureka centar, school of foreign languages, Zagreb) agnieszka.kaldonek@gmail.com Abstract: English for legal purposes (ELP) is gaining more importance worldwide, which means using this type of language in different cultural and linguistic contexts, and in different legal systems. Therefore there is a need to develop ELP courses which are sensitive to the particular environment in which they will be implemented (Jordan, 1997) and the first step is to conduct a thorough needs analysis of language knowledge and skills as well as areas of law the students find most important. This study evaluated the needs of three groups of ELP students: first-year law students taking ELP as a mandatory course, graduate law students taking ELP as an elective course and practising lawyers attending ELP courses at a specialised language school. A total of 161 students participated. The study adopted a quantitative approach and aimed at determining differences between the groups in the fields of language skills and areas of law, as well as at establishing students‘ satisfaction with the current ELP course and their motivation and usage of ELP. The outcomes of the study confirmed our initial hypothesis: there is a strong correlation between gaining work experience and the level of importance attached to areas of law studied in ELP courses. Key words: needs analysis, ELP, motivation Introduction There have been growing demands for accountability in foreign language learning and teaching which leads to increasing importance of careful studies of learner needs as a prerequisite for effective course design (Long, 2005). Effective course design is especially highly required in language courses for specific purposes as they involve participants who use a foreign language in particular circumstances and environments (Jordan, 1997). English for legal purposes (ELP), as part of English for specific purposes (ESP), was first primarily focused on lexis and then it started involving specific language skills (Master, 2000). Since the needs of participants of such courses are primarily linguistic and the participants are motivated by material from their own field, the course offers a mixture of both content and linguistic instructions (Master, 2000). Although grounds for conducting needs analysis research have been laid down (Berwick, 1989; Brindley, 1989; Hutchinson & Waters, 1987; Long, 2005) and a number of concrete examples can be found (Kaur & Baksh, 2010; Kavaliauskiene & Uņpaliene, 2003) the main problem with doing this kind of research is that the same template cannot be used in every study. The reuse of the method from previous studies is relevant only if our sample group is the same or similar to the one used in the previous research (Long, 2005). Needs analysis research involves various methods. Data can be obtained through interviews, questionnaires, language audits, observations, and through methodological triangulation (Long, 2005). It is not only the instrument that ensures relevant outcomes of needs analysis research, but also the approach of the researcher. It is important to possess knowledge of the field being investigated and of the participants (Long, 2005). Although learners can be a good source of information, sometimes they might find it difficult to express their present or future needs. On the other hand, the knowledge of the field and the participants might also negatively influence the instrument if the researcher designs it focusing only on his or her knowledge as an expert in the field. The credibility can be ensured by using triangulation in the study (Mackey & Gass, 2005), e.g. an interview and a questionnaire. However if data are to be obtained from a large group of participants the questionnaire is the most appropriate instrument (Mackey & Gass, 2005). It also needs to be mentioned that a questionnaire is a common instrument used in needs analysis research (Dôrnyei, 2008, p. 148, Long, 2005). 648 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo According to Master (2000) needs analysis constitutes the most important aspect of ESP courses. He further argues that it plays a crucial role by emphasising student-centred approach. When choosing such an approach, the teacher should teach the content of the course from the perspective of the students, which in Croatian ELP context means making the Croatian system of law and related legal terminology the foundation of the course. The teacher should also have a good understanding of what motivates students to take an ELP course. According to Dôrnyei, components of foreign language learning motivation can be found at the level of language, the level of learner and the level of learning situation (1994). Therefore, motivation can be integrative or instrumental with regard to why a particular language is learned and course-specific, teacher-specific and group-specific motivational components should be researched with regard to the learning situation level. At the learner level, components such as perceived language competence, language use anxiety and self-confidence should be considered. The study Participants There were 161 participants in total: 85 first-year students of law (University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law) taking ELP as a mandatory course, 22 graduate students of law from the same Faculty taking ELP as an elective course, and 54 lawyers with various amount of work experience. The difference in the number of participants in the three groups is proportional to the aggregate number of students taking ELP courses at the Faculty of Law, and to the number of practicing lawyers taking ELP courses in private language schools. Instruments The data were collected through four questionnaires in the participants‘ mother tongue (Croatian). Two of them were designed to check the participants‘ needs regarding areas of law and language skills to be taught in ELP courses; another one was aimed at checking participants' satisfaction with their current ELP course; and the last one checked participants‘ motivation for studying ELP. There were 26 questions in the needs analysis questionnaire on areas of law, covering fields of law as classified in the Croatian legal system with the addition of some items which are in line with the content of textbooks on ELP available in the market. One more question has been added, which aimed at checking preference of teaching approach in ELP, namely whether ELP should be taught through the English legal system, the Croatian legal system, or through both. In the questionnaire on language skills there were 18 questions, which covered reading and listening comprehension, writing and speaking skills and grammar. In addition, a number of other skills were included because they are necessary in the legal profession and are included in ELP textbooks: translation, interpretation of legal texts, public speaking, giving presentations, interviewing a client, drafting contracts and business letters, defining or explaining terminology, and usage of Latin terms. These questionnaires contained three types of answers for each question: 1) it is unimportant, 2) it is important, 3) it is very important. The distinction between answer 2 and 3 had been made to check if any tendency exists to give increasing or decreasing importance to the items regarding experience in studying and practising law. Additionally, participants were asked to explain their answers. The satisfaction questionnaire was a Likert-type questionnaire, which contained 15 items checking satisfaction with the content and organisation of the course, the teaching materials, the teacher and his/her teaching methods, and participants‘ readiness for using English and ELP at their work. The scale ranged from 1 (I completely disagree) to 4 (I completely agree). The questionnaire on motivation for studying ELP contained 12 questions (multiple choice questions, yes or no questions and open-ended questions) and in most cases the participants had to explain their answers. The questions covered the various factors of motivation: the learner as an individual, his/her attitudes towards language learning, his/her willingness and ability to communicate in foreign languages, the willingness and ability to use ELP, the classroom environment, the teacher and the materials used in teaching ELP. The questionnaires were distributed either during the class or by email. 649 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo Method The approach adopted in this study was both quantitative and qualitative. The former one was used to calculate frequencies, percentages and means in respective questionnaires. The latter one was used to analyse the participants‘ explanations to their answers. Objectives The main objective of the study was to ascertain learning needs of three groups of participants of ELP courses (first-year university students, graduate students, and practising lawyers) with respect to both content and language, as well as to detect differences between the groups. The study was also aimed at checking preferences in teaching approaches, students‘ satisfaction with the course, and their motivation for studying ELP. Hypotheses First-year students will have difficulties in expressing their needs either by underlying unimportance of some areas of law or by not providing clear explanations to their answers. This is due to lack of knowledge of a given subject or lack of awareness about the practicality of a given subject. On the other hand, they will be stressing the importance of subjects they have studied in the first year. Graduate students will express their needs more clearly because of their greater knowledge of various areas of law; however their needs will not be strongly correlated with practicality as they do not possess work experience. Practising lawyers will express their needs clearly and they will be strongly correlated with their work experience. There will be no significant differences between the groups regarding general language skills as they are not strongly correlated with gaining knowledge and experience, however, lawyers will stress the need for skills strongly related to their profession. All three groups will express satisfaction with their current course, but first-year students will be the least satisfied and stress the classroom environment and the materials used in the course as the reason. Practising lawyers will be the most satisfied group as their courses are tailored to their specific needs. All three groups will show instrumental motivation with regard to the language level. At the learner level, lawyers will have the highest perceived competence in English and ELP, the highest self-confidence in using them and the lowest anxiety of use as opposed to first-year students. Course specific motivational components will be most important at the learning situation level for all participants. Findings and discussion Fields of law Six groups of fields of law have been analysed. The first group encompassed commercial law, contract law, and company law. Practising lawyers see these areas of law as either important (17%) or very important (83%), and although the majority of first-year and graduate students find them either important (51%) or very important (30%), there is still 19% of students who find them unimportant and 10% of first year-students who said they do not know what these areas of law cover. The second group consisted of areas of law related to business activities (employment, IP, financial, real property, and competition law; negotiable instrument and insolvency). In general, all groups regard these areas of law as important (44%). The importance is growing with gaining knowledge and experience concerning IP law, but with regard to negotiable instruments, financial law and insolvency, the increase in importance is noticeable only with practising lawyers which can be attributed to their work experience. However, it should also be mentioned that a significant number of lawyers, did not provide any answer to IP law and financial law (18% and 11% respectively), and that first-year students did not comment why IP law was important. Competition law should be also examined more carefully, as there was some inequality between the groups. More than 20% of lawyers and first-year students provided no answer to these questions as opposed to only 13.5% of graduate students. The areas of law which was equally and significantly regarded by all participants as unimportant was employment law (38%). In the group consisting of EU law, international law, human rights law, maritime law and environmental law, EU law was regarded as very important by 80% and important by 17% of all participants. High importance is also given to maritime law – 49% of participants find it important and 20% find it very important. In both cases importance is correlated with work experience. Regarding international and human rights law, the students see these fields of law as more important than practising lawyers (61% and 32% respectively). Environmental law was seen as important by first-year 650 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo students and lawyers (60%) while 60% of graduate students find it unimportant. It is also worth mentioning that a significant number of lawyers did not provide any answer for international, human rights, and maritime law (14%). Regarding civil and criminal law, they were similarly important for all groups (83% and 69% respectively), whereas law of tort was regarded as most important by first-year students (73% in comparison with the rest of participants – 48.5%). In terms of theory of law and the organisation of the system, all students think it is important to study the legal profession and the system of courts, and unimportant to study constitutional law. And while 50% of first-year students find studying sources of law important and additional 18% very important, the majority of graduate students and lawyers find it unimportant (76%). When explaining their answers in terms of importance or unimportance, all groups mentioned the general importance of various fields, their practical application, their international relevance and how connected some fields are to others. The unimportance was also explained by the particular characteristics of a given field. Additionally, first-year students tended to generalise when commenting the answers or did not provide any comment whatsoever, whereas practising lawyers usually made a reference to their job. The study has proved our hypotheses. The first-year students tended to express their needs unclearly, mostly by providing a generalised explanation or not providing any comments whatsoever. It was due to lack of knowledge on a given subject and to lack of awareness about the practicality of a given subject. On the other hand, they stressed the importance of subjects they have already learned, the subjects of general importance, and the subjects they regard as crucial for their future international career (e.g. EU law, international law, theoretical subjects, civil law, criminal law, the law of tort, legal profession), as 21% of them want to work in diplomacy. Graduate students expressed their needs more clearly because of their greater knowledge on a given subject. In comparison with practising lawyers, who expressed their needs clearly and correlated them with their work experience, they tended to generalise in their comments; however to some extend they also showed a reference with their future job. Both practising lawyers and graduate students recognise the importance of business law and related areas of law, as 63% of the lawyers work for a law firm and 45% of the students want to work for a one. Some further interesting observations can be done. Practising lawyers tended to be more careful in deciding whether something is important or unimportant. If they lacked knowledge of a given field or they had not practised in it, they left the question unanswered (e.g. IP, financial law, international, human rights, maritime law, criminal law, constitutional law, legal profession). Finally, competition law was strongly related to gaining knowledge, where first-year students and lawyers do not possess knowledge about the subject, as the former have not studied it yet, and the latter did not study it since it was not available as an optional subject at the time they went to school. Language skills In this part of the study we wanted to establish which language skills and what language knowledge the participants find most important in their profession. The items in the questionnaire were grouped into the following six categories: grammar, legal terminology, reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. The biggest gap between first-year students and practising lawyers exists in the skills 92 % of lawyers stress as the most needed, namely business correspondence and drafting contracts, while around 50 % of firstyear students say these skills are important but they give rather general answers such as ―…because we need to communicate with foreigners―. Rather naively, a number of them believe it is not a job of a lawyer to write to the client or draft contracts: ―I will have an assistant/secretary do it for me―. A significant increase in attributing higher importance to these skills is noticeable with graduate students and their explanations are quite precise: ―We will need this at work―, proving much greater awareness of legal profession. Low importance given to writing skills with first-year students is also evident in the fact that around 30% feel there is no need for them to learn how to write essays or summaries in English, a percentage that is cut in half by the time they start to work. The item which all three groups find most important is conversation practice. But, while both graduate students and practising lawyers find listening comprehension exercises very important (40%) linking it strongly with conversation practice and interviewing a client (e.g. ―One cannot have a meaningful conversation if one does not understand what the other person is saying― and ―It is important for a lawyer to be a good listener―), only 20% of first-year students agree and an equal percentage believe this skill is unnecessary. Another point of agreement is a strong reliance on grammar. More than 50% of participants find studying grammar rules very important and less than 5% find grammar practice unimportant naming them ―basic language knowledge― or ―foundations for good oral and written communication―. In terms of legal terminology, which constitutes the biggest part of legal English courses, 53% of first-year students believe it is very important to be able to explain legal terms in your own words in English rather than memorize their definitions (35%). The percentage is reversed with graduate students possibly due to the requirement to pass most of their law exams by 651 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo memorizing laws by heart. Practising lawyers, however, agree with the first-year students and the percentage is here even more significant for both skills (83% and 58%). They find definitions of legal terms useful because they provide the correct meaning of the term and ―It is extremely important to be precise in law―. On the other hand, to be able to explain a term in your own words means ―…that I have fully understood its meaning―. All three groups also show the need for translating English terms into their mother tongue Croatian (between 30 and 40% find it very important). More than 50% of graduate students and practising lawyers feel the need for translating legal text from English into Croatian because ―If I am able to translate it into Croatian it shows I understand the text―. Legal terminology and translation is connected to reading comprehension and interpreting of legal texts. The need for the skill of interpreting legal texts grows with work experience (from 20% of first-year students finding it unimportant to only 13 % of graduate students and none of practising lawyers), as does the need for reading comprehension exercises (13% of first-year students, none of graduate students and none of practising lawyers). We should mention, however, that 20 % of practising lawyers gave no answer to this question possibly because reading comprehension is essential part of interpreting legal texts and this is precisely what they do at their work. The presented data have confirmed our hypothesis that practising lawyers stress the importance of language knowledge and skills which are necessary in their everyday work (drafting contracts, business correspondence, interviewing a client). Due to the lack of awareness of the legal profession and its necessities, first-year students do not stress this importance. The hypothesis that the awareness increases not just with work experience but also knowledge of the areas of law is supported by graduate students giving higher importance to these skills. This shows that ELP courses for graduate students can be the same as for practicing lawyers when it comes to language skills, but first-year courses certainly cannot be. Courses for first-year students should focus on developing the general language skills that they already possess to various extents: speaking and reading (which they find very important) and listening and writing (which they do not, but which serve as foundation for more specific skills they will need in their career). Speaking is a particularly problematic issue with regard to first-year students as they currently attend their ELP course in groups of 150 students which makes conversation practice entirely impossible. Fifth-year ELP course is much smaller (30 students) so there is at least a chance for interaction in the classroom, but only practicing lawyers fully benefit from their awareness of the importance of speaking skills as they attend ELP courses in groups of 6. In order to be able to implement such a course, the groups need to be smaller, students grouped according to the level of language knowledge they possess, the materials interesting, interactive and relating to the field of law (importance of legal terminology) and the teacher able to raise their awareness of the importance of all basic skills. In such groups, the much needed grammar could be introduced to the extent which is needed at various levels. In addition, we believe the results of the research on language knowledge and skills speak strongly in favour of using the mother tongue in the ELP classroom, especially in courses for practising lawyers. Having much greater knowledge of the Croatian legal system and related terminology makes it impossible for practising lawyers not to compare it to the English legal terminology which they are studying. If the teacher is able to provide the Croatian terms or at least compare the two systems the students will feel safer in their understanding and more motivated. Teaching approach Most of participants claim that ELP should be taught through both systems of law (Croatian and English); however the distribution between the groups was not equal (63% of practising lawyers, 55% of firstyear students and 91% of graduate students). There were also a significant number of lawyers and first-year students who claimed that ELP should be approached through the Croatian system (33.5%). The English system was mostly favoured by first-year students (10%), and the least favoured by lawyers (0%). Additionally, firstyear students mentioned the importance of the EU system and would like to study ELP through materials related to EU law (5%). Our hypotheses have been partially reflected in the preference of the teaching approach. The fact that a significant number of first-year students chose teaching through the Croatian system may be interpreted as their reliance on the scope of knowledge they possess and their conviction that their future job will be more practised in a national dimension. On the other hand, the lawyers‘ preference for the Croatian system is correlated with their work experience and practising law in the Croatian system. Graduate students lack the experience but possess knowledge and therefore are more open to the comparative approach in ELP. In other words, the preference for the comparative approach in ELP positively correlates with gaining knowledge but not necessarily with gaining experience. Additionally, the fact that the most frequent answer was teaching through both systems 652 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo (70%) and a significant number of participants opted for the Croatian system (24%) proves the importance of the Croatian system in teaching ELP. Satisfaction In general all participants are content with the ELP course they are attending or attended (M = 3.62): practising lawyers were most pleased and first-year students the least. In particular, all three groups are pleased with the teacher and the teaching methods. With regard to the size of the group, practising lawyers show greatest satisfaction (M=4.0) which is comparable to graduate students (M=3.8). The mean for first-year students is significantly lower (M=3.0) showing moderate satisfaction and indicating that there is a number of students who are not pleased with the size of the group. Furthermore, all participants are ready to use English and ELP at their work, however, lawyers are most confident about their language skills (M = 3.84), and first-year students the least, especially about ELP (M = 3.34). In other words, the willingness to use English and ELP is positively correlated with gaining knowledge and experience. Judging further from the outcomes, first-year students object to the lack of conversation practice in the ELP classroom, to the number of lessons per week, and to the outdated teaching materials. The outcomes of this part of research are in line with our hypothesis. The ELP courses are organised at a satisfactory level, however the dissatisfaction of first-year students with the lack of interaction in the classroom is a call for change. In other words, the willingness to use English and ELP is positively correlated with gaining knowledge and experience, whereas low willingness to use ELP is positively correlated with usage of the outdated textbook and the lack of conversation practice. Motivation With regard to the language level, all participants stressed usefulness for present/future job as the most important reason for studying ELP (80%) followed by the importance for lawyers to learn ELP as opposed to general English (10%) and the importance for lawyers as a profession to know foreign languages (9%) confirming our hypothesis. The remaining one percent opted for integrative motivation in describing studying ELP as a personal challenge. All three groups of participants stated that they find course-specific motivational components the most relevant at the learning situation level (95%), namely interest, relevance and satisfaction thus proving our hypothesis. This shows that ELP practitioners should pay special attention to the attractiveness of the course, the materials, the teaching method and the type of tasks they give their students. Lawyers feel most confident to use ELP as their perceived competence is higher than that of graduates and first-year students. They also show the least anxiety proving our hypothesis that gaining knowledge and experience is strongly correlated with motivational components at the learner level. Conclusion Our study has proven that knowledge and experience are strong factors that affect awareness of learning needs. There has been a positive correlation between gaining knowledge and a rise in awareness about the needs, which has been depicted by graduate students and practising lawyers providing more precise explanations to their answers. This tendency may be observed in both the areas of law and language skills. A strong reference with work experience has been observed in increase of needs that encompass studying specific areas of ELP – business related areas of law, such as company law and commercial law, as well as special language skills, such as drafting contract and business correspondence. With regard to the areas of law and language skills of general importance (e.g. civil law; reading and listening skills), their importance in the context of work have been also recognised by graduate students and lawyers. Having the above in mind, it may be stated that the difference between the groups is more significant when there is a significant range in knowledge and experience (first-year students and lawyers). When this range is narrowed there is no significant difference between groups (graduate students and lawyers). This statement should be taken into consideration when designing an ELP course and grouping candidates for this type of courses. Since first-year university students possess limited scope of knowledge on areas of law in their native language, they do not have a strong need for learning about them in English. Additionally, as they stress the importance of studying about the Croatian legal system in English, the content of such a course should be related 653 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo to knowledge they already possess about it. With regard to language skills, first-year students differ from graduate students and practising lawyers in that they attribute more importance to general language skills in a general context. Therefore an ELP course for them should be based on developing these skills. Development of general language skills in the case of first-year students is crucial as they are grounds for job-related language skills important for a lawyer. Since practising lawyers and graduate students see more job-related context in language skills and have greater knowledge on law, an ELP course designed for them should be strongly workrelated and may include more demanding content. 654 �1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics May 5-7 2011 Sarajevo References: Berwick, R. (1989). Needs assessment in language programming: From theory to practice. In R.K. Johnson (Ed.), The second language curriculum, 48–62. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Brindley, G. (1989). The role of needs analysis in adult ESL programme design. In R.K. Johnson (Ed.), The second language curriculum, 63–77. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Dôrnyei, Z. (2008). Questionnaires in Second Language Research: Construction, Administration, and Processing. New York: Routledge. Hutchinson, T. and Waters, A. (1987). English for Specific Purposes: A learning-centred Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Jordan, R.R. (1997). English for Academic Purposes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Kaur, S. & Baksh, A. (2010). Language needs analysis of art and design students: considerations for ESP course design. ESP World, 2 (28). Retrieved on January 30, 2011 from http://www.espworld.info/Articles_28/ESP%20World%20_Alla%20&%20 Sarjit_%20March%202010.pdf Kavaliauskiene, G. & Uņpaliene, D. (2003). Ongoing needs analysis as a factor to successful language learning. Journal of Language and Learning, 1 (1). Retreived on January 30, 2011 from http://www.jllonline.co.uk/journal/jllearn/1_1/kavauzpa_learn1_1 .html Kikuchi, K. (2005). Student and teacher perceptions of learning needs: A cross analysis. Shiken, 9 (2), 8-20. Retrieved on 20 December 2008 from http://www.jalt.org/test/kik_1.htm. Kumazawa, T. (2006). Construct validation of a general English language needs analysis instrument. JALT Testing & Evaluation SIG Newsletter, 10 (2), 2-11. Long, M. H. (2005). Second Language Needs Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Mackey, A. & Gass, S. M. (2005). Second Language Research: Methodology and Design. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Master, P. (2005). Responses to ESP. US State Department, 2000. 655 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 97 Title A name given to the resource The Value of Language and Content Needs Analysis in English for Legal Purposes Courses: Example from Croatia Author Author Lukica, Ivana Kałdonek, Agnieszka Abstract A summary of the resource. English for legal purposes (ELP) is gaining more importance worldwide, which means using this type of language in different cultural and linguistic contexts, and in different legal systems. Therefore there is a need to develop ELP courses which are sensitive to the particular environment in which they will be implemented (Jordan, 1997) and the first step is to conduct a thorough needs analysis of language knowledge and skills as well as areas of law the students find most important. This study evaluated the needs of three groups of ELP students: first-year law students taking ELP as a mandatory course, graduate law students taking ELP as an elective course and practising lawyers attending ELP courses at a specialised language school. A total of 161 students participated. The study adopted a quantitative approach and aimed at determining differences between the groups in the fields of language skills and areas of law, as well as at establishing students‘ satisfaction with the current ELP course and their motivation and usage of ELP. The outcomes of the study confirmed our initial hypothesis: there is a strong correlation between gaining work experience and the level of importance attached to areas of law studied in ELP courses. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011-05 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed P Philology. Linguistics https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/822dbb1e91b57c663920749a0ca0c7fd.pdf 8cdab71b19df8dfad03703e94b847bbb PDF Text Text 2nd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 8-9, 2010 Sarajevo The Views of Early Republican Intellectuals on Language Teaching in Turkey and an Evaluation of Them in Context with Linguistic Revolution Hüseyin EFE Asst. Prof. Dr. Atatürk University Erzurum, Turkey hefe@atauni.edu.tr Ahmet Selçuk AKDEMĐR Lecturer Erzincan University Erzincan, Turkey aakdemir@erzincan.edu.tr Abstract: In this study, our aim is to derive the views of intellectuals and authors published in the journals and papers during the first years of Republican Era in Turkey on language teaching and the teaching of basic language skills and to evaluate them in context with Linguistic Revolution of Turkey (July 12, 1932). The views we deal here compose a good source for those interested in developing educational programme and they caused a brainstorming on cultural revolutions and linguistic issues of the new Turkish State among our intellectuals and authors of the time. Principally being a literature review, our study also presents useful information to solve today’s problems on language teaching. Key words: language teaching, linguistic revolution, Republic of Turkey, Turkish, Turkish intellectuals. Introduction After many turbulent years of the last period of Ottoman Empire, new Turkish Republic had in one hand steam to make major innovations and serious problems to overcome the difficulties of creating a new society on the other hand. Nearly in all fields of the society, constituted innovations and revolutions. Tradition left its position to modernity. Educational activities also received its share from these revolutions. However, before talking about educational activities, we need to deal Turkish Linguistic Revolution. Evolution and revolution in a language are very different concepts. While talking about these two concepts, Korkmaz (1970) explains that, the first one occurs in a long time span without any human intervention. So it should be evaluated as a maturation process. The second concept is very different by means of the intervention as any revolution is made by some human effect and it occurs in a short time span comparatively. In this sense, the changes, Turkish language experienced, can be said to be revolution. In order to explain the term ‘revolution’, Karal (1956) quotes from Atatürk as follows: “Revolution is something like replacing all old – fashioned institution with those ones providing opportunities of civilization to the nation.” Dealing linguistic revolution in this sense, we can conclude that Turkish Linguistic Revolution is an attempt to create a national language including all national developments of culture, gaining self – development opportunity and self – confidence (Korkmaz, 1970 s; 99). Turkish has three main periods: Seljuks, Anatolian Principalities and Ottomans. Having the knowledge of these periods of Turkish language in mind, we can examine the effects it had throughout its history. When it reached to Republic period, Turkish language was in a state of deterioration and corruption to the culture and nation it belonged to. In spite of the attempts made by some public officials and intellectuals to purify and simplify Ottoman Turkish during the Tanzimat, the language could never succeed to become a nationalized one. During Ottoman period, the influence of Arabic and Persian was so much that Turkish language was very far from being an original one. The influences of other languages were multi directional such as rules, vocabulary, syntax, and alphabet and so on (Korkmaz, 1970 s; 100). Regarding all these factors, Atatürk made a revolution on 12 July 1932 known as Letters Revolution. This revolution is an attempt to facilitate education, relations of society and to increase literacy level. In essence, this is not merely a revolution of letters and writing. After the use of Latin 455 �2nd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 8-9, 2010 Sarajevo alphabet, many innovations and explorations occurred in grammar, phonology, semantics and syntax of Turkish language. As a result of purification, simplification and derivation practices, many diligent works were carried out. Authors, intellectuals, scientists and journalists adopted different ways to enhance their works with genuine Turkish. Vocabulary that our language acquired during revolution era has three types: 1- Derivations from vulgar (from regional spoken language) 2- Derivations from old written texts of Anatolian Turkish Literature 3- Newly created words (Korkmaz, 1970 s; 110). As all other revolutions, Linguistic Revolution was sustained by the support and care of Atatürk and Turkish Language Institute. In a short time, efforts turned out to be fruitful and new Turkish Republic managed to create a fresh and modern society by means of educational, cultural and social aspects. While the results of Linguistic Revolution had their way to educational systems of the new state, many debates, concerning Linguistic Revolutions and unity of education, arose among the intellectuals of the time. 1. The Views of Early Republican Intellectuals on Language and Language Teaching Before starting to discuss their views, we need to explain what we mean by the phrase ‘Early Republican Intellectuals’. Turkish Republic, founded on 1923, had a new type of intellectuals supporting almost all revolutions held by the government. That was valid for nearly 15 years between 1923 and 1940. Those intellectuals mostly grown up to the last days of the Empire and experienced ending struggles of modernization of the Empire. Having those desperate struggles in their vision, they bore some kind of modernist intelligence to the new State of old country (Anatolia). Here, our expression of ‘Early Republican Intellectuals’ stands for that group of writers, journalists, pedagogues, sociologists and academicians. However being modernist enough, intellectuals of early period had many problems to solve especially on educational issues. Language teaching was one of the most prominent of these. To see the picture of the day, we should remember the Linguistic Revolution and Letters Revolution that demolished all the possessions of tradition. The government enacted to use Latin alphabet instead of Arabic letters in 1928 and four years later another revolutionary process, can be defined as a purification and simplification of the language, was started by the government and the intellectuals of the period. After these revolutionary steps, there occurred a new problem: adapting these changes to educational programs especially by means of language teaching and literacy. While proposing their ideas, early republican intellectuals performed considerable brainstorming. As we get on our presentation of their opinions, our subjects will prove to have very different and genuine proposals on language teaching. There are a great many of people in number so we need to group them by means of their arguments. 2. Their Proposals on Syntax: Kazım Sami, a republican intellectual, says that grammar is important but it should be taught embedded into reading and speaking (Yetiş, 2005). He supports grammar, but does agree with teaching rules barely. According to him, vivid examples should be used to teach grammar. Şükriye Emel, another intellectual of the time, has different views from K. Sami. According to her, the main problem of language teaching is the chaotic situation caused by Letters Revolution (Yetiş, 2005). She observes both teachers and students having great difficulties in understanding new letters (Latin alphabet). Being accustomed to vowel points of Arabic script, students and teachers are perplexed on how to pronounce the words. If this problem is solved then other fields of language teaching will be eased. M. Zekeriya participates to these issues with examples he derived from American and Russian education systems. He argues that grammar has no importance for a student’s linguistic development and learning (Yetiş, 2005). As anyone do not need to revise grammar rules while speaking, grammar and rules should be considered to be sub – conscious base for language and they need to be learned by speaking, reading, writing and vocabulary. M. Zekeriya is so strict in his view that he even proposes that grammar should be removed from curriculums while the new Republic is trying to create a reasonable level of literacy. Kazım Nami, an instructor of Turkish for foreign students of different ethnic origins, talks about his educational story and emphasizes that during his years as a student in military school nearly all of the language courses were constructed on reading, writing and speaking. Grammar has a very slight place in the last grade according to his educational experience. He states that though his little formal training on grammar, he is very 456 �2nd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 8-9, 2010 Sarajevo successful to teach Turkish grammar to others (Yetiş, 2005). He argues that grammar is useful only to teach it to others. According to his views, he is a supporter of some kind of Transformational – Generational-learning style. Grammar rules should be learned sub – consciously. While learning a language – or for any first language curriculum – grammar rules and structures are formed subsequently. He states that the language itself is so flexible that you can not stuff it into a grammar book. Grammar shall only be used as a tool for brainstorming. His criticism on grammar is so strict that he can not stop himself but calling grammar courses as ‘parasitic’. Mustafa Şekip has very different views on grammar. According to him, new script and letters need a new grammar and the structure of this new type of grammar is difficult to estimate beforehand. From this obscurity, he thinks that as the rules are not clear, there is nothing to say about teaching (Yetiş, 2005). According to Yusuf Ziya, grammar is useless to use a language fluently. They are human’s instincts and competences to determine the fluency of the language (Yetiş, 2005). Orhan Seyfi, a well-known poet of the time, supports sub-conscious learning for grammar. He points out that first of all grammar needs to be revised whether it is suitable for linguistic revolution and new alphabet. Grammar rules should be in accordance with both spoken and written language. Sadri Etem is another intellectual to refuse the necessity of grammar in the curriculum as a separate topic. Trying to teach a language with grammar is something like trying to teach swimming someone in a desert says for grammar and language teaching. Peyami Safa, one of the greatest authors of Modern Turkish Literature, thinks that grammar is only important to understand the content of a language not the language itself. An inductive style should be adopted. Grammar consolidates the structures that we already know. Nazım Hikmet, one of the greatest poet of the day and whose reputation still exist in literary world, calls everyone to put the grammar aside and learn reading, writing and speaking. Grammar should be considered only useful for those having academic interests. 3. Their Proposals on Writing – Reading On writing and reading activities, Kazım Sami has many things to say again. He presents American style of education and emphasizes that reading and writing skills are best developed when they are conducted together. All examples should be suitable to children linguistic development. Şükriye Emel is more pessimistic than others about new alphabet and the problems of educational regulations. According to her, as the Minister of Justice stated in the Parliamentary, letters and their spelling is the main cause of chaos. Therefore, the standardization of spelling must be ensured and changeover process must be completed as soon as possible. M. Zekeriya is also another opponent of grammatical patterns and rules while teaching reading and writing. As we, Turkish nation, are in a very need of creating an educated society, we should eliminate all other patterns like abandoning new alphabet and removing grammar from curriculum. 4. Conclusion As a general assessment of their opinions, we can conclude that nearly all intellectuals of the period agree in approving a language teaching method in which grammatical patterns and rules are thought not directly but in a sub-conscious manner, in doing so the language will be learned and thought easily. Regarding the fact that the period was a very sensitive one by means of revolutions especially cultural ones, it is easy to understand their concerns on practical and quick language teaching ways. Nearly all of them are aware of the importance of revolutions and the sensitive manner of the society. So no offensive proposal exists in their writing. The main concern for them is to help the development of the society. The opinions of intellectuals form a good source for us as language teachers and researchers. Somehow they saw many problems of our field beforehand and they tried to bring practical solutions. While doing this, they benefited from their early experiences many of which depended on the period of Empire. As we observe, we realize that language teaching became easier thanks to Linguistic Revolutions especially to Letters Revolution. 457 �2nd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 8-9, 2010 Sarajevo Bibliography ĐMER, Kamile; Türk Dil Devrimi, TDK 1976. ĐMER, Kamile; Türk Yazı Dilinde Dil Devriminin Başlangıcından 1965 Yılı Sonuna Kadar Özleşme Üzerine Sayıma Dayanan Bir Araştırma, TDK 1972. KORKMAZ, Zeynep; Dilde Doğal Gelişme ve Devrim Açısından Türk Dil Devrimi, TDK 1970. PALA, Đskender; Türk Dili Nereden Nereye, Đstanbul Kültür Üniversitesi Dergisi 2002. ŞAVKAY, Tuğrul; Dil Devrimi, Gelenek Yayıncılık 2002. YETĐŞ, Kazım; Atatürk ve Türk Dili, TDK 2005. 458 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 734 Title A name given to the resource The Views of Early Republican Intellectuals on Language Teaching in Turkey and an Evaluation of Them in Context with Linguistic Revolution Author Author EFE, Hüseyin AKDEMİR, Ahmet Selçuk Abstract A summary of the resource. In this study, our aim is to derive the views of intellectuals and authors published in the journals and papers during the first years of Republican Era in Turkey on language teaching and the teaching of basic language skills and to evaluate them in context with Linguistic Revolution of Turkey (July 12, 1932). The views we deal here compose a good source for those interested in developing educational programme and they caused a brainstorming on cultural revolutions and linguistic issues of the new Turkish State among our intellectuals and authors of the time. Principally being a literature review, our study also presents useful information to solve today’s problems on language teaching. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010-06 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed H Social Sciences (General) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 3400 Title A name given to the resource THE VIEWS OF PROSPECTIVE TURKISH TEACHERS ABOUT NATIVE SPEAKER NORMS FOR L2 PRONUNCIATION Author Author Uygun, Dilek Abstract A summary of the resource. Over the past decades the goal of pronunciation instruction in English language teaching has shifted from attaining native-like competence to achieving intelligible pronunciation. With research pointing out to the effects of age on pronunciation competence in L2 learning, native-like pronunciation seems to be an unrealistic goal, especially for those who start learning English after a certain period. Moreover, with the current status of English as an international language, communicating effectively with non-native speakers (NNS) from different L1 backgrounds has gained more importance than conforming to native speaker (NS) norms. While these facts argue against insistence on native-like pronunciation, the influence of NS norms is still dominant both in learners’ and teachers’ pronunciation preferences. The present study explores Turkish prospective teachers’ (PTs) views on the importance of NS pronunciation norms for their own competence, for EFL teachers’ competence, and for L2 learners’ competence. The data is collected through a questionnaire distributed to 182 first-year and senior students attending the ELT department of a state university in Istanbul, Turkey. The questionnaire aims at eliciting participants’ views about their own pronunciation and about the importance of native speaker norms for both teachers and learners of English. The findings indicate that prospective teachers’ beliefs about the importance of native-like pronunciation competence are stronger in relation to their own pronunciation compared to their beliefs about the importance of it for teachers’ and learners’ competence. Moreover, the results also demonstrate that firstyear PTs who are still under the influence of the established beliefs about NS norms hold stronger views regarding the importance of NS norms than senior PTs who seem to be more aware of the recent changes in the goals of pronunciation teaching and learning. Keywords: Turkish prospective teachers, pronunciation, native speaker norms Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed PE English https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/087ac32234d94d31aa48e0e2f7147b53.pdf 11b9b7f343a71224fc601dec422cdb24 PDF Text Text International Conference on Economic and Social Studies, 10-11 May, 2013, Sarajevo The Working Condition Quality Comparison of The Bank Staff: The Case of Turkey Ahmet Özkan Okan University, Tuzla, Turkey ahmet.ozkan@okan.edu.tr Purpose: The bank staff represents the bank to the customers. The working conditions of the bank employees play a great role on the success. The main aim of this study is measuring the quality of the working environment of the banks by using three factors, which are knowledge, consistency and trust, and comparing the working environment of the agents to the managers. Design/methodology/approach: 100 questionnaires are used to evaluate the quality of the working condition quality of the banks. Semi-structured interviews and snowball sampling is used to reach various departments of the banks. Findings: The working condition quality of the managers is better than the working condition quality of the agents. But there is no significant difference on the consistency of the conditions. Duration has a significant effect on the working conditions which create trust on the employees to the company. Originality/value: This paper is a proof of that the managers do not have good conditions as expected. The managers can be disturbed by the managers which are above them. Keywords: Bank Staff, Working Condition Quality, Agents and Managers. 19 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1478 Title A name given to the resource The Working Condition Quality Comparison of The Bank Staff: The Case of Turkey Author Author OZKAN, Ahmet Abstract A summary of the resource. Purpose: The bank staff represents the bank to the customers. The working conditions of the bank employees play a great role on the success. The main aim of this study is measuring the quality of the working environment of the banks by using three factors, which are knowledge, consistency and trust, and comparing the working environment of the agents to the managers. Design/methodology/approach: 100 questionnaires are used to evaluate the quality of the working condition quality of the banks. Semi-structured interviews and snowball sampling is used to reach various departments of the banks. Findings: The working condition quality of the managers is better than the working condition quality of the agents. But there is no significant difference on the consistency of the conditions. Duration has a significant effect on the working conditions which create trust on the employees to the company. Originality/value: This paper is a proof of that the managers do not have good conditions as expected. The managers can be disturbed by the managers which are above them. Keywords: Bank Staff, Working Condition Quality, Agents and Managers. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available International Burch University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-05-10 Keywords Keywords. Article PeerReviewed Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context ISSN 2303-4564 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/2561429c62eaee2dad389f5ace4242e1.pdf d08b42bad88d96a04af80fec5c572584 PDF Text Text The Youth's Perception of Migration in Bosnia and Herzegovina M. Sait Dinc Department of Management International Burch University Bosnia and Herzegovina m.sait.dinc@ibu.edu.ba Kanita Jahic Department of Management International Burch University Bosnia and Herzegovina kanita.jahic@stu.ibu.edu.ba Sejla Kocan Department of Management International Burch University Bosnia and Herzegovina sejla.kocan@stu.ibu.edu.ba Abstract: Migration, in a simple definition, is the movement of people from one country to another. One of the major problems in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is youth migration. Young people from BiH mostly migrate to European countries. Factors which have an influence on the youth migration and relationship between demographic differences, as well as the tendency of the youth to emigrate have attracted a great curiosity. The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of the youth about determinants of migration as well as the relationship between demographic variables and immigration tendency. Using the survey method, 207 responses were collected from the youth in BiH. Descriptive analysis, one-sample, and independent sample t-test were constructed to analyze data. The results have showed that the perceptions of the youth about job opportunities in BiH and approach of officials towards young people are negative. However, study results show that younger group of young people with less education have a greater tendency to emigrate. Keywords: migration, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the youth Introduction Migration can simply be defined as the movement of people from one country to another. Of the two types of migration, emigration represents the departure of people from one country in order to reside in the other. Brain drain is more specific term used in relation to emigration. It is 216 �defined as “a significant emigration of educated or talented individuals.”27 In other words, it is “the migration of highly educated labor force from developing to developed countries” (Stankovic, Angelova, Janeska, & Stankovic, 2013, p. 1). Brain drain usually relates to graduate students, who face problems when they search for employment after completing their studies (Cymanow, Florek-Paszkowska, 2014). In recent years, when transportation has become more available and advancements of certain countries are highly apparent as opposed to others, brain drain has become an agenda. People tend to leave their countries because of pull or push factors. Those factors can be of several sorts, such as social, political, economic, industrial, or cultural factors (Thet, 2014). However, emigration of youth may pose an even bigger problem. Young people are looking for opportunities, and in case that they cannot find them in their home countries, they are usually not willing to sacrifice their own well-being due to patriotism. In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), youth brain drain has become one of the major problems. In 2013, it was reported that around 150.000 young people have left the country since the end of the war in 1995, and about 10.000 decide to leave it every year28. BiH is “the fifth worst country in the world in terms of brain drain,”29 according to the World Economic Forum. Young people are usually unwilling to accept the fact that they have to deal with some basic issues of this country, such as corruption, unemployment, low wages, poor economy, etc., and instead choose to build their lives elsewhere. There are many factors which contribute to emigration of youth. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the perception of young people living in BiH about basic determinants of migration. The purpose of this research is to examine the perceptions of youth about migration in BiH. It specifically focuses on the youth reasoning of the brain drain and its determinants. Moreover, it tries to determine whether there are any differences in youth’s perceptions according to demographic factors. Literature Review In recent years, with a huge increase in technological improvements and its reflection on transportation, migration and related terms have been an agenda of the world. Migration is the movement of people from one country to another. International migration is the movement of people across international boundaries, which has great economic, social, and cultural implications in both origin and destination countries (Docquier et al., 2006). Another term used 27 Obtained from Investopedia: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/brain_drain.asp (Aug 13, 2016) Obtained from Balkan Insight: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/young-people-leave-serbia-bosnia-themost (Aug 7, 2016) 29 Obtained from Balkan Insight: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/mass-depopulation-threatensbosnia-s-future (Aug 7, 2016) 28 217 �to refer to the international transfer of resources in the form of human capital and which has the aforementioned implications particularly in origin countries is called brain drain (Stankovic et al., 2013). Group of people which has been influenced by migration is undoubtedly young generation. Migration of youth has long even occurred as a part of a collective family strategy in search of educational and internship opportunities (UNFPA 2006). Although there are many studies conducted with regard to the migration, those which have focused on youth migration are still limited. Nevetheless, Juárez et al. (2013) analyzed youth migration and its consequences for the various other transitions to adulthood, including reproductive outcomes, educational, employment, and marital outcomes, as well as specific strategies underlying migration and its consequences. In another research, Cymanow and Florek-Paszkowska (2014) analyze a potential scale of internal and external migrations, assess the importance of factors determining the selection of migration destination, and the importance of elements affecting the nature of the undertaken jobs, taking into account payroll expectations of potential migrants in Poland. Research Questions According to the literature above, following research questions can be posited: Research question 1: In overall, do the youth perceive youth migration to be positive in BiH? Research question 2: How do the youth evaluate the determinants of the youth migration? Research question 3: Are there any differences in youth’ perceptions according to age, gender, education, marriage, and their parents’ company ownership and income? Research Method Survey Instrument A two-page questionnaire with three parts was used to collect data. The first part of the questionnaire included several questions about general characteristics of the youth and their tendency to migrate. To put it succinctly, this part included demographic questions such as age, gender, education, company ownership of parents, and overall perceptions of young people about migration. In the second part, four questions were asked with regard to the perceptions of the youth participants about migration of young people from BiH. The third part included 16 questions that dealt with the youth's perceptions about the determinants of migration and its destination. The questions in the second and third parts were adapted from Cymanow and Florek-Paszkowska (2014)'s study and were measured using 5-point Likert scale (5 = strongly agree; 1 = strongly disagree). The questionnaire was initially prepared in English and then translated into the Bosnian language. The translation of the questionnaire was done by experts who are fluent in both languages and their respective cultures. A pilot study of the questionnaire was done with 20 young participants studying at a private university. The purpose of pilot testing 218 �was to evaluate the validity of the survey. The questions which were not understood clearly were reevaluated and finalized for data collection. Data Collection The study used online and printed questionnaire survey to collect data. In order to enable a better generalization of research results, the study targeted young people in two large cities in BiH: Sarajevo, the capital city and Tuzla. A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed to students from a public and private high school as well as a public and private university in Sarajevo and Tuzla. A formal research approval was obtained from the administration of each examined schools and universities. The purpose of the study was initially explained to potential participants in order to encourage students’ voluntary participation, and to guarantee the anonymity of participants. The questionnaires were distributed to students who agreed to participate in the research. The overall number of the completed printed version of surveys which could be used was 108. With 99 online completed surveys, 207 questionnaires which could be used for this study were collected in total. Data Analysis Demographic information and overall perceptions of young people about migration were analyzed through frequency and descriptive statistics. Perceptions of the youth participants about migration of young people from BiH and questions about the youth's perceptions with regard to the determinants of migration and its destination were analyzed with one sample t-test. In one sample t-test, means were compared with the mid-point of the scale that is 3. Finally, differences in youth’ perceptions according to sample demographic characteristics such as age, gender, education, marriage, and company ownership of their parents and income were analyzed with an independent sample t-tests. Results Sample Characteristics A summary of the sample characteristics is presented in Table 1. The majority of the sample (60.4 %) were females in 18-21 age group with completed high school education. The majority's family (78.3 %) did not own a company. The predominant amount of the young respondents’ family (62.3 %) were planning to leave the country in the future. 219 �Research Question One In research question one, the study purpose was to measure the youth’s overall perception about migration of young people in BiH. The result of the sample t-test where the scale’s mid-point (3) was taken as the test value, demonstrated that the youth do not agree with the statements that “this country provides enough opportunities for youth employment” (M = 1.83, SD = .94, t = 17.8, p =.001) and “opinions of young people are respected in this country“ (M = 1.88, SD = .79, t = -20.3, p =.001). Nevertheless, they agree with the statement that “if I was more respected and given opportunities for job, I would stay in my country“ (M = 3.91, SD = 1.26, t = 10.3, p =.001). Results are summarized in Table 2. As demonstrated in the table, respondents are not positive about approach of BiH towards the youth which shows a positive attitude towards their migration. Table 1 Sample Characteristics Variable Number Valid Percent Under 18 years 36 17.4 18-21 years 94 45.4 21-23 years 50 24.2 Over 23 years 27 13.0 Male 82 39.6 Female 125 60.4 Yes 12 5.8 No 195 94.2 High school 119 57.5 Bachelor degree 75 36.2 Master 13 6.3 Yes 45 21.7 No 162 78.3 Planning to leave the country Yes 129 62.3 No 78 37.7 Average Income 0-540 USD 47 22.7 540-810 USD 62 30.0 810-1081 USD 34 16.4 Over 1081 USD 64 30.9 Married living together 177 85.5 Age Gender Marital status Education level Company Parents status Demographics 220 �Married living separately 6 2.9 Divorced 6 2.9 Single parent 16 7.7 Other 2 1.0 Research Question Two In the second research question, the purpose was to measure evaluations of young people about the determinants of the youth migration. Consistency of the items was analyzed by using reliability analysis, and Cronbach’s alpha values are indicated in Table 2. All the reliability coefficients are above the accepted level (.70). The results are summarized in Table 3. As presented in the table, “difficulties with finding a job in the home country” (M = 4.23, p = .001) was determinant with the highest rate. Better employment terms in the emigrated country was also rated as the second most highly rated determinant (M = 4.20, p = .001). It was followed by the possibility of earning a higher remuneration in the emigrated country (M = 4.11, p = .001). Regarding determinants of the youth migration destination, respondents rated “earnings” in the emigrated country the highest (M = 4.20, p = .001). It was followed by “getting a job easily” in emigrated country (M = 4.18, p = .001). Table 2 One sample t-test for perceptions of youth about migration of youth (Test value =3) N Mean SD t-value p-value This country provides enough opportunities for youth employment. 207 1.83 0.94 -17.84 .000 Opinions of young people are respected in this country. 207 1.88 0.79 -20.30 .000 Youth employment is more important than elder people employment in this country. 207 2.89 1.31 -1.21 .224 If I was more respected and given opportunities for job, I would stay in my country. 207 3.91 1.26 10.33 .000 NOTE: Cronbach’s alpha value for the four items is .40 Research Question Three In the third research question, the purpose was to compare the youth’s perceptions in terms of their age, gender, education, marriage, and company ownership of their parents and income. Demographic variables are recoded into two groups in order to simplify the analysis. The results 221 �are summarized in Table 4. As demonstrated in the table, no significant differences occur between different demographic groups of participants. Table 3 One sample t-test for determinants of migration (Test value =3) N Mean SD t-value p-value Possibility of earning a higher remuneration than in the home country 207 4.11 0.97 16.54 .000 Difficulties with finding a job in the home country 207 4.23 0.91 19.58 .000 Guaranteed employment abroad 207 3.98 0.97 14.54 .000 Employment terms better than in the home country 207 4.20 0.86 20.18 .000 Acquiring professional experience 207 4.00 1.02 14.08 .000 Improving qualifications 207 3.97 0.97 14.30 .000 Possibility of learning a foreign language 207 3.95 1.11 12.34 .000 Willingness to experience another country 207 3.29 1.31 3.19 .002 Distance of the migration destination from the home country 207 2.63 1.24 -4.26 .000 Earnings 207 4.20 0.91 18.93 .000 Getting a job with ease 207 4.18 0.85 19.85 .000 Family presence 207 3.42 1.11 5.46 .000 Presence of friends 207 3.07 1.15 0.85 .399 Historic events 207 2.23 1.03 -10.75 .000 Attitude toward your citizenship 207 3.02 1.18 0.24 .814 Threat of terrorist attacks 207 2.95 1.32 -0.52 .600 Determinant of migration Determinant of migration destination NOTE: Cronbach’s alpha values for the eight items about determinants of migration and the eight items about determinants of migration destination are .80 and .75 respectively. Discussion This study attempted to examine the perceptions of youth about migration in BiH. More specifically, it focused on the youth perception of the migration, its determinants, and differences in their perceptions according to demographic factors. The study results demonstrate that the perceptions of the youth about job opportunities and approach of officials toward young people in BiH are not positive. Moreover, the results show that difficulties in finding a job in BiH, better employment terms, and earning a higher remuneration possibility in emigrated countries are several important determinants that motivate the youth to go abroad. 222 �Table 4 Independent samples t-test for sample demographics Variable Age Average income Education level Gender Marital status Company Demographics N Mean SD 18-21 years 130 1.35 0.48 21 and older 77 1.42 0.50 0-810 USD 109 1.37 0.49 810 USD or higher 98 1.38 0.49 high school 119 1.35 0.48 higher education 88 1.41 0.49 male 82 1.39 0.49 female 125 1.37 0.48 yes 12 1.42 0.51 no 195 1.37 0.49 yes 45 1.44 0.50 no 162 1.36 0.48 t-value p-value -0.88 0.38 -0.13 0.90 -0.82 0.41 0.32 0.75 0.29 0.77 1.06 0.29 One of the findings which attracts attention in the study is negative perception of the youth about employment opportunities for the youth provided by BiH. The higher mean values on difficulties in finding a job in home country and better employment terms in emigrated countries also support that finding. This result is mostly related to the study context. After the ethnic and political tensions of the 1990s, the Dayton agreement which made BiH a federation including three ethnic communities namely Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs was signed in 1996. Devastated factories and companies have been repaired, and new private and public institutions have been founded. The majority of large scale businesses in the country are mainly international (Dinc and Duman, 2012). Despite all these improvements, BiH's development is very slow and it is still in a transition period. General perception for the reason of this slow improvement is the central government with a rotating, tripartite presidency and its heavy bureaucracy (Dinc and Huric, 2016). Therefore, people, especially the youth in BiH, has a prejudice and do not see their future in this country. However, high unemployment rate which is 44.86% in BiH30 is another factor that motivate the youth to immigrate to developed countries. 30 Obtained from the website http://www.tradingeconomics.com/bosnia-and-herzegovina/unemployment- rate 223 �Conclusion and Limitations The purpose of this study was to analyze perceptions of youth about migration, in particular, determinants of migration and differences in their perceptions in terms of demographic factors. The results showed that since the youth do not trust in employment opportunities in BiH, they have tendency to pursue finding a job in developed countries. These findings of the study suggest that government of BiH should focus more on the employment facilities for the youth. It can also put some regulations to decrease a heavy bureaucracy for foreign and local investors in order for them to do more investments and offer more job opportunities to the youth. There are several limitations in this study. Firstly, the results found in this research come from a limited sample. Surveys with higher sample size may give some different results. Therefore, future studies should be conducted in other cities of BiH. Secondly, self-reported issue may be another limitation of this study. Finally, the insufficient literature and methodology can be constraints of the study. Future studies should add some other variables and utilize some other statistical methods to find the relationship among variables. References Cymanow, P., & Florek-Paszkowska, A. (2014). Migration potential of college graduates from rural areas. Ekonomia i Prawo. Economics and Law, 13(1), 163-174. Dinc, M. S. and Duman, T. (2012). Employees' Perception of Marketing Ethics in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Research on Ethics and Social Responsibility, Business Research Unit, ISCTEIUL, Lisbon, 33-47. Dinc, M. S., & Huric, A. (2016). The impacts of ethical climate types on nurses’ behaviors in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nursing ethics, 0969733016638143. Docquier, F., Ozden, C., Adams jr, R. H., Taylor, J. E., Mattoo, A., Martinez, C. A., ... & Mora, J. (2006). International migration, remittances, and the brain drain (No. 33988, p. 1). The World Bank. Juárez, F., LeGrand, T., Lloyd, C. B., Singh, S., & Hertrich, V. (2013). Youth migration and transitions to adulthood in developing countries. Stankovic, M., Angelova, B., Janeska, V., & Stankovic, B. (2013, February). Brain Drain as Brain Gain in Southeast Europe: Challenges Ahead. In ICIE2013-International Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship: ICIE 2013 (p. 109). Academic Conferences Limited. Thet, K. K. (2014). Pull and Push Factors of Migration: A Case Study in the Urban Area of Monywa Township, Myanmar. News from the World of Statistics. UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund). 2006. Moving young. Youth supplement to the UNFPA state of world population 2006. New York, NY: UNFPA. 224 �An Analysis of the Factors Determining the Working Capital Requirement for Non-Financial Companies Seyda Kadayifci International Burch University Bosnia and Herzegovina seydakadayifci@gmail.com Ali Coskun International Burch University Bosnia and Herzegovina alicoskun@hotmail.com The main purpose of this study is to investigate the factors determining the working capital requirement of firms. Companies require working capital to improve the capacity, expand the business volume, reduce the risk of failing to meet their financial obligations, and become profitable and efficient. An inadequacy of the working capital causes interruptions in the business operations. This study investigates the determining factors of the working capital requirements of non-financial companies. The research analysis was done on publicly traded firms, and the data was collected from BIST-100 in Turkey for the years between 2011 and 2016. In this study, working capital requirement was used as the dependent variable. Factors such as profitability, leverage, growth, firm size, age and industry were tested as determining factors. PLS-SEM technique is employed in the research. Results reveal that two explanatory variables- company's leverage, and profitability- are significant factors that determine the companies’ working capital requirements for the period under study. Key words: Working Capital Requirement, Profitability, Leverage, Growth, Size, Age, Industry Introduction Managing the financial needs and operations of any business is very important to the management of the company, as it has an effect on both the company's profits and liquid assets. The literature on business finance focuses on three key areas. These are capital budgeting, capital structure, and working capital management. Capital budgeting and capital structure concerns long-term investment and financing decisions. Working capital management can be expressed as the short-term investments of firms and the selection and management of financial strategies in these investment decisions. If there is not enough working capital to fulfill the obligations of a company, it may cause financial insolvency, legal problems, and liquidation of assets (Hawley, 2015). For this reason, it is very important for all enterprises to have sufficient management of their working capital. 225 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 3658 Title A name given to the resource The Youth's Perception of Migration in Bosnia and Herzegovina (doi: 10.14706/icesos1721) Author Author DINÇ, Muhammet Sait Jahic, Kanita Kocan, Sejla Abstract A summary of the resource. Abstract: Migration, in a simple definition, is the movement of people from one country to another. One of the major problems in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is youth migration. Young people from BiH mostly migrate to European countries. Factors which have an influence on the youth migration and relationship between demographic differences, as well as the tendency of the youth to emigrate have attracted a great curiosity. The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of the youth about determinants of migration as well as the relationship between demographic variables and immigration tendency. Using the survey method, 207 responses were collected from the youth in BiH. Descriptive analysis, one-sample, and independent sample t-test were constructed to analyze data. The results have showed that the perceptions of the youth about job opportunities in BiH and approach of officials towards young people are negative. However, study results show that younger group of young people with less education have a greater tendency to emigrate. Keywords: migration, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the youth Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2017 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed H Social Sciences (General) https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/a9665bf7eccd3ea8bc88cd3b176c9915.docx ecc9c011345babb683f3e8f3f76b1472 https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/6c477c4369297ad92c5670882de8d542.pdf 8ba4d028ae0f13b934ccb5ba7185d795 PDF Text Text Themes and Motives Of Lullabies in Bosniaks' Oral Literature Efendic Nirha University Of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia And Herzegovina Key words: Lulabies, themes, motives, Bosniaks ABSTRACT Lullabies as a kind of lyrical songs inside Bosniaks’ oral poetry has been recorded since the second half of the nineteen century in a more intensive way. However, up till now there are no serious theoretical approaches to this kind of lyrical songs. This paper offers an insight into history of recordings of Bosniaks’ lullabies in the oral literature. In addition, the paper aims to analyze poetical characteristic of Bosniaks’ lullabies based on selected examples from manuscripts and collections which were composed during the period of 120 years. The main contribution of the paper is a systematic analysis of themes and motives of these lyrics songs, which is something fully unexplored in the oral poetry of Bosniaks’ literature. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 1934 Title A name given to the resource Themes and Motives Of Lullabies in Bosniaks' Oral Literature Author Author NIRHA, Efendic Abstract A summary of the resource. Key words: Lulabies, themes, motives, Bosniaks ABSTRACT Lullabies as a kind of lyrical songs inside Bosniaks’ oral poetry has been recorded since the second half of the nineteen century in a more intensive way. However, up till now there are no serious theoretical approaches to this kind of lyrical songs. This paper offers an insight into history of recordings of Bosniaks’ lullabies in the oral literature. In addition, the paper aims to analyze poetical characteristic of Bosniaks’ lullabies based on selected examples from manuscripts and collections which were composed during the period of 120 years. The main contribution of the paper is a systematic analysis of themes and motives of these lyrics songs, which is something fully unexplored in the oral poetry of Bosniaks’ literature. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available IBU Publishing Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2013-05-03 Keywords Keywords. Article PeerReviewed https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/e70c81c58fa76dbd998a2144407751d0.pdf 5ab432bd5b7d57fcaa7bf2440963e2f9 PDF Text Text Theological Significance of Sustainable Development Bilal SAMBUR Turkey Abstract: There is a combat today between economy, ecology and technology. In order to reduce this combat, a new approach developed under the umbrella of sustainable development. As a result of various environmental problems, the relationship between religion, development and environment became a hot issue in the field of religion. Today, a theological approach known as ecotheology is very influential among the followers of various religious movements.In this regard, one of the main questions is this: What are sustainable values for a sustainable development? In this paper, we will argue that religion could play an important role as a provider of sustainable values for a sustainable development and the necessity of spirituality for it. The word crisis has often been used by many people in order to express the present state of our planet and humanity. Most of us think that our planet and humanity is in crisis, because as whole humanity we are facing great problems, such as arms race, economic stagnation, the depletion of nonrenewble resources, climate change, widespread malnutrition, the explosion of population and so on. Humanity and our planet experienced many disasters throughout human history. But our present crisis differs from previous ones, since it is the first time we are experiencing the possibility of total extinction of humanity and planet. Every year in Earth Day (22 April) people express their worries about the future of the planet and ecological problems such as the diminishing biodiversity, global warming, depleting fish stock, defrostation and so on. The conservation of our habitats and species is one of the most important problems of the day. The fact of our day can be expressed as follows: ‘“Our planet and humanity are in peril.” When we talk about the crisis of environment, planet and humanity, it means that we are talking about the crisis of creation. “Our planet and humanity are in peril” means creation is at risk. Environment is often used as the key word in our present day discussions. But we prefer creation, instead of environment, because the term creation is a broader term than environment. Creation involves a richer and deeper moral and spiritual universe.Furthermore, the term environment separates human from natural. As a matter of fact, human and nature are complementary parts of creation. We are an essential part of God’s creation and Creation will not fulfill its purpose apart from us.The term environment is a useful concept, which focuses our attention merely on the natural world, but it is not a sufficient conceptual tool, which directs us to care for both human and natural creation. Modern no-spiritual values are not helpful to make man and woman as the friend of environment and creation. As a result of materialism and scientism, human being become someone, who does not care about creation, because he/she does not see any connection between himself/herself and creation. Modern man/woman suppose that human activity does not give harm to the earth, nature and creation and destroy its balance. Although environtamalism criticizes modern man’s attitude toward nature, it has not been able to create a paradigm, which revolves around the foundamental values of human society. Modern values makes human being s care of free environment Our creational problems have mostly been produced by modern economy, science and technology, because we do not use them in the service of of creation, rather they become effective mechanisms, which exploit human and natural worlds together. Furthermore, there is a serious combat between them. What we need today is not combat, but collaboration. Economy, science and technology must collaborate with each other in order to combat against malnutrition, population growth, powerty, climate change and other natural problems. The followers of various religions are also concerned about the present state of the world and they start to express their views about nature, technology, development and so on. As a theological approach ecotheology is very influential among religious people. Many religions and spiritual movements aim to restore humankinds’ lost unity and connection with the cosmic order. In order to do it, religion serves as a way, which criticizes the present condition as well as provides spiritual values for a more sustainable human life. In this paper, we intend to criticize modern materialism and present our reflections, which support the idea of sustainable development from theological perspective. One of the modern tendencies is the trivialization of religious and spiritual convictions and push them toward the margins of human culture. Many people think that there is no connection between our religiousspiritual convictions and our ideas about development, nature, ecology and so on. Spirituality and religion have 305 �been regarded as a taboo and excluded from the field of development.1Separating state and religion could be a good thing in the field of politics, but the same separationism cannot be considered as constructive in the field of nature and development. It is requirement of our day to restore connections between religion-spirituality and other areas of human life, such as ecology, economy and development. In the face of great ecological, natural, social and human problems, it is no longer possible to practice irresponsible, unmenageable and endless development programs on the Earth. In order to save humanity and Earth, there is an urgent need for a new, responsible and humanly vision. The journal of Scientific American calls such vision as ‘Managing Planet Earth.’2 The essence of this vision is the idea of sustainable development. According to the idea of sustainable development, the exploitation of our human and natural resources must be prevented and the direction of investments, the orientation of technological developments and institutional changes must meet human needs and aspirations.3 In other words, the vision of sustainable development seeks a sustainable balance between human and nature, technology and ecology, economy. Conservation and maintainance of the world is the basic objective behind sustainable development. We are responsible for today as well as for tomorrow. It is important to consider our present needs, but this is not enough. We must also reflect and act responsibly for the preservation of the needs of future generations. Sustainable development aims to accomodate the ability of continual development and a constrained process of dynamic change for human and natural well-being together. The idea of sustainable development is a challenge for humanity, because it requires the harmony between human, nature and development and make development, which is unmanageable so far, as manageable. Human desire for progress is not the only one, which must determine ecology, economy and science. Sustainable development aims to create a world, in which human needs would simply be one among many needs of Earth and humanity. The vision of sustainable development implies that growht is no longer the only objective of development. The qualities of life, eradication of powerty, elimination of regional imbalances, the well-being of individual and society and various environmental concerns became central parts of development. Instead of growth, the concept of justice became the chief focus of sustainable development, which seeks a balance between economy, ecology, individual and society. The vision of sustainable development does not neglect the spiritual well-being of human individuals, instead it recognizes the satisfaction of the spiritual needs of individuals as important as economic needs. Sustainability and spirituality are united in the vision of sustainable development. What is the value of sustainable development from theological perspective?Basically, sustainable development represents a state of harmony between God, humanity, society and nature.Our understanding of sustainable development, first of all, is not antropocentric, because it makes God, society and nature as centers alongside with man. Secondly, our theological understanding is not utilitarian, which could cause the efficient exploitation of human and natural resources. We need to reconceive humanity in the light of nature and God and understand also God and nature in the light of antropology. Antropology, sociology, theology and ecology are becoming natural elements of sustainable developments, because the law of creation is this: ‘everything and everyone is connected to everything else and every one.’4 God created human being as His representative in the world and put the Earth under the service of humankind. Although the earth is under the service of humankind, human being has the responsibility to protect the Earth against destruction. Being God’s representative on the earth does not mean that man/womankind is absolute lords and masters of the world, that nature has no master except man/woman. The absolute masterhood of humankind over the Earth could create an alienation between humanity and nature. Human being is not the master of the world, but he/she is its custodian. Today, human being have failed to do his/her responsibility as God’’s representative in the world, because human activity, modern technological and scientific progress do not protect the Earth, but destroy it. Some people talk about the Earth as ‘the wasteworld’5 in order to conceptualize the dangers the Earth facing. 1 K.A.V.Beek, Spirituality: A Development Taboo?’, Development in Practice, vol. 10, no. 1, February 2000. www. developmentinpractice com 2 See: Scientific American, Managing Planet Earth, New York : W.H. Freeman, 1990. 3 World Commision on Environment and Development, Our Common Future, Oxford : Oxford University Pres, 1987, p. 46. 4 This is a revision of Commoner’s ‘law of ecology’, which is expressed as follows: ‘Everything is connected to everything else.’ See: B.Commoner, The Closing Circle: Nature, Man and Technology, New York : Knopf, 1971, p. 33. 5 T.Berry, The Dream of the Earth, San Francisco : Sierra Club Boks, 1988, p. 29. 306 �Environmentalism movement accuses man for the present state of the world. Calvinism also considers humankind as the cancer of of the earth. If human activity could cause the destruction of the nature and the world, so there must be something wrong and dangerous in human nature. Such inhuman qualities, like human selfishness, greed and rapacious exploitation of natural resources, make man/woman as the chief destroyer of of nature and society. The absolute control and use of nature for human needs and purposes could destroy the planet itself. In order to avoid such disaster, it is necessary for man/woman to learn to limit himself/herself while he/she deals with nature and creation. Religion is the most influential teacher, who could say to human being: ‘Limit himself/herself.’ God reminds humankind the delicate proportions of the universe and commands him/her to maintain its natural balance. God allows man/woman to use everything within limits, but He does not allow them to use natural resources wastefully. Man/woman must have virtuous qualities so that they could act God’s responsible representative in the world.Religion demands from man/woman, who is considered to be as the representative and co-worker of God, spiritual growth not materialism, contentment not greed, patience not recklessness, moderation not maximisation, balance not combat, cooperation not conflict, establishing justice not corruption. It is often assumed that man/woman has the absolute right to rule all creation without any limitation. Many religions try to substitute this idea by the equal respect for all creatures. Unfortunately, religions could not achieve the first idea by the second, which requires respect for all creatures. The real spiritual revolution is to limit human rule regarding creation. As long as man/woman does not feel the need to limit his/her actions in the realm of nature and creation, it is impossible to institutionalize the idea of sustainable development in the hearts and soul of man. Human beings naturally have limitless and unsatisfied desires. They do not want merely something, they want to have everything. Desire for having everything leads man and woman to elevate three things to the level of God. These are science, technology and economy. Modern man and woman believe that science ultimately gives them the knowledge of everything, technology will provide facilities to do everything and economy would give them opportunity to have everything. Briefly, modern man/woman suppose that he/she must have everything and consume everything. Consumerism become the distinct quality of modern man/woman, who practices consumerism as his/her life style and invents a culture around it. Acquisitive nature of human being and the religion of consumerism makes the situation of of world worse, not better. Excessive consumption and acquisition wipe out our present as well as our future. There is no preservation and restrain in the modern culture of consumerism, which jeopardizes the future of our children. If the culture of consumerism continues to prevail, future genrations could not even have our present positions. From religious perspective, the culture of sustainablity and spirituality must replaces the culture of consumerism Religion totally rejects the culture of consumerism and encourages people to be moderate in their consumption, not to be excessive. The hegemonic understanding of science, technology and economy must be changed. The true totalitarianism of our time is scientific, technological and material totalitarianism.Science, technology and economy are not deities, who could give us everything. They are just limited means, through them we could satisfy our limited needs. As Mesthene says, ‘technology is man’s toolbox.’6 They are not tools for our unsatisfied appetite for power and possession.Our blind faith in science, technology and economy is one of the chief sources of global crisis. The idea of sustainable development compels us to give up our blind faith in science, technology and materialism, and develop a new perspective toward them.Religion could provide a spiritual and moral compass while science and technology supply vehicles for sustainable development. Sustainable development is not to limit the rate of economic growth, but it is an approach which aims to change the quality and quantity of growth, preserve the present state of the world and push people to value the world as the highest level. We no longer value our life and planet in the highest terms. Materialistic understanding of economics is a clear indication of the devaluation of everything. Economical materialism reduces everything to commodity as something produced for making profit. However, everything is not commodity. Human being and the world are not commodities. They mean more than that. There is a spiritual, human and personal dimension in our lives and our environments. Treating human life and the world as commodity threats the existence and stability of the human and natural life. Our relationships with society and nature should be human relationships. In other words, it must be IThou relationships. Kinship, religion and community protect human essence of social relations. But today our relations become I-It relations, instead of I-Thou. In other word, we are treating each other not as human being, but as a thing. Religion and spirituality could help to re-humanize our dehumanized relations. Almost all of the grave dangers threatening human and planetary existence originate from human actions. However, much shallow thinking on sustainable development has focused exclusively on the relationships of people with the 6 Cited in W., Gunston, ‘Technology for Man’s Survival,’ in E.Bono, (Ed.), Technology Today, London : Routledge, 1971. p. 60. 307 �natural environment - without considering the dimension of people-to-people relationships, which is the heart of a sustainable human society. In this regard, religion has a role to play, because moral and spiritual values of religion traditionally encourage people–to-people and people-to nature relations in a more humanely and sustainable way. Spiritualization of developmen is needed as mush as the humanization of our relations is necessary. Materialist development is not compatible with the vision of sustainable development. In order to actualize sustainable development, the spiritualization of development is a vital requirement, which makes possible the participation of individual spiritually and emotionally to the process of sustainablel development Spiritually sustainable development is not a type of development, which has only material dimension.A healthy economical and ecological paradigm must satisfy our material and spiritual demandes together. Spiritualization of development includes two dimensions: The first one is God cares about us and our world and the second one is we care about God and His creation. We lost our spiritual quality, which encourages us to care about God and His creation. We become the prisoners of materialist subjectivism, which merely focused on the satisfaction of our material desires. The ideology of selfism has been promoted by media, school and so on. A selfist character does not have ability and capacity to go beyond his/her boundaries and be someone who deeply cares about the rest of creation and acts for the sake of God. There is a need to develop a new spiritual-educational approach, which aims to flourish the character and commitments that will go beyond this self-centredness. Selfism and greed are the main temptations, which lead human being to violate the proportions of creation and damages its balance. Religion is one of the most influential factors, which deeply influences human thought, emotion and behavior. Religion provides a set of beliefs, which asks people to go beyond selfism and materialism.Religious beliefs can be used in order to guide human relationships with society and nature in a way which contribute to spiritual and meterial development and well-being. Sustainable development aims to make developmental process as a human act, which is ecologically and economically sustainable. Sustainable development does not represent a blind opposition to progress, but it tries to present an alternative vision to blind progress.In this vision, there are three essential objectives. The maintaining of the economic growth in the long run is the first objective. The second objective is to achieve intergenerational justice in the use of natural resources. The third objective is to restrict the increase in pollution, defrostation, the diminish of biodiversity and climate change for preserving the present state of environment. The idea of sustainable development implies limits and boundaries for physical, material and economical growth. There are limits to "external" (physical, socio-economic) human development. But there are no limits to "internal" (growth in knowledge, emotional maturity , spiritual depth) human development. There are also no boundaries for each and every human person to find inner tranquility and satisfaction by giving himself/herself to the rest of God’s creation. In modern era, our priorities have been changed. We do everything for the sake of a limitless material and economical growth while we do almost nothing for a limitless spiritual development. It is impossible to have a limitless material growth, but it is possible to experience a limitless spiritual progress. It is time to limit material development and focus on spiritual development, which can provide a sustainable moral and educational framework for sustainable development. Population explosion, agricultural production, the decrease in natural resources, industrial production and pollution are the main factors, which necessitate the limit to growth.7 Sustainable development is meaningful, affective and fruitful if it applies itself as human development, which based on spirituality as the top priority in order to meet external needs of creation. Summing up, sustainable development has moral, social, scientific, psychological, spiritual and political dimensions. Economists or economics alone cannot resolve it. Without spirituality there is no sustainable development Without self-restraint there is no ecological, social and individual human sustainability. Spirituality helps us to see the material part of life in relative terms and limit our acts. Spirituality also teaches us that we would be accountable for our behaviors in the presence of God in Hereafter. We are not only responsible for our behaviors in this world, but also we will be accountable in the next world. Our accountability not only includes our individual and social sins, but also it contains our environmental sins. So we must watch our actions, and learn to act more responsibly, spiritually and humanely. 7 See: D.H.Meadow, D.L.Meadows, J.Randers, W.W.Behrens, The Limits to Growth,New York : Signet, 1972. 308 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 372 Title A name given to the resource Theological Significance of Sustainable Development Author Author SAMBUR, Bilal Abstract A summary of the resource. There is a combat today between economy, ecology and technology. In order to reduce this combat, a new approach developed under the umbrella of sustainable development. As a result of various environmental problems, the relationship between religion, development and environment became a hot issue in the field of religion. Today, a theological approach known as ecotheology is very influential among the followers of various religious movements.In this regard, one of the main questions is this: What are sustainable values for a sustainable development? In this paper, we will argue that religion could play an important role as a provider of sustainable values for a sustainable development and the necessity of spirituality for it Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2009-06 Keywords Keywords. Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed L Education (General) https://omeka.ibu.edu.ba/files/original/74900bcdde0b100b564c4d4598b053e3.pdf d75a2927f56fa6cdb846411ae9f0e066 PDF Text Text Theoretical review of the inclusive approach of the learning difficulties in the ESL classroom in Bosnia and Herzegovina Elma Velić Bešić Bosnia and Herzegovina Abstract: Learning difficulties (LDs) refer to a range of complex and often misunderstood neurological-based processing challenges. In most cases, these processing cause challenges to the acquisition of basic skills such as reading, writing and math. Different teaching methods may need to be applied to compensate for the specific aspects of learning that children find challenging to a process of learning. In most ESL classrooms, there are no qualified special needs teachers or teachers who are trained to work with students with learning difficulties. Even if there are, only a few teachers are trained on how to deal with learning disabilities in an ESL classroom and there is very little information on the subject. This paper will introduce the research concerning the difficulties and the education in the inclusive system among the teachers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Keywords: inclusion, specific learning difficulties, dyslexia, ADHD, special education, teacher training 1. Introduction Children with Disabilities are expected to "fit" within the existing system and in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the reforms and strategies for children with disabilities,only theoretical part of fitting in is alive. Inclusion, the term that everyone is familiar with, is implemented in 2004 and since then, only a few crucial aspects of educational expectations has been implemented. The main point, apart from children with disabilities, is the schools, where the inclusion has been implemented.Teachers of any subject, including English as a second language, have not been prepared nor educated to work with students with disabilities of any kind. Even after a decade, most of the schools are not equipped and teachers are still not informed and educated enough. During the research, among the fellow teachers, and working at the state primary school, I have noticed many aspects of inclusion implemented, but also many aspects still untouched and superficially used. Yet in 2016, the Inclusion Strategy in the Una-Sana Canton has been introduced and the seven-year plan of inclusion in this Canton is planned. The five-day educational workshops for teachers' assistants, which included more than 300 teachers, were held in 2015, as a part of the Strategy and in 2016, teaching assistants will be included into the Inclusive classroom. Apart from that, not many educational workshops were organized nor any other kind of education for teachers who work in Primary or Secondary schools. 1 �This paper will introduce Learning difficulties in classrooms in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the second language inquisition, the teachers' education, and training, and how the difficulties are seen in their classrooms. 2. Inclusion in numbers The term Special education or Kids with Special needs, as we call them among us, has evolved since the introducing of the Inclusion in 2004. Everyone knows about it, everybody talks about it, but very few actually are familiarized with the terms, definitions, strategies, accommodation or testing, when it comes to differents kinds of kids with disabilities or difficulties. Teachers are aware of the situation, the lack of education towards the special education needs, and there are not enough experts to recognize and help both sides. It is possible that in every classroom in Bosnia and Herzegovina, one child with difficulty is present. The fact that the categorization of the children happens only when the disabilities are visible or when the difficulties are in the severe level, lots of children in primary school are not ever recognized as those having the difficulties, and some of them even graduate high school without being categorized or recognized, being labeled as 'bad students' or lazy ones.According to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) '' Specific learning disability is ''a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which disorder may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations. '' Learning disabilities are both real and permanent. In the United States of America, every fifth child has the learning difficulty. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the research analysis of the Federal ministry of education, about the number of kids with some disability is roughly made and cannot advocate the right situation in the country. Table 1: The review of the number of children with disabilities in different cantons in Bosnia and Herzegovina presented in the Analysis of the Inclusion. 2 �As you can see in the table that the recording of the children with disabilities distinguished by the cantons and it is not categorized in details or disability areas. Learning difficulties are not even recorded and probably not even data collected. In the research I conducted among my fellow teachers, about the difficulties, I have come to the results which confirmed my starting point of research. In the first poll I had ninety-six teachers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, randomly selected, where I compared their answers based on the question asked about the Inclusion or Children with difficulties. Figure 1: The figure showing the poll results of the question about the school adequacy in implementing inclusion, by the teachers' opinions. An interesting fact is that 10.8% of the lowest number on the scale, eight of ten were primary school teachers, and only two out of ten, from the highest number of the scale, were high school teachers. Table 2: The review of the factors which directly affect the at the Inclusion level in the Primary schools in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina according to the Research of the Federal ministry of Education 3 �As shown in table 2, only three cantons have the ramp for wheelchairs and are physically accessible, while others are superficially equipped or not equipped at all. Figure 2: The review of the schools level where teachers work The figure above shows where the teachers, who took the poll, work and as shown, most of the teachers work in the primary school, where again, due to my poll, 64.8% teachers, who answered the highest number, as to confirm that their school is prepared for the inclusion, work in primary school, while only 37.2% work in high school. As for those results, the expert teams, educational seminars and conferences or any other teams for support and improvement are rare or nonexisting. Only in the Canton Sarajevo the expert team, as well as teaching assistants and other aspects of support are implemented, while in some cantons almost nothing of the asked was present. Table 3: The review of the presence of experts, teams of support and other aspects of inclusive support in the cantons In the table above, the professional development for teachers is present in eight cantons. In the mentioned poll, with randomly picked teachers, as you can see, most teachers are still not familiarized with the inclusion terms, and teaching children with disabilities. This doesn't 4 �prove that all teachers are not educated enough or informed, but these results still have to be taken into account and approach to them with care. Figure 3: The results of the poll about the inclusion and teachers' information and involvement In brief, the educational aspect of the implementation of the inclusion has lacked its purpose, and while numbers show that we can recognize children with disabilities and familiarize with the terms of the inclusion, the proper teacher training and involvement of the teachers in the expert teams is inevitable. 2.1. Learning difficulties in ESL classroom As stated in the previous pages, Learning difficulties are not even included in the research, and if so they are subjoined to some of the disabilities that are mentioned in the research. Why do I think this is a huge lapse? Learning difficulties, especially in the second language acquisition, are the main problem and worry, mostly because they are not being recognized nor treated fairly. The most common and problematic type of learning difficulty in the second language acquisition are those that impact the areas of reading. Dyslexia is the term associated with specific learning disabilities in reading but also difficulty with phonemic awareness, decoding, phonological processing, spelling, vocabulary, comprehension and written expression. Dyslexia might be the worst problem for teachers and a silent suffer for students if the difficulty is not recognized. Also, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a brain-based disorder that results in hyperactivity, distractibility or a combination of both, with some other characteristics as well. It is also a difficulty that cannot be seen if not in severe level or could be recognized as badly behaved or negligent child. Other difficulties, such as Dysgraphia, Auditory Processing Deficit, Visual Processing Deficit and Dyscalculia, can severely damage child's motivation and school success if not recognized, treated and helped by the teachers and community. "Learning disabilities are not a prescription for failure. With the right kinds of instruction, guidance and support, there are no limits to what individuals with LD can achieve." (Sheldon H. Horowitz, Ed.D., Director of LD Resources National Center for Learning Disabilities). Most of the students, who have LD and are not categorized, usually don't participate in school activities or are labeled as bad or lazy. Very important part of the education of students with LD is the awareness of the difficulty, education and support of the teacher and community and also self-acceptance, as being a different learner. Every student is different and every student has its own learning styles. Being different, students with LD have the difficult time adjusting to teachers' styles of teaching, subject or environment in which the learning is taking place. ''Apart from having 5 �academic problems, students with LD also have social and career problems later in life. In addition, families may experience stress related to the social and behavioral problems often experienced by children with LD ''(Dyson, 2003). Peer rejection and social difficulties are most significant for children who have both LD and AD/HD (Wiener, 2004) and are of concern to parents. Early intervention during the first three years of schooling is essential for children with LD. A primary focus of research over the past two decades has been on the prevention of reading failure. The early years are the focus for the prevention of reading difficulties and children who get off to a poor start in reading rarely "catch up" (Lentz, 1988; Neuman & Dickinson, 2001; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998; Torgesen, 1998; Whitehurst & Lonigan, 2001).'' Motivation is the main aspect of children's lives. They should believe in themselves, in the possibility to succeed no matter what kind of difficulty they have or what level of the difficulty there is. Teachers should be prepared and educated for working with students with LD in a way to understand them, use different strategies and know how to accommodate and assess. Usually, the wrong impression is made about the education of teachers due to recognizing and working with children with LD. Teachers are not obligated to recognize and diagnose the difficulty, but to recognize symptoms and know how to approach them professionally. After that, an expert or team of experts should recognize, diagnose and record the difficulties, if present and help teachers to create and support the child in the best manner. Also, one more misunderstanding about teachers' education is that the teacher should know how to create the curriculum and lesson plan right after the difficulty is stated. Every child with LD is different and it has its own characteristics, which might correlate with other children and difficulties, but only the experts can characterize and make assumptions and solutions towards someone's difficulty and way of supporting it. Teachers should be aware of the difficulties, be educated enough to use different teaching styles, strategies, and methods, and be considerate and understand different needs of every child. Accommodation is the key to working with children with LD, where teachers can approach every kid with the different style or individually, based on the need. "An accommodation is a change or alteration to the regular way a student is expected to learn, complete assignments or participates in the classroom" (Alberta Education, 2002, p. 47). Participation in the classroom, based on the skills and knowledge of a child with LD can be measured by the task appropriate instructions, towards the subject and the child's possibilities. Teaching instructions, such as differentiation and individualization can help the child to participate in the activities and task which he is capable of doing and which are differentiated in such a way that no one could notice his or her difficulty. Differentiation—one facet of expert teaching—reminds us that these things are unlikely to happen for the full range of students unless curriculum and instruction fit each individual, unless students have choices about what to learn and how, unless students take part in setting learning goals, and unless the classroom connects with the experiences and interest of the individual (Tomlinson, 1995, 1999). Differentiating the classroom eases the lesson process for everyone – teacher, because based on what you are differentiating, the lesson will be successful and for the student because everyone gets what he can do and give their maximum in every lesson. Individualization has been designed to help students with LD or any other difficulty in addressing the lesson in different style for better understanding and assistance. You can use individualization with students who don't have any difficulty in a 6 �way of stations. That's how you can split the content of the lesson, it's pace and methods of teaching. No matter what furniture is in your room, stations are possible. The individualization for students with LD can be implemented in many ways, but the best and most productive one would be with assistive technology, specially developed for learners with LD. Assistive technology is actually a piece of equipment or system that helps people work around or compensate for learning difficulties. Assistive technology helps increase the independence of the person with learning differences. Many times, students with LD rely on someone to help them do some assignments, such as teaching assistants, siblings, peers or parents. Using assistive technology can make the students with LD more independent, individually task oriented and perform activities on their own feeling confident and successful. "For people without disabilities, technology makes things easier. For people with disabilities, technology makes things possible (Cardinali and Gordon, 2002). Unfortunately, many schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina don't have enough financial help to provide such technology, so teachers usually just use what they have, meaning computers and sometimes some online exercises. Assessment in the classroom can include observation and reviewing the student's work, progress and process of learning, monitoring the development and use of learning strategies and habits, but also understanding what student is capable doing. Assessing students with LD are based on what he can do and not on what he cannot do. By assessing, teachers have to think about what do they want to assess – the difficulty of that student or the hard work he put in that learning despite the difficulty. Understanding one's own abilities and accepting them as a part of personality, helps teachers to have more productive and successful lessons, teach every child to his highest potential and carry out the goals specified in the curriculum. With different strategies, instructions, methods and assistive technology, teachers can succeed in their intentions and development of their plan. 2.2. Teacher training for the ESL teachers Among many online courses for teachers and all others, interested in learning difficulties such as Dyslexia, ADHD or Speech impairment, there are not many courses, seminars or training for aspiring teachers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. During faculty years, teachers don't get enough information nor exercise and examples to work with children with any disability or difficulty. Usually, when teachers start working in a school, they familiarize themselves with terms, methodology, difficulties and other aspects of teaching, struggle for a while and sometimes never find the right solution for their problem. With the sponsorship of the American Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the project Face the difficulties and study with me has been implemented. The main goal of the project is to inform and educate teachers in the Una-Sana canton about the learning difficulties and provide enough information about working with students who have some of the difficulty. Hence, teachers will have opportunities to meet and discuss the possible solutions to problems, exchange experience, and materials and help each other for better and easier understanding of learning difficulties. Since the beginning of the project, four teachers have participated in two out of five workshops. At the end of the project, a handout will be published, as a part of the educational goals of the project, and it will be of use to all people who want to know how to teach students with learning difficulties and how to recognize the difficulties 7 �itself.Workshops are being held in the Una-Sana Canton, until the end of the project in august 2017. The very famous style of learning is the MOOC and very educational and admissible. Teachers can, throughout MOOC, on many online sites, learn and follow educational workshops, where they can participate and practically experience the real learning. Such educational workshop can be found on web pages such as course,edx or future learn, which offer many different courses on special education and similar titles. A massive open online course (MOOC /muːk/) is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the web. In addition to traditional course materials such as filmed lectures, readings, and problem sets, many MOOCs provide interactive user forums to support community interactions among students, professors, and teaching assistants (Wikipedia). Another kind of educational workshops can be also held at the school where teachers work. Teachers are obligated to write a research paper every school year and have a presentation in their school and in their own way and pace, they could research and get information on the topics they are interested in. Through education and seminars, conferences and courses, lots of information are offered but also lots of ideas, which seemed impossible suddenly get closer. Even though many teachers never had the training to work with special needs nor did they had the training to write lesson plans, many of them still try to support children with difficulties and help them get the better education. Based on the research I conducted among 30 randomly chosen teachers, results of their involvement and support is shown in the figure bellow. Figure 4: Poll results of using lesson plans for children with special needs As seen in the figure above, 80% of teachers have lesson plans and only 20% don't write them. 66,7% of teachers said that the Cantonal educational office or school ask them for special plans while 23,3% are not sure if they do. Another reason why education and seminars are needed is because of the materials and content of the lesson plans, for different kinds of difficulties. Many teachers are not sure how to decide how much or how hard should the content of the lesson be and how to make or write the materials. 8 �Figure 5: The results of the poll about the material used in the classroom for children with special needs This all leads to the conclusion that we all need more education and workshops on topic of special education and specific learning difficulties and that teachers' job would be much easier if the Ministry of education or other institutions, who are responsible for educational system, help and support teachers with seminars, workshops, and conferences, on the topic of special education and needs. 3. Conclusion Many aspects of inclusion are still untouched and not possible to carry out in most of the schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Even though there are new strategies and plans for Inclusive education, the main and most important aspect was not accomplished. Teacher education! Educating only a few teachers is not the solution, but rather a burden on those teachers to act and support, while others cannot. Every school should have campaigns, sharing awareness of disabilities and difficulties, supporting children who have them, and social raise awareness of other children in the school, as well as parents and community.'' The inclusion of students with disabilities in the regular education classroom is becoming more prevalent in today’s schools'' (Winzer, 1998). Schools should be implementing regular inclusive workshops for children and parents, make possibilities and chances, by providing children with disabilities the same conditions like everyone else. If the child with the physical disability never goes on the upper floor of the school or takes lessons in a special room apart from his peers, then it's not an inclusion but opposite of everything that inclusion stands for. Taking into account that we have only started with the inclusive reform a few years ago, Bosnian and Herzegovina schools are not ready to completely implement inclusion in its full aspects. Many questions remain concerning toward including students with disabilities. Professional development is the most important part of the inclusion, if we want to have successful academic and social model of education . ''Providing teachers with the training and tools necessary to foster positive attitudes about inclusion is a key step to insuring the success of inclusion ''(Huber, Rosenfeld, & Fiorello, 2001; Colber, 2010). As I stated above, learning difficulties are the main concern in the second language acquisition, due to problems with language as the major difficulty children have. Not recognizing or dealing with learning difficulties in our classrooms can evolve into enormous 9 �academic and social omissions and problems. We labeled the 'special needs' as something bad and undervalued, and most of the teachers and children usually act towards it with fear and prejudices. Most parents, because of that, are frightened to label their children with some difficulty, even though they won't get the education they deserve. And most children are more willing to be labeled as 'bad' or 'lazy' but 'special need' because the community made the negative platitudes and assumptions. Educating teachers to work with children with special needs, raising awareness with children in school, and also community and adapting the educational system step by step, towards the best inclusive practices are the next steps Bosnia and Herzegovina have to make. References: Abell, D. J. (2000, November). Differentiation of instruction for disadvantaged gifted students: A systemic change model. Paper presented at the meeting of the MidSouth Educational Research Association, Bowling Green, KY. Alberta Education, ''Students with Special Needs', 2009; (www.albertaeduaction.ca) Assistive Technology for Children with Learning Difficulties (http://www.pluk.org/Pubs/ATguide4LD_419k.pdf) Candace Cortiella, The Advocacy Institute Sheldon H. Horowitz, Ed.D., National Center for Learning Disabilities: The State of Learning Disabilities Facts, Trends and Emerging Issues (Third Edition, 2014) Huber, K. D., Rosenfeld, J. G., & Fiorello, C. A. (2001). The differential impact of inclusion and inclusive practices on high, average, and low achieving general education students. Psychology in the Schools, 38(1), 497-504. Lentz, F.E. Jr(1988), On-task behaviour, academic performance, and classroom disruptions: Untangling the target selection in classroom interventions, School Psychology Review, 17 , 243-257; Tomlinson, C. (1995). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Tomlinson, C. (1999). The differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all learners. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Winzer, M. (1998). The inclusion movement and teacher change: Where are the limits? McGill Journal of Education [H.W.Wilson - EDUC], 33(3), 229. 10 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Extent The size or duration of the resource. 3259 Title A name given to the resource Theoretical review of the inclusive approach of the learning difficulties in the ESL classroom in Bosnia and Herzegovina Author Author Velić Bešić, Elma Abstract A summary of the resource. Learning difficulties (LDs) refer to a range of complex and often misunderstood neurological-based processing challenges. In most cases, these processing cause challenges to the acquisition of basic skills such as reading, writing and math. Different teaching methods may need to be applied to compensate for the specific aspects of learning that children find challenging to a process of learning. In most ESL classrooms, there are no qualified special needs teachers or teachers who are trained to work with students with learning difficulties. Even if there are, only a few teachers are trained on how to deal with learning disabilities in an ESL classroom and there is very little information on the subject. This paper will introduce the research concerning the difficulties and the education in the inclusive system among the teachers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Keywords: inclusion, specific learning difficulties, dyslexia, ADHD, special education, teacher training Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available International Burch University Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016-03-20 Keywords Keywords. Article PeerReviewed PE English