Psychologically complicated by nature, anxiety refers to feelings of worry, fear, or apprehension. Several research studies have been devoted to exploring anxiety's effects on language skills, including writing. Since foreign language anxiety directly influences a learner's motivation and determination to learn that language, it is imperative to study the findings and reasons behind these anxious feelings. One-third of foreign language learners have been experiencing at least a moderate level of anxiety. Researchers have attempted to investigate the causes of anxiety among foreign language pre-service teachers. The present study objectifies two goals to determine the extent of writing anxiety, followed by reasons and references to the role of gender. Seventy-two pre-service teachers of the English language training department from the University of Education, Multan, Pakistan, were selected for the study using convenience sampling. Second language writing anxiety inventory (SLWAI) and second language writing anxiety reasons inventory (SLWARI) were used to collect data, and semi-structured interviews were taken with students. The findings presented no difference in anxiety levels between genders, whereas cognitive anxiety type was distinctive in results. Most of the participants experienced high and medium levels of anxiety.
A Finite Element Method (FEM) simulation study is conducted, aiming to scrutinize the sensitivity of Sezawa wave mode in a multilayer AlN/SiO₂/Si Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) sensor to low concentrations of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), that is, trichloromethane, trichloroethylene, carbon tetrachloride and tetrachloroethene. A Complimentary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) compatible AlN/SiO₂/Si based multilayer SAW resonator structure is taken into account for this purpose. In this study, first, the influence of AlN and SiO₂ layers’ thicknesses over phase velocities and electromechanical coupling coefficients (k²) of two SAW modes (i.e., Rayleigh and Sezawa) is analyzed and the optimal thicknesses of AlN and SiO₂ layers are opted for best propagation characteristics. Next, the study is further extended to analyze the mass loading effect on resonance frequencies of SAW modes by coating a thin Polyisobutylene (PIB) polymer film over the AlN surface. Finally, the sensitivity of the two SAW modes is examined for VOCs. This study concluded that the sensitivity of Sezawa wave mode for 1 ppm of selected volatile organic gases is twice that of the Rayleigh wave mode.
Researchers have been striving to investigate the causes and consequences associated with writing anxiety experienced by students of foreign languages. This study aimed to investigate the level and nature of writing anxiety experienced by learners of foreign languages, considering gender as a variable. The study's second goal was to uncover the learners' perspectives on writing anxiety and the factors that contribute to it. The convenience sample method was used to choose seventy-six students to participate in the English language teacher training course. Second Language Writing Anxiety Reasons Inventory (SLWARI) and Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI) (Cheng, 2004; Kara, 2013) [1,2] were used in order to determine the levels and types of anxiety that are associated with learners' foreign language writing. Both inventories were used to determine what causes learners' foreign language writing. In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of how students perceive the level of anxiety they feel when writing, a semi-structured interview was conducted with each participant. The data showed that there was no difference when taking into account learners' gender concerning their anxiety levels and kinds. The vast majority of individuals reported feeling a significant amount of anxiety. The subjects exhibited cognitive anxiety symptoms, although there were no indications of gender effect. The responses to the interview questions highlighted a deficiency in both writing practice and linguistic expertise as critical contributors to anxious sentiments.
Lately, wearable applications featuring photonic on-chip sensors are on the rise. Among many ways of controlling and/or modulating, the acousto-optic technique is seen to be a popular technique. This paper undertakes the study of different multilayer structures that can be fabricated for realizing an acousto-optic device, the objective being to obtain a high acousto-optic figure of merit (AOFM). By varying the thicknesses of the layers of these materials, several properties are discussed. The study shows that the multilayer thin film structure-based devices can give a high value of electromechanical coupling coefficient (k2) and a high AOFM as compared to the bulk piezoelectric/optical materials. The study is conducted to find the optimal normalised thickness of the multilayer structures with a material possessing the best optical and piezoelectric properties for fabricating acousto-optic devices. Based on simulations and studies of SAW propagation characteristics such as the electromechanical coupling coefficient (k2) and phase velocity (v), the acousto-optic figure of merit is calculated. The maximum value of the acousto-optic figure of merit achieved is higher than the AOFM of all the individual materials used in these layer structures. The suggested SAW device has potential application in wearable and small footprint acousto-optic devices and gives better results than those made with bulk piezoelectric materials.
Graphene as a material for optoelectronic design applications has been significantly restricted owing to zero bandgap and non-compatible handling procedures compared with regular microelectronic ones. In this work, nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (N-rGO) with tunable optical bandgap and enhanced electrical conductivity was synthesized via a microwave-assisted hydrothermal method. The properties of the synthesized N-rGO were determined using XPS, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, UV/vis, as well as FESEM techniques. The UV/vis spectroscopic analysis confirmed the narrowness of the optical bandgap from 3.4 to 3.1, 2.5, and 2.2 eV in N-rGO samples, where N-rGO samples were synthesized with a nitrogen doping concentration of 2.80, 4.53, and 5.51 at.%. Besides, an enhanced n-type electrical conductivity in N-rGO was observed in Hall effect measurement. The observed tunable optoelectrical characteristics of N-rGO make it a suitable material for developing future optoelectronic devices at the nanoscale.