As cultures are mainly divided into collectivistic and individualistic, members tend to emphasize, through communication, either their position as part of their group or their independence from the group. This emphasis is manifested in using the pragmatic concepts of positive politeness and negative politeness. The present study looks into the reflection of these two cultures in Rockstar’s renowned video game, Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018). It aims at identifying the two cultures as present in the game and showing their significance to its narrative. It fills the gap in the studies of language used within video games as well as its cultural reflections. The study addresses the following question: What are the positive and negative politeness strategies used in Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018), and what are the implications of using these strategies in its narrative? By adopting Brown and Levinson’s (1987) politeness theory, the researcher analyzed the positive and negative politeness used in the scripted dialogue of the in-game cutscenes through the mixed methods approach. The researcher hypothesized that the protagonist shows adherence to a collectivistic culture using positive politeness, and he begins transitioning towards an individualistic culture using negative politeness. The results showed that 75% of the protagonist’s interactions contained positive politeness while only 25% contained negative politeness. This transition explains the protagonist’s loss of trust and loyalty to his group as he begins to witness the futility of maintaining such loyalty. It also supports the overall narrative of the game as well as its cultural foundations.
Artificial intelligence techniques are reaching us in several forms, some of which are useful but can be exploited in a way that harms us. One of these forms is called deepfakes. Deepfakes is used to completely modify video (or image) content to display something that was not in it originally. The danger of deepfake technology impact on society through the loss of confidence in everything is published. Therefore, in this paper, we focus on deepfakedetection technology from the view of two concepts which are deep learning and forensic tools. The purpose of this survey is to give the reader a deeper overview of i) the environment of deepfake creation and detection, ii) how deep learning and forensic tools contributed to the detection
... Show MoreABSTRACT: Polypyrrole and polypyrrole / silver nanocomposites were fabricated by in-situ polymerization employing Ammonium Persulphate as an oxidizing agent. Nanocomposites were synthesized by combining polypyrrole and silver nanoparticles in various weight percentages (0.1%, 0.5%, 3%, 5% and 7% wt.). Crystallographic data were collected using X-ray diffraction. PPy particles were found to have an orthorhombic symmetry. In contrast, PPy/Ag nanocomposites were reported to have monoclinic structure. The crystallite size was determined by XRD using Scherrer equation and considered to be within 49 nm range. DC conductivity of pelletized samples was evaluated in the temperature range of 323.15k to 453.15k. The conductiv
... Show MoreThe paper discusses the lack of a uniform definition of politeness due to the constant tension between its universality and language specificity, and argues that some of the theoretical debate could be resolved if the distinction between politeness as a commonsense notion and politeness as a theoretical construct were clearly addressed and acknowledged in the research.
The Geographic Information System (GIS) is considered one of the most prominent programs used to collect, analyze, display, process, and produce geographic information maps for a specific purpose. It is also considered one of the modern database programs. Additionally, we can perform statistical analysis within GIS on predefined data to produce quantitative results. In this study, data was collected from more than 80 engineering projects established in Baghdad City from soil investigation reports for the projects. Geographic information systems were used to produce objective maps showing the variation in the bearing capacity of shallow foundations in the soil of Baghdad Governorate. I
The determination of aerodynamic coefficients by shell designers is a critical step in the development of any projectile design. Of particular interest is the determination of the aerodynamic coefficients at transonic speeds. It is in this speed regime that the critical aerodynamic behavior occurs and a rapid change in the aerodynamic coefficients is observed. Two-dimensional, transonic, flow field computations over projectiles have been made using Euler equations which were used for solution with no special treatment required. In this work a solution algorithm is based on finite difference MacCormack’s technique for solving mixed subsonic-supersonic flow problem. Details of the asymmetrically located shock waves on the projectiles hav
... Show MoreThe problem of job burnout has become one of the main problems for researchers in social welfare organizations (social protection bodies) - one of the formations of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Its negative effects increased in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in light of the Corona pandemic, the pressures and burdens of workers varied, which resulted in high rates of anxiety, tension, and intellectual and physical exhaustion, and then negatively affected their efficiency in performing work at the individual and organizational level, especially after the increasing tasks of these Bodies in carrying out their role in achieving the general goals and objectives as beingThe general goals are that they are responsible for providi
... Show MoreThe study aims at identifying the morphological and psycho-socio-economic qualities wished to be in a life partner among a sample of Palestinian youth. The total sample was (231) and consisted of (83) male and (148) female students. Each student presented a detailed report on the qualities he/she wished to be in life partner. The study used the descriptive approach and content analysis method. The validity and stability of the analysis were calculated. The results showed eight qualities in both groups: physical, psychological, emotional, social, intellectual, familial, economic and academic. Female students were found to have more variations than male students in terms of the qualities preferable in the life partner. Male students
... Show MorePsoriasis is a dermatological, chronic, immune-mediated condition. Psoriasis symptoms are not associated with physical burden only, but it may also have psychosocial effects on patients, diminished cognitive control, poor body image and impairments in everyday life. The value of quality of life is important since improving it is the principal goal for non-curative disease. The aim of the current study was to evaluate quality of life in a sample of Iraqi patients with psoriasis. This study is a cross-sectional study that involved 300 already diagnosed psoriasis patients who attended to the center of Dermatology and Venereology, Medical City/Baghdad. The mean age of patients was (35.156 ±10.549 years). The Arabic version of Dermatology Li
... Show MoreFive new ceftazidime derivatives were designed and synthesized in an attempt to improve the acid stability and may increase the spectrum of ceftazidime. The synthesized compounds included; Schiff base of ceftazidime (compound 1), ceftazidime lysine amide Schiff base (compound 2), ceftazidime lysine amide (compound 3), ceftazidime-di-lysine amide Schiff base (compound 4) and ceftazidime-di-lysine amide (compound 5). New ceftazidime derivatives were successfully prepared characterized and identified using spectral and elemental microanalysis (CHNS) analyses and the results comply with the calculated measurements.
Compounds 1 and 2 were subjected to a stability study in phosphate buffer (0.2M, pH 7.4) and in KCl/HCl buffer (0.
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