40,492 research outputs found
Accelerating Cluster Assignment for SeqClu
No full textClustering is a group of (unsupervised) machine learning algorithms used to categorize data into clusters. The most popular clustering algorithm is k-means clustering. K-means clustering clusters the data into k clusters where a cluster is represented by the mean of the data points called a centroid. Instead of using the mean as a centroid, a data point (medoid) can be used instead. This algorithm is called k-medoids algorithm. Both the algorithms work in an offline setting where all the data is known beforehand and usually use Euclidean distance to calculate the distance between any two points. SeqClu is another clustering algorithm for sequential data that works in an online setting and uses Dynamic Time Warping as its distance measure. It is based on k-medoids where it uses p sequences called prototypes, to represent a cluster. It assigns an incoming sequence to the cluster that has the lowest average distance between its prototypes and the incoming sequence. The issue in this approach is that many Dynamic Time Warping distance calculations need to be made which affects the clustering speed and using the average distance affects the clustering accuracy due to outliers being assigned as prototypes. This paper proposes an alternative algorithm with three variants for the cluster assignment process. This algorithm iterates through the prototypes in search for the closest prototype while excluding clusters that are deemed too far. It assigns the incoming sequence to the cluster of the closest prototype that it has found. Experiments on the UJI Pen Characters and UCR Synthetic Control datasets show an improvement in clustering speed and accuracy.CSE3000 Research ProjectComputer Science and Engineerin
Al-Alaoui pattern recognition algorithm: A MSE asymptotic Bayesian approach to boosting
No full textThe relation of the Al-Alaoui pattern recognition algorithm to the boosting and bagging approaches to pattern recognition is delineated. It is shown that the Al-Alaoui algorithm shares with bagging and boosting the concepts of replicating and weighting instances of the training set. Additionally it is shown that the Al-Alaoui algorithm provides a Mean Square Error, MSE, asymptotic Bayesian approximation to boosting. Experimental results demonstrate the viability of the Al-Alaoui algorithm for pattern classification
Al-Alaoui pattern recognition algorithm: A MSE asymptotic Bayesian approach to boosting
No full textThe relation of the Al-Alaoui pattern recognition algorithm to the boosting and bagging approaches to pattern recognition is delineated. It is shown that the Al-Alaoui algorithm shares with bagging and boosting the concepts of replicating and weighting instances of the training set. Additionally it is shown that the Al-Alaoui algorithm provides a Mean Square Error, MSE, asymptotic Bayesian approximation to boosting. Experimental results demonstrate the viability of the Al-Alaoui algorithm for pattern classification
Corrigendum to “Thermo-Hydraulic Performance Improvement Inside Parabolic Trough Receiver Tube Using Passive Techniques: A Review”
No full textThe authors regret that the affiliation of Dr. Abdellatif M. Sadeq was incorrectly listed in the published article as “Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar”. The correct affiliation is updated as above. In addition, the email address linked to Dr. Abdellatif M. Sadeq should be updated as above. The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused. CRediT authorship contribution statement Yasser Abidnoor Jebbar: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – original draft. Farhan Lafta Rashid: Writing – original draft, Supervision, Project administration. Mudhar A. Al-Obaidi: Writing – original draft, Formal analysis, Investigation. Wisam J. Khudhayer: Formal analysis, Methodology, Writing – original draft. Ephraim Bonah Agyekum: Visualization, Resources, Investigation. Fadhil Khaddam Fuliful: Writing – review & editing, Validation. Abdellatif M. Sadeq: Funding acquisition, Writing – review & editing. © 2026 Elsevier Lt
Class of digital integrators and differentiators
No full textA novel class of infinite impulse response digital integrators and differentiators is developed. A class of digital integrators is first derived from a class of numerical integration rules. A class of digital differentiators is then obtained by inverting the transfer functions of the obtained integrators and stabilising the resulting transfer functions together with magnitude compensation if necessary. Simulated annealing is applied to optimise some of the obtained integrators and differentiators. © 2011 The Institution of Engineering and Technology.AL-ALAOUI M. A., 2006, FACTA U SER ELEC ENE, V19, P143; AlAlaoui MA, 1997, INT J ELEC ENG EDUC, V34, P331; ALALAOUI MA, 1996, ACM SIGNUM NEWSLETT, V31, P25, DOI 10.1145-230922.230930; ALALAOUI MA, 1994, IEEE T CIRCUITS-I, V41, P186, DOI 10.1109-81.269060; ALALAOUI MA, 1992, ELECTRON LETT, V28, P1376, DOI 10.1049-el:19920875; Al-Alaoui MA, 2007, IET SIGNAL PROCESS, V1, P107, DOI 10.1049-iet-spr:20060246; Al-Alaoui MA, 2008, ELECTR ENG, V90, P455, DOI 10.1007-s00202-007-0092-0; Al-Alaoui MA, 2001, IEEE T CIRCUITS-I, V48, P1326, DOI 10.1109-81.964421; Al-Alaoui MA, 2007, IEEE T CIRCUITS-I, V54, P338, DOI 10.1109-TCSI.2006.885982; ALALAOUI MA, 1993, ELECTRON LETT, V29, P934, DOI 10.1049-el:19930623; ALALAOUI MA, 1995, IEEE T CIRCUITS-I, V42, P220, DOI 10.1109-81.382477; Al-Alaoui MA, 2006, IEEE T CIRCUITS-I, V53, P634, DOI 10.1109-TCSI.2005.859049; Al-Alaoui MA, 2007, IEEE T SIGNAL PROCES, V55, P697, DOI 10.1109-TSP.2006.885741; ATKINSON KE, 1989, INTRO NUMERICAL ANAL, pCH5; CHARPA SC, 1988, NUMERICAL METHODS EN, pCH15; Chen YQ, 2002, IEEE T CIRCUITS-I, V49, P363; CONTE SD, 1980, ELEMENTARY NUMERICAL, pCH7; Davis P J, 1984, METHODS NUMERICAL IN; Franklin F. G., 1994, FEEDBACK CONTROL DYN; HAMMING RW, 1972, NUMERICAL METHODS SC; Ifeachor E. C., 2002, DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCE; KIRKPATRICK S, 1983, SCIENCE, V220, P671, DOI 10.1126-science.220.4598.671; KUMAR B, 1989, INT J CIRC THEOR APP, V17, P483, DOI 10.1002-cta.4490170409; METROPOLIS N, 1953, J CHEM PHYS, V21, P1087, DOI 10.1063-1.1699114; Mitra S. K., 2006, DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCE, DOI India; Ngo NQ, 2006, IEEE T CIRCUITS-II, V53, P936, DOI 10.1109-TCSII.2006.881806; Oppenheim A. V., 1999, DISCRETE TIME SIGNAL; Papamarkos N, 1996, IEEE T CIRCUITS-I, V43, P785, DOI 10.1109-81.536749; Pei SC, 2008, IEEE T SIGNAL PROCES, V56, P2122, DOI 10.1109-TSP.2007.912250; PHILIPS CL, 1995, DIGITAL CONTROL SYST, pCH11; PINCUS M, 1970, OPER RES, V18, P1225, DOI 10.1287-opre.18.6.1225; Proakis J. G., 1996, INTRO DIGITAL SIGNAL; Rabiner LR, 1975, THEORY APPL DIGITAL; Radisavljevic V, 2008, IEEE SIGNAL PROC LET, V15, P881, DOI 10.1109-LSP.2008.2008211; Tompkins W. J., 1981, DESIGN MICROCOMPUTER; Tseng CC, 2007, IEEE T CIRCUITS-I, V54, P643, DOI 10.1109-TCSI.2006.887641; Tseng CC, 2007, IEEE INT SYMP CIRC S, P2726, DOI 10.1109-ISCAS.2007.378525; Tseng CC, 2008, IEEE T CIRCUITS-I, V55, P2300, DOI 10.1109-TCSI.2008.920099; Tseng CC, 2006, IEE P-VIS IMAGE SIGN, V153, P79, DOI 10.1049-ip-vis:20045208; Tseng CC, 2007, SIGNAL PROCESS, V87, P1045, DOI 10.1016-j.sigpro.2006.09.00613121
Linear phase low-pass IIR digital differentiators
No full textA novel approach to designing approximately linear phase infinite-impulse-response (IIR) digital filters in the passband region is introduced. The proposed approach yields digital IIR filters whose numerators represent linear phase finite-impulse-response (FIR) filters. As an example, low-pass IIR differentiators are introduced. The range and high-frequency suppression of the proposed low-pass differentiators are comparable to those obtained by higher order FIR low-pass differentiators. In addition, the differentiators exhibit almost linear phases in the passband regions. © 2006 IEEE.Adams JW, 1998, IEEE T SIGNAL PROCES, V46, P306, DOI 10.1109-78.655417; AlAlaoui MA, 1997, INT J ELEC ENG EDUC, V34, P331; ALALAOUI MA, 1994, IEEE T CIRCUITS-I, V41, P186, DOI 10.1109-81.269060; ALALAOUI MA, 1992, ELECTRON LETT, V28, P1376, DOI 10.1049-el:19920875; ALALAOUI MA, 1976, PATTERN RECOGN, V8, P277; Al-Alaoui M.A., 1993, IEEE ELECT LETT, V29, P376; ALALAOUI MA, 1995, IEEE T CIRCUITS-I, V42, P220, DOI 10.1109-81.382477; Chen YQ, 2002, IEEE T CIRCUITS-I, V49, P363; Ifeachor E. C., 2002, DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCE; Kaiser J. F, 1966, SYSTEM ANAL DIGITAL; KRUBOWSKI A, 1999, 5 INT S SIGN PROC IT, P969; KUMAR B, 1988, P IEEE, V76, P287, DOI 10.1109-5.4408; KUMAR B, 1988, ELECTRON LETT, V24, P563, DOI 10.1049-el:19880383; KUMAR B, 1992, IEEE T SIGNAL PROCES, V40, P2334, DOI 10.1109-78.157235; Kurosu A, 2003, IEEE T SIGNAL PROCES, V51, P1284, DOI 10.1109-TSP.2003.810283; Li LW, 1999, IEEE T SIGNAL PROCES, V47, P448; Lu WS, 1998, IEEE T SIGNAL PROCES, V46, P1; MAENG SJ, 1995, IEEE J SEL AREA COMM, V13, P167; MCCLELLAN JH, 2005, IEEE SIGNAL PROC MAR, P82; MIKHAEL R, 2003, P PACRIM, P94; Mitra Sanjit K., 2005, DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCE; PAN J, 1985, IEEE T BIO-MED ENG, V32, P230, DOI 10.1109-TBME.1985.325532; PARKS TW, 1972, IEEE T CIRCUIT THEOR, V19, P184; POWELL SR, 1991, IEEE T SIGNAL PROCES, V39, P2425, DOI 10.1109-78.97998; Proakis J. G., 1996, DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCE; Rabiner LR, 1975, THEORY APPL DIGITAL; Selesnick IW, 2002, IEEE T CIRCUITS-II, V49, P219, DOI 10.1109-TCSII.2002.1013869; Skolnik M.I., 1980, INTRO RADAR SYSTEMS; SREERAM V, 1992, IEEE T SIGNAL PROCES, V40, P389, DOI 10.1109-78.124948; XIAO C, 2001, P IEEE IEEE INT C AC, P381725202
Deep anisotropic dry etching of silicon microstructures by high-density plasmas
No full textThis thesis deals with the dry etching of deep anisotropic microstructures in monocrystalline silicon by high-density plasmas. High aspect ratio trenches are necessary in the fabrication of sensitive inertial devices such as accellerometers and gyroscopes. The etching of silicon in fluorine-based plasmas is isotropic. To obtain anisotropy the addition of sidewall passivation is necessary. This is achieved with both oxygen passivation at low temperatures and fluorocarbon passivation at room temperature. A quantitative approach was pursued to explain the etching mechanism. The etch results were analysed using the measured plasma species fluxes and the surface composition. Moreover, the transport of the plasma species in narrow anisotropic structures is a fundamental factor determining the etch rate and the profile evolution. The experimental methods such as the etching equipment, plasma diagnostics, surface analysis and sample preparation are described in chapter 2. Three etching processes were investigated: the cryogenic etching process with oxygen passivation at low temperatures, the Bosch process with fluorocarbon passivation at room temperature and the novel triple pulse process that was developed in our laboratory. The polymer deposition mechanism and the characteristic role of the ions are also explained. The cryogenic etching process is discussed in chapter 3. Fluorine radicals, oxygen radicals and ion bombardment are responsible for the three main sub-processes, that is, etching, sidewall passivation and depassivation of the trench bottom, respectively. Etching experiments with an extremely low ion-to-radical flux ratio were used to reveal the etching mechanism. Crystal orientation dependent etching leading to Si(111) crystal facets is observed in a surface kinetics controlled regime. By varying the plasma conditions it is possible to adjust the etching mechanism from fluorine-limited to ion-limited. Controlled etching is obtained because the etching is tuned from aspect ratio dependent in the fluorine-limited domain to aspect ratio independent in the ion-limited domain. The transport of radicals in high aspect ratio trenches is an important limiting factor and was investigated with special structures. The etch results are described by an analytic model that is based on the surface site balance of fluorine and oxygen radicals. The results are further explained with a Monte Carlo simulation model. The Bosch process is clarified in chapter 4. The anisotropy of the etched structures is controlled by balancing the etching and passivation pulse. However, the maximal obtainable aspect ratio is limited by convergence of the trench sidewalls due to excessive passivation. The maximal obtainable aspect ratio increases if the ion-to-radical flux ratio increases. The transport of ions is an important limiting factor in the depassivation of the bottom of the trench. Divergence of the ion beam leads to a reduction of the ion flux, so that the fluorocarbon passivation is insufficiently removed near the base of the sidewalls. The average ion angle was measured and correlated to the maximal obtainable aspect ratio. The Bosch process was improved at the depassivation side with the triple pulse process and at the passivation side with preferential sidewall deposition. The triple pulse process that is described in chapter 5 has the aim to improve the depassivation in deep trenches. The three main sub-processes are decoupled using a separate depassivation pulse directly after the etching and passivation pulses. The fluorocarbon passivation is efficiently removed with low-pressure, high-density, oxygen-based plasmas. The investigated plasma chemistries include O2, CO2 and SO2. The triple pulse process leads to better profile control with a straight trench bottom. However, the maximal obtainable aspect ratio is comparable to the Bosch process because a larger etch depth and a small lateral etch cancel out. The polymer deposition mechanism is treated in chapter 6 with the aim to understand the fluorocarbon passivation in deep trenches. The deposition on plane surfaces and on special structures was investigated to distinguish between the radical-induced and ion-enhanced components. A simple analytical model, which explains the main deposition characteristics, was developed. Preferential sidewall deposition is obtained for higher ion fluxes and higher bias voltages where sputtering plays an important role. In this case no fluorocarbon passivation has to be removed from the bottom of the trench. The trench profile was optimised in the Bosch process by tuning the bias voltage during etching and passivation independently. It resulted in perfectly anisotropic trenches but the maximal obtainable aspect ratio was still limited by a small lateral etch. The characteristic role of the ions in the etching mechanism is explained in chapter 7. Ion-induced etching of both SiC in a SF6-O2 plasma and Si in a Cl2 plasma were investigated. The impact of the ions on the profile evolution can be examined more explicitly because spontaneous chemical reactions are absent for these plasma-material systems. The etching mechanism varies from fluorine-limited to ion-limited depending on the radical-to-ion flux ratio. Microtrenches are observed for an ion-limited etching mechanism. Fluorine-limited SiC etching is aspect ratio dependent in contrast to ion-limited SiC etching, which is aspect ratio independent. The etching of high aspect ratio SiC structures is limited by the positive sidewall taper. This is presumably caused by insufficient removal of the thin fluorocarbon layer on the surface. Si etching in a Cl2 plasma is always aspect ratio independent in contrast to SiC etching because of the low reaction probability. The conclusions and recommendations of this thesis are given in chapter 8.Applied Science
Al-Alaoui operator and the new transformation polynomials for discretization of analogue systems
No full textThe new transformation polynomials for discretization of analogue systems was recently introduced. The work proposes that the discretization of 1-s n should be done independently rather than by raising the discrete representation of 1-s to the power n. Several examples are given in to back this idea. In this paper it is shown that the new transformation polynomials for discretization of analogue systems is exactly the same as the parameterized Al-Alaoui operator. In the following sections, we will show that the same results could be obtained with the parameterized Al-Alaoui operator. © 2007 Springer-Verlag.AL-ALAOUI M. A., 2006, FACTA U SER ELEC ENE, V19, P143; AlAlaoui MA, 1997, INT J ELEC ENG EDUC, V34, P331; ALALAOUI MA, 1996, ACM SIGNUM NEWSLETT, V31, P25, DOI 10.1145-230922.230930; ALALAOUI MA, 1994, IEEE T CIRCUITS-I, V41, P186, DOI 10.1109-81.269060; ALALAOUI MA, 2001, FUNDAM THEORY APPL, V48, P1326; ALALAOUI MA, 2007, FUNDAM THEORY APPL, V54, P338; ALALAOUI MA, 1992, ELECTRON LETT, V28, P1376, DOI 10.1049-el:19920875; ALALAOUI MA, 1993, IEE ELECTR LETT, V29, P934; Al-Alaoui MA, 2007, IET SIGNAL PROCESS, V1, P107, DOI 10.1049-iet-spr:20060246; ALALAOUI MA, 1993, ELECTRON LETT, V29, P376, DOI 10.1049-el:19930253; Al-Alaoui MA, 2006, IEEE T CIRCUITS-I, V53, P634, DOI 10.1109-TCSI.2005.859049; Al-Alaoui MA, 2007, IEEE T SIGNAL PROCES, V55, P697, DOI 10.1109-TSP.2006.885741; Aoun M, 2004, NONLINEAR DYNAM, V38, P117, DOI 10.1007-s11071-004-3750-z; Backmutsky V, 1999, ELECTR MACH POW SYST, V27, P399; Barbosa R. S., 2006, ACTA POLYTECH HUNG, V3, P5; Barbosa RS, 2007, J VIB CONTROL, V13, P1407, DOI 10.1177-1077546307077499; Barbosa RS, 2006, SIGNAL PROCESS, V86, P2567, DOI 10.1016-j.sigpro.2006.02.005; BARBOSA RS, 2005, 16 IFAC WORLD C PRAG; CHEN Y, 2003, P ASME DESIGN ENG A, V5, P761; Chen YQ, 2003, SIGNAL PROCESS, V83, P2359, DOI 10.1016-S0165-1684(03)00188-9; Chen YQ, 2002, IEEE T CIRCUITS-I, V49, P363; Chen YQ, 2004, NONLINEAR DYNAM, V38, P155, DOI 10.1007-s11071-004-3752-x; Dabroom AM, 2001, IEEE T AUTOMAT CONTR, V46, P1712, DOI 10.1109-9.964682; ENDEN VD, 1989, DISCRETE TIME SIGNAL; Ferdi Y., 2004, P 1 IFAC WORKSH FRAC, P428; Ferdi Y, 2006, NONLINEAR DYNAM, V46, P1, DOI 10.1007-s11071-005-9000-1; FRANKLIN FG, 1980, DIGITAL CONTROL DYNA; Lam H. Y. F., 1979, ANALOG DIGITAL FILTE; LI Y, 2005, INT S GPS GNSS; Mitra S. K., 2006, DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCE, DOI India; MRAD F, 2005, P 2005 IEEE INT S IN; Ngo NQ, 2006, IEEE T CIRCUITS-II, V53, P936, DOI 10.1109-TCSII.2006.881806; Papamarkos N, 1996, IEEE T CIRCUITS-I, V43, P785, DOI 10.1109-81.536749; Phillips C., 1984, DIGITAL CONTROL SYST; Rabiner LR, 1975, THEORY APPL DIGITAL; ROMERO M, 2006, CONTROLO 2006 7 PORT; SEKARA TB, 2000, FACTA U EE, P571; Sekara TB, 2006, ELECTR ENG, V89, P137, DOI 10.1007-s00202-005-0322-2; TOMOV L, 2006, J FUNDAM SCI APPL, V13, P61; Tseng CC, 2007, IEEE T CIRCUITS-I, V54, P643, DOI 10.1109-TCSI.2006.887641; TSENG CC, 2006, IEEE P VIS IM SIGN P, V153; VARSHNEY P, 2007, J ACTIVE PASSIVE ELE, V2, P187; Wong CX, 2007, MECH SYST SIGNAL PR, V21, P553, DOI 10.1016-j.ymssp.2005.08.029; Worden K, 2007, MECH SYST SIGNAL PR, V21, P514, DOI 10.1016-j.ymssp.2005.09.004; Zhang J., 2005, J GLOBAL POSITION SY, V4, P95128
Using fractional delay to control the magnitudes and phases of integrators and differentiators
No full textThe use of fractional delay to control the magnitudes and phases of integrators and differentiators has been addressed. Integrators and differentiators are the basic building blocks of many systems. Often applications in controls, wave-shaping, oscillators and communications require a constant 90° phase for differentiators and -90° phase for integrators. When the design neglects the phase, a phase equaliser is often needed to compensate for the phase error or a phase lock loop should be added. Applications to the first-order, Al-Alaoui integrator and differentiator are presented. A fractional delay is added to the integrator leading to an almost constant phase response of -90°. Doubling the sampling rate improves the magnitude response. Combining the two actions improves both the magnitude and phase responses. The same approach is applied to the differentiator, with a fractional sample advance leading to an almost constant phase response of 90°. The advance is, in fact, realised as the ratio of two delays. Filters approximating the fractional delay, the finite impulse response (FIR) Lagrange interpolator filters and the Thiran allpass infinite impulse response (IIR) filters are employed. Additionally, a new hybrid filter, a combination of the FIR Lagrange interpolator filter and the Thiran allpass IIR filter, is proposed. Methods to reduce the approximation error are discussed. © The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2007.AL-ALAOUI M. A., 2006, FACTA U SER ELEC ENE, V19, P143; AlAlaoui MA, 1997, INT J ELEC ENG EDUC, V34, P331; ALALAOUI MA, 1994, IEEE T CIRCUITS-I, V41, P186, DOI 10.1109-81.269060; ALALAOUI MA, 1992, ELECTRON LETT, V28, P1376, DOI 10.1049-el:19920875; ALALAOUI MA, 1993, ELECTRON LETT, V29, P376, DOI 10.1049-el:19930253; Al-Alaoui MA, 2001, IEEE T CIRCUITS-I, V48, P1326, DOI 10.1109-81.964421; ALALAOUI MA, 1993, ELECTRON LETT, V29, P934, DOI 10.1049-el:19930623; ALALAOUI MA, 1995, IEEE T CIRCUITS-I, V42, P220, DOI 10.1109-81.382477; Chen YQ, 2002, IEEE T CIRCUITS-I, V49, P363; Crochiere R. E., 1983, MULTIRATE DIGITAL SI; Fliege N.J., 1994, MULTIRATE DIGITAL SI; Laakso TI, 1996, IEEE SIGNAL PROC MAG, V13, P30, DOI 10.1109-79.482137; Luengo D, 2000, IEEE T CIRCUITS-II, V47, P482, DOI 10.1109-82.842118; MINOCHA S, 1993, INT J CIRC THEOR APP, V21, P265, DOI 10.1002-cta.4490210306; Mitra S. K., 2006, DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCE, DOI India; NAGAHARA M, 2003, P 42 IEEE C DEC CONT, P6539; Oppenheim A., 1997, SIGNALS SYSTEMS; Pei SC, 2004, IEEE SIGNAL PROC LET, V11, P788, DOI 10.1109-LSP.2004.835473; Pei SC, 2001, IEEE T CIRCUITS-I, V48, P389; RABINER LR, 1970, IEEE T ACOUST SPEECH, VAU18, P204, DOI 10.1109-TAU.1970.1162090; TASSART S, 1997, P IEEE INT C AC SPEE, V1, P455; THIRAN JP, 1971, IEEE T CIRCUITS SYST, VCT18, P659, DOI 10.1109-TCT.1971.1083363; Tseng CC, 2006, IEE P-VIS IMAGE SIGN, V153, P79, DOI 10.1049-ip-vis:20045208; VAIDYANATHAN PP, 1993, MULTI RATE SYSTEMS F; Valimaki V., 2000, INT ACOUSTICS SPEECH, V6, P387013121
Students and the teaching of Arabic grammar at Jordanian schools
No full textThe main purpose of this study is to explore the reasons for students' weaknesses in
grammar at Jordanian schools, taking as an example the upper basic stage (ages 14-16
years) in the Al-karak district. The study consists of nine chapters; the first three
chapters explain the background and context of the study, the teaching of Arabic
grammar in Jordan and the heart of the problem together with an outline of previous
research. The fourth chapter explains the methodology and procedures of the study.
The fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth chapters present the findings of the study and a
discussion of the findings. And finally the ninth chapter is the conclusion and
recommendations of the study. This chapter points out that some further research is
needed in the area of grammar learning and teaching.
The methods of data collection were the questionnaire and interview. One
questionnaire was developed, directed to the teachers of Arabic and the students of the
upper basic stage (eighth, ninth and tenth grades). The interviews were conducted
with teachers of Arabic, students and the education supervisors. The sample of the
questionnaire was 700 students and 135 teachers. The sample of the interview was 10
teachers, 15 students who were selected upon their willingness to be interviewed. 7
education supervisors who form the whole population were also interviewed.
The collected data was analysed based on the frequencies and percentages of the
responses. They showed several reasons for students' weaknesses in grammar which
attracted high percentages of the participants' acceptance. For instance, 70 per cent of
students considered the unavailability of audiovisual aids one of the reasons for their
weaknesses in grammar. About half (58.6 per cent) of the students considered the
lack of standard Arabic being used by the teachers of other subjects as one of the
reasons for the weaknesses. From the teachers' point of view, two reasons attracted
the vast majority (89.6 per cent) of their agreement. The first one was students' belief
that the formal assessment for students' achievement is lenient. The second one was
the lack of previous knowledge of grammar amongst students. The next strong reason
for the weaknesses was students' belief that grammar is difficult to understand.
Students' carelessness with previous preparation for grammar lessons was also
considered one of the strong reasons for the weaknesses in grammar.
Education supervisors emphasised that the procedures of teachers appointments are
not based on the criteria of teachers' quality and that makes it possible to nominate
some teachers who are not able to teach grammar successfully. They also blamed the
lack of effective preparation for grammar lessons by the teachers. The supervisors
stressed the teachers' weaknesses in grammar. There were many other more subtle
reasons for the students' problems which are discussed in depth. The study came up
with several recommendations to develop grammar teaching in Jordan as well as some
further research related to this study. The original contribution of this study is the
combination between the perceptions of students, teachers and education supervisors
which enriches the data. It also discussed the procedures of teachers' appointing as
one of the issues most neglected by most of the previous studies
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