Women's Scientific Research Committee

  The Women's Scientific Research Committee of the Bachelor of Arts in English program organized an 'EndNote Workshop' on Wednesday, November 27, 2019. Ms. Jalila Alghamdi tailored the workshop and its objectives to both faculty members and graduate students. Ms. Alghamdi started her discussion by defining EndNote, saying that it is "software for managing bibliographies and references." Ms. Alghamdi explained that "EndNote management software does not only free a researcher from the tedious work of manually collecting and formatting research materials and curating bibliographies, but also gives a researcher greater ease and control in managing references in research groups through providing coordination for the researchers' who are sharing a research paper."   Ms. Alghamdi explained that "EndNote is a tool that allows researchers to organize and keep track of their references." She highlighted the steps for easily inserting references into research documents as in-text citations, or a bibliography in any of a large number of citation styles (i.e. APA, MLA, etc).   The workshop was an orientation to the software's latest X9 version. Ms. Alghamdi provided screenshots of different processes that could be accomplished using EndNote X9. Some of these tasks are inserting references manually into EndNote, inserting author names according to the rules of EndNote, sorting and arrange references in easily searchable groups, activating the EndNote toolbar in Word, and changing the citation style of a research document with a few clicks.   During the interactive Q&A session, Ms. Alghamdi noted that this session will be followed by another practical session in cooperation with the Scientific Research Committee. For the practical session, attendees will need to download EndNote on their laptops to be able to work on the software following her guidance.   Of noteworthy mention, the workshop was attended by faculty members from the College of Science who showed their appreciation to the invitation sent by the Women's Scientific Research Committee to all university faculty members. The workshop was a big success and really made a difference by familiarizing researchers with the use and manipulation of such a significant tool for writing scientific research papers.   Date: 12/3/2019 Source: Dr. Amal Metwally, Scientific Research Committee

  The Women's College Scientific Research Committee organized a workshop on 'Colourful Semantics' on Monday, November 4, 2019. The workshop, which was delivered by Dr. Sheila Simpkins focused on the use of the 'colourful semantics technique' in teaching writing classes. Dr. Simpkins started the workshop by referring to the origin of ‘colourful semantics’. This approach, which was created by Alison Bryan, uses colour codes to breakdown sentence structures to help young learners to develop their grammar but it is rooted in the meaning of words (semantics).   She further explained that colourful semantics reassembles sentences by cutting them up into their thematic roles and then colour codes them. The colour scheme for these cards relates to the types of words in a sentence. For example, verbs are orange and nouns are either yellow or green.   "Colourful Semantics, which is an approach used with learners with Autistic Spectrum Condition, is used in Speech and Language Therapy to help young learners with language development," said Dr. Simpkins. She added that she used to apply this technique when teaching students with low motivation, explaining that she found that it was really helpful in motivating students to learn. "Colour semantics is used to make building sentences fun," concluded Dr. Simpkins.   Semantics is the aspect of language function that relates to understanding the meanings of words, phrases, and sentences and using words appropriately when we speak. There are plenty of benefits to using this approach, including encouraging more extensive vocabulary, making sentences longer with more details, and helping students respond to questions developing the use of nouns, verbs, prepositions adverbs, and adjectives.   The workshop was a practical application on the use of the approach to introducing students to sentence structure in writing classes. The workshop was attended by some staff members and graduate students. Date: 11/4/2019 Source: Dr. Amal Metwally, Scientific Research Committee

  The Scientific Research Committee of the Faculty of Languages and Translation – Female Campus – organized a workshop entitled 'Languages of the Academics: How to Write for Academic Purposes?' by Ms. Anjum Misho. The workshop was attended by the coordinator of the committee, level eight graduate students, and graduate students.   The presentation covered three areas, as it started with the topic ‘Vocabulary of the Academics', which was followed by an exploration of the ‘Language of the Professionals’. Finally, there was a presentation on 'How to Write a Research Proposal'. The presenter highlighted the significance of using professional vocabulary in academic writing along with following cohesion and coherence rules in writing. Some graduate students raised important points about difficulties they face in their writing of research papers, and the workshop ended with a discussion of problems and solutions. Date: 10/21/2019 Source: Scientific Research Committee Coordinator, Dr. Amal Metwally

  On 14 October 2019, the Scientific Research Committee organized the 1st seminar of this semester titled 'Comparison of Feminism Power in Anne Bradstreet and Virginia Woolf's Works', which was delivered by Ms. Maram Al-Malki. The presenter started the seminar by explaining to the audience why she has chosen this particular topic. As she is a writer herself, she has found some similarities between herself and the two authors mentioned in her presentation. Ms. Al-Malki highlighted some thought-provoking issues on feminism, and the seminar came ended with a lively discussion between and among those in attendance.   It was an informative presentation that was attended by Assistant Dean, Dr. Salma Al-Qahtani, Dr. Suaad Al-Qahatani, former assistant dean, and faculty members. Date: 10/16/2019 Source: Shanjida Halim, Member, SRC

The Female Campus Scientific Research Committee at the Faculty of Languages & Translation organized a program titled 'Exploring the World of Fiction' on October 17, 2018. It was the first program of the Scientific Research Committee for the 2018-19 Academic Year for students of all levels. In this program, upper-level students Ms. Abeer Abdulrahman Al-Asmary and Ms. Lama Hussein Saed Al-Shahrani introduced students to the world of literature. At first, they shared their experiences of exploring the world of fiction, and then the advantages/benefits of reading literary texts were highlighted. Additionally, visuals on the masterpieces of famous authors were displayed along with movies that are based on famous novels. This program aimed to encourage all the students - who are not yet familiar with English Literature - to familiarize themselves with the field from the very beginning of their academic career. It was emphasized that when learning the English language, reading will increase their receptive understanding of new items and it will stimulate the productive use of the target language. By reading a familiar genre in English literature like fiction, students were informed that it would help them improve their communication skills and learn from a new text. English Department Supervisor, Ms. Safiah Ali Asiri, presided over the program. Faculty members and students who attended this program were an inspiration to the presenters who enthusiastically conducted the program. Date: 10/17/2018 Correspondent: Ms. Shanjida Halim, Scientific Research Committee Member

In the inauguration of its events and activities of the present academic year,  the Scientific Research Committee of the Female Campus held a seminar entitled "Interaction between Literature and Other Disciplines" presented by the Dean's Assistant, Dr. Suaad Al-Qahtani. The seminar witnessed large attendance and enthusiastic participation on the part of staff members in the department. The seminar started with a welcoming note by the Scientific Research Committee Coordinator, Ms.Amal Metwally, who welcomed the audience and thanked Dr. Suaad Al-Qahtani for the time and support she always gives to the committee. Following this welcoming note, Dr. Suaad started her seminar. The topics took the audience through a journey where they explored not only literature but also language, culture, race, gender, and psychology.  The presentation was mainly an investigation of Elif Shafak's Black Milk: On the Conflicting Demands of Writing and Motherhood. Elif Shafak (1971) is an award-winning novelist and one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary literature in both Turkey and England. The paradox of the title as well as the message of the book which is "funny" though "painful" brought a lot to the discussion. Elif Shafak believed that "to be human…means to live with an orchestra of conflicting voices and mixed emotions." Similarly, in her discussion, Dr. Suaad highlighted the fact that it is not only about motherhood. All human beings, men or women, have this struggle with conflicting roles in life. The discussion was enriched with the participation of all members in answering the question that was posed earlier by the Turkish writer, Adalet Agaoglu: “Do you think a woman could manage motherhood and a career at the same time and equally well?” The same question was posed again by Dr. Suaad. The discussion of the question, as well as the topic in general, was an excellent opportunity to reflect on the different roles and struggles of men and women in finding themselves. Finally, the Dean's Assistant, Dr. Suaad Al-Qahtani, expressed her happiness with the success of the seminar and gratitude to the Scientific Research Committee Coordinator, Ms.Amal Metwally, and the members of the committee Ms.Shanjida Halim and Ms.Tanzina Halim, as well as the attendees, who participated in the discussion and enriched the seminar with their viewpoints. The seminar was concluded by presenting a certificate of appreciation to Dr. Suaad Al-Qahtani for her participation in this event of the Scientific Research Committee. In the end, Dr. Suaad encouraged all members to participate in the seminars and events of the committee to enhance and enrich their scientific and professional development.  Date: 11/17/2017 Source: Ms. Amal Metwally