Urban tourism is a complex, multi-sectoral and dispersed activity, the product of which is the sale of tourists' experiences of the city's attractions, facilities and services. Paying attention to and organizing natural, human and visual factors influencing the beauty of the environment is the most effective way to increase the quality of the travel experience. Considering the undeniable necessity of mental image in attracting urban tourists and the role of this type of tourism in the economy, in this study, an attempt has been made to provide a qualitative model of factors affecting mental image with the aim of boosting urban tourism using semantic cognitive mapping method. For this purpose, after stating the subject, theoretical foundations and reviewing the research background, 30 interviews were conducted using the qualitative research design until the theoretical saturation was reached. The study population consists of urban tourists and tourism experts. Then, using the semantic cognitive mapping approach, a conceptual model was extracted and drawn from the dimensions and components of the mental image. The obtained semantic cognitive mapping has 6 main categories and 30 theoretical propositions that can help policymakers in policy making and better and deeper understanding of this concept.

This article examines the Zoroastian Middle Persian modal verbs in terms of typology. The type of research is qualitative and its method is descriptive-analytical. The framework in this study is adapted from Nauze. The Middle Persian modal verbs are: abā, yē, d, š, ā, yē, d, tuwā, n, sazē, d and kā, mistan. The data is collected through the Zoroastian Middle Persian texts. After collecting data, the type of modal verbs in the data was determined and then the semantic mapping of each verb was specified on the conceptual space. The results showed that Nauze framework is not suitable for covering the meaning of Zoroastian Middle Persian modal verbs. So, the probability axis was added on the vertical axis of the conceptual space. Also, this research showed that the Middle Persian data contradicts the typology that Nauze had presented.

This study has examined the effect of semantic mapping on learning vocabulary across genders. The researchers selected 120 intermediate students after the administration of a standard proficiency test. A vocabulary test was also used to measure the students’ vocabulary knowledge. The experimental group received semantic mapping in the pre-reading stage, but the control group did not receive this treatment. The results of the study, based on statistical analysis of ANCOVA, indicated that the experimental group outperformed the control group in vocabulary learning. As for the gender differences, the results indicated no significant difference between males and females. It can be suggested that semantic mapping can be used as an efficient methodology for teaching vocabulary, a technique which is equally effective for male and female EFL Learners.

Purpose: The study identified the characteristics of scientific products in the field of the semantic web application. This purpose has been done by studying six databases including Magiran, Sid, Normagz, Civilica, Comprehensive portal of humanities, and Ganj. Method: This study is a descriptive study with a scientometric approach. purposive sampling and the techniques of co-occurrence and social network analysis have been used. Data analysis was done with Ravar Matrix software, Gefi, and data mapping was done with VosViewer software. Findings: The frequency of scientific productions in the field of the semantic web application has been 188, among which the semantic web with a frequency of 23 is in the first place. The co-occurrence maps form eight thematic clusters. Data analysis among degree and betweenness centers showed that the semantic web and ontology, spatial database, and jurisprudence structures have the highest rate. Among the cooperation of universities, the University of Tehran has the most connections with other universities and research centers. The University of Tehran was ranked first. Islamic Azad University, Kerman Branch, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, and the Imam Reza International University of Mashhad are ranked first to third. The University of Tehran, Tarbiat Modares University, and the Malek Ashtar University of Technology have the highest degree of centrality of betweenness. Conclusion: The semantic Web is an interdisciplinary subject with many applications in all disciplines, and the results indicate its continuous growth status.

Predicting pedestrians' intentions to cross paths with cars, particularly at intersections and crosswalks, is critical for autonomous systems. While recent studies have showcased the effectiveness of deep learning models based on computer vision in this domain, current models often lack the requisite confidence for integration into autonomous systems, leaving several unresolved issues. One of the fundamental challenges in autonomous systems is accurately predicting whether pedestrians intend to cross the path of a self-driving car. Our proposed model addresses this challenge by employing convolutional neural networks to predict pedestrian crossing intentions based on non-visual input data, including body pose, car velocity, and pedestrian bounding box, across sequential video frames. By logically arranging non-visual features in a 2D matrix format and utilizing an RGB semantic map to aid in comprehending and distinguishing fused features, our model achieves improved accuracy in pedestrian crossing intention prediction compared to previous approaches. Evaluation against the criteria of the JAAD database for pedestrian crossing intention prediction demonstrates significant enhancements over prior studies.

The present study attempted to investigate the effect of semantic mapping strategy instruction on vocabulary learning of Iranian intermediate students. A further concern of this study was to explore the probable interaction between the effect of teaching semantic mapping strategy and gender. Initially, 134 available male and female EFL students participated in this study. The instruments utilized in the study were a Nelson test and a teacher-made vocabulary test, which were employed at pre-test and post-test phases. Having established the homogeneity of the subjects in terms of general language proficiency, the 120 selected students were divided into four groups: 2 experimental (male-female) and 2 control groups (male-female). Then, in order to ascertain the homogeneity of the subjects in terms of vocabulary knowledge prior to the treatment, the vocabulary test was administered to all the groups. During the eight instructional sessions, the experimental groups received semantic mapping strategy instruction after reading each passage and then did the exercises. In the control groups, students were not taught how to use semantic mapping strategy and they were exposed only to the conventional vocabulary instruction activities. That is, they read the passages, did the exercises and activities, and new words were introduced through contexts and exercises. At the end of the experiment, the post-test was administered the results of which indicated that there was a significant difference among the means of the experimental and control groups. It was also revealed that there was no interaction between the effect of semantic mapping strategy instruction and gender. Hence, it is concluded that semantic mapping strategy instruction has a significant impact on vocabulary learning of Iranian intermediate EFL students regardless of their gender.

Traditional and modern vocabulary instruction techniques have been introduced in the past few decades to improve the learners’ performance in reading comprehension. semantic mapping, which entails drawing learners’ attention to the interrelationships among lexical items through graphic organizers, is claimed to enhance vocabulary learning significantly. However, whether this technique suits all types of learners has not been adequately investigated. This study examines the effectiveness of employing semantic mapping in vocabulary instruction to EFL learners with different perceptual modalities. A modified version of Reid’s (1987) perceptual learning style questionnaire was used to determine the learners’ modality types. The results indicate that semantic mapping in comparison with commonplace approaches significantly enhanced EFL learners’ vocabulary achievement. Although visual learners slightly outperformed other types of learners on the posttest, no significant differences were observed among intermediate learners with different perceptual modalities employing semantic mapping for vocabulary practice.

The present paper is an attempt to study the semantic side of modal verbs in Siahkali variety of Gilaki. This research has been conducted via descriptive-analytical method in Palmer (1997) and Nauze (2008) frameworks. Based upon this research, the modal verb “va” features all three epistemic, deontic, and dynamic modes in terms of semantics while “vast” and “vasti” and the present tense of modal verb “tonəstan” are used to express deontic and dynamic modes. The modal verb “šay” is used to express the epistemic and dynamic aspect while “šast”, the past tense “tonəstan” and both the present and past forms of the verb “xastən” and “rəse: n” are used to express the dynamic aspect in Gilaki. The modal verb “bo: n” expresses the epistemic and deontic modality while “bəbu” indicates the deontic modality. “va” and its past tenses show the degree of necessity and other modal verbs infer the degree of possibility. The semantic mapping of modal verbs is shown on the conceptual context of modality. So, the same universal saying that the modality elements are different only on one of the axes is also true in Gilaki. 1. Introduction Modality generally expresses the speaker's view of the proposition contained in the sentence. semantically, modality is divided into two types in a general category, which are the epistemic and root modes. The epistemic mode involves the speaker's assessment of the probability or predictability of the action. It also includes the necessity or possibility of a proposition based on the judgment, evidence, or knowledge of the speaker. Switzer (1982) argues that concepts that imply necessity, probability, or possibility are considered epistemic. The root mode is used to express concepts such as coercion, permission, and ability, and consists of two deontic and dynamic subgroups. In deontic modality, external circumstances and power often require the actor or third person to perform an action or allow him/her to do something. In dynamic modality, the internal force or current conditions provide the necessity or possibility for the action to take place. 2. Theoretical Framework Palmer (1997) introduced three types of epistemic, deontic, and dynamic modalities, and two main degrees or levels of modality as possibility and necessity, the epistemic modality is the simplest of all in his view. This type of modality is a judgment that is made about the realization of a situation or event. He considers this modality as discourse-oriented and believes that it includes both the speaker and the audience. Palmer states that by using this modality, the speaker is actually allowing, forcing, promising, and threatening. The dynamic modality is related to the ability and desire of the subject and has two subsets of neutral and subject-oriented. Neutral usage indicates the possibility of an event. Another type of dynamic possibility indicates the ability of the subject to perform the action. Dynamic possibility can also be used to express an implicit meaning to make suggestion for istance. In this paper, the semantic mapping of modal verbs of Gilaki is presented upon Nauze framework (2008). Nauze shows the conceptual space of modality, which includes all the modal elements in world languages, in one form, with vertical and horizontal axes. The vertical axis indicates the dimension of possibility or necessity of the modal verb, and based on the horizontal axes, it is determined whether the verb has semantic diversity in terms of meaning or not. 3. Methodolgy This research is a qualitative research and has been carried out via descriptive-analytical methods. The semantic part of this research is based on Palmer (1997) and its semantic mapping is based on the Nauze (2008) framework. The Gilaki data of this research, consisted of 42 sentences, has been collected from the everyday speech of the speakers. In addition, some syntactic behaviors of modal verbs and related topics such as grammatical tense, complement of modal verbs, position of modal verbs in a sentence, negation and their use as lexical verbs have been studied. 4. Results & Discussion In Gilaki, to express the form of coercion or obligation, the prepositional verb va "should" is used for the present and future grammatical tenses, and vast and vasti "must" for the past grammatical tense. The modal verb va features all three epistemic, deontic, and dynamic modes. The complement of this verb in personal constructions is a temporal verb that appears in the sentence in the form of present or past participles and is conjugated in terms of person and number in accordance with the subject of the sentence. The unmarked position “va” and its past two forms precede its complement. The modal verb of šay "can, become" refers to the present and future grammatical tenses and šast "become" to the past grammatical tense. “šay” is used to express the epistemic and dynamic modes and “šast” is used to express the dynamic mode in Gilaki. Since “šay” and “šast” in Gilaki are used only in impersonal constructions and the subject or actor is not present in these sentences, the complement of these two modal verbs is used only as an infinitive after them. The modal verb bo: n "become" refers to the present grammatical tense and bəbu "became" refers to the past grammatical tense. “bo: n” is used to express the epistemic and deontic modes and “bəbu” is used to express the deontic mode. The complement of these two modal verbs is the temporal verb (present or past participles) which is used according to the subject of the sentence. The unmarked position of these two verbs is at the beginning of the sentence. The three modal verbs tonəstən "to be able", xastən "to want" and rəse: n "to arrive" in Gilaki have common syntactic features. The present tense of the modal verb tonəstan "to be able" has a reading of the deontic and dynamic modes, and its past tense has a dynamic mode. Both the present and past tenses of the modal verbs xastən "want" and rəse: n "to arrive" have dynamic modes. The complement of these verbs is conjugated in the form of a tense verb, which is always present participle, in accordance with the subject of the sentence. Examining the semantic mapping of Gilaki's modal verbs showed that among the Gilaki's modal verbs, va "should", along with its two past forms, indicates the necessity aspect on the vertical axis and has a variety of meanings on the horizontal axis, while, other Gilaki's modal verbs are placed on the vertical axis of possibility aspect and indicate polysemy or semantic differences. 5. Conclusions & Suggestions The modal verb “va” has all three epistemic, deontic and dynamic modes, and “vast” and “vasti” are used to express the deontic and dynamic modes. The modal verb “šay” is used to express the epistemic and dynamic modes and “šast” is used to express the dynamic mode in Gilaki. The verb “bo: n” is used to express the epistemic and deontic modes and “bəbu” is used to express the deontic mode. The present tense of the modal verb “tonəstan” has deontic and dynamic modes and its past tense has a dynamic mode. Both the present and past tenses of the modal verbs “xastən” and “rəse: n” have dynamic mode. Also, except for “va” and its past forms, which indicate the degree of necessity, the other modal verbs of Siahkali indicate the degree of possibility. Studying the semantic mapping of Gilaki's modal verbs showed that what has been generally said about the fact that the modal elements are different on one of the axes of the conceptual space and not on both axes is also true about this dialect. “va” and its past forms on the vertical axis show the necessity and have various meanings only on the horizontal axis. Other verbs are placed on the vertical axis of possibility and have polysemy or semantic differences on this axis.