Journal of University of Human Development

Evidentiality in English and Central Kurdish: A Typological Study

Younis Salam Omar — 2026-01-04

This paper studies evidentiality in English and Central Kurdish (CK), specifically the dialect spoken by residents of Sulaimani, from a typological perspective. Typological studies are of interest to linguists, aiming to capture the commonalities and differences between languages regarding specific linguistic topics. One such topic is evidentiality, which is a linguistic category that marks the source of information upon which a statement is made (Aikhenvald, 2004). Different languages mark evidentiality in various ways. Some have dedicated grammatical markers, while others use lexical markers or other syntactic strategies. It is hypothesized that in English and Central Kurdish the expression of evidentiality is achieved through lexical, syntactic, or contextual strategies rather than grammatical markers. So, the paper is an attempt to identify the typology and the markers of evidentiality and, thereby, provide a new perspective on the topic in both languages. The main conclusion of this paper is that English and Central Kurdish are quite similar in regard to this topic since they do not grammatically mark evidentiality but make use of other means, specifically lexical markers.

Countercultural Verses: A Postmodern Reading of Hippie-Era Poetry in 1960s America

Eman Thamer Omer — 2026-01-05

This paper presents a segment of the M.A. thesis titled Countercultural Narratives: A Postmodern Study of American Poetry in the 1960s. It examines the rise of postmodernism and its manifestation in the poetry of the 1960s. How did postmodern traits reflect the social and spiritual changes of the time? What were the conditions that pushed writers to experiment with literature by using innovative methods of expressions, such as deconstruction, intertextuality, and little narratives? To address these questions, this study will analyze Robert Duncan’s Often I Am Permitted to Return to a Meadow (1960), Philip Whalen’s Metaphysical Insomnia Jazz (1960), and James Dickey’s The Sheep Child (1966). The paper focuses on the main postmodern concepts, such as Derrida’s deconstruction, Lyotard’s little narratives, and Kristeva’s intertextuality. These techniques, along with the unconventional subject matters, will be studied in relation to the decade’s major countercultural movement, the Hippie Movement, and its ideals. By filling this gap in existing research, this study aims to contribute to theory of postmodernism.

Cyberbullying Victimization Among Generation Alpha Students in International Non-Govtal Schools in Erbil City: The Case of 7th, 8th, and 9th Grades

Goran Hassan Hussein — 2026-01-06

Cyberbullying refers to the use of digital technologies to harass, threaten, humiliate, or target one or more individuals, including sending online and text threats, posting or tweeting abusive, aggressive, and violent messages, as well as sharing personal information such as photos or videos designed to harm or embarrass another person. In this context, Generation Alpha denotes children born in or after 2010, who are considered digital natives, having been born and raised in the age of artificial intelligence and using technology for most aspects of their lives.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the phenomenon of cyberbullying and determine the demographic characteristics of victims among children belonging to Generation Alpha in International Non-Governmental Schools in Erbil City, Iraq. The specific objectives were to assess the prevalence of cyber victimization among Alpha generation students in Erbil's international schools and identify the most common forms of cyberbullying experienced by this generation. The study is a quantitative research with a descriptive method design and uses a social survey method for analyzing the data. Data were collected through an online questionnaire and hard copy questionnaires administered to a cluster sampling of students from international non-governmental schools in Erbil. In conclusion, the findings indicate a notable rate of cybervictimization among Generation Alpha students in Erbil's international schools. Various types of cybervictimization were identified, with cyber exclusion and cyber harassment being the most prevalent forms. Furthermore, significant correlations were found between Generation Alpha's level of internet use, their use of specific social media platforms, and their likelihood of experiencing cyberbullying victimization.