The popularity of social networking sites in the Arab world has resulted in a new writing code, Arabizi, which combines Roman letters and numbers to represent the Arabic language. This new code received vehement criticism from Arabic linguists who argued that Arabizi is detrimental to the Arabic language and Arab identity. Arabizi use, however, has been increasing, especially in Saudi Arabia, a highly conservative and religious society. To address this apparent contradiction, this study investigated the reasons why young Saudi Arabians use Arabizi online and their attitudes towards its use. The research was based on 131 questionnaires distributed on social networking sites, and 20 interviews conducted with Saudi users of Arabizi. The findings suggest participants use Arabizi because (1), it is the language of their peers, (2) it is cool and stylish, (3) they have difficulties with the Arabic language, and (4) Arabizi constitutes a secret code, allowing escape from judgements of the older generation. The study concludes that Arabizi is a strong marker of Arab youth identity and group solidarity.

We discuss possible uncertainties in theoretical predictions for γd → π 0 d observables near threshold due to the use of different elementary γN → πN amplitudes using an approach which is based on time-ordered perturbation theory. Results are presented for unpolarized cross sections and all possible spin asymmetries of differential and total cross sections. Our results indicate that the estimations of the uncertainty on the γd → π 0 d observables show important sensitivity to the modeling of the elementary γN → πN operator. A comparison to presently available experimental data is given. The results presented here are of particular interest for the evaluation of the systematic uncertainties caused by the use of different elementary operators in the analyses of γd → π 0 d measurements to extract information on the free neutron amplitude from deuteron data.