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European Journal of Education Studies

DIFERENCIAS EN RASGOS DE PERSONALIDAD Y DESEMPEÑO NEUROPSICOLÓGICO EN ADULTOS CON DISTINTO ORDEN DE NACIMIENTO

El orden de nacimiento se ha relacionado con diferencias conductuales y fisiológicas entre herman... more El orden de nacimiento se ha relacionado con diferencias conductuales y fisiológicas entre hermanos. Una de los fenómenos más estudiados es su relación con las diferencias en personalidad. Se ha reportado que los primogénitos tienden a ser más reflexivos, rutinarios, obedientes, organizados y perseverantes en sus metas; en contraste, en los hijos últimos predomina una personalidad más espontánea, flexible, impulsiva y desafiante. Sin embargo existen investigaciones que no respaldan estos hallazgos, señalando que los efectos reportados se deben a limitaciones metodológicas en los instrumentos utilizados (cuestionarios autoaplicables). Es necesario evaluar los rasgos de personalidad a través de pruebas menos sujetas al nivel de pretension de los individuos evaluados. En este trabajo se propone evaluar las funciones ejecutivas relacionadas con los rasgos de personalidad descritos. Evaluamos a estudiantes universitarios, 35 primogénitos y 35 hijos últimos, utilizando tareas neuropsicológicas que miden la inhibición conductual y otras funciones ejecutivas asociadas a las características de la personalidad descritas para primogénitos e hijos últimos. Los resultados muestran diferencias significativas; los primogénitos puntuan más alto en áreas como control inhibitorio, y evitación del riesgo pero no tareas de flexibilidad cognitiva ni en habilidades de planificación. Estos hallazgos confirman la presencia de algunos rasgos de personalidad descritos en la literatura del orden de nacimeinto. Sin embargo se recomienda que estudios futuros incluyan otras mediciones neuropsicológicas y psicofisiológicas.

ROLE OF LEADERS RE-DESIGNING SPORTS (INDUSTRY) MANAGEMENT

Sporting functional areas in industry require a multidimensional perspective. Developments and te... more Sporting functional areas in industry require a multidimensional perspective. Developments and technological breakthroughs in today's world's sports organizations have made it imperative to take asymmetric variables into account, along with symmetrical ones. Because the form opponent and struggle will take will mean the absolute defeat of one-dimensional system of thinking. The goal of this research is to identify the role and functions of leaders in the frame of the level of the reach of the sports industry in the world. This research has been examined in accordance with qualitative research methods, phenomenological design and the descriptive approach. Sports management within the sport industry will need leaders who can make the right decisions through an effective judgment process, which requires multidimensional thinking, uncertainty and rapid reaction in unexpected situations. The leadership qualities and reasoning techniques and methods that have to be possessed in order to find solutions to institutional problems have increased in terms of significance by using the reasoning ability of the leading personnel who take roles in all the functional areas and all levels of sports organizations.

INFLUENCE OF TEACHER PEDAGOGICAL COMPETENCIES ON PUPILS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN KENYA

Teachers have important influence on learners’ academic achievement. However, Chepkorio division ... more Teachers have important influence on learners’ academic achievement. However, Chepkorio division in Elgeyo Marakwet County has witnessed average results in academic performance in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination. The study target population comprised of 521 teachers and 47 headteachers from Chepkorio Division. A sample size of 42 headteachers and 226 teachers were selected. The data was analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively using both descriptive and inferential statistics. It was found out that teachers utilised learner-centred approaches more as compared to teacher-centred ones; print media: textbooks and references books were commonly used as opposed to audio and video media in classrooms. The study recommends that; in-service training should be provided to teachers and head teachers should supervise teachers’ utilisation of various instructional resources in classrooms.

EFFECT OF THE USE OF INSTANT MESSAGING APPLICATIONS ON WRITING OF ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE IN HIGHER EDUCATION

The use of Instant Messaging (IM) applications on the mobile phones of the youth has become inext... more The use of Instant Messaging (IM) applications on the mobile phones of the youth has become inextricably attached to their everyday lives. Students on university campuses cannot leave their mobile phones behind for a minute because of the importance they attach to the use of IM applications. This paper investigated how the use of abbreviations in IM affects the writing of Standard English language of learners of English as a second language. A sample of 150 students in their 3rd and 4th years at Kenyatta University was used. The study also interviewed a lecturer on the problem. While students indicated that the IM usage does not do any harm to their formal English writing, a faculty member disagreed. It was recommended that awareness should be created through seminars and lectures to bring the issue to the fore for students. This would help students to be cautious of the use of IM.

EFFECTIVENESS OF EXPERIENTIAL TEACHING STRATEGY ON STUDENTS' ACHIEVEMENT AND SCORING LEVELS IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL PHYSICS

This study investigated the effectiveness of Experiential Teaching Strategy (ETS) on students' ac... more This study investigated the effectiveness of Experiential Teaching Strategy (ETS) on students' achievement and scoring levels in senior secondary school physics. The study adopted the pretest, posttest, non-randomized control group quasi-experimental design. Simple random sampling technique was used to select two schools used for the study. Two research questions were raised to guide the study. Also, two null hypothesis were formulated and tested for acceptance or rejection at 0.05 significance level. The sample used for the study was ninety five (95) senior secondary two (SS2) physics students randomly selected from the two schools in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. The study made use of Physics Achievement Test (PAT) with internal consistency of 0.82 using Kuder Richardson Formular 21. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, t-test and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). Finding of the study showed that Experiential Teaching Strategy (ETS) had significant effect on physics student’s achievement (t-cal = 3.572, p = 0.000) and scoring level (F(2, 38) = 16.025 at p = 0.000) in the concepts of Optics in physics. The findings also showed that the high scorers benefitted most from the treatment followed by the average and low scoring students. The study concluded that teachers should be encouraged to adopt the use of Experiential Teaching Strategy in teaching the concept of Optics in physics in order to improve student’s achievement in the subject.

THE EFFECT OF TEACHING THE SUBJECT “GRANULAR STRUCTURE OF SUBSTANCES” THROUGH A FOUR-STAGE LIFE-BASED TEACHING MODEL ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

The purpose of this study is to find out the effects of teaching the unite “Granular Structure of... more The purpose of this study is to find out the effects of teaching the unite “Granular Structure of Substances” using a four-stage life-based teaching model on students’ academic achievement and the retention of learning. The study employed a pretest-posttest randomized control group design. It surveyed a total of 52 6th-grade students attending a selected middle school. 24 students were included in the experimental group and 28 in the control group. The study used an “Achievement Test on the Granular Structure of Substances” consisting of 31 items as a data collection tool to measure the achievements of the main acquisitions and concepts covered in the unite “Granular Structure of Substances”. Independent samples t-test and dependent samples t-test were used in in the data analysis. The research results indicated that teaching activities prepared using the four-stage life-based learning model concerning the determined subject were influential on students’ academic achievement and the retention of learning. In addition, the four-stage life-based teaching model was found to be more successful in enhancing academic achievement and the retention of learning compared to the traditional approach to teaching.

THE DYNAMICS OF FOOTBALL CLUB MANAGEMENT

After the 1990’s, the changes in the football world had helped to develop and to grow the economy... more After the 1990’s, the changes in the football world had helped to develop and to grow the economy of football rapidly. The development of digital broadcasting led to build a bigger commercial structure. With the effect of those changes, commercial incomes, sponsor revenues, stadium and facilities incomes, and betting incomes have increased over time. This rapid change also brings several problems. UEFA has published UEFA criteria in order to protect football’s sustainability and viability in a long term. Depending on license criteria that is published by UEFA, it has used a road map for football clubs, regarding of corporate structure of UEFA to work, that identified the general rules like in a company structure and management that should be all the necessary factors of production in a systematic and effective way in order to transform football clubs to a corporate organization and make them sustainable. With this out of the common guide explains readers how to run a club in today’s demanding, high competitive and high-tech environment and, establish its brand, and bring in the revenue required to ensure long-term success. Those who manage and lead clubs will find that they can improve a successful business plan of their club mission and have the instruments to develop and sustain organizations that are feasible and financially wealthy and that satisfy the needs of footballer and those who support them.

COMPARING THE EFFECT OF SELF-EFFICACY BELIEFS ON ENGLISH LEARNING WITHIN METHODOLOGICAL PLURALISM

This study attempts to determine the effect of self-efficacy beliefs on English preparatory stude... more This study attempts to determine the effect of self-efficacy beliefs on English preparatory students’ existing capacities via the use of quantitative and qualitative methods within methodological pluralism (a combination of meta-analysis, descriptive survey, and qualitative document analysis plus action research). In the quantitative phase of the research, both meta-analytic method and descriptive method were used. In the meta analytic method, the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis statistical program was used to compute the effect size values of the included studies (N= 12) with the pretest-posttest control group model and carried out between 2000 and 2017 in national and international level. In the descriptive research of the study, the English Self Efficacy Beliefs Scale was used on English preparatory students (N= 117) to determine the effect of self-efficacy beliefs on their language skills. In the qualitative part of the study, data collected both through document analysis (N=7) from the included studies and through semi-structured interviews applied to English preparatory students (N= 58) were analysed via the Maxqda 11 program. The quantitative and quantitative results of the study are consistent and suggest that while self-efficacy beliefs on English learning is high, in terms of using the four skills, listening and speaking are the ones that the participants exhibit the weakest self- efficacy beliefs respectively.

LA EDUCACIÓN AMBIENTAL EN LA FORMACIÓN EN VALORES / ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION FOR VALUES TRAINING

El deterioro, la destrucción, la desaparición de los elementos naturales traen consigo numerosos ... more El deterioro, la destrucción, la desaparición de los elementos naturales traen consigo numerosos problemas, en este sentido, la educación, bajo el objetivo esencial del desarrollo integral, juega un papel fundamental por la determinación que tienen los valores relacionados con el respeto al medio ambiente, cuyo origen se deriva del modelo de interacción y percepción del entorno inmediato. La preocupación por la Educación Ambiental llega a la escuela, como no podía ser de otro modo, como una de las fuentes de valores más importantes con la que poder trabajar en las aulas. El respeto, el cuidado, la valoración, la protección, el interés, por todo aquello que nos rodea, resulta fundamental para la formación y desarrollo integral de los alumnos. La Educación Ambiental toma un cariz especial en el entorno educativo, dada la situación actual de deterioro progresivo del medioambiente, propiciando y favoreciendo el desarrollo de competencias básicas relacionadas con la participación activa y el desarrollo de valores en el alumnado. En España la Educación Ambiental vino de la mano de los Ejes Transversales, de lo que se denominó Educación para…(Perrenoud, 2012), con la Ley de Ordenación General del Sistema Educativo Español (LOGSE, 1990) se trató de impulsar prácticas educativas que abordaran los problemas ambientales de manera interdisciplinar estimulando, con ello, la educación en valores en el alumnado. Aunque se trata de un planteamiento francamente abierto, este trabajo tiene como objetivo justificar la importancia del tratamiento de la Educación Ambiental, como valor educativo, dentro de la formación en valores.

The depletion, destruction and disappearance of natural elements entail numerous problems. In this sense, education, which has the essential aim of holistic development, plays a fundamental role due to the purpose that the values related to respect for the environment, and whose origin is derived from the interaction and perception of the immediate environment model. As was to be expected, the concern for Environmental Education reaches schools as one of the most important sources of moral values with which to work with in the classroom. The respect, the care, the value, the protection, the interest shown towards everything around us, is fundamental for the education and holistic development of students. Environmental Education takes a special turn in an educational setting, given the fact that the situation nowadays is of progressive deterioration of the environment, favours the development of the key competencies related to an active participation and of values in students. In Spain, Environmental Education came hand in hand with cross-cutting themes and was defined as Education for... (Perrenoud, 2012), in the education law called Ley de Ordenación General del Sistema Educativo Español (LOGSE, 1990), which tried to bolster educational practices so as to tackle environmental problems in an interdisciplinary manner, and thus education in values, with students. Even though it is a frankly open approach, the aim of this paper is to justify the importance of teaching Environmental Education as a moral value, within the formation of values in general.

LA ACCIÓN TUTORIAL Y LA ORIENTACIÓN EDUCATIVA EN LA EDUCACIÓN DE ADULTOS; UNA PROPUESTA DE REVISIÓN Y MEJORA DE LAS TUTORÍAS EN RADIO ECCA

En este artículo se presenta una propuesta de innovación en el área de la intervención tutorial y... more En este artículo se presenta una propuesta de innovación en el área de la intervención tutorial y de la orientación educativa en Radio ECCA . Para poder realizar la propuesta de innovación previamente se inició un proceso de análisis dentro de un modelo de proceso y de trabajo colaborativo entre un grupo de profesores-tutores de bachillerato y su alumnado junto a un asesor de la Universidad de La Laguna. A través de esta revisión se pudo extraer una priorización de necesidades a atender para mejorar el sistema de tutorías y de orientación educativa del centro, proponiendo para ello el diseño de unos talleres que conformaron la experiencia preliminar a partir de la cual se propuso un programa de innovación basado en la investigación-acción en torno a la mejora de la acción tutorial en Radio ECCA.

This article presents a proposal for innovation in the area of tutorial intervention and educational guidance in Radio ECCA. In order to carry out the innovation proposal previously, a process of analysis was initiated within a process model and collaborative work between a group of teachers-tutors of the baccalaureate and their students together with an advisor from the University of La Laguna. Through this review, it was possible to extract a prioritization of needs to be addressed to improve the system of tutoring and educational orientation of the center, proposing for it the design of some workshops that formed the preliminary experience from which a program of innovation based on action research around the improvement of the tutorial action in Radio ECCA.

ONE, TWO, SING! HOW PRESCHOOL TEACHERS UTILIZE MUSIC ACTIVITIES IN THE CLASSROOM: A CASE OF KIAMBU COUNTY, KENYA

Research has proven beyond doubt that music activities are an invaluable resource in the learning... more Research has proven beyond doubt that music activities are an invaluable resource in the learning process, especially for young children. However, how these music activities are used in the learning process is not known. The current study set out to document the various ways preschool teachers use music activities in the course of instruction. It was anchored on the theory of Multiple Intelligences by Gardner. The researcher randomly selected one preschool teacher from each of the twelve sub-counties in Kiambu County, Kenya. This made a total of 12 respondents. A researcher constructed observation guide was used to record how preschool teachers used music activities in real preschool classroom situations as they taught. The respondents were later interviewed. This article documents the findings, which revealed very innovative ways of integrating music activities in the course of instruction. It is recommended that teachers reflect and explore the best ways and times to use music activities in the learning process for maximum effect. Music may also be used at other levels of education to improve the learning environment.

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE IMMEDIATE CAUSES OF FIRE DISASTERS IN BOARDING SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN TANZANIA

The purpose of this study was to explore the immediate causes of Fire Disasters (FDs) in Boarding... more The purpose of this study was to explore the immediate causes of Fire Disasters (FDs) in Boarding Secondary Schools (BSSs) in Tanzania. The study adopted a qualitative approach so as to allow the researcher to interact socially with respondents in the construction of meanings related to the immediate causes of FDs in BSSs. The study employed a descriptive case study design so as to enable the researcher collect in-depth information for detailed description of the immediate causes of FDs in BSSs in their natural settings. Purposively sampling was used to select 4 heads of schools, 8 teachers, 3 dormitory patrons, 2 dormitory matrons and 20 students, while convenience sampling was used to select 4 easily accessible BSSs from three easily reachable regions namely; Iringa, Njombe and Mbeya. Data was collected through documentary review and face to face interviews. Results indicated that the immediate causes of FDs in BSSs were: indiscipline and riots among students, the use of kerosene lamps and candles for studying during night and electric faults. The researcher recommends to the government that it should ensure BSSs have reliable electric supply systems so as to eliminate the use candles and kerosene lamps among students.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHERS’ MASTERY OF PRACTICAL GEOGRAPHY SKILLS AND STUDENTS’ ACQUISITION OF THESE SKILLS: THE CASE STUDY OF “A” LEVEL SCHOOLS IN CENTRAL UGANDA

The study aimed at assessing how teachers’ mastery of practical Geography skills influenced A-lev... more The study aimed at assessing how teachers’ mastery of practical Geography skills influenced A-level students’ acquisition of these skills. The sample comprised 744 respondents including 60 teachers and 672 students. Data was analyzed using one–way ANOVA and the t-Test using SSPS data analysis package (16.0 version). Qualitative data was analyzed using descriptions in themes deciphered in the course of the study. Majority of the teachers and students lacked requisite skills to in practical geography. There was a significant relationship between teachers’ mastery of skills and students’ acquisition of these skills. Both teachers and students found difficulties in interpreting photographs and map, and in using field and statistical data. It was concluded that many teachers and students lack sufficient skills in A-level practical geography. There is need to strengthen preservice and in-service teacher training focusing on teaching strategies, mastery of the skills in practical Geography and field work activities.

INVESTIGATION OF HOW TO MOTIVATE LIBYAN EFL STUDENTS TO PLAY AN ACTIVE ROLE IN THEIR LEARNING PROCESS BY USING COMPETITIONS

Traditional learning allows students to study and memorize ineffectively in order to pass the tes... more Traditional learning allows students to study and memorize ineffectively in order to pass the tests. On the other hand, learning, in its real and new context, encourages students to apply information and improve their critical and imaginative thinking, mental creativity, and other different life skills. This study investigates the advantages and the effect of using competitions in EFL context. The participants of this study are 60 sophomores and juniors who were divided into four competing groups. The competition includes three tasks. In order to collect the data, the researchers have observed the students’ performances and attitudes during and after the time of the given task. Furthermore, an open-ended questionnaire was used to investigate students’ thoughts and opinion of the participation in the competition. The results showed that students' participation in the competition enhanced their motivation and awareness of their language use, critical thinking and creative abilities. In conclusion, although this was a small-scale study, the students' participation in the competition shows that the new teaching ideas can be implemented successfully despite of the limited resources and the time pressure as the competition was set at the end of the academic year.

ADVERSITY INTELLIGENCE AS A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR OF TUTOR’S PERFORMANCE

This paper discusses adversity intelligence, tutor’s performance, and the contribution of adversi... more This paper discusses adversity intelligence, tutor’s performance, and the contribution of adversity intelligence towards the performance of tutor in Learning Activity Center (SKB). The discussion in this paper is presented based on the research findings, where the research was done by using correlation research design and all tutors in Learning Activity Center of West Sumatra as the population. From the discussion, it can be concluded that there were many tutors in Learning Activity Center of West Sumatra whose adversity intelligence and performance were still low and the adversity intelligence had a significant contribution towards tutors’ performance.

ANALYSIS OF THE SCIENCE LEARNING OBJECTS OF THE GREEK DIGITAL LEARNING OBJECT REPOSITORY FROM A LEARNING ACTIVITIES PERSPECTIVE

In recent years, learning objects have been playing a crucial role in the teaching process. Howev... more In recent years, learning objects have been playing a crucial role in the teaching process. However, research focused on the analysis of science learning objects is particularly limited. The present study aims to analyze the science learning objects of the Greek Digital Learning Object Repository that are intended for primary school from a learning activities perspective. A total of 178 learning objects were analyzed. The analysis of learning objects from the perspective of the learning activities (cognitive and metacognitive) they activate in the students was carried out in line with the analysis framework of Overman, Vermunt, Meijer, Bulte and Brekelmans (2013). The analysis of learning objects showed that they are dominated by low level cognitive learning activities, while the learning objects that activate high level cognitive learning activities are limited. Finally, no learning objects activating metacognitive learning activities in the students were detected.

MOTIVATIONAL CURRENTS IN LANGUAGE LEARNING FRAMEWORKS FOR FOCUSED INTERVENTIONS BY ZOLTÁN DÖRNYEI, ALASTAIR HENRY AND CHRISTINE MUIR - BOOK REVIEW

In this study, I would like to write the review of the book, entitled ‘Motivational Currents in L... more In this study, I would like to write the review of the book, entitled ‘Motivational Currents in Language Learning- Frameworks for Focused Interventions’. It was written by Zoltán Dörnyei, Alastair Henry and Henry Muir. Zoltán Dörnyei is a professor of Psycholinguistics at the School of English at the University of Nottingham in the UK. Alastair Henry is an associate professor in language education at University West in Sweden. Christine Muir is a postgraduate teaching fellow at the School of English at the University of Nottingham in the UK. This book was first published in 2016 by Routledge. The right of Zoltán Dörnyei, Alastair Henry and Christine Henry to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright. Designs and Patents Act 1988.

THE AUTONOMY APPROACH: LANGUAGE LEARNING IN THE CLASSROOM AND BEYOND BY BRIAN MORRISON AND DIEGO NAVARRO - BOOK REVIEW

In this study, I would like to write the review of the book, entitled ‘The Autonomy Approach’. Th... more In this study, I would like to write the review of the book, entitled ‘The Autonomy Approach’. The authors of this book are Brian Morrison and Diego Navarro. It was published by the Delta Publishing in England in 2014. The International Standard Book Number of this book is 978-1-909783-05-8. It was edited by Mike Burghall and designed by Christine Cox. It was printed in Greece by Bakis Aebe. The introduction part of this book starts on page 3 and the title of that page is From the Authors.

INCREASING READING COMPETENCE THROUGH BRAIN BASED LEARNING STRATEGIES IN ELT CLASSES

Reading competence is one of the main foreign language learning skills in English language teachi... more Reading competence is one of the main foreign language learning skills in English language teaching. All students who learn reading in ELT classes need motivation, and there are different methods of motivating students in reading classes. Brain-compatible learning and teaching is one of the most useful strategies in English language education. This paper deals with brain based learning strategies in reading classes. Brain based learning strategies will be examined and brain based learning theory will be highlighted. Sample activities and exercises will be given, and useful websites and books will be suggested.

THE DETERMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LEVELS OF SPORTSPERSONSHIP AND NARCISSISM OF ATHLETES

This study aims to reveal the relationship between the levels of sportspersonship and narcissism ... more This study aims to reveal the relationship between the levels of sportspersonship and narcissism of athletes. The sample of the study was selected by 33 football players, 36 volleyball players, 40 handball players and 30 basketball players who already ranked among the top three athletes in Turkish Championships. Narcissistic Personality Inventory and Multidimensional Sportspersonship Orientation Scale were used as a collection tool in the study. Portable IBM SPSS Statistics v20 software package was also used to analyze the data. The descriptive analysis was used in the analysis of the data, a correlation analysis was used to determine the severity and direction of the relationship between variables and regression analysis was used to reveal cause-effect relationship between the variables. As a result of the correlation analysis carried out, it was determined that there is a statistically significant negative relationship between an athlete’s narcissism score, and respect for opponents and respect for social convention.

DIFERENCIAS EN RASGOS DE PERSONALIDAD Y DESEMPEÑO NEUROPSICOLÓGICO EN ADULTOS CON DISTINTO ORDEN DE NACIMIENTO

El orden de nacimiento se ha relacionado con diferencias conductuales y fisiológicas entre herman... more El orden de nacimiento se ha relacionado con diferencias conductuales y fisiológicas entre hermanos. Una de los fenómenos más estudiados es su relación con las diferencias en personalidad. Se ha reportado que los primogénitos tienden a ser más reflexivos, rutinarios, obedientes, organizados y perseverantes en sus metas; en contraste, en los hijos últimos predomina una personalidad más espontánea, flexible, impulsiva y desafiante. Sin embargo existen investigaciones que no respaldan estos hallazgos, señalando que los efectos reportados se deben a limitaciones metodológicas en los instrumentos utilizados (cuestionarios autoaplicables). Es necesario evaluar los rasgos de personalidad a través de pruebas menos sujetas al nivel de pretension de los individuos evaluados. En este trabajo se propone evaluar las funciones ejecutivas relacionadas con los rasgos de personalidad descritos. Evaluamos a estudiantes universitarios, 35 primogénitos y 35 hijos últimos, utilizando tareas neuropsicológicas que miden la inhibición conductual y otras funciones ejecutivas asociadas a las características de la personalidad descritas para primogénitos e hijos últimos. Los resultados muestran diferencias significativas; los primogénitos puntuan más alto en áreas como control inhibitorio, y evitación del riesgo pero no tareas de flexibilidad cognitiva ni en habilidades de planificación. Estos hallazgos confirman la presencia de algunos rasgos de personalidad descritos en la literatura del orden de nacimeinto. Sin embargo se recomienda que estudios futuros incluyan otras mediciones neuropsicológicas y psicofisiológicas.

ROLE OF LEADERS RE-DESIGNING SPORTS (INDUSTRY) MANAGEMENT

Sporting functional areas in industry require a multidimensional perspective. Developments and te... more Sporting functional areas in industry require a multidimensional perspective. Developments and technological breakthroughs in today's world's sports organizations have made it imperative to take asymmetric variables into account, along with symmetrical ones. Because the form opponent and struggle will take will mean the absolute defeat of one-dimensional system of thinking. The goal of this research is to identify the role and functions of leaders in the frame of the level of the reach of the sports industry in the world. This research has been examined in accordance with qualitative research methods, phenomenological design and the descriptive approach. Sports management within the sport industry will need leaders who can make the right decisions through an effective judgment process, which requires multidimensional thinking, uncertainty and rapid reaction in unexpected situations. The leadership qualities and reasoning techniques and methods that have to be possessed in order to find solutions to institutional problems have increased in terms of significance by using the reasoning ability of the leading personnel who take roles in all the functional areas and all levels of sports organizations.

INFLUENCE OF TEACHER PEDAGOGICAL COMPETENCIES ON PUPILS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN KENYA

Teachers have important influence on learners’ academic achievement. However, Chepkorio division ... more Teachers have important influence on learners’ academic achievement. However, Chepkorio division in Elgeyo Marakwet County has witnessed average results in academic performance in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination. The study target population comprised of 521 teachers and 47 headteachers from Chepkorio Division. A sample size of 42 headteachers and 226 teachers were selected. The data was analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively using both descriptive and inferential statistics. It was found out that teachers utilised learner-centred approaches more as compared to teacher-centred ones; print media: textbooks and references books were commonly used as opposed to audio and video media in classrooms. The study recommends that; in-service training should be provided to teachers and head teachers should supervise teachers’ utilisation of various instructional resources in classrooms.

EFFECT OF THE USE OF INSTANT MESSAGING APPLICATIONS ON WRITING OF ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE IN HIGHER EDUCATION

The use of Instant Messaging (IM) applications on the mobile phones of the youth has become inext... more The use of Instant Messaging (IM) applications on the mobile phones of the youth has become inextricably attached to their everyday lives. Students on university campuses cannot leave their mobile phones behind for a minute because of the importance they attach to the use of IM applications. This paper investigated how the use of abbreviations in IM affects the writing of Standard English language of learners of English as a second language. A sample of 150 students in their 3rd and 4th years at Kenyatta University was used. The study also interviewed a lecturer on the problem. While students indicated that the IM usage does not do any harm to their formal English writing, a faculty member disagreed. It was recommended that awareness should be created through seminars and lectures to bring the issue to the fore for students. This would help students to be cautious of the use of IM.

EFFECTIVENESS OF EXPERIENTIAL TEACHING STRATEGY ON STUDENTS' ACHIEVEMENT AND SCORING LEVELS IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL PHYSICS

This study investigated the effectiveness of Experiential Teaching Strategy (ETS) on students' ac... more This study investigated the effectiveness of Experiential Teaching Strategy (ETS) on students' achievement and scoring levels in senior secondary school physics. The study adopted the pretest, posttest, non-randomized control group quasi-experimental design. Simple random sampling technique was used to select two schools used for the study. Two research questions were raised to guide the study. Also, two null hypothesis were formulated and tested for acceptance or rejection at 0.05 significance level. The sample used for the study was ninety five (95) senior secondary two (SS2) physics students randomly selected from the two schools in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. The study made use of Physics Achievement Test (PAT) with internal consistency of 0.82 using Kuder Richardson Formular 21. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, t-test and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). Finding of the study showed that Experiential Teaching Strategy (ETS) had significant effect on physics student’s achievement (t-cal = 3.572, p = 0.000) and scoring level (F(2, 38) = 16.025 at p = 0.000) in the concepts of Optics in physics. The findings also showed that the high scorers benefitted most from the treatment followed by the average and low scoring students. The study concluded that teachers should be encouraged to adopt the use of Experiential Teaching Strategy in teaching the concept of Optics in physics in order to improve student’s achievement in the subject.

THE EFFECT OF TEACHING THE SUBJECT “GRANULAR STRUCTURE OF SUBSTANCES” THROUGH A FOUR-STAGE LIFE-BASED TEACHING MODEL ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

The purpose of this study is to find out the effects of teaching the unite “Granular Structure of... more The purpose of this study is to find out the effects of teaching the unite “Granular Structure of Substances” using a four-stage life-based teaching model on students’ academic achievement and the retention of learning. The study employed a pretest-posttest randomized control group design. It surveyed a total of 52 6th-grade students attending a selected middle school. 24 students were included in the experimental group and 28 in the control group. The study used an “Achievement Test on the Granular Structure of Substances” consisting of 31 items as a data collection tool to measure the achievements of the main acquisitions and concepts covered in the unite “Granular Structure of Substances”. Independent samples t-test and dependent samples t-test were used in in the data analysis. The research results indicated that teaching activities prepared using the four-stage life-based learning model concerning the determined subject were influential on students’ academic achievement and the retention of learning. In addition, the four-stage life-based teaching model was found to be more successful in enhancing academic achievement and the retention of learning compared to the traditional approach to teaching.

THE DYNAMICS OF FOOTBALL CLUB MANAGEMENT

After the 1990’s, the changes in the football world had helped to develop and to grow the economy... more After the 1990’s, the changes in the football world had helped to develop and to grow the economy of football rapidly. The development of digital broadcasting led to build a bigger commercial structure. With the effect of those changes, commercial incomes, sponsor revenues, stadium and facilities incomes, and betting incomes have increased over time. This rapid change also brings several problems. UEFA has published UEFA criteria in order to protect football’s sustainability and viability in a long term. Depending on license criteria that is published by UEFA, it has used a road map for football clubs, regarding of corporate structure of UEFA to work, that identified the general rules like in a company structure and management that should be all the necessary factors of production in a systematic and effective way in order to transform football clubs to a corporate organization and make them sustainable. With this out of the common guide explains readers how to run a club in today’s demanding, high competitive and high-tech environment and, establish its brand, and bring in the revenue required to ensure long-term success. Those who manage and lead clubs will find that they can improve a successful business plan of their club mission and have the instruments to develop and sustain organizations that are feasible and financially wealthy and that satisfy the needs of footballer and those who support them.

COMPARING THE EFFECT OF SELF-EFFICACY BELIEFS ON ENGLISH LEARNING WITHIN METHODOLOGICAL PLURALISM

This study attempts to determine the effect of self-efficacy beliefs on English preparatory stude... more This study attempts to determine the effect of self-efficacy beliefs on English preparatory students’ existing capacities via the use of quantitative and qualitative methods within methodological pluralism (a combination of meta-analysis, descriptive survey, and qualitative document analysis plus action research). In the quantitative phase of the research, both meta-analytic method and descriptive method were used. In the meta analytic method, the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis statistical program was used to compute the effect size values of the included studies (N= 12) with the pretest-posttest control group model and carried out between 2000 and 2017 in national and international level. In the descriptive research of the study, the English Self Efficacy Beliefs Scale was used on English preparatory students (N= 117) to determine the effect of self-efficacy beliefs on their language skills. In the qualitative part of the study, data collected both through document analysis (N=7) from the included studies and through semi-structured interviews applied to English preparatory students (N= 58) were analysed via the Maxqda 11 program. The quantitative and quantitative results of the study are consistent and suggest that while self-efficacy beliefs on English learning is high, in terms of using the four skills, listening and speaking are the ones that the participants exhibit the weakest self- efficacy beliefs respectively.

LA EDUCACIÓN AMBIENTAL EN LA FORMACIÓN EN VALORES / ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION FOR VALUES TRAINING

El deterioro, la destrucción, la desaparición de los elementos naturales traen consigo numerosos ... more El deterioro, la destrucción, la desaparición de los elementos naturales traen consigo numerosos problemas, en este sentido, la educación, bajo el objetivo esencial del desarrollo integral, juega un papel fundamental por la determinación que tienen los valores relacionados con el respeto al medio ambiente, cuyo origen se deriva del modelo de interacción y percepción del entorno inmediato. La preocupación por la Educación Ambiental llega a la escuela, como no podía ser de otro modo, como una de las fuentes de valores más importantes con la que poder trabajar en las aulas. El respeto, el cuidado, la valoración, la protección, el interés, por todo aquello que nos rodea, resulta fundamental para la formación y desarrollo integral de los alumnos. La Educación Ambiental toma un cariz especial en el entorno educativo, dada la situación actual de deterioro progresivo del medioambiente, propiciando y favoreciendo el desarrollo de competencias básicas relacionadas con la participación activa y el desarrollo de valores en el alumnado. En España la Educación Ambiental vino de la mano de los Ejes Transversales, de lo que se denominó Educación para…(Perrenoud, 2012), con la Ley de Ordenación General del Sistema Educativo Español (LOGSE, 1990) se trató de impulsar prácticas educativas que abordaran los problemas ambientales de manera interdisciplinar estimulando, con ello, la educación en valores en el alumnado. Aunque se trata de un planteamiento francamente abierto, este trabajo tiene como objetivo justificar la importancia del tratamiento de la Educación Ambiental, como valor educativo, dentro de la formación en valores.

The depletion, destruction and disappearance of natural elements entail numerous problems. In this sense, education, which has the essential aim of holistic development, plays a fundamental role due to the purpose that the values related to respect for the environment, and whose origin is derived from the interaction and perception of the immediate environment model. As was to be expected, the concern for Environmental Education reaches schools as one of the most important sources of moral values with which to work with in the classroom. The respect, the care, the value, the protection, the interest shown towards everything around us, is fundamental for the education and holistic development of students. Environmental Education takes a special turn in an educational setting, given the fact that the situation nowadays is of progressive deterioration of the environment, favours the development of the key competencies related to an active participation and of values in students. In Spain, Environmental Education came hand in hand with cross-cutting themes and was defined as Education for... (Perrenoud, 2012), in the education law called Ley de Ordenación General del Sistema Educativo Español (LOGSE, 1990), which tried to bolster educational practices so as to tackle environmental problems in an interdisciplinary manner, and thus education in values, with students. Even though it is a frankly open approach, the aim of this paper is to justify the importance of teaching Environmental Education as a moral value, within the formation of values in general.

LA ACCIÓN TUTORIAL Y LA ORIENTACIÓN EDUCATIVA EN LA EDUCACIÓN DE ADULTOS; UNA PROPUESTA DE REVISIÓN Y MEJORA DE LAS TUTORÍAS EN RADIO ECCA

En este artículo se presenta una propuesta de innovación en el área de la intervención tutorial y... more En este artículo se presenta una propuesta de innovación en el área de la intervención tutorial y de la orientación educativa en Radio ECCA . Para poder realizar la propuesta de innovación previamente se inició un proceso de análisis dentro de un modelo de proceso y de trabajo colaborativo entre un grupo de profesores-tutores de bachillerato y su alumnado junto a un asesor de la Universidad de La Laguna. A través de esta revisión se pudo extraer una priorización de necesidades a atender para mejorar el sistema de tutorías y de orientación educativa del centro, proponiendo para ello el diseño de unos talleres que conformaron la experiencia preliminar a partir de la cual se propuso un programa de innovación basado en la investigación-acción en torno a la mejora de la acción tutorial en Radio ECCA.

This article presents a proposal for innovation in the area of tutorial intervention and educational guidance in Radio ECCA. In order to carry out the innovation proposal previously, a process of analysis was initiated within a process model and collaborative work between a group of teachers-tutors of the baccalaureate and their students together with an advisor from the University of La Laguna. Through this review, it was possible to extract a prioritization of needs to be addressed to improve the system of tutoring and educational orientation of the center, proposing for it the design of some workshops that formed the preliminary experience from which a program of innovation based on action research around the improvement of the tutorial action in Radio ECCA.

ONE, TWO, SING! HOW PRESCHOOL TEACHERS UTILIZE MUSIC ACTIVITIES IN THE CLASSROOM: A CASE OF KIAMBU COUNTY, KENYA

Research has proven beyond doubt that music activities are an invaluable resource in the learning... more Research has proven beyond doubt that music activities are an invaluable resource in the learning process, especially for young children. However, how these music activities are used in the learning process is not known. The current study set out to document the various ways preschool teachers use music activities in the course of instruction. It was anchored on the theory of Multiple Intelligences by Gardner. The researcher randomly selected one preschool teacher from each of the twelve sub-counties in Kiambu County, Kenya. This made a total of 12 respondents. A researcher constructed observation guide was used to record how preschool teachers used music activities in real preschool classroom situations as they taught. The respondents were later interviewed. This article documents the findings, which revealed very innovative ways of integrating music activities in the course of instruction. It is recommended that teachers reflect and explore the best ways and times to use music activities in the learning process for maximum effect. Music may also be used at other levels of education to improve the learning environment.

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE IMMEDIATE CAUSES OF FIRE DISASTERS IN BOARDING SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN TANZANIA

The purpose of this study was to explore the immediate causes of Fire Disasters (FDs) in Boarding... more The purpose of this study was to explore the immediate causes of Fire Disasters (FDs) in Boarding Secondary Schools (BSSs) in Tanzania. The study adopted a qualitative approach so as to allow the researcher to interact socially with respondents in the construction of meanings related to the immediate causes of FDs in BSSs. The study employed a descriptive case study design so as to enable the researcher collect in-depth information for detailed description of the immediate causes of FDs in BSSs in their natural settings. Purposively sampling was used to select 4 heads of schools, 8 teachers, 3 dormitory patrons, 2 dormitory matrons and 20 students, while convenience sampling was used to select 4 easily accessible BSSs from three easily reachable regions namely; Iringa, Njombe and Mbeya. Data was collected through documentary review and face to face interviews. Results indicated that the immediate causes of FDs in BSSs were: indiscipline and riots among students, the use of kerosene lamps and candles for studying during night and electric faults. The researcher recommends to the government that it should ensure BSSs have reliable electric supply systems so as to eliminate the use candles and kerosene lamps among students.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHERS’ MASTERY OF PRACTICAL GEOGRAPHY SKILLS AND STUDENTS’ ACQUISITION OF THESE SKILLS: THE CASE STUDY OF “A” LEVEL SCHOOLS IN CENTRAL UGANDA

The study aimed at assessing how teachers’ mastery of practical Geography skills influenced A-lev... more The study aimed at assessing how teachers’ mastery of practical Geography skills influenced A-level students’ acquisition of these skills. The sample comprised 744 respondents including 60 teachers and 672 students. Data was analyzed using one–way ANOVA and the t-Test using SSPS data analysis package (16.0 version). Qualitative data was analyzed using descriptions in themes deciphered in the course of the study. Majority of the teachers and students lacked requisite skills to in practical geography. There was a significant relationship between teachers’ mastery of skills and students’ acquisition of these skills. Both teachers and students found difficulties in interpreting photographs and map, and in using field and statistical data. It was concluded that many teachers and students lack sufficient skills in A-level practical geography. There is need to strengthen preservice and in-service teacher training focusing on teaching strategies, mastery of the skills in practical Geography and field work activities.

INVESTIGATION OF HOW TO MOTIVATE LIBYAN EFL STUDENTS TO PLAY AN ACTIVE ROLE IN THEIR LEARNING PROCESS BY USING COMPETITIONS

Traditional learning allows students to study and memorize ineffectively in order to pass the tes... more Traditional learning allows students to study and memorize ineffectively in order to pass the tests. On the other hand, learning, in its real and new context, encourages students to apply information and improve their critical and imaginative thinking, mental creativity, and other different life skills. This study investigates the advantages and the effect of using competitions in EFL context. The participants of this study are 60 sophomores and juniors who were divided into four competing groups. The competition includes three tasks. In order to collect the data, the researchers have observed the students’ performances and attitudes during and after the time of the given task. Furthermore, an open-ended questionnaire was used to investigate students’ thoughts and opinion of the participation in the competition. The results showed that students' participation in the competition enhanced their motivation and awareness of their language use, critical thinking and creative abilities. In conclusion, although this was a small-scale study, the students' participation in the competition shows that the new teaching ideas can be implemented successfully despite of the limited resources and the time pressure as the competition was set at the end of the academic year.

ADVERSITY INTELLIGENCE AS A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR OF TUTOR’S PERFORMANCE

This paper discusses adversity intelligence, tutor’s performance, and the contribution of adversi... more This paper discusses adversity intelligence, tutor’s performance, and the contribution of adversity intelligence towards the performance of tutor in Learning Activity Center (SKB). The discussion in this paper is presented based on the research findings, where the research was done by using correlation research design and all tutors in Learning Activity Center of West Sumatra as the population. From the discussion, it can be concluded that there were many tutors in Learning Activity Center of West Sumatra whose adversity intelligence and performance were still low and the adversity intelligence had a significant contribution towards tutors’ performance.

ANALYSIS OF THE SCIENCE LEARNING OBJECTS OF THE GREEK DIGITAL LEARNING OBJECT REPOSITORY FROM A LEARNING ACTIVITIES PERSPECTIVE

In recent years, learning objects have been playing a crucial role in the teaching process. Howev... more In recent years, learning objects have been playing a crucial role in the teaching process. However, research focused on the analysis of science learning objects is particularly limited. The present study aims to analyze the science learning objects of the Greek Digital Learning Object Repository that are intended for primary school from a learning activities perspective. A total of 178 learning objects were analyzed. The analysis of learning objects from the perspective of the learning activities (cognitive and metacognitive) they activate in the students was carried out in line with the analysis framework of Overman, Vermunt, Meijer, Bulte and Brekelmans (2013). The analysis of learning objects showed that they are dominated by low level cognitive learning activities, while the learning objects that activate high level cognitive learning activities are limited. Finally, no learning objects activating metacognitive learning activities in the students were detected.

MOTIVATIONAL CURRENTS IN LANGUAGE LEARNING FRAMEWORKS FOR FOCUSED INTERVENTIONS BY ZOLTÁN DÖRNYEI, ALASTAIR HENRY AND CHRISTINE MUIR - BOOK REVIEW

In this study, I would like to write the review of the book, entitled ‘Motivational Currents in L... more In this study, I would like to write the review of the book, entitled ‘Motivational Currents in Language Learning- Frameworks for Focused Interventions’. It was written by Zoltán Dörnyei, Alastair Henry and Henry Muir. Zoltán Dörnyei is a professor of Psycholinguistics at the School of English at the University of Nottingham in the UK. Alastair Henry is an associate professor in language education at University West in Sweden. Christine Muir is a postgraduate teaching fellow at the School of English at the University of Nottingham in the UK. This book was first published in 2016 by Routledge. The right of Zoltán Dörnyei, Alastair Henry and Christine Henry to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright. Designs and Patents Act 1988.

THE AUTONOMY APPROACH: LANGUAGE LEARNING IN THE CLASSROOM AND BEYOND BY BRIAN MORRISON AND DIEGO NAVARRO - BOOK REVIEW

In this study, I would like to write the review of the book, entitled ‘The Autonomy Approach’. Th... more In this study, I would like to write the review of the book, entitled ‘The Autonomy Approach’. The authors of this book are Brian Morrison and Diego Navarro. It was published by the Delta Publishing in England in 2014. The International Standard Book Number of this book is 978-1-909783-05-8. It was edited by Mike Burghall and designed by Christine Cox. It was printed in Greece by Bakis Aebe. The introduction part of this book starts on page 3 and the title of that page is From the Authors.

INCREASING READING COMPETENCE THROUGH BRAIN BASED LEARNING STRATEGIES IN ELT CLASSES

Reading competence is one of the main foreign language learning skills in English language teachi... more Reading competence is one of the main foreign language learning skills in English language teaching. All students who learn reading in ELT classes need motivation, and there are different methods of motivating students in reading classes. Brain-compatible learning and teaching is one of the most useful strategies in English language education. This paper deals with brain based learning strategies in reading classes. Brain based learning strategies will be examined and brain based learning theory will be highlighted. Sample activities and exercises will be given, and useful websites and books will be suggested.

THE DETERMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LEVELS OF SPORTSPERSONSHIP AND NARCISSISM OF ATHLETES

This study aims to reveal the relationship between the levels of sportspersonship and narcissism ... more This study aims to reveal the relationship between the levels of sportspersonship and narcissism of athletes. The sample of the study was selected by 33 football players, 36 volleyball players, 40 handball players and 30 basketball players who already ranked among the top three athletes in Turkish Championships. Narcissistic Personality Inventory and Multidimensional Sportspersonship Orientation Scale were used as a collection tool in the study. Portable IBM SPSS Statistics v20 software package was also used to analyze the data. The descriptive analysis was used in the analysis of the data, a correlation analysis was used to determine the severity and direction of the relationship between variables and regression analysis was used to reveal cause-effect relationship between the variables. As a result of the correlation analysis carried out, it was determined that there is a statistically significant negative relationship between an athlete’s narcissism score, and respect for opponents and respect for social convention.

MANAGEMENT OF BLOOD CHOLESTEROL LEVEL OF OBESE MALE COLLEGE STUDENTS OF DISTRICT BUDGAM, JAMMU AND KASHMIR, INDIA BY SOME YOGASANA AND SOME SELECTED EXERCISE WITH DIET REGULATIONS

In the present study, an attempt has been made to find out the management of blood cholesterol le... more In the present study, an attempt has been made to find out the management of blood cholesterol level of obese male college students by some yogasana and some selected exercises with diet regulations. Randomly selected 40 obese college students were divided into four groups consisting of 10 subjects each. Experiment group I underwent yogic practice with diet regulation, experiment group II underwent exercise (Aerobics) with diet regulation, Experiment group III underwent combined exercise with diet regulations and controlled was not subjected to any experiment. Before the treatment, the subjects were tested of their blood cholesterol level, total cholesterol (TC), low Density Lipoproteins, (LDH), High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) which formed pre test scores. And after the experiment period of 10 weeks, the subjects were again assured of their cholesterol level which formed the final score. Experiment protocol significantly altered cholesterol levels, total cholesterol, low Density Lipoproteins, High Density Lipoproteins. As the obtained f values were on adjusted mean 164.90, 124.48 and 10.68 were greater than the required F table value to be significant at 0.05 level. Comparison among treatment groups showed that yogasana with diet regulation and combined groups with diet regulations were better than exercise (aerobics) with diet regulation in reducing total cholesterol and low density lipoproteins. As for high density lipoproteins, the result proved that the combined group was better than other two treatment group in increasing high density lipoprotein. Finding of this study was further proved that while combining yogasana and exercise with diet regulations significantly contributes to alter protocol of college male students. It was concluded that the combined protocol namely exercises, yogic practice with diet regulations was found to be better than exercise with diet regulations in managing cholesterol of obese among male college students.

EFFECT ON FLEXIBILITY OF VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS BY SOME SELECTED EXERCISES

The aim of the study was to determine the effect on flexibility of volleyball players by some sel... more The aim of the study was to determine the effect on flexibility of volleyball players by some selected exercises. For this purpose 20 male volley ball players (10 for control group and 10 for experimental group) of Government Boys Higher secondary school Charirshareef Budgam were selected randomly as subject and the age was ranging from 17 to 21 years. Exercises were restricted to Trunk twisting, Rope skipping, Shoulder and chest stretch, Alternative toe touch zigzag Running, Hip stretch and Hamstring stretch. Flexibility was restricted to Trunk and Shoulder flexibility. The data were collected before the start of 8 weeks selected exercise programme (pre test) and immediately after the completion of 8 weeks selected exercise programme (post test) by sit and reach test for the trunk flexibility and shoulder elevation test by using yard stick and ruler and score was recorded in centimeters. To determine the training effect on flexibility Independent and Dependent t-test statistical technique were employed. The level of significance was set at 0.05 to check the significant mean difference. The finding of statistical analysis revealed that there were significant difference between the mean of pre and post test of experimental group and post test of control and experiment group. Experimental group significantly improved the selected flexibility because of systematic training programme.

A SURVEY OF INJURIES TO THE SKIERS (SKI PLAYERS) AT GULMARG, JAMMU AND KASHMIR, INDIA) AT GULMARG, JAMMU AND KASHMIR, INDIA

The present study was conducted with purpose to survey the related injuries in university skiers ... more The present study was conducted with purpose to survey the related injuries in university skiers (ski players) at Gulmarg. These injured players were selected as a subject for the present study. Their age was ranging from 19 to 25 years. After screening of 63 questionnaires, only 48 Skiers (ski players) were included in the study. Questionnaire prepared by Cromwell F. J. Walsh Gromely for the elite Gaelic footballers (2000) were develop by researcher and utilized for the present study. Mean, standard deviation and percentages were used to identify the nature, location and the cause of the injury in university skiers (ski players). The study concluded that most of the injuries in the university skiers (ski players). Study concluded that most of the injuries sustained to the lower limb (65.27%), the mostly commonly injured anatomical site was knee (26.38%), and the ankle (21.42%). Upper limb injuries were relatively low (36.10%) of which the shoulders injuries were predominant (19.64%). Regarding the nature of injuries, ligament sprain are the most common injuries in the skiers (ski players). Regarding treatment of injuries, doctors and physiotherapist are the most common attention providers of skiers (ski players).

NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES AND THE EMERGING SOCIAL TECHNICAL NETWORK

World history has been characterized by periods such as Feudalism, Industrialism and Capitalism t... more World history has been characterized by periods such as Feudalism, Industrialism and Capitalism that have served social scientists as tools to analyse and identify particular societies. Similarly, the characteristic and defining feature of the contemporary society is Information and Communicating Technology (ICT). Resultant to the ICT explosion and application there has been radical transformation in education, corporate sector, Government sector and most significantly, democracy is being reassessed. This paper attempts to gaze into the social impacts of new media technologies assuming that in this ICT dominant world human and social contexts of technology are undermined with an assumption that ICT and its applications have the same meaning and consequences for all. But recognizing the fact that social context plays a significant role in influencing ICT and its applications in diverse ways, an attempt is also made to highlight the reciprocal relationship between social context and information technology.

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CARDIOVASCULAR RESPONSES ON VARIOUS SURFACES

Life is sustained through physical activity. The Nature scope and worth of physical activity requ... more Life is sustained through physical activity. The Nature scope and worth of physical activity require study from the various scientific disciplines, in order to ensure proper use of activity for favorable development. Running is the supreme cardiovascular conditioning activity. It is the standard against which all other exercises and programmes can be measured, running stresses the heart and lungs more than almost any other forms of physical activity, while running, the heart rate rise and remain elevated, rather than fluctuating up and down as it does in other games. Therefore, realizing that when the running will be done on different surfaces, it will call for different cardiovascular responses. The study of this aspects will highlight to coaches and physical education teachers to prepare conditioning programme according the stress particular surface puts on an individual.

ORGANIZING BIORHYTHM CYCLES AND THEIR IMPORTANCE TO ATHLETES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF MODERN SPORTS TRAINING

The ever-increasing athletic performances in speed, strength and skills used in sports performanc... more The ever-increasing athletic performances in speed, strength and skills used in sports performance around the world has made the athlete more stressful to achieve their own objectives. This stress and pressure on the athlete's body will certainly result in injuries. The research is meant to identify the Biorhythm, its different Cycles and how to organize and perceive their impact on athletes.

THE IMPACT OF PROPOSED EXERCISES IN THE METHOD OF PLYOMETRIC TRAINING IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF EXPLOSIVE POWER AND SOME BASIC SKILLS OF HANDBALL CATEGORY (U17)

This study aimed to investigate the impact of plyometric training method on developing the explos... more This study aimed to investigate the impact of plyometric training method on developing the explosive power and some basic skills in handball, by performing an experimental study where researchers chose one group pattern. This study was fulfilled on a sample of 12 players of Wafaa club in Ainwasara that belongs to Handball association of wilaya of Blida. After applying the suggested exercises, both pre-test results and post-test results of the explosive power (for upper and lower limbs) and some basic skills (performing the skills of aiming from jumping, passing and receiving the ball, dribble) were collected. The researchers treated these results statistically using arithmetic average, standard deviation, Pearson correlation coefficient, T test, therefore, they came to the fact that there are significant statistical significance for dimensional tests in the physical tests (the explosive power of the arms, the explosive power of the legs), and there are also differences of statistical significance for dimensional test in skills tests (aiming from jumping, passing and receiving the ball, dribble). Basing on that, the researchers recommend the necessity of encouraging the coaches on using the plyometric training method due to its big importance in developing the physical and skills sides and avoiding the traditional followed methods. In addition, they also emphasize the necessity of linking between some kinetic and physical abilities and also the performance of the different skills in handball as well as adopting some plyometric training exercises in order to develop the explosives power which is very imperative for many skills.

FREQUENCY AND CAUSES OF INJURIES IN WOMEN ATHLETES OF BASKETBALL B LEAGUE OF TURKEY

Sports are a social activity that has existed throughout human history. Basketball, as a sports b... more Sports are a social activity that has existed throughout human history. Basketball, as a sports branch, has been in continuous development since the first day it emerged. Basketball is one of the most popular hall sports played all over the world. Anyone who wants to play basketball must have certain characteristics, one of the most important of which is height.

GOAL COMMITMENT AND PSYCHOLOGICAL RESILIENCE AMONG CYCLING ATHLETES

Cycling sport is one of the sports that require physical and psychological resilience. It is thou... more Cycling sport is one of the sports that require physical and psychological resilience. It is thought that athletes should show physical and psychological resilience to reach specific target, find solution for unexpected, sudden problems, be patient and be determined in this sport that requires physical and psychological resilience that is done under extreme conditions. It is important to examine goal commitment and psychological resilience of cycling athletes for performance improvement, success motivation and contribution to the studies in this field. Purpose: This study aimed to examine goal commitment and psychological resilience of elite cycling athletes. 94 elite bicycle athletes participating in national and international races between the ages of 18 and 27 participated voluntarily. Resilience Scale for Adults, developed by Friborg et al. (2003), was used to determine psychological resilience of athletes. Goal Commitment Scale, developed by Hollenbeck, Williams and Klein (1989) and adapted to Turkish by Şenel and Yıldız (2016), was used to determine goal commitment. Scale reliability coefficient was found to be 0.913. In conclusion, no significant differences were found between sex and psychological resilience and goal commitment. But, significant differences were found between sports ages and subscales of self-perception, perception of future, and structural type of Resilience Scale for Adults. Significant difference was found between sports ages and goal commitment. As sports age increase, so did goal commitment. There was no significant correlation between goal commitment and psychological resilience. Goal commitment and psychological resilience training is recommended for different sports branches requiring physical and psychological resilience.

COMPARISON OF ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS AMONG THE DIFFERENT GROUPS OF THE THROWERS

The present study was conducted to evaluate and compare the anthropometric measurements among the... more The present study was conducted to evaluate and compare the anthropometric measurements among the different groups of throwers. 40 (10 javelin throwers, 10 discus throwers, 10 hammer throwers, 10 shot putters) male university level throwers were assessed during the All India Inter University Athletic Meet. The age of athletes was between 18 to 25 years. All the athletes were measured for height, weight, lengths of body parts, diameters of body parts and circumferences of body parts. One-way ANOVA revealed that the significant differences were reported in height (p<0.05), weight (p<0.05), length measurements (p<0.05), diameters of body parts (p<0.05) and circumferences of the body parts (p<0.05) among the different groups of throwers. Post-hoc analysis revealed that discus throwers were the tallest among the throwers. In the same way, the discus throwers had highest diameters among different groups of throwers. The shot putters had highest weight and circumferences among the different groups of throwers.

A PROPOSED SET OF CORRECTIVE EXERCISES ACCORDING TO SOME KINEMATICS VARIABLES AND THEIR EFFECT ON THE ACCURACY OF THE PERFORMANCE OF THE FIELD DEFENSE SKILL IN VOLLEYBALL

The study aims to identify the values of Certain kinematics variables to field defends skill in v... more The study aims to identify the values of Certain kinematics variables to field defends skill in volleyball with players of the clubs of section II 'nobles' and the discovery of mechanical errors that have an impact on the skill performance when volleyball players’ accuracy, identify the percentage contribution of some kinematics variables in result skill performance, indicate that the kinematics variables significant impact on the development of corrective exercises own skill, and finally to show the effectiveness of the exercise corrective built according kinematics variables extracted from videos analysis of performance of the players and proposed to correct skill performance of the players in clubs of section II ''nobles''.
In order to further study, we used the experimental method on a sample deliberate volleyball clubs activist in the second national department (regional center) volleyball, and was the 30 players, a control group of 15 Players and an experimental group of 15 club players (NAHD), (NRBH), (ASJK). Using the field observation, videography, Anthropometric measurements, field defends skill testing, kinematic analysis of videos. The researchers found that corrective exercises programmed her highly effective in developing and improving skill performance of the players of clubs in section II ''nobles'', kinematics analysis helps to detect and determine the kinetic errors in performance, kinematics analysis helps build corrective exercises necessary to amend the players mistakes. From all this, the researchers concluded that kinematics variables and because of its importance is an important factor that should be resorted to in order to develop and improve the performance of the players in the field defends skill in volleyball. Therefore, the researchers suggest the need to be a coach familiar with the principles of bio-mechanics and familiar techniques of analysis and variables kinematics skill, help of the principles of bio-mechanics and the results of the kinematic analysis to propose practical exercises and corrective exercises for skills errors.

THE ELABORATION OF THE MENTAL TRAINING PROGRAM AND EVALUATION OF ITS EFFECTS ON THE LEARNING OF YOUNG FOOTBALLERS

The purpose of this study is to know that the mental training through imagery allows improving th... more The purpose of this study is to know that the mental training through imagery allows improving the learning of individual defensive tactical principles in young footballers, and validate the program by experimental procedures that is to say, to study its effects on learning in young footballers. Twelve national footballers, aged 12 ± 1year participated in the experiment. Among this population, two groups including a group of physical training, technical, tactical (EPTT) and a group of physical training, technical, tactical and mental (EPTTM) were formed. The group (EPTTM) was subjected to 32 mental training sessions of 20 minutes spread over 4 months with two sessions per week. The compendium of measures was made by the experimenter. These measures consisted of all ratings assigned by judges; experts obtained by the players during the various competitions, tactical execution notes were identified and recorded in the form of penalty. The average individual tactical principles (marking, pressing, cover, superiority), footballers Group (EPTTM) increased significantly mannered penalty charges reduce the pre-test to post-test (1.93point vs 0.76 point p <0.05) ., while the players of the group (EPTT) increased insignificantly penalty charges decrease from pre-test to post-test (vs 1.66 1.86point point p> 0.05). The homogeneity of the groups (EPTTM) and (EPTT) during the pre-test, allows to suggest that mental training produces a better learning of the principles of individual tactics. This assessment allowed us to test the hypothesis raised. Indeed, the mental training associated with physical training, technical, tactical causes an improved learning of individual defense principles.

TURKEY IN 1968 MEXICO CITY OLYMPIC GAMES

State of the Republic of Turkey the first time in 1924 in Paris participated in Olympiads, which ... more State of the Republic of Turkey the first time in 1924 in Paris participated in Olympiads, which is the most important of international sport organizations. For sports organization of young Republic of Turkey has been new, Turkish sportsmen couldn’t show any success in these Olympic Games. They gained an experience by participating in such international organization. Later on, Turkey participated in 1928 Amsterdam, 1936 Berlin, 1948 London, 1952 Helsinki, 1956 Melbourne, 1960 Rome and 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games [1]. Turkey participated in 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games with group of 49 people, 29 of which were sportsmen in such branches as athletics, boxing, wrestling and shooting [2]. Due to high altitude of the Mexico in addition to problems came up between the President of Turkish Wrestling Federation of that period and Turkish national wrestlers before 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games, Turkey contented itself with championship of Mahmut Atalay and Ahmet Ayık in freestyle wrestling and with fourth place of İsmail Akçay in athletics marathon branch.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SOURCES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS AND THE LEVEL OF SELF-ESTEEM AMONG FOOTBALL REFEREES

This survey aims at revealing the relationship of sources of psychological stress to the level of... more This survey aims at revealing the relationship of sources of psychological stress to the level of self-esteem. It focused mainly on the following questions:
• Is there a correlation between fear of physical abuse and self-esteem?
• Is there a correlation between rewards, incentives, and self-esteem?
• Is there a correlation between conflict of social dimension and level of self-esteem?
• Is there a correlation between media dimension and level of self-esteem?
• Is there a correlation between physical condition, time and level of self-esteem?
• Is there a correlation between fear of failure and level of self-esteem?
• Is there a correlation between personal conflict and level of self-esteem?
• Is there a correlation between media dimension and level of self-esteem?
The survey suggested a number of hypotheses based on the existence of a correlation between each of the dimensions of psychological stress mentioned above and the level of self-esteem. The study was based on the descriptive correlative approach as it dealt with the relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variables. The sample of the study consisted of elite referees of the professional football division, which was chosen in a deliberate manner, and reached 80 referees. The following tools have been used: the self-assessment scale prepared by Hussein Abdel Aziz Al-Derini and Mohamad Ahmad Oussama, Abdelwahab Mohamad Kamil which has been applied and adapted by Professor Bachir Mamria on the Algerian environment, psychological sources of stress measure and initial information form. These tools were applied after estimating the psychometric properties that confirmed their suitability for use with the basic study sample. The following statistical methods have been relied on, Pearson correlation coefficient using the statistical software version 20 SPSS for statistical significance.
The study comes out with the following results:
• There is a correlation between fear of physical abuse and self-esteem.
• There is a correlation between rewards, incentives, and self-esteem.
• There is a correlation between conflict of social dimension and level of self-esteem.
• There is a correlation between media dimension and level of self-esteem.
• There is a correlation between physical condition, time and level of self-esteem.
• There is a correlation between fear of failure and level of self-esteem.
• There is a correlation between personal conflict and level of self-esteem.
• There is a correlation between media dimension and level of self-esteem.
The study outcomes have been discussed in light of the theoretical framework and the results of previous studies and concluded with a set of proposals.

ATTITUDES OF SPORTS EMPLOYEES RELATED TO GENDER ROLES

Gender is an ongoing classification of an individual starting from infancy to adulthood. In the T... more Gender is an ongoing classification of an individual starting from infancy to adulthood. In the Turkish society, the roles of women and men are clearly distinguished by cultural, tradition, custom, beliefs, educational, income and family norms. It is thought that girls in Turkish society can overcome restrictive over-traditionalist attitudes by doing sports. One of the relatively favorable environments for equality between men and women in social life is the sports environment. It is important that the participation of the athletes, coaches, managers and sports specialists in sport environments as well as men and women whose gender role attitudes are favored by all gender role attitudes of all sports employees, will increase the number of sports people in the society as well as increase the number of physically and psychologically healthy individuals, It is thought. The aim of the study based on this idea is to examine the attitudes of sports employees regarding gender roles. The average age of the survey is 30.45 ± 8.41 and 244 sportsmen working in Antalya. Muğla and Bitlis Youth Services and Sports Provincial Directorate constitute the sportsmen. “Attitude Scale Related to Gender Roles” developed by Zeyneloglu and Terzioğlu (2011) was applied to determine the gender perception of sports employees participating in the survey. In the evaluation of data, SPSS 23.0 statistical package program was used frequency analysis Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro Wilk normality test Mann-Whitney U test Kruskal Wallis test Chi-square test Pearson correlation test statistic was used. As a result, gender role attitudes of sports employees were found to be significantly different between gender, education, mother, and father education variables. It is noteworthy that the traditional attitudes of female sports employees and the equality attitudes of male sports employees are high. The low level of gender role in marriage according to the level of education of the mother shows that the employees' mothers have traditional holdings in marriage. The high level of egalitarian gender role attitudes in sports employees according to their educational status indicates that they have a traditionalist position in the egalitarian gender role.

UNBUNDLING THE KENYAN SPORTS ACT: ROLE, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE KENYAN SPORTS ACT 2013

The Kenya National Assembly enacted the Sports Act 2013 after many years of suggestions, delibera... more The Kenya National Assembly enacted the Sports Act 2013 after many years of suggestions, deliberations and proposals over the making of such a law. The Sports legislation is an Act of Parliament to harness sports for development, encourage and promote drug-free sports and recreation, to provide for the establishment of sports institutions, facilities, administration and management of sports in the country, and for connected purposes. This law has come up with various institutions namely Sports Kenya, National Sports Fund and Kenya Academy of Sports. It also provides for Financial Provisions, procedures for registration and regulation of sports and licensing, arbitration of Sports disputes and miscellaneous provisions. Furthermore, the Act has four schedules namely sports facilities to which the Act applies, matters to be provided for in the constitutions of sports Organizations, the conduct of business and affairs of the board of the authority, board of trustees and council of the institute and transitional provisions. Although the Act is very progressive in the domain of sports in Kenya and the entire East African region because it legitimizes institutions, provide for arbitration mechanisms and recognize research as a core aspect in sports, it has introduced a number of challenges to the sports fraternity. Among these, include aligning the constitutions of various Sports associations to the Act and undergoing the new vigorous process of registering, regulating and licensing sports agencies. Sports professionals therefore need to update with the new Sports Act to retain relevance in their profession and warrant them professional growth. Therefore, it was deemed relevant to enlighten the practitioners of these new developments and seek for ways to upgrade their administrative strength and correct any inconsistency in this law through amendments to the Act.

THE RELATION BETWEEN SELF-ESTEEM AND JOB SATISFACTION OF PROVINCIAL DIRECTORS OF YOUTH SERVICES AND SPORTS

While the purpose of this research is to investigate the relation between the job satisfaction an... more While the purpose of this research is to investigate the relation between the job satisfaction and self-esteem of provincial directors of youth and sports, their self-esteem and job satisfaction has also been investigated with regard to some demographic variables. As data collection tools, “Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory”, “Minnesota Job Satisfaction Scale” and “Demographic Information Form” developed by Stanley Coopersmith have been used. The statistics of Kruskal Wallis, Mann Whitney U and Correlation Analysis have been used in the research. Following the statistics performed, a significant difference hasn’t been established between the variables of self-esteem of the participants, age, educational background, term of employment, term of employment as a manager, sex and marital status. No significant difference has been found between the job satisfaction of participants and sex; between the term of employment and term of employment as a manager. It has been determined that the scores of the individuals with a bachelor’s degree are significantly higher than those having master’s or PhD degree in the sub-dimensions of extrinsic satisfaction, intrinsic satisfaction and general satisfaction in job satisfaction, there is a significant difference between the extrinsic sub-dimension scores of the participants and the variable of age, extrinsic satisfaction scores of the individuals aged 40 and above are significantly higher than the individuals aged between 30-34. According to the results of Spearman correlation analysis, it has been ascertained that there is a negatively moderate relation between the self-esteem and extrinsic satisfaction and a positively moderate relation is in question between the self-esteem and general satisfaction.

KNOW-HOW AND METHODICAL GUIDANCE FOR PARENTS AND TEACHERS CONCERNING SOME OF THE MAIN FIELDS OF THE PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN DEVELOPMENT

Child development is a lifelong process being associated with a series of specific changes which ... more Child development is a lifelong process being associated with a series of specific changes which result to be more visible and vigorous in childhood. Achievements in technology with which the present-day children are being grown up as well as the advance of science have brought a challenging reality for parents, teachers and adults concerning quests and dilemmas they are being faced with in the course of their children’s growth and development. In these terms, this study aims to convey some know-how and methodical guidance for both parents and teachers being involved with pre-school children education, mainly related to some of the main fields of the child’s development. I think and hope that treated issues concerning pre-school children thorough development will serve as guidance and contribution to their healthy growing and education.

DETERMINATION OF THE AGILITY CONTRIBUTION IN THE ACCURACY OF THE OVERWHELMING RATIONAL SHOOTING OF THE VOLLEYBALL YOUNGSTERS

The study aimed to determine the Agility contribution ratio in the accuracy of the Overwhelming s... more The study aimed to determine the Agility contribution ratio in the accuracy of the Overwhelming shooting of the volleyball youngsters, where the researchers used the descriptive approach in its two methods associative and analytical approach center regional Algiers. The research sample has included 24 players from the second national department Center regional Algiers randomly chosen from the original group of (120) players percentage of 20%. The researcher used the Agility Test and the Overwhelming rational shooting Skill Test. The SPSS statistical package program was also used to analyze the results of the study and in the end, the following has been reached:
• there is a statistically significant correlation between the Agility and the Overwhelming rational shooting of the volleyball youngsters
• the proportion of the contribution of Agility in Overwhelming rational shooting was good, which confirms the effectiveness of this capacity in the performance of the skill.
• draw an equation from which we can accurately predict the results in Overwhelming rational shooting in indication of the volleyball youngsters Agility.
Accordingly, the researcher recommended the need to pay more attention to overwhelming rational shooting for players during the training sessions, rely on the predictive equivalent resulting from this study, and make studies on the contribution of other physical and kinetic abilities in various offensive and defensive skills in volleyball.

COMPARISON OF NARCISSISM LEVELS OF STUDENTS IN SCHOOL OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SPORTS

by Open Access Publishing Group and Özdemir ATAR

The purpose of this study is to compare body image and narcissism levels of students of Istanbul ... more The purpose of this study is to compare body image and narcissism levels of students of Istanbul Gelişim University, School of Physical Education and Sports. Population of the study was constituted by students studying at Istanbul Gelişim University whereas the sample was represented by 81 students studying at Istanbul Gelişim University School of Physical Education and Sports who voluntarily participated in our study. “Narcissistic Personality Inventory” was used as data collection tool. The Inventory was developed in 2005 by Daniel R. Ames, Paul Rose and Cameron P. Anderson. It was translated into Turkish in 2009 by Salim Atay and validity and reliability study was conducted. For analyzing the data acquired, SPSS 20 was used. Single sample “Kolmogorov-Smirnov” test was applied to learn whether or not the data had a normal distribution while “Anova-Homogeneity of variance” test was applied to determine its homogeneity and it was seen that the data was homogeneous and had normal distribution. For analyzing data, descriptive statistical analysis, one way analysis of variance and tukey test were applied. It was found as a result of the study that narcissism scores of students studying exercise and sports were higher than those of the students studying coach training and recreation.

MULTILINGUALISM AS A MEANS TO PROMOTING EQUALITY OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY: EVIDENCE FROM THREE EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES

Multilingualism lies at the heart of educational policies adopted in most European Union countrie... more Multilingualism lies at the heart of educational policies adopted in most European Union countries. Knowledge of foreign languages now forms a significant part of the agenda concerning equality of educational opportunity. These policies are based on the premise that foreign languages help individuals in their professional and private life, combating poverty and social exclusion. In this paper, we present the education policies in relation to foreign languages in three European Union countries, Germany, Spain and Greece in order to examine whether they have been influenced by the equality agenda. We also present the results of a research study the aim of which was to investigate lower secondary education students’ views and attitudes toward the teaching of foreign languages. Students seem to accept the official rhetoric regarding the beneficial outcomes of foreign languages. We conclude that multilingualism can contribute to the reduction of social class inequalities, as they can offer to all students, regardless of socioeconomic background, the opportunity to overcome obstacles and succeed in the education and employment field.

LEARNING JAPANESE AS A HERITAGE LANGUAGE: THE HOME SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT

The number of heritage language speakers in the world has increased in recent years and the diver... more The number of heritage language speakers in the world has increased in recent years and the diversity and importance of heritage language education has become significant. The focus of this paper is Japanese heritage language learners in an Australian context. The project was conducted at a hoshuu-koo, a Japanese supplementary school and explored the experiences of a group of year seven students over a period of one year, in an alternative language class especially designed for heritage language learners. Emphasis for this study was on exploring the language learning experiences of a group of students and considering these against the experiences they brought with them to assist in their learning. The theoretical approach underlying the design of language instruction for the research was based on theories of language acquisition for heritage language learners and emphasised integrated, meaningful content with a focus on the academic register. Data were based on student performance in writing tasks. This research has implications for the design and pedagogical approaches adopted for Japanese heritage language education programs.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MULTIMEDIA AND LEARNING ACHIEVEMENTS ON KISWAHILI GRAMMAR AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NAKURU COUNTY, KENYA

The MoEST (2006) initiated the integration of multimedia into teaching of Kiswahili grammar aspec... more The MoEST (2006) initiated the integration of multimedia into teaching of Kiswahili grammar aspects so as to enhance the following language aspects: pronunciations, spellings, punctuations, constructing sentences correctly and general appropriate use of Kiswahili language patterns. Though, this has not been achieved as witnessed by students’ low performance on Kiswahili grammar aspects CATs over years among Sub-County secondary schools in Nakuru County, Kenya The objective of the Paper was to determine the differences between students taught Kiswahili grammar aspects using multimedia and those students taught the same content using TTMs on learning achievements on Kiswahili grammar aspects. This Paper employed a causal-comparative design. A sample of 750 participants was drawn from a target population of 12900 subjects. Stratified, purposive and simple random sampling methods were used to select the study sample. Questionnaires and Document Analysis Guide were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data. Piloting was done in three schools to determine the validity and reliability of the research items in two weeks before the commencement of the actual study, whereby the study confirmed that the instruments were valid and reliable; the students’ each was computed separately using Cronbach’s Alpha Formula internal consistency and students’ alpha coefficient yielded an alpha of 0.75 which were considered adequate for the study. Mean and standard deviations were used to analyze quantitative data while independent T-tests were used to test the hypothesis so as to find out the differences between the two means on performance on Kiswahili reading comprehension between the two groups. Quantitative data was presented and interpreted in frequency table distributions, bar graphs and pie-charts. The findings of the study established that multimedia enhances learning achievements on Kiswahili grammar aspects. The t-test findings also indicated that there was a statistical significant difference in favour of the multimedia group students it was concluded that the use of multimedia in teaching Kiswahili grammar aspects increases learning achievements on Kiswahili grammar aspects.

THE IMPACT OF IMMEDIATE AND DELAYED ERROR CORRECTION ON IRANIAN EFL LEARNER’S MOTIVATION

Purpose: This research investigated the effect of immediate and delayed error correction on motiv... more Purpose: This research investigated the effect of immediate and delayed error correction on motivation of EFL learners to approve or disapprove the research hypothesis that, there is not any significant difference between three group of immediate correction, delayed Correction and control group.
Methodology: This article was conducted by three groups of 30 subjects and in total, population of 90 learners. The errors committed by three groups of immediate correction, delayed Correction and control group were corrected in three different ways: immediately and with delay and with no special method, respectively. A motivation questionnaire and a language test were given to three groups in the first session of the term and the last session of the term to see the effect of different kind of error correction. The data of pre-test and post-test were analyzed by SPSS and one way ANOVA was used.
Findings: The result provided evidence for reject of the hypothesis and immediate group performed better than delayed group and control group.
Significance: This study is the first research investigating the effect of error correction time on motivation.

AN EXPLORATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TEST FOR STUDENT MOBILITY

University education is characterized by the atmosphere and opportunities offered to students to ... more University education is characterized by the atmosphere and opportunities offered to students to help master new skills, develop existing ones, realize and accept cultural diversity, hence broaden their horizons. Compared to past, students now have numerous alternatives either in the university in their home country or abroad. According to the statistics, 10% of the students graduated from university in the mid-1990s had studied abroad for different time periods (Jahr, Schomburg & Teichler, 2002). Undoubtedly, this number has probably increased given the fact that developments in technology have resulted in obvious easiness in communication and transportation. More importantly, there are now student exchange programs like Erasmus+ that help support student mobility.

INCLUSION AND THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE ALBANIAN GENERATIVE CONCEPTS

The linguistic description on the syntactic level is formulated in terms of constituent analysis ... more The linguistic description on the syntactic level is formulated in terms of constituent analysis as a generative. We now can ask what form of grammar is presupposed by description of this sort. We find that the new form of grammatical is essentially more powerful than the finite state model rejected above, and that the associated concept of “linguistic level” is different in fundamental respects. The Albanian generative words, nouns, verbs etc., are possible to analyze and to generate new words with a new meaning. Thus, even an entire clause may function as a noun or verb phrase. Some further evidence that categories are complex entities comes from the fact that phrase categories go together with, or are “projection” of, specific word level categories. This was first highlighted in Harris (1951) ad was take up in Chomsky (1970), Jackendoff (1977) or Muysken 1985 etc. The aim of this paper is to description some Albanian words in the concept of the generative. The aim of this paper is to description some Albanian words in the concept of the generative.

LANGUAGE LEARNING UNDER CLASSROOM CONDITIONS DURING THE TRANSITION TO HYBRID INSTRUCTION: A CASE-STUDY OF STUDENT PERFORMANCE DURING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY

We examined the unmanipulated performance of students under real classroom conditions in order to... more We examined the unmanipulated performance of students under real classroom conditions in order to assess the effect of a technology-enhanced hybrid learning approach to second language, (L2) instruction on beginning and advanced Spanish language learners. This research focused on the transition period of technology implementation when the entire section of Spanish of a modern language department of a liberal arts university transitioned from traditional face-to-face instruction, to a technology-enhanced hybrid learning approach with concurrent reduction in face-to-face classroom hours. This implementation provided an opportunity to compare the performance of students prior to and during the transition to hybrid model of instruction across multiple language proficiency levels. This research is designed to critically evaluate the performance of students under real classroom conditions in order to examine the effectiveness of a hybrid approach during its implementation such that the performance of students participating in the methodological transition can be understood in light of the performance of students in the previous quarters. The results indicate that introductory students did not realize the full potential benefits of hybrid instruction in the transition period, but that the performance of advanced students was improved, suggesting that a phased-in approach to hybrid instruction implementation, where advanced students are the first to transition to hybrid instruction, may supplement training experiences for instructors and support staff and improve overall student success during technology implementation.

REQUESTIVE E-MAILS OF TURKISH EFL LEARNERS: A COMPARISON WITH NATIVE SPEAKERS OF ENGLISH AND NATIVE SPEAKERS OF TURKISH

This study aims to investigate the degree of directness and amount of lexical / phrasal internal ... more This study aims to investigate the degree of directness and amount of lexical / phrasal internal and external modifications employed by 20 Turkish EFL learners, 10 native speakers of English, and 10 native speakers of Turkish. It also aims to explore whether there is a difference across three groups while making requests. The participants were asked to write two requestive e-mails to a friend and a professor. The e-mails were analyzed and classified based on Economidou-Kogetsidis’s (2011) framework which relies on Blum- Kulka et al. (1989) and Biesenbach-Lucas (2006, 2007). The results indicated that these three groups had both similarities and differences with respect to the degree of directness, the amount of internal and external modifications. Turkish EFL learners and native speakers of Turkish resorted to more direct strategies, while native speakers of English performed more conventionally indirect strategies. None of the participants utilized non-conventionally indirect strategies. Turkish EFL learners were very similar to native speakers of Turkish in the formation of their request head act. They showed strong similarities in the formation of certain structures as the basis of request. However, the internal and external modification indicated that the phrases Turkish EFL learners utilized were similar to native speakers of English.

STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS DRAMA-BASED ROLE PLAY IN ORAL PERFORMANCE

Speaking is widely recognized as being the most important tool for communication that influences ... more Speaking is widely recognized as being the most important tool for communication that influences how students succeed in foreign language learning. In particular, given its importance to enhancing students’ oral performance, drama-based role plays are strongly connected to this language learning skill through English. Recent reforms in higher education in Vietnam have stressed the increased demands on universities to promote the quality of teaching and learning foreign languages at all levels to meet learners’ needs, particularly students’ capacity of interacting with others using English. However, research into the effects of drama-based role play activities on English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ oral performance is limited in the Mekong Delta. Moreover, students’ reluctance to interact in the target language is largely influenced by traditional speaking instruction, whereas speaking requires a more interactive and communicative learning environment. This paper therefore provides insights into students’ attitudes towards the use of drama-based role-play activities in EFL speaking classes. Using a descriptive design, interviews were undertaken with freshmen who were currently learning at a Vietnamese university in the Mekong Delta. The findings show positive attitudes of the students towards drama-based role play activities. Pedagogical implications for productive instructional practice to advance students’ oral performance are also discussed.

SAUDI EFL LEARNERS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS INTEGRATION OF VIDEO-PODCASTS IN LISTENING COMPREHENSION

The use of podcasts is growing in the instructions of listening comprehension. However, the succe... more The use of podcasts is growing in the instructions of listening comprehension. However, the success of computer technology generally depends on learners positive attitudes towards it. The present study explored attitudes of Saudi EFL undergraduates toward the use of video-podcasts integration in listening comprehension. Moreover, the study also examined students’ attitude from the perspective of the number of video-podcasts they received in their instructions. Samples included 90 English major male undergraduates divided into three groups. The three groups received five (5), ten (10) and 15 video-podcasts in their listening classes before they answered an attitude questionnaire. ANOVA results revealed that the students had positive attitudes towards the use of video-podcasts in listening. However, no significant difference was found between the attitudes of the three experimental groups who received varied number of video-podcasts in their instructions.

ON VOICE IN ENGLISH: AN AWARENESS RAISING ATTEMPT ON PASSIVE VOICE

by Meral Melek Ünver and Open Access Publishing Group

Passive voice is commonly preferred in certain genres such as academic essays and news reports, d... more Passive voice is commonly preferred in certain genres such as academic essays and news reports, despite the current trends promoting active voice, it is essential for learners to be fully aware of the meaning, use and form of passive voice to better communicate. This study aims to explore ways to help English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners notice and revise voice in English and raise their awareness of when and how to use active and passive voice to convey meaning in their written and spoken work. The study focuses on a different approach to be taken to teach voice in English, which might help students become more aware of the use of passive voice. The issues related to the use of passive voice are derived from the work of EFL learners who failed to make sensible decisions about when and how to use passive voice partly because the differences between their mother tongue and English and because they were not aware of the fact that active and passive voice would not alternate all the time.

THE CONTRAST OF THE COMPOUND WORDS BETWEEN ENGLISH AND ALBANIAN LANGUAGE

by Open Access Publishing Group and prof.asoc.dr. Shkelqim Millaku

In linguistics, a compound is a lexeme (less precisely, a word) that consists of more than one st... more In linguistics, a compound is a lexeme (less precisely, a word) that consists of more than one stem. Compounding or composition is the word-formation that creates compound lexemes (the other word-formation process being derivation). Compounding or Word-compounding refers to the faculty and device of language to form new words by combining or putting together old words. In other words, compound, compounding or word-compounding occurs when a person attaches two or more words together to make them one word. The meanings of the words interrelate in such a way that a new meaning comes out which is very different from the meanings of the words in isolation.
The contrast of the words between English to Albanian: Bus driver in English compound words in Albanian simple word (shofer ose shofer i autobusit) or housekeeper – amëvise; schoolbook - libër shkolle; classroom – klasë; homework - detyrë shtëpia.

THE FUNCTION OF SIMPLE SENTENCE BETWEEN ALBANIAN AND ENGLISH

by Open Access Publishing Group and prof.asoc.dr. Shkelqim Millaku

In Albanian and English we have same kind of sentences (simple, compound or complex sentence). Th... more In Albanian and English we have same kind of sentences (simple, compound or complex sentence). The major of elements or constituents that can be found in clauses are subject, predicate, object, complement etc. For Albanian and English most linguists agree on the needs to recognize at least the following word classes: noun, verb, adjective, preposition, adverb, determinative and conjunction. Each of these words classes is illustrated in the sentence below. The noun or noun phrase can be subject, object, and predicate (…) in the meaning of the structure of syntax. “The kernel sentence, then, has two main parts –a subject and a predicate. The subject consists of noun phrase; the predicate consists of the verb phrase”. We may begin our inquiry into the study of syntax between Albanian and English. There are four main types of sentences: simple, compound, complex and compound complex.
By the simple sentence we can see the structure between Albanian and English, too e.g.
Maca e mbyeti miun.
S (NP) P (VP) O (NP)
The cat killed the mouse.
S (NP) P (VP) O (NP)

A CORPUS-BASED STUDY ON ‘REGRET’ AS A FACTIVE VERB AND ITS COMPLEMENTS

Factive verbs are known to presuppose the truth of their complements, and regret is an example of... more Factive verbs are known to presuppose the truth of their complements, and regret is an example of factive verbs. This corpus-based study aims to investigate the complement, use, and frequency of occurrence of regret in COCA, and shed light on various uses of this verb. The scope of this study was limited to the bare form of regret, and most common complements of regret were analyzed throughout the study. The findings revealed that all the complements were presupposed to be true due to the factive verb regret, and regret has various complements such as regret + Ving, regret + to V1, regret + that. What is more, all these complements assign different meanings to regret in context.

ANALYZING THE PROBLEMS FACED BY MONOLINGUALS AND BILINGUALS DEVELOPING “GENITIVE CASE” IN ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

The objective of the present study was to find out whether the monolinguals and bilinguals learni... more The objective of the present study was to find out whether the monolinguals and bilinguals learning English as a foreign language in Iran commit similar or different errors in learning the different types of the genitive case. A total number of 120 male and female English learners at three levels of English proficiency took part in the study. Out of these participants, 60 were monolinguals whose native language was Persian and 60 were bilinguals who spoke Turkish as the first language and Persian as the second one. They were selected randomly from different Iranian EFL learning institutes. To collect the learners’ errors, a genitive test based on possible errors due to interference from Turkish and Persian language was designed and administered. To ensure the reliability of the test, the internal consistency of ‘Chronbach’s Alpha’ was employed. The errors of the two groups (Monolinguals & Bilinguals) were identified and classified according to the different types of genitive case. Then, the sources of the errors were established by the principles of ‘error analysis’. The results indicated that both groups committed similar errors, though to a varying degree. The sources of errors seem to be attributed to transfer from both Turkish and Persian language. Another finding is that, the similarities between languages, either between Persian and English or between Turkish and English did not prevent their speakers from committing errors; in conclusion, the idea of positive transfer due to similarities between native and target language needs to be treated cautiously. This study confirms the effect of the negative transfer from both the mother tongue and the second language on the target language.

THE PREDICTIVE DEGREE OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ LEVELS OF METACOGNITION AND NEED FOR COGNITION ON THEIR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

The purpose of this study is to find out the predictive degree of university students’ levels of ... more The purpose of this study is to find out the predictive degree of university students’ levels of need for cognition and metacognition on their academic achievement. A total of 253 university students formed the study group. To collect the data of the study, ‘The Metacognition Awareness Inventory’ (MAI) and ‘The Need for Cognition Scale’ (NFCS) were used to measure students’ metacognitive awareness and their tendency to think and enjoy thinking. For the students’ academic performance, the average points (GPA) that they got during the term were taken into consideration. The correlation analysis revealed the fact that there is a significant and positive relationship between students’ levels of need for cognition, metacognition and their academic achievement at the level of p<0.01. The multiple linear regression analysis suggested that the power of need for cognition and metacognition to predict academic achievement are meaningful. In another word, the two independent variables, namely need for cognition and metacognition can be considered as the significant predictors of the dependent variable, academic achievement.

THE EFFECTS OF CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS ON THE ACQUISITION OF PHRASAL VERBS BY TURKISH EFL LEARNERS

This study investigates the effects of conceptual metaphors on Turkish EFL learners’ acquisition ... more This study investigates the effects of conceptual metaphors on Turkish EFL learners’ acquisition of phrasal verbs. The participants were 120 beginner, elementary, and pre-intermediate level students. The research follows a pre and post-test quasi-experimental research design. The students were assigned to proficiency levels according to their Michigan Placement Test scores. A phrasal verb completion test was used as the measurement instrument of the study. With regard to their proficiency levels, students were divided into control and experimental groups. The experimental group received cognitive linguistics inspired phrasal verb teaching (conceptual metaphors) while the control group was provided only traditional memorization method. Three paired samples t-tests were run in order to investigate the effects of conceptual metaphors in proficiency levels. In addition, a 2X3 MANOVA was conducted to investigate whether the method (traditional and conceptual metaphors) and proficiency level (beginner, elementary, pre-intermediate) have an effect on completion test of phrasal verbs (as measured by exposed and unexposed phrasal verbs). This study found evidence that conceptual metaphors have positive effects on the learning of phrasal verbs.

LANGUAGE AND CHEATING IN HIGHER LEARNING EDUCATION EXAMINATIONS - A CASE STUDY OF THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA

This study intended to examine the language used in cheating in higher learning education examina... more This study intended to examine the language used in cheating in higher learning education examinations. The study specifically sought: to explore the body language used during cheating in examination; identify reasons for choice of the body languages in cheating during examination; to identify linguistic expression used to facilitate cheating in examinations. The study used both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The researcher used random sampling to obtain the sample. The study involved 350 students from Dar es Salaam regional centers of the Open University of Tanzania (OUT). The instrument used for data collection was the questionnaire. The data were analyzed through SPSS 16 version. The study found that; the most used forms body language in cheating during examination are facial expression (81.4%) and hand-finger gestures (62.3%). However, majority of the students rated high on the positioning of the invigilator (91.1%), number of invigilators during invigilation (80.0%). And the angle one sat (57.7%) as reasons for the choice of body language in cheating during examination. Further, students gave linguistic expressions of body language in cheating like: “attention” (eye brow movement), “ready to help someone” (head movement up –down), “I don’t know” (body posture- up- down shoulder movement or right left of the head) “wait” (up and down of the hand palm). It can be said that, cheating during examination is obvious; use of certain body language depends on the needs and intention of the cheating student in cheating. It is recommended that the invigilator should be keen when invigilating, and the institution has to send their invigilators for short course on language use in educational context especially during examination and techniques used in cheating for quality education.

SOCIAL FACTORS INFLUENCING LANGUAGE CHANGE: A CASE OF KIBENA TO KIMASWITULE IN NJOMBE DISTRICT, TANZANIA

The aim of the study was to examine the Language change from Kibena to Kimaswitule, specifically ... more The aim of the study was to examine the Language change from Kibena to Kimaswitule, specifically the study ought to identify social factors of Language change from Kibena to Kimaswitule; also to explore the impact of language change to the society. The study was done in Njombe District. The targeted population was the youth; the middle age and the elders (men and women) from Njombe district, below 15 years were not included in this study since they had little knowledge on the language change and shift from Kibena to Kimaswitule. 50 respondents were included in the study. The study used qualitative and quantitative approaches. The purposive and random sampling were used, the researcher predominantly used snowball sampling method to have sample for the study. Data were collected through, Focus Group Discussion (FGD), structured interview, questionnaire, observation and checklist methods. Data were analysed by scrutinizing, sorted, classified, coded and organized according to objectives of the study. The findings showed that, participant, personal needs, influence of other languages and development of towns are social factors for language change and the research concluded that, changes of Kibena to Kimaswitule has endangered the indigenous education of Wabena because change in the society goes hand in hand with the changes of the norms and values as language embeds culture. The study recommended that; society has to find ways of preserving their original ethnic language.

A CRITICAL REVIEW OF RESEARCH ON CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION IN ELT

This study was designed to compile the studies conducted on curriculum development and evaluation... more This study was designed to compile the studies conducted on curriculum development and evaluation in ESL/EFL contexts and to specify their general characteristics through content analysis. The studies were chosen in line with the inclusion criteria through which online articles and dissertations were included. No specific timeline, context or research design was set for the literature search. As a result of the review of the related literature, 86 studies were reached and analyzed in terms of their contexts, sample type and size, data collection tools, data analysis techniques. All the studies were coded through a protocol and the results were tabulated. As well as the characteristics of the studies, their findings were also analyzed through content analysis and common points were presented and interpreted. As a result of the analysis, it was revealed that the curriculum evaluation studies were more popular than the curriculum development studies. It was also found that the studies were mainly about primary and secondary levels; they mostly employed Likert-type scales; semi-structured interviews were more common; descriptive statistics were applied more frequently. Finally, common findings were detected among the studies conducted in different contexts with different grades of study. By taking the findings as the basis, some suggestions are provided for further studies.

CULTURE IN OUR CLASSROOMS: TEACHING LANGUAGE THROUGH CULTURAL CONTENT BY GILL JOHNSON AND MARIO RINVOLUNCRI – BOOK REVIEW

In this study, I would like to write the review of the book, entitled ‘Culture In Our Classrooms:... more In this study, I would like to write the review of the book, entitled ‘Culture In Our Classrooms: Teaching Language Through Cultural Content’. The authors of this book are Gill Johsnon and Mario Rinvolucri. It was edited by Mike Burghall and designed by Christine Cox. It was printed by Halstan & Co. Ltd. and it was published by Delta Publishing Company in Surrey in England in 2010. The international standard book number of this book is 978-1-905085-21-7.

USING THE WRITING WORKSHOP TO IMPROVE READING

The study investigated the effect of using the writing workshop to improve reading in senior seco... more The study investigated the effect of using the writing workshop to improve reading in senior secondary school students. Most public schools in Nigeria do not explicitly teach reading or writing to students, hence most of these students have poor reading and writing competences. This study applied the writing workshop strategy (Fletcher & Portalupi, 2001) to teach reading to a small group of secondary school students in a rural community in Ezinihitte, Mbaise, near Owerri, South East Nigeria. The study employed the qualitative method of participant observation. A comparison of students’ reading and writing performance before and after the study showed that the treatment had a positive effect on the reading and writing competences of the subjects. It was concluded that using the writing workshop to teach students who are being prepared for the senior secondary school certificate examinations to actively read and write in the English language will go a long way to improve their competence in both reading and writing the language. It is recommended that both the government and all stakeholders should adopt this strategy alongside other useful ones to improve the performance of students in internal and external examinations.

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH TEACHING ENGLISH LANGUAGE USING LITERARY TEXTS IN SELECTED SCHOOLS IN MAKURDI METROPOLIS OF BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

This paper examined the problems associated with teaching English Language using Literature texts... more This paper examined the problems associated with teaching English Language using Literature texts in Makurdi Metropolis of Benue State, Nigeria. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Three research questions were asked and 2 hypotheses formulated. Population for the study comprised of all teachers of Literature and English Language in Secondary Schools in Makurdi metropolis. Findings of the study revealed that Literature has great impact on the study of English Language, but that there are problems that hinder the full realization of the study of language through literature (P = 0.10 < 1.66). The study concluded that the problems can be surmounted. It was recommended that language teachers should attend training, workshops, and seminars, in order to up-grade their knowledge of language teaching through the use of literary texts.

EXPLORING EFL TEACHERS' TECHNIQUES IN TEACHING ENGLISH IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS OF SHAHROOD, IRAN: A QUALITATIVE STUDY

The negligence of teaching writing, reading, and spelling skills and grammar in schools has led t... more The negligence of teaching writing, reading, and spelling skills and grammar in schools has led teachers to focus on students' speaking skill. Recognition of these problems and the possible remedies are beneficial for teachers, which will equip them with insightful ideas about how to manage their teaching and learning activities for the successful implementation of this method. Through open-ended interviews and in line with the sampling procedures of Grounded Theory, this study theoretically sampled fifteen experienced EFL teachers' techniques to uncover the conditions that help teachers' adopt suitable techniques to cater for individual differences. The careful coding schemes of the grounded theory method yielded a set of categories – "Techniques of Teaching Conversation and Techniques of Teaching Speaking Skill" as the main categories, coupled with some sub-categories such as "The Use of Mother Tongue in Teaching Conversation", " Warm-up", and "Role-play" that are used for conversation skills; " Summarizing and Storytelling", "Picture Describing" and "Practicing Linguistic Patterns " for speaking skills. Further studies need to be undertaken to uncover other pertinent skills and strategies in other contexts. Only then can the field replace skills of CLT which are assumed to be applicable across numerous of conditions. It is hoped that these findings may be useful for students, teachers, syllabus designers and educational managers to give more attention to CLT.

RATERS’ PREJUDICES IN ORAL PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

by Open Access Publishing Group and Emel Akay

Research on testing speaking claims that raters’ beliefs, perceptions and even their prejudices m... more Research on testing speaking claims that raters’ beliefs, perceptions and even their prejudices may be involved in the process of grading although they are given a set of rubrics to stay on the same track and have stable qualities on the assessment of oral production that is why many researchers have studied the rationale of those beliefs and the amount it affects the scores. This study aimed to find out whether the perceptions and beliefs of raters’ play a significant role in testing speaking and question the role of experience in the involvement of such beliefs. To do that, a group of raters were asked to grade the audio recordings of a group of students twice with one-month-interval in between, being misinformed about the students’ physical appearances each time with the help of different pictures, and were interviewed later to identify whether their pre-conceptions on students’ physical appearances play a role in their grading oral performances. Also, the data obtained were used to draw some conclusions whether the raters intentionally or unintentionally used their beliefs in the grading process. The analysis revealed that student appearance may be significantly effective in teachers’ grading and this is true especially for experienced teachers who believe their judgements are true and unbiased more than the less experienced ones.

INFERRING THE MEANING OF UNKNOWN WORDS, USING THE CONTEXT CUES: A VIETNAMESE HIGH SCHOOL CASE

Research has shown that context cue instruction can improve EFL learners’ ability to infer word m... more Research has shown that context cue instruction can improve EFL learners’ ability to infer word meanings from context, improve their comprehension and enable them to read independently (Nash & Snowling, 2006; Yuen, 2009; Çetinavci, 2013; Dwaik et al., 2013; and Samiyan et al., 2014). However, this strategy has not been explicitly taught in the context of secondary schools in Vietnam, and language learners are assumed to learn the strategy on their own. Therefore, this study was conducted to find out the extent to which context cue instruction enhances learners’ ability to infer word meanings from context and to investigate learners’ perceptions towards this strategy. In this study, 26 English major eleventh graders in an upper-secondary school in Can Tho City, Vietnam, were instructed to guess meanings of unfamiliar words using the contextual guessing strategy in three three-hour sessions. Achievement tests and learners’ reflection done in class were employed as sources of quantitative and qualitative data. Data from the pre-tests and post-tests indicated a significant improvement in learners’ ability to guess meanings of unfamiliar words using the contextual guessing strategy. Results of twenty-six reflections also showed positive perceptions towards using this strategy. It could be implied that secondary school teachers should train and encourage learners to guess meanings of unknown words based on the contextual cues, and integrate context cue instruction into reading lesson plans to help strengthen learners’ ability to infer word meaning from context.

COMPLEMENTARY LAW IN GRAMMAR-TRANSLATION METHOD

This paper intends to analyze the Grammar-Translation Method (GTM) on the basis of the perspectiv... more This paper intends to analyze the Grammar-Translation Method (GTM) on the basis of the perspectives of Complementary Law from Hexagram in Chinese I-Ching, and to answer the 3 questions regarding GTM: 1). Is the combination of Teacher and Student in GTM settings optimal? 2) Is the combination of Material and Methodology in GTM settings optimal? 3) Is the combination of Objective and Assessment in GTM settings optimal? This paper starts with the analysis of the six variables (in three pairs) involved in GTM settings; namely, teacher-student, objective-assessment, and material-methodology. Each of these variables was specified as yin or yang, depending on its individual feature, and then was examined through the Complementary Law of Chinese I-Ching. The results indicate that the overall effect of GTM is less desirable than expected, as there are two imbalances that exist between Methodology-Material, and between Assessment and Objective. Suggested solutions include replacing behavioral mode of instruction with a constructivist one in Methodology, or to changing product-oriented assessment into process-oriented one in GTM settings. As I-Ching was originally developed as a qualitative interpretation, more empirical validation of its accuracy and application is needed.

AN EVALUATION OF MIDDLE BASIC EDUCATION CURRICULUM FOR ENGLISH STUDIES IN NIGERIA UNDER THE NINE-YEAR UNIVERSAL BASIC EDUCATION CURRICULUM

Great importance has been attached to curriculum design and pedagogy in syllabi in Nigeria, parti... more Great importance has been attached to curriculum design and pedagogy in syllabi in Nigeria, particularly in language teaching and learning. The paper makes an evaluation of English studies curriculum designed for primary four in Nigeria under the Nine-Year Universal Basic Education Curriculum (middle basic). The 69-page curriculum was designed organized by the four language skills –listening, speaking, reading and writing. Three Principles for language teaching-learning have been identified in the curriculum. They are: Linguistic Principles, Socio-affective Principles and Cognitive Principles. The study found that the curriculum recommends the use of two teaching methodologies: Grammar Translation Method (GTM) and Audio-Lingual Method (ALM). However, the curriculum is dominated by the use of GTM which means written language has an upper hand over spoken language. The paper recommends for a paradigm shift from GTM and ALM which are traditional approaches to language teaching to Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) which promotes communicative competence for enhancing the quality of education.

DELVING INTO FLIPPING EFL CLASSROOM: A MIXED METHOD STUDY

This pre-test post-test quasi-experimental study was grounded in a mixed method embedded design t... more This pre-test post-test quasi-experimental study was grounded in a mixed method embedded design to delve into the quality and efficiency of flipped classroom model in enhancing university prep students’ overall academic performance in EFL and that in its sub-skills in addition to the durability of that performance. The study has also pioneered to reveal the impact of gender on flipped classroom EFL learners’ post-test scores. Quantitative data was gathered through the administration of EFL Achievement Test to 41 EFL students enrolled at Foreign Language School, Gebze Technical University in two different classrooms randomly assigned as experimental (N= 21) and control group (N=20). The intervention lasted during the whole 2016-2017 fall term. On the other hand, qualitative data was collected through follow-up semi-controlled interviews with 9 experiment group students from different achievement groups. All the quantitative data was analyzed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) 21 for Windows and ITEMAN4 while qualitative data was analyzed manually by employing content analysis procedures. The results of the study revealed flipped classroom model as a significant facilitator of EFL performance and long-term retention of this performance at universities in Turkey. More specifically, students in flipped classroom significantly outperformed those in the traditional lecture based classroom in all skill areas except for listening. Furthermore, qualitative results supported this impact of flipped classroom model on EFL performance. As a unique aspect of the study, EFL students’ performance in the flipped classroom was explored to be independent of their gender. To conclude, he present study has promised a bulk of valuable results that set flipping EFL classrooms as an efficient way of dealing with failure in EFL in Turkey.

COMMUNICATIVE ERRORS AS INCIDENTAL HUMOUR IN SELECTED STATEMENTS OF PUBLIC SPEAKERS

This paper explored some communicative errors in the statements of former Nigeria First Lady Dame... more This paper explored some communicative errors in the statements of former Nigeria First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan (2010-2015). The paper examined specific communicative errors that resulted in incidental humour. The study was based on a corpus of six statements on web-sites presenting humorous bits of information. Each expression was identified and contextualized using the framework of error analysis and incongruity theory of humour. The main results of the study were that the selected expression deviated from the proficient speaker’s usage of lexemes, tenses and concord of subject and verb. These deviation provoked dissonance or discrepancies which triggered accidental humour that helped to douse the initial tension associated with kidnap of the secondary school girls in Chibok, Nigeria. It concluded that humour is the trojan horse of communicative errors.

WRITING VIOLENCE INTO PERSPECTIVE: A 21ST CENTURY ZIMBABWEAN SHORT STORY GENRE APPROACH

In this paper, we seek to explain why and how violence has been an instrument and method of choic... more In this paper, we seek to explain why and how violence has been an instrument and method of choice in the political, social and economic spheres of the Zimbabwean society. The motivation is that the 21st century in Zimbabwe has been characterized by far-reaching forms of violence that have formed the backdrop of many literary narratives, particularly the short story whose genre characteristics have enabled the timely capturing of unfolding events from a fictional-historical viewpoint. In analyzing the manifestations and levels of violence, particular focus was placed on the short story writings from the year 2000. The selected short stories were: “Sewage Pipe” by John Appel; “The Sellout” by Huggins; “Torn Posters” by Gugu Ndlovu; and “The Chances and Challenges of Chiadzwa” by Edward Chinhanhu. Postcolonial theory and genre criticism are some of the theoretical approaches that were adopted in the analysis of the selected short stories. The arising conclusions were that the analysed short stories revealed that acts of violence, represented through the various characters, interrupt and even terminate social and political relations thereby increasing antipathy and acrimony in a Nation State such as Zimbabwe. It is, therefore, befitting that in the final analysis the discussion revealed and recommended that violence is avoidable for the ultimate mutual existence and socio-political development of 21st Century Zimbabwe.

THE EFFECT OF TASK-INDUCED INVOLVEMENT LOAD ON IRANIAN INTERMEDIATE EFL LEARNERS’ LEARNING OF PHRASAL VERBS

by Open Access Publishing Group and Ghasem Aghajanzadeh Kiasi

Phrasal verbs have been the source of frustration for learners of English, and many students talk... more Phrasal verbs have been the source of frustration for learners of English, and many students talk about the difficulties they have using phrasal verbs. They are widely used by native speakers of English but are difficult for second language learners to master. The present research aimed at investigating the effects different task types, based on the involvement load hypothesis, might have on the Iranian intermediate EFL students' learning of phrasal verbs. In an experimental research study conducted with a total number of 45 EFL students majoring English language literature, the students were randomly divided into three groups with three different task types and loads of involvement. The data were collected through pre-test, immediate post-test, and delayed post-test of phrasal verbs analyzed via descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, and paired t test. Based on the results gained, the null hypothesis regarding the effects of the higher involvement load on learning and retention of phrasal verbs was rejected. The results would be practically useful for English language learners and teachers while dealing with phrasal verbs in and out of language classrooms.

EFFECTS OF VIDEO-PODCASTS ON LISTENING COMPREHENSION OF SAUDI EFL LEARNERS

The current use of podcasts, as a new channel to input knowledge, has effectively been promoting ... more The current use of podcasts, as a new channel to input knowledge, has effectively been promoting listening comprehension which consequently has increased the acquisition of target language. The objective of the present study is to investigate the effects of video-podcasts integration on listening comprehension. The twelve-week quantitative study employed a quasi-experimental pre-test post-test design. Samples included in both the control and experimental groups were 120 English major male undergraduates from a University in Saudi Arabia. The Findings of ANCOVA analysis showed that the video-podcast group significantly outperformed the control group on the post-test. The findings imply that video-podcasts are useful resource for enhancing EFL learners’ listening comprehension.

TEXT-BASED VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION ON EFL FRESHMEN’S READING COMPREHENSION

by Open Access Publishing Group and Nguyen Buu Huan 000793

This paper reports a study which examines how text-based vocabulary instruction influences Englis... more This paper reports a study which examines how text-based vocabulary instruction influences English as a foreign language (EFL) freshmen’s reading comprehension and explore their perceptions on this type of instruction in reading comprehension. It was a quasi- experimental study with control and experimental groups including eighty freshmen at a university. The quantitative data from reading tests for pre-test and post-test were used to examine students’ reading comprehension over nine weeks. The qualitative analysis used semi-structured interviews to examine students’ perceptions towards text-based vocabulary instruction in reading comprehension. The findings indicated that text-based vocabulary instruction influenced positively students’ reading achievement after the experiment and that they had positive perceptions towards this type of instruction in their reading lessons.

USE OF FLIPPED INSTRUCTION IN LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS; AN INVESTIGATION ABOUT STUDENT TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS

Flipped instruction reinforces the idea that learning cannot be limited to classrooms. Flipped in... more Flipped instruction reinforces the idea that learning cannot be limited to classrooms. Flipped instruction is a new way of teaching for language pedagogy as other fields. Thus, the present research aimed to find out student teachers’ perspectives about flipped instruction and flipped instruction based syllabus which was designed specifically for speaking skills development. The current study was utilized qualitative method to collect the data. Structured written interview technique and student teachers’ response papers were used to collect student teachers’ perspectives about flipped instruction and flipped instruction based Oral Communication Skills I course. The participants were Pre-service English Language Teaching Department student teachers who were first graders of ELT department at Gazi University, Turkey. Participants consisted of 23 students who were 20 female and 3 male student teachers. Results showed that student teachers had positive attitudes towards flipped instruction, which was quite new for the student teachers. The results indicated that student teachers were satisfied with flipped instruction and flipped syllabus which was specifically designed for the course. Besides, student teachers thought that flipped instruction was effective to make them prepared for the lesson and speaking activities which are carried out in class times.

A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF NEGATIVE EVIDENCE AND ENRICHED INPUT ON LEARNING OF VERB-NOUN COLLOCATIONS

This study compared the effectiveness of negative evidence and enriched input on learning the ver... more This study compared the effectiveness of negative evidence and enriched input on learning the verb-noun collocations. There were 52 English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners in this research study and they were randomly assigned to the negative evidence or enriched input groups. While the negative evidence group (n=27) was provided with instruction about what was not acceptable for verb-noun collocation structure, the enriched input group (n=25) was exposed to the target verb-noun collocations many times without any instruction or feedback. In order to determine the effects of the implementation, pre- and post- form recognition tests and pre-and post-production tests were administered to the participants. Wilcoxon signed rank test for paired samples and Mann Whitney U tests were conducted since the data did not meet normality assumptions. The Wilcoxon test results indicated that the negative evidence group achieved significant improvement in both their recognition and production test results. As for the enriched input group, the students presented a considerable improvement in terms of the production test; however, their performance was not very significant on the recognition test results. To compare both groups, Mann Whitney U test was run and it was evident that both the negative evidence and enriched input groups had positive effects on the production of verb-noun collocations. On the other hand, the form recognition test results revealed that the negative evidence group outperformed the enriched input group.

THE IMPACT OF DIFFERENT LOADS OF INVOLVEMENT ON EFL STUDENTS’ INCIDENTAL LEARNING OF IDIOMS

Idioms are essential parts of any language learning that indicate second language proficiency of ... more Idioms are essential parts of any language learning that indicate second language proficiency of learners in their communication. However, there is no doubt that idioms are more difficult to learn and comprehend than usual words of phrases. The present study investigated the possible effects of providing different task types with involvement loads on Iranian pre-intermediate EFL students' learning of idiom. A total number of 60 EFL students were selected based on their performance on Quick Placement Test and idiom familiarity test. The participants were randomly divided into three groups each containing 20 students. The data gathered through conducting pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest of L2 idioms were analyzed through descriptive statistics and inferential statistics of one way ANOVA and paired samples t test. The findings revealed that tasks with higher involvement load led to better performance of students both in initial learning and the retention of idioms. The findings would hopefully encourage teachers and learners to use tasks and with deeper cognitive processing and higher involvement load to have more effective learning of English idioms.

ENGLISH TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS TOWARD DIFFICULTIES FACED BY LEARNERS OF ENGLISH AT BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT

Teaching and learning of English as a foreign language is not only challenging, but using English... more Teaching and learning of English as a foreign language is not only challenging, but using English as medium of instruction is also crucial. When it comes to the places where English in not a lingua franca (a link language), the challenges simply double and both the teachers and learners face many problems due to the fact that the target subject (biology) is difficult and the medium of teaching (English) is also not easy. Teaching of English as a subject as well as a medium of instruction (teaching) in the Gulf region in general and Saudi Arabia in particular catches attention of many researchers and scholars especially when the issue is particularly related to poor achievement. Teaching of English at preparatory level (foundation year) at King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah serves two purposes: first, it lays and strengthens the foundation of general English that they carried forward from schooling. Second, the learners are made proficient in English during the foundation year so that they can pursue their specialties later. Despite the fact that English in Saudi Arabia is generally taught at school levels also, the achievement is far below the expectations from the viewpoint of English teachers at Biological/medical/health related subjects. Moreover, ‘Englishes’ at these departments are known as specific, and teaching/learning is somewhat different from the context of general English. Therefore, the present article is intended to explore the teachers’ perception and factors contributing to the difficulties in learning general as well as specific English. In addition, it focuses on sort of remedial teaching required to prepare the students at biology department.

AN EVALUATION OF ENGLISH TEXTBOOK AT MATRICULATION LEVEL IN MULTAN DIVISION, PAKISTAN

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the English textbook at matriculation level in Multan Di... more The purpose of this study is to evaluate the English textbook at matriculation level in Multan Division in terms of content, vocabulary, grammar, exercises, activities and physical makeup of the textbook as well as context and information for teachers to guide the teachers. For this purpose, close ended questionnaire was used to collect data from one hundred and eight teachers. Data was analyzed to find out percentages of each items and graphs and it was found that overall quality of textbook is good. Content, vocabulary, exercises and grammar rules are organized logically. To guide the teachers, sufficient information is provided in the textbook. The textbook is per course goals and needs of the students. Textbook is good enough to promote critical thinking of the students and in the textbook images is not so high aesthetic quality. Though majority of teachers are satisfied with this textbook but minority of teachers who do not agree with this, cannot be neglected. There is still need to improve textbook. Finally, it can be said that the overall quality of textbook is good.

AN EVALUATION OF ELT SITUATION IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

The purpose of this study is to evaluate ELT methods, techniques and to indicate classroom activi... more The purpose of this study is to evaluate ELT methods, techniques and to indicate classroom activities in the higher educations’ institutions in Punjab particularly with reference to CLT. This study also focuses to point out hurdles and major training needs for improvement in ELT situation. Teachers of college and university are selected as participants for this study. Data is collected from one hundred and eighteen participants by using a questionnaire combination of open ended and close ended items. Data collected have been analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively in the form of percentage, tables and graphs. The findings show that with other teaching techniques and activities, CLT techniques and activities are also being used in our higher education institutions to some extent and similarly facts and figures about ELT success areas manifest that English language teaching in Punjab, Pakistan is moderately successful with respect to different aspects like reading speed, exam success, oral fluency etc. Teachers identified that conversation with native speaker is not as successful as needed. Teachers face many difficulties but these are manageable with respect to CLT. Mostly teachers suggested teacher training programme, use of new technologies, support from administration, small class size and training with native teachers to improve overall ELT situation.

RELEVANCE OF DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION IN SPECIAL EDUCATION FOR ANXIETY AFFECTED LEARNERS: A THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF LEARNING PROBLEMS AND SOME STRATEGIES

Students fail to attain conceived aims and objectives for a multiple reasons. In a given situatio... more Students fail to attain conceived aims and objectives for a multiple reasons. In a given situation, their failure can be directly attributed to ineffectiveness of teaching. Some students might be affected by some psychological or behavioural issues which may become more crucial in due course of time if instruction is not designed to assist special learners in the area of their difficulties. Anxiety is perhaps the most important factor that may affect the learning as a process. Anxiety may be of different reasons. Learning anxiety may be related to general anxiety which becomes a serious issue if not dealt properly in time. Differentiated instruction (DI) is a designed strategy based on differentiation philosophy to handle the problem faced by diverse/special learners: able, disable or especially 'able ones'. DI gives all the diverse students the opportunity to learn the same curriculum; however, how each student learns is tailored dependent on students' individual learning needs. This includes inclusive education students and special education students. This paper studies relevance of differentiation technique for learners having anxiety. This paper addresses some of the teaching techniques, strategies and practices deemed critical in the given context of modern time.

INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHERS’ SELF-EFFICACY BELIEFS AND EFFICACY FOR INCLUSION

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs ... more The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs and efficacy for inclusion education. Study participants included a total of 1204 teachers taken from preschool, classroom, subject-matter and special-education departments from schools in four different geographical regions of Turkey. Data were collected using the Teachers Sense of Efficacy (TSE) Scale and the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusion Practices (TEI) Scale. The results revealed a significant relationship between the teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs and efficacy for inclusion. The levels of self-efficacy and efficacy regarding the inclusion of the teachers were higher for female teachers, experienced teachers, teachers who had taken previous courses about special education, and the teachers who have previously interacted with an individual with special needs. In addition, the efficacy level of novice teachers regarding inclusion was found to be higher than that of more experienced teachers.

DETERMINING THE NEEDS OF MOTHERS WITH AT LEAST THREE INTELLECTUAL DISABLED CHILDREN

The purpose of this research is to determine the needs of mothers with three intellectually disab... more The purpose of this research is to determine the needs of mothers with three intellectually disabled children. This study has been held with the participation of eleven volunteer mothers, living in Diyarbakır province in 2017. Semi-structured interview technique was used as qualitative research methods in the research. Based on the findings obtained from the research, it was determined that the mothers had important requirements such as materiality, information, general and social support, and needs of expressing themselves to the environment about the disability of their children. The biggest topic was determined as the lack of time for their personal development. When the national and international literatures are analysed, it has been determined that in Turkey needs of the mothers with three intellectual disabled children are higher than those of the developed countries. The main needs are knowledge and materiality. Based on this points, especially mainly legal positive discrimination, governmental agencies, educational institutions and NGO’s need to be more sensitive and should make concrete steps by meeting the needs of children with multiple disabilities.

LEARNING PATHS AND LEARNING STYLES IN DYSLEXIA: POSSIBILITES AND EFFECTIVENESS - CASE STUDY OF TWO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AGED 7 YEARS OLD

The difficulty in reading and writing, spelling mistakes and poor speech are considered as the ma... more The difficulty in reading and writing, spelling mistakes and poor speech are considered as the main elements that characterize students with dyslexia. If one thinks that most of the things in a class are based on writing and reading, then the importance of such a learning difficulty is that it is recognized as soon as possible and with appropriate strategies that people with dyslexia can be helped in their progress. The main aim of the current study was to stress the contribution of early diagnosis of dyslexia to the creation of effective learning environments based on individual learning difficulties, learning styles, and learning paths. To this end, were studied different difficulties in the domains of memory, phonology, grammar, and syntax differentiated the learning styles as well as the strategies of each case, resulting to the implementation of multisensory individualized teaching approaches. Conclusively, early diagnosis of dyslexia as well as multisensory intervention approaches were considered as the most effective factors in the improvement of the two cases learning achievement.

SITUATIONS IN WHICH MAINSTREAMING STUDENTS BENEFIT FROM SOCIAL CLUBS

Mainstream education for individuals with special needs is accepted to be applied in the curricul... more Mainstream education for individuals with special needs is accepted to be applied in the curriculum by National Ministry of Education in 2010 and made systematic in 2009. The aim of this study is to determine the situations in which students benefit from social club activities in the scope of social activities. The research is qualitative and case-study enabling a deep investigation about a restricted subject. The study group of the research consists of 200 individuals in mainstream education with special needs who are educated in the classes of 180 teachers from different branches at elementary and secondary schools of National Ministry Education in the city of Bartın and its districts in the fall term of 2015-2016 education year. 110 ones of the study group are male and 90 ones are females. Semi-structured interview with the questions “Which club is an inclusive student in?” and “What is the role of inclusive student in the club?” are fulfilled with teachers having inclusive students in the research. While the obtained data is analyzed, content-analysis method from descriptive methods is used. As a result of the study, 132 of 200 inclusive students become member of various clubs and 42 ones from these are active in their school clubs and in the schools of other 68 inclusive students, clubs studies are not be able to carried out actively or it is only noted down which club an inclusive student is in.

CONFIRMATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS OF THE SCALE MEASURING TEACHER ATTITUDES TOWARDS INCLUSIVE EDUCATION (TAIS)

All published scales constructed to measure teacher attitudes towards inclusion have been shown t... more All published scales constructed to measure teacher attitudes towards inclusion have been shown to contain several factors. This study explored the factor structure of the Teacher Attitudes towards Inclusive Education Scale (TAIS) in a population of Finnish basic school teachers (n = 1,764) using confirmatory factor analysis. The TAIS scale was shown to be one-dimensional in this population. However, the result does not automatically generalize to other countries where the school system differs from that of Finland.

TEACH US THE WAY WE WANT: TEACHING APPROACH FOR SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS

This study was conducted to explore the learning of special needs students in reading and writing... more This study was conducted to explore the learning of special needs students in reading and writing; determine their preferred teaching approaches; and obtain their suggestions to improve the teaching of both reading and writing modules. Focus Group Discussion (FGD) was conducted in obtaining pertinent information. Results regarding what the learners learned; and the best approach for teaching English revealed interesting insights which could guide special needs teachers. Suggestions which aimed at improving English teaching were also provided.

COMPUTER ASSISTED INSTRUCTION OF STUDENTS WITH ADHD AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: A BRIEF REVIEW OF STUDIES CONDUCTED BETWEEN 1993 AND 2016, AND COMMENTS

by George Botsas and Open Access Publishing Group

Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) is an instructional context that uses a computer as the mean ... more Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) is an instructional context that uses a computer as the mean for teaching pupils in individualized settings. CAI has been proposed as a compensatory instructional strategy among others for pupils with attentional, impulsivity and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This brief literature review synthesizes the outcomes of CAI to improve academic performance in various school disciplines for children with ADHD. First, it addresses research that studies the impact on academic disciplines performance of elementary school individuals with ADHD. Second, it considers methodological and pedagogical aspects of the studies reviewed. Finally, comments and recommendations, either in instructional and research context are made.
Most of the studies reviewed suggested that CAI is an effective strategy in order to improve academic skills of pupils with ADHD. Moreover, an improvement in on-task and a decrease on error and off-task behaviors emerged as a byproduct of CAI intervention in some of those studies.

A PROPOSED SYMPTOMATOLOGICAL-NOSOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM FOR LEARNING AND BEHAVIORAL DISRUPTIONS: WHAT EDUCATIONAL THERAPISTS SHOULD KNOW FROM DISABILITIES/DISORDERS PER SE TO MULTIPLEX DISABILITIES/DISORDERS

The aim of this paper, especially written for educational therapists, is twofold. First, it is to... more The aim of this paper, especially written for educational therapists, is twofold. First, it is to provide educational therapists a systematic symptomatological-nosological framework to identify or distinguish learning disruptions (LDs) and/or behavioral disruptions (BDs) ranging from their simplicity per se based on their respective triad of key symptoms/impairments up to multiple complexity of LDs and BDs. Second, it is also to help educational therapists as well as other allied professionals in the field of special education to identify and categorize all different LDs and BDs amidst the wide spectrum of diverse types and subtypes with varying degrees of severity. In this way, with a more accurate identification of LD/BD, an appropriate intervention plan can be designed to treat the disability/disorder concerned, instead of just having a name and a list of symptoms associated with a specific LD and/or BD, which is no longer an efficient way of identifying disabilities/disorders. In the current millennium of the 21st century, new research studies, especially with the emerging of the Science of Complexity, are uncovering the complexities as well as multiplexities behind all the challenging issues associated with LDs and/or BDs.

A REPORT OF INTERVENTION PROVISION FOR INFANT AND JUNIOR AGE CHILDREN WITH COMMUNICATION DISORDERS IN A SMALL URBAN COMMUNITY IN ABEOKUTA, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

The paper presents an account of an intervention programme implemented to address the learning pr... more The paper presents an account of an intervention programme implemented to address the learning problems of children with communication disorder in a community in Abeokuta, Ogun State. The presentation details the history of educational programme of the community, and the nature of the intervention which includes the policy framework with which the intervention was packaged, the staffing involved, parental involvement, the integration of the programme into the regular school and the curriculum of the programme. The report also provided information on the success recorded in the programme and suggestions for its sustenance.

DESIGN OF MATHEMATICS AUDIOBOOKS FOR STUDENTS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT AT THE SECONDARY SCHOOL

This study aimed to identify the need for accessible audio mathematics books for students with vi... more This study aimed to identify the need for accessible audio mathematics books for students with visual impairment at the secondary school. The method of this research was mixed method. The sampling technique used in this research was purposive sampling, the sample consisted of 18 visual impairment students and 15 math teachers at the secondary school for children with visual impairment from 9 provinces in Indonesia. The method used in this research was explanatory survey. The instrument validity used was content validity. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistic technique. The results showed that mathematics Braille equipped with audio or vice versa (52.94%) with reason feel faster, more convenient. Subject to reduce the number of pages, then the audio book completeness tactual/Braille only in the form of illustrations and text are considered difficult course. Audio books are expected to be produced by the Daisy format (70.6%) with navigation full text and full audio (81.25%). The narrator could be conditioned, alternating between male and female, while the other musical equipment was presented as necessary. Most of the subjects wanted timbre narrator soft portion (75%), subjects considered most preferred medium tone frequency (100%). Media deviation is hoped can be stored on the thumb drive, hard drives and CDs (87.5%), while the most accessible media is a computer (53%). Level of difficulty 7th grade math book first semester of this when converted into audio format most difficult is the third part is the algebra (38.46%) and the level of average difficulty on all parts is 25.42%. If the book is converted into Braille format is in section 3 that the algebra (53.85%) and the difficulty level of the average on all sections is 27.21%.

THE EVALUATION OF PROGRAM OF EDUCATION APPLICATION SCHOOLS ACCORDING TO TEACHERS’ OPINIONS

In this study, the opinions of teachers working at education application schools are collected in... more In this study, the opinions of teachers working at education application schools are collected in order to evaluate the educational program of Education Application school which has been in progress since 2002. The study is a qualitative one in which the constructed interview technique has been used. Frequency has been used to analyze the data. The target population of the study is teachers working at education application schools in Bolu and Düzce. The working group of the study is 15 teachers from these cities. The data gathered at the end of the study are; an Evaluation study has never been carried out about the program of education application schools by asking teachers’ opinions since the beginning. According to opinions of teachers, they cannot apply the program completely and have some problems during the application process. Teachers agree that the educational program of education application schools is not functional. Teachers expressed that the operation, evaluation and teaching methods of the program are not suitable. Moreover, they stated that the expressions of objectives are not compatible with the students, and they indicated that there are objectives that are not stated in a behavioristic way. It is found that that the properties of students are ignored in the preparation process and the number of classes in the program is excessive., It can be alleged that it is suitable for the programme of the education application schools to be revised or to be developed again.

PROMOTING ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS: A TPE MODEL

Engagement is crucial for all students in any learning. Attention wanes when children are disenga... more Engagement is crucial for all students in any learning. Attention wanes when children are disengaged and learning will decrease. Children with special needs will find it difficult to engage with teachers and activities due to factors such as inattention, slow processing speed, boredom, and others. Hence, the author of this paper proposed a TPE model which consists of three components (1) Task (T), (2) People (P), and (3) Environment (E). These components have a direct impact on students’ engagement in their learning. Additionally, suggested checklists on how these components can be used as guidelines to help teachers plan their lessons were also included. It is hoped that this model serve to promote active engagement in children with special needs in their learning so as to enhance motivation, attention, and participation.

TREATING AUTISM SPECTRUM DİSORDERS CHILDREN WITH TURKISH MUSIC AND ITS MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

Our musical instruments should be reconsidered in various sizes, for various purposes and being r... more Our musical instruments should be reconsidered in various sizes, for various purposes and being reexamined their effect and capabilities. The original instruments are already exceptional, colourful and they are suitable to be used for duo, trio, quarted chamber music teams (İlerici, 1964). It is seen that Autism spectrum disorders children are innate gifted in music. As they cannot communicate with the outside world and the social environment, they live in a withdrawn world. They should be ensured to interact with music starting from of pre-school ages. Considering the place, these children live and their socio-cultural environment, a different kind of style of musical therapy should be chosen for every children. The therapist is the half of the treating with music, and the other half is the child who is going to be treated. Children teach the therapist the style of the treatment. In other words, they are the teacher of the therapist, because these children lead the way through their interactive behavior, body language and sensory organs.

APPLICATION OF UNIVERSAL DESIGN IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION ENVIRONMENTS: A MODEL FOR FACILITATING INCLUSION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN GHANA

With contemporary classrooms becoming increasingly diverse, educational authorities, teachers and... more With contemporary classrooms becoming increasingly diverse, educational authorities, teachers and school administrators are looking for innovative ways of coping with diversity of students. Historically, barriers to inclusion have been based on the explicit exclusion of individuals with disabilities and other minority groups. In order to create inclusive environments for diverse learners, the system of Early Childhood Education (ECE) centers in Ghana must be totally reconfigured, which will require shifts in our educational practices. The concept of Universality provides an important starting point for educational and social transformation. Situating it on the postmodern theoretical view point, this paper argues that in discussion of the approaches to enhance educational access for students with disabilities in Early Childhood Education in Ghana, the emerging models of Universal Design for Learning must be the focal point.

ASSESSING EXTERNALIZING AND INTERNALIZING BEHAVIOUR IN CHILDREN: USE OF THE MOTOR BEHAVIOUR CHECKLIST IN A TYPICAL SCHOOL-AGE POLISH SAMPLE

The study was designed to investigate externalizing and internalizing behaviours in a typical sch... more The study was designed to investigate externalizing and internalizing behaviours in a typical school-aged sample of children (N=112) using the Polish version of the Motor Behaviour Checklist for Children. The instrument was translated into Polish and teachers observed and recorded the motor behaviour of their students in school settings during physical education and free play situations. Findings demonstrated a psychometrically robust application of the MBC in a Polish sample as well as gender differences in total externalizing scores. In addition, age was found to be significant correlated with internalizing scores and especially with the social interaction factor. Teachers reported boys as more inattentive and more hyperactive/impulsive than girls and more likely to display externalising symptoms connected with ADHD particularly in school settings. Findings underscore the importance of early diagnosis and have practical implications when designing behavioural management programs and educational interventions in school settings.

APPLICATION OF OUTCOME BASED CURRICULUM DESIGN STRATEGY AS AN EFFECTIVE MECHANISM FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Purpose: Outcome based curriculum one of the fastest implementing curriculum approach in the fiel... more Purpose: Outcome based curriculum one of the fastest implementing curriculum approach in the field of curriculum development process all over the world today. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors affect the intention to use SOLO taxonomy in the development of outcome based curriculum model in the secondary level school education. Method: This study applied SOLO Taxonomy model and input-process-outcome model to develop the conceptual framework for the study. Data is collected through questionnaires filled Accounting teachers in secondary schools, Accounting lecturers, academic staff of Ministry of Education and senior lecturers worked in curriculum development workshops in National Institute in Education (NIE) in Sri Lanka. Findings: It is found that there is a positive, strong and significant relationship between curriculum development inputs and outcome based curriculum development decision making process. Furthermore, there is a moderating effect of age, teaching experience and experience in curriculum development process on the relationship between curriculum development inputs and outcome based curriculum development decision making process. Value: The study addresses the need for curriculum decision making process. The study contributes to the curriculum policy making process. Findings of the study provide necessary guidance for curriculum policy makers and the policy makers in the general education field. Moreover, findings of this study contribute to the area of curriculum development that was beneficial to arrive at the proper decision making in constructing our own curriculum. Finally, the guidelines of this study will fulfill the requirement of the secondary school curriculum development program.

FACTORS INFLUENCING THE OCCURRENCE OF ANXIETY LEVELS IN CHILDHOOD AND COPING STRATEGIES

Anxiety disorders in childhood constitute a serious phenomenon nowadays, as they impede academic ... more Anxiety disorders in childhood constitute a serious phenomenon nowadays, as they impede academic and social functioning, such as school performance, social-emotional development and interaction with the family environment. In order to minimize or overcome abnormal stress, children may develop several coping strategies. The current study examined the occurrence of anxiety disorders in childhood, as well as the use of coping strategies in relation to various demographic data. 461 students of 5th and 6th Primary School Grade participated in the study which was conducted in urban and suburban areas of Greece. Two scales were used: a) The Spence’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS), which examines anxiety disorders in childhood and b) Brodzinsky’s Coping Scale for Children and Youth, which detects stress coping strategies. The results showed that gender and the educational level of the mother were significantly related to both of these concepts, whilst age was related to anxiety disorders.

SPORT PARTICIPATION AND FACILITIES AS PREDICTORS OF MARKETABLE SKILLS IN SPORT FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITY IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES

It is alarming to suspect that no University has provision for people with disability in terms of... more It is alarming to suspect that no University has provision for people with disability in terms of accessible sport facilities and motivation for participation as perceived by Nigerian University students with disabilities. This was conceptualized as a great discrimination, exclusion and wastage of potentials especially for economic skill in sport. To provide empirical prove of the interest and potential of students with disabilities in marketable skills in sport, a survey of 60 purposively selected students with disability were carried out in three Universities to investigate how participation and access to facilities predict their marketable skills in sport. Data was collected using Sport Marketable Skills Scale (SMSS- reliability = .071) and Facilities and Participation Questionnaire (FPQ- reliability = .80). Data collected was analyzed using multiple regression statistic and findings show that participation and@ facilities are significant predictor (F(2, 57) = 186.34 and p < .05) and accounted for 48% of marketable skills in sport among the students. It was recommended that sport for persons with disability be established in the Universities consequently, sport facilities be expanded to ensure access and participation of persons with disabilities so as to give them optimum development of marketable and social skills advocated in the global inclusion.

DEVELOPMENT OF MODULE WRITING SENTENCE STRUCTURE FOR DEAF STUDENTS

The purpose of this study is to develop a product in the form of the module writing sentence stru... more The purpose of this study is to develop a product in the form of the module writing sentence structure. Modules that are developed are expected to be useful for teachers as a source of more information in the learning process. This research method is using Research and Development (R&D) and the development of the product arrived at validity test phase only after being evaluated by experts. As expert and validator a media expert, a linguist and an expert in the field of deaf disabilities were considered. Data collection techniques in the research of using the now with the results of the eligibility of the contents of the received value of 93, 94 languages, feasibility presentation 97, and feasibility graphics 90, with the average on all aspects of scored 93. Based on the value it can be said that the module writing sentence structure contained within the category of very decent.

AN ALTERNATIVE ANALYSIS OF ECONOMIC INDICATORS OF TURKEY AND BRICS COUNTRIES

It is seen that Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which are the countries that attra... more It is seen that Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which are the countries that attract attention with the economic developments recently in the world economy. These countries have surpassed the performance of many developed countries' economies and these countries are referred to as BRICS countries in the world economy. The main reason why these countries are referred to as a group is that they must have a young and growing population, have a chance of earning a high growth opportunity because they can earn direct foreign investment in the country economy, cheap labor and consequently low production costs. Judging from the forecasts of the future of the world economy, until the 2050s, BRICS countries will play an active role in the world economy, also known as the G-6, one of the world's largest economies of the United States, Italy, France; it is argued that the nation will have more than one national income than its national income. Made this first part of the BRICS countries and Turkey's economy will be assessed in terms of macroeconomic indicators studies will be compared later with the BRICS countries in that part of Turkey's economic indicators. A general evaluation will be made in the conclusion part.

INNOVAR DESDE LA EDUCACIÓN EMOCIONAL Y PARA LA CREATIVIDAD COMO MODELO DESARROLLO DE COMPETENCIAS PARA LA VIDA / INNOVATE FROM EMOTIONAL EDUCATION AND FOR CREATIVITY AS A MODEL DEVELOPMENT OF COMPETENCES FOR LIFE

La educación emocional es una innovación educativa que responde a necesidades sociales no atendid... more La educación emocional es una innovación educativa que responde a necesidades sociales no atendidas en las materias académicas ordinarias, La complejidad del ser humano no se resuelve potenciando tan sólo sus capacidades académicas e intelectuales, sino desarrollando otras competencias que le posibiliten desarrollarse como persona. El objetivo de la educación emocional es el desarrollo de competencias emocionales: conciencia emocional, regulación emocional, autogestión, habilidades de vida y bienestar, creatividad. Esta propuesta recoge las opiniones de profesores al respecto de la asignatura Educación Emocional, que se incorporó como área dentro del currículo de Educación Primaria, en 2013, en la Comunidad Autónoma de Canarias, Educación Emocional y para la Creatividad sin que los maestros y maestras encargados de llevarla a cabo recibieran ningún tipo de formación y cualificación.

Emotional education is an educational innovation which responds to social needs that have not been catered for in the ordinary academic subjects. The complexity of Man is not resolved just by enhancing their academic and intellectual capacities, but by developing other competencies which will allow them to develop as people. The aim of educational innovation is the development of emotional competencies: emotional conscience, emotional regulation, self-management, life and well-being skills, and creativity. This proposition gathers teachers’ opinions concerning the subject of Emotional Education, which was introduced as an area within Primary Education in the Autonomous Region of the Canary Islands curriculum in 2013, as Emotional Education and Creativity without previous training for or qualifications from the teachers responsible.

LOS PROCESOS DE MEJORA DE LA RELACIÓN FAMILIA-ESCUELA: UNA EXPERIENCIA DE TRABAJO COLABORATIVO EN LA COMUNIDAD ESCOLAR / THE PROCESSES OF IMPROVEMENT OF THE FAMILY-SCHOOL RELATIONSHIP: A COLLABORATIVE WORK EXPERIENCE IN THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY

El presente trabajo se centra en el proceso de elaboración y desarrollo de una propuesta de innov... more El presente trabajo se centra en el proceso de elaboración y desarrollo de una propuesta de innovación concreta en la mejora de la relación familia-escuela. El reto que se plantea con este trabajo es hallar y crear un canal de intervención, dando protagonismo al conocimiento y experiencia de los diversos agentes educativos del centro escolar, de modo que se logre activar el cambio hacia la mejora y sean los propios implicados quienes lo mantengan vivo. Se parte de una realidad en la que la participación de las familias en el centro tiene una connotación más formal que real. El centro donde se llevó a cabo la experiencia de innovación manifestaba una necesidad clara de afianzar las relaciones y la integración de la familia dentro de la escuela, además de incrementar su participación en el desarrollo de programas o actividades propuestas por el centro. Para ello se llevó a cabo un proceso de trabajo colaborativo entre la Universidad de La Laguna y el propio centro, a modo de sistema de asesoramiento externo. En este trabajo se presenta el desarrollo de una primera fase del “Modelo de Procesos”, denominada “Creación de Condiciones” con una línea de asesoramiento basada en la acción colaborativa, a modo de experiencia piloto.

This paper focuses on the elaboration process of a specific family-school innovation proposal. The challenge which arises in this paper is to find and create an intervention channel, giving relevance to the knowledge and experience of the different educational agents present within the school, so as to activate a change towards improvement and also, that those implicated keep it alive. The reality which is counted on is that the participation of the family in school has a more formal than a real connotation. The school where the innovation experience was conducted, exhibited a clear need to strengthen the relationship with, and the integration of the family in the school, as well as their involvement in the development of programmes or activities suggested or planned by the school. To accomplish this, a collaborative work process was carried out, between the University of La Laguna and the school, which acted as an external advice system. The development of a first stage of the “Process Model”, called “Creation of Conditions”, with a collaborative line based on a collaborative action worked on as a pilot experience, is what is presented in this paper.

IMPACTO DEL PROGRAMA DE MOVILIDAD INTERNACIONAL DE ESTUDIANTES EN LA ADQUISICIÓN DE COMPETENCIAS PROFESIONALES PARA CONSEGUIR Y CONSERVAR EL EMPLEO. REGIÓN LA PAMPA, ARGENTINA.

La presenten investigación realizará una análisis de las principales competencias profesionales q... more La presenten investigación realizará una análisis de las principales competencias profesionales que influyen en la inserción de los estudiantes o egresados de la Universidad Nacional de La Pampa Argentina (UNL-Pam) al mercado laboral. Se realizará un análisis comparativo entre carreras universitarios en función de medir las competencias profesionales para adquirir o conserverar un empleo. Se estableció un diseño no experimental, comparativo, en formato de encuesta, corte transversal, selección de la muestra al azar para realizar un análisis estadístico de tipo descriptivo e inferencial. Población: 106 estudiantes o egresadosde UNL-Pam con registro en el Programa de Movilidad Internacional de Estudiantes (PMIE), periodo 2010-2016. Muestras al azar: 79 estudiantes y egresados, quienes contestan la encuesta electrónica. Material: Cuestionario de competencias profesionales para adquirir y conservar el empleo en estudiantes y egresados. Registro por plataformas electrónicas. El presente estudio identificó el impacto que tiene el PMIE a través de medir las competencias profesionales. Observase que existen cuatro carreras universitarias que tienen más competencias profesionales, las cuales son: Abogacía, Médico Veterinario, Orientador en de Educación Secundaria ingeniero Agrónomo.

The present research will perform an analysis of the main professional skills that influence the insertion of students or graduates of the National University of La Pampa Argentina (UNL-Pam) to the labor market. A comparative analysis will be carried out between university races in order to measure the professional competences to enter or conserve a job. A non-experimental, comparative design was establishing in a survey, cross-sectional, random sample selection to perform a descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. Population: 106 students or graduates of UNL-Pam with registration in the International Student Mobility Program (ISMP), period 2010-2016. Samples at random: 79 students and graduates, who answer the electronic survey. Material: Questionnaire of professional competences to enter and retain employment in students and graduates. Registration by electronic platforms. The present study identified the impact of ISMP through the measurement of professional competencies. Note that there are four careers that have more skills that are professional: Advocacy, Veterinarian, Secondary Education Counselor and Agronomist.

THE INFLUENCE OF PERSONALITY TRAITS ON CAREER DECISION AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN YAKURR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

This study investigated the influence of personality traits on career decisions among secondary s... more This study investigated the influence of personality traits on career decisions among secondary school students in Yakurr Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. The research design adopted was the survey design. 200 students drawn from 10 public schools in the area of study, made up the sample of the study and this was done through stratified random sampling technique. The major instrument used for data collection was the personality traits and students’ career decisions questionnaire (PTSCDQ) and data generated were analyzed using the independent t-test analysis. The null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The result obtained indicated that personality traits of attitude and perception have a significant influence on career decision among secondary school students. Based on this among others, it was concluded that career decision among students are not only influenced by their parents and image figures but their attitude, perception and individual traits depending on how they think about such careers. It was therefore recommended that, professional counselors, parents/guardians, teachers and administrators alike should strive to create career awareness and give more attention to the personality trait of attitude and perception as displayed by students.

EXPLORING THE BARRIERS TO FEMALE-LITERACY FROM PARENTS AND TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVE: A REVIEW STUDY OF SCATTERED LITERATURE

The article was a review study. This is an approach which allows the researcher to understand the... more The article was a review study. This is an approach which allows the researcher to understand the phenomenon in depth (Karamustafaoglu, 2009). The researchers have adopted the literature review approach to investigate the problem in depth. The structures of literature have been analyzed through the handbooks mostly in the field of teacher education on literacy terms. This was a review study about exploring barriers to literacy from parents and teachers’ perspective. This was linked to the current literature in understanding about the phenomenon which was investigated. This study, therefore, relied on different kinds of literature such as published articles, theses and, books. Majority of them were obtained from research databases such as Web of Science and Google Scholar. Namamba and Rao (2017), and Manzar-Abbas and Lu (2013) followed the same method of review in conducting their review studies. In order to obtain relevant literature, search words such as “barriers to literacy” and “parents and teachers’ perspective” were used. In addition, books on teacher education were also consulted. All the obtained literature was summarized according to the search words of the study. All the obtained literature was cited properly in text and in the list. This allowed the researchers to extract and incorporate key information about exploring barriers to literacy from parents and teachers’ perspective into this article. The studies drawn in this review article reflect the learning about barriers to literacy from parents and teachers’ perspective in diverse directions.

EFFECTIVENESS OF USING STOP, THINK AND TALK ACTIVITIES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN READING COMPREHENSION IN JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY (FCT) ABUJA, NIGERIA

The study was carried out to determine the effect of stop, think and talk activities on the perfo... more The study was carried out to determine the effect of stop, think and talk activities on the performance of students in reading comprehension in junior secondary schools in Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja. The study was carried out using a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest research design. The target population of the study comprised of 16,925 JSII students. A sample size of 100 JSII students from two secondary schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, were purposely sampled in the study. Sixty five (65) students from Government Junior Secondary School, Apo and thirty five (35) from Government Junior Secondary School, Garki were used for the study. Both groups of students were taught for six (6) weeks. Government Junior Secondary School, Apo was assigned as the experimental group while Government Junior Secondary School, Garki was assigned as the control school. Students were pre-tested to establish their homogeneity before the commencement of the treatment. They were taught for six (6) weeks and were tested using retelling test as an instrument. Data collected from students’ test scores was analysed using mean and standard deviation, while t-test was used to test the formulated null hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. Findings of the study revealed that “stop, think and talk” activities had significant effect on students’ performance in reading comprehension. In fact, the experimental group which was exposed to stop, think and talk activities had better understanding of the reading comprehension passages given to them. The result further revealed that students in experimental group were more active, responsive and paid more attention to details concerning the main ideas in the passages read. Based on the findings, it was recommended that teachers should be encouraged to use “stop, think and talk” activities in reading comprehension lessons. Such activities should be provided before, during and after every reading comprehension passage to enhance and facilitate students’ reading abilities. Curriculum planners should provide activities that would encourage students to “stop, think and talk” to make reading comprehension lesson more purposeful and meaningful.

UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF SES, ETHNICITY, AND DISCIPLINE INFRACTIONS IN STUDENTS’ STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES

The goal of the current study is to examine the impact of students’ social economic status, ethni... more The goal of the current study is to examine the impact of students’ social economic status, ethnicity, and discipline infractions on their standardized test scores in Indiana, the USA. Data from this study extracted from Indiana Department of Education. ISTEP is a criterion-referenced standardized test. It consists of items that assess a student’s performance with respect to particular criteria that was established by the Indiana State Board of Education. Criterion-referenced test scores help us to understand where a student stands in relation to the cut scores based Indiana Academic Standards in English/Language Arts and Mathematics. In fact, the application of ISTEP might be helpful for schools to identify their students’ strengths and weaknesses in these content areas. By doing so, they take necessary steps to plan appropriate instruction for students’ academic development. However, the Indiana Department of Education’s statistical data show that there was a statistically significant achievement gap between students. Accordingly, the current study findings point out that the effects of SES and Race varied among groups. Specifically, African-American students with low SES status had lower scores on ISTEP than their white peers did. In addition, a chi-square analysis showed that disproportionality among African American students appeared to be striking. Findings and educational implications are discussed.

TEACHERS PERCEPTIONS OF CLASSROOM PRACTICES BASED ON SOLO TAXONOMY IN SECONDARY SCHOOL SYSTEM

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the conceptual awareness of accounting teachers ... more Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the conceptual awareness of accounting teachers in their teaching learning process based on SOLO Taxonomy curriculum approach in secondary level schools. Further, the study explored the relationship between the curriculum development inputs and the SOLO based curriculum development process. The curriculum development inputs are teacher effectiveness, school community, school environment and technology availability. Method: Data was collected through questionnaires survey administration of accounting teachers in secondary level school in Sri Lanka. The respondent was selected on the basis of their subject and their experience. The data obtained from the teachers was input into the program Statistical Package for Social Sciences software package. Multiple Regression Analysis was applied to examine the relationship between Dependent variable and Independent variable to interpret the among curriculum development inputs and SOLO based curriculum development process. On the other hand, the study was analyzed moderating effect of individual factors between the relationship curriculum development inputs and SOLO based curriculum development process. Findings: The result indicates that the teacher’s attitudes and availability of SOLO based curriculum materials will exert the most influence upon the teaching leaning process in the secondary level schools. The results further incited that the moderating effect of age, teaching experience and experience in curriculum development process to the relationship between curriculum development inputs to the SOLO based curriculum development process. According to the analysis the gender does not moderate the relationship curriculum development inputs and the SOLO based curriculum development process. Value: The study will be applicable for curriculum development process to accounting curriculum and improve the performance of student competency level not only students who learnt accountancy but also throughout all other students in secondary level schools. The study assists curriculum policy makers in the field of curriculum development process in general education system to understand the issues related to outcome based curriculum development process in current era. Hence, findings of this study could be used to guide them in enhancing curriculum reforms and implementing new curriculum approach to enhance and overcome the current issues. The findings of this study will inform curriculum policy makers and educationists who wish to apply new curriculum approach on how they can develop SOLO based curriculum for the current education system. Thus, the findings of this study contribute to the area of curriculum development that was beneficial to arrive at the proper decision making in constructing our own curriculum. The guidelines of this study will fulfill the requirement of the secondary school curriculum development program.

CREATIVE APPROACH TO COMPUTING THROUGH MUSIC IN THE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

This paper applies an experimental case study aiming at the assessment of the effectiveness of c... more This paper applies an experimental case study aiming at the assessment of the effectiveness of computer science teaching, when it is framed by activities with clear direction of "creation and expression" and in particular music. The research goes beyond the view that computers are a tool and examines them as a subject of the curriculum of the kindergarten through a creative didactic intervention. The sample was divided into two groups, the experimental group that implemented a training program for teaching basic computer concepts supported by alternative creative musical education activities and the control group which implemented a corresponding program that utilized “tutorials” and “drill and practice” software. The analysis of the data shows that computer literacy combined with music education activities had improved learning outcomes compared to the method used by guided teaching through software. The research supports the proposal for the development of educational approaches to computer science, which escapes from the narrow contexts of interaction with the PC, and is accompanied by alternative activities and adapted as well to the particularities and characteristics of early childhood.

IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLINICS FOR REMEDIAL TEACHING: CONCEPT, FUNCTIONING AND CHALLENGES

Although EFL students learn English at schools and colleges, the time allotted for their English ... more Although EFL students learn English at schools and colleges, the time allotted for their English lessons per day is very limited. Setting up English Language Clinics at EFL colleges/institutes will help students improve and develop their language skills. This paper aims at helping EFL students develop their English language skills by opening English language clinics in schools and colleges. The paper presents the concept and scope of ELC and its usefulness. It also provides an overview of some of the English language clinics successfully run by various colleges in general and Jeddah community college in particular. Finally, it suggests various ways in which English language clinics can be established and implemented successfully for the benefit of students as well as teachers. It also provides some suggestions for extended tasks that can be carried out by the language clinic given enough administrative and financial support. The work is basically of descriptive-exploratory type that involved some English teachers’ responses from different colleges/universities and JCC teachers at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah-KSA. The findings will be helpful in supporting the theory of establishing ELCs at English departments to cater to the needs of learners facing difficulties in learning specific aspects/skills of English language.

MOBILE LEARNING – AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Due to the swift proliferation of mobile technology, the use of mobile devices, like notebook com... more Due to the swift proliferation of mobile technology, the use of mobile devices, like notebook computers, and mobile phones, as learning tools has offered people the flexibility and convenience to acquire new knowledge anytime and anywhere. In light of this, growing attention has been paid to the critical roles of perceived flexibility advantages in mobile and online learning (Huang et al, 2014). And because of the increasing use of mobile technologies in society and by the younger generation, learners will demand course materials be delivered on mobile technologies to be accessed from anywhere and at any time. At the same time, today’s and tomorrow’s learners will be nomadic and continuously on the move. As learners move from one location to the next, they must be able to use the infrastructure in the different locations to access learning materials. Hence, learning materials must be designed for easy access by the nomadic learners using mobile technology regardless of where they are located and which network infrastructure they are using to access information (Ally, 2007). This paper discusses the following issues: mobile learning and higher education, issues in mobile learning, misconception about mobile learning, and mobile technology and education.

EVALUATION OF PRE-SCHOOL TEACHERS`OPINIONS ON TEACHING WITH GAMES

For the development of preschool children, games are generally very beneficial and effective. Whe... more For the development of preschool children, games are generally very beneficial and effective. When we look at the education systems of the developed countries in recent years, it is seen that the concept of game is an important activity in terms of children's development. For most of the scientists, game is the best way to get to know and observe the child. And it is the best way to analyze. Children gain many skills while playing. They often learn behavior during playing such as learning, making effective decisions, cooperation, honesty, sharing, respecting the rights of others, liking friends, helping others. By observing the skills during the transition period to adulthood, the child practice and perfect them through the games. This study was conducted in order to determine the views of pre-school teachers about the teaching with games method. In the study, it was tried to determine the general views of preschool teachers on teaching with games, if they prefer teaching with games method, effects of game on learning, game types used in education, until what age children are supposed to play games, which games girls and boys play, which problems teacher encounter while having children play games and suggestions of preschool teachers on teaching with games method. Using the interview method which is one of the qualitative research methods in the research, the data obtained from 50 preschool teachers working in the kindergartens in Gaziantep province were analyzed by content analysis method. As a result of the study, it was found that most of the preschool teachers believe games contribute to motor, cognitive and social development of children, they are also helpful in terms of expressing themselves, they are effective since the learning is fast and permanent with games and children adopt the rules. It was also concluded that children have a strong memory along with their gaming activities, they develop intelligence, children love their school and friends, and that their creative features have improved. Therefore, it can be said that the teaching with games is an important method that contributes to children in almost all dimensions within the development process. However, in terms of teachers' views, physical and environmental conditions should be improved and the necessity of providing in-service trainings in the field of play education has emerged.

SCHOOL SIZE AND FACILITIES UTILIZATION AS CORRELATES OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS' ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN EKITI STATE, NIGERIA

The study investigated school size and facilities utilization as correlates of secondary school s... more The study investigated school size and facilities utilization as correlates of secondary school students' academic performance in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Two major objectives such as the impact of school size on academic performance and the impact of facilities utilization on academic performance were investigated and the hypotheses generated were tested. Two hundred and two questionnaires were randomly distributed to some selected staff in all the senior secondary schools in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State. The data were analyzed with the aid of ANOVA, multiple regression analysis of Ordinary Least Square (OLS) to test the relationship that subsist between some identified proxies. The findings of the study revealed that school size and facilities utilization has impacted positively on the performance of secondary school students in Ekiti State. This is evidenced from the regression coefficient that indicated positively to question raised under the issue. The study established a strong and positive relationship between school size and facilities utilization in relation to students' academic performance. From the findings of this study, it was recommended that the State Government should build more classrooms in all schools. In doing this, much emphasis should be given to the provision of more classrooms in the State' annual capital budget. Likewise, the approved teacher quota of one and one-half teacher per class should be allowed to remain but should be properly used in the distribution of teachers to schools.

HOW TOMORROW SCIENTISTS VALUE SCIENCE

by Open Access Publishing Group and ZACHARIAS PALIOS

This study tried to investigate PhD students' experience while conducting research, as regards th... more This study tried to investigate PhD students' experience while conducting research, as regards the reasons due to which someone chooses to conduct a PhD, the extent to which science is beneficial to everyday life and their aspects on whether science and scientists belong to 'elite'. PhD students often come across challenges, successes, emotional instabilities, enthusiasm, satisfaction, but also failures and disappointments. Issues of power, truth, research, fame, mystery and understanding new worlds come on the surface and proved that human beings have desires and weaknesses. We tried via e-mail interviews (with PhD students) to look into all the previous issues mentioned above.

SYSTEMIC METHODOLOGY FOR INCLUSIVE EDUCATION POLICIES IN AREAS WITH ACUTE SOCIAL PROBLEMS

In this work we attempt to set a framework of proposals for the inclusion of pupils in schools of... more In this work we attempt to set a framework of proposals for the inclusion of pupils in schools of areas with acute social problems. The necessity to adopt educational policies for inclusion is highlighted in the findings not only of scientific research but also of international organizations, despite their different ideological content every time. These proposals recognize the central role of teachers, the necessity for their training and the achieving of broader cooperation. In this respect, the development of inclusion policies can be facilitated by the application of systemic methodology.

STUDENTS EMOTIONAL DISPOSITIONAL EMPATHY ON MATHEMATICAL ENGAGEMENT AND THEIR PERFORMANCE

by Open Access Publishing Group and isaac owusu-darko

The focus of every pedagogical development is to enhance a greater percentage of students’ engage... more The focus of every pedagogical development is to enhance a greater percentage of students’ engagement in mathematics education. Students interest in getting fully involved in mathematical lessons could be influenced by their emotional dispositions possess to appreciate their total commitment to lesson engagement in relation to their academic performance. The study used a cross-sectional quantitative survey design to study the influence of Emotional Dispositional Empathy on Mathematical Engagement (mathematical performance) among Atiwa Senior High School (SHS) students in Ghana, West Africa. Participants across SHS 1, 2 and 3 were selected from the three clustered SHS to take part in the study. The methodology used for the study was the descriptive research design purported to investigate the research questions along the magnitude of qualitative analyses using the Pearson independent chi-square test statistics. The study’s hypothetical test of students’ emotional empathy (SEE) is independent of students' mathematical engagement reflective of their Academic Performance (AP). Students’ emotional disposition is seen to have adverse significant effect of students’ Mathematical engagement. It is concluded however that, to some extent, students emotional empathy (SEE) can results in dislike in mathematics engagement which affect students’ performance of the subject. After careful analyses of the study variables, we recommend that students should not be stressed up in the school or in the house with emotional indicative variables that could trigger students’ emotions and affection in the classroom especially when students are preparing for mathematical lessons. Mathematics educators need to satisfy a paradigm aspect of students’ affective domain so as to bring their affection on board even if they are stressed up emotionally. The used of corporal punishment in the teaching of mathematics should be discourage so as to prevent panic and negative stimulus to elicit emotional distress.

THE DOMINANT MODEL OF COMMUNICATION IN TRADITIONAL TEACHING AND MODERN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS

The traditional school system included adopting as much information without critical thinking whi... more The traditional school system included adopting as much information without critical thinking while modern school tends to democratic education that is focused on the development of individual abilities of each student and to develop his critical thinking. In traditional teaching communication the teacher dominates. Such is the autocratic communication which was reflected in a bossy role of teachers while in modern teaching the emphasis is on the student's role and the democratic communication. In pursuing the goal of non-experimental empirical research that we set in our study, we found that there is a statistically significant connection between interpersonal communication in teaching and students' success, and that those students whose teachers mostly used the democratic model of communication in teaching achieved statistically significantly better school achievements than those students whose teachers use mainly the autocratic model of communication. The survey was conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Herzegovina-Neretva Canton) and a sample of 423 respondents (322 students and 101 teachers of primary schools). Through the results, contents and messages of this paper we have tried to make you aware of the importance of this segment of communication in the learning process and as such to make it the subject of everyday questioning and continuous work that should lead to its improvement, and thus to improving the quality of the entire educational process.

EFFECTS OF COMPUTER ASSISTED INSTRUCTION ON INDEPENDENT LEARNING SKILLS OF ECONOMICS STUDENTS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

The study investigated Effects of Computer Assisted Instruction on Independent Learning Skills of... more The study investigated Effects of Computer Assisted Instruction on Independent Learning Skills of Economics Students in Secondary Schools in Kaduna State. ICT are information handling tools used for producing, processing, distributing exchanging and storing of information. Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) is an ICT-Driven Instructional technique in which computer system is used as an instructional material and the teacher monitors, the learning that takes place. The objective of the study among others was to determine the rate at which independent learning skills acquisition could be enhanced among Economics students taught with the use of Computer Assisted Instruction and those taught with the conventional method of teaching. Hypotheses were drawn from the objectives of the study. The research design was the two by two pre-test post-test quasi experimental control group design. The targeted population were the twenty-three thousand four hundred and sixty Public Senior Secondary two (SS2) students in twelve educational zones of Kaduna State. A stratified random sampling technique was adopted to draw two hundred SS2 Economics students from the rural and urban centres of two educational zones of the State. An Economics Achievement Test (EAT) was developed and validated as test instrument for data collection. The hypothesis was tested using covariance at 0.05 level of significance for acceptance or rejection. The results amongst others revealed that students taught with the use of CAI performed significantly better than those taught without CAI, and also the result shows that the use of CAI in teaching Economics is not significantly affected by school location. However, it was therefore recommended amongst others that, the Opon Imo meaning Tablet of Knowledge used in Osun State Senior Secondary Schools should be adopted by government for all Senior Secondary Schools in Nigeria.

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT VIA SYSTEMICALLY PLANNED PEER MEDIATION

Conflicts and confrontations between students are a key-feature of school life. Especially in rec... more Conflicts and confrontations between students are a key-feature of school life. Especially in recent years, both the scientific and the educational community are particularly sensitive to bullying issues in the school context. Peer mediation (or school mediation) is an alternative way to manage conflicts at school. A critical evaluation of this practice is attempted, as well as its contribution to the formation of a positive attitude in school and to the decreasing of school-bullying incidents. For this purpose, school extracurricular programmes can be planned. The application of relevant programmes at school can be facilitated by systemic modelling that may provide a useful conceptual tool for organizing similar interventions. The overall approach is exemplified by the implementation of Health Education programmes, as they are conducted at the Greek secondary education in the context of educational counselling psychology interventions.

USING TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Educational technology is a wide field. It can be considered either as a design science or as a c... more Educational technology is a wide field. It can be considered either as a design science or as a collection of different research interests related to fundamental issues of learning, teaching and social organization. This paper aims at highlighting the importance that technology has in teaching nowadays as technology itself means the application of scientific knowledge to practical tasks. It further focuses on the idea that educational technology is based on theoretical knowledge that comes from different disciplines: communication, education, psychology, sociology, philosophy, artificial intelligence and computer science therefore it helps in improving education. It is also a complex, integrated process involving people, procedures, ideas, devices, and organization, for analyzing problems involved in all aspects of human learning. Technology should facilitate learning processes and increase performance of the educational system as it regards to effectiveness or efficiency.

COMPUTER INSTRUCTION EDUCATION AND PERFORMANCE ON KISWAHILI READING COMPREHENSION AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NAKURU COUNTY, KENYA

The MoEST (2006) introduced the integration of computer aided instruction into teaching of Kiswah... more The MoEST (2006) introduced the integration of computer aided instruction into teaching of Kiswahili reading comprehension so as to enhance the following language aspects: read fluently and comprehend the passage, and increase performance on Kiswahili reading comprehension. However, this has not been realized as evidenced by students’ low performance on Kiswahili reading comprehension CATs over years among Sub-County secondary schools in Nakuru County, Kenya The objective of the Paper was to determine the differences between students taught Kiswahili reading comprehension using CAI and those students taught the same content using TTMs on Kiswahili reading comprehension. This Paper employed a causal-comparative design. A sample of 839 participants was drawn from a target population of 13290 subjects. Stratified, purposive and simple random sampling methods were used to select the study sample. Questionnaires, Interview Schedules and Document Analysis Guide were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data. Piloting was done in three schools to determine the validity and reliability of the instruments in two weeks before the commencement of the actual study, whereby the study confirmed that the instruments were valid and reliable; the reliability of teachers’ and students’ each was computed separately using Cronbach’s Alpha Formula. Teachers’ alpha coefficient yielded alpha of 0.77 and students’ alpha coefficient yielded an alpha of 0.79 which were considered reliable for the study. Mean and standard deviations were used to analyze quantitative data while independent T-tests were used to test the hypothesis so as to find out the differences between the two means on performance on Kiswahili reading comprehension between the two groups. Quantitative data was presented and interpreted in frequency table distributions, bar graphs and pie-charts while Qualitative data was summarized into similarities and differences and analyzed in themes and text. The findings of the study established that computer aided instructions improve performance on Kiswahili reading comprehension. The t-test findings also indicated that there was a significant statistical differences in favour of the CAI group students it was concluded that the use of CAI in teaching Kiswahili language enhances performance on Kiswahili reading comprehension.

ADOPTION OF E-LEARNING IN SAUDI ARABIAN UNIVERSITY EDUCATION: THREE FACTORS AFFECTING EDUCATORS

In this study, the opinions of teachers working at education application schools are collected in... more In this study, the opinions of teachers working at education application schools are collected in order to evaluate the educational program of Education Application school which has been in progress since 2002. The study is a qualitative one in which the constructed interview technique has been used. Frequency has been used to analyze the data. The target population of the study is teachers working at education application schools in Bolu and Düzce. The working group of the study is 15 teachers from these cities. The data gathered at the end of the study are; an Evaluation study has never been carried out about the program of education application schools by asking teachers’ opinions since the beginning. According to opinions of teachers, they cannot apply the program completely and have some problems during the application process. Teachers agree that the educational program of education application schools is not functional. Teachers expressed that the operation, evaluation and teaching methods of the program are not suitable. Moreover, they stated that the expressions of objectives are not compatible with the students, and they indicated that there are objectives that are not stated in a behavioristic way. It is found that that the properties of students are ignored in the preparation process and the number of classes in the program is excessive., It can be alleged that it is suitable for the programme of the education application schools to be revised or to be developed again.

EFFECTIVENESS OF E-BOOK IN IMPROVING OMANI KINDERGARTEN KIDS COMPREHENSION AND MOTIVATION TOWARDS STORIES READING

by Ali Al Musawi and Open Access Publishing Group

Nowadays technology became an affective and worthy tool for learning and acquisition of knowledge... more Nowadays technology became an affective and worthy tool for learning and acquisition of knowledge. Although e-books have many facilities and tools which motivate children to read and develop their reading skills, most of the early childhood institutions in Oman are not using e-books for teaching children. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the difference between using e-books and printed books to motivate kindergarteners to read and enhancing their understanding of the text. This study compares between experimental group which use e-books and control group which use printed books. Findings show that there are no significant differences between the two groups with regard to motivation. However, children who read from paper books got better scores in the comprehension test. The study concludes with some future recommendations.

ASSESSMENT OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF COMMUNITY BASED MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS IN PROMOTING LITERACY IN UBE SCHOOLS IN KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

This study assessed the contributions of Community Based Management Organizations in promoting Li... more This study assessed the contributions of Community Based Management Organizations in promoting Literacy in UBE schools in Kaduna State. The study was carried out with the objectives to assess the contributions of community based management organizations in promoting literacy in UBE schools in Kaduna State, and to find out the relevance of literacy towards community development. The study adopted survey research design with the target population of 4225 headmasters, 411 principals and 5301 teachers in UBE schools in Kaduna State. A sample size of 497 respondents was sampled from the entire population using random sampling technique which consisted of 211 headmasters, 21 principals and 265 teachers. A close ended questionnaire tagged “Contributions of Community Organizations in Promoting Literacy Questionnaire” was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by three experts of the rank of senior lecturer in Measurement and Evaluation, English language and Curriculum. The reliability level of 0.85 was obtained using Cronbach alpha technique. The researcher with the help of three research assistants administered the questionnaire to the respondents. In answering the research questions, frequency counts, mean and standard deviation were used, while Kruskal-Wallis was used to test the formulated hypotheses at 0.5 level of significance. Finding revealed that community based management organizations contributed in promoting literacy in UBE schools in Kaduna State, and that literacy is relevant and play crucial role in community development. The study concluded that community based management organizations contributed in areas such as advocacy on enrolment, provision of textbooks, notebooks, biros, charts, maps, pictures, flashcards and so on, in promoting literacy in UBE schools in Kaduna State. Recommendations were put forward among others that community based management organizations should contribute more to the production and distribution of literacy and other instructional materials for UBE schools in Kaduna State. This will help equip pupils with functional literacy skills.

WEB-BASED LECTURES IN THE STUDIES OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS IN THE CONTEXT OF DIGITAL PEDAGOGY – VIEWS, ATTITUDES AND INTENTIONS

This research aims to discover students' views, attitudes and intentions in the early childhood e... more This research aims to discover students' views, attitudes and intentions in the early childhood education concerning web-based lectures. It examines whether students develop positive or negative attitudes, if they identify added value and how their intentions are shaped. It also detects difficulties and possible barriers that they encountered. At the same time, is examined whether their attitudes are correlated with the variables of the degree of familiarity with technology and the year of studies. The survey involved 277 students who attended part of their course through two web-based lectures. The survey used a researcher-made questionnaire for the detection of attitudes, while quantitative data was obtained which was also combined with qualitative ones. Results show that students develop a positive attitude and intentions about web-based lectures. They recognize and appreciate the added value of web-based teaching. Both the variables, degree of familiarity with technology and the year of studies appeared to determine the formation of their attitudes positively. However, this positive assessment was made in relation to the traditional face to face classroom lecture, and only in the perspective of its partial replacement.

A SUGGESTION ON HOW EDMODO CAN ENCOURAGE A LIFELONG LEARNING

Edmodo is basically a web application that is similar to Facebook but provides educational tools ... more Edmodo is basically a web application that is similar to Facebook but provides educational tools instead of a social media platform. Edmodo also reinforces classroom activities. Another benefit of Edmodo is that it allows teachers to create online classes. Teachers post assignments, lecture notes, exams, competitions, and also evaluate students and communicate with them via Edmodo. E-Learning makes it possible to learn about information and communication technologies. Applications such as Edmodo Classroom 2.0 makes it possible to learn even outside the classroom. These applications are viewed as solutions to insufficient class hours and issues that are experienced within the class. In the digital age, new generations tend to maintain different opinions and also different learning capabilities. It’s important that we care about how this generation can learn and respond to diverse teaching methods for the sake of their future. Online activities that support learning outside classroom is similar to other learning practices. Life-long learning is important for building the future of our education. A process is alternative to formal education. It has no place and no time. Life-long learning aims to ensure the community are aware of all learning opportunities, it establishes a culture of learning so that people are excited by learning and they can enhance independent learning through technology. Students who use technology as a part of their life makes life-long learning necessary. E-learning environments and mass media are needed in lifelong learning activities to provide learning outside the school. In this study, a course work is explained with using Edmodo for life-long learning. It also explains how the learning continues in online environments and the benefits of life-long learning of Edmodo. In this way, it is thought that the researchers who study same subjects can benefit in an effective way.

EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE OF THE PRINCIPALS OF COLLEGES OF EDUCATION: A CORRELATION STUDY

Descriptive Survey Method has been adopted for the conduct of the study. Emotional Competency Inv... more Descriptive Survey Method has been adopted for the conduct of the study. Emotional Competency Inventory for Teachers (Balasubramanian and Abilash Babu, 2009) has been used to collect the required data from the sample chosen. The inventory contains 20 positive items and 5 negative items. The number of items selected for the inventory falling under four major dimensions viz. Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness and Relationship Management. In line with the Stratified Random Sampling Technique, 50 Principals of Colleges of Education from three districts of Tamilnadu state have been chosen for the study. Descriptive, differential and correlation analysis have been undertaken for data analysis adopting appropriate statistical techniques. It is found that there is significant difference at 0.05 level between the means of the scores of the Principals of the Colleges categorized based on their marital status with regard to their scores on Self Awareness, as one of the components of Emotional Competence. The mean value of the unmarried Principals has been found to be greater than that of married Principals. Hence, it is concluded that the unmarried principals possess more of Self-Awareness when compared to their married counter parts. It is also found that there is no significant difference between the means of the Principals of Colleges of Education on the scores of the most of the dimension of emotional competence of the principals irrespective of their sex and marital status as well as the locality and type of the institution. It is also found that there is significant and positive correlation at 0.01 level among different components of Emotional Competence viz. Self-Awareness and Self-Management & Relationship-Management, Self-Management and Social Awareness & Relationship-Management, Social Awareness and Self-Management & Relationship-Management. However, there is no significant relationship between Self-Awareness and Social Awareness, Social Awareness and Relationship Management.

PEDAGOGICAL USABILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE E-LEARNING SYSTEM IN MUNI UNIVERSITY, UGANDA

This study was intended to unveil the pedagogical usability of the e-learning system in Muni Univ... more This study was intended to unveil the pedagogical usability of the e-learning system in Muni University. The study adopted a Case Study Design to allow in-depth study. Quantitative and Qualitative approaches were employed. A total of 218 questionnaires were administered to the respondents and 179 questionnaires were received back registering a response rate of 82%. Descriptive statistics were computed. Inferential statistical analysis included correlation and multiple regressions, which were used to test the hypotheses. The correlation coefficient (r) was used to determine the strength of the relationship. The significance of the coefficient (p) was used to test the relationship between the independent and the dependent variables. Regressions and ANOVA determined which of the independent variables accounted most for the variance in the dependent variable. Qualitative data were analyzed under themes. Results show that pedagogical usability has very high influence on the effectiveness of the e-learning system at Muni University accounting for 82% variance.

ENRICHING CLASSROOMS WITH TECHNOLOGY IN THE BASIC SCHOOLS

by Open Access Publishing Group and Karzan Wakil

Teachers play a significant role in integrating technology in schools, and motivated teachers ref... more Teachers play a significant role in integrating technology in schools, and motivated teachers reflect higher levels of technology use in their classroom. Learning students, especially in basic schools, become a new direction of research. The problem is some education systems for improving teaching process less use technology in the classes. In this paper, we present role of technology in the classroom for a learning process. We proposed two classes one of them enriched with technology another one without technology, after teaching the same subject for both students we take a test. The result shows that Average of students GPA in classroom technology is 83.3%, but in the classroom without technology decrease to 60.4%, the result of shows the learning increased 22.9% by using technology. Besides all students enjoyed in classroom technology and most of them learned more material with technology. The result of our paper shows that the classroom technology is more efficient to learn basic school students.

NEED OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND E-TRAINING FOR ACADEMIC STAFF TEACHING AT BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT

Teaching of English for specific purpose (ESP) is more crucial and difficult than teaching genera... more Teaching of English for specific purpose (ESP) is more crucial and difficult than teaching general English to target learners. Sometimes difficulties arise on account of English teachers’ lack of knowledge of the field or subject which they are supposed to deal with. Similarly, biology teachers may not teach effectively due to lack of proficiency in English among both teachers and learners. Both English teachers and biology teachers need to be ready to teach English and biology. Main objectives were to find out the types of issues and learning difficulties faced by the teachers of biological subjects related to English as medium of instruction at KAU, and to explore the preparedness of English teachers to teach the students of biology. The study is of descriptive-exploratory type based on the data gathered from a self-developed questionnaire. The findings of the study will contribute to the assessment of learning needs, betterment of methods of teaching of biology and related subjects, and provision of training and teacher development.

TECHNOLOGICAL USABILITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE E-LEARNING SYSTEM: EVIDENCE FROM MUNI UNIVERSITY, UGANDA

This investigation was intended to unveil the Technological usability of the e-learning system in... more This investigation was intended to unveil the Technological usability of the e-learning system in Muni University. The study adopted a Case Study Design to allow in-depth study. Quantitative and Qualitative approaches were employed. A total of 218 questionnaires were administered to the respondents and 179 questionnaires were received back registering a response rate of 82%. Descriptive statistics were computed. Inferential statistical analysis included correlation and multiple regressions, which were used to test the hypotheses. The correlation coefficient (r) was used to determine the strength of the relationship. The significance of the coefficient (p) was used to test the relationship between the independent and the dependent variables. Regressions and ANOVA determined which of the independent variables accounted most for the variance in the dependent variable. Qualitative data were analyzed under themes. Results show that technological usability has very high influence on the effectiveness of the e-learning system at Muni University accounting for 82% variance in the effectiveness.

RELEVANCE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF DISTANCE EDUCATION FOR TEACHERS IN NIGERIA

Promoting a knowledge society through Information Technology (IT) to the development of Distance ... more Promoting a knowledge society through Information Technology (IT) to the development of Distance Education or open distance learning is beginning to emerge fast over the last decade. Thus, this paper discusses the extent to which IT is relevant to the development of Distance Education for teachers in Nigeria. Literature were reviewed regarding the concepts of Distance Education as a means of enhancing teachers’ performance, emergence and transformation of Open-Distance Education, the goals of Distance Education, IT and Distance Education, integration and promotion of IT for teachers. Similarly, adoption of IT in teacher education programme and their problems in Nigeria were also discussed. Relevance of IT to the development of Distance Education for teachers in Nigeria was also discussed which is the key assertion to this paper. Based on the discussion, the paper suggested that teachers should enroll for computer training programmes so as to meet with modern trends in education. All stakeholders in education should accept the reality of the need to adopt IT by integrating it into teacher education programmes, effort should be geared towards making IT products through local sources, remuneration review should be given top priority to enhance teachers’ performance, adequate financial backing should be provided for the management of Teachers’ Colleges and Universities. Similarly, curriculum of teacher education programme should also be reviewed to include computer training and practice to the development of Distance Education for teachers in Nigeria.

THE IMPORTANCE OF M LEARNING IN THE EDUCATIONAL ARENA

There are one and a half billion cell phones in operation around the world, and a large percentag... more There are one and a half billion cell phones in operation around the world, and a large percentage of them are in the hands of students. Yet these phones are barred in most classrooms because they interrupt lessons and can enable cheating. Marc Prensky encourages educators to reconsider their view of mobile technology - and to imagine a pedagogy that embraces its potential. Essentially small computers, cell phones can support language lessons, display animations of medical and chemical processes, be used for polling and testing, serve as the gateway to larger learning resources - and so much more. Prensky explores the possibilities and presents his vision of the new classroom, one in which mobile phones are a key learning tools (Prensky, 2003). Therefore, this paper examines the importance of m-learning and its effect and significance in today's educational settings at different levels. And that will discuss the following issues: defining m learning, m learning technology, m learning methods, m learning usefulness.

STRATEGIES OF WEB-BASED INSTRUCTION IN TEACHING AND LEARNING OF PHRASAL VERBS IN ENGLISH: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Web-based learning is the most effective strategy in delivering the best training to the maximum... more Web-based learning is the most effective strategy in delivering the best training to the maximum number of learners at the lowest cost. Fifteen modules in different webbased instructional strategies viz. OT, OTswSRM and OTOC have been developed. The results of the study reveal that the performance of elearners on Communicative English through internet is very much encouraging.

EVALUATION OF UNIVERSITY FRESHMEN SCHOLASTIC ACHIEVEMENT BASED ON SSCE, UTME, GENDER AND AGE IN SOUTH WEST NIGERIA

This study is designed to examine the composite and relative effects of SSCE result, UTME score, ... more This study is designed to examine the composite and relative effects of SSCE result, UTME score, age and gender on academic performance of University freshmen. Descriptive research design of ex-post facto type was employed to investigate the relationship that exists between the performance in SSCE, UTME, age and gender and university freshmen academic performance. University freshmen in the federal universities in south west Nigeria were used, 2518 participants 1423 males and 1095 females. Secondary data were collected from the concerned universities’ records office. Correlation and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the three research questions that were raised at 0.05 levels of significances. The result revealed significant composite effect and relative contributions with SSCE result as the most potent predictor (β = 0.0140; t= 7.241; p< 0.05), followed by age (βeta = -0144, t=7.024, p<0.05). However, sex and UME scores were not potent predictors of academic performance of University freshmen. Furthermore, the findings showed that there is significant difference in the academic performance of university freshmen that holds SSCE result by WAEC and NECO, (t = 6.795, df=1869, p< 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the academic performance of male and female university freshmen. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended that parents should see to the education need of their children early enough. Also, that SSCE exam should be looked into on issues of teaching-learning; conduct and marking of the examination papers. Also, that JAMB organization should be sanitized so as to be able to perform the roles it is expected of her.

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS LEVEL AMONG PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR TEACHERS IN THE TECHIMAN SOUTH CIRCUIT

by Open Access Publishing Group and isaac owusu-darko

Occupational stress is a serious health problem to the individual worker both physically and psyc... more Occupational stress is a serious health problem to the individual worker both physically and psychologically. It equally effects organizations and even the nations in terms of productivity and financial losses. Occupational stress has in recent times received close attention in America and Western Europe as is evident from the growing number of literature available and the wellness programs being developed for employees in these continents, but it does not appear to be so in developing countries as Ghana.

ANALYSIS OF DISTANCE EDUCATION STUDENTS’ OPINIONS AND SATISFACTION LEVELS OF THEIR PROGRAMS

Evaluation of opinions and satisfaction levels of students who continue their education through d... more Evaluation of opinions and satisfaction levels of students who continue their education through distance education programs is crucial in detecting the problems encountered in the programs and in improving them. The purpose of this study is to identify student evaluations and satisfaction levels concerning the pedagogical dimension of distance education programs. The single screening model was used in this quantitative study. The criterion sampling method, one of the purposeful sampling methods, was used in determining the universities whose distance education system would be examined. The study population consisted of universities offering distance education in Istanbul; the study sample consisted of 5 universities, among universities with at least 3 years distance education experience, which offered at least one of the associate degree, bachelor's degree or master's degree programs online and which had various learning management systems. The satisfaction questionnaire, developed by the researcher, was used as the data collection instrument; the pilot study of the questionnaire was applied on 194 distance education program students. The Cronbach alpha coefficient was observed to be 0.988 and the questionnaire was accepted to be reliable. Data were collected from 533 students studying in the distance education programs in the universities within the study sample. Data collected from the questionnaire were analyzed through the SPSS (Version 20) software. Findings suggest that students find it necessary to develop distance education programs in course design and content, the teaching and learning process, educational materials, the support provided and European Journal of Open Education and E-learning Studies-Volume 1 │ Issue 1│ 2016 153 assessment-evaluation. It is suggested that evaluating distance education programs in regular intervals and making improvements based on evaluation findings will enhance the quality of the education provided.

THE EDUCATION IN ENGINEERING FIELDS IN FRONT OF MARKET DEMANDS

Impacts of globalization on the engineering profession create a challenge in understanding what i... more Impacts of globalization on the engineering profession create a challenge in understanding what it means to be an engineer in the global economy of the 21st century and how should be prepared the future engineers. Engineering education today faced with request for preparation of the engineers with the necessary skills to cope with and benefit from the great changes that globalization brings. In this context, to understand how and how well we need to prepare the future engineers should be known the new capabilities that businesses and industry require from engineers. Fulfilment of all the requirements of a global economy and coping of challenges from the Institutions of Engineering Education directly requires the integration of competency based on new technology in curricula of programs they offer. So in this context, this paper it aims to identify the IT skills required by the market and to identify the quality of delivery of those skills from the Institutions of engineering education. To achieve this purpose were conducted interviews with directors/ managers of companies and teacher from institutions of engineering education. Outcomes of this research show that there is somehow a line between what is on offer in Institutions of Engineering Education and market demand for graduates in these institutions. But it remains that engineering education must increase performance of students in IT.

DISCUSSION METHOD AND ITS EFFECT ON THE PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN READING COMPREHENSION IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA

The study investigated the effect of Discussion method on the performance of students in reading ... more The study investigated the effect of Discussion method on the performance of students in reading comprehension in secondary schools in Plateau state. The study adopted a quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test control group design. Two randomly selected Government Secondary Schools from Jos North and Jos South Local Government Areas were used for the study. One hundred (100) senior secondary class II students from two intact classes were used for the study (i.e. 50 students per class, per school). Government Secondary School, Jos, was used as the experimental group while Government Secondary School, Bukuru, was used as the control group. Students from both groups were pre-tested to establish the homogeneity of the two groups before the commencement of the treatment to the experimental group. Both groups were taught for eight weeks. Students were tested using an instrument called a Cloze reading comprehension test. The hypothesis postulated for the research was tested using T-test as a statistical tool at 0.05 level of significance. The findings indicated that there was a significant difference in the pre-test and post-test mean scores of students in the experimental and control groups. The result further revealed a higher mean score of students taught reading comprehension using the discussion method as compared with those taught using the conventional method. Based on this finding, the study recommended that teachers should be encouraged to use discussion method alongside the conventional method to enrich their reading comprehension lessons. Curriculum planners and textbook writers should equally provide topical issues/discussion topics before, during and after every reading task to make reading comprehension lessons more participatory, meaningful, purposeful, exciting, enjoyable and pleasurable.

FINANCIAL MONITORING AND PROGRAMME PERFORMANCE BY PUBLIC BENEFIT ORGANIZATIONS IN KISUMU COUNTY, KENYA

Many Public Benefit Organizations (PBOs) have emerged within Kenya with the aim of offering solut... more Many Public Benefit Organizations (PBOs) have emerged within Kenya with the aim of offering solutions to the many problems being faced by the citizens. Donors provide funds to these organizations with a belief that the funds will be utilized towards the achievement of organizational objectives as laid out in the detailed implementation plans and annual work plans. In order to maximize the efficient use of resources and to create the highest level of transparency and accountability in these organizations, financial monitoring systems have been put in place. This research study aimed at finding the effects of financial monitoring interventions on programme performance for the Public Benefit Organizations in Kisumu County. Primary data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire with close- ended questions. A sample of 50 PBOs was selected out of which data was successfully obtained from 42 PBOs representing 84% response rate which was sufficient for the study. Data was analyzed using ANOVA (analysis of Variance) and descriptive statistics used included frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviations Data testing was conducted to obtain a good-fit estimation, tests were carried out to ensure statistical assumptions, such as linearity of variables. The study concluded that when all the three financial monitoring techniques are conducted simultaneously and other factors are held constant, PBOs’ programmes attained performance threshold with a performance percentage of 76.2 %. The results showed that financial monitoring positively contributes to programme performance for Public Benefit Organizations in Kisumu County.

WOMEN'S ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT AND MICRO-FINANCE OPERATION IN BANGLADESH: FROM POLICY TO OPERATIONAL LEVEL INTERVENTIONS

In the present context of women’s socio-economic empowerment, Bangladesh has played a revolutiona... more In the present context of women’s socio-economic empowerment, Bangladesh has played a revolutionary role in microcredit movement and has proved that the poor women are creditworthy and they can even do better in repaying the debt. This movement is no longer limited to only microcredit program; rather it includes more service-oriented in the frame of microfinance operation. Microcredit institutions in Bangladesh have dramatically increased the credit available to poor rural women since the mid-1980s. Moreover, Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) have become a dominant financial institution for the poor section of people, especially women who cannot access formal financial institutions in a large extent. Though poor women have access to microfinance, later it has been explored that due to various kind of patriarchal norms and other socio-economical constraints, women in most cases lose the control on proper utilization of debt. Even though, sometimes women’s decision-making power and the expansion of enterprise became shrink due to lack of control over the loan utilization process. This paper mainly focuses on how microfinance intervention in Bangladesh played a decisive role in women’s economic empowerment and to what extent government policy initiatives and institutional building approach assist in flourishing microfinance discourse more friendly for the most vulnerable poor women. Moreover, this paper also evaluates the most prominent two selected institutions named BRAC and Grameen Bank’s microfinance operation from a critical viewpoint and assess to what are the existing ambiguity in the arena of microfinance operation at the field level.

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN ABU DHABI: A STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING (SEM) APPROACH

The aim of this study is to measure the knowledge management strategies and organizational perfor... more The aim of this study is to measure the knowledge management strategies and organizational performance in Abu Dhabi utilizing a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. The research method of this research is a solely quantitative method where the total sample size is considered 331 employing simple random sampling. For this research, the structural model exhibited the relationships among the variables. The findings reveal that, knowledge management structure is positively related to knowledge management strategy, same to knowledge management practice is positively related to knowledge management strategy. However, knowledge management structure was found not really positively related to organizational performance. Unexpectedly, knowledge management practice has not also found significant either in terms of positively related to organizational performance. On the other hand, knowledge management strategy is positively related to organizational performance as well as reciprocal relationship found between knowledge management structure and knowledge management practice. This research has contributed to the existing knowledge by providing an empirically validated model which could be used to predict the organizational performance as a whole.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PLANNING AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF HEALTHCARE SECTOR IN ABU DHABI: STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING (SEM) APPROACH

The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of strategic management planning in the deve... more The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of strategic management planning in the development of healthcare sector in Abu Dhabi. The hypothesized research model and the key relationships were considered for the achieving the research objectives. In this proposed model, altogether seven hypotheses are developed to test the relationships among the various variables. To test the specific relationship of hypothesis, quantitative data must be collected to analyze the relationship and finally the result could be generalized on the population and select a sufficient sample size which represents the whole population that is what this research employed. In this study, the target population is the healthcare employees in Abu Dhabi. For this study, the sample size was 326 respondents from the healthcare sector in Abu Dhabi. Results revealed that healthcare service and facility is positively and significantly correlated with development of healthcare sector, as well as healthcare service and facility is positively and significantly correlated with financial and operational efficiency. Result also showed that financial and operational efficiency is positively and significantly correlated with development of healthcare sector, and healthcare service and facility is positively and significantly related with strategic management planning. However, strategic management planning does not a positive and significant influence on development of healthcare sector. The results of this study provide evidence that increased healthcare service and facility is associated with increased development of healthcare sector. This research has contributed to the existing knowledge by providing an empirically tested/validated model which could be used to predict a material portion of the variables that contributes to the eventual success of the healthcare.

ZIMBABWE’S PARKS AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY: CHALLENGES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Over the centuries, there has been a widespread destruction of wildlife species at the global lev... more Over the centuries, there has been a widespread destruction of wildlife species at the global level. Some of the causes of wildlife extinctions have been the loss of habitats due to global population growth rates. Some areas which used to be habitats for wildlife have been turned into commercial farms, towns and cities. In traditional Africa wildlife co-existed peacefully with human populations. Although some animals were occasionally hunted for meat and ivory, this practice could never upset the ecological balance due to the primitive nature of the weapons which were employed. However, with the advent of colonialism, many animal species were driven to extinction due to the efficiency of the weapons which were used. The use of fire arms in hunting expeditions became a major threat to animals such as elephants, rhinos, buffaloes, lions and impalas. While in North America many species such as the passenger pigeon disappeared, in Africa many have survived although they are still under threat from poachers. This paper examines the challenges which confront the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (PWMA) in the conservation of wildlife species such as elephants, lions, rhinos, buffaloes and impala. It focuses on the challenges which have occurred since 2000 during the ‘Fast Track Land Reform Programme’ (FTLRP). It is based on information which was collected in October, 2017. This involved the use of secondary and primary sources of information including interviews and questionnaires.

EFFECTS OF HIV/AIDS IN A BUSINESS ORGANIZATION: THE CASE OF SELECTED RETAIL BUSINESSES IN BOTSWANA

Businesses are important to the society that they serve. They provide goods and services to socie... more Businesses are important to the society that they serve. They provide goods and services to society as well as create employment. AS businesses provide these services to society they are in turn affected adversely by diseases through infection of employees. This study was carried out to find out the effects of HIV/AIDS on retail businesses in Botswana. A sample of nineteen (19) respondents was drawn from retail stores owned by Spar Botswana. The key research questions were: 1. How does HIV/AIDS affect the running of a business? 2. How do business firms deal with the effects of HIV/AIDS? 3. Do business organizations have workplace policies on HIV/AIDS that seek to minimize its effects? The key objectives were: 1. How the running of a business is affected by HIV/AIDS. 2. How business firms deal with the effects of HIV/AIDS. 3. If business organizations have workplace policies on HIV/AIDS that seek to minimize its effects. The study used the qualitative research method. The data collection techniques or tools used were the questionnaire and structured interviews. One of the key findings was that HIV/AIDS affects worker productivity in many ways, the key ones being that it lowers productivity and hence profitability. Another important finding was that some business organizations have policies that guide or govern workers to cope with the HIV/AIDS epidemic at the workplaces. Spar Botswana retail businesses have such policies for the benefit of both the workers and the employees. The study came up with several; recommendations to make businesses to cope with the HIV/AIDS situation at the workplaces. Two of these recommendations are 1. Businesses formulate and implement policies that encourage workers to test for HIV/AIDS on regular basis. 2. Businesses should host testing days where workers get immediate consultation when they find out if they are infected.

A STUDY OF UNIVERSITY LIFE SATISFACTION AMONG UNDERGRADUATES OF OBAFEMI AWOLOWO UNIVERSITY, ILE-IFE, NIGERIA

by Open Access Publishing Group and ADENIYI ADEBOWALE OLAYIWOLA WASIU

The study investigated the university life satisfaction among undergraduates. The study employed ... more The study investigated the university life satisfaction among undergraduates. The study employed the survey design technique. The population consisted undergraduates of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. A total of four faculties out of the thirteen faculties in the school were selected using simple random sampling technique. From each faculty, 150 undergraduates were selected using convenience sampling technique. An adapted instrument titled “Students University Life Satisfaction Scale (SULSS)” was used to collect information from the students and the instrument yielded Spearman Brown Coefficients and Spearman Brown Split-half reliability tests values of 0.77 and 0.83 respectively at 0.05 level of significance. Percentage, rank order and t-test statistics were employed to analyse the data. The results showed that 342 (57%) of undergraduates were highly satisfied with the university life. It was revealed that the most factors that were responsible for the university life satisfaction among the undergraduates were academic activities 563 (94%), recreational activities 521 (87%) and spiritual programmes/activities 521 (88%). Also, the results showed that the problems of university life satisfaction were overcrowded lecture rooms 573 (96%), academic workload 548 (91%) and unstable academic calendar 538 (90%). Finally, the results showed that there was no significant difference between sex and university life satisfaction (t-test = -0.582, df.= 598, p > 0.05), but significant difference was found between place of residence and university life satisfaction (t-test = 0.012, df.= 598, p < 0.05), The study concluded that the students were highly satisfied with university life but depended much on factors such as academic activities, recreational activities and spiritual programmes/activities and physical facilities for their satisfaction.

İBRAHİM ÇALLI "GÜL KOKLAYAN KADIN"

İbrahim Çallı, Türk resim sanatında önemli bir yere sahiptir. Bu çalışma ile Çallı Kuşağı (1914 K... more İbrahim Çallı, Türk resim sanatında önemli bir yere sahiptir. Bu çalışma ile Çallı Kuşağı (1914 Kuşağı) dönemindeki Gül Koklayan Kadın isimli eser, disiplinlerarası bağlamda incelenmektedir. Çallı’ nın bu eseri, Akademik ve Disiplinlerarası Yeni Sanat Eleştirisi Kuramı’ na göre çözümlenerek her yönden sonuca ulaştırılmıştır.

GLOBAL RECESSION & GLOBAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS: EVIDENCE FROM TOP 100 GLOBAL BRANDS (2001 – 2015)

This paper aims to present the brand equity trends among top banks and financial brands during 20... more This paper aims to present the brand equity trends among top banks and financial brands during 2001-15. The research uses the data published by world’s leading brand consultancy Interbrand. During 2001-2015, a total of 19 financial brands from seven countries appeared in the top 100 global brands list. Analyses were made on the basis of cumulative brand equity, average brand equity and growth patterns. Some major trends presented in this paper are; (a) global economic recession (2008-2009) affected the financial brands more than other sectors; (b) different clusters of financial institutions moved differently during recession and afterwards (c) dominance of American financial brands remained the key observation.

JEL: D02, E02, G21, F01

MOBILITY CHALLENGES AND BORDER ROUTES: THE RISE OF REGIONAL CONFLICTS IN THE LAKE CHAD BASIN

The main objective of this study is to identify impediments or information that affect problems a... more The main objective of this study is to identify impediments or information that affect problems associated with arrival time, which in the long run constitutes mobility challenges. Transport challenges exist in the Chad Basin due to the geography of transport, flow of immigrants which is always examined as a strong factor for the growth of conflicts (insurgency and other crisis). The Chad Basin encourages the growth of various groups for agriculture and commerce. The dynamism of Lake Chad had introduced conflicts which had changed individual transport behaviour and risks over the years, and reduction in logistic management – cross-border trade, an important factor for growth in trade for Lake Chad Basin Countries. The estimated predictors using the multinomial marginal change shows that there may be gains in access but the dynamism - the terrain of the region and current trends in security concerns has had effects on mobility challenges, especially due to unmaintained roads, high travel insecurity as a result of crisis and insurgency, high travel cost and longer travel time. We recommend that priorities of government in the Lake Chad Basin should gradually change from funding to end the insurgency and rehabilitation of victims to road rehabilitation, to remove all barriers to mobility challenges as a results of impassable roads and closed roads, high security travel risks and low level of cross-border trade in the region attributed to road conditions amongst others.

LITERATURE REVIEW IN CONTEXT: SUBSTANCES AND PROCEDURES

The study examines the concept of literature review in research framework. The main objective is ... more The study examines the concept of literature review in research framework. The main objective is to gather various and explicit scholars' views on how to review, manage and structure literature review as a vital component of research proposal. Therefore, content analysis as qualitative technique is employed to achieve the objective of the paper. The paper discusses the concept of research, social scientific research, and identifies number of social scientific research norms (universalism, organized skepticism, disinterestedness, communalism and honest). Again, the paper identifies goals and various sources of literature review including primary and secondary sources, its types, and common challenges and finally, basic substances/sub-heading, which every literature review should include. Consequently, the findings reveals that five basic sub-headings including introduction, conceptual framework, theoretical framework (if needed), review of empirical studies and summary and uniqueness of the study should be included in the chapter (Review of Related Literature).

LAND DEGRADATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN ZIMBABWE: AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Zimbabwe’s problems of land degradation date back to the colonial era when the Rhodesian governme... more Zimbabwe’s problems of land degradation date back to the colonial era when the Rhodesian government created native reserves, the so-called Tribal Trust Lands (TTLs) in 1926. Through the enactment of the Land Apportionment Act of 1930, the country was subdivided into European and Native Lands. Since the Act ignored the population disparities of these areas, an environmental crisis was bound to occur in the near future. Furthermore, the Europeans took the best agricultural land while blacks were relegated to the drier and less productive areas. Due to the introduction of the ox-drawn plough, the communal lands were subjected to massive land degradation in the form of deforestation and soil erosion. Although massive land re-distribution has occurred since 2000, land degradation has spread to the newly-resettled areas as human and livestock populations continue to increase in these former white farms. The demand of timber for building purposes as well as wood fuel in these areas, have worsened the environmental crisis. In tobacco farming areas deforestation has been worsened by the demand for energy to cure the harvested crop. Another challenge has been that of a weak environmental education (EE) programme which focuses on scientific facts about the environment rather than behavior change. Organizations such as the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) are not well equipped to provide their mandate due to the lack of resources, vehicles for transport and inadequate manpower. Based on information that was collected in September, 2017, this paper examines Zimbabwe’s land degradation problem from an historical perspective. It argues that unless the rate of deforestation and soil erosion are curbed or reduced, Zimbabwe’s dream of achieving sustainable resource conservation in future is unlikely to be achieved in the long run.

MIDWIFING NIGERIA’S FRAGILE UNITY: THE ROLE OF OBAFEMI AWOLOWO IN THE NIGERIAN CIVIL WAR

The focus of this paper is to examine the role of Obafemi Awolowo in restoring Nigeria’s unity af... more The focus of this paper is to examine the role of Obafemi Awolowo in restoring Nigeria’s unity after the ill-fated secession attempt by the Eastern Region on 30 May, 1967. The paper obtained its data extensively from secondary sources. This is made up of books, journal articles, newspaper reports and government publications relevant to the study. It employs the historical method of data analysis in interrogating information obtained. The paper notes that the Nigerian civil war of 1967-1970, a military response to the political conflict between the North and the East, almost ended in a failure. The impasse was, however, resolved through the strategy of starvation and economic blockade initiated by Awolowo which eventually instigated the surrender of Biafra forces to the Federal Government’s forces in January, 1970. The paper concludes that Awolowo’s ingenuity and strategic advice eventually saved the Nigerian state from imminent decimation and balkanization. His prudent management of the national treasury, as finance minister during the war years, further aided the implementation of the 3Rs post-war programme of reconciliation, rehabilitation and reconstruction. This, no doubt, helped significantly in stabilizing the Nigerian polity after the cessation of hostilities in January, 1970.

THE PSYCHO-SOCIAL ASPECT OF THE INCLUSION OF ABUSED CHILDREN IN LEARNING

The reason to choose this topic for research among others is the studies method of this issue or ... more The reason to choose this topic for research among others is the studies method of this issue or paper, since it is one of the most spread problems among children nowadays, because a number of them perform heavy duties and with destructive consequences for their health as in the psychic aspect and also in that emotional one, but also in the inappropriate construction of the child’s personality. However, on the occasion of knowing and studying of these circumstances today, we primarily have a better awareness as in this cases to the parents-family, social-cultural environment and also the society in general. The key of the research or the aim of the problem in to regard is familiarizing with the causes and motives of engaging children at work and their knowing of the factors influencing in spreading this incidence which is of a large extent and very concerning, for the fact that this incidence is increasing every day more and more. The occurrence of studying these issues and familiarizing with the circumstances the impellent and motivating factors in this aspect, has affected the change of this situation to a large extent. Our research problem in this case will be “causes and motives of engaging children at work”. This will be our research focus in this regard.

SAUDI-IRAN RIVALRY AND ITS IMPACT ON REGIONAL POLITICS

Historically, Iran has dominated the regional politics in several aspects, but after the Second W... more Historically, Iran has dominated the regional politics in several aspects, but after the Second World War, Saudi Arabia emerged as a significant player in regional politics. Both states have several differences; Saudi Arabia is Sunni dominated state with monarchical system of governance while Iran has a Shia dominated population and Islamic republic nature of governance. Saudi Arabia and Iran have been in a conflict with each other for several decades and there have been a number of issues that have intensified the Saudi-Iran rivalry for the several decades and created instability in the region. Iranian nuclear programme and capital punishment of Shia cleric by Saudi government have also further increased their rivalry. But, their recent enmity has had a drastic impact on the West Asian region. Therefore, regional conflicts have been becoming very complex and affecting the regional politics as well as international politics. The main aim of this paper is to examine the causes of Saudi-Iran rivalry and how does it impact on regional politics.

POLITICAL – DIPLOMATIC MISSION OF ALEKS SPAN

In the town of Drishtit during the Middle Age, among the noble families, there was also the Spani... more In the town of Drishtit during the Middle Age, among the noble families, there was also the Spani family, who was very well known. Out of this family emerged important figures whom Aleks Spani was noteworthy. In the field of his activity, Aleks Spani was very well known both for the diplomatic role and for the exercise of other important function’s, of which we highlight his position as a mayor of the city of Novobërdë. Although we have not encountered so much information about Aleks Spani as a mayor of the city of Novobërdë, however it was proven that Aleks Spani was the mayor of the city we. After the fall of Novobërdë under the Ottoman dominance, the information we have for Aleks Spani refers to his diplomatic mission. Within this mission he had served as a mediator between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire.After the fall of Drishti under the Ottoman dominance, Aleks Spani with his family settled in Venice. The Spani family through marriage’s had managed to connect with the familiar feudal families, like the Kastrioti one, because Pjetër Spani’s wife, was the sister of Vojsava, mother of Scanderbeg, as well as with other familiar families of that time not only from the different parts of Albania but also wider. An example of this case, we got the marriage of Aleks Spani, who was married with Miliza, daughter of a Serbian despot, Gjergj Branković. However, members of the Spani family with their contribution managed to leave trace’s not only in Drishtë but also beyond, as we have the case of Aleks Spani, and his descendant’s, who although immigrated to Venice, played an important role in social trends or flows of that time.

TOURISM IN PROTECTED AREAS: THE CASE OF THE NATIONAL MARINE PARK OF ALONISSOS-NORTHERN SPORADES IN GREECE

The tourist development of Greece began in the '50s to become one of the main sources of income, ... more The tourist development of Greece began in the '50s to become one of the main sources of income, both nationally and locally, since many areas are the main source of tourism revenue. The concepts of sustainability and viability of this product and its operation, is being strongly marked recent decades in many conferences, notices, and scientific research. Greece established 30 Management Bodies to integrated management of protected areas belonging to this network. One of the main problems faced by operators in their pursuit of these objectives to be achieved is use of these areas by visitors, whose presence is particularly strong in coastal locations. Meanwhile, tourism trends in recent years have changed, resulting in more and more visitors are directed to areas that retain as much as possible intact their natural environment, which, as already mentioned, has contributed to the development of ecotourism. Comparatively, governments are pushing the parks to make more dynamic the tourism as a means of saving money to make them as independent, sustainable and self-reliant as possible. This results in the Protected Areas at risk of losing their authenticity if not properly managed the tourists from their managers. Others focus on the principles of sustainability and viability and others give concrete forms of tourism in this alternative formula, including for example ecotourism and agrotourism. The benefits anticipated from the influence on the existing tourism development, the development of better relations with local operators and those involved in the tourism sector and a holistic approach in terms of management of the protected area in the field of management. This paper investigates the profile of tourists in the National Marine Park of Alonissos, gets a swot analysis to identify the problems and benefits of the region and are proposed a number of items reference the ecotourism marketing.

INFLUENCE OF ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS ON THE GROWTH OF MICRO AND SMALL ENTERPRISES OWNED BY WOMEN IN MERU COUNTY, KENYA

This study was aimed at establishing the influence of entrepreneurial skills on the growth of wom... more This study was aimed at establishing the influence of entrepreneurial skills on the growth of women owned micro and small enterprises in Meru town. The target population consisted of all women owned micro and small enterprises in Meru town. These enterprises can be classified into four types namely, trade, service, manufacturing and processing. This data was obtained from the business registration register. The study used descriptive statistics and used self- administered questionnaires to collect data. Data analysis was done using descriptive and inferential statictics using SPSS version 22. The study found that entrepreneurial skills such as marketing skills, financial management skills, human management skills, organizing skills among others had very strong influence on the growth of MSEs owned by women. The multiple regression analysis showed that entrepreneurial skills has a strength of 0.829 and a correlation of correlation of 0.696.The study recommended that all means to be used to ensure women entrepreneurs have the necessary enterprise running skills such as marketing skills, financial management organizing skills human resource management skills.

ASSESSMENT OF E-COMMERCE USAGE FOR EFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY IN NIGERIA BANKING SECTOR

This study assessed the extent of e-commerce usage for effective service delivery in Nigeria bank... more This study assessed the extent of e-commerce usage for effective service delivery in Nigeria banking sector. Four research questions and four null hypotheses guided the study. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The study covered 64 microfinance banks in Oyo State, South-West, Nigeria. The population was made up of 1275 staffs from the 64 microfinance banks. The sample size consisted of 28 microfinance banks of which 280 staffs were purposively selected. A 28-item structured questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection. Four experts carried out the face and content validity of the instrument. The reliability was determined using Cronbach’s Alpha statistic Reliability Coefficient and reliability coefficient of 0.86 was obtained. The arithmetic mean and standard deviation were used to analyze data, answer research questions and determine the homogeneity or otherwise of the respondents’ means while ANOVA was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that microfinance banks in Oyo State have not use electronic payment cards as e-commerce delivery channels. They also use Internet marketing for product advertising and loan availability display; electronic fund transfer but have not been using it for online customers’ enlightment, online promotion of services and sending statements of account. It was recommended among other things, that management of microfinance banks should adopt most of the e-commerce delivery channel used by commercial banks in order to boost their standard of operation within the banking sector also, microfinance bank management should engage, encourage and sponsor their staff for re-training programmes to update their ICT knowledge, skills and competencies to effectively use the resources for quality customer service delivery.

INFLUENCE OF EMPLOYEES REWARD PROGRAMME ON JOB PERFORMANCE IN NZOIA SUGAR COMPANY LIMITED BUNGOMA COUNTY, KENYA

This study aimed at investigating on how the current reward programme influence employees job per... more This study aimed at investigating on how the current reward programme influence employees job performance at Nzoia Sugar Company Limited in Bungoma County. Specifically, it aimed at finding out which aspects of reward programme functions well and which aspects could be further developed and improved in order to increase employee job performance. The research specific objectives were; (i) to establish the influence of promotion on employee job performance at Nzoia Sugar Company Limited in Bungoma County; (ii) to establish how training influence employee job performance at Nzoia Sugar Company Limited in Bungoma County and (iii) to examine the influence of flexible work systems on employee work motivation at Nzoia Sugar Company Limited in Bungoma County. The target population was 252 employees of Nzoia Sugar Company Limited. The target population comes from different departments. The study sample size was 76 employees obtained through stratified random sampling method. The descriptive research design was used. The data was collected through questionnaires and interviews. The data was prepared and analyzed by descriptive statistics and inferential statistics through the aid SPSS. Data was presented in form of tables, pie charts, and bar charts. The study used correlation analysis to bring out the relationship between the variables under study. Promotion of employees showed the greatest influence on employees job performance as it indicated the highest mean of 35.5 and hence based on these findings the company should implement promotional rewards to realize increase increased productivity of the employees. Promotional rewards are ranked no. 1 among other promotional rewards. This study will be of significance to the management of Nzoia Sugar Company limited in Bungoma County to revise reward program policies for the purpose of increasing employee job performance, the study will enable the researcher to make recommendations to Nzoia Sugar Company administrators in Bungoma County, policy makers especially Kenya Sugar Board and any public sector in formulating policies and strategies to be employed to improve employee job performance in institutions of sugar manufacturing industry. The study will also be a source of reference for researchers intending to carry out further research on the influence of reward programs on employee job performance at Nzoia Sugar Company limited in Bungoma County or any other institution.

IMPACT OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT ON ECONOMIC GROWTH: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM NIGERIA, 1985-2016

This study analyses the impact of foreign direct investment on economic growth in Nigeria using d... more This study analyses the impact of foreign direct investment on economic growth in Nigeria using data for 32 years, from 1985-2016. The OLS estimation and the Johansen cointegration test were the key techniques of analysis employed. The results indicate that foreign direct investment has no positive impact on the Nigerian economic growth. Trade openness and exchange rate, however, have positive but insignificant influence on economic growth. The cointegration test result revealed that there is evidence of a long-run relationship between foreign direct investment and economic growth. The paper thus recommends that there is need for in-depth investigation of economic and institutional forces that determine the composition of FDI inflows to developing countries and to work towards improving such forces. Moreover, government should also take measures in order to stabilize the exchange rate system that may attract foreign investors in the country, and also liberalize the trade policy to attract foreign investors to the country.

JEL: E22, F21, G11

NEXUS BETWEEN STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION AND INDUSTRY PERFOMANCE IN KENYA: A SURVEY OF LAW COURTS IN MERU COUNTY, KENYA

Many organizations, ought to have strategic plans to achieve their set objectives and eventually... more Many organizations, ought to have strategic plans to achieve their set objectives and eventually achieve their success. In most cases, organizations do not consider the importance of strategic plans in organizations` performance. Therefore, this study is targeted to investigate the nexus between strategy implementation and industry performance in Kenya. The study also investigated the effect of organizational culture on strategic plan implementation and performance of Kenyan Industries and more specifically Meru Law Courts. Descriptive study was applied for the study and stratified sampling was also used to get sample size. The target population was 146 employees of the Kenyan judiciary and the sample size was 107 employees which were derived from the target population. Data collection technique for the study was questionnaires as they were simple and cheap to administer. Data for the study was analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the data to determine the degree of relationship between the variables under study. The hypotheses were tested using multiple linear regression at 5% level of significance. The data for the study was then presented in form of frequency tables, charts and graphs. The study recommends that a further study should be undertaken and extended to other Counties to assess whether different findings may be reached regarding the issue under study.

JEL: L60, L10

EFFECTIVENESS OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON PUBLIC SECTOR REFORMS IN KENYA RURAL ROADS AUTHORITY, KENYA

This research focused on the evaluation of the effectiveness of financial management practices in... more This research focused on the evaluation of the effectiveness of financial management practices in Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) on public sector reforms. The main objective of the study was to establish the effectiveness of financial management practices on public sector reforms taking a case study of KeRRA. The specific objectives of the study were to establish the effectiveness of budgeting on public sector reforms in KeRRA, to examine the effectiveness of procurement laws on public sector reforms in KeRRA, to establish the effects of effectiveness of IFMIS – Integrated Financial Management Information Systems on public sector reforms and to determine the effectiveness of work plans on public sector reforms in KeRRA. The study used descriptive research design with a target population of 530 employees; a sample of 222 was selected using simple random sampling technique. The research used both primary and secondary data. Primary data was collected using questionnaires. Secondary data was obtained from reports and archives. Pilot test was conducted to enhance the instrument validity and reliability. Data collection involved a self - administered questionnaire through drop and picks them later. Descriptive analysis was applied which included mean, frequencies and percentages using assistance of computer packages especially Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 to communicate research findings.The study also used a regression model and correlation to study the relationship between factors. From the model, the factors that significantly influenced public sector reforms included Budgeting process (t = 2.189, p = .032), Procurement process (t = 1.913, p = .059), and IFIMIS Implementation (t = -3.847, p = .001). Work plan implementation (t = .979, p = .331) did not have any significant influence on public sector reforms. KeRRA should include financial reforms as part of their performance contracts target and should ensure that they implement the reforms to their logical conclusion in order to achieve the reforms intended objectives and consequently improve on its performance.

JEL: H61, H72, H83, B26

INFLUENCE OF LEADERSHIP STYLE ON SERVICE DELIVERY IN EMBU COUNTY GOVERNMENT, KENYA

The implementation of devolved government system in Kenya has enabled most citizens to receive ef... more The implementation of devolved government system in Kenya has enabled most citizens to receive efficient and better services. This is facilitated by supportive leadership style such as democratic styles which enables different actors to participate in decision making and implementation of service delivery. The study objective was to find out how leadership Style influences implementation of service delivery in County government. The null hypothesis stated that there is no significant relationship between leadership Style and implementation of service delivery in County government. This study adopted descriptive study design. The study made use of stratified sampling. Stratified is where the researcher divides a study area in portion and then he/she picks few individuals for study. The sample size comprises of 110 respondents. The researcher used descriptive statistics including frequency distribution tables, percentages. In addition to this, inferential statistical techniques were considered such as Pearson correlations and multiple regression analysis. They were used to establish relationships among variables. A detailed description of the data and the findings were presented in tables. The study found that county government has a policy on leadership style. It was also found that workers were not free to make most decisions without consulting their seniors, meaning decisions are made by their seniors. The study recommended that the County government should embrace participative leadership which may encourage implementation of service delivery in County governments and that county government employees should be allowed to air their grievances to the top county managers, avoid authoritative leadership in County government.

JEL: G18, G28, H11

THE EFFECT OF EXTERNAL FACTORS ON PROFITABILITY OF ACCEPTED BANKS IN TEHRAN STOCK EXCHANGE

The growth and decline or economic downturn of countries is closely linked to the workings of ban... more The growth and decline or economic downturn of countries is closely linked to the workings of banking institutions. The banking system offers services without which the economic system of the country remains open. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of internal factors on profitability of accepted banks in Tehran Stock Exchange. To describe the research method, Mark, Philip, and Adrian (2009) used the onion model for the research process. This model has 8 layers, and the present study based on the lines of the paradigm were categorized of research on affirmation, the main type of applied research, the method of analytic-hypothesis research, quantitative research strategy, field research, the choice of research method in correlation and time series, the research objectives were descriptive and, finally, the methods and procedures for collecting data of reviewing library resources and financial ratios. The statistical population of this study was equivalent to the total accepted banks in Tehran Stock Exchange. All statistical analyzes were performed at the error level of 5% with the help of Excel 2016 and version 10 of Eviews software. The results of this study revealed that credit risk factors have a linear and significant correlation with profitability (return on equity and equity ratio), stock market indices and profitability (return on assets and equity ratio).

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND THE BUDGETING PROCESS WITHIN THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT OF NANDI, KENYA

Citizen participation is one of the national values in Kenya and is also a principle of public se... more Citizen participation is one of the national values in Kenya and is also a principle of public service. This study examined the key factors affecting public participation in budgeting process in the County Government of Nandi in Kenya. The study also sought to identify the key socio-cultural factors affecting public participation in the budgeting process in Nandi County. The study adopted a descriptive survey design targeting Community Based Organizations’ (CBOs) members who are residents of Nandi County, CBO officials and officials from the Treasury and Economic Planning department in the County Government of Nandi. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select members of Community Based Organizations who were administered with structured questionnaires. The study found out that public participation enhances the quality of the budgeting process. The study also found out that stakeholders’ involvement in budgeting process enhances accountability and transparency. Pearson correlation test found that there was a statistically significant positive relationship (R = 0.513) between stakeholder’s involvement and budgeting process since p < 0.05 (p = 0.014). It was also found that socio-cultural factors could also affect public participation in the budgeting process and using Pearson correlation test to determine the effect of socio-cultural factors on participatory budgeting process, the study found a weak positive relationship (R = 0.203) between Socio-cultural factors and budgeting process since p < 0.05 (p = 0.203).

IMPACT OF FACTORY MODEL CULTIVATION ON TEA INPUT AND OUTPUT QUALITY: A STUDY IN SELECTED TEA FACTORIES IN RUHUNU REGION, SRI LANKA

The tea industry has long been acknowledged as a major source of livelihood in Sri Lanka with reg... more The tea industry has long been acknowledged as a major source of livelihood in Sri Lanka with regards as the biggest provider of employment, export earnings and government revenue. Kenya, India, China, Vietnam, Malawi and Indonesia are emerging as competitors for Sri Lankan tea industry in the international market. Ceylon tea still has golden opportunity to compete in the global tea market with respect to high quality tea products. Factory model cultivation is initiated to encourage tea factories to control their tea input quality, in turn improves tea output quality. Based on this premise, this study aims to identify the impact of factory model cultivation on tea input and output quality of tea factories in Sri Lanka. An empirical investigation was conducted on a sample comprising 74 tea factories in Ruhunu region, Sri Lanka. A personally-administered structured questionnaire was used to collect data. The independent sample t-test and the multiple regression analysis were employed to test the hypotheses. The findings offer useful insights not only in terms of understanding the link between tea input quality and output quality of tea production, but also the impact of factory model plantation on controllability of the external suppliers input quality. The study has extended the understanding of the extent of applicability of the factory model cultivation to upgrade input and output quality of tea as well as controlling abilities towards input quality of external suppliers.

JEL: O13, Q18, Q15

TALKING TO FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKET; DOES IT MATTER FOR CENTRAL BANK?

This study reviews the market intervention technique used by central banks for the management of ... more This study reviews the market intervention technique used by central banks for the management of exchange rate. In literature, enough evidence is available describing that many Central Banks used intervention as a tool to control the volatility of foreign exchange; however, recently the Central Banks in larger industrialized nations shifted from physical intervention policy to the oral intervention policy. The evidence suggests that the oral intervention remained more successful in controlling the volatility compared to physical intervention.

FINANCIAL INTERMEDIATION AND HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: EVIDENCE FROM SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN COUNTRIES

Economic development must be sustainable, improving and dynamic in order to achieve the critical ... more Economic development must be sustainable, improving and dynamic in order to achieve the critical goal of poverty alleviation. A review of extant literature indicates that studies in this area of finance have focused on the impact of finance on economic growth arising more from developed economies. Recommendations from these works may obviously have favoured these economies to the detriment of the developing ones. It is therefore, against the need to explore the role of finance in tackling developmental issues in developing economies with bias to sub-Saharan African countries that this study examined the impact of financial intermediation on human capital development of sub Saharan African countries from 1980 to 2012 utilizing panel data set from the World Bank and applying the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression in analysis. Results reveal that financial intermediation did not have positive and significant impact on human development in sub Saharan Africa within the period of this study. This trend must be reversed as it probably might have contributed to their underdevelopment. It is recommended that policy makers should pay more attention to the quality of growth so as to support all round human development. Countries may consider establishing banks of infrastructure or even go further to have banks of development. These will further assist in addressing critical areas such as life expectancy, adult literacy and school enrolment, amongst others beyond just economic growth.

EFFECTIVENESS OF NON-CONVENTIONAL MONETARY POLICY TOOL: EVENT-STUDY ANALYSIS OF MAJOR EUROZONE ECONOMIES

This study examines the effectiveness of European Central Bank asset purchase program (quantitati... more This study examines the effectiveness of European Central Bank asset purchase program (quantitative easing) on the long-term interest rates. In particular, the study evaluates the effectiveness or influence of the European Central Bank’s non-conventional monetary policy tool, quantitative easing (also known as asset purchase program) on the yield of 5-year sovereign government bonds of Eurozone economies. The main objective and the motivation for this study is to provide the compact effects or influence of the quantitative easing in the Eurozone economies, as the current literature on quantitative easing insufficiently covers the effects of quantitative easing in the euro area. The duration of the quantitative easing or asset purchase program is from the end of 2014 until the first quarter of 2017; however, the currently available literature only studies the effects of the asset purchase program until mid of 2016. Very few researches are published after the completion of the quantitative program that estimates or evaluate the complete influence of the program on the long-term interest rates and economic indicators. Whereas, this research provides a complete solution to the literature gap by studying the influence of all the quantitative easing related announcements made by ECB from June 2014 to January 2017, or the whole period of extended asset purchase program conducted by ECB.
The research questions that the study aims to answer is that if the ECB announcements related to quantitative easing influence the long-term interest rates via influencing the 5-year government bonds. If the impact on the 5-year government bond yield is only influenced by those ECB announcements that contain new information related to asset purchase program. If the impact of quantitative easing or asset purchase program is larger on the weaker Eurozone economies namely Spain and Italy, as compared to the impact of the same program on stronger Eurozone economies including Germany and France
This research uses the event-study analysis methodology. Under the event study method, the research first estimates the abnormal variation in the yield of 5-year government bonds of the four largest Eurozone economies around the announcements made by European Central Bank regarding the quantitative easing or asset purchase program in the monetary policy statement. Later the study evaluates if abnormal variation in 5-year government bond yield around such announcements has statistical and economic significance. The sample of four 5-year government bonds of the four largest economies of Eurozone, namely Germany, France, Spain, and Italy, are considered for the research..
The research made key contributions to the literature on the subject of quantitative easing focused on the euro area. The statistical results of the research conclude that the ECB announcements negatively (decrease) influence the 5-year government bond yields. While the event-study results and the hypothesis revolve around measuring the effectiveness and influence of the non-conventional monetary policy tools used by ECB, the study also discovered a key pattern that the influence of such asset purchase program is much larger on weaker economies of the dataset like Spain and Italy, as compared to strong candidates i.e. Germany and France. The study also discovered that the abnormal variations in yields only occur around those central bank announcement that has a surprise element or that has a new information related the monetary policy.
The results of the study also show economic significance. The results show that at the initiation of the asset purchase program or quantitative easing, the inflation rates across Europe were between -1% to 0.8%, which is far below the optimal inflation rate of 2%. However, at the end of asset purchase program in the first quarter of 2017, the monthly inflation rates in Germany, France, Spain and Italy has increased to 2%, 1.4%, 2.6% and 2% respectively. At the beginning of the asset purchase program the quarterly GDP growth rate in sample countries was between -0.2% to 0.4%, whereas, at the end of the asset purchase program or quantitative easing in the second quarter of 2017, the quarterly GDP growth rate of Germany, France, Spain and Italy increased to 0.6%, 0.5%, 0.9% and 0.4% respectively. Hence all the results derived from the event-study analysis are consistent with the hypothesis proposed under this research.

ELICITING MILLENNIAL PERSPECTIVES ON ETHICAL PRACTICES AND MORAL CONDUCT WITHIN THE APPAREL INDUSTRY

The 21st century consumers are mindful of problems that impact social and environmental sustainab... more The 21st century consumers are mindful of problems that impact social and environmental sustainability, fast fashion’s main emphasis is faster turnaround from factories to stay competitive thus some retail companies aren’t paying keen attention on the ethics in apparel production factories (Bhasin, 2014, June 04; Tan, 2016). According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) forced labor is a worldwide concern affecting 21 million people; simply put there are 3 out of every 1,000 victims who are part of forced labor within Asia-Pacific with 11.7 million and other regions as shown in Appendix A (Mcclelland, 2017). 260 million children partake in employment with an estimate of 170 million children engaged in apparel making; ILO estimated that 6 million children are in forced labor with 14 to 16 working hour days in poor working conditions with reported cases in Bangladesh apparel factories; yarn spinning in India; cotton seeds production in Benin; and harvesting cotton in Uzbekistan (Moulds, 2017; Peiris, 2005). Ashridge Centre for Business and Sustainability, and Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) confirmed that 71% of companies admitted to cases of modern slavery in their supply chain; with 168 million child labor cases in 2017 and a proven improvement from 246 million cases in 2000 (Mcclelland, 2017). Can apparel suppliers and retailers tackle the unethical practices that are impacting humanity and integrate practices that would ensure social sustainability? The focus of this research was for an opportunity to acquire and understand millennials perspectives on the unethical conduct and fashion industry with relevance to apparel sourcing, manufacturing, industry sustainability.

JEL: L60, L67, M14, D29, K20

ELICITING MILLENNIAL PERSPECTIVES ON ETHICS IN SAFETY PRODUCT RECALLS TO ENSURE CONSUMER PROTECTION AND INDUSTRY SUSTAINABILITY

The pressure to gain market share in competitive markets plays a role in expedited production, le... more The pressure to gain market share in competitive markets plays a role in expedited production, less time in research and development, and minimal product testing; these actions leave the flaws to be pinpointed by consumers instead of the respective companies. Product recalls are an economic threat to suppliers and manufacturers and a main concern to the public’s health; the complexity of a globalized supply chain with areas of unregulated safety standards contribute to increase in recalls. The adoption of technology and ease in usage of smart devices equipped with access to social media has provided consumers with the power to report malfunctions to larger audience and government agencies thus directly influencing consumer behavior. The cost incurred by companies after a recall are estimated at $55.5 billion a year including mortality, productivity losses, and medical expenses; specifically, the direct cost to the food company can go up to $10 million on lost sales and brand image reputation. The ethics within industries; what motivates industries from not being forthcoming and delaying the recall of products that cause harm to others and need to be recalled? Research focused on eliciting millennial perspectives on safety recalls on significant consumable products, baby products, and technology related recalls with emphasis on the CPSC recall of 1.9 million Galaxy Note 7 and 2.8 million top-load washers for a total of 4.7 million recalled products in 7 weeks a period from September 15 to November 04, 2016.

JEL: D18, L60, M11, A14, F23, M14

ETHICS AND SUSTAINABILITY: ELICITING MILLENNIAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE ETHICS WITHIN PHARMACEUTICALS

Americans spend $392 billion in prescribed medication per Washington post; Wall Street Journal st... more Americans spend $392 billion in prescribed medication per Washington post; Wall Street Journal study compared branded rugs in Ontario, Canada, England, Norway the findings confirmed that United States prices were higher prices than Norway; and England. United States with the highest prices contribute to price gouging? EpiPen by Mylan from $2 overseas and $750; Daraprim by Turning Pharmaceuticals gouge from $13.50 to $750 per pill; and Cosmegen $20 to $30 overseas and $1400 per injection these prices are horrendous especially when the drugs are required for debilitating diseases. Ebola scare in 2014 required protective devices against contamination of the virus. Kimberly Clark and Halyard Health manufactured, marketed, and sold Microcool gowns with a 77% failure rate as confirmed by Intertek Labs. What contributes to the pharmaceutical unethical conduct that includes price gouging and exploitation? Pharmaceuticals growing with an emphasis on buying rights to drugs and drastically increasing the cost of drugs and medical devices without substitutes ethical; what do millennials who are projected by Fortune to dominate the workforce by 2020 think on ethics within pharmaceuticals? The findings confirmed that the pharmaceuticals price gouging, sale of drugs and products that are later recalled, and huge budgets in marketing instead of R&D weren’t ethical and results confirmed that the pharmaceutical companies should focus on their core which is saving patients’ lives.

JEL: L60, L65, I18 A14, L29, K32, M14

ETHICAL SOURCING TO ENSURE SUSTAINABILITY IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY AND ELICITING MILLENNIAL PERSPECTIVES

Social responsibility, animal welfare, and environmental responsibility are essential practices i... more Social responsibility, animal welfare, and environmental responsibility are essential practices in sustainably sourced products. The industry leaders in ethical sourcing and sustainable development are paving the way while the followers are lagging; how can the industry continue the upward trend in sourcing ethically and improving sustainability? Gaining brand loyalty and increase of sales while sourcing ethically and sustainably is the emphasis of this research, millennials as sample participants are projected to dominate the workforce by 2020. What are the millennials perspectives on integrating moral values to ensure ethical sourcing and sustainable development? Consumers are now more than ever aware of where products are sourced from, the treatment and living conditions of workers who grow the products, and the use of land without care of sustainability measures. The voluntary ethical sourcing can be linked to company who are moving towards caring for the environment and humanity thus ethical sourcing and maintaining the process has become essential and more especially the millennials who are the focus on this research are ferociously loyal to ethically sourced and sustainable brands.

JEL: L60, L66, L15 N5, Q13, Q50, Q56, Q58, J43 M14, M16, D23, D83

ORGANIZATIONAL ETHICS: MILLENNIAL VIEWS ON BRIBERY AND CONDUCTING BUSINESS IN EMERGING MARKETS

Corruption is the core component that acts as a barrier for social and economic development in em... more Corruption is the core component that acts as a barrier for social and economic development in emerging markets. The examination of ethics within organizations that have entered emerging global platforms is essential to bring forth evidence of ways organizations are conducting in emerging markets. Research shows that organizations dress up the illegal bribes as the cost of conducting business; are these costs in violation of United States Laws? The secondary research examined if the desire of foreign exposure contributed to organizations involvement in unethical ways to capitalization on the rapid growth to remain sustainable.

JEL: D73, D23, F13, D23, D83, G38, K23, M14, M16, A13

ELICITING MILLENNIAL PERSPECTIVES ON ETHICS, INDIVIDUAL MORALS, AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE AUTO INDUSTRY

Integration of moral values with ethics for sustainable development in the auto industry research... more Integration of moral values with ethics for sustainable development in the auto industry research analysis on 5 auto industry related incidents; GM faulty ignition left 100 dead and paid $2 billion in civil settlements and fines; and Toyota recall of the unintended acceleration caused 89 deaths United States and costed over $1.2 billion to address the economic loss. The 1978 recall of the 14.5 million Firestone and 2000 Ford Explorers highway rollovers equipped with firestone tires killed 271 people; Takata defective airbags by Japanese Auto makers agreed to pay $1 billion in penalties and fines in recall of 70 million airbags in 42 million vehicles with 11 deaths and 150 injuries and 100 million worldwide recalls; and Volkswagen emission deceptions in violation of Clean Air Act and with payment of $4.3 billion in criminal and civil penalties with overall settlement of $22 billion in fines and settlement in United States for 600, 000 vehicles. What are the perspectives on ethics and sustainability in the auto industry by millennials who are projected dominate the workforce Auto Industry by 2020? The research findings detailed the agreement of participants that Volkswagen cheating software; Firestone treads peeling off; Takata airbag explosions; and Toyota sticky gas pedals were all unethical actions; the strategies shared by participants included selection of individuals with moral thus improving company culture.

JEL: L62, Q52, Q53, D23, D83, F63 M12, M14, K32, O13, Q54, Q56

REMITTANCES AS AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF INCOME IN KOSOVO

by Open Access Publishing Group and Gresa Mjaku

This study aims to explain the positive role played by remittances in terms of development and th... more This study aims to explain the positive role played by remittances in terms of development and their impact on income. In practice, remittances are regular payments of emigrants (workers who send money to their families in the country of origin). In the largest number of cases, remittances are transfers between people living in developed and developing countries, so with lower living standard. International emigration from Kosovo is among the highest in the world. Today, every third or fourth family has a family member living abroad. Based on empirical studies and measurements, world literature concludes that in the early stages of migration, migrant income is used at large as a livelihood for benefiting families, such as the needs for food, clothing, and health care. For the purpose of this paperwork primary data, (Survey) and secondary data are used. I've uses a questionnaire structured with closed questions. The model used is - the experimental study, the sample that is used is a deliberate champion. As a conclusion, remittances help in reducing private consumption and improve living conditions, as well as help to overcome financial constraints for investment in education and health, which are then reflected in poverty alleviation for beneficiaries.

PENSION REFORM AND KOSOVO

by Open Access Publishing Group and Gresa Mjaku

This article aims to study the reform of the pension system in Kosovo. In particular, the attenti... more This article aims to study the reform of the pension system in Kosovo. In particular, the attention is paid to the new pension system in Kosovo, the reasons for reforming the pension system, the goals as well as the advantages and challenges of the multi-pillar pension model. Always, by trying to make comparisons of the new pension system in Kosovo with the previous one. The study is based on secondary data over the years, provided by different entities. The paperwork is of the theoretical nature of qualitative variables based on secondary data. In general, the findings and analyzes made in this paperwork reflect the period in which many other countries have gone through, including Kosovo. The findings of this study, on one hand, will serve as a summary for state institutions and as a lesson for policy-makers and managers of citizens' money and work, while on the other hand will be information tools for any student or citizen who wants to be informed more about the Kosovo Pension Trust.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF DEBT TO EQUITY RATIO IN CAPITAL STRUCTURE MODEL: A CASE OF NIGERIAN MANUFACTURING FIRMS

The arguments on the responsiveness of capital structure leverage to sets of its major determinan... more The arguments on the responsiveness of capital structure leverage to sets of its major determinants have dominated the corporate finance literature. There is however no consensus regarding the direction of effects of these determinants on debt to equity ratio. In contribution to existing literature, this study explored development of debt to equity ratio in capital structure in the Nigerian context, with aim of filling gaps in methodology which have been argued to undermine the credibility of previous findings. The method of estimation used is the Panel-Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS). The Pedroni cointegration test was employed to test for long-run relationship. The descriptive statistics and the panel unit root test were the preliminary test. We ascertained that our data set are stable and normally distributed as precursor to determining if the variables are cointegrated. A more sophisticated method of panel estimation other than the traditional method was adopted which among other advantages purges the defects posed by heteroskendasticity prevalent in the conversional estimation method. We established that there is a long-run relationship between debt to equity ratio and tangibility, profitability, firm growth and firm size. The panel regression estimate confirmed the trade-off theory and the pecking order hypothesis in Nigeria as tangibility was found to have positive effect on corporate leverage. However, the finding with regards to growth and firm size supports the trade-off theory while discrediting the pecking order assumption. Profitability on the other hand confirmed the pecking order theory for Nigeria and shows that profitability has negative effect on debt to equity ratio. The robustness and reliability of the findings was embedded on the controls for residual weaknesses and disturbances.

JEL: L60, O14, D24

LEVERAGING THE JOB OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE BY WORKER CO-OPERATIVES

This study examined the causal link between the job ownership structure and increased commitment ... more This study examined the causal link between the job ownership structure and increased commitment and motivation in worker co-operatives. The separation of job ownership from management and the effective alignment of the interests of job managers and the owners have generated a lot of discussion in the past. Proponents of the agency theory have, on the one hand, recommend actions that maximize shareholders value. On the other hand, the adoption of sweeping statements of purpose by many business organizations, have led to the recommendation of the stakeholder and the stewardship theories as being the appropriate guides to corporate actions. However, given the complexities of modern business organizations where the expectations of the workers and job owners are increasingly getting blurred, reliance on these theories does not provide a satisfactory solution. Survey questionnaires were the main instrument for primary data collection in this study. Semi-structured follow-up interviews were also conducted to supplement the method. The research design included three phases of data collection and analysis. Phase one was a qualitative method of informal, semi-structured interviews while phase two was a quantitative survey, the findings of which were used to construct further semi-structured follow-up interviews with worker co-operative stakeholders. The study concluded that the job ownership structure adopted by worker co-operatives has resulted into increased commitment and motivation which has in turn lead to increased productivity and improved performance.

JEL: E24, J24, O15

INVESTIGATING THE MARKET ORIENTATION IN SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES IN EAST AZERBAIJAN PROVINCE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PARK, IRAN

The current research was conducted to investigate market orientation in small and medium-sized en... more The current research was conducted to investigate market orientation in small and medium-sized enterprises in East Azerbaijan Province Science and Technology Park. Given the main objective and secondary objectives, main question, and secondary questions, main hypothesis, and sub-hypotheses and the target population, market orientation model of Kohli and Jaworski, developed based on three key variables of information generation, information distribution, and responsiveness to market information, was selected to measure market orientation in enterprises established in Science and Technology Park. Kohli and Jaworski have defined market orientation as generation of information in organization with regard to current and future needs of the customer, distribution of this information among different departments of the organization, and global responsiveness to that information. By 1396, 147 small and medium-sized enterprises were operating under the East Azerbaijan Province Science and Technology Park. In each enterprise, data were collected through the management of the factor or one of the levels of management, using the questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed based on the 5-point Likert scale (1=very 2=low 3=moderate 4=high 5= very high), which 27 questions assessed the three main variables of market orientation: information generation, information distribution, and responsiveness. The research results found by using two methods (sign test and Wilcoxon test) on the main hypothesis and sub-hypotheses indicated that market orientation and its three main variables, including information generation, information distribution, and responsiveness in small and medium-sized enterprises in East Azerbaijan Province Science and Technology Park was high and acceptable. Finally, recommendations were provided for science and technology parks, growth centers, and enterprises established in Science and Technology Park.

A SCHEME OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN ABU DHABI GOVERNMENT ENTITIES

The purpose of this study is to determine the determinants of knowledge management strategies tow... more The purpose of this study is to determine the determinants of knowledge management strategies towards organizational performance in Abu Dhabi government entities. After proposing a testable conceptual framework, this study initiated to propose the research framework by an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), where the items of the further research can have some light to move forward. The sample size was 331 for this study and simple random sampling was employed. For this research, the findings show that, Knowledge Management Structure, Knowledge Management Practice, Knowledge and Management Strategy are the important aspects of Organizational Performance in Abu Dhabi government entities. This research has contributed to the existing knowledge by proposing an empirically validated research model which could be an important execution tool for the success of government entities performance.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND THE HEALTHCARE SECTOR IN ABU DHABI (SEHA): A THEORETICAL REVIEW

The purpose of this study is to determine the strategic management and the healthcare sector in A... more The purpose of this study is to determine the strategic management and the healthcare sector in Abu Dhabi (SEHA) from the theoretical perspective. Although an empirical research is a way of gaining knowledge by means of direct and indirect observation or experience, however, this research will add on the understandings from the view of theoretical review as well. To execute that, a number of theories put forward, upon which the theoretical framework is premised; these are: the theoretical model of strategic planning in healthcare organizations, strategy content in strategic planning model (SPM), environment(s) in strategic planning model, mission in strategic planning model, human resources management (HRM) in strategic planning model etc. The theoretical review revealed that the available limited research lacks validation through empirical research. This has brought about new knowledge to the researchers which may be tested or contested due to country conditions being different to that of Abu Dhabi or laps of time has altered the findings as of a future date. Future researchers could identify emerging variables that may alter the significance of variables tested which may lead to completely new discoveries as to what contributes to the success of healthcare.

STUDY OF THE ROLE OF BRANDS ON CUSTOMER PURCHASE BEHAVIOR (CPB)

Customer Purchase Behavior (CPB) and the use of a model to predict it are of the most important c... more Customer Purchase Behavior (CPB) and the use of a model to predict it are of the most important commercial goals of manufacturing, service and other organizations and of the most important factors in the formation of work and profitability. Thus, this study examined the factors affecting this component - the effect of the role of commercial brands on CPB. For this purpose, 385 people connected with trading and customers in this area (valid brands customers) of Tehran were selected through convenient sampling and completed the questionnaires. The findings indicated that the manufacturer and the intended organization brand credibility is affected by the CPB and its components, including attitude, social norms and purchasing returns, and the firm's or organization reputation is a strong predictor of CPB. Thus, brand names and their credibility play a crucial role in CPB.

INVESTIGATING THE NUMBERING OF TECHNICAL MAPS AND NUMBERING OF PARTS IN THE WORLD AIR INDUSTRY - PROVIDING A NATIVE MODEL FOR IRAN'S AIR INDUSTRY AND GENERALIZING IT TO OTHER INDUSTRIES

In recent years, Iran's domestic air companies, which have been involved in aircraft repair, have... more In recent years, Iran's domestic air companies, which have been involved in aircraft repair, have been designing and manufacturing various types of bird products by establishing design offices and technology development centers. An important issue is the lack of a comprehensive and standardized system used in the country's air industry. The main objective of this research is to review the numbering systems of technical drawings and numbering of parts in the world air industry and provide a native model for the Iranian airline industry. The purpose of this research is in the field of applied research, and field methods such as questionnaires have been used. The statistical society of the design and manufacture of bird equipment is at the level of the airline industry in Iran. The Delphi method has been used to examine and conclude the proposed model. Based on the results of the implementation of the numbering system, it is possible to systematize the process of designing and constructing an aircraft, and as a result, it facilitates the coordination between the design unit and the units of construction and repair, and due to reduced design errors and structural defects in sets and parts of the product It improves the quality and reduces costs in the company, and subsequently improves the reliability of the aircraft and profitability of the company. It is suggested that executive instructions and the processes for mapping and subscribing to the organizations at stake level be developed.

MEASURING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND CUSTOMER LOYALTY IN THE UAE HOTEL INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

Customer satisfaction is important to evaluate why hotels succeed or fail, and why do hotels have... more Customer satisfaction is important to evaluate why hotels succeed or fail, and why do hotels have varying levels of performance. It seems that hotels that provide higher service quality do have higher levels of performance that confirms a higher number of satisfied customers. If it impacts the organization's performance, then it is important to know the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. This study has investigated the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in UAE hotel industry perspective. Primary data were used to identify the relationship strength between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The use of primary data enabled the researcher to measure all the dimensions. This study is significant in the sense that it will allow the understanding of the concept and framework of the customer satisfaction and customer loyalty relationships that takes into account the comparative nature with conventional business. This will also support and enrich theory and model of service quality in UAE’s business environment. Finally, this will generate greater awareness among UAE hotel industry on the importance of service quality and its effectiveness.

MEASURING THE MEDIATING ROLE OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION BETWEEN SERVICE QUALITY AND CUSTOMER LOYALTY IN UAE HOTEL INDUSTRY

Tourism has become one of the most essential segments of economy for these Asian countries. Rapid... more Tourism has become one of the most essential segments of economy for these Asian countries. Rapid economic growth, political stability, and aggressive tourism campaigns by the governments have strongly enhanced the growth of tourism in this region. This study is primarily designed to review the relationship of service quality and customer satisfaction that leads to customer loyalty in UAE hotels. The study focused on the country UAE and in particular UAE’s hotel sector. Thus, this study has attempted to forward more understanding on the subject matter. This study has employed survey method for data collection where a larger population can be covered in a shorter time. For this research, primary data were used to identify the impact of customer satisfaction between service quality and customer loyalty. In this study, the sample consists of customers who are available within Dubai city. A total sample size of 300 was adequate for this study. The samples for this study were the customers who stay minimum one night is hotels in. In order to attract new customers, manager must first focus on their existing customers. It is because, to take care the existing customers will maintain their profit rather than to attract new customers that mostly will incur higher cost. Companies need to retain existing customers with effectively satisfy their needs so that the existing customers become loyal with their businesses

SERVICE QUALITY, CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AND CUSTOMER LOYALTY OF THE HOTEL INDUSTRY IN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE): A MEASUREMENT MODEL

This study aimed at identifying the determining factors of service quality on customer satisfacti... more This study aimed at identifying the determining factors of service quality on customer satisfaction and loyalty towards hotel industry in UAE. This study has investigated the different dimensions of service quality that impact customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in UAE hotels. For this research, primary data were used to identify the dimensions of service quality that impact customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The use of primary data enabled the researcher to measure all the dimensions. This study is significant in the sense that it will allow the understanding of the concept and framework of the impact of service quality on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty that takes into account the comparative nature with conventional business. This will also support and enrich theory and model of service quality in UAE’s business environment. Finally, this will generate greater awareness among UAE hotel industry on the importance of service quality and its effectiveness. Moreover, systematically reviewing the customers’ feedbacks, decision makers might examine all the important aspects in order to determine the most appropriate decisions and actions to satisfy the customers with an aim to retain them. Hence, the deliberate structure of the management process will force hotel employees to examine relevant variables in deciding what to do and how to do it. In conclusion No doubt UAE is one of the leading countries in hotel industry but still there is lack and gap which they need to fulfil by doing many workshop as well as by proper training to the employee which will result in achieving customer satisfaction.

THE ROLE OF MANAGEMENT IN THE EVOLUTION OF THE COMPANY'S SUPPLY CHAIN

Today, knowledge and intellectual capital of the organization are the main factor in competition ... more Today, knowledge and intellectual capital of the organization are the main factor in competition and, in other respects, these supply chains compete with each other, and thus organizations must work to integrate the entire supply chain in an integrated manner in coordination with other members of the chain. On this route the integrated management of supply chain knowledge is important both in improving the functional characteristics of the chain and in promoting the integrity of the supply chain the present paper focuses on supply chain review and others the evolution of that pendulum then discusses its management and its role in the supply chain. The theoretical review of the subject literature shows that the role of knowledge management in supply chains is not only undeniable, but with the development of information and development technology.

IMPORTANT DETERMINANTS FOR ONLINE BOOKING TRIALS IN HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM

Web based booking has turned out to be increasingly well known strategy to offer travel items and... more Web based booking has turned out to be increasingly well known strategy to offer travel items and is broadly acknowledged in created nations. Despite the fact that this idea has been presented in Vietnam for as far back as couple of years, there are half of air tickets is sold online right now. There are different inquires about led concentrating on the elements impacting individuals goal to receive internet booking. Be that as it may, there are very few looks into concentrate on the expectation to attempt web based booking. This aim to attempt is essential since individuals prefer to attempt in the first place, at that point they will assess their trial encounter, thus, embrace or reject web based booking innovation. In this way, this exploration stresses on discovering factors that impact individuals aim to attempt web based booking. Then again, there is a critical number of web clients have changed to cell phones and tablets as their real web association gadgets. Therefore, this exploration is likewise concentrate on discovering the contrasts between each kind of web association gadgets on web based booking trial choice. The overview has been created in view of concentrated survey of written works identified with internet booking; web based shopping, reception speculations, customer practices. The polls have been appropriated and the information has been prepared utilizing SEM-PLS to decide the connection between factors that impact Vietnamese aim to attempt web based booking. Therefore, this examination is required to have critical commitment in both hypothesis and reasonableness. As far as hypothesis, this exploration effectively provided the model that exhibit the expectation to attempt internet booking which is seldom talked about in past inquires about. In term of reasonableness, this exploration gives a general bits of knowledge of Vietnamese online booker trademark for online travel organization working in Vietnam keeping in mind the end goal to enhance their business execution.

THE IMPACT OF CAPITAL ALLOWANCE ON INVESTMENT DECISION OF SELECTED OIL AND GAS COMPANIES IN NIGERIA

The study focused on the impact of capital allowance on investment decision of selected oil and g... more The study focused on the impact of capital allowance on investment decision of selected oil and gas companies in Nigerian. Expo-facto research design was adopted. Two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study and were tested at 95 percent confidence level. The population consists of fifteen (15) oil and gas companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the sample size used was seven oil and gas companies and judgmental sampling technique was adopted for the study. Data for the study were collected through secondary source. This was analyzed with Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression technique. And the result of the hypotheses tested revealed that there is a positive and significant relationship between capital allowance and investment decision. Based on the findings, it was recommended that government should set up a body that will ensure regular review of capital allowance provided to investors and ensure that gray areas are addressed in order to enhance and attract more investors.

FACTORS INFLUENCING CUSTOMERS’ SATISFACTION ON BANGLADESHI TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICE PROVIDERS

In twenty-first century telecommunication, services become a basic requirement for every individu... more In twenty-first century telecommunication, services become a basic requirement for every individual and organization. This industry transforms human life significantly. Telecommunication industry provides ease in human communication. Hence, satisfying customers becomes the paramount concern for every telecom service provider across the world. Despite having an enormous number of researches in customer satisfaction, very few researchers have empirically examined important determinants for customers’ satisfaction emphasizing on telecommunication industry. Hence, this study tries to investigate crucial important factors for customers’ satisfaction focusing on Bangladeshi telecommunication industry. By giving one-month extensive effort, this study managed to obtain 1562 respondents from six different states in Bangladesh. Regression results revealed very interesting findings by falsifying importance of quality in the telecom industry. Results evident that price and brand image is the two top most important factors in the telecom industry to satisfy their customers. This study is one of the few that identify quality is not important for satisfying customers which can provide a new thoughtful idea for telecom managers.

JEL: L90, L96, O14

INVESTIGATING THE CONSUMER BEHAVIOR AND FACTORS CAUSING CONSUMER DISTRUST – A CASE STUDY IN ARVAND FREE ZONE

In line with rapid growth of the transportation industry that facilitates the trade and business,... more In line with rapid growth of the transportation industry that facilitates the trade and business, companies send their products easily in the shortest time to most distant points of the world. Despite development in recent years, the business future of Arvand Free Zone in Khuzestan Province and markets related to it are at risk. The most important reason in this regard is consumer distrust in various stages of advertising. This investigation uses quantitative and qualitative method in order to experimentally show that negative concerns in the minds of the consumer will have a negligible and effective impact on market activity. Investigating the reasons for consumer distrust was started first by an interview. The findings of the interview revealed that negative beliefs and attitudes of the consumer had the highest impact on attitudes of people of a community towards a given market. Based on the qualitative studies, eight parameters in three dimensions are considered as final factors affecting the consumer distrust. Eight parameters affecting the consumer behavior were also evaluated in a quantitative study and the level of relationship among the factors was determined. Finally, it was concluded that consumer distrust affects the behaviors of the market, leading to market withdrawal. In addition, consumer trust created market formation or consumer activity.

CRITIQUE OF ANTI-ORGANIZATION THEORY BASED ON ITS PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS (FUNDAMENTAL HUMANIST PARADIGM)

The present article examines and criticizes anti-organization theory based on its philosophical f... more The present article examines and criticizes anti-organization theory based on its philosophical foundations, which is found in the fundamental humanism paradigm; that a transient review is done on Borrel and Morgan's sociological paradigms (functionalism, interpretiveism, fundamentalist structuralism and fundamental humanism). The purpose of this article is to review the anti-organization theory and its viewpoint on organizational life and human resources and to describe the quadruple sociological paradigms. This theory acts in its own sphere of thought, and it must be said that it has a new look at the reality of organizational life and human resources. Finally, there is a review of the criticisms raised in the anti-organization theory about the organization's theory, which is in the form of a functional paradigm.

INFLUENCE OF MANAGEMENT CAPABILITIES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF NZOIA SUGAR COMPANY

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of management capabilities on the perfor... more The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of management capabilities on the performance of Nzoia Sugar Company Limited. The study was based on the Resource Based View Theory. A case study and survey designs were employed in this research. The study targeted a total of 1,403 employees comprising of 790 lower level employees, 422 Supervisory level employees, 182 middle level management and nine top level management. Random stratified sampling technique was used to select 210 respondents. Data collection instruments comprised of questionnaires and interview schedules. Validity was determined by content validity and reliability using Cronbach alpha method which had Cronbach Alpha Coefficient of 0.783 which was greater than 0.7. Data were collected and analyzed using descriptive methods. It was recommended that there was need for organization to develop customer care capability that would enable the staff to interact with customers and other stakeholder at all level; that organization should develop market capability that ensures maximum reach out to all possible customers; the firms needed to adopt management capabilities that can make them stand out in the customers’ eye and suit the prevailing environmental conditions at the given period of time and finally organizations need to set up sufficient budget that would enable them adopt most current technologies which would result to increase in performance. It was concluded that an increase in customer service management capability constructs like repeat purchase, confidentially of customer information and different customer needs once enhanced could translate to higher firm performance; attributes of marketing capabilities like employee training on basic marketing skills, e-marketing and marketing intelligence information should be enhanced; internet penetration, automation of processes, use of e-marketing and procurement could lead to improved firm performance and setting targets for the company which are attainable, monitoring and evaluation of all activities would lead to improved firm performance. The findings of this study shall be useful to the policy makers, strategists and the researcher in making informed conclusions and recommendations. The findings shall give guidance to the managers of different departments in coming up with proper policies in management.

JEL: J53, M11, L21

INFLUENCE OF CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS ON SERVICE QUALITY OF COMMERCIAL BANKS IN KAKAMEGA CENTRAL SUB-COUNTY, KENYA

Achieving competitive advantage and improving organizational quality service have become the key ... more Achieving competitive advantage and improving organizational quality service have become the key goal that business firms are struggling to attain. This study therefore sought to investigate the effects of customer relationship management systems on quality service of Commercial Banks in Kakamega Central Sub-County, Kenya. The study was anchored on the Dynamic Capabilities Theory. The study adopted descriptive survey design. The study population comprised of all the licensed commercial banks in Kakamega Central Sub-County, from which a representative sample of 10 commercial banks was drawn. Three (3) senior officers (branch manager, operations manager and customer relations manager) were further drawn from each of the sampled 10 commercial banks to make a total of 30 officers. The main study instrument was a questionnaire which comprised of Likert-type scale questions on the main variables of the study. The data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Hypothesis testing was done by use of regression and correlation analysis. Validity was checked during piloting to ensure all the items in the main study were functioning. Moreover, to ensure validity of instruments, content validity was established pilot testing process was used to test reliability comparing with Cronbach’s Coefficient of which yielded an alpha of 0.799. The findings revealed that technological innovation, customer relationship management system and organizational structure had statistically significant influence on quality service of commercial banks in Kakamega Central Sub-County Kenya and tests for significance also showed that the influence was statistically significant. Findings revealed that 35.7 percent (R2=0.357) of the variance in quality service may be explained by customer relationship management system accounted for 81.3 percent (R2=0.813) and organizations structure at 37.1 percent (R2=0.371). The regression results indicated that technological innovations, customer relationship management system and organizational structure had positive and significant relationships with the quality service of commercial banks in Kakamega Central Sub-County, Kenya. The study recommended that: the management of commercial banks should invest more in technological innovations to ensure all the banking operations are informational technologically compliant; commercial banks should invest in training employees especially the front officers on customer relationship management since it positively affects quality service and there was need of flexible organizational structures that facilitate decision making and improvement of communication through the reduction of boundaries. The managers of commercial banks will use the study findings as a basis of formulation of policies on strategy changes that can enhance their quality service. The academicians and researchers will find the study useful in that it contributes to academic literature and theory by providing empirical evidence for use by educators, scholars and researchers in the survey of strategic management.

JEL: G2, M12, L84

ASSESSING THE EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES ON FIRM PERFORMANCE: CASE STUDY OF NZOIA SUGAR COMPANY

The idea of technological capabilities plays a key role in the analysis of organizational process... more The idea of technological capabilities plays a key role in the analysis of organizational processes because it offers a potential solution to the quest for sustained competitive advantage through the realization of organizations objectives. The importance of technological capabilities suggests that the long-term, continuous renewal of the firm rests on both the exploitation of existing capabilities for the furtherance of the institutions objectives. This is mainly achieved by the creation and development of specific organizational capabilities. This study therefore, sought to evaluate the effects of technological capabilities in Nzoia Sugar Company Limited. The study was based on the Resource Based View Theory. A case study and survey designs were employed in this research. The study targeted a total of 1,403 employees comprising of 790 lower level employees, 422 Supervisory level employees, 182 middle level management and nine top level management. Random stratified sampling technique was used to select 210 respondents. Data collection instruments comprised of questionnaires and interview schedules. Validity was determined by content validity and reliability using Cronbach alpha method which had Cronbach Alpha Coefficient of 0.783 which was greater than 0.7. Data was collected and analyzed using descriptive while inferential statistics at 95% confidence level. The results were presented in form of frequency tables and pie charts. It was concluded that an increase in customer service management capability constructs like repeat purchase, confidentially of customer information and different customer needs once enhanced could translate to higher firm performance; attributes of marketing capabilities like employee training on basic marketing skills, e-marketing and marketing intelligence information should be enhanced; internet penetration, automation of processes, use of e-marketing and procurement could lead to improved firm performance and setting targets for the company which are attainable, monitoring and evaluation of all activities would lead to improved firm performance. The findings of this study shall be useful to the policy makers, strategists and the researcher in making informed conclusions and recommendations. The findings shall give guidance to the managers of different departments in coming up with proper policies in management. The stakeholders in management will find the study useful in identifying challenges faced by Firms who do not invest and emphasize on organizational capabilities.

ANTECEDENTS OF CONSUMERS’ PERCEPTION TOWARDS ONLINE ADVERTISING IN MALAYSIA: THE STRUCTURE EQUATION MODELING APPROACH

The purpose of this study is to determine the antecedents of consumers’ perception towards online... more The purpose of this study is to determine the antecedents of consumers’ perception towards online advertising in Malaysia. This research has been developed a framework by reviewing the existing literatures available in the same field. Altogether 526 respondents have been selected as a final sample size. This research uses survey method in this study because my purpose of the study is to generalize the findings from the sample to population. The current study used Statistical Software Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and AMOS Software Package to analyze the data. The results of this study provide evidence that increased consumer perception is associated with increased online advertising. There is a direct positive, significant relationship between consumer perception and online advertising of the respondents in the online advertising in Malaysia. It was also found that all sub dimensions of consumer perception positively and significantly affect to online advertising and its dimensions. Besides, the results indicated the significant positive relationships between consumer perception and consumer acceptance. On the other hand, a significant weak relationship was found between consumer acceptance and online advertising. However, the consumer satisfaction has not correlated significantly with online advertising of the respondents in the online advertising in Malaysia. Future studies can be extended to check the applicability and relevance of consumer perception within Malaysia using different samples from different sectors, occupations and so on.

EFFECT OF ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS ON THE PRODUCTIVITY OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES IN ANAMBRA (A STUDY OF SELECTED SMES IN ANAMBRA STATE NIGERIA)

This study examined the effect of entrepreneurial skills on SME’s productivity in Nnewi North Loc... more This study examined the effect of entrepreneurial skills on SME’s productivity in Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State Nigeria. Three research questions were raised in line with the objectives of the study. Also, three research hypotheses wee formulated. The instrument for data collection is a structured questionnaire which is used in analyzing the research questions, data collected were analysed using statistical mean (x) and standard deviation. The population of the study is 100. Based on the findings, the study revealed that, management skills, marketing skills, accounting skills and discussed risk management skills are needed for effective productivity of SMEs. Based on the findings, the researcher recommends that every potential graduate should be entrepreneurial in character, and also the government can do more by emphasizing entrepreneurial skill acquisition in all levels of education.

THE ROLE OF CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION IN DEVELOPMENT OF MARKETING AND ENHANCED SALE OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OF INSURANCE COMPANIES

Today, competition and customer-orientation has been enhanced and the firms have to be active in ... more Today, competition and customer-orientation has been enhanced and the firms have to be active in such environments. In this regard and for survival of organization in the current competition arena, considering issues such as creativity and innovation and making adequate marketing policies is important for the organizations. In this field, due to their underlying and dynamic role at the society, insurance companies have to provide high-quality services day by day to satisfy the customers. In this study, using theoretical approach and with reliance on recent studies, the role of creativity and innovation is investigated in development of marketing and increase in sale of products and services of insurance companies. In general, it could be mentioned that development of creativity in insurance industry could lead to improvement of indices such as profitability, market share, sale, customer satisfaction, subjectivity and positive image of organization and quality of services. Due to proving positive and direct correlation of innovation and creativity with marketing development and more sale of products and services of insurance companies, it would be better for the insurance companies and firms to facilitate availability of new innovations through acquiring external innovations and identify and attract and adjust the external knowledge through identification of external environment and internal research and development and take measure to increase the power of communicating competitors and transferring knowledge to the competitors with the aim of achievement of commercial goals of the organization as a step towards enhancement of innovative processes in business. Moreover, more focus of insurance companies on knowledge management and development of research activities to make and use the newest innovative achievements could enhance quality of services and develop marketing of insurance products.

COMPARATIVE SEMIOTIC OBSERVATION TO BIBLICAL NARRATION AND THE TRAGEDY “ABEL” BY ETEHEM HAXHIADEMI

This paper aims to highlight the global coherence of the dramatic text of Haxhiadem, through an i... more This paper aims to highlight the global coherence of the dramatic text of Haxhiadem, through an important aspect of isotopic organization. In the dramatic text of Haxhiadem and the biblical myth “Old Testament”, some semiotic words, phrases and the global coherence that they create will be examined. During the examination, the first general isotopy will be highlighted in the biblical text and a second general isotopy in drama, pointing out some aspects of the dramatic imposture in the text in which specific images or topics play the role of the isotopic or in other words the crossing point of two or more isotopies. This drama remains to be an open text which offers multiple interpretations.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE IMAGE OF THE WOMAN IN “THE REVOLT OF THE MOTHER” AND “THE YELLOW WALLPAPER”

Many writers are focused on the theme of feminism to write their short stories or novels. In some... more Many writers are focused on the theme of feminism to write their short stories or novels. In some of the short stories where feminism is the main theme, I would mention: The Story of an Hour, The Revolt of the Mother, A Respectable Woman, and The Yellow Wallpaper. These short stories highlight the role of women in the family and their relation with the other members. In this article, I want to focus on the role of women in marriage and their relation with the husband and the children in the short story written by Mary W. Freeman entitled The Revolt of the Mother and in The Yellow Wallpaper written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. I am going to make a comparison and contrast between the role of the woman in The Revolt of the Mother and in The Yellow Wallpaper by mentioning the role of women in marriage. There is a difference between the woman of the nineteenth century and the women of today. There are many aspects that are different and most of them have changed for better. One question to be made is whether the role of women in the marriage has changed for better or worst. This is a question that will receive an answer after studying and comparing the role of women in the society, the changes that she has undergone and the effects of these changes. Some of the changes can be considered as a progress of the society but some others can be considered as the loss of some moral issues.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TASK BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING FOR 2nd SEMESTER OF ACCOUNTING STUDENTS STATE POLYTECHNIC OF MANADO, INDONESIA

This research is using a quantitative approach with experiment methods called “non-equivalent con... more This research is using a quantitative approach with experiment methods called “non-equivalent control group design”. The purpose of this research is to find out how effective is Task Based Language Teaching (TBLT) compare to the Convention one, applied in Politeknik Negeri Manado for English Teaching Process. The experiment is applied to 2 groups of students at Semester 2 from Accounting Department; class II C and class II B. The role of each group is different according to that experiment method, one group is for Experiment and the other is for Control. The main sample data of the group goes to the class II C as the Experiment group and TBLT is applied in this class. From the linguistics’ point of view it is shown that during first to third meeting, the experiment group who are working with Task Based achieved higher percentage compare to the Control Group. By assessing those facts, we can prove that TBLT as experiment and methods given to the experiment group is a better treatment to train students to do their activities to develop their abilities in learning English. The speaking abilities are assessed by the topic: “Describing City” to each class and the higher ability of speaking goes to the experiment group. So, we can also conclude that there is differences performance achieved by those two groups: the experiment with TBLT is more creative! in speaking skills compare to the one using conventional approach. The both aspects language skills as learning outcomes are linguistic abilities and speaking skills are shown by the result of posttest, at the end of this research period.

REASONS FOR CONTINUED PARAGRAPH WRITING MISTAKES BY O’ LEVEL PUPILS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE FREE COMPOSITION WRITING IN SELECTED SIX SECONDARY SCHOOLS FROM THREE CLUSTERS IN MUTOKO DISTRICT, ZIMBABWE

This qualitative study sought to investigate the reasons for continued paragraph writing mistakes... more This qualitative study sought to investigate the reasons for continued paragraph writing mistakes by o’ level pupils in English Language free composition writing in selected six secondary schools from three clusters in Mutoko District. The study was constrained by lack of literature. In this study, accidental sampled 12 teachers and 24 school pupils were used as research subjects. Interview, observation and document analysis methods were used to generate data. Document analysis/ review method was also used to provide information on guidance for the teachers of English Language on the teaching and learning procedures, teaching methods and strategies in paragraph writing as well as the objectives of the teaching of English Language as a foreign language to Zimbabwean students. The study found out that teachers who lack effective syllabus interpretation, expertise, skills and competencies are a detriment to paragraph writing and ultimately to free composition writing by O’ Level pupils. Group work is central to language development of pupils searching for effective composition writing skills. Model paragraphs show learners the way and help them to know the techniques of writing logical compositions. Sentences are the firm foundation upon which effective composition writing based on paragraphs is built. The study concluded that that the possible reasons for continued paragraph writing mistakes by O’ Level English Language pupils are diverse and vary from one student to another. Therefore, the factors and reasons for continued paragraph writing mistakes discovered in this research are inadequate and inconclusive; and they have a direct impact on the students’ ability to construct logical paragraphs. At the same time, collaborative and co-operative learning can help improve paragraph writing and the use of English Language paper one as the yardstick to measure competency in pupils writing skills has a detrimental effect on paragraph writing skills. The study recommends that pupils should develop a broad reading background, taught the structures of paragraphs using the hamburger method, step model, the five part model among others write coherent and logical paragraphs, build a good vocabulary and sentence construction skills and use of continuous assessment to determine the overall mark at O’ Level. The study also recommends the use of continuous assessment by Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (ZIMSEC) in which pupils work is marked and the assessment marks contribute a certain percentage of the final mark should be introduced. Furthermore, in connection with paragraph writing and free composition writing skills, it is recommended that mother tongue interference and sentence construction are looked at. This might need further exploration which would also help to weigh the effects of different factors of paragraph writing mistakes.

CELEBRATING ACCERELATED DEVELOPMENT VIA THE MOTHERTONGUE: THE CASE OF VERNACULAR MASS MEDIA IN KENYA

There exists abundant literature that confirms the importance of Mother tongues in their speaker’... more There exists abundant literature that confirms the importance of Mother tongues in their speaker’s lives in general and development in particular (Djite, 2008; Kiliku 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014; Kembo 1994, 1996). In Africa, specifically, research is awash on how these languages are crucial in any meaningful development (Bamgbose, 2004, 2011; Batibo 2005, 2015; Djite 1993). Further, this research points to the argument, that I agree with, that the ‘African stunted development’ is, in fact, partly a consequence of the poor management (defined in its broadest terms) of these languages. Indeed, some scholars are more candid in their position that Africa will only truly develop when its indigenous Mother tongues will be allowed to play their rightful part in the core lives of their speakers viz Education, Health, literacy, governance, media and communication, public participation and identity reproduction Alidou, et al 2006; Heugh 2006; Kamwendo, 2009; SIL International 2008; Olwabi, 2013). Undoubtedly, there are evident gains in the use of these languages, though relatively in different domains and areas with varying degrees of success and accompanying challenges. One of these areas is the media (Orao, 2008; Siangu et al, 2014). On the heels of the theme of this conference, this paper argues that Kenyan media that uses MTs has in the last two decades achieved developments worth celebration and encouragement. These developments are, argued as real and meaningful, are evident in enhancement in information dissemination, user freedoms, education and literacy, governance, public participation and exponential growth of local music and art industry. This has been an almost single achievement of the Kenyan Local Language FM Radio Stations. This part of the media is the pivot of this discussion.

STYLE IN LITERATURE: A STYLISTICS STUDY OF A POEM

This paper attempts a stylistic study of a poem. It targets to unveil the deeper underpinnings of... more This paper attempts a stylistic study of a poem. It targets to unveil the deeper underpinnings of semanticity in condensed literary pieces, particularly in poetry, as a consequence of the style employed by an author. Among other findings, the study uncovered the peculiar use of lexis and the features embedded in such peculiar use. It brings to the fore, the heavy use of deviation and parallelism in drumming home the theme of the poem. And finally, a fundamental literary feature used which is worthy of note and which the study has clearly drawn attention to in the analysis, is the foregrounding of the entire literary piece, which gives it a unique outlook. On the surface, one might not notice the effect of this literary technique but the study has meticulously pointed this out.

REFLECTION OF 19TH CENTURY VICTORIAN AGE THROUGH SIR CONAN DOYLE’S LITERARY PROLIFICACY - A LEGEND WAS BORN

by tapash rudra and Open Access Publishing Group

Detective stories and novels draw the attention of a wide array of readers. These were mouth- wat... more Detective stories and novels draw the attention of a wide array of readers. These were mouth- watering prospects whenever being catered to its readers and audiences over the decades. However, if we could go back through the time machine, we would see that late 18th and later half of 19th century developed the foundation of such kind of fictions and not to mention, afterward, detective fictions progressed leaps and bounds, as it rampaged its authority on the English literature. Although such stories are considered as potential crowd pullers but above all, if we intricate such stories and novels in depth, we would be able to see a sizeable reflection of 19th century Victorian Age and its social perspectives. Therefore, in this essay, we would like to emphasize primarily to illustrate the socio-economy of Victorian Era, in relevance to the contribution of detective fiction stories and novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

GENERATIVE WORDS OF ALBANIAN AND ENGLISH SENTENCE

by prof.asoc.dr. Shkelqim Millaku and Open Access Publishing Group

This aim of the research is to investigate the generative “morphems, words or “simple or compound... more This aim of the research is to investigate the generative “morphems, words or “simple or compound ” sentence. The full contrast of Albanian and English language in these phenomena of generative is in morphology and in syntactic structure. This accepts of studies will comported, contrasted and generated between two languages. This studies deals with noun (noun phrase), verb (verb phrase) of syntactic structure between Albanian and English language. In both of languages, most linguists (or scholars) are agree because has the contrast between Alb. – Eng. The following classes words: noun, verb, adjective, preposition, adverb, determinative and conjunction can generate. Each of these words classes is illustrated in the sentence below. The function of noun (or noun phrase) in the sentence can have the meaning of subject , direct object , indirect object and “predicate” (…). The function of verb or verb phase in the sentence can have the predicate (...).

PHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATIONS OF ENGLISH SPEECH SOUNDS - A PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS

This study takes a close look at the link between English sounds as realized in normal speech. So... more This study takes a close look at the link between English sounds as realized in normal speech. Sounds are discrete entities that carry in them abstractions which is the import of phonology in every language. The physical properties of sounds which are realized in speech production undoubtedly have an interrelation with this discrete nature of sounds. The researcher adopted a purely analytical approach in viewing this topic, with little reliance on literature. It may be described as a purely scientific study as the researcher uses practical examples and correlates to drum home the interconnection between abstract sounds and their physical properties. The study notes that a letter of the English alphabet, for instance ‘y’, has different production realisations as both a vowel and a consonant based on the articulatory nuances a phonetic analyst associates with it. And secondly, the study finds that English speech sound may or may not have the same physiological identification with its phonetic symbol.

ARTICLE REVIEW: HOOSHANG KHOSHSIMA & ALI ASGHAR ROSTAMI ABUSAEEDI, THE ROLE OF CONTENT-BASED TEXTS TO MOTIVATE STUDENTS, IRANIAN JOURNAL OF APPLIED LANGUAGE STUDIES, 2009, 1(2), 109-122

This study reviews the critical article titled ‘The Role of Content-based Texts to Motivate Stude... more This study reviews the critical article titled ‘The Role of Content-based Texts to Motivate Students’ by Khoshsima and Rostami Abusaeedi. They investigated the appropriateness of materials that are employed in Iranian ESP classrooms. Khoshsima and Rostami Abusaeedi conclude that novel content-based texts can effectively motivate students and improve their English proficiency. They add that a close cooperation between ESP and content lecturer is necessary to find the best and the most up-to-dated materials in the content area. In this review, it is emphasized that still a lot of research is needed to improve the quality of ESP courses in countries such as Iran. These studies must be conducted in a way that the most reliable data can be obtained. Such data can help ESP course developers to make effective changes in the current courses and improve the efficiency of materials that are being employed.

THEMATICS IN CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS - A CASE STUDY OF A DIALOGUE

Conversation Analysis (CA), a research tradition that grew out of ethnomethodolgy has some unique... more Conversation Analysis (CA), a research tradition that grew out of ethnomethodolgy has some unique methodological features. It studies the social organization of “conversation” or “talk-in-interaction” by a detailed inspection of tape recordings and transcriptions made from such recordings. In doing conversation analysis, the analyst identifies a prevailing theme or object around which a conversation is centered. He then goes on to extrapolate how this chosen theme is constructed in the conversation. This paper explores the theme of identity and power construction in the dialogue between two personalities - Vic and the Unknown Lady. It uses two theories-the speech act theory and the relevance theory. There are hardly any prescriptions to be followed if one is to do a “good CA”. A chosen theme, which a conversation analyst bases his exploration on, is termed in the terminology of Schenkein (1978), as “a sketch of an analytic mentality”. In the words of Heritage and Atkinson (1984), “The central goal of conversation analytic research is the description and explication of the competences that ordinary speakers use and rely on in participating in intelligible, socially organized interaction”. This paper has thus attempted to do a sketch of an analytic mentality and explicate the competences of the two conversationalists-Vic and the Unknown Lady- in their admonishing of the dominant theme of identity and power construction in the dialogue between them. Among other findings, the study notes significantly that identity construction involves inclusionary and exclusionary processes in conversational interactions and that words are weapons. The study establishes the fact that power indeed creates identity and that language draws boundaries, making it implicative that identity presupposes similarities and differences.

READING MATTERS: A DIARY STUDY ANALYSIS OF EXTENSIVE READING IN L2

Extensive reading is to read large quantities of materials for global understanding or for pleasu... more Extensive reading is to read large quantities of materials for global understanding or for pleasure, which can be a useful way of learning a foreign or a second language. Diary studies, on the other hand, are the studies conducted to investigate participants’ experiences in a detailed way since they allow researchers to shed light on the challenges participants faced during the whole process. Numerous recent studies examining the process of extensive reading in a foreign or a second language have revealed highly encouraging results. However, there are few studies which collected data through both participants’ diaries and researchers’ logs. The current single case study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effects of extensive reading on an adult's self-study of English over a 20-week period. To present a detailed picture of what the learner experienced during the process, data were collected through semi-structured interviews administered in the beginning and at the end of the study, and through learner’s diaries. The Constant Comparative Method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) was utilized to analyze the qualitative data. The results showed that extensive reading in English had favourable effects in the participant’s gaining reading habits in English, improving reading speed and comprehension, and increased the participant’s motivation towards learning English. Furthermore, the findings indicated that extensive reading in English lowered the participant’s worries about reading in English. The problems the participant encountered during the study and the ways she coped with these problems were also investigated and discussed in detail.

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT IN THE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN GOSTIVAR, MACEDONIA

Contact languages are highly needed for individuals communicating with each other in each of the ... more Contact languages are highly needed for individuals communicating with each other in each of the daily activities of life and to ensure vital existence living in multicultural-multilingual cities and states. Foreign languages particularly the native one, should be enabled for all individuals to learn while attending formal education because there it can teach according to the standard norms of all the foreign languages the natives and European languages. Each individual who is born and is developed in a multicultural community should use the same opportunity to develop skills such in a multilingual communication from processing benefit individually with the selection of the country's foreign language as an elective subject. Everything learned in childhood is beneficial for the future. This paper aims to illuminate the development of the languages in Gostivar and their institutionalisation within the educational institutions, where there are Albanians, Turks and Macedonians. Not every language has had the same fate, to be institutionalized on time. Languages in the 21st century are necessary for all individuals, that live in a multicultural social society. In this research were involved 70 students of VIII grade in elementary school, four principals and 30 language teachers, in total 104 surveyed from all communities of the city of Gostivar. All the data were collected, interpreted in tables and graphs were analyzed up to the findings, which reflected the conclusions and the recommendations. However, due to the limitations that our work imposes we will not be able to present all the reflected results.

THE TRANSLATION ACTIVITIES OF ANDALUS PERIOD

Throughout the history, all civilizations have transferred knowledge from either a previous civil... more Throughout the history, all civilizations have transferred knowledge from either a previous civilization or from a contemporary civilization. The translation activities have an important channel of this transferring knowledge. We knew the most important translation activities started at the time of the Prophet Muhammad and was expanded during Abbasid Caliphate. Now, we will be stressing on the development of translation works with regards to Andalusia. As a result of the eagerness of Muslim to seek knowledge, institutions such as madrasah, libraries, elementary schools, research institutions grew rapidly in the 10th century and mosque schools had been upgraded into local universities. Andalusia became a famous translation centre in the region and it has known as the multilingual centre of learning and translation, gathering all people from different cultures and ethnicities who loved wisdom and knowledge. The light age of intellectual development of Islamic Civilization has reached its peak with beautiful cities of Almeria, Malaga, Cadiz, Hielva, Cordoba, Jean and Granada during 10th century. At the end of these developments, the translation became an art where it was dealing with languages, texts, and words. On the other hand, after a long period of time, it became a science. Translation also one of the school of science as it had become more systematic through time and the translated books must have undergone several tests of validity and precision in terms of its languages. In this article, translation activities in Andalus period which had a great influence on formation of Islamic philosophy were discussed.

THE NOMINAL PREDICATE (ALBANIAN - ENGLISH)

by prof.asoc.dr. Shkelqim Millaku and Open Access Publishing Group

The aim of this paper is to description the nominal of predicate between two languages (Albanian ... more The aim of this paper is to description the nominal of predicate between two languages (Albanian – English). The purpose of the following discussing is to show that some noun phrases, namely predicate nominal’s, do not seem to exhibit. What is considering the typical behavior of noun phrase? First, they do not seem to be assigned case. Second, they may not assign are roles in normal sense so that they are probably as Theta-marker arguments, unlike referential Noun Phrases. In Albanian language the nominal predicate can express with auxiliary verb (to be, have) and noun, too. “The predicate has the function of giving information about the subject ...”

CONCEPTUALIZING PRE-SERVICE MATHEMATICS TEACHERS' RESPONDING TO STUDENTS' IDEAS WHILE TEACHING LIMIT CONCEPT

The purpose of this study was to conceptualize pre-service mathematics teachers responding to stu... more The purpose of this study was to conceptualize pre-service mathematics teachers responding to studentss ideas, one of the codes of Contingency unit of Knowledge Quartet, while teaching limit concept. The participants were four pre-service secondary mathematics teachers. The data were obtained from the lesson plans, the video records of the participants lessons, and the semi-structured interviews. When the data were analysed, the seven sub-codes of the pre-service teachers responding to studentss ideas were determined. These sub-codes were named as aa repeating studentss ideas, b approving studentss ideas, c explaining and expanding studentss ideas, d answering studentss questions, ee asking how studentss reached their ideas, (f) correcting mistakes in studentss ideas, and gg ignoring students ideas. It is thought that these sub-codes would be helpful to examine pre-service mathematics teachers responding to studentss ideas in a detail way.

COGNITIVE MODELLING SKILLS FROM NOVICIATE TO EXPERTNESS

The purpose of this study is to reveal the cognitive modelling skills of 6th grade students after... more The purpose of this study is to reveal the cognitive modelling skills of 6th grade students after a long term modelling implementation. The cognitive modelling skills are regarded as understanding the problem, simplifying, mathematising, working mathematically, interpreting and validating. Seven-month modelling sequences were designed and conducted, and the first and last implementations were particularly examined in the study. The participants were four students, while the data collection tools were solution papers for two different modelling problems in the implementations and transcriptions of the video records concerning the solution and solution presentation processes. When the data were analysed through a rubric and presented descriptively, it was seen that a development was revealed in cognitive modelling skills from noviciate to expertness. In other words, the students displayed richer approaches in the context of each cognitive modelling skill in the last implementation.

RESEARCH OF VISUAL CONTEXTUAL SUPPORT FOR THE SUBJECT OF CIRCLE ON MATHEMATICS TEACHER CANDIDATES

The purpose of this study is to research the effects of visual contextual support for the subject... more The purpose of this study is to research the effects of visual contextual support for the subject of circle in geometry education. The study was conducted by using one of the qualitative research methods, special case study. The sampling of the research was formed by 72 teacher candidates who are studying in Necmettin Erbakan University Ahmet Keleşoğlu Faculty of Education Primary Education Department Primary Education Mathematics Teaching Department. As data collection tool, an evaluation consisting of verbally asked problems regarding the subject of circle was used. Questions were selected according to the relevant subject among the Olympics questions. When selecting the questions, care was taken to contain most basic information about the relevant subject but include the attributes that are having difficulties in transferring of concepts into shapes. As a result of the study, it was observed that teacher candidates were having difficulties in transferring the question into a shape while solving the questions that are directed to them without a visual contextual support and reaching the correct answer. In conclusion, it is seen that questions provided with visual contextual support could easily be solved by students but prevents their spatial thinking skills.

EFFECTIVENESS OF LOCAL CONTENT DRAMA ON THE PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN READING COMPREHENSION IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

The study investigated the effectiveness of using local drama content on the performance of stude... more The study investigated the effectiveness of using local drama content on the performance of students in reading comprehension in Secondary Schools in Kaduna State, Nigeria. The study adopted a quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test control group design. Two randomly selected Government Secondary Schools (tagged as experimental and control group) were used for the study. Two intact classes made up of eighty students (i.e. 40 students from each class and from each school) were used for the study. Both groups of students were pre-tested to establish their homogeneity before the commencement of the treatment of the experimental group. Both groups of students were taught for six weeks. Two reading comprehension tests (cloze test and retelling test) were used as instruments to test the hypothesis postulated for the research. T-test was used to analyze the data at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that students taught reading comprehension using local content drama had a higher mean score than those taught using the conventional method. Based on this finding, the study recommended, among others that teachers should use local content drama to enrich and make their reading comprehension lessons more participatory, meaningful, concrete and pleasurable.

THE CORRELATION BETWEEN EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE, JOB SATISFACTION AND PRODUCTIVITY OF LIBRARIANS IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN NIGERIA

This study investigated relationship between emotional intelligence, job satisfaction and product... more This study investigated relationship between emotional intelligence, job satisfaction and productivity of librarians in Nigerian public universities. A correlational survey research design was adopted. The study population consisted of 1,254 librarians in public university libraries in Nigeria, from which 923 were selected using simple random sampling. The research instrument used was a self-developed questionnaire. Its validation was subjected to the scrutiny of experts in the areas of the variables studied; it gave a reliability coefficient of 0.91 for Emotional Intelligence; 0.78 for Job Satisfaction; and 0.94 for Productivity. A response rate of 67.2% was achieved. Data were analysed using descriptive (percentage, mean, average mean and standard deviation) and inferential (Pearson Product Moment Correlation) statistics. The study revealed a significant relationship between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction (r = 0.034, P < 0.05), between emotional intelligence and productivity(r = 0.032, P < 0.05) of librarians in public university libraries in Nigeria. The study concluded that contrary to general belief, job satisfaction and productivity levels of librarians in university libraries were high. It is recommended that university library management should continue to promote values that would boost emotional intelligence and increase job satisfaction and productivity of its workforce.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOB SATISFACTION AND COMMITMENT AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL COUNSELLORS IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

by Open Access Publishing Group and Dr. Chinyelu N Nwokolo

The study was conducted to determine the relationship between job satisfaction and job commitment... more The study was conducted to determine the relationship between job satisfaction and job commitment among secondary school Counsellors in Anambra State, Nigeria. Three research questions guided the study. Correlational research design was adopted by the researcher. A total of 188 secondary school Counsellors formed the population of the study. Findings from the study showed among others, that secondary school Counsellors in Anambra State are satisfied and committed to their job. The researcher made some recommendations which include; designing counselling job in such a way that it will be more challenging for counsellors to take responsibilities of their job outcomes.

THE ROLE OF VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINING LIVING IN A PERIOD OF SECURITY CHALLENGES IN NIGERIA

This paper addresses the role of vocational and technical education in sustaining living in a per... more This paper addresses the role of vocational and technical education in sustaining living in a period of security challenges. Hence, a detailed analysis of the concept of vocational and technical education was examined, including types of vocational and technical education, societal need for training programmes, security challenges in Nigeria, and causes of security challenges. It was concluded with few suggestions made as follows: that there shall be a restructuring of the while academic curricular in our institutions to give room to skill acquisition in different fields to our students, likewise the NYSC should be reconstructed in such a way that the Corps members should be exposed to different vocations in the orientation camps, in addition to their paramilitary training.

PUPIL-TEACHER RATIO AND ITS IMPACT ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN CENTRAL DIVISION, MACHAKOS COUNTY, KENYA

The objectives of this study were (a) to assess the impact of PTR on academic performance in nati... more The objectives of this study were (a) to assess the impact of PTR on academic performance in national examinations in public primary schools (b) establish if ideal PTR exist in public primary schools as recommended by TSC, UNESCO and other international standards. (c) to identify the major challenges faced in the attainment of appropriate PTR in the public schools in the Division. (d) to determine whether PTR influences academic performance. The study targeted the 78 public primary schools in which a total of 24 schools were sampled for the study. Descriptive survey design was used as the research design for the study. Questionnaires were used in collecting data for the study. The analysis involved use of simple regression to determine whether PTR predicts performance in national examinations. The relationship between PTR and performance was worked out using Pearsonns product moment correlation coefficient R, the value of R calculated was-0.323. This negative correlation between the PTR and performance indicated that as PTR increases performance decreases and vice versa. A coefficient of determination R 2 of 0.104 was obtained. This revealed that 10.4% of the performance is due to PTR while the remaining 89.6 % is due to other intervening factors or error in the independent variable. An Anova table was generated (p<0.05) which indicated that the regression model applied was significantly good enough in predicting the outcome variable. A regression model [scores = 260.8-7.60(PTR)] was generated that could be used to predict the outcome variable. The findings of the study revealed that PTR significantly influences performance of pupils in national examinations. The study recommended to all Education sector stakeholders to pay European Journal of Education Studies – Special Issue 38 adequate attention to PTR since it affects performance of pupils in Primary Schools. It recommended to the government to employ more teachers to lower PTR and ease teacher workload. It also recommended to the government and the MOE to review the Education Act to enable schools admit pupils on basis of PTR to avoid over enrolment and congestion in classrooms.

COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF CONVENTIONAL TESTING, LIBERAL MARKING AND CONFIDENCE SCORING ON PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF CHEMISTRY MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST ITEMS IN OSUN STATE SECONDARY SCHOOL

by Open Access Publishing Group and Samuel Olufemi Adebule

This study compared the effectiveness of Conventional Testing (CT), Liberal Marking (LM) and Conf... more This study compared the effectiveness of Conventional Testing (CT), Liberal Marking (LM) and Confidence Sharing (CS) of scoring objective test in Chemistry. It examined which of the three scoring methods is more effective, reliable and valid. These were with a view to enhancing the reliability and validity of chemistry objective test for standard assessment. The population for the study comprised of senior secondary school three (SSSIII) students in Osun State. The sample consists of 150 SSSIII chemistry students in their intact classes from three randomly selected schools and in three randomly selected local government areas of the state. The classes were randomly assigned to the three scoring methods. The instruments used for this study were Chemistry Multiple-choice Test. The 40-item Chemistry multiple-choice test was administered on the students in each school. Three scoring methods used to score the test items. Data collected were analysed using Kuder-Richardson (kp-21) formula and fisher Z-test. Result obtained revealed that significant different existed in the reliability coefficient of CT, LM and CS (fc=1.444195; p<0.05) df (2,147). There is no significant difference existed among CT, LM and CS in the validity of the test score. CS performed better than LM at observed mean different of 2.2.0000 P<0.05. While LM is better than CT at mean observed different of 0.78451. It was therefore, concluded that CS could be used to authentically assess Chemistry studentss performance and able to identify students with genuine learning difficulties

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE ATTITUDE OF STUDENTS TOWARDS SCIENCE AND ART COURSES

This study did a comparative analysis of the attitude of students towards Science and Art courses... more This study did a comparative analysis of the attitude of students towards Science and Art courses. Also, a comparison of the attitude of male and female students towards Arts and Science courses was done. The population consisted of all the students of senior secondary schools from the six southwestern states of Nigeria. The sample consisted of 1440 students, selected using stratified sampling technique. The instrument used was the Science-Oriented Attitudinal Scale (SOAS) adopted from Omirin (1999). The instrument was already validated by the author, with the item validity coefficients ranging between 0.31 and 0.57, and a reliability coefficient of 0.89. Two null hypotheses were generated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The results revealed that there was a significant difference between the attitude of students towards Science and Art courses. The result further showed that the attitude of male and female students towards Science and Art courses are not different. Based on the results of this study, some recommendations were made. It was recommended that teachers should be encouraged to instil positive attitudes in students towards both Science and Art courses. Attitude and interest of students should be used as one of the yardsticks for admission into schools.

IMPACT OF PSYCHO-SOCIAL DEPRIVATIONS ON EMOTIONAL HEALTH AND EDUCATION OF NOMADIC CHILDREN IN NIGERIA

The nomads are referred to as ethnic or socio-professional groups of people that travel and migra... more The nomads are referred to as ethnic or socio-professional groups of people that travel and migrate from one geographical location to another, in search of means of livelihood. In Nigeria, the nomads are predominately the pastoralists, the migrant farmers, and the fishermen. Nomads are characterized by the absence of fixed domicile; hence they are always on the move. They do not have permanent place of settlement, therefore, their children suffer a lot of deprivations. This research investigated on the impact of psycho-social deprivations on emotional health and education of the nomadic children in Nigeria. A descriptive survey was adopted, while focus group discussion built into interview was used for data collection. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The population of the study was the entire nomads in Nigeria. A random sampling technique was used to select 400 nomads. The result was analysed, using mean scores, standard deviations, and z-test. The findings indicated that nomadic children experience emotional, intellectual deprivations, and deprivations of health care services, and social amenities among others. There is no significant difference in the mean scores and standard deviations of male and female respondents on whether nomadic children suffer psycho-social deprivations. There is no significant difference in the mean scores and standard deviations of male and female respondents on whet her psycho-social deprivations have impact on the emotional health and education of the nomadic children. Summarily, the findings were that nomadic children experience a high rate of psycho-social deprivations in Nigeria.

SKILL IMPROVEMENT NEEDS OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE TEACHERS IN FISHPOND CONSTRUCTION AND STOCKING OF FINGERLINGS AS A SUPPORT BUSINESS IN EASTERN KOGI STATE, NIGERIA

by Open Access Publishing Group and OKEME ISAAC [Ph.D]

The purpose of this study was to determine the Skill Improvement Needs of Agricultural Science Te... more The purpose of this study was to determine the Skill Improvement Needs of Agricultural Science Teachers in Pond Construction and Stocking of Fingerlings as a Support Business in Eastern Kogi State, Nigeria. The study had two specific objectives, two research questions and tested two hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Literature was reviewed in line with the variables under study. The study adopted survey design. The population of the study was 235 from which 85 was taken through purposive sampling technique. A 26 item researcher-made questionnaire was used for data collection. It was face validated by two experts from Agricultural Education Unit of Vocational Education Department and one expert of Measurement and Evaluation. A reliability coefficient of 0.89 was obtained using Cronbach alpha technique. The data obtained were coded and manipulated using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions while the two hypotheses were tested using independence t-test at 0.05 level of significance and 83 degrees of freedom. The findings revealed that there was no significant difference in the mean rating of male and female agricultural science teachers on their skill improvement needs in all the skills identified in the study. Based on the findings it was recommended that the identified skills should be package into a retraining programme to enable secondary school teachers to have a support business.

TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS ON THE CLASSROOM PEER OBSERVATION EXERCISE AT EAC-CAVITE, PHILIPPINES

European Journal of Human Resource Management Studies, 2019

Aligning teacher's classroom peer observation with professional development can be considered eff... more Aligning teacher's classroom peer observation with professional development can be considered effective if teachers would actually try to conduct this exercise, collect evidence, and to manage a peer post-conference. The major purpose of this study was to identify the teachers' perceptions and insights on the classroom peer observation at EAC-Cavite. It also aimed at developing appropriate responses to evidence, identifying the advantages and disadvantages of classroom peer observation, and improving the system using the qualitative method of research and an open-ended survey questionnaire approach which was administered randomly to 14 schools or 35 faculty members. The results revealed that there was a positive insights of faculty members in the conduct of classroom peer observation. The results were analyzed using the Kolb's Experiential Learning. As part of its implications to teaching practice, the researchers have adopted the cycle and came up with their own paradigm which is highly recommended to be used and evaluated for professional development and improvement.

PEER EVALUATION EXERCISE AT EMILIO AGUINALDO COLLEGE, CAVITE, PHILIPPINES -TOWARDS PERSONAL IMPROVEMENT AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

European Journal of Human Resource Management Studies, 2019

One of the teaching evaluation processes at EAC-Cavite is the peer evaluation exercise. In order ... more One of the teaching evaluation processes at EAC-Cavite is the peer evaluation exercise. In order to improve the quality of teaching and learning, teachers are encouraged to conduct classroom peer observation as a component of the faculty evaluation. The major purpose of this study was to assess and analyze the importance of Peer Evaluation as part of personal improvement and professional development of teachers at EAC-Cavite. Using the qualitative method of research and documentary analysis, this study sought to explore the importance of peer evaluation exercise to improve the teaching and learning process, to critically analyze the participants' teaching practice, and to gain new insights in their own area of expertise from the teacher's performance in the classroom observation as part of professional growth. The researchers discovered some of the best practices of teaching through feedback and it highlights its implications in the TL process. The researchers conclude that peer evaluation is effective and should continuously be implemented in all schools at EAC-Cavite. Finally, the result will be the basis of the administration to enhance and support the teachers' professional development.

Social Studies Curricula in Turkey: Historical Evolution

by Mustafa Şahin and Open Access Publishing Group

Social studies course is a pivotal course offered in the first three years of students’ primary e... more Social studies course is a pivotal course offered in the first three years of students’ primary education. Since the foundation of the Turkish Republic to the present, there have been changes in the curricula of the social studies course in accordance with the needs and expectations of the related period in Turkish Republic history. Whether these changes introduced have fulfilled the mentioned expectations is the object of interest in this essay. Having considered these issues, answers to the following questions were sought within this research: a) what sorts of changes have been introduced to overcome the shortcomings of the old curricula, b) to what extent have these changes lived up to the characteristics of the period and does the field of the object or the content meet the requirements and to what extent does the content of the course align with the features of the educational sciences? Like the primary education curricula being used since the establishment of the Turkish Republic until today, social studies course’s curricula were arranged by either the committee on education, the educational council or by a foreign educational consultant and external factors. The 1924 social studies course curriculum was in effect on a temporary basis due to being prepared quickly by the recently established Turkish Republic and it was in use only for two years. The 1926 social studies curriculum was the work of a government which just had completed its political revolution process and it was shaped around the ideas of an American educational scholar, Dewey. Next, in 1936 Turkish revolution was emphasized in the social studies curriculum, in which citizenship consciousness and patriotism was commonly stated. The 1948 social studies curriculum was in use for about 20 years and it accepted teaching knowledge as the principle idea and it created a dense amount of content by increasing the number of the chapters. In the social studies curriculum of 1968, all the objectives were set according to the student-oriented approach and it stayed in use for 30 years. The social studies curriculum of 1998 carried the features of behaviourist approach since it was created under this approach. The 2005 social studies curriculum was a constructivist one prepared with the effects of external factors, since it was made for the purpose of being compatibility with the EU norms. Both the 2009 and the 2015 curricula were used to addressed values, special occasions and weeks, explanation of educational status and evaluation themes.

EXAMINATION OF SOCIAL SKILLS OF PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN IN TURKEY, European Journal of Educational Studies, volume 3, no.2, 2017, pp. 80-97.

by PROF. DR. AYSE DILEK OGRETIR OZCELIK and Open Access Publishing Group

This study aims to investigate whether there is a relationship between the 5-6 years old children... more This study aims to investigate whether there is a relationship between the 5-6 years old children's social skills and their age, gender as well as their parent's age and educational background and similar variables. The sampling of the study consists of the 5-6 years old children who continue kindergarten, nursery and preschool in the city of Ankara. The sampling was composed of 300 children and their parents (143 girls and 157 boys). The data was collected with questionnaire and scales. The information about children and their parents was compiled by using the questionnaire form that was prepared by the researcher. The children social skills were measured by using ‚Social Skills Assessment Scale‛ that includes 62 items with 9 sub-scales developed by Avcıoğlu (2007). The obtained data was tested with t-test and one-way ANOVA. The results showed that there are statistically significant differences between gender and social skills of children. The girls have statistically higher scores than boys on social skills sub-scales. Also, there are statistically significant differences in some social skills scales between mothers who are not working and mothers who are working. Children whose mothers are housewives had much higher scores on Anger Management and Accommodation Skills, Self-Control Skills, Listening Skills, Outcome Accepting Skills than children whose mothers are working. The results are discussed within the scope of the relevant literature.

THE GENDER OF COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

by Open Access Publishing Group and mr.sc. Xhevahire Millaku

In Albanian and English we have three kinds of gender: masculine, feminine and neuter. In Albania... more In Albanian and English we have three kinds of gender: masculine, feminine and neuter. In Albanian language we have this concept for gender: " Gjinia është një nga kategoritë gramatikore më karakteristikë për emrat në gjuhën shqipe. Nga natyra e saj, ajo dallohet nga kategoritë e tjera të emrit, nga numri, rasa dhe nga kategoritë e shquarsisë dhe të pashquarsisë, sepse i kundërvihet mashkullore-femërore dhe asnjanëse... " ii , it's same and with English: " a grouping of nouns and pronouns into classes' masculine, feminine and neuter " iii. The gender can show and function in both of numbers singular and plural. The nouns of masculine, feminine can ends with consonants or vowels. The gender (definite) of English are augmented with articles. It can show before the noun, pronoun that can substituted with pronoun /ai, ajo – he, she / or ky, kjo, ai, ajo – it (father, man, son, boy, Tom, brother, Mr. John, /he/). The noun and pronoun can have the gender but the adjective or verb cannot have.