bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
OKUL ÖNCESİ ÖĞRETMENLERİN DOĞAL MATEMATİKSEL DİL KULLANIMLARININ İNCELENMESİ
Authors: Fırat Zehra Saadet , Dinçer Çağlayan
Published: February 2018

Öğretmenin sınıf ortamında kullandığı matematik dili, çocuklar için
matematik girdisidir ve çocukların, okul dönemi boyunca matematik bilgilerinin
oluşmasında etkili olmaktadır. Bu çalışmada okul öncesi öğretmenlerinin sınıf
ortamında uyguladıkları etkinliklerin incelenmesi ve kullandıkları doğal matematiksel
dilinin ortaya çıkarılması amaçlanmıştır. Bu amaçla, Erzurum ili merkezinde
bulunan bağımsız anaokulunda tam gün ve yarım gün görev yapan iki öğretmen ile
ilkokul bünyesindeki anasınıfında görev yapan bir öğretmen olmak üzere toplam
üç öğretmen sınıf ortamında gözlemlenmiştir. Araştırmada her öğretmenin
sınıfında haftada iki kez gözlem yapılmıştır. Yapılan gözlemler, araştırmacılar
tarafından, ilgili literatür çerçevesinde içerik analizi yöntemiyle incelenmiş
ve temalar altında toplanmıştır. Çalışmadan elde edilen sonuçlara göre,
öğretmenlerin sıklıkla doğal matematik diline ilişkin ve sınıf düzenini
sağlamaya yönelik ifadeleri kullandıkları gözlemlenmiştir. Öğretmenlerin
matematik diline en sık okuma yazmaya hazırlık etkinlikleri, Türkçe ve oyun
etkinliklerinde yer vermiş oldukları belirlenmiştir. Matematik dili kullanımı
planlı etkinlikler içerisinde en az sıklıkta drama ve hareket etkinliklerinde
yer almıştır. Kullanılan ifadelerin içeriğinde en sık sayma/sayı/rakam
kavramlarına değindikleri belirlenmiştir.
Fecal Bacterial DNA extraction v2
Authors: Y Eileen Koh , WT Wei Khine
Published: February 2018

TIANamp Stool DNA Kit has used the silica membrane technology with InhibitEX Tablet for stool sample genomic DNA extraction. The spin column can bind DNA optimally on given salt and pH conditions. Centrifugation processing with the help of InhibitEX tablet removes impurities, proteins, and other organic compounds, resulting in purified genomic DNA.
Fecal Bacterial DNA extraction v1
Authors: Y Eileen Koh , WT Khine Wei
Published: February 2018

TIANamp Stool DNA Kit method was used the silica membrane technology and InhibitEX tablet for stool sample genomic DNA extraction. The InhibitEX tablet, removes impurities, proteins, and other organic compounds, resulting in purified genomic DNA.
Revisited Thalassiosira pseudonana (Tp) conjugation protocol enables fusion protein delivery to Tp frustule v2
Authors: Turnsek Jernej
Published: February 2018

This revisited Thalassiosira pseudonana conjugation protocol builds on the following two protocols: Conjugation of Thalassiosira pseudonana(DOI: dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.f55bq86) & Pour plating of Thalassiosira pseudonana (Tp)(DOI: dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.jfncjme). Readers are strongly encouraged to read both before using this one. Gene-EGFP fusion depicted in the 'Expected Results' section was expressed under consitutive Tp-derived fcp promoter and terminator using pTpPuc3 episome backbone described in Karas et al.(2015).
Revisited Thalassiosira pseudonana (Tp) conjugation protocol enables fusion protein delivery to Tp frustule v3
Authors: Turnsek Jernej
Published: February 2018

This revisited Thalassiosira pseudonana conjugation protocol builds on the following two protocols: Conjugation of Thalassiosira pseudonana(DOI: dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.f55bq86) & Pour plating of Thalassiosira pseudonana (Tp)(DOI: dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.jfncjme). Readers are strongly encouraged to read both before using this one. Gene-EGFP fusion depicted in the 'Expected Results' section was expressed under consitutive Tp-derived fcp promoter and terminator using pTpPuc3 episome backbone described in Karas et al.(2015).
Envejecimiento activo, generatividad y aprendizaje / Active ageing, generativity and learning
Authors: Triadó Tur Carme
Published: February 2018

RESUMENSe describen las distintas maneras de entender el envejecimiento positivo ya sea activo, satisfactorio y productivo. Se describen las aportaciones que enfatizan criterios de salud y funcionamiento de las actividades de la vida cotidiana. Se remarca la importancia de aquellas teorías que tienen en cuenta criterios de tipo psicológico y entre ellas destacamos el concepto de generatividad, postulado por Erikson y explicitado en su teoría del desarrollo psicosocial. Remarcamos la importancia del cuidado a los nietos y del aprendizaje en la vejez como actividades generativas.Palabras Clave: generatividad, productividad, actividad, aprendizaje, abuelos, nietos.ABSTRACTDifferent ways of understanding the concept of positive aging are described, being active, satisfactory and productive. The contributions of health criteria and functioning in daily life are described. The importance of those theories that take into account psychological criteria are highlighted, and among these we highlight the concept of generativity, as posed by Erikson and explained in his theory of psychosocial development. We highlight the importance of taking care of the grandchildren and the value of learning in the old age as generative activities.Keywords: generativity, grandparents, productivity, activity, caring, learning.
La semana de la ciencia: propuesta interdisciplinar de alfabetización científica para el alumnado de educación infantil
Authors: Mora Márquez Manuel , Morales Rojas Elizabeth
Published: February 2018

En las aulas de Educación Infantil surgen en el alumnado muchas preguntas acerca de su entorno más cercano, tales como algo qué flota en el agua, dos objetos que se atraen, por qué se hace de noche, el aire tiene fuerza, etc. Con la Semana de la Ciencia, se pretende que los niños y niñas, desde edades tempranas, adquieran unos conocimientos científicos a través de su propia experiencia, indagando, planteándose ideas, reflexionando, etc. Es importante que interaccionen con los objetos, que los manipule para adquirir información de ellos. De igual forma, es relevante desarrollar la curiosidad y el interés de este alumnado hacia el mundo que les rodea, proporcionándole actividades y experiencias que los lleve a querer saber más, a la vez que al disfrute en la realización de experimentos científicos.
Sobre la fórmula definicional acción y efecto de + verbo: Una nueva propuesta de tratamiento lexicográfico de los sustantivos de acción
Authors: Porto Dapena José-Álvaro
Published: February 2018

En el presente artículo se aborda el estudio de la definición de los sustantivos deverbales expresada mediante la típica fórmula acción y efecto de + verbo en infinitivo. La definición plantea problemas tanto de orden teórico como práctico: teóricamente, porque, pese a las apariencias, dicha fórmula no constituye una verdadera definición, dada la imposibilidad de intercambiar definiendum por definiens, y en la práctica, porque, en los artículos correspondientes, se pone a la par esta definición —que con frecuencia incluye más de una acepción del verbo— con otras que, con carácter específico, son a veces también atribuibles a ese tipo de sustantivos deverbales. Para solucionar toda esta problemática, se hacen una serie de propuestas que, a nuestro juicio, podrían conducir a un más adecuado tratamiento de ese tipo de unidades léxicas en los diccionarios.
Isolation of extracellular micro-vesicles from cell culture medium: comparative evaluation of methods
Authors: Shtam T.A. , Samsonov R.A. , Volnitskiy A.V. , Kamyshinsky R.A. , Verlov N.A. , Kniazeva M.S. , Korobkina E.A. , Orehov A.S. , Vasiliev A.L. , Konevega A.L. , Malek A.V.
Published: February 2018

Extracellular vesicles (EV) are secreted by cells of multicellular organisms. EV mediate specific mode of intercellular communication by “horizontal” exchange of substances and information. This phenomenon seems to have an essential biological significance and became a subject of intensive research. Biogenesis, structural and functional features of the EV is being commonly studies in in vitro condition. Several methods of EV isolation from cell culture medium are established, however selection of method might influence on obtained results. The choice of the optimal method depends usually from the amount of medium and the aims of the research while is still challenging issue. We performed a comparative analysis of four different methods of EV isolation from cell culture medium: differential ultracentrifugation, ultracentrifugation with a 30% sucrose/D2O “cushion”, precipitation with plant proteins and immune-affinity capturing. EV isolated by different approaches were compared in terms of following parameters: size, concentration, morphology of EV, contamination by non-vesicular particles, content of exosomal tetraspanins on the EV surface, content of total proteins, RNA, and several glioma-associated miRNAs. Applied methods included nano-patricle tracking analysis (NTA), dynamic light scattering (DLS), cryo-electron microscopy, flow cytometry and RT-qPCR. On the base of obtained results, we developed practical recommendations that may help researchers to make a best choice of EV isolation method.
Possibility of application of extracellular protease of micromycet Aspergillus ochraceus VKM F-4104D for determination of protein C content in human blood plasma
Authors: Osmolovskiy A.A. , Orekhova A.V. , Kreyer V.G. , Baranova N.A. , Egorov N.S.
Published: February 2018

It was shown that the activator activity of protein C, determined in normal plasma using Aspergillus ochraceus protease, is comparable with the activity of commercial protease analogue from the South American copperhead venom (ProtacÒ). It was found that protease of A. ochraceus can be used to determine protein C in plasma with its reduced content similar to ProtacÒ. Comparison of the activator protein C activity of A. ochraceus protease and the commercial analogue showed some excess of the activator activity of the fungal preparation, which may make it a promising substitute for the snake activator in diagnostical kits for determining the protein C content in clinical laboratories.
Performance Contracting As a Strategy for Enhanced Employee Commitment: A Case of the Vocational Training Centre Sikri, Kenya
Authors: Kemboi Dr. Ambrose Kiplimo
Published: February 2018

Literature on the relationship between performance contracting and employee commitment in tertiary special needs institutions in Kenya is dearth. In addition to this, majority of these past researchers who have attempted to investigate these variables have concentrated on performance contracting implementations in state corporations with few studies done on its effectiveness on service delivery in tertiary institutions. This study therefore sought to investigate the link between performance contracting and employee commitment using cross sectional survey research design. Data was mainly collected from primary and secondary sources and was analyzed via SPSS after cleaning and coding. The study found employee commitment to positively affect performance contracting. The study also found a positive relationship between employee commitment, performance contracting (r=0.159), employee productivity (r=0.147) and performance contracting to positively and significantly (p=.000) employee commitment. The study recommends that the institute’s board of governors should develop and put to use an effective performance management policy document that will synchronize performance based system with employee commitments for the overall organizational development.
Income Inequality: Do Different Inequality Measures Show Different Impacts on Economic Growth, at the State Level? An Analysis of the State of New Jersey
Authors: Okpokwasili Bertram Chukwudum Ifeanyi
Published: February 2018

This paper investigates whether the use of different inequality measures is instrumental in determining impact on economic growth at the State level. We find that different measures show different levels of significance with respect to economic health. We study New Jersey income distribution and shares from 1964 to 2014, using graphs and statistics. The dual analyses approach and the use of different inequality measures enabled conclusions to be reached, that only one view and one inequality measure would have made difficult, if not misleading. New Jersey Real GDP/Capita (RGC) was going up, whether or not the inequality measure was getting better. Inequality had little or no effect on the direction of the RGC. Economic Growth is not a good measure of the effects of inequality.
Creating positive outcomes through perceived investment in employee development: Evidence from Kuwait
Authors: Zaitouni Michel
Published: February 2018

Drawing on the human capital and social exchange theories, this article examines the effect of perceived investment in employee development on three work behavior outcomes: turnover intentions, organization citizenship behavior, and affective commitment. Data from a sample of 126 employees working at different hierarchical levels in three different organizations in Kuwait were collected and analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis. The results support previous studies and indicate that PIED is more related to OCB and affective commitment than turnover intentions.
Role of Corporate Social Responsibility Practices in Saudi Universities
Authors: Alharthey Bandar Khalaf
Published: February 2018

Nowadays, many researchers focus on the relocation of the government in the transformation of The purpose of this study is to examine the role of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices in higher education of Saudi Arabia. The growing importance of CSR has made it necessary for every university to use international benchmarks as standard to devise their CSR practices accordingly. This realization has shifted focus of CSR practices of Saudi universities towards every dimension of CSR. The study collected secondary data through 120 advertisements published from 2012 to 2015 and found out that CSR practices of universities of Saudi Arabia remain focused on social dimension of CSR because Saudi culture and religion had profound impact on business laws and eventually on CSR practices. 
Influence of Emotions on Decision-Making
Authors: Sanches Cida , Franco Michele
Published: February 2018

The purpose of this study is to verify whether emotions and feelings influence the decisions of entrepreneurs differently in terms of gender using data collected via instruments i.e. questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. The findings suggest that out of 13 factors under study, 8 showed significant differences in the responses given by the two groups: love, unfairness, compassion, dissension, individualism, insecurity, anger and surprise. Men tend to face a decision situation as an intellectual challenge. They avoid listening to other people and decide rapidly, as they understand these actions as a sign of capacity and independence. The results showed that male and female entrepreneurs are significantly affected by feelings and emotions. Women showed a greater tendency than men did towards the following factors: love, jealousy and dissension. This study contributes to the entrepreneurship liteature and broadens the empirical base of studies related to the influence of emotions and feelings of male and female entrepreneurs, providing a possible new perspective regarding decisions, taking into account the gender of the decision maker.
Accounting Theory: An Ethical Perspective of Real Life Scenarios
Authors: Raj Shivneil Kumar , Roy Sandhiya
Published: February 2018

Decisions are made daily in businesses and individuals do encounter situations where they are faced with ethical issues. The subject is how one evaluates whether an act is ethical or unethical. This research article discusses real life ethical dilemmas that could be faced in accounting or business environment and applicability of various theories of ethics that were taught in accounting theory course in the undergraduate accounting program. The researcher employs a number of case studies highlighting the stories related to ethics that have been experienced in the past working life. Teleological and deontological theories are being used to explain how one could identify that a particular act is ethical or unethical. The work of accountants requires them to maintain high level of ethics to ensure integrity of the profession.  
Students’ Performance in Ghana: A Discriminant Analysis
Authors: Akaboha Adane Appiah , Kwofie Samuel
Published: February 2018

This study employs discriminant analysis to determine students’ performance in their final West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). Data on 104 students who completed Suhum Senior High Secondary Technical School from 2012 to 2013 were gathered from the WASSCE results sheets of the school and discriminant analysis was performed on the initial factors. Result suggest that six factors: being the BECE grade in Science, BECE grade in Mathematics, Type of basic education, Duration of the SHS system, Entry admission age to form 1 of SHS and BECE aggregate of candidate as parsimoniously representing the difference between students who performed very well and those who performed poorly in the WASSCE- determine the performance. 
The Effect of Hot Money Flow on Pre-Crisis Indicators of Current Accounts and Real Sectors in Turkish Economy
Authors: Bulut Ömer Uğur , Karluk Sadık Rıdvan
Published: February 2018

We investigate the impact of the hot money movements on current account and real sector leading crisis indicators under VAR (Vector Autoregressive) framework using quarterly data for a long period of 1991-2014. Our findings show that hot money movements have negative impact on current account deficit and foreign trade deficit pre-crisis indicators. We further show that they lead to instability in growth and inflation pre-crisis indicators.
Weak Form Efficiency of the Chittagong Stock Exchange: An Empirical Analysis (2006-2016)
Authors: Hussain Shahadat , Nath Sujit Kumer Deb , Bhuiyan Md. Yeasir Arafat
Published: February 2018

We study the random walk behavior of Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) by using daily returns of three indices for the period of 2006 to 2016 employing both non-parametric test (run test) and parametric tests [autocorrelation coefficient test, Ljung– Box (LB) statistics]. The skewness and kurtosis properties of daily return series are non-normal, with a hint of positively skewed and leptokurtic distribution. The results of run test; autocorrelation and Ljung–Box (LB) statistics provide evidences against random walk behavior in the Chittagong Stock Exchange. Overall our result suggest that Chittagong Stock Exchange does not exhibit weak form of efficiency. Hence, there is opportunity of generating a superior return by the active investors.
Charismatic, Transformational, and Servant Leadership in the United States, Mexico, and Croatia
Authors: Dobric Veiss Suzana
Published: February 2018

Cross-cultural leadership attempts to understand how leaders function in a highly globalized market.  Certain dimensions of the three leadership theories: charismatic, transformational, and servant were endorsed as important for effective leadership. Major aspects of the leadership theories were compared and contrasted in three different cultures.  The cultures were selected by utilizing the GLOBE study: Anglo cluster with focus on the United States, Latin America cluster with focus on Mexico, and Eastern European cluster with focus on Croatia. While certain aspects of charismatic, transformational, and servant leadership were endorsed as important for effective leadership, only certain dimensions were endorsed across the three cultures studied.  Analysis of Croatia, not available in the original GLOBE study, provides a more comprehensive evaluation of leadership in the region, especially since Croatia has recently emerged as the latest country joining the European Union.  
Perception of Management on Outcomes of Human Resource Information System (HRIS)
Authors: Islam Md Shamimul , Mamun Md. Abdullah Al
Published: February 2018

Human Resource Management is getting focused day by day for ensuring and sustaining organizational success. HRIS (Human Resource Information System) is a prevailing HR tool coupled with contemporary innovation of information system. HRIS is defined as the information system to collect, store, process and retrieve HR information to seamlessly help organization achieve strategic objectives. For installation of HRIS, commitment, decision and action of management are inevitable. This study aims at unveiling implicit perception of management regarding performance of HRIS towards organizational objectives in three perspectives such as “Operational Efficiency (OE)”, “Managerial Effectiveness (ME)” and “Strategic Finesse (SF)”. 54% and 57% respondents respectively agree that HRIS enhances OE and ensures ME. On the other hand, 70% respondents underline HRIS as SF. However, the hypothesis results showed that management perception toward HRIS performance is independent of experience, gender and education of managerial people but associated with organizational origin either Bangladeshi or foreign. Thus it is concluded that foreign companies are advanced to adopt contemporary tools whereas Bangladeshi firms are averse or endeavor to assimilate laggardly. The findings open the door for future research why Bangladeshi firms respond at late.
Evaluation of Vocational High Schools’ Status Analysis through Student Perception: Evidence from Turkey
Authors: Avci Salih Börteçine , UÇAN Fethullah , Budak Ömer Sıddık
Published: February 2018

Nowadays the current status of vocational schools is handled by different sectors with a critical perspective. What will be the future status of vocational schools requires a strategic perspective. In this study, SWOT analyse was used as a method to analyse the current status of vocational schools.  In order to determine the important components of SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analyse a questionnaire prepared according to the five-point Likert scale was applied to 300 vocational school students from Ataturk University and Kafkas University in Turkey. Results being subjected to statistical analysis and were given some suggestions.
A Conceptual Culture Model for Design Science Research
Authors: Richter Thomas
Published: February 2018

The aim of design science research (DSR) in information systems is the user-centred creation of IT-artifacts with regard to specific social environments. For culture research in the field, which is necessary for a proper localization of IT-artifacts, models and research approaches from social sciences usually are adopted. Descriptive dimension-based culture models most commonly are applied for this purpose, which assume culture being a national phenomenon and tend to reduce it to basic values. Such models are useful for investigations in behavioural culture research because it aims to isolate, describe and explain culture-specific attitudes and characteristics within a selected society. In contrast, with the necessity to deduce concrete decisions for artifact-design, research results from DSR need to go beyond this aim. As hypothesis, this contribution generally questions the applicability of such generic culture dimensions’ models for DSR and focuses on their theoretical foundation, which goes back to Hofstede’s conceptual Onion Model of Culture. The herein applied literature-based analysis confirms the hypothesis. Consequently, an alternative conceptual culture model is being introduced and discussed as theoretical foundation for culture research in DSR.

 
Threshold Effects of Fiscal Policy on Economic Activity in Developing Countries
Authors: Slimani Salma
Published: February 2018

The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between fiscal policy and economic growth for a panel of 40 developing countries for the period 1990 – 2012 with a focus on a comparative analysis between Morocco and the panel. The variables used are real GDP, budget deficit, current government spending, national saving, inflation rate, total investment, public debt and current account balance. The main findings are: First, there is evidence of a double threshold effect of the fiscal balance. When exceeding a budget deficit level of 4.8% of GDP or a fiscal surplus level of 3.2% of GDP, economic growth is negatively affected. Second, the sign of the relationship between budget deficit and economic growth is conditioned by the level of total investment. For values of total investment higher than 23%, it follows that there is a positive relationship. However, it becomes negative, when investment falls below this threshold. Third, from Morocco’s perspective, analysis of threshold effects suggested that above 4.8% of budget deficit, average growth rate falls by 2.1%, while median growth falls by 1.5%.
An Analysis of Job Change Decision Using a Hybrid Mcdm Method: A Comparative Analysis
Authors: Yavuz V. Alpagut
Published: February 2018

This paper investigates the decision process relating to job change which mostly depends on individual’s expectations about a job. Failing to fully understand the factors shaping these expectations leads to dissatisfaction and poor work performance; which produces unwanted consequences for both individuals and businesses. Since job change decision is defined as a multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) problem. This study uses a hybrid approach as a methodology combining fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Analysis (AHP) and fuzzy TOPSIS (Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) for the job change decision of a faculty working in a university. In this approach, while the use of fuzzy AHP method helps determine the weight of the decision criteria; fuzzy TOPSIS enables the evaluation of the alternatives. In order to investigate the methods’ applicability in multiple dimensions of decision problem space, a comparison analysis is conducted with the three methodologies; fuzzy AHP, fuzzy TOPSIS and the proposed hybrid approach (named fuzzy AHP-TOPSIS) in the same decision making context. Four factors are considered for the comparison: adequacy to changes of criteria or alternatives; agility in the decision process; computational complexity; and the number of criteria and alternatives. Analysis shows that three methods achieve the same results. This verifies their robustness and indicates that MCDM methods are viable in job change decisions. However; comparison analysis shows that based on the four factors; the proposed hybrid fuzzy AHP-TOPSIS method provide more consistent results than fuzzy AHP and fuzzy TOPSIS methods. Thus the proposed hybrid fuzzy AHP-TOPSIS method is more appropriate to use on a wide range of job change decision problems.
Moral Implications of Leadership - Transformative Insights
Authors: Xu Feng , Caldwell Cam , Anderson Verl
Published: February 2018

In this paper we examine the correlations between Lawrence Kohlberg’s six stages of morality and Transformative Leadership, a new morally-based approach to leadership. Using survey of students, faculty members, and staffs at a South Florida private university we present evidence that there is a clear relationship between an individual’s self-described leadership perspectives and the stages of Kohlberg’s moral development model. Our paper provides five significant contributions to the literature about leadership and its moral role and enables scholars and practitioners to understand more completely the relationships between leadership and moral behavior.
The Importance of Information Technology as a Strategic Resource for Hospital Management Process and the Management Skills Required for Managers
Authors: De Oliveira Jayr Figueiredo
Published: February 2018

The developed research debates which is the perception of the administrators and hospital area managers about the ideal professional competency profile that the leadership occupants must have had in front of the available IT resources. The general objective, therefore, consisted in uplevel the inquired ones perception regarding the ideal professional competency to fulfill management tasks within hospital environment. The research with descriptive nature consisted of a Survey that has involved 900 professionals from 36 hospital institutions both public and private from the health sector, and composed by two steps (discussion and questionnaire). The results pointed out that the Professional competency profile considered ideal would have been the attributes related to the knowledge and ability to strategic and operational  planning, leadership ability and ethics attitude.
The Obstacles Facing Young Saudi Men and Women Getting jobs in Small Businesses Sector
Authors: Al-Ghamri Nayef Saleh
Published: February 2018

Small businesses are considered the backbone of the national economy due to their role in creating job opportunities for young men and women who seek private sector employment. However, a series of obstacles face young Saudi male and female citizens in getting jobs in small businesses sector. The present research focuses on studies which discuss the definitions of small businesses and how they are related to the creation of employment opportunities for young men and women, their effect on improving young adults’ economic and social levels by boosting their morale and kindling their entrepreneurial spirit. The research also sets out the proposed mechanisms for the removal of obstacles faced by young small business would-be entrepreneurs. Furthermore, it endeavors to develop solutions, based on hypotheses and primary assumptions, which may contribute to a better understanding of the employment issue of Saudi young men and women. Solutions are set within a comprehensive strategy framework based on the integration and encouragement of young people to initiate small businesses, raise their standard of living, reduce the unemployment phenomenon and its consequences and repercussions which can result in domestic discord and moral degeneration– which may sometimes lead to misanthropy and suicide, as is the case in some societies such as Japan.
Political Globalization and Foreign Direct Investment Inflows in Turkey
Authors: Doğan Cem , Arslan Ünal
Published: February 2018

This article examines the impact of political globalization on foreign direct investment inflows to Turkey. Existence of foreign missions in a country, membership in international organizations, participation in U.N. Security Council Missions, and International Treaties are all seen as indicators political globalization. Using different econometric techniques, this study aims to find out whether any empirical relationship between political globalization and FDI exists. The analysis in this article covers the period in Turkey between 1970-2012. The results of cointegration analysis provide no an evidence of a long-run or short run any relationship political globalization and FDI.
Board Size, Non-Executive Board Members and Financial Performance in Non-Usury Banks in Iran
Authors: Karami GholamReza , Karimiyan Tahere , Ghaznavi MohammadSadegh
Published: February 2018

Prior studies investigating the relation between the financial performance and corporate governance mechanisms for firms in Tehran Stock Exchange mainly exclude banks due to their different types of rules and structure. We study the relation between corporate governance structure and financial performance of the banks under the non-usury banking act. We study various corporate governance factors including board size and the number of non-executive board members using a sample of 21 banks for 2010 to 2012. Result show a significant positive correlation among board size and financial performance. However, non-executive board members do not correlate with financial performance.
Assessment of the Effects of the Free Maternal Health Policy on Maternal Health: A Case Study of New Juaben Municipality, Koforidua, Ghana.
Authors: Apreh Siaw Nicholas , Kwofie Samuel
Published: February 2018

The main objective of the study was to verify the effect of the free maternal care policy on maternal health in the New Juaben Municipality, Ghana. The population for the study encompassed women of the child bearing age (10-49) in the New Juaben Municipality. Both primary and secondary sources of data were employed for this study. Purposive and accidental sampling procedures were used to select the respondents. The sample size was two hundred (200). This study used trend analysis as its main approach of analyzing the available data. The findings show that antenatal attendance has been increasing over the years. This is attributed to the introduction of the free maternal health policy. However, quality of care remains a problem due to the enormous attendance. It was also recommended that there is still a great need to introduce other measures to reduce maternal mortality in the municipality. It was also recommended that quality of care must be addressed and also more efforts should be made in the services that have provided to the patients. It was concluded that, although the policy has not eradicated maternal mortality completely yet it has contributed to its significant reduction in the region.
Political Budget Cycle: Mexican Town Halls Case
Authors: Vazque Edgar Alfredo Nande , Martínez Juan Carlos
Published: February 2018

In the current economic context, one of the issues of concern is the growth of public spending of municipalities of Mexico and thus increasing public debt. This combines the traditional interest that literature has been devoted to the relationship between economics and politics from the perspective of Political Budget Cycle. The aim of this paper is to analyze the effect of elections in public expenditure management. To this end, a system based on the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM), which uses instrumental variables based on delays and differences of all variables in the model estimator was used. Our findings indicate that there is an expansion of total expenditure, spending on public works and infrastructure and current expenditure contracted work, indicating the preference of politicians for using investment spending to influence voter behavior. The work also notes that citizens value the policies of public expenditure management when making their voting decisions.
The effect of KM capabilities on the Performance of Jordanian Public Listed Companies
Authors: Fraihat Baha Aldeen Mohammad Ahmad , Samadi Behrang
Published: February 2018

Organizational performance is vital for organizations, countries, and individuals. The performance of Jordanian public listed companies (PLCs) is experiencing a decreasing trend. Existing studies have focused on factors, such as structure, capital, and size; while other factors, such as knowledge management, trust, and experience of top management, have not been adequately investigated. The purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual framework that helps decision makers improve the organizational performance of PLCs.  Building on the resource-based view, and knowledge-based view, this study proposes that the knowledge management capabilities (KMC) infrastructure and KMC process could affect the organizational performance of Jordanian PLCs. In addition, the effect of the KMC infrastructure on organizational performance is mediated by the KMC process. Trust and top management experience could moderate the effect of the KMC infrastructure and KMC process on organizational performance. Propositions are developed and discussed as well as future work. 
Perceived Vulnerability in Consumer Ethnocentrism
Authors: Wise Jorge A
Published: February 2018

This research establishes that the consumers perceived vulnerability to a threat is a relevant variable that modifies the preference for domestic origin products. Many times, consumers balance their personal well-being with their sense of in-group identity, particularly when their preference for domestic products above foreign ones is expected. This study demonstrates that perceived vulnerability to a threat such as damaging one’s personal well-being is a relevant factor when consumers express their preference for domestic products.
A Novelty in Turkish Commercial Life: Execution of QR-Code on Cheques
Authors: Tüzemen Atik Ebru
Published: February 2018

Cheque is an important payment instrument in commercial life.  Regulations on cheques, which have a very common application in Turkish law, are included in Articles between 780 and 823 of the Turkish Commercial Code (TCC) No. 6102 and in the Cheque Act No. 5941. Law No. 6728 dated July 15, 2016 have introduced significant changes and novelties in the regulations related to the cheques in both laws. In the preamble of the law, it has stated that these changes were the result of the necessity of introducing new regulations for the purposes of a) the speed and security requirements that cheques necessitate, b) widespread payment by cheque, c) the foundation of cheque holders' protection due to the increase in bounced cheque.

Among the most important of these changes is that the QR-Code and serial number are accepted as a compulsory form requirement for the validity of cheques. In this study, the detection of novelties related to the QR-Code application expected to give functionality to the cheques and the effects of these regulations are discussed. The QR-Code application is a convenient method to ensure the tracing of the cheques and applicability of statutory regulations on cheques.

According to the general acceptance in Turkish law, bills of exchange are bills, notes and cheques. These bills of exchange have the ability of negotiability and public security in the case of the qualification of the promissory notes or bearer cheques. Furthermore, the introduction of the QR-Code application on the one hand and the criminal arrangements envisaged in the case of bounced cheques, on the other hand, have led to reaching its final point of the security in terms of cheques.
Although cheques are a payment instrument by its qualification, it is also used as a credit instrument due to the possibility of arranging the postdated cheque in Turkish trade practice. Making special arrangements in order to ensure particular protection for the cheque and attractiveness of the cheque have become inevitable in this situation. The risk of bounced cheques in practice is significantly reduced with the aim of protecting the cheque holders prescribed by the amendments.
Export and Economic Growth Nexus in the GCC Countries: A panel Data Approach
Authors: Abdulkadhim Hatem Hatef , Saeed Sazan Taher
Published: February 2018

The export and economic growth nexus, which is called Balassa’s Export-Led Growth Hypothesis (ELGH)  in the literature, is still an unstill issue in both the theoretical and empirical literature. In the present study, the effect of export on economic growth in  oil exporting developing countries, namely, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar,  Kuwait, UAE, and Oman in the 1990–2014 period was tested based on three models, pooled ordinary least squares (POLS), fixed effects model (FEM), and random effects model (REM)  via panel data analysis . The findings revealed strong support for the “export-led growth” hypothesis. In addition, our results show that apart from growth in the labor force, investments in capital formation are necessary for economic growth. According to the obtained results, the ability to adopt technological changes in order to increase efficiency, and sustain economic development is also important. 
The importance of soft skills in the university academic curriculum: The perceptions of the students in the new society of knowledge
Authors: Pereira Orlando Petiz , Costa Carlos Alberto A.T.
Published: February 2018

This study focuses on the notion of competence in a perspective of structural change. It addresses the academic curriculum and the soft skills essential for the holder of a Bachelor's Degree to adapt to the labour market and endow the citizen with instruments deemed necessary for the integration of the person in the different dimensions of life. Evidence unfolds a great deal of sensitivity on the part of students regarding soft skills. Nonetheless, there are substantial differences among courses and between genders. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey, which was applied to our bachelor students between October 2013 and January 2014. We resorted to the use of the analysis of the main components and we used the VARIMAX method for determining the variance, which is analysed by means of the ANOVA model. The study underpins the importance of autonomy and social and emotional skills in the student's global university education and highlights the sensitivity of the students to  transversal competences -soft skills-, as required by the current labour market.
Trends in innovation activities in manufacturing industries across development echelons
Authors: Khan Abdullah M.
Published: February 2018

This empirical paper explores trends in innovation activities measured by a countries’ total patent application submission intensity relative to its population, and by analyzing U.S. granted patents data for cohorts of developed countries and developing countries. In addition to tabular and graphical analyses, I use a baseline regression model and a variant model thereof to assess the relative influence of a set of aggregate variables on innovation activities in eight manufacturing industries across two cohorts of countries (developed and developing) where each cohort contains eight individual countries. Eight industries included in this study are: Chemical, Petroleum, electrical and electronics equipment, machinery, pharmaceutical, plastic, computer, and textile. The cohort of developed countries includes Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, and the United States. The cohort of developing countries includes Brazil, China, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, and Turkey. Per regression results, ethnic diversity is a statistically significant positive determinant of innovation for all industry aggregate patent count for both high income and developing countries. Also, per capita electricity usage, R&D expenditure as percent of GDP, and percent of population with internet access are three positive factors of innovation irrespective of industrial subsectors and position of a country in the development echelon. Interestingly, impact of ICT-services export is statistically significant and innovation boosting in developing countries in the cohort relative to countries in the cohort of developed countries. It also appears that trade openness served as a stronger stimulant of innovation activities for developing countries’ but not as much for the cohort of developed or high-income countries. This paper attempts to extend the literature on cross-country comparison of innovation activities by using two measures of innovation activities across developed and developing countries, and by analyzing both aggregate and sector-level data for eight manufacturing industries both graphically and utilizing panel regression models.  
The Impact of Brand Personality and Students’ Self-Concept on Brand Engagement
Authors: Banahene Stephen
Published: February 2018

The objective of this study is to investigate how brand personality and customers’ ‘self’ affects brand engagement. This has become necessary because the focus of most research into brands has often neglected how brand personality and customers’ ‘self’ can be harnessed to achieve brand engagement. This study used Aaker’s brand personality, Keller’s brand engagement, and Sprott et. al. self-concept measurement scales. The research methodology includes the following steps: adaptation of the measurement scales to suit the research context, assessment of reliability and validity of dimensions, and test of goodness-of-fit of model. In all 252 valid responses out of 302 questionnaires distributed were used for the study. The research found that brand personality and customers’ ‘self-concept’ have positive effect on brand engagement. Sincerity has negative relationship with brand engagement and self-concept whiles hedonism has negative relationship with self-concept only. Competence, sophistication and excitement dimensions have significant effects on customers’ self-concept and brand engagement. Sincerity and hedonism also have negative effects on self-concept and brand engagement. Competence, sophistication and excitement can be used as differentiate strategy by Private Universities to deal with the growing competition in Ghana. The findings suggest that Private Universities can differentiate themselves by developing brand personality that is competent and exciting, whereby they can successfully engaged their customers. The authors’ investigations also suggest that self-concept can be measured by splitting Sprott et al measurement scale into two (self-congruence and value-congruence). In the same way, brand engagement can be measured by splitting Keller’s measurement scale into two (identification and ambassador dimensions) for theoretical insight. In addition, hedonism has been identified as a useful measure of brand personality but not clear with faith-based Private Universities’ brand personality. Private Universities’ differentiation strategy should be based on competence, sophistication and excitement.
Conflict between Supermarkets and Wet-Markets in Ghana: Early Warning Signals and Preventive Policy Recommendations
Authors: Anku Etornam Kosi , Ahorbo Gerald Kojo
Published: February 2018

The source of conflict between Supermarkets and Wet-markets arise from the use of market power and economies of scale by one group against the other. This study explores the tensions that exist between modern retailers and their traditional counterparts as a result of the influx of supermarkets in Ghana. The main objective of the study is to compare attributes related to the control of access to consumers by the Supermarket and the Wet-market. In this study, the dot-survey approach of Rapid Market Assessment Technique was used to elicit information from 438 respondents at the Madina market (wet-market) and Melcom (supermarket) over a period of two weeks and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney (WMW) comparison test and descriptive statistics were employed for the analysis. The results revealed that consumers patronise the supermarkets for convenience and the wet-market for freshness of product. Their purchasing decisions were affected by their level of education and product selections of the retailer. The highly educated preferred to shop at the Supermarket instead of the Wet-market; however, over 50% of respondents preferred the wet-market for fresh food products and the supermarket for non-food items. Each retailer receives its fair share of purchases from its loyal customers, therefore the revolution arising from the supermarket influx in Ghana has not yet resulted into conflict between supermarkets and their traditional counterparts, though it is inevitable if nothing is done to prevent it from happening. To avoid the conflict, it is recommended that policies should be instituted to (i) improve the market infrastructures and shopping environment in the Wet-markets, (ii) give tax concession to modern retailers who source products from local farmers and small-scale processors, (iii) enable traditional retailers position themselves on the fringe and co-exist with modern retailers and (iv) enforce public standards with regards to food safety laws in the traditional markets.