bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS ON BUSINESS SALES PITCH SCRIPTS
Authors: Othman Salwa , Mohandas Eliyas S. , Azhari Muhammad Aizat , Ismail Azlan Nik Mastura Nik
Published: August 2021

Many challenges are faced by sales representatives in the effort of closing sales deal of product or service offered to their prospective clients. The goal is to persuade the clients to invest in the offered products or services. To perform this, sales representatives need a well-constructed sales script that can help them in enticing their clients. In relation to this, numerous tips and step-by-step advices are given by business professionals on how to craft a good sales script. However, looking at this situation in linguistic spectrum, it is observed that those tips and advices given are lacking justification from the linguistic perspectives which may provide new insights in the craftsmanship of a well-structured sales script. Hence, this paper serves to provide a steady parameter set to give linguistic guidelines for crafting an excellent pitch script. With reference to the theories developed by scholars like Schffrin (1994), Martin (2012), and Widdowson (1996), an analysis was conducted on 10 samples of sales script taken from one of the most successful international sales companies. Data collected shows that there are 6 different types of key linguistic components embedded within the scripts at a different frequency level. One prominent discovery of this study revealed that the different frequency of these key components leads to a rhythmic patterns and themes that immediately distinguish a good sales script with a successful one.

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A STUDY OF ENGLISH LISTENING STRATEGIES APPLIED BY ENGLISH NON-MAJORED STUDENTS AT TAY DO UNIVERSITY, VIETNAM
Authors: Dang Hanh Thi , Au Bich Van , Chau Hai Thanh
Published: August 2021

Listening comprehension is one of the important skills for learning a foreign language. Among four basic skills in language leaning, many researchers say that listening skill is applied the most frequently. Therefore, strategies for listening comprehension and the ability to employ them effectively are indispensable in language learning. This paper was an attempt to investigate the listening strategies employed by English non-majored students at Tay Do University. A total of 64 students of two different majors at the university participated in this study to answer a widely used language learning strategy questionnaire. The questionnaire consists of 31 questions including metacognitive strategies, cognitive strategies, social and affective strategies. The data were analyzed by SPSS 11.5 program. The findings indicated that most students applied listening strategies with different degrees and they needed guidance from their instructors. Moreover, the study also presents the relationships among these listening strategies. Finally, the results of this study provide implications for improving the quality of teaching and learning listening skill in the Vietnamese context.

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THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THE PRESCHOOL ENVIRONMENT
Authors: Gidari Styliani , Kakana Domna - Mika
Published: August 2021

Research findings suggest that teachers’ education and training is a key factor in improving the preschool quality. Teachers’ qualifications can lead to high-quality preschool education and positive developmental outcomes for the children. This study examines the effectiveness of the teachers’ professional development program “Upgrading the Quality of the Preschool Environment” on improving the quality of the Kindergartens. The research followed a quasi-experimental design and included 26 kindergarten teachers from 23 public Greek kindergartens, who were divided into an Experimental and a Control Group. The quality of the kindergartens was initially assessed using the ECERS-R scale and a five-month professional development program, based on this initial evaluation and on collaborative practices, was designed and implemented to the Experimental Group. Our results show that although the mean scores of quality before the implementation of the program did not differ significantly (t = 6.45, p =.52), the mean scores, for the Experimental Group (M = 4.71, SD = .62) were significantly higher after the intervention (t = 4.30, p <001) than those of the Control Group (M = 3.78, SD = .37). The follow up evaluation one and a half years later showed the maintenance and further improvement of the results of the program in the quality of the kindergartens. Our research provides useful information that can be used in the future for the designing of professional development programs aimed at improving the quality of the preschool environment.

 

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TEST QUALITY AND STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCES: AN APPRAISAL OF THE NATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT TEST IN ENGLISH AND MATHEMATICS FOR CAMEROON PRIMARY SCHOOLS
Authors: Tani Ernestine Wirngo
Published: August 2021

Evaluation is an essential facet of education and plays a significant role in giving feedbacks to stakeholders. Pedagogy is not complete without learners’ assessment and. Objective tests are used extensively as test format in primary school. However, conception and making remains a challenge to most teachers. This cast doubts over the quality. To mitigate the issues about its quality, each test format should undergo item analysis or task analysis. This study sets out to evaluate item and test quality of a national achievement test of English language using difficulty index (DIF), and discrimination indices (DI); to identify which task were appropriate for the respective levels. The study made use of data collected by the ministry of basic education aimed at measuring the true score of their learners in order to plan new pedagogic tools for improving the quality of reading and mathematics amongst primary school pupils. The Classical Test Theory (CTT) that utilizes two main statistics: the item difficulty index and the discrimination index were employed. Through an ex-post factor analysis results obtained showed that the national achievement test was easy, thus depicting the good performance of pupils’ whereas in reality it is the reverse. About 90% of the pupils got Items that were virtually correct consequently useless for discriminating among pupils. Task like Measurement and size for class three, addition and subtraction and familiar word identification for class five should be completely discarded as their DIF stood at 1.00. Given that, quality control is important for test development. Teachers are recommended to perform item analysis and to synchronize classroom instruction with test items to achieve instructional validity. 

 

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ACTION-ORIENTED LANGUAGE TEACHING: OPINIONS OF STUDENTS OF FRENCH ABOUT SHORT FILM SHOOTING PROJECT
Authors: Aydınbek Canan , Aydınalp Esra Başak
Published: August 2021

The aim of this study is to analyze efficiency of teaching French with a short film project and to reveal learners' opinion. In this study, case study, which is one of the qualitative research methods, was preferred. This study was conducted with 10 students of Anadolu University, Faculty of Education, French Language Teaching Department. The data is collected through observation and group interview techniques. Macro and micro tasks were assigned in order to develop learners' linguistic and extra linguistic skills during 8-weeks. Furthermore, products such as scenario, banner, short-film etc. have also been analyzed as documented data. Observation and interview notes were coded by two researchers and 92% reliability was achieved; 6 themes and 15 subthemes were thus forged. According to findings, the motivation of the participants increased. Possible reasons for this are the different and fun activities, creating a concrete product and feeling successful. In group work a positive synergy observed among good associates, but learners’ discussion, co-deciding and cooperation skills need to be improved. Participants stated that their creativity, socio–cultural, self-learning and self-assessment skills have developed. In conclusion, project-based learning, supported by action-oriented approach, helps to increase student motivation, creativity, intercultural skills and autonomous learning skills.

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ATTITUDE AND EXPOSURE TO BULLYING OF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
Authors: Hidalgo Mary Jean A. , Españo Analyn C.
Published: August 2021

This investigated the students’ bully attitude and exposure to bullying. Specifically, it looked into the relationship between students’ bully attitude and exposure with respect to predetermined profile variables as age, sexual orientation, grade level, parents’ marital status, nuclear family size, types of residence, birth order, household size, parents’ occupation and parents’ educational background. The study was carried out employing a descriptive-correlation research design with 384 Grade 7 to Grade 10 student-respondents from the four (4) junior high schools in Tacloban City. Findings revealed that most of the respondents were 13 to 14 years old, females, Grade 7, middle born, with parents living together; with family size ranging from 4 – 6 members and whose parents have ownership of their house. Most of the respondents’ fathers were tertiary graduates and private-employees. However, most mothers were tertiary graduates but not employed. Junior high school students from Tacloban City Division have generally unfavorable attitude toward bullying. Their level of exposure to bullying as victims was moderate suggesting occasional experience of being bullied. As a bully, the exposure was high. Students’ bully attitudes were significantly associated to nuclear family size and to their parents’ educational attainment. Evidently, school bullying among junior high schools in the study area continues to persist notwithstanding the existing and implemented guidance program. Hence, a revisit on the implementing guidelines of the schools’ child protection and anti-bullying policy is suggested.

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A SURVEY OF TEACHERS' OPINIONS ABOUT IMPLEMENTING REALISTIC MATHEMATICS EDUCATION IN TEACHING THE TOPICS OF THE ELLIPSE EQUATION
Authors: Khanh Lam Truong , Tong Duong Huu , Ngan Lu Kim
Published: August 2021

Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) is an instructional theory that has been implemented in many countries around the world to link mathematics to real-world situations. The effectiveness of implementing RME in mathematics education is highly dependent on the role of teachers. This study was conducted with 64 high school teachers to survey their understanding and perspectives on RME and the status of RME implementation in teaching the topics of ellipse equation. Through qualitative analyzing the survey results, the study found that teachers are interested in RME, although the percentage of teachers formally trained in this theory was not high. Besides, the survey shows that it is necessary to help teachers overcome difficulties and improve the frequency and effectiveness of RME application in teaching mathematics.

 

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PRATIQUES D’ENSEIGNEMENT SCIENTIFIQUE À LA PETITE ENFANCE / SCIENCE TEACHING PRACTICES IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Authors: Arun Zebun
Published: August 2021

Cet article aborde la question des cadres théoriques des interactions enseignant-élèves pour l'enseignement des sciences physiques et naturelles à l’éducation scientifique pour la petite enfance. Après avoir identifié les tendances internationales en matière d'initiation des jeunes enfants aux sciences, nous présentons quelques approches clés qui étudient cette perspective. Dans ces approches, la question des postures des enseignants et de l'équilibre des relations entre les pratiques de médiation et de tutelle est éclairée sous différents angles.

 

This article addresses the question of the theoretical frameworks of teacher-student interactions for the teaching of physical and natural sciences in early childhood science education. After identifying international trends in early childhood science literacy, we present some key approaches that explore this perspective. In these approaches, the question of teachers' postures and the balance of relations between mediation and tutelage practices is illuminated from different angles.

 

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THE NIGERIAN UNIVERSITY FRENCH TEACHER AS INNOVATOR: AN INNOVATION IN THE UNIVERSITY OF UYO FRENCH STUDIES CURRICULUM
Authors: Edung Mike T. U.
Published: August 2021

This paper begins by aligning with the position of some curriculum theorists that curriculum is a set of learning opportunities and experiences organized to enable the learners in an educational system to attain societal aspirations and values, one of these being development which begins at the individual level, with the attainment of self-actualization and fulfilment, including a fulfilling employment. The paper then reviews the University French studies curriculum in Nigeria from its inception, and reveals that from the 1990s, the B.A. (French) curriculum in particular has increasingly produced unemployed graduates because the curriculum has equipped them with unemployable skills and competencies. “Français de spécialités” is proposed as a curriculum content innovation that would give the learner employable skills and competencies. A B.A. degree curriculum which combines the study of French language with that of another discipline whose specialized French language the learner wants to master is proposed as an effective strategy for the pedagogy of “français de spécialités”. Motivated by this researcher’s studies, his Department has adopted and is in the process of implementing this curriculum. The teacher’s innovative disposition is therefore an asset to French studies in Nigeria, especially at the University level where innovative thinking and research are of primary importance.

 

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INVESTIGATING THE CYCLE OF FEAR IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING
Authors: Rahmat Noor Hanim
Published: August 2021

Many learn foreign language for personal or job-related reasons. It is cliché to say that learning a foreign language is important for students to join the bandwagon of “globalized learning”; although that is true! Many reported they enjoyed participating in language related activities. However, for some learners, learning a foreign language may not be a pleasant experience. Anxiety for foreign language learning causes other problems for learners. These problems may snowball to effect other performance and achievement in other language related areas; thus, creating a cycle of fear. Two theories are merged to form the cycle of cycle of fear for foreign language learning. This study used the instrument by Horwitz (1986) who developed the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale. There were 7 items on demographic profile, 8 items for communication apprehension, 5 items for fear of test anxiety. There were also 9 items of fear of negative evaluation, and items on fear of language classes. Findings reveal that the communication apprehension that students portray, can snowball to learners fearing taking test and getting negative evaluation and then this fear may extend to fearing the foreign language classes.

 

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SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATORS’ ENACTMENT STRATEGIES OF THE FRENCH INTEGRATED CURRICULUM CONTENT
Authors: Makumane Makhulu
Published: August 2021

This article presents an action research on Lesotho educators’ enactment strategies of the French integrated curriculum content. Essentially, the aim of this article was to explore the concept of content in order to establish whether enactment strategies used by educators on content favour successful attainment of goals. Convenience sampling was used in selecting seven participants. Four methods of data generation, namely, one-on-one semi-structured interviews, document analysis, observations, and reflective activities, were used. Action research was effected in two phases: Phase One findings demonstrated educators’ dominant use of savoir (factual enactment strategies) at the expense of savoir-faire (social enactment strategies) and savoir-être (habitual enactment strategies). This seemed to present a hurdle, as content was not aligned with goals. Phase Two results, through the intervention of action research, saw educators maintaining a balance among savoir, savoir-faire and savoir-être, thereby aligning content with goals prescribed in the curriculum and therefore augmenting greatly the chances of attaining these goals. The article consequently recommends a revision of the policy, in which the use of the three propositions of content would be advocated to encourage teaching of schooled knowledge, context-dependent knowledge, as well as knowledge that is deemed essential by the educator as required by the prevailing context.

 

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TRANSLATION AS A HUMAN ACTION
Authors: Doğan Coşkun
Published: August 2021

Translation act, which has been regarded as a sub-discipline of linguistics for many years, has a theoretical structure as an independent science. In this context, his understanding of translation act has also changed. The act of translation does not only consist of linguistic and textual problems. The act of translation is no longer an interlanguage transfer process and is carried out within the framework of multilateral cooperation. The translator, who is expected to perform the translation act in all its dimensions alone, now directs translation in the context of cooperation as a social business. This new understanding of translation, which puts the translator at the center of the translation act, imposes a social responsibility on the translator. As an expert, the translator undertakes a social role by planning the translation act. Translation, which is an act of cultural transference from the source text, is expected to be reflected in accordance with its function in culture. In this sense, the emotions, creativity and conditions of the translator as a person affect the cultural transfer through the act of translation. Translation act is a process planned by the translator. This process is determined individually. In this respect, the individual structure characteristics and experiences of the translator who directs the translation act are also of great importance. While analyzing the text in the translation process, the translator must also implement translation strategies according to text differences. Otherwise, the balance between the source text and the target text will be disrupted. The act of translation, as an act of thought, is a human act of the translator that bridges different socio-cultural structures. In this study, the problems experienced by the translator while performing the translation act as a human will be examined. The importance of the identity of the translator who performs the act of translation as a cultural transfer function in the context of social cooperation will be examined. Problems arising from the fact that translation act is a human act will be interpreted as a qualitative research by scanning the relevant sources.

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THE EFFECT OF CONTEXTUAL GUESSING STRATEGY ON IDENTIFYING THE MEANING OF LOW-FREQUENCY WORDS AND BEHAVIOURS OF TURKISH EFL STUDENTS IN IDENTIFYING THE MEANING OF UNKNOWN WORDS
Authors: Inal Sevim
Published: August 2021

This study explores the contribution of Contextual Guessing Strategy (CGS) to identify the meaning of unknown low-frequency words within the context, and to identify the habits of English language majoring students in employing CGS. The participants in this study are ninety-three male and female ELT students randomly selected. Data collection tools were a reading text and two questionnaires identifying three major areas. These are: 1. which sources students apply in the first instance to identify the meaning of unknown words, 2. which contextual clues they look for, and 3. how often these clues are employed to reveal the meaning of unknown words.

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TEN IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF A 21ST CENTURY FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING APPROACH
Authors: Garcia Maripaz
Published: August 2021

Foreign language instructors want and need to keep up with the rapid changes in the field of foreign language teaching and learning, but sometimes have a hard time identifying which areas they should focus on (and within each area, what to do) to make their instruction in line with 21st century approaches. The present article describes 10 areas instructors should examine and reflect on (technology, culture, collaboration, interaction with native speakers, communication and grammar, materials, skills, content, motivation, and professional development) to assure they are using innovative techniques that reflect modern philosophies in the field of foreign and second language teaching. 

 

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INFLUENCE OF COMPETENCY MANAGEMENT ON EMPLOYEE RETENTION IN SERVICE PROVIDER ORGANIZATIONS IN KENYA
Authors: Rotich Richard
Published: August 2021

Retaining talented employees is a critical management issue in both private and public organizations. Employees form a key component of any organization. However, as a result of globalization, economic growth and shortage of skilled labor, many organizations including service providers are finding it difficult to retain valued employees. Turnover is even occurring against a background of varied human resource management interventions to improve employee retention. Employee retention is one of the challenges facing many organizations both public and private. Retention of talented employees has become an even greater challenge confronting human resource practitioners due to talented candidates in the global job skills market having the luxury of choice. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of competency management on Employee Retention in the service provider sector in Kenya. This study was informed by human capital theory. Explanatory research design guided the study. The target population of this study was 519 employees of Mobile service provider organizations. The sample size was 226 respondents. Stratified, purposive and simple random sampling was used to select respondents. The data was collected using self-administered questionnaires. The data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics to explore the various variables of the study using Statistical Package for Social Sciences Software version 22. From the regression model, (R2 = .630) shows that competency management practices account for 66.3% variation in employee retention at service provider organizations. There was a positive significant relationship between competency management practices and employee retention at service organizations (β1=0.751 and p<0.05). There is a positive and significant relationship between competency management and Employee Retention in the service provider organizations in Kenya. Competency management should always be considered as a key component and outcome of strategic human resource management for enhanced employee retention and performance. Organizations should consider competency management as core human resource practices if they were to retain their employees.

 

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A CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPACT OF EMPLOYEE TRAINING PROGRAMS ON JOB PERFORMANCE AND JOB SATISFACTION IN THE TELECOMMUNICATION COMPANIES IN MALAYSIA
Authors: Kanapathipillai Kumaran
Published: August 2021

Presently, many companies are confronted with tribulations while operating in a tempestuous business atmosphere; this is combined with the global pandemic, which is Covid-19, that has deteriorated the potency of the businesses. The telecommunication companies in Malaysia were also affected during these conditions. Therefore, a vital stratagem for the telecommunication firms to attain competitive advantage is through training programs conducted for all its employees throughout the various sections in the organization in order to beat this present obstacle. The objective of this research is to uncover if training influences job performance and job satisfaction which are two critical factors that guarantee the survival and growth of the telecommunication firms. Therefore, to realize the aim of this study, the survey technique is applied to cultivate a detailed profile which will be distributed to employees of three leading telecommunication cooperates in Malaysia. This study will use quantitative methods to generate empirical results and substantiations that responded to the research questions. The literature section scrutinized the areas of training, job performance, and job satisfaction to fill the gap and to determine the influence of training programs on job performance and satisfaction of employees. Therefore, the findings of this study could perhaps aid other corporations in Malaysia to instil continuous and well-planned training programs and not to take for granted the significance of training to improve job performance and satisfaction during the times of environmental turbulence. Thus, this could ensure that competitive strength is unceasingly maintained in the telecommunication firms in Malaysia.

 

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IMPACTS OF CONFLICTS ON TEAM TRUST AND TEAM PERFORMANCE: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON UNIVERSITY SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH TEAMS IN JIANGSU PROVINCE, CHINA
Authors: Yun Yu , Tham Jacquline , Azam S. M. Ferdous
Published: August 2021

The purpose of this paper is to determine the impacts of conflicts on team trust and team performance at the University Scientific Research Teams in Jiangsu Province, China. This study considers three types of conflicts as independent variables, team success as a dependent variable, and team confidence as the mediating variable (task conflict, relationship conflict and process conflict). The survey of questionnaires is used to gather raw data: the survey of questionnaires. The questionnaire refers to a method that allows researchers to gather information on a specific target group to compare, explain or characterise an event / situation, attitudes, expertise, habits, and/or socio-demographic characteristics, and ultimately 140 respondents were considered as a final sample for this analysis. This research contributes to the existing information assembly in recognising the success of the team as this is the primary study with the arrangement of such factors. In the case of University Scientific Research Teams in Jiangsu Province, this study seeks to broaden the understanding of the link between task and relationship conflict, learning ability, accessibility of information, process conflict, team confidence, workforce optimization and team efficiency.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF DEVELOPING HIGH-QUALITY HUMAN RESOURCES IN THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS OF VIETNAM NOWADAYS
Authors: Quyet Nguyen Thi
Published: August 2021

Vietnam in general and the Central Highlands in particular are in the process of accelerating industrialization, modernization and international integration in the context of the scientific and technological revolution that has strongly developed in the whole world. This is a favorable condition and opportunity for the Central Highlands to take advantage of the achievements of science and technology to accelerate industrialization and modernization by taking a shortcut to gain a head start. To take advantage of opportunities and overcome challenges created by globalization and international integration, it is necessary to have strong internal resources. But the first important resource is human resources, especially high-quality human resources. In this article, the author focuses on analyzing the importance of developing high-quality human resources in the Central Highlands today.

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THE OBSTACLES OF WOMEN'S EMPLOYMENT IN SAUDI ARABIA IN THE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AGE
Authors: Gadi Nailah Hassan
Published: August 2021

The dynamic technological changes worldwide have changed the way of life for individuals and communities during the recent decades. The most crucial changes that in the work environment and opportunities for pursuing careers, in particularly for women. The current research paper focuses on one aspect of key findings of a doctoral study aimed at identifying and investigating the obstacles of the employment of women in Saudi Arabia labor market in the digital technology era. The research followed the qualitative approach to collect the data needed through conducting interviews with a round 40 participants including three stakeholders (Government, Academia, and businesses). Five main obstacles have been identified and are discussed. They are socio-cultural factors such the dominate role of men, and lack of family support. In addition to that, insufficient experiences and training in digital technology, and finally childcare system in KSA. Further efforts are needed to raise the society awareness towards the role of women as human capital to participate in the nation's development, and efforts are needed by different stakeholders to empower, support and enable women to engage in labour market effectively.

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A PROPOSED FRAMEWORK ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORK FAMILY ENRICHMENT AND SATISFACTION: MODERATING ROLE OF SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS IN BORNEO’S OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY EMPLOYEES
Authors: Dayang Zuhaiza Abg Abd Wahap , Madi Abdullah Muhammad
Published: August 2021

The work environment of the offshore platform is unique as such employees live and work in the same confined area surrounded by nothing but the uncertain ocean. Due to the challenging and stressful working environment, oil and gas industry employees in Malaysia and especially in Borneo are facing critical work family enrichment and satisfaction issues. Therefore, it is imperative to investigate the family work enrichment and satisfaction especially among employees in oil and gas industrial context. The main objective of this paper is to propose a framework on the relationships between work family enrichment factors (capital, affect and development) and satisfaction (job and family satisfaction) and the moderating role of socio-cultural factors (monocronic-polycronic time orientation and gender role ideology) among oil and gas industry employees in Bornoe. Thus, it might be recommended that the organization and management should enhance the job and family satisfaction related to work family enrichment and the skills of employer and supervisors to play effective key role in increasing socio-cultural environments in the organization which could affect employees' overall satisfaction.

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EFFECT OF OUTSOURCING ON EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS IN NIGERIA: A STUDY OF SHELL PETROLEUM PRODUCING AND DEVELOPMENT COMPANY
Authors: Obi Cyril Ogugua , Akamobi Obiageli Gloria , Nwumeh Uchenna Juliana , Okonkwo Juliet Ogonna
Published: August 2021

This study investigates the effect of outsourcing practice on employment relations in Multinational Corporations with special focus on Shell Petroleum Producing and Development Company (SPDC). The study also examined the importance of employment relations in organizational performance. Descriptive research methodology was adopted in this study. The questionnaire that was administered in the field survey was the abbreviated version of Hewitt’s Human Resource Outsourcing Survey Questionnaire. The research findings showed that: the management of SPDC engages in unfair labour practices in order to trivialize workers conditions of service; mere transferring human resource management to a third party does not necessarily improve labour-management relations; outsourcing affects workers’ performance in Nigeria; there is positive relationship between employment relations and organisational performance. Based on the research findings, it recommends that the management of SPDC must discontinue its unfair labour practices; should improve the working conditions of its contract staff and show more interest in their career development; should focus attention on fostering mutual employment relations by ensuring that all its human resource policies are not counter-productive especially its outsourcing policy.

JEL: L20; L23; L53

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ORGANIZATIONAL TOUGHNESS FACING NEW ECONOMIC CRISIS
Authors: Carvalho João Manuel da Silva
Published: August 2021

Organizations are increasingly facing great changes in their external environment, like is the case of current pandemic. Theoretical reflection and scientific literature review led us to develop a new concept – organizational toughness - and a new model that may help explaining the variables underlying an effective response to environmental changes, contributing to the organization's survival. This model also includes the concepts of organizational plasticity and organizational strength as crucial factors to face new market threats and opportunities. Other second order latent variables – staff preparation and structure adapted to change – and manifest variables, such as the quality level of competencies, motivation, flexibility, strategic planning processes, leadership behaviours, organizational learning market oriented, the amount of resources holt by an organization, and external access to these resources are also presented, as well as clues for future research. This paper aims at contributing to the development of strategic management theory in relation to market changes even when not expected.

 

JEL: D20; D23; M11

 

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THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT INDUSTRIAL INVESTMENT FUND IN CHINA: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY
Authors: Li Zhang , Tham Jacquline , Azam S. M. Ferdous
Published: August 2021

The Chinese market is an ever booming market whereby access to information is becoming more effortless and more manageable. This study aims to analyse the establishment of a local government industrial investment fund in China. A quantitative analysis constitutes this study. The latest literature and previous research on the regulatory system, the business exit mechanism, practitioners, lack of risk prevention and the portfolio of single funds are independent variables based on a model structure. The policy is an intermediate variable, and a non-independent variable is the sustainable promotion of the production of industrial investment funds. The results indicate that there is a partnership between the Local Government Industrial Investment Fund in Henan, China and the Local Government Industrial Investment Fund Growth Fund in Henan, China. This research has also shown that the higher the perceived structure of the supervisory system and the business exit process of the industrial investment fund for the local government in Henan, China. This will motivate policy to think or have a good impression on the industrial investment funds for the Henan government. The higher the perceived supervision system structure and market exit mechanism, the better the policy.

JEL: D25; E22; G18; L50

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ASSESSING THE ROLE OF ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE ON WORKFORCE CREATIVITY; AN ASSESSMENT OF THE SUPPORT STAFF OF UNIVERSITY OF BAMENDA, CAMEROON
Authors: Mbayong Napoleon Arrey , Noumssi Placide Djouongha Nguala
Published: August 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which organisational culture affects the creativity of the support staff of the University of Bamenda. Methodology/Design/Approaches: The study employed primary data collected through self-administered questionnaires made up of structured questionnaires and unstructured interview. A total of 109 questionnaires were administered to the four selected work functions namely Secretariat staffs, Finance staffs, Health unit staff and Computer unit/Records staffs of the University of Bamenda. A total of 100 questionnaires were recovered making a response rate of 91.7%. These questionnaires were quoted using the Likert scale and analysed with the aid of the SPSS software. Findings: The findings show that changes in people-oriented culture, team culture, stable culture, and innovative culture are responsible for 54% changes in the creativity of support staff in The University of Bamenda with r2= 0.54. The descriptive research design was used and the Ordinary Least Squares regression technique employed to test the hypotheses. The results indicated that there was a significant effect of organisational culture on the creativity of support staff in The University of Bamenda. That is people-oriented culture, teamwork, stable culture, and innovative culture significantly contributed to employee’s creativity at the University of Bamenda. Research Limitations: This work is limited to the University of Bamenda, located in Bambili which is an Anglo-Saxon University there by ignoring other university staffs of the French culture. Practical implications: Based on the findings, the study recommended that the University should encourage teamwork, delegation of responsibility and work innovations at the job site by practicing management by objectives (MBO). If implemented, the university will experience a more creative workforce among its support staff. Originality/Value: This study’s research questions and methods are new to the line of Assessing the role of Organisational Culture on Workforce Creativity among University of Bamenda support staffs.

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MONEY MARKET INSTRUMENTS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH OF NIGERIA
Authors: Obi Cyril Ogugua
Published: August 2021

This study investigated the relationship between the money market instruments and economic growth of Nigeria using time series analysis from 1981-2019. The relevant variables for which data were sourced include: Real gross domestic product, Financial deepening indicator [ratio of money supply (M2) to gross domestic product – (M2/GDP)(%)], value of treasury bills outstanding, value of Certificate of deposit outstanding, value of commercial paper outstanding, and value of banker acceptance outstanding. The data extracted from the CBN statistical bulletin, vol. 30, 2019. The Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF), Johansen cointegration test and Error Correction Mechanism (ECM) were adopted. The research findings found that, there is significant relationship between money market instruments and economic growth in Nigeria. Furthermore, there is insignificant relationship between money market instruments and the development of the Nigerian financial system. The study recommends amongst others, the need for Government to create appropriate macroeconomic policies, legal framework and consolidate and improve on reforms with a holistic view to developing and deepening the market so as to promote productive activities, investments, and ultimately economic growth.

JEL: E41; E50; E51

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ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOR AND LEADER-MEMBER EXCHANGE AS CORRELATES OF WORKPLACE VIOLENCE AMONG WORKERS: MODERATING ROLE OF AUTONOMY
Authors: Iloke Stephen E. , Oguegbe Tochukwu M. , Ezeh Leonard N.
Published: August 2021

The present study investigated the moderating role of autonomy in the relationship among organizational citizenship behaviours, leader member exchange and workplace violence. Two hundred and twenty (220) non-teaching staff of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka campus participated in the study. They comprised of 176 females and 44 males. Their age ranged from 22 to 53 years with their mean age of 33.1yearsand standard deviation of 5.7. Four instruments were adopted in the study, namely 12-item workplace violence scale developed by Wang (2002), 20-item organizational citizenship behavior scale developed by Spector, Fox, Goh, Brussema & Kessler (2012), 11-item leader member exchange scale developed by Graen and Taylor (2004). Correlational design was employed for the study. Pearson product moment correlation statistics and multiple regression were also employed as the statistical tool to test the 4 hypotheses generated. The results of the hypotheses tested showed that organizational citizenship behavior positively and significantly correlated with workplace violence (r=.88, P<.001), leader member exchange positively and significantly correlated with workplace (r=.82, P<.001), autonomy significantly moderated the relationship between organizational citizenship behavior and leader member exchange on workplace violence β(.-67, t= -5.15, p<.01)). Autonomy moderated the relationship between organizational citizenship behavior and leader member exchange β(-2.34; t= -5.57, p<.01). It was recommended that workers should be encouraged to imbibe citizenship behaviours in their workplaces.

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EFFECT OF COST ACCUMULATION METHODS ON THE PROFITABILITY OF FISH FARMING BUSINESS IN CALABAR METROPOLIS, NIGERIA
Authors: Nyong Christopher Etim
Published: August 2021

The investigation focused on effect of cost accumulation methods on the profitability of fish farming business. The main objective of this study was to investigate the effect of cost accumulation methods on the profitability of fish farming business in Calabar Metropolis. The research design adopted for this study was the ex-post facto research design. The result revealed that the two methods for estimating production cost have considerable effect on the profitability of fish farming which significantly proved that cost estimation and record keeping in fish farming business is a critical factor that will assist fish farmers in the measurement of profit. This is evidenced as the regression result of both fixed and variable cost showed the existence of substantial relationship between cost accumulation and profitability of fish farming in Cross River State, Nigeria. From the findings, the study recommended that fish farmers should develop better cost-effective techniques that minimize feed and equipment related costs to enhance future returns.

JEL: Q10; Q22; D20

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EFFECT OF SUCCESSION MANAGEMENT ON SUSTAINABILITY OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES (SMEs) IN SOUTH EAST NIGERIA
Authors: Ukairo Agwu Kalu , Igwesi Chika George , Ijeh Mathew Chiedu
Published: August 2021

Many prominent and even internationally acclaimed business organizations have gone into extinction due to succession management challenges, notwithstanding their richly endowed financial and material resources. Succession management ensures seamless transition of managerial decision making of a firm to the next generation when the owner is no longer part of the business. The study investigated the effect of succession management on sustainability of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in South East, Nigeria. However, the specific objectives were to ascertain the effect of competitive intelligence on the growth of SMEs; and to determine the effect of technological advancements on competitive advantage of SMEs in South East Nigeria. The study is anchored on Elgar’s Performance Theory of organization and the Resource Based Firm theory which emphasizes that the physical, organizational strategies, financial and human resources have the potential to provide firms with sustainable competitive advantage. The study adopted the survey research method, making use of structured questionnaire as instruments for data collection. Data were collected from primary and secondary sources. Hypotheses were tested using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and the simple linear regression. It was found that succession management through well-conceived competitive intelligence positively affected the growth of SMEs; technological advancements positively affected competitive advantage of SMEs. It was, therefore, concluded that succession management through competitive intelligence and technological advancement positively affected the sustainability of SMEs through firm growth and competitive advantage. The study recommended that for SMEs to be sustained and enhance its operational life span, effective succession management should be adopted growth and competitive advantage. The study recommended that for SMEs to be sustained and enhance its operational life span, effective succession management should be adopted.

JEL: B10; A02; C06

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INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE THROUGH ONLINE CLASSES IN THE LEARNING ENHANCEMENT OF STUDENTS
Authors: Mallillin Leovigildo Lito D. , Carag Eduardo A. , Mallillin Jocelyn B. , Laurel Regilito D.
Published: August 2021

The integration of knowledge during the online classes influences the module tutors in the integration of technology in teaching with professional knowledge and belief which is focused on the learning enhancement of students. The study aims to identify issues in the online classes and to integrate knowledge in their learning enhancement. The research design employs both quantitative and qualitative research design because it is appropriate to investigate the integration knowledge of the online classes of students in their learning enhancement. It is suitable research choice in effective perform scientific research based on the characteristics and objectives available in support of the design in the study. Purposive sampling is utilised in the study because it is non-probable, which is subjective, selective, and judgmental. It is focused on the techniques utilise by the researchers. It assesses the impact of the study that deals on the attitude and behavior of students in the integration of knowledge during the online classes and learning enhancement. The subjects of the study are the selected private Higher Education Institution (HEI) students who are registered through online classes. The study comprised thirty (38) students. It is conducted for the spring 2019-2020.Results show that most of the issues in the integration of knowledge through online classes in the learning enhancement of students are the internet connection and internet devices which are weak that can affect the learning process because of the many Wi-Fi users which lead to weak network connection, issues in online classes have to do with technology and program of virtual learning particularly on Wi-Fi connection that can affect the students learning process, and destruction of learning of the respondents struggle in the adoption of the traditional classroom to online learning setting which is difficult for them adjust. Audio or voice destruction hinders them in their learning process, integration of knowledge has to do with the lack of clarity of voice, choppy, and sometimes cannot be heard, and learning enhancement has to do with the time schedule of the online which clashes with household chores like cooking, cleaning, and washing.

 

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ARGUMENTATION-BASED COMPUTER SUPPORTED COLLABORATIVE LEARNING (ABCSCL): THE ROLE OF INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORTS
Authors: Noroozi Omid
Published: August 2021

This paper investigates the role of instructional supports for argumentation-based computer supported collaborative learning (ABCSCL), a teaching approach that improves the quality of learning processes and outcomes. Relevant literature has been reviewed to identify the instructional supports in ABCSCL environments. A range of instructional supports in ABCSCL is proposed including scaffolding, scripting, and representational tools. Each of these instructional supports are discussed in detail. Furthermore, the extent to which and the way in which such instructional supports can be applied in ABCSCL environments are discussed. Finally, suggestions for future work and implications for the design of ABCSCL environments are provided.
 

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