bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Designing a Model for the Relationship Between Marketing Activities and Organization Performance: Meta-Analysis on the Moderating Role of Research Topic Characteristics
Authors: Nouri Bagher Asgarnezhad , Sanayei Ali , Fathi Saeed , Kazemi Ali , Soltani Milad
Published: August 2020

The role of marketing in explaining firms’ business performance has received significant attention throughout the history of the marketing discipline. Over the past two decades, researchers have considerably enhanced the conceptual understanding of the role of marketing in enabling firms to create and sustain a competitive advantage. Recent advances in the marketing–performance interface have also begun to provide more empirical evidence of the impact of specific marketing activities and different types of marketing-related assets on firms’ performance. On the other side, results of studies in many academic fields that are conducted about a specific issue are usually confusing and contrasting. Meta-analysis is a research approach that helps the researcher to a large extent to identify the moderating variables in the results of previous studies. Despite various researches having been conducted, such contrast is also observed in the relationship between marketing activities and organization performance. Characteristics of the research topic can be referred to among the several reasons that have been mentioned for such divergence in similar studies. It was tried in the present survey to identify the role of moderating variables regarding the characteristics of the research topic in the relationship between marketing activities and organization performance using the meta-analysis approach. The results revealed that the moderating variables related to the characteristics of the research topic consisting of marketing activity indexes, organization performance indexes, researcher field and year of publication of the research have been led to a significant difference in the results of studies regarding the effect of marketing activities on performance of organizations.   Keywords: Marketing activities, Organization performance, Characteristics of research topic, Meta-analysis approach.
Keperluan Pemegang Kepentingan Institusi Zakat Terhadap Item Maklumat Pelaporan Prestasi
Authors: Shafie Noor Fadzilah , Maelah Ruhanita , Basnan Norida
Published: August 2020

Zakat memainkan peranan penting dalam ekonomi Islam sebagai salah satu alat ekonomi bagi memartabatkan golongan miskin. Justeru, keyakinan pembayar zakat terhadap proses pengurusan zakat yang dilakukan oleh institusi zakat adalah penting dalam meningkatkan jumlah kutipan zakat. Keyakinan pembayar zakat ini dan pihak awam secara umumnya boleh ditingkatkan melalui pendedahan maklumat kewangan dan prestasi institusi zakat secara telus dan menyeluruh. Bagi meningkatkan keyakinan dan seterusnya menjelaskan akauntabiliti institusi zakat kepada pelbagai pihak pemegang kepentingannya, pelaporan prestasi yang mendedahkan maklumat mengikut keperluan pemegang kepentingan merupakan salah satu medium penting yang telah diiktiraf dalam kebanyakan kajian lepas. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji keperluan pemegang kepentingan terhadap pendedahan item maklumat di dalam pelaporan prestasi institusi zakat. Tujuan ini dicapai dengan melaksanakan kaedah tinjauan soalselidik terhadap tiga kumpulan pemegang kepentingan iaitu pembayar zakat, penerima zakat dan pentadbir zakat. Hasil kajian menunjukkan secara keseluruhan pemegang kepentingan menyatakan maklumat kewangan dan bukan kewangan adalah penting untuk didedahkan di dalam pelaporan prestasi dan tiada perbezaan keperluan pendedahan bagi kebanyakan item maklumat di kalangan pembayar, penerima dan pentadbir zakat. Hasil kajian boleh dijadikan panduan kepada pihak institusi zakat dan agensi kerajaan lain bagi meningkatkan ketelusan dan memperkasakan akauntabiliti dalam mencapai urus tadbir ekonomi yang adil.   Kata kunci: Zakat, pelaporan prestasi, pemegang kepentingan, akauntabiliti. Klasifikasi JEL: H75, H83, M41
A PRELIMINARY STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PSYCHOGRAPHIC FACTORS AND THE PURCHASE OF LIFE INSURANCE
Authors: Sin Tan Suang , Chee Lim Chee
Published: August 2020

This was a preliminary study conducted to examine the relationship between psychographic factors (i.e., personal value, risk attitude, and trust) and the purchase of life insurance among Alor Setar city folks. A non-probability convenience sampling technique was used to collect data from early February to mid-March 2015. A sample comprising 108 respondents were subjected to binary logistic regression analysis. The major finding of this study showed that risk attitude has a significant and negative relationship with the purchase of life insurance. Respondents in Alor Setar who are more likely to involve in risky behaviours or activities tend not to buy life insurance. Risk taking individuals do not behave like risk averse individuals who tend to seek protection by buying life insurance as a method to cover their personal risks. Meanwhile, personal value and trust were found to have no significant relationship with the purchase of life insurance among respondents in Alor Setar. It is recommended that a comprehensive study covering wider areas with larger sample sizes be included in future studies to obtain more reliable results that would enable the generalisation of findings. Keywords: Life insurance, Psychographic factors, Personal value, Risk attitude, Trust
Examining the Mediating Effect of Strategic Agility in the Relationship Between Intellectual Capital and Organizational Excellence in Jordan Service
Authors: Al-azzam Zeyad Faisal , Irtaimeh Hani Jazza’a , Khaddam Amineh Abdul Halim
Published: August 2020

This study aims to investigate the effect of intellectual capital and strategic agility on organizational excellence in service sector of Jordan. A total of 550 questionnaires were collected from respondents who were chosen from a stratified random sampling. The results revial that intellectual capital and its dimensions, human capital, structural capital, and relational capital, have a significant impact on strategic agility as well as organizational excellence. Moreover, results reveal that strategic agility fully mediates the relationship between intellectual capital and organizational excellence. The findings of this study can have significant implications for the service sector of Jordan. Keywords: Strategic agility, Intellectual capital, HRM, Excellence performance
MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING INFORMATION USEFULNESS AND CLOUD COMPUTING QUALITIES AMONG SMALL MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
Authors: Maelah Ruhanita , Al Lami Mohammed Fadhil Farhan , Ghassan Gheyath
Published: August 2020

Small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) stand to benefit and become competitive by utilizing information and communication technologies. Despite constraints faced by SMEs in adopting management accounting practices, it is imperative that management accounting information (MAI) be utilized to attain effective and efficient business operations. SMEs can benefit from cloud computing through the reduction of operating costs related to new technology adoption. In acknowledging the significance of cloud computing and MAI, this study examined the extent of MAI usefulness and qualities of cloud computing among Malaysian SMEs. Through self-administered questionnaires, a total of 105 respondents’ feedback was analyzed. The usefulness of MAI is a result of the availability and importance of each dimension’s items (timeliness, aggregation, scope, and integration). The findings also showed that the qualities of cloud computing (agility, assurance, accountability, financial, security and privacy, performance, and usability) can be considered as important; thus indicating the extent of technology utilization among SMEs.     Keywords: Management accounting information, cloud computing, small-to-medium enterprises.
MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION MAKING METHODS FOR DETERMINING COMPUTER PREFERENCE INDEX
Authors: Mat Kasim Maznah , Ibrahim Haslinda , Bataineh Mahmoud S.
Published: August 2020

In helping consumers to make a wise decision in purchasing a personal computer (PC), the use of multi-criteria decision analysis methods is a way to provide ranking of the attributes of PCs and to construct the computer preference index (CPI). This paper employs the Rank Ordered Centroid (ROC) method to do the ranking. The findings reveal that the most important attribute is the CPU, followed by the hard drive, the price, the memory card, the warranty, the size, the screen resolution, the Ethernet, the weight and the DVD. Whilst, the CPI is constructed by using a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM), called the Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) method. Analysis of data from 25 PCs from four brands, Toshiba, Dell, HP Compaq and Acer, presents the CPI. The resulted CPI shows that two HP Compaq models, Presario V3632 and V3653 are preferred most, while, Acer Aspire 4920-5AA0516MI is the least preferred.
EXPLORING USEFULNESS OF CRM AND IT IN MALAYSIAN HOTEL INDUSTRY: A QUALITATIVE APPROACH
Authors: Hassan Mohamad Ghozali , Hussain Fawad , Rahman Mihraj Begum Saibu
Published: August 2020

Today, the hotel industry is deviating from their traditional way of doing business and is now becoming more customers focused aimed at developing a positive and satisfying relationship with their customers. Information technology (IT) is the most significant factor that is helping the management of hotel industry to lower costs, increase operational excellences with profitability and give value to customer’s time. Malaysian hotel industry is based on Malaysian customer, culture involving a specific way of treating customers. The competitive advantage in this industry is based on the time and cost factors, which worries the customer and the hotel management. Information technology has helped the entire industry to prevent the wastage of resources and time by fulfilling optimum customer needs and demands. This paper is an attempt to explore the customer relationship management and IT related issues in three star rated hotels in the state of Penang, Malaysia. This paper would contribute as a useful guide to three star hotels, giving them some valuable information on what the customer expectations are in terms of CRM and IT facilities and if they are duly met then services and operational issues shall not occur. The significance of this case study includes providing a scope for three star rating hotels to improve their IT based activities to influence service quality and reduce the weaknesses, through availing opportunities and to strengthen their position in the industry.
COMPUTER-AIDED SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY OPTIMAL REPLACEMENT PERIOD
Authors: Akinnuli Basil Oluwafemi , Babalola Simeon Ayodele
Published: August 2020

This paper focuses on bridging the gap between age-dependent optimal replacement theory and its industrial applications by identifying and incorporating the criteria considered by field (maintenance) engineers before embarking on industrial machine replacement, into an existing model to make it appropriate industrial-wise. We aim to economically quantify the identified criteria and thereafter integrate them into the weighted average cost of running the machine from the time of its installation to the date of analysis to alleviate the drudgery in using this approach most especially when multiple machines are to be analyzed, the Machine Replacement Analysis Software (MRAS) was developed and its implementation was done using data obtained from a Grinder used for cocoa processing. A curve with polynomial function and coefficient of determination of 0.935 was obtained and this implies replacing the machine after the seventh year of usage.
RESOURCE ELEMENT-LEVEL DIMENSIONING OF LONG TERM EVOLUTION NETWORKS
Authors: Oudah Arshed
Published: August 2020

Long Term Evolution (LTE) of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is the latest cellular technology coined by the third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and is currently being deployed worldwide. a crucial step towards the successful deployment scenarios of LTE networks is through the use of accurate budgetary and coverage dimensioning formulas of LTE’s physical air-interface channels and signals to guarantee favourable cell footprint and other capacity targets. In this paper, the total physical downlink resources along with their associated powers are derived and computed. Their corresponding overheads are also presented. The provided formulas serve in various network dimensioning campaigns of the LTE systems.
PROTECTING HOME AGENT CLIENT FROM IPv6 ROUTING HEADER VULNERABILITY IN MIXED IP NETWORKS
Authors: Al-Tamimi Bassam Naji , Shenify Mohamed , Budiarto Rahmat
Published: August 2020

Mixed IPv4/IPv6 networks will continue to use mobility support over tunneling mechanisms for a long period of time until the establishment of IPv6 end-to-end connectivity. Encapsulating IPv6 traffi c within IPv4 increases the level of hiding internal contents. Thus, mobility in mixed IPv4/IPv6 networks introduces new security vulnerabilities. One of the most critical vulnerabilities associated with the IPv6 protocol is the routing header that potentially may be used by attackers to bypass the network security devices. This paper proposes an algorithm (V6HAPA) for protecting home agent clients from the routing header vulnerability, considering that the home agents reside behind an IPv4 Network Address Translation (NAT) router. The experimental results show that the V6HAPA provides enough confidence to protect the home agent clients from attackers.
IRRELEVANT FEATURE AND RULE REMOVAL FOR STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIVE CLASSIFICATION
Authors: Mohd Shaharanee Izwan Nizal , Mohd Jamil Jastini
Published: August 2020

In the classification task, the presence of irrelevant features can significantly degrade the performance of classification algorithms, in terms of additional processing time, more complex models and the likelihood that the models have poor generalization power due to the over fitting problem. Practical applications of association rule mining often suffer from overwhelming number of rules that are generated, many of which are not interesting or not useful for the application in question. Removing rules comprised of irrelevant features can signifi cantly improve the overall performance. In this paper, we explore and compare the use of a feature selection measure to filter out unnecessary and irrelevant features/attributes prior to association rules generation. The experiments are performed using a number of real-world datasets that represent diverse characteristics of data items. Empirical results confirm that by utilizing feature subset selection prior to association rule generation, a large number of rules with irrelevant features can be eliminated. More importantly, the results reveal that removing rules that hold irrelevant features improve the accuracy rate and capability to retain the rule coverage rate of structural associative association.
OBJECT CONTOUR COMPLETION BY COMBINING OBJECT RECOGNITION AND LOCAL EDGE CUES
Authors: Loke Kar Seng
Published: August 2020

We developed a top-down and bottom-up segmentation ofobjects using shape contours through a two-stage procedure. First, the object was identified using an edge-based contour feature and then the object contour was obtained using a constraint optimization procedure based on the results from the earlier identified contours. The initial object detection provides object category specific information for the contour completion to be effected. We argue that top-down bottom-up interaction architecture has plausible neurological correlates. This method has an advantage in that it does not require learning boundaries with large datasets.
LEVEL OF RESILIENCE MEASURE FOR COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
Authors: Wajdi Ibrahim Mariam
Published: August 2020

Our daily life applications have come to depend on communication networks to deliver services in an efficient manner. This has made it possible for an attacker to sabotage its operation. Network resiliency is concerned with the degree the network is able to bounce back to a normal operation in the face of attacks. This paper introduced a new resiliency measure, called Levelof-Resilience (LoR) for communication networks, determined by examining: (a) the Level-of-Stability-Reduction (LoSR), as measured by percentage of “IP traffic dropped”, (b) the eventual Level-of-Performance-Reduction (LoPR), as captured by the percentage of reduction in the application Quality-of-Service (QoS), namely latency and (c) Recovery-Time (RT), which is the time the network takes to detect and recover from an attack or a fault, as measured by convergence duration. Previous resiliency measures may only consider one aspect of the above parameters, while this measure is a composite of them. This paper showed that network topology can affect the network resilience, as indicated by the LoR metric. This measure is illustrated by comparing the resiliency level of two communication networks that served the same traffic, but differed in their network topology, under three different attack scenarios.
MULTI-LABEL CLASSIFICATION FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY RECOGNITION FROM VARIOUS ACCELEROMETER SENSOR POSITIONS
Authors: Mohamed Raihani , Shah Zainudin Mohammad Noorazlan , Sulaiman Md Nasir , Perumal Thinagaran , Mustapha Norwati
Published: August 2020

In recent years, the use of accelerometers embedded in smartphones for Human Activity Recognition (HAR) has been well considered. Nevertheless, the role of the sensor placement is yet to  be  explored  and  needs  to  be  further  investigated. In this study, we investigated the role of sensor placements for recognizing various types of physical activities using the accelerometer sensor embedded in the smartphone. In fact, most of the reported work in HAR utilized traditional multi-class classification approaches to determine the types of activities. Hence, this study was to recognize the activity based on the best sensor placements that are appropriate to the activity performed. The traditional multi-class classification approach required more manual work and was time consuming to run the experiment separately. Thus, this study proposed the multi- label classification technique with the Label Combination (LC) approach in order to tackle this issue. The result was compared with several state-of-the-art traditional multi-class classification approaches. The multi-label classification result significantly outperformed the traditional multi-class classification methods as well as minimized the model build time.
NEW KEY EXPANSION FUNCTION OF RIJNDAEL 128-BIT RESISTANCE TO THE RELATED-KEY ATTACKS
Authors: Hussien Hassan Mansur , Muda Zaiton , Md Yasin Sharifah
Published: August 2020

A master key of special length is manipulated based on the key schedule to create round sub-keys in most block ciphers. A strong key schedule is described as a cipher that will be more resistant to various forms of attacks, especially in related-key model attacks. Rijndael is the most common block cipher, and it was adopted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, USA in 2001 as an Advance Encryption Standard. However, a few studies on cryptanalysis revealed that a security weakness of Rijndael refers to its vulnerability to related-key differential attack as well as the related-key boomerang attack, which is mainly caused by the lack of nonlinearity in the key schedule of Rijndael. In relation to this, constructing a key schedule that is both efficient and provably secure has been an ongoing open problem. Hence, this paper presents a method to improve the key schedule of Rijndael 128-bit for the purpose of making it more resistance to the related-key differential and boomerang attacks. In this study, two statistical tests, namely the Frequency test and the Strict Avalanche Criterion test were employed to respectively evaluate the properties of bit confusion and bit diffusion. The results showed that the proposed key expansion function has excellent statistical properties and agrees with the concept of Shannon’s diffusion and confusion bits. Meanwhile, the Mixed Integer Linear Programming based approach was adopted to evaluate the resistance of the proposed approach towards the related-key differential and boomerang attacks. The proposed approach was also found to be resistant against the two attacks discovered in the original Rijndael. Overall, these results proved that the proposed approach is able to perform better compared to the original Rijndael key expansion function and that of the previous research.
HYBRID CAT SWARM OPTIMIZATION AND SIMULATED ANNEALING FOR DYNAMIC TASK SCHEDULING ON CLOUD COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT
Authors: Gabi Danlami , Ismail Abdul Samad , Zainal Anazida , Zakaria Zalmiyah , Al-Khasawneh Ahmad
Published: August 2020

The unpredictable number of task arriving at cloud datacentre and the rescaling of virtual processing elements can affect the provisioning of better Quality of Service expectations during task scheduling in cloud computing. Existing researchers have contributed several task scheduling algorithms to provide better QoS expectations but are characterized with entrapment at the local search and high dimensional breakdown due to slow convergence speed and imbalance between global and local search, resulting from lack of scalability. Dynamic task scheduling algorithms that can adjust to long-time changes and continue facilitating the provisioning of better QoS are necessary for cloud computing environment. In this study, a Cloud Scalable Multi-Objective Cat Swarm Optimization-based Simulated Annealing algorithm is proposed. In the proposed method, the orthogonal Taguchi approach is applied to enhance the SA which is incorporated into the local search of the proposed CSMCSOSA algorithm for scalability performance. A multi-objective QoS model based on execution time and execution cost criteria is presented to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm on CloudSim tool with two different datasets. Quantitative analysis of the algorithm is carried out with metrics of execution time, execution cost, QoS and performance improvement rate percentage. Meanwhile, the scalability analysis of the proposed algorithm using Isospeed-efficiency scalability metric is also reported. The results of the experiment show that the proposed CSM-CSOSA has outperformed Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm, Multi-Objective Ant Colony and Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization by returning minimum execution time and execution cost as well as better scalability acceptance rate of 0.4811−0.8990 respectively. The proposed solution when implemented in real cloud computing environment could possibly meet customers QoS expectations as well as that of the service providers.
A HYBRID METHOD BASED ON CUCKOO SEARCH ALGORITHM FOR GLOBAL OPTIMIZATION PROBLEMS
Authors: Shehab Mohammad , Khader Ahamad Tajudin , Laouchedi Makhlouf
Published: August 2020

Cuckoo search algorithm is considered one of the promising metaheuristic algorithms applied to solve numerous problems in different fields. However, it undergoes the premature convergence problem for high dimensional problems because the algorithm converges rapidly. Therefore, we proposed a robust approach to solve this issue by hybridizing optimization algorithm, which is a combination of Cuckoo search algorithmand Hill climbing called CSAHC discovers many local optimum traps by using local and global searches, although the local search method is trapped at the local minimum point. In other words, CSAHC has the ability to balance between the global exploration of the CSA and the deep exploitation of the HC method. The validation of the performance is determined by applying 13 benchmarks. The results of experimental simulations prove the improvement in the efficiency and the effect of the cooperation strategy and the promising of CSAHC.
CLOUD-BASED LEARNING SYSTEM FOR IMPROVING STUDENTS’ PROGRAMMING SKILLS AND SELF-EFFICACY
Authors: Abdullahi Mohamud Sheikh Ibrahim , Salleh Norsaremah , Nordin Azlin , Alwan Ali Amer
Published: August 2020

Cloud-based Learning Systems (CBLS) refers to the systems that provide electronic or online content to enable the learning process by offering tools and functionalities through platform available in Cloud. This research seeks to examine the effectiveness of CBLS in improving programming skills among undergraduate students by measuring students’ performance in solving programming problems. This is because there is no empirical evidence on the effectiveness of CBLS when compared with the traditional method of learning programming among student beginners. Traditionally, teaching programming courses has been performed in a classroom setting and it can be very challenging for an instructor to go beyond covering the language’s syntax such as program design skills and problem-solving skills due to the wide variety of students’ background in such bounded class duration. In this study, three single-subject experiments were conducted using 40 undergraduate students enrolled in Web Programming course. The experiments compared the time students spent to solve programming tasks by using traditional learning method and CBLS. A survey to measure students’ self-efficacy was administered before and after the experiments. The findings of this study showed that there is a statistically significant difference in learning programming using CBLS when compared with traditional method. Our results showed that students solve programming problems in less time when using CBLS. The study also found out that CBLS is effective for improving students’ self-efficacy.
CELLULAR NETWORK TRAFFIC PREDICTION USING EXPONENTIAL SMOOTHING METHODS
Authors: Tran Quang Thanh , Hao Li , Trinh Quang Khai
Published: August 2020

Wireless traffic prediction plays an important role in network planning and management, especially for real-time decision making and short-term prediction. Systems require high accuracy, low cost, and low computational complexity prediction methods. Although exponential smoothing is an effective method, there is a lack of use with cellular networks and research on data traffic. The accuracy and suitability of this method need to be evaluated using several types of traffic. Thus, this study introduces the application of exponential smoothing as a method of adaptive forecasting of cellular network traffic for cases of voice (in Erlang) and data (in megabytes or gigabytes). Simple and Error, Trend, Seasonal (ETS) methods are used for exponential smoothing. By investigating the effect of their smoothing factors in describing cellular network traffic, the accuracy of forecast using each method is evaluated. This research comprises a comprehensive analysis approach using multiple case study comparisons to determine the best fit model. Different exponential smoothing models are evaluated for various traffic types in different time scales. The experiments are implemented on real data from a commercial cellular network, which is divided into a training data part for modeling and test data part for forecasting comparison. This study found that ETS framework is not suitable for hourly voice traffic, but it provides nearly the same results with Holt–Winter’s multiplicative seasonal (HWMS) in both cases of daily voice and data traffic. HWMS is presumably encompassed by ETC framework and shows good results in all cases of traffic. Therefore, HWMS is recommended for cellular network traffic prediction due to its simplicity and high accuracy.
Zimbabwe’s Experience in International Peace-Support Operations Since 1980
Authors: Chinyanganya John Max , Maeresera Sadiki
Published: August 2020

This article makes a critical analysis of Zimbabwe’s contribution to peacekeeping and peace-support operations in the period 1980 to 2000. It argues that this contribution has brought in a new thrust of peacekeeping operations of coercing the other party to the negotiating table. The article demonstrates the complexity of traditional peacekeeping operations where member states (and in this case Zimbabwe) have made notable contribution to the cause of peacekeeping operations, not only through traditional methods and principles of peacekeeping but also through various other methodologies such as peace-support efforts. Using the 1980 to 2000 time frame, in case studying Zimbabwe’s contribution to peace support operations, this article demonstrates that even developing countries have the capacity and political willingness to shape international activities.
A Quest for Defining Terrorism in International Law: The Emerging Consensus
Authors: Mahmood Mohammed Salman
Published: August 2020

The United Nations (UN) has no internationally-agreed definition of terrorism. The definitional impasse has prevented the adoption of a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. Even in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 the UN failed to adopt the Convention, and the deadlock continues to this day. The prime reason is the standoff with the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). The Arab Terrorism Convention and the Terrorism Convention of the Organization of the Islamic Conference defines terrorism to exclude armed struggle for liberation and self-determination. This increased its complexity and vagueness. The aim of this paper is to examine the definitional aspect of terrorism and the challenges faced in adopting a single universally accepted definition by the international community. The methodology adopted in this paper is purely a library based research focusing mainly on primary and secondary sources. The paper concludes that nations or states have to come to agreement on a definition of the term “terrorism”, for without a consensus of what constitute terrorism, nations or states could not unite against it. A general definition of terrorism is necessary in order for the international community to fight against terrorism in a precise way.
The Impact of Globalization on African Cultureand Politics
Authors: Mikail Ibrahim Kawuley , Lee Abdullah Ainuddin Iskandar
Published: August 2020

The world is undergoing the process of transition ranging from orthodox traditionalist to the modern colonial system of multipolar divergent domination of colonial agenda and later transcending to bipolar twin ideological dominance of western capitalist and easterncentral planned economy with modern technological development. This trend has really transformed the global scenario to enter into modern clutches since Second World War upto the terminal point of the cold war in early 90’s. Meanwhile, the new post-cold war global agenda came up with new changes such as “modern advancement, revolution in information, communication and technology, globalization, liberalization of economy, democracy and democratization process among others. Content analysis was the methodology that the researchers adopted in this paper. The study reveals that globalization and modernity have detrimental impacts on African culture and politics in areas of its political system, economy, education, religion and socio-psychological systems. The paper recommends that Africansshould maintain their culture, norms and values as well as enhance the national boundary and sovereignty so as meet the challenges of globalization.
Independent National Electoral Commission and Campaign Financing Monitoring in Nigeria: The 2015 General Elections
Authors: Sule Babayo , Mohd Sani Mohd Azizuddin , Mat Bakri
Published: August 2020

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is the electoral umpire responsible for the conduct of general elections in Nigeria and other related electoral activities since the resurgence of democratic rule in 1999. One of these important electoral activities carried out by INEC is campaign monitoring and political party financing activities as provided in the Nigerian Constitution and the 2010 Electoral Act. This paper examined the role of INEC in monitoring candidates and parties’ expenditure during the 2015 General Elections. The major problem was the way parties and candidates violated the regulations while INEC as the monitoring body was watchful without any concrete action. The paper used the qualitative method of data collection and analysis where the researchers went to the field and consulted informants in the affected agencies and individuals through interviews and Focus Group Discussions. The data obtained from the field was analysed using tables and other techniques of qualitative data analysis. The paper concludes that, politicians and their political parties spent above the campaign spending limits as provided by law in the 2015 General Elections and the electoral body (INEC) did not monitor properly the campaign spending due to lack of political will from policy-makers and loopholes in the law that empowered them to monitor the spending. The research recommends that for proper and effective campaign financing monitoring in future elections, INEC should be mandated to monitor all politicians and their activities during and after elections, the anti-graft agency (EFCC) should be involved in screening candidates while the Code of Conduct Bureau should be reinforced in watching public servants’ assets.
Privatization Policy and Rural Development: An Assessment of Power Holding Company of Nigeria in Ijumu Local Government of Kogi State
Authors: Adeyemi Raji Abdulwasiu , Jedin Mohd.Haniff , Subhan Muhammed , Arif Nurhaizal Azam
Published: August 2020

The state of electricity supply in Nigeria is nothing to write home about. The situation has resulted in the government adopting the privatization policy as the elixir to the affliction of inadequate power supply in the country. Thus, this paper investigated the privatization policy of the power sector and how it affects development in the rural areas of the Ijumu local government of Kogi State, Nigeria. The modernization theory was adopted in this paper. Data acquired from 120 respondents selected with the use of the three-stage sampling procedure, was analyzed with Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS/PC) Version 20. The study revealed that privatization of the power sector has not transformed into a significant improvement in electricity supply. Consequently, the study recommends that there is need for the government to ensure that the policy adopted should be of optimum form to achieve the desired results.
Boko Haram and the Geopolitics of Forced Migration in Nigeria
Authors: Mukhtar Sadiq , Che Rose Rosniza Aznie , Choy Lam Kuok , Ibrahim Bibi-Farouk Amina Ummulkhair
Published: August 2020

Migration is currently perceived as an epitome of globalization and a measuring gauge of global geopolitical mobility. In recent years, Nigeria has been faced with a series of migratory crises such as insurgency and conflict, forcing large numbers of people to flee from their various residential origins to neighboring countries as refugees and asylum seekers or within their country as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). This study explores how geographical and political factors intersects to provide explanations on the types and causes of forced migration due to the Boko Haram insurgent activities in Nigeria. The research engages the use of content analysis to examine relevant secondary data on Boko Haram insurgent activities and the geopolitics of forced migration in Nigeria. It is reported that from the total number of 2.1 million forced migrants in Nigeria as of May 2017, 9.7% are refugees in neighboring countries while others are spatially distributed in different states around the country as internally displaced persons. Furthermore, it was revealed that more than 97% of the internally displaced persons migrated due to the Boko Haram insurgent activities from the northeastern part of the country. It concluded that the migratory crises in Nigeria is predominantly caused by the activities of the Boko Haram insurgent group that subsequently forced the people to flee their origin because of fear for their lives coupled with the risk of persecution and the destruction of properties.
An Overview of Push/Pull Factors of Political Participation in Nigeria
Authors: Othman Muhammad Fuad , Osman Nazariah , Mohammed Isah Shehu
Published: August 2020

This article overviews the push/pull factors of citizens’ participation in Nigerian politics. Citizens’ participation in state politics is both integral and an indispensable part of every political system and development. However, it is determined by numerous factors which are universal, but relative in terms of contexts. Such a participation is affected by many factors in Nigeria. The study uses secondary sources to collect data and perform qualitative analysis. The study is timely and significant in view of the critical roles where participation plays in shaping and influencing Nigerian politics, especially at the current moment when it is being characterized by apathy and participation on two ends. It is concentrated on an atmosphere of push and pull forces, negative and positive issues and developments, this environment is manipulated by elites/politicians. This needs a change for the better, to inculcate hope, overcome despair, anxiety as well as increased ethno-religious and electoral tensions.
Impact of Corruption and Crime on Smuggling: Evidence from Iran
Authors: Mansouri Amin , Afghah Morteza
Published: August 2020

The main purpose of this research is to investigate the size and the relationship between smuggling and crime indexes such as returned checks, corruption and drinking alcohol in Iran during the period 1984–2015 by using Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model and Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) method. The results showed that among the crime indexes, divorce, drinking alcohol and corruption were positively correlated with smuggling, while another crime index, returned checks had a negative relationship with smuggling. Besides, all socio-economic cause variables on smuggling, including tariffs, misery index, illiteracy, gap of exchange rate, economic openness index and the size of government were found to increase smuggling. Furthermore, the findings showed that the cause variables on smuggling, including liquidity and energy consumption were positively correlated with smuggling.
Economic Liberalisation and Its Socio-Economic Consequences in India, 1966-1996: With Reference to the Japanese Experience of Liberalisation
Authors: Bytheway Simon James
Published: August 2020

Against the present-day rhetorical backdrop of globalisation, and the apparently “revolutionary” nature of information technology, the following paper strives to recount and reconsider the Indian experience of economic liberalisation in the thirty-year period from the introduction of economic liberalisation and deregulatory reform in 1966, to the fall of the Narasimha Congress government in the general elections of 1996. Particular attention is paid to the role of the state in the context of post-colonial India, and how Congress (I) under the leadership of Indira Gandhi introduced economic liberalisation, with the intention of easing poverty, to such an extent that by the end of the 1980s liberalisation, under the banner of New Economic Policy, had allowed India to realise unprecedented economic growth. The legacies of India’s economic liberalisation, however, deserve careful analysis. Economic growth engendered by liberalisation led to India becoming deeply indebted to foreign creditors, and would prove itself to be unsustainable. So much so that by the time Narasimha Rao came to power, in June 1991, India was on the verge of financial crisis, and was forced to seek IMF assistance. Under the auspices of the green revolution and then economic liberalisation, IMF and World Bank tutelage appeared to have sharpened the divisions amongst Indian society to such an extent that the Indian polity was in danger of failure or partial collapse. Given the magnitude and nature of India’s socio-economic problems, perhaps lessons could have been learnt from the example of Japan, and how it extricated itself from an externally driven agenda of economic liberalisation.
Parental Attachment as Predictor of Delinquency
Authors: Abdullah Maria Chong , Gaik Lee Phaik , Elias Habibah , Uli Jegak
Published: August 2020

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to find out the relationship between adolescents’ parental attachment and delinquent behaviour in the aspects of trust, communication and alienation. In this study, delinquent behaviour refers to the set of behaviours which is against any mainstream established rules or norms. It is believed that delinquent behaviour has the potential to cause school failure, impairments in socio-emotional development, peer rejection, and adult crime.   Methodology – Data were gathered from a sample of 300 secondary school students aged 15-18 years old in Selangor. These students were selected from the “hardcore schools” which was obtained from the so called "hardcore schools" listed by the School Division for serious disciplinary problems. Two instruments, namely surveys on the “Behaviour of Students” and “Parental Attachment”(PA) were utilized to collect the research data. The researchers employed correlational research design in this study.   Findings – Data showed that the highest delinquency among the adolescents was misbehaviour in school, followed by crime, vandalism, pornography, dishonesty and drugs. Results also revealed a negative linear relationship between parental attachment (r=-0.282,p=0.0001) and delinquent behaviour, implying that adolescents with better parental attachment had lower levels of delinquency. In addition, findings showed that adolescents trusted in their mothers (M=3.70,SD=0.63) more than they trusted in their fathers (M=3.51, SD=0.72) in relation to communication and alienation. It is suggested that close supportive parents and frequent communication between parents and their children serve to prevent adolescent delinquency.   Significance – This research is significant to parents, school, teachers, counselors and the community.
Constraints of Math Teachers’ in Conducting Action Research in the Philippines: Rights Analysis
Authors: Valdez Paolo Nino , Lapinid Minie Rose
Published: August 2020

Purpose – This exploratory investigation examines the material and non-discursive constraints of Math teachers in conducting action research in the Philippines. It initially describes the contexts of participation of scholars situated in the periphery in knowledge production and teases out the apparent challenges faced in the successful conduct of research.   Methodology – Anchored on Lave and Wenger’s concept of community of practice and legitimate peripheral participation, the study employs rights analysis as a means to determine the constraints   of the respondents in doing action research. Additionally, it traces the mechanisms of power that reinforce and reproduce these challenges. Data was obtained from 13 mathematics teachers employed in different schools under the Manila Archdiocesan and Parochial Schools Association (Mapsa). These teachers have varying work experiences and are teaching different grade levels. The respondents were systematically sampled since they are part of an action research course under the master’s program in teaching math offered by the university.   Findings – Based on the findings, it is argued that due to the disempowering material, social and political conditions of these teachers, they may be considered as part of a hierarchy of peripheral participation since they possess limited opportunities for academic socialisation in the conduct of action research . Finally, this paper draws implications for the improvement of research training in periphery contexts.   Significance – With the increased interest in the socio-political dimension in the teaching and learning process, this work may be of interest to those engaged in conducting research training as well as other stakeholders in the academe to improve the conduct of action research in their respective educational institutions.
Inquiry Practices in Malaysian Secondary Classroom and Model of Inquiry Teaching based on Verbal Interaction
Authors: Siew Li Winnie Sim , Arshad Mohammad Yusof
Published: August 2020

Purpose – Inquiry teaching has been suggested as one of the important approaches in teaching chemistry. This study investigates the inquiry practices among chemistry teachers.   Method – A combination of quantitative and qualitative study was applied in this study to provide detailed information about inquiry teaching practices. Questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and field notes were used. 23 chemistry teachers participated in this study. 92 chemistry lessons were audio and video recorded, which subsequently were transcribed in verbatim. By applying descriptive statistics, the frequencies and percentages of each category in the observation instrument were determined.   Findings – Most of the questions made by the teachers and students were closed-ended questions. Teachers in this study practised wait-time after asking questions. Meanwhile, it was found that most of the students’ questions were followed by answer given by the teacher and the sequence after students’ answers was followed by explanation from the teacher. Students were merely following teacher’s explanation or procedures in text book before carrying out experiment. The mean of students’ ability to provide further explanation was very low.   Significance – A model of inquiry teaching based on verbal interaction was proposed as a guide for chemistry teachers to implement inquiry teaching in order to be in line with the Malaysian National Science Education Standards.
Criterion-Referenced and Norm-Referenced Agreement between the Mile Run/ Walk Test and the One-And-A-Half Mile Run/Walk Test and the Pacer Test
Authors: Hashim Ahmad , Madon Mohd Sani
Published: August 2020

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to test the reliability of the Mile Run/Walk Test and One- and- a- Half Mile Run or Walk Test, and the PACER Test 20-m, multistage shuttle run using criterionreference and norm reference as a working framework.   Method – The sample for the study comprised 2,056 students, with male (n = 1159) and female (n = 897) randomly selected using stratifi ed random sampling, from the whole population of students aged 13, 14, and 15 years from 18 secondary schools throughout Perak, Malaysia. Two trials of the PACER Test and one each of the Mile Run/Walk Test and One-and-a-Half Mile Run/Walk Test were performed. The estimated criterion referenced reliability for the Mile Run/Walk Test and the One-and-a-Half Mile Run/Walk Test, and the PACER Test was obtained using the proportion of agreement (Pa) and ‘modifi ed kappa (Kq) on FITNESSGRAM® Standards (Baumgartner, Jackson, Mahar, & Rowe, 2003) and the American College of Sports Standards (ACSM, 1999).   Findings – Results of the study showed that the Pacer Test had high reliability for testing the maximum volume of oxygen among male and female students aged 13, 14, and 15 years old. The statistical analysis indicated a positive and strong correlation between test scores and repeated tests for the Pacer Test on male and female students aged 13, 14 and 15 years old with r = 0.94 to 0.97; 0.95 to 0.97 respectively, and was signifi cant (p<.05).   Value – It is recommended that the PACER Test be used as a component of the Physical Fitness Test battery to replace the Mile Run/Walk Test and the One-and-a-Half Mile Run or Walk Test, which are still used by the Malaysian Ministry of Education, Teacher Education Division, Curriculum Development Centre, and also State Education Departments to test students’ cardiovascular resistance.