bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Role of Incentives in the Organizational Structure: A model of Performance Maximization
Authors: Pascual-Ezama David , Dunfield Derek
Published: November 2016

To optimize firm performance, both individual employee and organizational performance must be taken
into account. In this paper, we combine several theoretical models of individual and organizational
behavior to propose the Organizational Performance Maximization Model (OPMM), in which
individual and corporate performance maximization are combined.
Personality Mapping Wand to Organizational Performance
Authors: Sharma Ekta
Published: November 2016

The personality of an individual is a clue to his/her interpersonal needs. Identifying the employee personality type might help organizations to map their employees’ needs. Every individual has different needs, if they are fulfilled, s/he is motivated enough to perform. The purpose of the research is to analyze the impact of personality traits on interpersonal needs and using “Personality Mapping” as the tool to analyze these needs.

The research sample for this study is the future workforce, i.e. students enrolled in a business management course. The research measures include the FIRO-B Scale and Big 5 scales.   The study reveals that there is a close relationship between personality and interpersonal needs. The interpersonal needs can predict the personality of the individual. All individual have interpersonal needs but all the needs are not dominant. If the dominant need is identified, the organizations can motivate the individual by satisfying his/her dominant need.

The analysis of both i.e. interpersonal needs and the personality can help the organizations to find the Person- job fit and also help them in understanding the motivational aspects of the individual. The predictability of Interpersonal needs from the personality traits gives a clue to the employer about the Job which will best suit the personality of the prospective employee or  in other words, which job would satisfy his/her dominant need. Organizational performance is the function of Job Satisfaction and if the needs are satiated, the satisfaction increases and hence the performance.
IT Strategic Alignment Maturity levels in Kenya
Authors: Chege Stanley Mwangi
Published: November 2016

Strategic alignment focuses on the activities that management performs to achieve cohesive goals across the IT (Information Technology) and other functional organisations (e.g., finance, marketing, H/R, research, manufacturing). Therefore, alignment addresses both how IT is in harmony with the business, and how the business should, or could be in harmony with IT. Alignment evolves into a relationship where the function of IT and other business functions adapt their strategies together. Achieving alignment is evolutionary and dynamic. It is a process that requires strong support from senior management, good working relationships, strong leadership, appropriate prioritization, trust, and effective communication, as well as a thorough understanding of the business and technical environments. Achieving and sustaining alignment demands focusing on maximizing the enablers and minimizing the inhibitors that impact alignment. Once the maturity of IT business alignment is understood, an organisation should be able to identify opportunities for enhancing the harmonious relationship of business and IT.
The Emergent Gen Y Workforce: Implications for Labour Nationalization Policies in the UAE and Saudi Arabia
Authors: Lim Hwee Ling
Published: November 2016

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) implement labour nationalization policies to regulate workforce localization. The sustainability of these policies is complicated by an emergent large Generation Y (Gen Y) demographic group and low participation by nationals in expatriate dominated labour markets. The countries’ continued economic growth depends on companies’ abilities to understand recruitment and retention issues specific to their young citizens. This study compared the life priorities and work motivators of Emirati and Saudi Gen Y. It adapted the Schwartz Value Inventory to measure the importance of four life dimensions and Twenge et al.’s (2010) model to measure the importance of work preferences on five motivational dimensions. The study sampled UAE and Saudi nationals born 1980-1990 (Gen Y). The findings showed a symmetrical prioritization of life priorities by Emiratis and Saudi respondents but with differences in work preferences as Emiratis were most motivated by extrinsic work motivators while Saudis placed greatest importance on intrinsic work motivators. The paper concluded with recommendations for effective recruitment and retention of young nationals that can help companies manage this generation and contribute to scarce existing human resource management research in the Arabian Gulf region.
 
Consumer Habits and Adoption of Multiple-Functions of Mobile Phones
Authors: Papatla Purushottam
Published: November 2016

Mobile phone applications are rapidly becoming an important channel of interaction between brands and consumers. Recent findings, however, suggest that only few brands succeed in attracting consumers to their mobile applications. Based on findings in the literature, we suggest that consumers with high use-variety, i.e., those who use their mobile phones for multiple functions, are likely to be more interested in mobile applications than others. There are, however, few insights regarding high use-variety consumers. This is the issue that we address in this research by developing and testing a theory, based on habits, that heavy users of the core functions of calling and texting will exhibit high use-variety. We empirically test the theory on two nationally representative samples of mobile phone users. Our results on both samples support the theory. We also discuss the managerial and future research implications of our findings.
The Increasingly Visible Hand of Government behind Corporate Citizenship & Conscious Capitalism
Authors: Coates Breena E.
Published: November 2016

This paper examines three recent and significant policy actions by the governments in India, the United States, and the European Union that make dramatic changes in how global societies view corporate behavior in the home and host country regions where economic benefits are accrued. These interventions point to growth of sharper policy instruments to push for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) obligations in nation states. The familiar concept CSR has spun-off important notions of Corporate Citizenship, and Consciousness Capitalism. Both of these conceptualizations build on Elkington’s Triple Bottom Line (TBL)—which remains the central tenet of CSR philosophy. This paper discusses the three cases of government interventions in India, U.S. and EU. It argues that the new era of an increasingly visible hand of government has dawned to counteract market failure on the TBL, and to foster national and global sustainability values.
What Causes the Divestment of Multinational Companies in China? A Subsidiary Perspective
Authors: Li Ren , Liu Zhenlin
Published: November 2016

This paper examines the causes of MNCs’ divestments in China. The MNCs’ profitability, market shares and productivities are negatively related to the possibility of divestment, while the MNCs’ debts are positively related to the possibility that foreign investments are divested. These results suggest that divestments are affected by MNCs’ performances, and their performances are endogenous shocks for divestment.
Strategic Integration of Integrated Marketing Communications, Case of Croatia
Authors: I. Bilić, , Ž. Mateljak,
Published: November 2016

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the development of integrated marketing communications, corporate communication strategy and its alignment with overall corporate strategy in Croatian companies. In addition, in Croatian business environment, particularly in the period of economic crisis, companies try to reduce their costs which results in neglecting the communication function. There is also the eternal scientific question regarding the effects of investment in the marketing and communication functions. Therefore, this question will be discussed in this paper by observing the correlation between integrated marketing communications and organizational performances reached by observed companies.

It is presumed that there is a positive relationship between higher levels of developed integrated marketing communications and organizational performance which the observed companies achieved. This survey was conducted on 500 companies with the highest value added rank in the Republic of Croatia in the year 2009 (according to the Institute for Business Intelligence).
Effects of Motivation, ACT/SAT, GPA, and SES on College Choice for Academically Advanced Students and Other Students
Authors: Hee Kim Kyung , Hull Michael F.
Published: November 2016

The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in the effects of motivation factors on college choice between academically advanced students and other students. College choice ranged from no college, two-year college, four-year college, moderately selective four-year college, and highly selective four-year college. Restricted data from the nationally representative Education Longitudinal Study (ELS) of 2002 were used for the analysis. Using the ELS questions, 8 motivation constructs (general intrinsic motivation, math intrinsic motivation, reading Intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, general academic self-efficacy, math self-efficacy, English self-efficacy, and educational expectation) were developed. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate the direct and indirect effects of the factors on college choice. The results indicated that although ACT/SAT scores, followed by GPA, are the most important factors for both academically advanced students’ and other students’ choices of more selective colleges, their choices are mediated by their intrinsic reading motivation and math self-efficacy. Compared to other students’, academically advanced students’ extrinsic motivation more negatively affected, while Socio Economic Status (SES) less negatively affected, their choices of more selective colleges. Other students’ high general academic self-efficacy and educational expectations positively affected their ACT/SAT scores, GPA, and choices of more selective colleges, which did not affect academically advanced students.
Visual Focus of Attention Actively Associates Relevancy in Eye Movements
Authors: Ahmad Gufran
Published: November 2016

Advancements in the studies of eye movements have excelled beyond frontiers and transited into the phase of next generation splendidly. The business applications, like online shopping, advertisement, web designing, search engine optimization, of eye movement studies in real world scenarios have started to dominate as well. Tracking of eye movements can communicate the underlying mechanism of visual perception and dynamics of humans’ cognition that are of prime concerns for a number of social, economic, and scientific purposes. In this study, we conducted a series of eye tracking experiments to verify our hypothesis that during human eye movements, the visual focus of attention dynamically associated relevant constituents of artistic portrait. We collected the eye movement data of participants who regarded artistic portraits during active viewing. The trails produced from eye tracking system during portrait viewing traced connected focuses of attention in eye movements based on relevancy in visual contexts. These experimental facts validated the hypothesis that visual focus of attention actively associated relevancy in eye movements.
Effects of Motivation on the Performance of Employees of Ecobank Ghana Limited. Knust Branch and Stadium Branch
Authors: Sarpong Mrs. Loretta
Published: November 2016

This study, the effect of motivation on the performance of employees of Ecobank Limited, KNUST Branch and Stadium branch was aimed at assessing motivation and its effect on employee performance. The sample size for the study was thirty employees from both branches. Probability sampling and simple random sampling techniques were used to select the respondents of the questionnaires. The cross-sectional survey and a case study research design were used for the study. The study revealed that indeed there is a relationship between motivation and performance and aside the known fact that money is the key amongst the motivational factors to employees, it was realized that employees are gradually becoming particular about trust, respect and high expectation, recognition and appreciation and good working environment. The study also revealed that, management can make use of different strategies and policies to motivate employees in the banking environment. Employees are interested in enhanced salaries, housing loan, fringe benefits, promotion and car loans as motivating elements sufficient to push employees of the bank to give out their best. The study recommended that employees are involved in all the decisions affecting their lives and concluded that, 86.7% of the respondents said that they enjoyed going to work every working day and indicated that their behavior is as a result of the various motivational packages available for being present throughout the year.
Revealing the Underlying Insights on the Use of Social Media by Foreign Students—A Qualitative Approach
Authors: K. Gengeswari, , S. A. Sharmeela-Banu,
Published: November 2016

Student retention’s strategy has been key interest of Universities worldwide in line with its potential benefits in improving the University’s image besides contributing to the improvement in the institution’s financial performance. Recent communication technologies which are known for their ability to reaching the target market have gradually nullified the utilization of the traditional advertising tools. Of these communication technologies, education institutions are gradually embracing the social media in order to leverage its potential benefits. Review on the past studies reveals that there is an abundant of quantitative researches which investigated the use of social media by university’s students where limited focus was on the qualitative approach. This study intended to explore the underlying insights on the use of social media by carrying out semi-structured interviews among foreign students of the private higher education institutions located in Klang Valley, Malaysia. This study found that utilization of social media, quality information, usage influences and students’ engagement are the four important themes pertaining to the use of social media discovered from the interview sessions conducted. This study also provides several implications for both practitioners and academics.
The Maximum Setup Time and Setup Cost of Achieving Just-in-Time System
Authors: C. Chyr Fu , Y. Huang Shan
Published: November 2016

The primary topic of operation management has turned to setup cost reduction because of the success of Just-in-Time (JIT) system. Setup cost is treated as a policy variable that can be reduced. A few papers prove that setup cost reduction will increase the number of setups and approach to JIT. However, those papers do not discuss the maximum setup time allowed that will successfully achieve to JIT. The Wagner-Whitin (WW) algorithm is known to produce optimal lot size for T-period dynamic lot-sizing problems. This paper develops an extension of the WW algorithm to establish a recursive model and find the sufficient and necessary conditions of yielding JIT. Furthermore, the limited maximum setup time that will yield JIT system is discussed. The maximum setup time of achieving JIT can be easily computed and understood in practice. The formula and table of the setup time allowed are obtained to act as a goal of reducing setup time in JIT system.
Into the Abyss: Occupational Segregation of Immigrant Workers and the Spanish Crisis 2006-2012
Authors: Allard Gayle , Farber Vanina
Published: November 2016

Spain became one of the world’s top immigration destinations in the 21st century, with the share of migrants in employment climbing to a peak of 17% just as the crisis hit the country. How did these immigrants fare in a rigid labour market as the housing bubble burst and recession brought soaring unemployment? Our paper explores the occupational segregation of Spain’s immigrants and finds that it declined in the wake of the crisis. The improvement, however, obscures massive job destruction in temporary jobs and in the low-skilled sectors where foreigners were concentrated. The results point to the need for better skills and training and measures to tackle the deep permanent/temporary contract divide in Spain, to protect migrant workers as well as unskilled Spaniards.
A Review of Economic Status and Public Sector Financial Management Reforms in Kenya
Authors: Nyamita Micah Odhiambo , Wekesa Elijah Wanamboe
Published: November 2016

Practical concerns relating to successful public financial management ultimately determines whether or not there is good governance at all public sector institutions. Although there is growing literature on national public financial management in general, the researchers feel that less attention has been focused on the financial management reforms in Kenya. This paper, therefore, reviewed literature on public sector financial management reforms in Kenya, starting with the current economic status in Kenya. The exceptionality of this paper was the use of a significant body of literature focusing on 15 articles concerning the public sector financial management reforms and economic status in Kenya. The findings could assist in creating awareness on the main themes of public sector financial management reforms within the Kenyan public sector and help the national policy makers to develop measures of enhancing performance within the sector.
Russian Economic Pressures and Energy Stakes in the EU Eastern Neighbourhood
Authors: Sandu Ioana
Published: November 2016

Perceived by the six small countries of the Eastern Partnership as one of their most fearsome adversary, Russia has permanently made its presence visible, all the more in its proximity. Thus, Russian energy resources, that most of the EU members and neighbours covet, have been the subject of numerous debates on the trajectory of energy corridors and have amplified the EU pursuit of developing its own energy strategy and reducing dependence on exterior resources.

Caught in the middle, the “sandwiched” Eastern partners have chosen either to cooperate economically and join the EU side, or to stumble and hesitate between the two, or to adhere to their direct enemy, by joining the Eurasian Economic Union. Regardless of their option, they all try to balance their economic profile with the geopolitical context and to adjust their policies so that they gain a respectful status in the region.
Would You Like a GDP with Your Coffee?
Authors: Vlček Martin
Published: November 2016

The holistic economics studies the economy as an integrated, unique object with its own motivation and global resources. It is also necessary to find out from this point of view the global characteristic of this object. And this is just the analogy with the GDP, constructed upon quantities with what the holistic economics works. This characteristic describes activity of parts of the control structure of the economy aiming to the removal of the tension in controlling areas. The submitting paper forms this characteristic on the basis of a study of stock markets.

When at the end a comparison of this holistic characteristic with a standard quarterly GDP is made, a very good compliance results. It has double meaning. Firstly, a characteristic because of stemming from the development of stock markets is to the disposal on every day basis, and thus it is possible to get an analogy of the GDP on this quite different time basis. It allows an economy control in a quite different quality.

And secondly, it is a confirmation of the credibility of the holistic economics itself. Its global characteristic, resp. one of them, tightly corresponds with a global characteristic of the standard, classical macro-economics.
A Comparison of Aquatic Invertebrate Diversity between Paddy Fields under Traditional and Modern Management in Western Japan
Authors: Prasetyo Didot Budi , Koji Shinsaku , Tuno Nobuko
Published: November 2016

We compared aquatic invertebrate diversity in paddy fields under traditional and modern management practices. We also examined the general factors that may be related to diversity within each paddy field. The Kitadan area was farmed with traditional management practices, with much longer periods of irrigations compared with the Kahoku area, which was farmed with modern agricultural practices using intermittent irrigation. We measured physicochemical factors and collected aquatic invertebrates from the two areas. Collected animal specimens were taxonomically identified and classified based by desiccation tolerance ability. At Kitadan, the total biodiversity parameters increased over time, while, biodiversity fluctuated temporally at Kahoku. The mean Shannon-Wiener diversity index was higher at Kitadan than at Kahoku. However, the mean taxon richness was not significantly different between locations. Both paddy fields were dominated by highly desiccation-tolerant invertebrates at the beginning of the rice cultivation period. Over time, the ratio of desiccation-sensitive invertebrates increased more at Kitadan than at Kahoku. Our canonical correspondence analysis showed that the time since rice transplanting, water permanence, pH, water depth, and chlorophyll a were significant factors affecting faunal assemblage composition. Our results indicate that water management practices have important roles in the aquatic biodiversity of paddy-field ecosystems.
Initiatives of Knowledge Management in Brazilian Chamber of Deputies
Authors: Rocha Miranda Roberto Campos da , De Assis Nilson Rodrigues
Published: November 2016

This paper aims to enlighten the complexity of Knowledge Management (KM) in public organizations in Brazil, particularly in Legislative Institutions. A mainly theoretical approach was considered to show an overview of KM in Brazilian Chamber of Deputies (CD). Besides the documentary and bibliographical research, results of an empirical research with senior managers in the Institution are presented as well as analysis of the KM experience considering a Strategic Knowledge Management (SKM) approach. The motivation to for this study lays on the opportunity to discuss how KM can be better used in a public organization, as well as to indicate tendencies and defies sharing knowledge in parliamentary context. Preliminarily, as far as the Brazilian CD is concerned, results point that we are far away from real and effective KM , and there are just some no integrated initiatives in course.
Morphology Analysis of Fine Particles in Background Station of Malaysia
Authors: Mohd Zaki Teh Nur Amalina , Md Yusof Noor Faizah Fitri , Shith Syabiha
Published: November 2016

A study have been conducted at Jerantut, Pahang. PM2.5 concentrations were collected continously for 14 days and were analyzed to investigate time series and diurnal variations. Range of PM2.5 concentration was between 6.0µg/m3 and 98µg/m3 with average 30.43 ± 15.07µg/m3. The mean temperature was 28.61°C, while relative humidity and wind speed were 76.49% and 0.56m/s. From hourly variations, the percentage of PM2.5 concentration that exceed USEPA and WHO standards are 30.36% and 56.85%, respectively. Due to rush hour, diurnal pattern shows that PM2.5 concentration had the first peak between 6.00 to 9.00 h, the second peak between 12.00 to 13.00 h and the third peak between 19.00 to 21.00 h. PM2.5 shows a weak negative linear relationship with wind speed and temperature but shows a weak positive linear relationship with relative humidity. Morphology characteristic provides information about particle sources, atmospheric history, formation, reactivity, transport and removal of atmospheric chemical species. From FESEM analysis, the particles were categorized into two groups that are biological particles and anthropogenic particles. The biological particles such as fungal spore, brochosome and fungal hyphae were recognised from their morphology characteristics while anthropogenic particles such as soot were recognised from their morphology characteristics and weight percentage of elemental components.
Students and Teachers Expectations of Web 2.0 in the ESL Classroom: Do They Match?
Authors: Al-Ali Sebah , Gunn Cindy
Published: November 2016

In today’s modern world, where many students have considerable knowledge and experience of
computers, using technology in the classroom in a way that will best help the students achieve their
learning goals may be a daunting task for a teacher. In this study, 51students and 13 teachers were
surveyed to gain a better understanding of the participants’ knowledge, use and comfort level with a
variety of Web 2.0 services in order to determine to what extent the teachers and the students think that
these services can be effectively utilized in the classroom.
Diversity in Utilization of Reading Strategies: A Cross Gender Study on Iranian EFL Learners
Authors: Karbalaee Kamran Saeedeh
Published: November 2016

Current study aims to examine whether any statistically significant difference existed between Iranian
male and female English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' reading strategy utilization. The data
was collected employing three instruments of Survey of Reading Strategy (SORS), a reading test, and a
questionnaire on demographic information. Several analyses of independent samples t-test were
executed to answer the research questions. The findings revealed no statistically significant difference
between male and female participants on their overall reading strategy use. No gender impact was
sought in use of global and support subscales of reading strategies; however, female participants were
found to outperform their male counterparts in use of problem solving subscale of reading strategies.
Implications were provided for EFL teacher and researchers to upgrade their insight into nuance
differences between male and female readers' interaction with a text.
The Outcomes of Multiple-Draft Method on the Performance of Secondary School Students in Continuous Writing
Authors: Kolade Akinwamide Timothy
Published: November 2016

This study employed the Multiple-draft Method in the teaching of Continuous Writing in English
Language. The intent was to determine if there could be significant difference in the performance of a
group of students taught with the conventional method of Reading-Writing (a type of controlled writing)
and another group taught with Multi-drafts method of writing. The study employed the pre-test and
post-test controls and quasi-experimental research design. The sample consisted of 80 senior secondary
school students. The instrument which was used to gather data which was the West African
Examinations Council’s (WAEC) English Language Essay Questions. The data generated were
subjected to statistical analysis and the results of the analysis showed that at take-off the two groups
were homogenous. There was significant difference in the post-test scores of the experimental
outweighing the control group which came about as a result of treatment of the experimental group.
There was no significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of the students in the
control group. As evident from the out-come of the research, the Multiple- draft method (which allows
students to practice with many drafts before the final writing) had significant effect on students’
performance in Continuous Writing. Hence, the Multiple- draft Method was recommended for
Continuous Writing.
Pedagogical Principles, Practices and Preventives as Perceived by ESP Practitioners: Humanities in Focustitioners: Humanities in Focus
Authors: Zabihi Reza , Ghadiri Momene , Nejad Ansari Dariush
Published: November 2016

The aim of this research was to describe what Iranian ESP teachers believe to be the main pedagogical
principles and what their perceived barriers seem to be. The examination of these principles and
barriers were mainly based on the interviewees’ English background, followed by the elicitation of
teachers’ beliefs about the main pedagogical principles of English Language Education in their
department, their teaching practices inside the class, dilemmas and obstacles they faced with during
their English teaching career and how they cope with or manage those dilemmas, and ended with their
suggestions for improvement of English education in Faculties of Humanities. Data were subsequently
transcribed, modified, analyzed and translated into English. The results properly reflected various
perceived theoretical beliefs of ESP teachers regarding pedagogical principles as well as the obstacles
which prevent them from following those principles.
Noticing and Learning: Relationship Patterns
Authors: Kartchava Eva , Ammar Ahlem
Published: November 2016

The goal of this study was to empirically investigate the noticeability of three corrective feedback (CF)
techniques (recasts, prompts, and a mixture of the two) and to determine whether such noticing predicts
second language (L2) development. Four groups of high-beginner college level francophone ESL
learners (n = 99) and their teachers participated. Each teacher was assigned to a treatment condition
that fit his CF style, and each provided feedback in response to errors with past tense and questions in
the past. While the noticing of CF was assessed through immediate recall, learning was measured with
picture description and spot-the-differences tasks. Inferential and qualitative analyses of noticing and
learning revealed varied conclusions. Statistically, a minimal relationship between noticing and past
tense scores was found. However, qualitatively, noticing appeared to predict gains on both targets for
some learners, but did not prove to be a universal prerequisite for learning.
How do Chinese Tertiary EFL Teachers Recontextualize Target Cultures in a Teaching Skill Contest?
Authors: Liu Ning
Published: November 2016

One primary purpose of the teaching skill contests is to stimulate pedagogical renovation. Few
empirical studies, however, observe how the contestants make renovations in these contests. The
research reports on a preliminary discourse analysis of the 1st SFLEP Chinese national college
English teaching contest, to lay focus on how the contestants disseminate target cultures in the contest.
The research result reveals how the contesting teachers deal with the contextual constraints of the
contest and renovate their cultural pedagogies.
The research analyzes a number of extracted video recordings for the contestants’ mock teaching by
employing Eggins & Slade’s Conversational Analysis (CA) approach (Eggins & Slade, 2004). The
research results reveal how these contestants deploy linguistic resources to shape their pedagogies
within the contextual constraints in the contest.
Bilingual Verbs in Nigerian Pidgin—English Code Mixing
Authors: Mowarin Macaulay
Published: November 2016

This paper discusses bilingual verbs, which are intermediate forms that cannot be fully identified with neither Nigerian pidgin nor English, in Nigerian pidgin- English code mixed utterances. The process involved in the derivation of bilingual or hybrid verbs is analogous to hybrid forms in biology. The conceptual framework of this study is Myers-Scotton (1993, 2002). Matrix language frame and the types of hybrid verbs discussed in this study include, the insertion of bare verbs from English to Nigerian pidgin; the adjoinment of auxiliary /helping verbs, as well as the negative particle, in Nigerian pidgin to inserted main verbs from English which is the embedded language. Lastly, is the presence of hybrid verbs in Nigerian pidgin’s serial verb constructions. The essay concludes that bilingual/hybrid verbs constitute an integral part of the grammatical approach to code switching.
Dialog Journal Writing and its Effect on Learners’ Speaking Accuracy and Fluency
Authors: Abdolmanafi Rokni Seyed Jalal , Seifi Asieh
Published: November 2016

This paper focuses on dialog journal writing as one possible method of improving speaking skill of EFL learners. The present study was an attempt to investigate the impact of dialog journal writing on EFL learners’ speaking accuracy and fluency. The participants were 48male intermediate level students who were randomly selected from two classes at Simin language institute in Qaemshahr, Iran. They had registered for a free chat course. First, they were administered a pretest for homogeneity. Next, the experimental group was treated with journal writing in 20 term-long sessions. Following the treatment, a posttest was given to both groups. The findings indicated that there was a significant difference between two groups in terms of speaking accuracy and fluency. The findings also showed that dialog journal writing helped students communicate more effectively, fluently and accurately. Further, the findings provided useful information for teachers to help adult learners to develop their abilities to communicate in the target language.
The Application of Virtual Simulations Using Second Life in a Foreign Language Classroom
Authors: Yoon Tecnam
Published: November 2016

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of virtual simulation-based language learning in a foreign language class in Korea. Total 35 1st-year university students in Korea participated in this research to figure out the effect of simulations. A virtual English learning community, ‘Cypris Chat’ in Second Life was selected as a learning tool. For the data collection, a survey questionnaire was distributed and analyzed quantitatively. The result shows that the majority of the students had a positive attitude toward using a virtual simulation in English learning and had better understanding in learning English by experiencing an authentic practice. The first section of this paper provides a general overview of simulations in educational settings through an insightful literature review of the current research in the area. The review includes a comprehensive outlook on simulations, an example of successful classroom integration and some of the considerations researchers have found for their implementation. The latter section addresses the research method, results and conclusions.
The Dramatization of Children Literature Books for the Development of the Second/Foreign Language: An Implementation of a Drama-Based Project to Students of Primary School
Authors: Papadopoulos Isaak M.
Published: November 2016

This paper presents and outlines the design and implementation of a pilot program based on activities of dramatization of children literary books aiming at developing language skills of primary school students in English as a foreign language, participating in interactive, drama play and creative activities This project was implemented to students of the fifth grade of primary schools of Larissa (Greece) in a sample of 15 students. The collaboration, creativity, and the engagement with English literature were the main features of the program. The learning environment of the program was either the municipal center of creativity “Kalikatzoura Pasalidou” or the municipal gym. When the center of creativity was the place of learning, students analyzed the English children’s literature books, achieving the acquisition of the new vocabulary and participating in creative writing activities. When the municipal gym was the place of instruction, students participated in activities of performing theatrical plays developing spoken language and intonation of the words. The evaluation and feasibility of the program has been realized through a) a pre- and a post - test and b) by keeping a Journal by the teacher. It became so obvious that the particular application had a beneficial effect on the development of speaking and writing skills of learners and enhanced their motivation to participate in drama activities.
The Effect of Concept-Mapping on Speaking and Self-Regulation in Speaking of Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners
Authors: Seyed Erfani Shiva , Saeedi Farjam Elaheh
Published: November 2016

Concept-mapping is a meaningful strategy which helps learners to learn more effectively, to record and recall information easily, and to support creative problem solving (Novak, 1991). On the other hand self-regulation is a model of language learning through assumptions of which learners use strategies actively in order to control their own learning process (Oxford, 2011). This study was an attempt to investigate the effect of concept-mapping on speaking ability and on self-regulation in speaking of Iranian intermediate EFL learners. At the outset of the study, after piloting, 72 students participated in experimental and control groups, 36 in each. A Proficiency English Test (PET) (Quintana, 2003), was used to homogenize the proficiency level of the students, a questionnaire on motivated strategies for learning (Pintrich, Smith, Garcia, & McKeachie, 1991) was administered to measure the students’ self-regulation including meta-cognitive, self-regulation, time and study environment, effort regulation, peer learning, and help seeking components. The experimental group received speaking treatment with concept mapping instruction. At the end, both groups filled out questionnaires again and took the speaking post test. The statistical analyses revealed that although concept-mapping had significant effect on speaking ability of the learners; it did not have any significant effect on learners’ self-regulation in speaking.
Teachers’ Code Switching in an EFL Context: Why and When?
Authors: Khonakdar Mehdi , Abdolmanafi-Rokni Seyed Jalal
Published: November 2016

English is considered in Iran as a foreign language because Iranians enjoy this language in academic centers like schools and universities; therefore, the reasons of enjoying code switching in EFL classes can be considered as a study. This study was an attempt to investigate Iranian EFL teachers’ reasons for code switching in Iranian EFL classes by sixty Iranian teachers who teach English as a foreign language. This article, although preliminary in nature, attempted to highlight and explain some of the functions of code-switching in the foreign language classroom. In short, this study has been made to investigate the trends of code-switching in Iranian EFL classrooms. A questionnaire was adopted from Gulzar (2010) to know the reasons and functions toward code switching in EFL classes. Nine most important functions toward code switching were asked of the teachers to state their functions based on the Likert scale. The results showed that teachers have different reasons and functions for code switching in EFL classes. The reasons why code switching is used dependson different reasons such as time, syllabus, and subject matter and so on.
Chinese Students’ Ambivalent Perceptions of Grammar Correction in L2 Writing
Authors: Shao Xu , Zhang Jingyu
Published: November 2016

The efficacy of Grammar Correction (GC) in second language (L2) writing classes has been the subject of much controversy and the field seems to take Ferris’ (1999) generalization that students believe in GC and want to receive it for granted. To test Ferris’ generalization, this study examines Chinese students’ perceptions of GC in their English writing. The results of a questionnaire administered to six groups of three proficiency levels of university students majoring in or not in English show ambivalent perceptions towards GC. On the one hand, all learners believe GC has obvious effects and can improve their accuracy in L2 writing. On the other hand, they all agree that GC is not enough for improving learners’ writing ability and that the time spent on GC should be allocated on training other writing abilities. All groups of participants gave a negative to uncertain answer to GC, though different perception patterns figure in whether or not majoring in English: English-major groups’ mean expectation scores of GC increase while those of non-English-major groups decrease in keeping with their English levels. These results provide strong evidence for Truscott’s (1996) view that GC should be abandoned. We believe that the different perceptions of GC shown by English and non-English major students stem from the fact that the former receives a more systematic grammar instruction than the latter. The ambivalent perceptions of GC originate in the fact that grammar accuracy occupies an important proportion in various writing evaluation systems.
A Comparative Study of Using Receptive and Productive Tasks on the Vocabulary Development of Upper-Intermediate Iranian EFL Learners
Authors: Shahbazy Golgaz , Oghli Hosein Sadegh
Published: November 2016

This study attempts to investigate differential effect of using receptive and productive tasks on the vocabulary development of upper intermediate Iranian EFL learners and which of the tasks (receptive tasks or productive tasks) is more effective in vocabulary development. This study first examined the immediate effect of receptive and productive task and then the delayed effect of two kinds of tasks on the vocabulary development. For this end, 50 upper intermediate English learners received TOEFL vocabulary part test and 30 learners who had got higher mark selected for the treatment and divided into two experimental groups. Learners received an approximately 10 minute for 20 session productive task treatment and 10 minute receptive task. In the receptive group, the learners completed True-False, Matching and Multiple choice tasks and in the productive tasks completed Short-Response, Fill-in Blank and Sentence Writing tasks. All the learners after the treatment received immediate vocabulary post test and delayed post test to examine learners’ vocabulary learning development. The findings of the first research question indicated that both of the receptive and productive groups had development on the vocabulary learning. To answer the second question which examined two tasks (receptive or productive tasks) on the vocabulary learning, the learners who completed productive tasks outperformed those who did the receptive tasks that is in contrast to the predictions of the involvement load hypothesis, which does not predict that any output task will lead to better results than any input task.
An Overview of German’s Functionalist Skopos Theory of Translation Cognition
Authors: Dan Jiao
Published: November 2016

Functionalist Skopos Theory of translation plays a vital role in the development of translation theory history. Under the background of globalization, the international exchange and cooperation needs the functional bridge of translation to better communicate among countries. This paper generally describes the literature review, original and developing tendency, definition key rules of the Functionalist Skopos Theory of Translation, to guide the translators and English learner for high quality translation products and rouse more attention on the translation theory development.
Sensibility of the Novel “The God of Small Things” Personifies Realities where Meaning Plays the Protagonist
Authors: Khan Imam Alam
Published: November 2016

The novel, “The God of Small Things”, is a Booker Prize winner fiction. It is obviously a thought-provoking novel with an apparent viewpoint. It is a novel by Arundhati Roy, an Indian writer. The novel is a story of stories where conflicting ideas of various subjects play vital roles. The subjects appear to be really striking. The style is marvelous. The plot construction is excellent, and the characterization is superb. Language is unique. It’s a worldwide acclaimed novel. The novel speaks on subjects like love, madness, joy, cast-discrimination, women’s exploitation and most importantly the conflict between the Laltain (lantern), the big people, and Mombatti (candles), the small people, which represent the class antagonism. All these antagonisms transform into a meaning. The novelist projects so many meanings together and tries to weave a story on Ammu, the protagonist of the novel. She has created a world where the readers feel the conflict between the social antagonisms and emotional meanings. The novelist, Arundhati Roy, has tried her best to evolve a literal as well as a figurative meaning of emotions. The readers feel spellbound emotions when they start reading the novel and pass through the strong throng until they finish the novel. The novelist succeeds in making her readers feel a trance. They emotionally find themselves in a pang of emotions which remains until the end of the novel. Though the novel is full of many obscurities where the readers fail to understand the obscure images and local languages in the novel, yet they feel satisfaction at the end as it discusses sensibility of the society. The reality apparently transforms itself into a crystal clear meaning of life which is very vital to the novelist as well as to the readers. The meaning of life, reality, appears like a protagonist. Hence, the novel under research is under scrutiny about the idea of reality appearing like protagonist. It is undoubtedly a very successful novel. Readers have liked it very much. The critics have found it interesting. It has been the best seller, too. Thus, this research is trying to find out the answer of the question, Is the novel really successful in arousing a sensibility? Is the meaning of life appears life-like? Does it personify reality of life? Consequently, this research paper has tried to find out the answers for the posted queries. Moreover, the obvious answer is, yes it does. It personifies the realities of the tragedies of the protagonists: Ammu and Velutha.
Determining an Appropriate Research Framework for Language Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
Authors: Dansieh Solomon A.
Published: November 2016

This review of literature on approaches to language education research aims to provide a theoretical background to researching into language teaching and learning at tertiary level. It is purely a desk research with the hope of highlighting the main approaches to language study research to first-time researchers attempting to wade into the murky waters of academic research. Academic research is a complex enterprise; hence the need for appropriate procedures that would yield quality research outcomes. The review is organised in four main parts seeking to address five major questions: 1) How is an appropriate approach to evaluating a language programme determined? 2) What is implied by the terms research methodology” and “methods”? 3) What roles do human perceptions play in determining a research approach? 4) What is the rationale for adopting a particular research approach? Among the different paradigms of research methodology for language programme evaluation, the positivistic/quantitative and the naturalistic/qualitative approaches are generally favoured by applied linguists and language programme evaluators as the most ideal evaluation tools. When it comes to measuring the effect of different methods on the success of a language programme, a positivistic design is considered most appropriate. With most of the data for a naturalistic research design coming from a variety of sources such as students, instructors, administrators, evaluators, and other stakeholders, observation, interviews, journals, questionnaires, and document analysis have been identified as the most common methods for gathering and recording data. A paper that seeks to explore tertiary-level English language teaching and learning for instance would require a combination of both positivistic and naturalistic designs, as neither design is considered sacrosanct. Employing multiple approaches in a single study would therefore require the integration of the strands at some point through triangulation.