Abstract: In this competitive age, one of the key tools of most successful organizations is knowledge management. Today some organizations measure their current knowledge and use it as an indicator for rating the organization on their reports. Noting that the universities and colleges of medical science have a great role in public health of societies, their access to newest scientific research and the establishment of organizational knowledge management systems is very important. In order to explore the Application of Knowledge Management Factors, a national study was undertaken. The main purpose of this study was to find the rate of the application of knowledge management factors and some ways to establish more application of knowledge management system in Esfahan University-s Medical College (EUMC). Esfahan is the second largest city after Tehran, the capital city of Iran, and the EUMC is the biggest medical college in Esfahan. To rate the application of knowledge management, this study uses a quantitative research methodology based on Probst, Raub and Romhardt model of knowledge management. A group of 267 faculty members and staff of the EUMC were asked via questionnaire. Finding showed that the rate of the application of knowledge management factors in EUMC have been lower than average. As a result, an interview with ten faculty members conducted to find the guidelines to establish more applications of knowledge management system in EUMC.
Abstract: Participation in sporting activities can lead to injury.
Sport injuries have been widely studied in many sports including the
more extreme categories of aquatic board sports. Kitesurfing is a
relatively new water surface action sport, and has not yet been
widely studied in terms of injuries and stress on the body. The aim of
this study was to get information about which injuries that are most
common among kitesurfing participants, where they occur, and their
causes. Injuries were studied using an international open web
questionnaire (n=206).
The results showed that many respondents reported injuries, in
total 251 injuries to knee (24%), ankle (17%), trunk (16%) and
shoulders (10%), often sustained while doing jumps and tricks
(40%). Among the reported injuries were joint injuries (n=101),
muscle/tendon damages (n=47), wounds and cuts (n=36) and bone
fractures (n=28). Also environmental factors and equipment can
influence the risk of injury, or the extent of injury in a hazardous
situation. Conclusively, the information from this retrospective study
supports earlier studies in terms of prevalence and site of injuries.
Suggestively, this information should be used for to build a
foundation of knowledge about the sport for development of
applications for physical training and product development.
Abstract: The main purpose of this study was to determine the predictors of academic achievement of student Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) teachers with different learning styles. Participants were 148 student ICT teachers from Ankara University. Participants were asked to fill out a personal information sheet, the Turkish version of Kolb-s Learning Style Inventory, Weinstein-s Learning and Study Strategies Inventory, Schommer's Epistemological Beliefs Questionnaire, and Eysenck-s Personality Questionnaire. Stepwise regression analyses showed that the statistically significant predictors of the academic achievement of the accommodators were attitudes and high school GPAs; of the divergers was anxiety; of the convergers were gender, epistemological beliefs, and motivation; and of the assimilators were gender, personality, and test strategies. Implications for ICT teaching-learning processes and teacher education are discussed.
Abstract: Self-efficacy, self-reliance, and motivation were
examined in a quasi-experimental study with 178 sophomore
university students. Participants used an interactive cardiovascular
anatomy and physiology CD-ROM, and completed a 15-item
questionnaire. Reliability of the questionnaire was established using
Cronbach-s alpha. Post-tests and course grades were examined using
a t-test, demonstrating no significance. Results of an item-to-item
analysis of the questionnaire showed overall satisfaction with the
teaching methodology and varied results for self-efficacy, selfreliance,
and motivation. Kendall-s Tau was calculated for all items
in the questionnaire.
Abstract: the purpose of this research is to identify and clarify
factors which have positive effect among user satisfaction and their
social networking through websites. The examined factors in this
research are; innovation, ease of use, trustworthy and customer
support which are defined as satisfaction factors. To obtain reliable
research approaches and to have better result in this research four
hypothesizes used to test. This hypothesis testing has been done by
correlation, regression and test of normality by using “SPSS16" also
the data which was analyzed by this software. this data was gathered
from prepaid questionnaire.
Abstract: The purpose of the present study is the investigation
of the relationship between knowledge management and enabling
managers based on achieving proper function. This research is
descriptive and investigative. The sample includes all male and
female high school managers of first and second regions of Urmia
including 98 school and accordingly 98 managers. The instrument
applied was a questionnaire. To sum up, there is a statistically
significant relationship between knowledge management and
empowering managers. In the end, several suggestions are provided.
Abstract: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent and far common debilitating form of arthritis which can be defined as a degenerative condition affecting synovial joint. Patients suffering from osteoarthritis often complain of dull ache pain on movement.
Physical agents can fight the painful process when correctly indicated and used such as heat or cold therapy Aim. This study was carried out to: Compare the effect of cold, warm and contrast therapy on controlling knee osteoarthritis associated problems. Setting: The study was carried out in orthopedic outpatient clinics of Menoufia University and teaching Hospitals, Egypt. Sample: A convenient sample of 60 adult patients with unilateral knee osteoarthritis. Tools: three tools were utilized to collect the data. Tool I : An interviewing questionnaire. It comprised of three parts covering sociodemographic data, medical data and adverse effects of the treatment protocol. Tool II : Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) It consists of five main parts. Tool II1 : 0-10 Numeric pain rating scale. Results: reveled that the total knee symptoms score was decreased from moderate symptoms pre intervention to mild symptoms after warm and contrast method of therapy, but the contrast therapy had significant effect in reducing the knee symptoms and pain than the other symptoms. Conclusions: all of the three
methods of therapy resulted in improvement in all knee symptoms and pain but the most appropriate protocol of treatment to relive symptoms and pain was contrast therapy.
Abstract: Road rage is an increasingly prevalent expression of
aggression in our society. Its dangers are apparent and understanding
its causes may shed light on preventative measures. This study
involved a fifteen-minute survey administered to 147 undergraduate
students at a North Eastern suburban university. The survey
consisted of a demographics section, questions regarding financial
investment in respondents- vehicles, experience driving, habits of
driving, experiences witnessing role models driving, and an
evaluation of road rage behavior using the Driving Vengeance
Questionnaire. The study found no significant differences in driving
aggression between respondents who were financially invested in
their vehicle compared to those who were not, or between
respondents who drove in heavy traffic hours compared to those who
did not, suggesting internal factors correlate with aggressive driving
habits. The study also found significant differences in driving
aggression between males versus females, those with more points on
their license versus fewer points, and those who witnessed parents
driving aggressively very often versus rarely or never. Additional
studies can investigate how witnessing parents driving aggressively
is related to future driving behaviors.
Abstract: The prevalence of non organic constipation differs
from country to country and the reliability of the estimate rates is
uncertain. Moreover, the clinical relevance of subdividing the
heterogeneous functional constipation disorders into pre-defined
subgroups is largely unknown.. Aim: to estimate the prevalence of
constipation in a population-based sample and determine whether
clinical subgroups can be identified. An age and gender stratified
sample population from 5 Italian cities was evaluated using a
previously validated questionnaire. Data mining by cluster analysis
was used to determine constipation subgroups. Results: 1,500
complete interviews were obtained from 2,083 contacted households
(72%). Self-reported constipation correlated poorly with symptombased
constipation found in 496 subjects (33.1%). Cluster analysis
identified four constipation subgroups which correlated to subgroups
identified according to pre-defined symptom criteria. Significant
differences in socio-demographics and lifestyle were observed
among subgroups.
Abstract: The study analyzed the risk and returns of commercial-property in Southwestern Nigeria and selected stocksmarket investment between 2000 and 2009; compared the inflation hedging characteristics and diversification potentials of investing in commercial-property and selected stock- market investment. Primary data were collected on characteristics, rental and capital values of commercial- properties from their property managers through the use of questionnaire. Secondary data on stock prices and dividends on banking, insurance and conglomerates sectors were sourced from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (2000-2009). The result showed that average return on all the selected stock- investments was higher than that of commercial-property. As regards risk, commercial-property indicated lower risk, compared to stocks. Also the stock-investment had better inflation hedging capacity than commercial-properties; combination of both had diversification potentials. The study concluded that stock-market investment offered attractive higher return than commercial-property although with higher risk and there could be diversification benefits in combining commercial-property with stock- investment.
Abstract: The Expert Witness Testimony in the Battered
Woman Syndrome Expert witness testimony (EWT) is a kind of
information given by an expert specialized in the field (here in BWS)
to the jury in order to help the court better understand the case. EWT
does not always work in favor of the battered women. Two main
decision-making models are discussed in the paper: the Mathematical
model and the Explanation model. In the first model, the jurors
calculate ″the importance and strength of each piece of evidence″
whereas in the second model they try to integrate the EWT with the
evidence and create a coherent story that would describe the crime.
The jury often misunderstands and misjudges battered women for
their action (or in this case inaction). They assume that these women
are masochists and accept being mistreated for if a man abuses a
woman constantly, she should and could divorce him or simply leave
at any time. The research in the domain found that indeed, expert
witness testimony has a powerful influence on juror’s decisions thus
its quality needs to be further explored. One of the important factors
that need further studies is a bias called the dispositionist worldview
(a belief that what happens to people is of their own doing). This
kind of attributional bias represents a tendency to think that a
person’s behavior is due to his or her disposition, even when the
behavior is clearly attributed to the situation. Hypothesis The
hypothesis of this paper is that if a juror has a dispositionist
worldview then he or she will blame the rape victim for triggering the
assault. The juror would therefore commit the fundamental
attribution error and believe that the victim’s disposition caused the
rape and not the situation she was in. Methods The subjects in the
study were 500 randomly sampled undergraduate students from
McGill, Concordia, Université de Montréal and UQAM.
Dispositional Worldview was scored on the Dispositionist
Worldview Questionnaire. After reading the Rape Scenarios, each
student was asked to play the role of a juror and answer a
questionnaire consisting of 7 questions about the responsibility,
causality and fault of the victim. Results The results confirm the
hypothesis which states that if a juror has a dispositionist worldview
then he or she will blame the rape victim for triggering the assault.
By doing so, the juror commits the fundamental attribution error
because he will believe that the victim’s disposition, and not the
constraints or opportunities of the situation, caused the rape scenario.
Abstract: The purposes of this research were 1) to investigate
behavior of media exposure and participation in environmental
activities of King Mongkut-s University of Technology Thonburi
(KMUTT) dormitory students, 2) to compare the correlation between
faculties and participation in environmental activities of KMUTT
dormitory students, and 3) to compare the correlation between media
exposure and participation in environmental activities of KMUTT
dormitory students. The tool used for collecting data was
questionnaire. The research findings revealed that dormitory students
were mostly exposed to the environmental media via public relations
boards for general media and KMUTT dormitory media. Dormitory
students were daily exposed to media via websites on the internet and
weekly for other media. Dormitory students participation in the
environmental activities was at high level (x = 3.65) on an
individual basis and was at medium level (x = 2.76) on a collective
basis. Faculties did not correlate with the participation in
environmental activities of dormitory students at the .01 statistical
level and media exposure via various media correlated with
participation in environmental activities of dormitory students at the
.01 statistical level.
Abstract: Almost all Libyan industries (both private and public) have struggled with many difficulties during the past three decades due to many problems. These problems have created a strongly negative impact on the productivity and utilization of many companies within Libya. This paper studies the current awareness and implementation levels of Just-In-Time (JIT) within the Libyan Textile private industry. A survey has been applied in this study using an intensive detailed questionnaire. Based on the analysis of the survey responses, the results show that the management body within the surveyed companies has a modest strategy towards most of the areas that are considered as being very crucial in any successful implementation of JIT. The results also show a variation within the implementation levels of the JIT elements as these varies between Low and Acceptable levels. The paper has also identified limitations within the investigated areas within this industry, and has pointed to areas where senior managers within the Libyan textile industry should take immediate actions in order to achieve effective implementation of JIT within their companies.
Abstract: This paper examines the impact of information and
communication technology (ICT) usage, internal relationship,
supplier-retailer relationship, logistics services and inventory
management on convenience store suppliers- performance. Data was
collected from 275 convenience store managers in Malaysia using a
set of questionnaire. The multiple linear regression results indicate
that inventory management, supplier-retailer relationship, logistics
services and internal relationship are predictors of supplier
performance as perceived by convenience store managers. However,
ICT usage is not a predictor of supplier performance. The study
focuses only on convenience stores and petrol station convenience
stores and concentrates only on managers. The results provide
insights to suppliers who serve convenience stores and possibly
similar retail format on factors to consider in improving their service
to retailers. The results also provide insights to government in its
aspiration to improve business operations of convenience store to
consider ways to enhance the adoption of ICT by retailers and
suppliers.
Abstract: Electronic Government is one of the special concepts
which has been performed successfully within recent decades.
Electronic government is a digital, wall-free government with a
virtual organization for presenting of online governmental services
and further cooperation in different political/social activities. In order
to have a successful implementation of electronic government
strategy and benefiting from its complete potential and benefits and
generally for establishment and applying of electronic government, it
is necessary to have different infrastructures as the basics of
electronic government with lack of which it is impossible to benefit
from mentioned services. For this purpose, in this paper we have
managed to recognize relevant obstacles for establishment of
electronic government in Iran. All required data for recognition of
obstacles were collected from statistical society of involved
specialists of Ministry of Communications & Information
Technology of Iran and Information Technology Organization of
Tehran Municipality through questionnaire. Then by considering of
five-point Likert scope and μ =3 as the index of relevant factors of
proposed model, we could specify current obstacles against
electronic government in Iran along with some guidelines and
proposal in this regard. According to the results, mentioned obstacles
for applying of electronic government in Iran are as follows:
Technical & technological problems, Legal, judicial & safety
problems, Economic problems and Humanistic Problems.
Abstract: This study examines the issue of recommendation
sources from the perspectives of gender and consumers- perceived
risk, and validates a model for the antecedents of consumer online
purchases. The method of obtaining quantitative data was that of the
instrument of a survey questionnaire. Data were collected via
questionnaires from 396 undergraduate students aged 18-24, and a
multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify causal
relationships. Empirical findings established the link between
recommendation sources (word-of-mouth, advertising, and
recommendation systems) and the likelihood of making online
purchases and demonstrated the role of gender and perceived risk as
moderators in this context. The results showed that the effects of
word-of-mouth on online purchase intentions were stronger than those
of advertising and recommendation systems. In addition, female
consumers have less experience with online purchases, so they may be
more likely than males to refer to recommendations during the
decision-making process. The findings of the study will help
marketers to address the recommendation factor which influences
consumers- intention to purchase and to improve firm performances to
meet consumer needs.
Abstract: This article presents a method for elections between the members of a group that is founded by fuzzy logic. Linguistic variables are objects for decision on election cards and deduction is based on t-norms and s-norms. In this election-s method election cards are questionnaire. The questionnaires are comprised of some questions with some choices. The choices are words from natural language. Presented method is accompanied by center of gravity (COG) defuzzification added up to a computer program by MATLAB. Finally the method is illustrated by solving two examples; choose a head for a research group-s members and a representative for students.
Abstract: An ethnobotanical study was conducted to document
local knowledge and potentials of wild edible tubers that has been
reported and sighted and to investigate and record their distribution in
Pulau Redang and nearby islands of Terengganu, Malaysia.
Information was gathered from 42 villagers by using semi-structured
questionnaire. These respondents were selected randomly and no
appointment was made prior to the visits. For distribution, the
locations of wild edible tubers were recorded by using the Global
Positioning System (GPS). The wild edible tubers recorded were ubi
gadung, ubi toyo, ubi kasu, ubi jaga, ubi seratus and ubi kertas.
Dioscorea or commonly known as yam is reported to be one of the
major food sources worldwide. The majority of villagers used
Dioscorea hispida Dennst. or ubi gadung in many ways in their life
such as for food, medicinal purposes and fish poison. The villagers
have identified this ubi gadung by looking at the morphological
characteristics; that include leaf shape, stem and the color of the
tuber-s flesh.
Abstract: The purpose of this research is to disentangle and
validate the underlying factorial-structure of Ecotourism Experiential
Value (EEV) measurement scale and subsequently investigate its
psychometric properties. The analysis was based on a sample of 225
eco-tourists, collected at the vicinity of Taman Negara National Park
(TNNP) via interviewer-administered questionnaire. Exploratory
factor analysis (EFA) was performed to determine the factorial
structure of EEV. Subsequently, to confirm and validate the factorial
structure and assess the psychometric properties of EEV,
confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was executed. In addition, to
establish the nomological validity of EEV a structural model was
developed to examine the effect of EEV on Total Eco-tourist
Experience Quality (TEEQ). It is unveiled that EEV is a secondorder
six-factorial structure construct and it scale has adequately met
the psychometric criteria, thus could permit interpretation of results
confidently. The findings have important implications for future
research directions and management of ecotourism destination.
Abstract: Arrack is one of the forms of alcoholic beverage or
liquor which is produced from palm or date juice and commonly
consumed by the lower social class of all religious/ethnic
communities in the north-western villages of Bangladesh. The
purpose of the study was to compare arrack drinking patterns
associated with socio-demographic status among the Muslim, Hindu,
Santal, and Oraon communities in the Rasulpur union of Bangladesh.
A total of 391 respondents (Muslim n-109, Hindu n-103, Santal n-89,
Oraon n-90) selected by cluster random sampling were interviewed
by ADP (Arrack Drinking Pattern) questionnaire. The results of
Pearson Chi-Squire test revealed that arrack drinking patterns were
significantly differed among the Muslim, Hindu, Santal, and Oraon
communities- drinkers. In addition, the results of Spearman-s
bivariate correlation coefficients also revealed that sociodemographic
characteristics of the communities- drinkers were the
significantly positive and negative associations with the arrack
drinking patterns in the Rasulpur union, Bangladesh. The study
suggests that further cross-cultural researches should be conducted
on the consequences of arrack drinking patterns on the communities-
drinkers.