Abstract: The study was conducted to produce case studies from
the Malaysian public universities stands point East Coast of
Malaysia. The aim of this study is to analyze the effects of
knowledge management on human capital toward organizational
innovation. The focus point of this study is on the management
member in the faculties of these three Malaysian Public Universities
in the East Coast state of Peninsular Malaysia. In this case,
respondents who agreed to further participate in the research will be
invited to a one-hour face-to-face semi-structured, in-depth interview.
As a result, the sample size for this study was 3 deans of Faculty of
Management. Lastly, this study tries to recommend the framework of
organizational innovation in Malaysian Public Universities.
Abstract: No matter how much perfect we become in our
practical skills regarding the implementation of learned ideas, the
need of technical writing capability cannot be neglected being a
professional. Technical writing is a way of communicating the ideas
in written which otherwise need to be presented orally. Technical
writing skills have always been the need of the time, as they are
required for internal as well as external official communication in
both formal and informal manner. Moreover, they are the best way to
capture the attention of your customers by presenting information in
effective manner. This paper aims to analyze the importance of
technical writing skills in professional industries of Pakistan by
conducting a survey. Survey results presented in this paper clearly
depicts the importance of formal and informal written communication
media used in different professional industries in Pakistan. Analysis
and discussion of the extent to which the alternative ways of
communication besides technical writing have got importance in
Pakistan is also an important aspect of this survey.
Abstract: Historical and ancestral bonds of the countries in the
Middle East have led to similarities in culture and context of their
societies. In addition, economical resources, such as the oil industry,
have generally been an integrative point in the region. Higher
education of a country is influenced by different national and
international factors and, regarding the mentioned bonds, it is inviting
to study the development of the countries of the Middle East in
higher education and draw some practical implications which can be
used in the educational policymaking of the region. This review
includes a data analysis on the population of international students in
the countries of the Middle East. As its second objective, a review
study on the successful countries, that is, those which host the highest
number of international students, and the strategies they have
developed to reach this state among the countries of the region, has
been conducted. Suggestions are made as to the strategies in higher
education systems of these countries which could prove useful and
practical in the development of internationalization of higher
education in the region, specifically with regard to the recruitment of
international students.
Abstract: Estimation of a proportion has many applications in
economics and social studies. A common application is the estimation
of the low income proportion, which gives the proportion of people
classified as poor into a population. In this paper, we present this
poverty indicator and propose to use the logistic regression estimator
for the problem of estimating the low income proportion. Various
sampling designs are presented. Assuming a real data set obtained
from the European Survey on Income and Living Conditions, Monte
Carlo simulation studies are carried out to analyze the empirical
performance of the logistic regression estimator under the various
sampling designs considered in this paper. Results derived from
Monte Carlo simulation studies indicate that the logistic regression
estimator can be more accurate than the customary estimator under
the various sampling designs considered in this paper. The stratified
sampling design can also provide more accurate results.
Abstract: The European Union Survey on Income and Living
Conditions (EU-SILC) is a popular survey which provides
information on income, poverty, social exclusion and living
conditions of households and individuals in the European Union.
The EU-SILC contains variables which may contain outliers. The
presence of outliers can have an impact on the measures and
indicators used by the EU-SILC. In this paper, we used data sets
from various countries to analyze the presence of outliers. In addition,
we obtain some indicators after removing these outliers, and a
comparison between both situations can be observed. Finally, some
conclusions are obtained.
Abstract: The article is devoted to the problem of political
discourse and its reflection on mass cognition. This article is
dedicated to describe the myth as one of the main features of political
discourse. The dominance of an expressional and emotional
component in the myth is shown. Precedent phenomenon plays an
important role in distinguishing the myth from the linguistic point of
view. Precedent phenomena show the linguistic cognition, which is
characterized by their fame and recognition. Four types of myths
such as master myths, a foundation myth, sustaining myth,
eschatological myths are observed. The myths about the national idea
are characterized by national specificity. The main aim of the
political discourse with the help of myths is to influence on the mass
consciousness in order to motivate the addressee to certain actions so
that the target purpose is reached owing to unity of forces.
Abstract: The article presents the trends in Georgian wine
market development and evaluates the competitive advantages of
Georgia to enter the wine market based on its customs, traditions and
historical practices combined with modern technologies.
In order to analyze the supply of wine, dynamics of vineyard land
area and grape varieties are discussed, trends in wine production are
presented, trends in export and import are evaluated, local wine
market, its micro and macro environments are studied and analyzed
based on the interviews with experts and analysis of initial recording
materials.
For strengthening its position on the international market, the level
of competitiveness of Georgian wine is defined, which is evaluated
by “ex-ante” and “ex-post” methods, as well as by four basic and two
additional factors of the Porter’s diamond method; potential
advantages and disadvantages of Georgian wine are revealed.
Conclusions are made by identifying the factors that hinder the
development of Georgian wine market. Based on the conclusions,
relevant recommendations are developed.
Abstract: The paper discusses economic policy of Georgia
aiming to increase national competitiveness as well as the tools and
means which will help to improve the competitiveness of the country.
The sectors of the economy, in which the country can achieve the
competitive advantage, are studied. It is noted that the country’s
economic policy plays an important role in obtaining and maintaining
the competitive advantage - authority should take measures to ensure
high level of education; scientific and research activities should be
funded by the state; foreign direct investments should be attracted
mainly in science-intensive industries; adaptation with the latest
scientific achievements of the modern world and deepening of
scientific and technical cooperation. Stable business environment and
export oriented strategy is the basis for the country’s economic
growth.
As the outcome of the research, the paper suggests the strategy for
improving competitiveness in Georgia; recommendations are
provided based on relevant conclusions.
Abstract: As an entity of the tourism system, local communities
were considered have better understanding of their region as well as
influenced positively or negatively by the tourism activities in the
region. This paper aimed to study role of community involvement in
the development of ecotourism at Kintamani Bali from two
perspectives of view, i.e. participation in the process of initiatives and
participation in the utilizing the economic benefits of tourism.
Thorough participation as an antecedent of social capital form, the
sustainability of ecotourism at Kintamani could be expected.
Abstract: This paper clarifies the role of ICT capital in economic
growth. Albeit ICT remarkably contributes to economic growth, there
are few studies on ICT capital in ICT sector from theoretical point of
view. In this paper, production function of ICT which is used as input
of intermediate good in final good and ICT sectors is incorporated
into our model. In this setting, we analyze the role of ICT on balance
growth path and show the possibility of general equilibrium solutions
for this model. Through the simulation of the equilibrium solutions,
we find that when ICT impacts on economy and economic growth
increases, it is necessary that increases of efficiency at ICT sector and
of accumulation of non-ICT and ICT capitals occur simultaneously.
Abstract: From an organizational perspective, leaders are a
variation of the same talent pool in that they all score a larger than
average value on the bell curve that maps leadership behaviors and
characteristics, namely competence, vision, communication,
confidence, cultural sensibility, stewardship, empowerment,
authenticity, reinforcement, and creativity. The question that remains
unanswered and essentially unresolved is how to explain the irony
that leaders are so much alike yet their organizations diverge so
noticeably in their ability to innovate. Leadership intersects with
innovation at the point where human interactions get exceedingly
complex and where certain paradoxical forces cohabit: conflict with
conciliation, sovereignty with interdependence, and imagination with
realism. Rather than accepting that leadership is without context, we
argue that leaders are specialists of their domain and that those
effective at leading for innovation are distinct within the broader pool
of leaders. Keeping in view the extensive literature on leadership and
innovation, we carried out a quantitative study with data collected
over a five-year period involving 240 participants from across five
dissimilar companies based in the United States. We found that while
innovation and leadership are, in general, strongly interrelated (r =
.89, p = 0.0), there are five qualities that set leaders apart on
innovation. These qualities include a large radius of trust, a restless
curiosity with a low need for acceptance, an honest sense of self and
other, a sense for knowledge and creativity as the yin and yang of
innovation, and an ability to use multiple senses in the engagement
with followers. When these particular behaviors and characteristics
are present in leaders, organizations out-innovate their rivals by a
margin of 29.3 per cent to gain an unassailable edge in a business
environment that is regularly disruptive. A strategic outcome of this
study is a psychometric scale named iLeadership, proposed with the
underlying evidence, limitations, and potential for leadership and
innovation in organizations.c
Abstract: The purposes of this research were to study concepts
and strategies of human resource development in the automotive
manufacturers and to articulate the proposals against the government
about the human resource development for automotive industry. In
the present study, qualitative study was an in-depth interview in
which the qualitative data were collected from the executive or the
executive of human resource division from five automotive
companies - Toyota Motor (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Nissan Motor
(Thailand) Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Motors (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Honda
Automobile (Thailand) Co., Ltd., and Suzuki Motor (Thailand) Co.,
Ltd. Qualitative data analysis was performed by using inter-coder
agreement technique. The research findings were as follows:
The external factors included the current conditions of the
automotive industry, government’s policy related to the automotive
industry, technology, labor market and human resource development
systems of the country. The internal factors included management,
productive management, organizational strategies, leadership,
organizational culture and philosophy of human resource
development. These factors were affected to the different concept of
human resources development -the traditional human resource
development and the strategies of human resource development. The
organization focuses on human resources as intellectual capital and
uses the strategies of human resource development in all
development processes. The strategies of human resource
development will enhance the ability of human resources in the
organization and the country.
Abstract: In Egypt, girls have traditionally been educationally
disadvantaged. This disadvantage, however, has been focused on the
failure to enter school. Increasingly it is recognized that girls who
ever-enroll are at least as likely to complete primary and secondary
education as boys. Still the belief persists that girls, especially those
from poor families, will be disadvantaged in terms of school
expenditures and the transitions to secondary and higher education.
We examine expenditures on tutoring during the final year of
preparatory school, and the transition to specific tracks of secondary
education. Tests during the last year of preparatory largely determine
a student’s educational future. Results show that girls, even girls from
poor families, are not disadvantaged in terms of expenditures,
whether for tutoring, fees or general expenses. Moreover, girls are
more likely than boys to advance to general secondary education, the
track that leads to higher education.
Abstract: This study aims to examine the role of career
advancement and job security as predictors of employee commitment
to their organization. Data was collected from 580 frontline
employees attached to two departments of 29 luxury hotels in
Peninsular Malaysia. Statistical results using Partial Least Squares
technique provided support for the proposed hypotheses. In view of
the findings, theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Abstract: The study examines the influence of marital status on
consumers of products and services using blogs as a source of
information. A pre-designed questionnaire was used to collect the
primary data from the respondents (experiences). Data were collected
from one hundred and eighty seven respondents residing in and
around the Emirates of Sharjah and Dubai of the United Arab
Emirates. The collected data was analyzed with the help of statistical
tools such as averages, percentages, factor analysis, Student’s t-test
and Structural Equation Modelling Technique.
Objectives of the study are to know the reasons how married and
unmarried or single consumers of products and services are
motivated to use blogs as a source of information, to know whether
the consumers of products and services irrespective of their marital
status share their views and experiences with other bloggers and to
know the respondents’ future intentions towards blogging.
The study revealed the following: Majority of the respondents
have the motivation to blog because they are willing to receive
comments on what they post about services, convenience of blogs to
search for information about services and products, by blogging
respondents share information on the symptoms of a disease/ disorder
that may be experienced by someone, helps to share information
about ready to cook mix products and are keen to spend more time
blogging in the future.
Abstract: This paper presents a regression model with
autocorrelated errors in which the inputs are social moods obtained by
analyzing the adjectives in Twitter posts using a document topic
model, where document topics are extracted using LDA. The
regression model predicts Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) more
precisely than autoregressive moving-average models.
Abstract: Nowadays, the mathematical/statistical applications
are developed with more complexity and accuracy. However, these
precisions and complexities have brought as result that applications
need more computational power in order to be executed faster. In this
sense, the multicore environments are playing an important role to
improve and to optimize the execution time of these applications.
These environments allow us the inclusion of more parallelism inside
the node. However, to take advantage of this parallelism is not an
easy task, because we have to deal with some problems such as: cores
communications, data locality, memory sizes (cache and RAM),
synchronizations, data dependencies on the model, etc. These issues
are becoming more important when we wish to improve the
application’s performance and scalability. Hence, this paper describes
an optimization method developed for Systemic Model of Banking
Originated Losses (SYMBOL) tool developed by the European
Commission, which is based on analyzing the application's weakness
in order to exploit the advantages of the multicore. All these
improvements are done in an automatic and transparent manner with
the aim of improving the performance metrics of our tool. Finally,
experimental evaluations show the effectiveness of our new
optimized version, in which we have achieved a considerable
improvement on the execution time. The time has been reduced
around 96% for the best case tested, between the original serial
version and the automatic parallel version.
Abstract: This study examines the media habits of young people
in Saudi Arabia, in particular their use of the Internet and television
in the domestic sphere, and how use of the Internet impacts upon
other activities. In order to address the research questions, focus
group interviews were conducted with Saudi university students. The
study found that television has become a central part of social life
within the household where television represents a main source for
family time, particularly in Ramadan while the Internet is a solitary
activity where it is used in more private spaces. Furthermore, Saudi
females were also more likely to have their Internet access monitored
and circumscribed by family members, with parents controlling the
location and the amount of time spent using the Internet.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the
relationship between parent involvement and preschool disabled
children’s development. Parents of 3 year old disabled children
(N=440) and 5 year old disabled children (N=937) participating in the
Special Needs Education Longitudinal Study were interviewed or
answered the web design questionnaire about their actions in parenting
their disabled children. These children’s developments were also
evaluated by their teachers. Data were analyzed using Structural
Equation Modeling. Results were showed by tables and figures. Based
on the results, the researcher made some suggestions for future studies.
Abstract: The enthusiasm for gluten avoidance in a growing
market is met by improvements in sensitive detection methods for
analysing gluten content. Paradoxically, manufacturers employ no
such systems in the production process but continue to market their
product as gluten free, a significant risk posed to an undetermined
coeliac population. This paper resonates with an immunological
response that causes gastrointestinal scarring and villous atrophy with
the conventional description of personal injury. This thesis divulges
into evaluating potential inadequacies of gluten labelling laws which
not only present a diagnostic challenge for general practitioners in the
UK but it also exposes a less than adequate form of available legal
protection to those who suffer adverse reactions as a result of gluten
digestion. Central to this discussion is whether a claim brought in
misrepresentation, negligence and/or under the Consumer Protection
Act 1987 could be sustained. An interesting comparison is then made
with the legal regimes of neighboring jurisdictions furthering the
theme of a legally un-catered for gluten kingdom.