Search results for: educational institutions

Authors: Suppara Charoenpoom

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This study focuses on 1) a good-quality management procedures of buildings and environment in schools 2) designing the management procedures and 3) creating an operation manual for the procedures. This study is the combination of qualitative and quantitative research method. Populations in the research were 83 deans and directors of primary and secondary schools from the 10th educational district in Samut Songkram. Sample group was selected from the voluntary deans and directors. There were 14 participants in sample group. Research tools in this study were divided into 2 categories. The first one was data-collecting tools, which were in-depth interview and questionnaires. The second one was the designing tools to help creating management procedures: quality business, quality work procedure and key quality indicator of each activity in schools. All data were analyzed by mean and standard deviation. The result from this study has found out 1 effective process of building and environment management for basic education schools which is called Quality Business Process (QBP) and 7 Quality Work Procedures (QWP). In terms of academic feasibility checkup by experts, the research had shown that new design of building and environment management was approved unanimously. It means that new process of building and environment management in schools works very well and can be adapted. After examining the possibility of management process being used in schools by calculating the mean value among sample group (14 school deans and directors), the mean value was between 0.64-1.00. It means that the new design of building and environment management can be operated effectively in schools. For the satisfaction part, deans and school directors gave the satisfaction score in the highest level (Mean = 4.7372, S.D. = 0.4385).

Keywords: buildings, environment, procedures, quality management

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Authors: Henry Okechukwu Onyeiwu, Arfah Ab. Majid

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To fully understand the critical role of marriage in society, it is important to view it as a social institution that provides some basic social needs for society. A ‘social institution’ is the network of shared meanings, norms, definitions, expectations, and understandings held by the members of society. It is what guides and governs how the members of the society are expected to act and interact, what is socially desirable and legitimate, what they should be striving for, and so on. One of the major social institutions is marriage. Marriage is and has often focused on children and what is best for them because the rising generation literally is the future of every society. However, according to the aforementioned definition, which notes that marriage may also be a union between two persons of the same sex with legal support, this study stands with the definitions that are based on marriage being a union between a man and woman that is the most appropriate in Igbo land and not the other way round. The issue to be evaluated concerns marriage as it associates with Igbo Catholic Christians in Nigeria. Pasts of Igbo culture should be better organized into the Christian faith. Igbo Christians actually convey a significant number of their customary thoughts, customs, and social qualities, particularly regarding marriage, in the aftermath of switching to Christianity. The analyst agrees that marriage among Igbo Christians warrants adequate evolution. This study, therefore, concentrates on the Igbo community’s interpretation of the concept of culture and religion and the religious implications of traditional marriage and Christian marriage ceremonies in Igbo. The research design of this study is a qualitative design that provides in-depth information on the dual religious identity of the Igbo people on the rite of marriage in Imo state. The study population was composed of both male and female members from each selected local government area in Imo State. Thematic analysis was used to elaborate on the result from the respondents. This survey found that reputation is a major concern for Ibo people. Parental discomfort can lead to the use of coping strategies such as displacement, in which parents pass on their own vulnerable sentiments to their children. Those who participate in marriage negotiations feel the pain of their parents because they are unable to communicate their own feelings. As a result, participants experience increased stress and a range of negative emotions related to their marriage, including worry, dissatisfaction, and ambivalence. It was concluded that when it comes to Igbo culture, marriage is seen as a need for the continuation of the family’s lineage of descent, according to the outcome. The Task at hand was to discover how the locals preparing to get married define the impending transition. Imo State is home to the practice of Igba-nkwu, where the woman is either inherited or taken in the place of another.

Keywords: Igbo, culture, Christianity, traditional marriage, Christian wedding

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Authors: José María Agugusto-landa, Inmaculada García-Martínez, Lara Checa Domene, Óscar Gavín Chocano

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Self-concept is the perception that a person has of himself, of his abilities, skills, traits, and values. Self-concept is composed of different dimensions, such as academic self-concept, physical self-concept, social self-concept, emotional self-concept, and family self-concept. The relationship between the dimensions of self-concept and mental health and academic performance among future teachers is a topic of interest for educational psychology. Some studies have found that: (i) There is a positive relationship between general self-concept, academic self-concept and academic performance, that is, students who have a more positive image of themselves tend to get better grades and be more motivated to learn. (ii) There is a positive relationship between emotional intelligence, physical self-concept and healthy habits, that is, students who regulate and understand their emotions better have a higher satisfaction with their physical appearance and follow a more balanced diet and a higher physical activity. As for gender differences in the dimensions of self-concept among future teachers, some studies have found that: (i) Girls tend to have a higher self-concept in the social, family and verbal dimensions, that is, they perceive themselves as more capable of relating to others, communicating effectively and receiving support from their family. (ii) Boys tend to have a higher self-concept in the physical, emotional and mathematical dimensions, that is, they perceive themselves as more capable of performing physical activities, controlling their emotions and solving mathematical problems. (iii) There are no significant differences between general self-concept and academic self-concept according to gender, that is, both girls and boys have a similar perception of their global worth and academic competence.

Keywords: preservice teachers, self-concept, academic performance, mental wellbeing

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Authors: Sibusiso Mkwananzi

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The health of mother and child remain at risk among pregnant adolescents. Nevertheless, these are placed in even greater jeopardy when an expectant adolescent experiences violence. This paper sought to explore the levels and determinants of expecting adolescents in five Southern African countries. The study used the most recent (2010/2015) nationally representative demographic health survey (DHS) data from Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The highest levels of violence during pregnancy occurred amongst adolescent females living in Zimbabwe at 11.4%, followed by Zambia (8.3%) and Namibia (7.7%). Lowest levels were seen in Mozambique at 3.6%. Additionally, the determinants of experiencing violence during pregnancy included educational attainment, marital status, wealth and place of residence. Expectant adolescents that had a higher likelihood of experiencing violence were married and lived predominantly in rural settings. Higher risk was also associated with lower acquisition of education and poverty. These results show a very similar pattern to the risk factors associated with early pregnancy in the region. The predictors point to issues of possible lowered empowerment amongst younger women in their relationships and the structural challenges faced by this fledgling group. Nevertheless, addressing these dynamics could go a long way in not only decreasing the likelihood of unwanted motherhood at this early stage of the life course, but indeed even ensuring the prevention of violence during wanted early pregnancy. This would lead to improved levels of maternal and child health despite younger maternal age and aid in achieving a number of sustainable development goals.

Keywords: adolescents, determinants, Southern Africa, violence during pregnancy

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Authors: Nordin Mamat, Abdul Rahim Razalli, Loy Chee Luen, Abdul Talib Hashim

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This study was designed to investigate preschool environment in multi-ethnic preschool in Malaysia. The objectives are to identify the quality of work environment in multi-ethnic preschools; to investigate the practices of teachers’ role and responsibility; and to identify the quality of human resources. The study involved 2004 respondents who are the staff of multi-ethnic preschool from the government agency who provide preschool service. This study was conducted using a mixed method in which questionnaires and interviews were used to obtain data from respondents. The findings were analysed using mean and used Likert scale to determine the three-stage level such as the high, moderate and low. Findings indicated that the work environment at a moderate level, but the facilities provided insufficient to carry out educational activities with children. The result based on ranking of duties and responsibilities of teachers in multi-ethnic preschool shows the teachers practice daily record of children's development is very little, that only 65 persons are recording the child's development. The poor ratio of teachers and child in multi-ethnic preschool is between 25 to 35 children per class which means the children need a lot of attention. Meanwhile, the work environment is moderate with a mean score of 3.65 and overall mean score for level of staff career development 3.66 also moderate. The findings indicate the facilities provided in their workplace and staff career development requires improvements. Overall, the level of work environment is moderate, and it needs an improvement in term of facilities.

Keywords: environment, human resources, multi-ethnic preschool, quality teacher

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Authors: Dyah Adi Sriwahyuni

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Institutional work has become a prominent and contemporary institutional theory perspective in organization studies. A wealth of studies in organizations have explored actor activities in creating, maintaining, and disrupting institutions at the field level. However, the exploration of the work of actors in creating new management practices at the organizational level has been somewhat limited. The current institutional work literature mostly describes the work of actors at the field level and ignores organizational actors who work to realize management practices. Organizational actors here are defined as actors in organizations who work to institutionalize a particular management practice within the organizations. The extant literature has also generalized the types of management practices, which meant overlooking the unique characteristics of each management fashion as well as a management practice. To fill these gaps, this study aims to provide empirical evidence so as to contribute theoretically to institutional work through a comparative case study on organizational actors’ creation of knowledge management (KM) practice in two public sector organizations in Indonesia. KM is a contemporary management practice employed to manage individual and organizational knowledge in order to improve organizational performance. This practice presents a suitable practical setting with which to provide a rich understanding of the organizational actors’ institutional work and their connection with technology. Drawing on and extending the work of Perkmann and Spicer (2008), this study explores the forms of institutional work performed by organizational actors, including their motivation, skills, challenges, and opportunities. The primary data collection is semi-structured interviews with knowledgeable actors and document analysis for validity and triangulation. Following Eisenhardt's cross-case patterns, the researcher analyzed the collected data focusing on within-group similarities and intergroup differences. The researcher coded interview data using NVivo and used documents to corroborate the findings. The study’s findings add to the wealth of institutional theory literature in organization studies, particularly institutional work related to management practices. This study builds a theory about the work of organizational actors in creating knowledge management practices. Using the perspective of institutional work, research can show the roles of the various actors involved, their practices, and their relationship to technology (materiality), not only focusing on actors with a power which has been the theorizing of institutional entrepreneurship. The development of knowledge management practices in the Indonesian public sector is also a significant additional contribution, given that the current KM literature is dominated by conceptualizing the KM framework and the impact of KM on organizations. The public sector, which is the research setting, also provides important lessons on how actors in a highly institutionalized context are creating an institution, in this case, a knowledge management practice.

Keywords: institutional work, knowledge management, case study, public sector organizations

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Authors: M. A. H. Barry

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The concept of Good faith (husn al-niyyah) and fair-dealing (Nadl) are the fundamental guiding elements in all contracts and other agreements under Islamic law. The preaching of Al-Quran and Prophet Muhammad’s (Peace Be upon Him) firmly command people to act in good faith in all dealings. There are several Quran verses and the Prophet’s saying which stressed the significance of dealing honestly and fairly in all transactions. Under the English law, the good faith is not considered a fundamental requirement for the formation of a legal contract. However, the concept of Good Faith in private contracts is recognized by the civil law system and in Article 7(1) of the Convention on International Sale of Goods (CISG-Vienna Convention-1980). It took several centuries for the international trading community to recognize the significance of the concept of good faith for the international sale of goods transactions. Nevertheless, the recognition of good faith in Civil law is only confined for the commercial contracts. Subsequently to the CISG, this concept has made inroads into the private international law. There are submissions in favour of applying the good faith concept to public international law based on tacit recognition by the international conventions and International Tribunals. However, under public international law the concept of good faith is not recognized as a source of rights or obligations. This weakens the spirit of the good faith concept, particularly when determining the international disputes. This also creates a fundamental flaw because the absence of good faith application means the breaches tainted by bad faith are tolerated. The objective of this research is to evaluate, examine and analyze the application of the concept of good faith in the modern laws and identify its limitation, in comparison with Islamic concept of good faith. This paper also identifies the problems and issues connected with the non-application of this concept to public international law. This research consists of three key components (1) the preliminary inquiry (2) subject analysis and discovery of research results, and (3) examining the challenging problems, and concluding with proposals. The preliminary inquiry is based on both the primary and secondary sources. The same sources are used for the subject analysis. This research also has both inductive and deductive features. The Islamic concept of good faith covers all situations and circumstances where the bad faith causes unfairness to the affected parties, especially the weak parties. Under the Islamic law, the concept of good faith is a source of rights and obligations as Islam prohibits any person committing wrongful or delinquent acts in any dealing whether in a private or public life. This rule is applicable not only for individuals but also for institutions, states, and international organizations. This paper explains how the unfairness is caused by non-recognition of the good faith concept as a source of rights or obligations under public international law and provides legal and non-legal reasons to show why the Islamic formulation is important.

Keywords: good faith, the civil law system, the Islamic concept, public international law

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Authors: Haleh Dadgostar, Faramarz Akbari, Hosien Vahid Tari, Masoud Solaymani-Dodaran, Mohammad Razi

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Introduction: There are a number of exercises-protocols have been applied to improve low back pain. We compared the effect of supervised exercise therapy and home-based exercise therapy among patients with nonspecific chronic low back pain. Methods: 70 patients with nonspecific chronic low back pain were randomly (using a random number generator, excel) divided into two groups to compare the effects of two types of exercise therapy. After a common educational session to learn how to live with low back pain as well as to use core training protocols to strengthen the muscles, the subjects were randomly assigned to follow supervised exercise therapy (n = 31) or home-based exercise therapy (n = 34) for 20 weeks. Results: Although both types of exercise programs resulted in reduced pain, this factor decreased more significantly in supervised exercise program. All scores of fitness improved significantly in supervised exercise group. But only knee extensor strength score was increased in the home base exercise group. Conclusion: Comparing between two types of exercise, supervised group exercise showed more effective than the other one. Reduction in low back pain severity and improvement in muscle flexibility and strength can be more achieved by using a 20-week supervised exercise program compared to the home-based exercise program in patients with nonspecific chronic low back pain.

Keywords: low back pain, anthropometric parameters, supervised exercise therapy, home-based exercise therapy

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Authors: Nada Abdelsadig Moahamed Saied

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Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and other similar traditional cultural practices pose a significant problem for Sudanese society. Such actions are severe and seriously detrimental to people's health since they are based on false social perceptions. To address these problems, numerous institutions and organizations were compelled to act rapidly. Female circumcision, or FGM, is one of the riskiest practices. It is referred to as the excision of the genitalia. Any surgeries involving the total or partial removal of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons fall under this category. The results of FGM can vary depending on the kind and degree of the operation. These can be categorized as short-term, mid-term, or long-term issues. Infections, including the Human, blood, discomfort, and difficulty urinating are the immediate effects. FGM is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as practices that purposefully damage or modify female genital organs for non-medical purposes. It often takes place between the ages of one and fifteen. The girl's right to decide on important choices affecting her sexual and reproductive health is violated because the act is usually performed without her consent and frequently against her will. UNICEF, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, aggressively combats the issue of FGM in Sudan. Numerous programs were started by NGOs to stop the practice. To our knowledge, no scientific study has been conducted to evaluate the effects of such social marketing techniques on simulating and comprehending society’s feelings surrounding FGM. This study proposes the development of a structural equation model aiming to determine the impact of awareness programs on people’s intentions to adopt the behavior of abandoning FGM based on theoretical models of behavior change. The model incorporates all the relevant factors that contribute to FGM and possible strategic actions to tackle this problem. The theoretical backdrop for FGM is presented in the next section, which also explains the practice's history, justifications, and potential treatments. The methodology section that follows describes the structural equation model. The proposed model, which compiles all the pertinent elements into a single image, is presented in the fourth part. Finally, conclusions are reached, and suggestions for further research are made.

Keywords: social marketing, policy-making, behavioral change, female genital mutilation, culture

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Authors: Keith Schofield, Leigh Morland

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Storytelling is an established means of leadership and management development and is also considered a form of leadership of self and others in its own right. This study focuses on the utility of storytelling in the development of management narratives in an MBA programme; sources include programme participants as well as international recruiters, whose voices are often only heard in terms of economic contribution and globalisation. For many MBA candidates, the return to study requires the development of a new identity which complements their professional identity; each candidate has their own journey and expectations, the use of story can enable candidates to explore their aspirations and assumptions and give voice to previously unspoken ideas. For international recruitment, the story of market development and change must be captured if MBAs are to remain fit for purpose. If used effectively, story acts as a form of critical reflection that can inform the learning journeys of individuals, emerging identities as well as the ongoing design and development of programmes. The landscape of management education is shifting; the MBA begins to attract a different kind of candidate, some are younger than before, others are seeking validation for their existing work practices, yet more are entrepreneurial and wish to capitalise on an institutional experience to further their career. There is a shift in context, creating uncertainty and ambiguity for programme managers and recruiters, thus requiring institutions to create a new MBA narrative. This study utilises Lego SeriousPlay as the means to engaging programme participants and international agents in telling the story of their MBA. We asked MBA participants to tell the story of their leadership and management aspirations and compare these to stories of their development journeys, allowing for critical reflection of their respective development gaps. We asked international recruiters, who act as university agents and promote courses in the student’s country of origin, to explore their mental models of MBA candidates and their learning agenda. The purpose of this process was to explore the agent’s perception of the MBA programme and to articulate the student journey from a recruitment perspective. The paper’s unique contribution is in combining these stories in order to explore the assumptions that determine programme design. Data drawn from reflective statements together with images of Lego ‘builds’ created the opportunity for reflection between the mental models of these groups. Findings will inform the design of the MBA journey and experience; we review the extent to which the changing identities of learners are congruent with programme design. Data from international recruiters also determines the extent to which marketing and recruitment strategies identify with would be candidates.

Keywords: critical reflection, programme management, recruitment, storytelling

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Authors: Xiaohan Gao, Kai Liu

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As essential components of urban areas, primary and secondary schools are extensively distributed throughout various regions of the city. During times of urban disturbances, these schools become direct carriers of complex disruptions. Therefore, fostering resilient schools becomes a pivotal driving force to promote high-quality urban development and a cornerstone of sustainable school growth. This paper adopts the theory of spatial resilience and focuses on primary and secondary schools in Chinese cities as the research subject. The study first explores the potential disturbance risks faced by schools and delves into the origin and concept of spatial resilience in the educational context. Subsequently, the paper conducts a meta-analysis to characterize the spatial resilience of primary and secondary schools and devises a spatial resilience planning mechanism. Drawing insights from exemplary cases both domestically and internationally, the research formulates spatial and planning resilience strategies for primary and secondary schools to cope with perturbations. These strategies encompass creating an overall layout that integrates harmoniously with nature, promoting organic growth in the planning structure, fostering ecological balance in the landscape system, and enabling dynamic adaptation in architectural spaces. By cultivating the capacity for "resistance-adaptation-transformation," these approaches support sustainable development within the school space. The ultimate goal of this project is to establish a cohesive and harmonious layout that advances the sustainable development of primary and secondary schools while contributing to the overall resilience of urban areas.

Keywords: complex disruption, primary and secondary schools, spatial resilience, sustainable development

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Authors: Imkongtenla Pongen

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Self Help Groups (SGHs) are socio-commercial instruments in addressing urban poverty and strengthening livelihoods. Being a member of Self Help Group helped in mutual exchanges of ideas, develop risk taking behaviour, learns flexibility in planning of a programme, and interpersonal communication within the group. In the present study, an attempt has been made to examine the functions, characteristics and practices of Self Help Groups and its impact on sustainable development among the Ao Nagas of Alongkima, Nagaland, NorthEast India. They are a tribal group and racially belong to the Mongoloid stock and linguistically to the Tibeto-Burman group. They follow endogamous, patriarchal, and patrilineal system. Major characteristics of Self Help groups in this study are found to be team spirit and group cohesiveness. Such groups are found to be geared towards a number of self-sufficiency based business ventures. The problems faced in normal functioning of the groups are unpunctuality and the inability to attend a meeting by all the members .Participation in such groups has increased women’s influence over the economic resources and decision making in the household, improved self-confidence and living standard, capacity building, self- dependent and self-reliant with no educational and entrepreneurial background, generate savings and hone their skills as motivators and leaders. All these has enhanced her status in every sphere of life in par with the opposite gender. In a nutshell, we can say that what she cannot achieve as an individual, she can achieve as a member of a Self Help Group. Hence, we should try to develop mechanisms to guarantee the sustainability of Self Help Groups which depends on the way they can deal with both internal and external conflicts like globalization and competition from new markets.

Keywords: Ao nagas, microfinance, self help group, women empowerment

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Authors: Raveena Naz

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The concept of ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ (CSR) has often relied on firms thinking beyond their economic interest despite the larger debate of shareholder versus stakeholder interest. India gave legal recognition to CSR in the Companies Act, 2013 which promises better corporate governance. CSR in India is believed to be different for two reasons: the dominance of family business and the history of practice of social responsibility as a form of philanthropy (mainly among the family business). This paper problematises the actual structure of business houses in India and the role of CSR in India. When the law identifies each company as a separate business entity, the economics of institutions emphasizes the ‘business group’ consisting of a plethora of firms as the institutional organization of business. The capital owned or controlled by the family group is spread across the firms through the interholding (interlocked holding) structures. This creates peculiar implications for CSR legislation in India. The legislation sets criteria for individual firms to undertake liability of mandatory CSR if they are above a certain threshold. Within this framework, the largest family firms which are all part of family owned business groups top the CSR expenditure list. The interholding structures, common managers, auditors and series of related party transactions among these firms help the family to run the business as a ‘family business’ even when the shares are issued to the public. This kind of governance structure allows family owned business group to show mandatory compliance of CSR even when they actually spend much less than what is prescribed by law. This aspect of the family firms is not addressed by the CSR legislation in particular or corporate governance legislation in general in India. The paper illustrates this with an empirical study of one of the largest family owned business group in India which is well acclaimed for its CSR activities. The individual companies under the business group are identified, shareholding patterns explored, related party transactions investigated, common managing authorities are identified; and assets, liabilities and profit/loss accounting practices are analysed. The data has been mainly collected from mandatory disclosures in the annual reports and financial statements of the companies within the business group accessed from the official website of the ultimate controlling authority. The paper demonstrates how the business group through these series of shareholding network reduces its legally mandated CSR liability. The paper thus indicates the inadequacy of CSR legislation in India because the unit of compliance is an individual firm and it assumes that each firm is independent and only connected to each other through market dealings. The law does not recognize the inter-connections of firms in corporate governance structures of family owned business group and hence is inadequate in its design to effect the threshold level of CSR expenditure. This is the central argument of the paper.

Keywords: business group, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, family firm

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Authors: Mohamed Elmogbail

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The present study aimed at investigating difficulties those Translators encounter in understanding idiomatic expressions between Arabic and English languages. To achieve this goal, the researcher raised the three questions are:(1) What are the major difficulties that translators encounter in translating idiomatic expressions? (2) What factors cause such difficulties that translators encountered in translating idiomatic expressions? (3) What are the possible techniques that should be followed to overcome these difficulties? To answer these questions, the researcher designed questionnaire Table (2) and mentioned tables related to Test Show the second question in the study is about the factors that stand behind the challenges. Translators encounter while translating idiomatic expressions. The translators asked Provided the following factors:1- Because of lack of exposure to the source culture, they do not know the connotations of the cultural words that are related to the environment, food, folklore 2- Misusing dictionaries made the participants unable to find a proper target language idiomatic expression. 3-Lack of using idiomatic expressions in daily life. Table (3): (Questionnaire) Results to the table (3) Questions Of the study are About suggestions that can be inferred to handle these challenges. The questioned translators provided the following solutions:1- translators must be exposed to source language culture, including religion, habits, and traditions.2- translators should also be exposed to source language idiomatic expressions by introducing English culture in textbooks and through participating in extensive English culture courses.3- translators should be familiar with the differences between source and target language cultures.4- translators should avoid literal translation that results in most cases in wrong or poor translation.5- Schools, universities, and institutions should introduce translators to English culture.6- translators should participate in cultural workshops at universities.7- translators should try to use idiomatic expressions in everyday situations.8- translators should read more idiomatic expressions books. And researcher also designed a translation test consisted of 40 excerpts given to a random sample of 100 Translators in Khartoum capital of Sudan to translate them. After Collected data for the study, the researcher proceeded to a more detailed analysis, the methodology used in the analysis of idiomatic expressions Is empirical and descriptive. This study is qualitative by nature, but the quantitative method used the analysis of the data. Some figure and statistics are used, such as (statistical package for the social sciences). The researcher calculated the percentage proportion of each translation expressions. And compared them to each other. The finding of the study showed that most translations are inadequate as the translators faced difficulties while communication, these difficulties were mostly due to their unfamiliarity with idiomatic expressions producing improper equivalence in the communication, and not being able to use translation techniques as required, and resorted to literal translation, furthermore, the study recommended that more comprehensive studies to executed on translating idiomatic expressions to enrich the translation field.

Keywords: translation, translators, idioms., expressions

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Authors: Susanne Shunnaq

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During the past decade, an increasing number of higher education institutions in Oman have sought accreditation in an attempt to assure the quality of their programs. Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), the only public university in the country, has also been seeking accreditation. Hence, the university administration has been encouraging departments to evaluate their programs for development purposes. The Department of English, where 100% of the students are learners of English as a foreign language, already produced a self-study report that outlined the strength and weaknesses of the current program. The department came to the realization that due to a changing local and regional job market, transferrable communication skills are high in demand among stakeholders in the public and private sectors. Failure to equip English literature students, for example, with excellent verbal communicative skills in English may have detrimental effects for undergraduate job-seekers who have to compete for jobs in employment sectors with a predominantly English-speaking workforce. Ongoing extensive discussions about restructuring the current literature program by means of partially replacing literature courses with skills courses, hoping to produce higher quality graduates who are equipped with effective communication skills for local and regional markets, have sparked the idea for this research. The researcher, who is an American Literature specialist at SQU, has set out to investigate to what extent senior American literature students have been able to apply transferable communication skills in an advanced literature course. The study also attempts to unearth performance inhibitors and causes for communication breakdown. The primary data source for the study were audio-recordings of 6 in-class peer-group discussions in an advanced contemporary American literature course during the academic year 2016/2017. The significance of this research lies in the rarity of studies focusing on verbal communication skills in Omani higher education literature classrooms at a time when English programs are in the process of being re-visited and revamped both for accreditation purposes and for meeting job-market demands. The results showed a considerable variation in Omani students' verbal communicative abilities and English proficiency levels. The study also raises crucial questions and provides important recommendations for administrators and teachers alike who are in the process of restructuring English programs in the region and in non-English speaking countries worldwide.

Keywords: job-market, literature, Oman, tertiary education, oral communication skills

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Authors: Witthaya Mekhum, Jinjutha Srihera

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This research aims to study customer satisfaction towards the services of Baan Bueng Resort in Nongprue Subdistrict, Baanlamung District, Chonburi Province. 108 sample were drawn by random sampling from Thai and foreign tourists at Baan Bueng Resort. Questionnaires were distributed. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean (X) and standard deviation (S.D.). The tool used in this research was questionnaire on satisfaction towards the services of Baan Bueng Resort in Nongprue Subdistrict, Baanlamung District, Chonburi Province. The questionnaire can be divided into 3 parts; i.e. Part 1: General information i.e. gender, age, educational level, occupation, income, and nationality, Part 2: Customer satisfaction towards the services of Baan Bueng Resort; and Part 3: Suggestions of respondents. It can be concluded that most of the respondents are male, aged between 25 – 35 years old with bachelor degree. Most of them are private company employees with income 10,000–20,000 Baht per month. The majority of customers are satisfied with the services at Baan Beung Resort. Overall satisfaction is at good level. Considering each item, the item with the highest satisfaction level is personality and manner of employees and promptness and accuracy of cashier staff. Overall satisfaction towards the cleanliness of the rooms is at very good level. When considering each item, the item with the highest satisfaction level is that the guest room is cleaned everyday, while the satisfaction towards the quality of food and beverages at Baan Bueng Resort in Nongprue Subdistrict, Baanlamung District, Chonburi Province is at very good level. The item with the highest satisfaction is hotel facilities.

Keywords: satisfaction study, service, hotel, customer

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Authors: Gülden Küçükakça, Şefika Dilek Güven, Rahşan Kolutek, Seçil Taylan

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Objective: Nursing students face with stress factors affecting academic performance and quality of life as from first moments of their educational life. Stress causes health problems in students such as physical, psycho-social, and behavioral disorders and might damage formation of professional identity by decreasing efficiency of education. In addition to determination of stress experienced by nursing students during their education, it was aimed to help review theoretical and clinical education settings for bringing stress of nursing students into positive level and to raise awareness of educators concerning their own professional behaviors. Methods: The study was conducted with 315 students studying at nursing department of Semra and Vefa Küçük Health High School, Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University in the academic year of 2015-2016 and agreed to participate in the study. “Personal Information Form” prepared by the researchers upon the literature review and “Nursing Education Stress Scale (NESS)” were used in this study. Data were assessed with analysis of variance and correlation analysis. Results: Mean NESS Scale score of the nursing students was estimated to be 66.46±16.08 points. Conclusions: As a result of this study, stress level experienced by nursing undergraduate students during their education was determined to be high. In accordance with this result, it can be recommended to determine sources of stress experienced by nursing undergraduate students during their education and to develop approaches to eliminate these stress sources.

Keywords: stress, nursing education, nursing student, nursing education stress

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Authors: E. Sahar

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Civic political knowledge is crucial for the stability of democratic countries. In the USA, Americans have poor knowledge about their constitution and their political systems. Some states such as Florida State suffers from a huge decline in civics comparing to the National Average. This study concerns with using new technologies such as augmented reality to engage students in learning civics in classrooms. This is a participatory study, which engage teachers in the process of designing augmented reality civic games. The researcher used survey to find out the materials that teachers struggle with while teaching civics. Four lessons were found the most difficult to teach for middle school students: SS7C1.1 Enlightenment thinkers, SS7C1.2 influencing documents, SS7C1.7-Weakness of the Articles of Confederation, and Forms and systems of governments. For the limited scope of this study, we focused on “Forms and Systems of governments’ as the main project. Augmented Reality is used to help students to engage in learning civics through building a game that is based on the pedagogy constructivism theory. The resulted project meets the educational requirements for civics, provide students with more knowledge in at stake issues such as migration and citizenship, and help them to build leadership skills while playing in groups. The augmented reality game is also designed to test the students learning for each stage. This study helps to generate insightful implications for the use of augmented reality by educators, researchers, instructional designers, and developers who are interested in integrating technology in teaching civics for students in middle school classrooms.

Keywords: augmented reality, games, civics teaching, Florida middle school

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Authors: Kruger Uys

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Poetry analysis plays a vital role in promoting critical thinking, literary appreciation, and language skills among learners. This paper proposes an innovative multimodal teaching approach that combines traditional textual analysis of poems with multimodal educational semiotic analysis of animated poetry films. The aim is to present a methodological framework through which poetry concepts and elements, along with the visual and auditory components in animated poetry films, can be comprehensively illuminated. Traditional textual analysis involves close reading, linguistic examination, and thematic exploration to identify, discuss, and apply poetry concepts. When combined with a multimodal edusemiotic analysis of the semiotic signs and codes present in animated poetry films, new perspectives emerge that enrich the interpretation of poetry. Furthermore, the proposed integrated approach, as prescribed by CAPS, enhances a holistic understanding of poetry terminology and elements, as well as complex linguistic and visual patterns that promote visual literacy, refined data interpretation skills, and learner engagement in the poetry classroom. To illustrate this phenomenon, the poem My mamma is bossies (My mom’s bonkers) by Jeanne Goosen (prescribed for Grade 10 Afrikaans Home Language learners in the CAPS curriculum) will be discussed. This study aims to contribute to the existing Afrikaans poetry curriculum but also equip all language educators to cultivate poetry appreciation, critical thinking, and creativity among learners in the ever-evolving landscape of education.

Keywords: edusemiotics, multimodality, poetry education, animated poetry films

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Authors: C. K. Kishore Kumar, B. P. Aruna

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We have made an attempt to analyze the role of sports in the contemporary society. This paper critically analyses how developed as well as developing countries spend huge amount of money every year in conducting various sports and games, development of sports infrastructure, manufacturing of sports equipment and get into bidding to organize international events like Olympic, World Cup games like foot ball, soccer, tennis etc., Throughout the world, Sports and Commerce have joined together. Sports in today’s world has become a large profit making industry. An attempt is further made to understand that the players or sports persons are only a small part of this huge industry, more than the players, there are various other people, corporations, Nation as a whole who are making huge profits from the sports industry. This industrialization has indeed changed the whole scenario of sports. Top level sports are purely a business nowadays and so fans are sucked into believing they are part of their club. In reality they are merely cash cows to be milked by a greedy, grasping and corrupt business that cares nothing but making money. In no previous time period have we seen the type of growth in the commercialization of sports that we have seen in the last 3 decades. Athletes are leveled with prize money and/or appearances fees so much so, that injuries may be ignored, educational opportunities are put aside in the quest for success which is ultimately money. Industrialization and commercialization of sports has taken a key role in the economic development of the country. The purpose of this paper is to explore as to how sports once considered as a leisure time activity has become an activity for money and in turn has taken a lead role in the economic development of a country.

Keywords: contemporary society, economic development, industrialization of sports, commercialization of sports, leisure time activity

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Authors: Vania Helena Tonussi Vidal, Ester Eliane Jeunon

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This article aims to analyze the change processes of management related bureaucracy and learning organization model. The theoretical framework was based on Beer and Nohria (2001) model, identified as E and O Theory. Based on this theory the empirical research was conducted in connection with six key dimensions: goal, leadership, focus, process, reward systems and consulting. We used a case study of an educational Institution located in Barbacena, Minas Gerais. This traditional center of technical knowledge for long time adopted the bureaucratic way of management. After many changes in a business model, as the creation of graduate and undergraduate courses they decided to make a deep change in management model that is our research focus. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with director, managers and courses supervisors. The analysis were processed by the procedures of Collective Subject Discourse (CSD) method, develop by Lefèvre & Lefèvre (2000), Results showed the incremental growing of management model toward a learning organization. Many impacts could be seeing. As negative factors we have: people resistance; poor information about the planning and implementation process; old politics inside the new model and so on. Positive impacts are: new procedures in human resources, mainly related to manager skills and empowerment; structure downsizing, open discussions channel; integrated information system. The process is still under construction and now great stimulus is done to managers and employee commitment in the process.

Keywords: bureaucracy, organizational learning, organizational change, E and O theory

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Authors: T. Keiller, E. Hindman, P. Hassmen, K. Radford, L. Lavrencic

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Background: Psychosocial disadvantage is associated with impaired cognitive abilities, with executive functioning (EF) abilities particularly vulnerable. EF abilities strongly predict general daily functioning, educational and career prospects, and health choices. A reliable and valid assessment of EF is important to support appropriate care and intervention strategies. However, evidence-based EF assessment tools for use with Aboriginal Australians are limited. Aim and Method: This research aims to develop and validate a culturally appropriate EF tool for use with indigenous Australians. To this end, Study One aims to review current literature examining the benefits and disadvantages of current EF assessment tools for use with Indigenous Australians. Study Two aims to collate expert opinion on the strengths and weaknesses of various current EF assessment tools for use with Indigenous Australians using Delphi methodology with experienced psychologists (n = 10). The initial two studies will inform the development of a culturally appropriate assessment tool. Study Three aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of the tool with an Indigenous sample living in the New South Wales Mid-North Coast. The study aims to quantify the predictive validity of this tool via comparison to functionality predictors and neuropsychological assessment scores. Study Four aims to collect qualitative data surrounding the feasibility and acceptability of the tool among indigenous Australians and health professionals. Expected Results: Findings from this research are likely to inform cognitive assessment practices and tool selection for health professionals conducting cognitive assessments with Indigenous Australians. Improved assessment of EF will inform appropriate care and intervention strategies for individuals with EF deficits.

Keywords: aboriginal Australians, assessment tool, cognition, executive functioning

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Authors: Vineesh Amin, Ananya Agrawal

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In a prolonged period of uncertainty and disruptions in the pre-said normal order, non-cognitive skills, especially entrepreneurial mindsets, have become a pillar that can reform the educational models to inform the economy. Dreamverse Learning Lab’s IVR-based storytelling program -Call-a-Kahaani- is an evolving experiment with an aim to kindle entrepreneurial mindsets in the remotest locations of India in an accessible and engaging manner. At the heart of this experiment is the belief that at every phase in our life’s story, we have a choice which brings us closer to achieving our true potential. This interactive program is thus designed using real-time storytelling principles to empower learners, ages 24 and below, to make choices and take decisions as they become more self-aware, practice grit, try new things through stories, guided activities, and interactions, simply over a phone call. This research paper highlights the framework behind an ongoing scalable, data-oriented, low-tech program to kindle entrepreneurial mindsets in media dark zones supported by iterative design and prototyping to reach 13700+ unique learners who made 59000+ calls for 183900+min listening duration to listen to content pieces of around 3 to 4 min, with the last monitored (March 2022) record of 34% serious listenership, within one and a half years of its inception. The paper provides an in-depth account of the technical development, content creation, learning, and assessment frameworks, as well as mobilization models which have been leveraged to build this end-to-end system.

Keywords: non-cognitive skills, entrepreneurial mindsets, speech interface, remote learning, storytelling

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Authors: Aleme Mekuria, Samuel Mathewos

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Background: Teenage pregnancy has long been a worldwide social, economic and educational concern for the developed, developing and underdeveloped countries. Studies on adolescent sexuality and pregnancy are very limited in our country. Therefore, this study aims at assessing the prevalence of teenage pregnancy and its determinants among school adolescents of Arba Minch town. Methods: Institution- based, cross-sectional study was conducted from 20-30 March 2014. Systematic sampling technique was used to select a total of 578 students from four schools of the town. Data were collected by trained data collectors using a pre-tested, self-administered structured questionnaire. The analysis was made using the software SPSS version 20.0 statistical packages. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the predictors of teenage pregnancy. Results: The prevalence of teenage pregnancy among school adolescents of Arba Minch town was 7.7%. Being grade11(AOR=4.6;95%CI:1.4,9.3) and grade12 student (AOR=5.8;95% CI:1.3,14.4), not knowing the correct time to take emergency contraceptives(AOR=3.3;95%CI:1.4,7.4), substance use(AOR=3.1;95%CI:1.1,8.8), living with either of biological parents (AOR=3.3;95%CI:1.1,8.7) and poor parent-daughter interaction (AOR=3.1;95%CI:1.1,8.7) were found to be significant predictors of teenage pregnancy. Conclusion: This study revealed a high level of teenage pregnancy among school adolescents of Arba Minch town. A significant number of adolescent female school students were at risk of facing the challenges of teenage pregnancy in the study area. School-based reproductive health education and strong parent-daughter relationships should be strengthened.

Keywords: adolescent, Arba minch, risk factors, school, southern Ethiopia, teenage pregnancy

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Authors: Izzati Nabiyla Risfa

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The role of civil society has become an important issue in national and international level nowadays. Government all over the world started to realize that the involvement of civil society can boost up public services and better policy making. Global Policy Forum stated that there are five good reasons for civil society to be engaged in global governance; (1) to conferring legitimacy on policy decisions; (2) to increasing the pool of policy ideas; (3) to support less powerful governments; (4) countering a lack of political will; and (5) helping states to put nationalism aside. Indonesia also keeps up with this good trend. In November 2011, Indonesian Government set up LAPOR! (means “to report” in Indonesian), an online portal for complaints about public services, which is accessible through its website lapor.ukp.go.id. LAPOR! also accessible through social media (Twitter, Facebook) and text message. This program is an initiative from the government to provide an integrated and accessible portal for the Indonesian public to submit complaints and inquiries as a means of enhancing public participation in national development programs. LAPOR! aims to catalyze public participation as well as to have a more coordinated national complaint handling mechanism. The goal of this program is to increase the role of civil society in order to develop better public services. Thus, LAPOR! works in a simplest way possible. Public can submit any complaints or report their problem concerning development programs and public services simply through the website, short message services to 1708 and mobile applications for BlackBerry and Android. LAPOR! will then transfer every validated input to relevant institutions to be featured and responded on the website. LAPOR! is now integrated with 81 Ministries, 5 local government, and 44 State Owned Enterprise. Public can also give comments, likes or share them through Facebook and Twitter to have a discussion and to ensure the completeness of the reports. LAPOR! has unexpectedly contributed to various successful cases concerning public services. So far the portal has over 280,704 registered users, receiving an average of 1,000 reports every day. Government's response rate increase time to time, with 81% of complaints and inquiries have been solved or are being investigated. This paper will examine the effectiveness of LAPOR! as a tools to increase the role of civil society in order to develop better public services in Indonesia. Beside their promising story, there still are various difficulties that need to be solved. With qualitative approach as methodology for this research, writers will also explore potential improvement of LAPOR! so it can perform effectively as a leading national complaint handling system in Indonesia.

Keywords: civil society, government, Indonesia, public services

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Authors: Laura Dumuje

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The ongoing debate in terms of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative in Niger Delta originates from existing gap between stated objectives of organizations in the Nigerian oil sector and the activities that threaten the economy. CSR in developing countries is becoming popular, and to contribute to scientific knowledge, we need to research on CSR practices and discourse in indigenous Nigeria that is scarce. Despite governments mandate in terms of unofficial gas blazing, methane is being released into the atmosphere which contributes to global warming. Does this practice apply to indigenous companies? In this context, we need to investigate CSR policies in local Nigeria. To get a better understanding of CSR among indigenous oil companies in Nigeria, our study focuses on discourse and rhetoric in terms of CSR, as well as growth regarding CSR. This current study contribution is twofold: on the one hand, it aims to better understand practitioner’s rationale and fundamentals of CSR in Nigerian oil companies. On the other hand, it intends to identify the stages of CSR initiatives, advantages and difficulties of CSR implementation in indigenous Nigeria oil sector. This study will use the qualitative research as methodological strategy. Instrument for data collection is semi-structured interview. Besides interview, we will conduct some focus group discussions with relevant stakeholders. Participants for this study consist of employees, managers and top level executives of indigenous oil companies in Nigeria. Key informants such as government institutions, environmental organizations and community leaders will take part of our samples. It is important to note that despite significant findings in some studies, there are still some gaps. To help filling this existing gaps, we have formulated some research questions, as follows: ‘What are the stages, opportunities and obstacles of having corporate social responsibility practice in indigenous oil companies in Nigeria?’ This ongoing research sub-questions as follows: What are the CSR discourses and practices among indigenous companies in the Nigerian oil sector? What is the actual status regarding CSR development? What are the main perceptions of opportunities and obstacles with regard to CSR in indigenous Nigerian oil companies? Who are the main stakeholders of indigenous Nigerian oil companies and their different meanings and understandings of CSR practices? Important to note regarding the above questions, the following objectives have been determined: This research conducts a literature review with the aim of uncovering, understanding and identifying importance of CSR practices in western and developing countries; It aims to identify specific characteristics of the national context in respect to CSR engagement in Nigeria; Relevant to perform empirical research with employees, managers, executives, and key informants in indigenous Nigerian oil companies in order to identify different understandings of CSR initiatives and its relevance to the society; To conclude, provide managerial recommendations regarding the adoption of CSR in Nigeria.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, indigenous, organization, Nigeria

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Authors: F. Agbele

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Elections are core democratic institutions. Consequently, voter participation during elections is paramount to democratic governance as it serves as a medium to legitimize authority and make the privileges of electoral democracy meaningful to citizens. To this effect, the topic of voter mobilization and subsequent turnout level have been largely studied in advanced democracies. In young and consolidating democracies, the debate has, however, revolves around the huge reliance on ethnic and regional appeals. According to the Author’s knowledge, studies on electoral mobilization especially within the African context have argued the use of ethnic linkages by political parties to mobilize voters during elections. Literature has however not differentiated between the level of democratic dispensation among African countries and the use of ethnic linkages. The question, however, is whether the state of the country’s democracy determines the strategies employed by political parties to induce voter participation. In other words, do parties simply play ethno-regional cards as strongly suggested by literature or will consider an arrayed of strategies to mobilize voters? Additionally, studies have not differentiated the impact of mobilization strategy within a country, i.e. between high to low turnout areas. They have also not distinguished between strategies employed by an incumbent or an opposition party. This paper, therefore, is a comparative analysis of voter mobilization in Ghana. It uses original survey and interview data from three constituencies in Ghana: Nanton, Assin North, and Ellembelle, which are typical cases of high, average and low turnout areas, respectively. The data were concurrently collected during fieldworks conducted in November 2016 to February 2017, and again from July to August 2017. The study found that political parties within a consolidating democracy employ a blend of strategies to ensure turnout by both parties’ faithful and swing voters. The dominant strategies used depends on whether the party is an incumbent or in opposition. While an incumbent may depend more on personalistic and clientelistic strategies, parties in opposition will largely use programmatic strategies, which entails making many campaign promises. Additionally, opposition parties do use clientelistic tactics, but not on the same level as the incumbent. Similarly, within the context of this study, the use of ethnic linkage by political parties to mobilize voters has not been found to be as strong as suggested in the literature. Further, location was key in determining the strategy to use. In all, the consolidation process of a democratic country like Ghana means the change of mobilization strategies used by political parties, which entail a gradual shift from ethnic linkages to programmatic and other forms of non-programmatic strategies.

Keywords: comparative analysis, elections, mobilization strategies, voter turnout

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Authors: Shoaib Alvi

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Mahatma Gandhi was said “Man becomes great exactly in the degree in which he works for the welfare of his fellow-men”. Labor welfare is an important fact of Industrial relations. With the growth of industrialization, mechanization and computerization, labor welfare measures have got the fillip. The author believes that Labor welfare includes provisions of various facilities and amenities in and around the work place for the better life of the workers. Labor welfare is, thus, one of the major determinants of industrial relations. It comprises all human efforts the work place for the better life of the worker. The social and economic aspects of the life of the workers have the direct influence on the social and economic development of the nation. Author thinks that there could be multiple objectives in having, labor welfare programme the concern for improving the lot of the workers, a philosophy of humanitarianism or internal social responsibility, a feeling of concern, and caring by providing some of life's basic amenities, besides the basic pay packet. Such caring is supposed to build a sense of loyalty on the part of the employee towards the organization. The author thinks that Social security is the security that the State furnishes against the risks which an individual of small means cannot today, stand up to by himself even in private combination with his fellows. Social security is one of the pillars on which the structure of a welfare state rests, and it constitutes the hardcore of social policy in most countries. It is through social security measures that the state attempts to maintain every citizen at a certain prescribed level below which no one is allowed to fall. According to author, social assistance is a method according to which benefits are given to the needy persons, fulfilling the prescribed conditions, by the government out of its own resources. Author has analyzed and studied the relationship between the labor welfare social security and also studied various international conventions on provisions of social security by International Authorities like United Nations, International Labor Organization, and European Union etc. Author has also studied and analyzed concept of labor welfare and social security schemes of many countries around the globe ex:- Social security in Australia, Social security in Switzerland, Social Security (United States), Mexican Social Security Institute, Welfare in Germany, Social security schemes of India for labor welfare in both organized sector and unorganized sector. In this Research paper, Author has done the study on the Conceptual framework of the Labour Welfare. According to author, labors are highly perishable, which need constant welfare measures for their upgradation and performance in this field. At last author has studied role of trade unions and labor welfare unions and other institutions working for labor welfare, in this research paper author has also identified problems these Unions and labor welfare bodies’ face and tried to find out solutions for the problems and also analyzed various steps taken by the government of various countries around the globe.

Keywords: labor welfare, internal social responsibility, social security, international conventions

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Authors: Debalina Ghoshal

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Nuclear security is the ‘prevention and detection of, and response to unauthorised removal, sabotage, unauthorised access, illegal transfer or other malicious acts involving nuclear or radiological material or their associated facilities.’ Ever since the end of Cold War, nuclear materials security has remained a concern for global security. However, with the increase in terrorist attacks not just in India especially, security of nuclear materials remains a priority. Therefore, India has made continued efforts to tighten its security on nuclear materials to prevent nuclear theft and radiological terrorism. Nuclear security is different from nuclear safety. Physical security is also a serious concern and India had been careful of the physical security of its nuclear materials. This is more so important since India is expanding its nuclear power capability to generate electricity for economic development. As India targets 60,000 MW of electricity production by 2030, it has a range of reactors to help it achieve its goal. These include indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors, now standardized at 700 MW per reactor Light Water Reactors, and the indigenous Fast Breeder Reactors that can generate more fuel for the future and enable the country to utilise its abundant thorium resource. Nuclear materials security can be enhanced through two important ways. One is through proliferation resistant technologies and diplomatic efforts to take non proliferation initiatives. The other is by developing technical means to prevent any leakage in nuclear materials in the hands of asymmetric organisations. New Delhi has already implemented IAEA Safeguards on their civilian nuclear installations. Moreover, the IAEA Additional Protocol has also been ratified by India in order to enhance its transparency of nuclear material and strengthen nuclear security. India is a party to the IAEA Conventions on Nuclear Safety and Security, and in particular the 1980 Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and its amendment in 2005, Code of Conduct in Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources, 2006 which enables the country to provide for the highest international standards on nuclear and radiological safety and security. India's nuclear security approach is driven by five key components: Governance, Nuclear Security Practice and Culture, Institutions, Technology and International Cooperation. However, there is still scope for further improvements to strengthen nuclear materials and nuclear security. The NTI Report, ‘India’s improvement reflects its first contribution to the IAEA Nuclear Security Fund etc. in the future, India’s nuclear materials security conditions could be further improved by strengthening its laws and regulations for security and control of materials, particularly for control and accounting of materials, mitigating the insider threat, and for the physical security of materials during transport. India’s nuclear materials security conditions also remain adversely affected due to its continued increase in its quantities of nuclear material, and high levels of corruption among public officials.’ This paper would study briefly the progress made by India in nuclear and nuclear material security and the step ahead for India to further strengthen this.

Keywords: India, nuclear security, nuclear materials, non proliferation

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Authors: Marcus Maia

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The present study reports and discusses the use of eye tracking qualitative data in reading workshops in Brazilian middle and high schools and in Generative Syntax and Sentence Processing courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, respectively. Both endeavors take the sentential level as the proper object to be metacognitively explored in language education (cf. Chomsky, Gallego & Ott, 2019) to develop innate science forming capacity and knowledge of language. In both projects, non-discrepant qualitative eye tracking data collected and quantitatively analyzed in experimental syntax and psycholinguistic studies carried out in Lapex (Experimental Psycholinguistics Laboratory of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) were displayed to students as a point of departure, triggering discussions. Classes would generally start with the display of videos showing eye tracking data, such as gaze plots and heatmaps from several studies in Psycholinguistics and Experimental Syntax that we had already developed in our laboratory. The videos usually triggered discussions with students about linguistic and psycholinguistic issues, such as the reading of sentences for gist, garden-path sentences, syntactic and semantic anomalies, the filled-gap effect, island effects, direct and indirect cause, and recursive constructions, among other topics. Active, problem-solving based methodologies were employed with the objective of stimulating student participation. The communication also discusses the importance of developing full literacy, epistemic vigilance and intellectual self-defense in an infodemic world in the lines of Maia (2022).

Keywords: reading, educational psycholinguistics, eye-tracking, active methodology

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