Search results for: Islamic financial services

Authors: Carol S. Binnekade, Deon Scott, Christina C. Shuttleworth, Annelien A. Van Rooyen

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Higher education institutions are constantly challenged to deliver skilled graduates into the workplace. Employers expect graduates to have the required technical knowledge as well as various pervasive skills. This also applies to accountants who need to know the technical requirements of financial reporting and be able to communicate with individuals, teams and clients at a high level. Accountants need to develop effective business conversational skills and use these skills to communicate up, down and across organizations, taking into consideration cultural and gender diversity. In addition, they need to master business writing and presentation skills. However, providing students with these skills in a distance-learning environment where interaction between students and instructors is limited, is a challenge for academics. The study on which this paper reports, forms part of a larger body of research, which explored the perceptions of accounting practitioners of the communication skills (or lack thereof) of recently qualified accounting students. Feedback (qualitative and quantitative) was obtained from various accounting practitioners in South Africa. Taking into consideration that distance learners communicate mainly with their instructors via email communication and their assignments are submitted using various word processor software, the researchers were of the opinion that the accounting graduates would be capable of communicating effectively once they entered the workplace. However, the research findings, inter alia, suggested that the accounting graduates lacked communication skills and that training was needed to differentiate between business and social communication once they entered the workplace. Recommendations on how these communication challenges may be addressed by higher education institutions are provided.

Keywords: accounting practitioners, communication skills, distance education, pervasive skills

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Authors: Hamid Reza Behnood, Esmaeel Ayati, Tom Brijs, Mohammadali Pirayesh Neghab

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Investment projects in road safety planning can benefit from an effectiveness evaluation regarding their expected safety outcomes. The objective of this study is to develop a decision support system (DSS) to support policymakers in taking the right choice in road safety planning based on the efficiency of previously implemented safety measures in a set of regions in Iran. The measures considered for each region in the study include performance indicators about (1) police operations, (2) treated black spots, (3) freeway and highway facility supplies, (4) speed control cameras, (5) emergency medical services, and (6) road lighting projects. To this end, inefficiency measure is calculated, defined by the proportion of fatality rates in relation to the combined measure of road safety performance indicators (i.e., road safety measures) which should be minimized. The relative inefficiency for each region is modeled by the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) technique. In a next step, a fuzzy decision-making system is constructed to convert the information obtained from the DEA analysis into a rule-based system that can be used by policy makers to evaluate the expected outcomes of certain alternative investment strategies in road safety.

Keywords: performance indicators, road safety, decision support system, data envelopment analysis, fuzzy reasoning

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Authors: Homa Hedayat

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In the dynamic urban landscape of Toronto, the concept of belonging assumes paramount importance. As global challenges—such as the pandemic, financial instability, and geopolitical shifts—reshape our world, understanding how different generations of immigrants establish connections within this multicultural metropolis becomes increasingly vital. Our research delves into forming a sense of belonging in urban spaces, specifically focusing on the experiences of Iranian immigrants residing in Toronto. By examining their perceptions of public places, attachment to residential neighborhoods, and the impact of the urban environment, we contribute to a more holistic understanding of social sustainability and community well-being. We unravel the intricate interplay between individual characteristics, housing context, and neighborhood dynamics through qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey. This research presents a study of the perception of public places and sense of belonging in residential neighbourhoods by younger and older Iranian immigrants living in the Toronto metropolitan area. Few works in the existing literature have investigated the relationship immigrants develop with the shared spaces of the city and their residential environment and how that relationship can impact the development of a ‘sense of belonging’ in the city. Ultimately, our findings pave the way for inclusive and cohesive urban environments, fostering connections across generations and enhancing Toronto’s resilience and harmony. As Toronto continues to evolve, nurturing a sense of belonging becomes paramount. Our research emphasizes the importance of social cohesion and community well-being. By fostering connections across generations, we pave the way for a more resilient and harmonious city.

Keywords: sense of belonging, multigenerational, urban spaces, social sustainability

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Authors: Farzam Chakherlouy, Amirmehdi Dokhanchi

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Nowadays organizations have to identify, evaluate and manage intangible assets which enable them to provide maximum requirements to achieve their goals and strategies. Organizations also have to try to promote and improve these kinds of assets continuously. It seems necessary to implement developed strategies in today’s competitive world where all the organizations and companies spend great amounts of expenses for developing their own strategies. In fact, after determining strategies to be implemented, the management process is not completed and it will not have any effect on the success and existence of the organization until these strategies are implemented. The objective of this article is to define the intellectual capital and it components and studying the impact of intellectual capital on the implementation of strategy based upon the Bozbura model. Three dimensions of human capital, relational capital, and the structural capital. According to the test’s results, the correlation between the intellectual capital and three components of strategic implementation (leadership, human resource management, and culture) has not been approved yet. According to results of Friedman’s test in relation with the intellectual capital, the maximum inadequacy of this company is in the field of human capital (with an average of 3.59) and the minimum inadequacy is in the field of the relational capital (customer) with an average of 2.83. Besides, according to Friedman test in relation with implementation of the strategy, the maximum inadequacy relates to the culture of the organization and the corporate control with averages of 2.60 and 3.45 respectively. In addition, they demonstrate a good performance in scopes of human resources management and financial resources management strategies.

Keywords: Bozbura model, intellectual capital, strategic management, implementation of strategy, Modiran Ideh Pardaz company

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Authors: Gulnaz Erkomaishvili

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Introduction: There are some of the biggest technological shifts happening in the modern world. The introduction of digital technologies, information, and communication services has given rise to unprecedented global socio-political and economic changes. The role of digital technologies in increasing productivity and national competitiveness is increasing. Today, it is used in almost every area of the economy. E-commerce, organizational process in computerized management, and digital infrastructure's pace of growth is remarkably high and is a key instrument of economic development. Methodology: Different research methods are applied in the presented paper; statistical, analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, comparison ones. Works by local and foreign scientists, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, as well as various organizations' studies and reports were used as a theoretical basis for research and variety of laws, government decrees and orders, and the publications of the National Statistics Office of Georgia were used as an informational basis. Conclusions: The paper deals with the processes and challenges in Georgia in the digital economy. Access to current resources in Georgia and current processes are described. Digital technology for the development of the required environmental conditions is described, how the Internet and communications are available for the population in the regions of Georgia. The pros and cons of the digital economy development and its impact on the country's economy are analyzed. The main difficulties of implementation of the digital economy in Georgia, government involvement, and future action plans are presented.

Keywords: digital economy, digital technologies, internet, communications, economic policy

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Authors: R. Setino, I. M. Ambe, J. A Badenhorst-Weiss

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The South African government supply chain management system is not adequately implemented in State Owned Enterprises (SOEs). There are weaknesses in the SOEs SCM enablers, strategies and policies. In addition, top management of SOEs still do not see SCM as strategic enough to deserve their attention, and therefore, there is very little support from top management, thus making it even difficult for SCM practitioners to execute their day to day functions, let alone delivering the letter and spirit of the relevant legislations. Supply chain strategies lack buy in from the top, and as a result senior SCM practitioners has not been involved in the corporate strategy. This has resulted in supply chain and corporate strategies being misaligned. Due to service delivery backlog, high level of corruption and continuous strikes across the country for better services it is inevitable that government leaders be more strategic about how South Africa can use SCM as a tool to improve service delivery. Consequently, there is a need to close the gap between the strategic level dealt by top management and the application of operational SCM concepts: the use of SCM concepts and, therefore, supply chain strategies – should be aligned with the corporate and business strategies in order to ensure the achievement of top level business objectives. This paper aims to explore supply chain practices in State Owned Enterprises (SOEs). The paper based on a conceptual review provides the status, trends and development and suggests a framework for aligning supply chain strategies and organizational strategies in an SOE environment.

Keywords: alignment, strategies, state owned enterprises, supply chain management, South Africa

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Authors: Nattapol Pourprasert, Siriwan Manowan

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This study aims to find out what budget problems Thailand is facing with and how the results from the comparison between the budgeting reform by Thailand and the reforms by OECD member countries can be used for carrying out budgeting reform of Thailand. The findings from the study on the budget problems that Thailand is facing with reveal that the budgeting system of Thailand lacks of the assessment for the cost-effectiveness of the expenditure of borrowed money and budgets in order to determine whether the expenses are worth the taxes collected from people or not. This is because most popularity policies have unlimited budgets which can lead to the financial risks. Also, these policies create great tax burdens for the descendants in the future and affect the fair distribution of incomes but the Parliament of Thailand never considers these facts. The findings from the comparison between Thai budgeting reform and those by OECD member countries manifest that the traditional budgeting system of Thailand is the department-based budgeting, which is still used without being changed or adjusted in order to fit the new administrative regimes. This traditional budgeting system suggests that a department is responsible for budgeting tasks. Meanwhile, in OECD member countries, budgeting reforms are carried out simultaneously with the reforms of civil service systems so that they are driven in the same directions. The budgeting reforms that rely only on the analyses on economic or technical dimension can hardly lead to success. The budgeting systems of OECD member countries are designed to deal with the unique problems that each of the member countries is facing with rather than adopting the modern system developed by other countries. The budgeting system that has a complicated concept and practice has to be implemented under a flexible strategy so that the departments that implement it can learn about and adjust itself to the system. Continuous and consistent development and training for staff members are also necessary.

Keywords: budgeting reforms, Thailand, OECD member countries, budget problems

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Authors: Ahmed M. Jihad

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The paper presents the concept of sustainable development, and the role of geographic techniques in the design, planning and presentation of maps of smart cities with geographical vision, and the identification of programs and tools, and models of maps of Arab cities, is the problem of research in how to apply, process and experience these programs? What is the role of geographic techniques in planning and mapping the optimal place for these cities? The paper proposes an addition to the designs of Iraqi cities, as it can be developed in the future to serve as a model for interactive smart cities by developing its services. The importance of this paper stems from the concept of sustainable development dynamic which has become a method of development imposed by the present era in rapid development to achieve social balance and specialized programs in draw paper argues that ensuring sustainable development is achieved through the use of information technology. The paper will follow the theoretical presentation of the importance of the concept of development, design tools and programs. The paper follows the method of analysis of modern systems (System Analysis Approach) through the latest programs will provide results can be said that the new Iraqi cities can be developed with smart technologies, like some of the Arab and European cities that were newly created through the introduction of international investment, and therefore Plans can be made to select the best programs in manufacturing and producing maps and smart cities in the future.

Keywords: geographic techniques, planning the cities, smart cities, sustainable development

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Authors: Umar Shehu Umar

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Contract farming is a viable strategy agribusinesses rely on to strengthen vertical coordination. However, low contract compliance remains a significant setback to agribusinesses' contract performance. The present study aims to understand what drives smallholder farmers’ contract compliance behaviour. Qualitative information was collected through Focus Group Discussions to enrich the design of the survey questionnaire administered on a sample of 300 randomly selected farmers contracted by the Dangote Tomato Processing Plant (DTPP) in four regions of northern Nigeria. Novel transaction level data of tomato sales covering one season were collected in addition to socio-economic information of the sampled farmers. Binary logistic model results revealed that open fresh market tomato prices and payment delays negatively affect farmers' compliance behaviour while quantity harvested, education level and input provision correlated positively with compliance. The study suggests that contract compliance will increase if contracting firms devise a reliable and timely payment plan (e.g., digital payment), continue input and service provisions (e.g., improved seeds, extension services) and incentives (e.g., loyalty rewards, bonuses) in the contract.

Keywords: contract farming, compliance, farmers and processors., smallholder

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Authors: Rima Abu Jaber Bransi, Rawya Jarjoura Burbara

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This study deals with two pioneering approaches in teaching Arabic as a mother tongue: first, computerization of literary and functional texts in the mother tongue; second, the pioneering model in teaching writing skills by computerization. The significance of the study lies in its treatment of a serious problem that is faced in the era of technology, which is the widening gap between the pupils and their mother tongue. The innovation in the study is that it introduces modern methods and tools and a pioneering instructional model that turns the process of mother tongue teaching into an effective, meaningful, interesting and motivating experience. In view of the Arabic language diglossia, standard Arabic and spoken Arabic, which constitutes a serious problem to the pupil in understanding unused words, and in order to bridge the gap between the pupils and their mother tongue, we resorted to computerized techniques; we took texts from the pre-Islamic period (Jahiliyya), starting with the Mu'allaqa of Imru' al-Qais and other selected functional texts and computerized them for teaching in an interesting way that saves time and effort, develops high thinking strategies, expands the literary good taste among the pupils, and gives the text added values that neither the book, the blackboard, the teacher nor the worksheets provide. On the other hand, we have developed a pioneering computerized model that aims to develop the pupil's ability to think, to provide his imagination with the elements of growth, invention and connection, and motivate him to be creative, and raise level of his scores and scholastic achievements. The model consists of four basic stages in teaching according to the following order: 1. The Preparatory stage, 2. The reading comprehension stage, 3. The writing stage, 4. The evaluation stage. Our lecture will introduce a detailed description of the model with illustrations and samples from the units that we built through highlighting some aspects of the uniqueness and innovation that are specific to this model and the different integrated tools and techniques that we developed. One of the most significant conclusions of this research is that teaching languages through the employment of new computerized strategies is very likely to get the Arabic speaking pupils out of the circle of passive reception into active and serious action and interaction. The study also emphasizes the argument that the computerized model of teaching can change the role of the pupil's mind from being a store of knowledge for a short time into a partner in producing knowledge and storing it in a coherent way that prevents its forgetfulness and keeping it in memory for a long period of time. Consequently, the learners also turn into partners in evaluation by expressing their views, giving their notes and observations, and application of the method of peer-teaching and learning.

Keywords: classical poetry, computerization, diglossia, writing skill

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Authors: Ivy Jumao-As, Randy Lupango, Clifford Villaflores, Marites Khanser

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Alongside inadequate implementation of ecotourism standards and other pressing issues on sustainable development is the lack of business plans and formal business structures of various ecotourism sites in the Central Visayas, Philippines, and other parts of the country. Addressing these issues plays a key role to boost ecotourism which is a sustainability tool to the country’s economic development. A three-phase research is designed to investigate the green business practices of selected ecotourism sites in the region in order to propose a business model for ecotourism destinations in the region and outside. This paper reports the initial phase of the study which described the sites’ profile as well as operators of the following selected destinations: Cebu City Protected Landscape and Olango Island Wildlife Bird Sanctuary in Cebu, Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape in Bohol. Interview, Self-Administered Questionnaire with key informants and Data Mining were employed in the data collection. Findings highlighted similarities and differences in terms of eco-tourism products, type and number of visitors, manpower composition, cultural and natural resources, complementary services and products, awards and accreditation, peak and off peak seasons, among others. Recommendations based from common issues initially identified in this study are also highlighted.

Keywords: ecotourism, ecotourism sites, green business, sustainability

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Authors: Y. N. Shashidhara, B. S. Shakuntala

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Introduction: Nursing practice is undergoing tremendous changes and challenges. In order to meet social challenges and needs, nursing practice must be research based. Research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of nursing treatment modalities, to determine the impact of nursing care on the health of the patients or to test the theory of nursing practice. Objective of the study to explore the attitude of staff nurses on Nursing research and its utilization Methodology: The descriptive study design was adopted and 300 staff nurses were selected by systematic random sampling technique from eight hospitals. The attitude on nursing research was assessed by validated and reliable self-administered attitude scale which consists of 40 items. Results: The overall attitude mean score 130.2 (SD 11.5) regarding attitude on Nursing research and its utilization. Some of the findings are the majority of staff nurses (51% agreed and 18.3% strongly agreed) that they have all the motivation to use research findings if they get support. Nearly 25.3 percent of staff nurses agreed and 10.7 percent strongly agreed that they do not have time to conduct research. The majority of staff nurses 53.7 percent agreed that research will help in updating Nursing profession. Nearly 32.6 percent of staff nurses agreed and 20.5 percent strongly agreed that being able to use will make them better nurses. About 45.3 percent and 17.3 percent agreed and strongly agreed that knowledge gained through experience is more useful than research. Most (40%) of nurses agreed that thy do not have the authority to change the patient care practice. The majority of staff nurses (45.7 percent agreed and 13 percent strongly agreed) feel the research will consume their personal time. Majority, 50 percent of staff nurses agreed and 16.7 percent strongly agreed that to conduct and utilize research findings requires financial support. Majority 50 percent of staff nurses agreed and 12 percent strongly agreed that physicians will cooperate and value nursing research findings. Majority 67.3 percent of staff nurses had moderate positive and 32.7 percent of staff nurses had highly positive attitude towards Nursing research and its utilization. Conclusion: With this study we understanding that, the staff nurses have positive attitude regarding nursing research. If the nurses are supported and motivated for research utilization we can improve the patient care.

Keywords: nurses, attitude, nursing research, research utilization

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Authors: Kanwal Javid, Shazia Pervaiz, Maria Mumtaz, Muhammad Ameer Nawaz Akram

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Forests and grasslands ecosystems play an important role in the global carbon cycle. Land management activities influence both ecosystems and enable them to absorb and sequester carbon dioxide (CO2). Similarly, in Pakistan, these terrestrial ecosystems are well known to mitigate carbon emissions and have a great source to supply a variety of services such as clean air and water, biodiversity, wood products, wildlife habitat, food, recreation and carbon sequestration. Carbon sequestration is the main agenda of developed and developing nations to reduce the impacts of global warming. But the amount of carbon storage within these ecosystems can be affected by many factors related to air quality such as land management, land-use change, deforestation, over grazing and natural calamities. Moreover, the long-term capacity of forests and grasslands to absorb and sequester CO2 depends on their health, productivity, resilience and ability to adapt to changing conditions. Thus, the main rationale of this study is to monitor the difference in carbon amount of forests and grasslands of Northern Pakistan using MODIS data sets and map results using Geographic Information System. Results of the study conclude that forests ecosystems are more effective in reducing the CO2 level and play a key role in improving the quality of air.

Keywords: carbon sequestration, grasslands, global warming, climate change.

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Authors: Yao Wu

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In the context of financial globalization, China has put forward the policy goal of high-quality development, and the digital economy, with its advantage of information resources, is driving China's export trade to achieve high-quality development. Due to the long-standing financing constraints of small and medium-sized export enterprises, how to expand the export scale of small and medium-sized enterprises has become a major threshold for the development of China's export trade. This paper firstly adopts the hierarchical analysis method to establish the evaluation system of high-quality development of China's export trade; secondly, the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2018 are selected for empirical analysis to establish the impact model of digital inclusive finance on the high-quality development of China's export trade; based on the analysis of heterogeneous enterprise trade model, a mediating effect model is established to verify the mediating role of credit constraint in the development of high-quality export trade in China. Based on the above analysis, this paper concludes that inclusive digital finance, with its unique digital and inclusive nature, alleviates the credit constraint problem among SMEs, enhances the binary marginal effect of SMEs' exports, optimizes their export scale and structure, and promotes the high-quality development of regional and even national export trade. Finally, based on the findings of this paper, we propose insights and suggestions for inclusive digital finance to promote the high-quality development of export trade.

Keywords: digital inclusive finance, high-quality development of export trade, fixed effects, binary marginal effects

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Authors: N. Damenia, E. Kharaishvili, N. Sagareishvili, M. Saghareishvili

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Women's Employment is one of the most important issues in the global economy. The article discusses the stated topic in Georgia, through historical content, Soviet experience, and modern perspectives. The paper discusses segmentation insa terms of employment and related problems. Based on statistical analysis, women's unemployment rate and its factors are analyzed. The level of employment of women in Transcaucasia (Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan) is discussed and is compared with Baltic countries (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia). The study analyzes women’s level of development, according to the average age of marriage and migration level. The focus is on Georgia's Association Agreement with the EU in 2014, which includes economic, social, trade and political issues. One part of it is gender equality at workplaces. According to the research, the average monthly remuneration of women managers in the financial and insurance sector equaled to 1044.6 Georgian Lari, while in overall business sector average monthly remuneration equaled to 961.1 GEL. Average salaries are increasing; however, the employment rate remains problematic. For example, in 2017, 74.6% of men and 50.8% of women were employed from a total workforce. It is also interesting that the proportion of men and women at managerial positions is 29% (women) to 71% (men). Based on the results, the main recommendation for government and civil society is to consider women as a part of the country’s economic development. In this aspect, the experience of developed countries should be considered. It is important to create additional jobs in urban or rural areas and help migrant women return and use their working resources properly.

Keywords: employment of women, segregation in terms of employment, women's employment level in Transcaucasia, migration level

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Authors: Ossai Paulinus Edwin

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Cash Management is a broad area having to do with the collection, concentration, and disbursement of cash including measuring the level of liquidity and managing the cash balance and short-Term Investments. Cash Management involves the efficient collection and disbursement of cash and cash equivalents. It also includes management of marketable securities because, in modern Terminology, money comprises marketable securities and actual cash in hand or in a bank. This cash management is concerned with management of cash inflow and cash outflow of a business especially as it concerns a developing nation like Nigeria. The paper throws light on the impact of cashless policy in Nigeria as it was introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in December 2011 and was kick-started in Lagos in January 2012. Survey research was adopted with the questionnaires as data collection instrument. Responses show that cashless policy if adopted generally shall increase employment opportunities, reduce cash related robbery thereby reducing risk of carrying cash; it shall also reduce cash related corruption and attract more foreign investors to the country. It is expected that the introduction of cashless policy in Nigeria is a step in the right direction as it shall bring about modernization of Nigeria payment system, reduction in the cost of banking services, reduction in high security and safety risk and also curb banking related corruptions.

Keywords: cashless economy, cash management, cashless policy, e-banking, Nigeria

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Authors: Nurullah Ekmekci, Omer Akkaya, Vural Cagliyan

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Increased use of the Internet has resulted in the emergence of a new retail types called online shopping or electronic retail (e-retail). The rapid growth of the Internet has enabled customers to search information about the product and buy these products or services from e-retailers. Although this new form of shopping has grown in a remarkable way because of offering easiness to people, it is not an easy task to capture the success by distinguishing from competitors in this environment which millions of players takes place. For the success, e-retailers should determine the factors which the customers take notice while they are buying from e-retailers. This paper aims to identify the factors that provide preferability for the online shopping websites and the importance levels of these factors. These main criteria which have taken notice are Customer Service Performance (CSP), Website Performance (WSP), Criteria Related to Product (CRP), Ease of Payment (EP), Security/Privacy (SP), Ease of Return (ER), Delivery Service Performance (DSP) and Order Fulfillment Performance (OFP). It has benefited from Analytic Hierarchy Process to determine the priority of the criteria. Based on analysis, Security/Privacy (SP) criteria seems to be most important criterion with 22 % weight. Companies should attach importance to the security and privacy for making their online website more preferable among the online shoppers.

Keywords: AHP (analytical hierarchy process), multi-criteria decision making, online shopping, shopping

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Authors: Rigved Chandrashekhar Nimkhedkar, Rajat Agrawal, Vinay Sharma

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Architects need help with a demand for an expanded skill set to effectively navigate a landscape of evolving opportunities and challenges in the dynamic realm of the architectural profession. This literature and survey-based study investigates the reasons behind architects’ choices of careers, as well as the effects of the evolving architectural scenario. The traditional role of architects in construction projects evolves as they explore diverse career motivations, face financial constraints due to an oversupply of professionals, and experience specialisation and upskilling trends. Architects inherently derive numerous value chains as more and more disciplines have been introduced into the design-construction-operation supply chain. This insight emphasizes the importance of integrating management and entrepreneurial education into architectural education rather than keeping them separate entities. The study reveals the complex nature of the entrepreneurially challenging architectural profession, including cash flow management, market competition, environmental sustainability, and innovation opportunities. Loyal to their professional identity, architects express dissatisfaction while envisioning a future in which they play a more significant role in shaping reputable brands and contributing to education. The study emphasizes the importance of dovetailing management and entrepreneurial education in architecture education in preparing graduates for the industry’s changing nature, emphasising the need for real-world skills. This research contributes insights into the architectural profession’s transformative trajectory, emphasising adaptability, upskilling, and educational enhancements as critical success factors.

Keywords: architects, career path, education, management, specialisation

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Authors: Hamid Hanifi, Adel Azar, Alireza Booshehri

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In order to know about the capability level of R & D units in automotive industry, it is essential that organizations always compare themselves with standard level and higher than themselves so that to be improved continuously. In this research, with respect to the importance of this issue, we have tried to present an assessment model for R & D capabilities having reviewed on new products development in automotive industry of Iran. Iran Khodro Company was selected for the case study. To this purpose, first, having a review on the literature, about 200 indicators effective in R & D capabilities and new products development were extracted. Then, of these numbers, 29 indicators which were more important were selected by industry and academia experts and the questionnaire was distributed among statistical population. Statistical population was consisted of 410 individuals in Iran Khodro Company. We used the 410 questionnaires for exploratory factor analysis and then used the data of 308 questionnaires from the same population randomly for confirmatory factor analysis. The results of exploratory factor analysis led to categorization of dimensions in 9 secondary dimensions. Naming the dimensions was done according to a literature review and the professors’ opinion. Using structural equation modeling and AMOS software, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted and ultimate model with 9 secondary dimensions was confirmed. Meanwhile, 9 secondary dimensions of this research are as follows: 1) Research and design capability, 2) Customer and market capability, 3) Technology capability, 4) Financial resources capability, 5) Organizational chart, 6) Intellectual capital capability, 7) NPD process capability, 8) Managerial capability and 9) Strategy capability.

Keywords: research and development, new products development, structural equations, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis

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Authors: Nelson S. Andres, Robert O. Aguilar, Mar O. Tapia, Meeko C. Masangcap, John Denver Catapang, Greg C. Mallari

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This study focuses on exploring the possibility of using solar PV as an alternative for generating electricity to electrify the AGT System installed in BPSU Main Campus instead of using the power grid. The output of this study gives BPSU the option to invest on solar PV system to pro-actively respond to one of UN’s Sustainable Development Goals of having reliable, sustainable and modern energy sources to reduce energy pollution and climate change impact in the long run. Thus, this study covers the technical as well as the financial studies, which BPSU can also be used to outsource funding from different government agencies. For this study, the electrical design and requirements of the on-going DOST AGT system project are carefully considered. In the proposed design, the AGT station has installed with a rechargeable battery system where the energy harnessed by the solar PV panels installed on the rooftop of the station/NCEA building shall be directed to. The solar energy is then directly supplied to the electric double-layer capacitors (EDLC's) batteries and thus transmitted to other types of equipment in need. When the AGT is not in use, the harnessed energy may be used by NCEA building, thus, lessening the energy consumption of the building from the grid. The use of solar PV system with EDLC is compared with the use of an electric grid for the purpose of electrifying the AGT or the NCEA building (when AGT is not in use). This is to figure how much solar energy are accumulated by the solar PV to accommodate the need for coaches’ motors, lighting, air-conditioning units, door sensor, panel display, etc. The proposed PV Solar design, as well as the data regarding the charging and discharging of batteries and the power consumption of all AGT components, are simulated for optimization, analysis and validation through the use of PVSyst software.

Keywords: AGT, Solar PV, railway, EDLC

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Authors: Jalil Salimi, Mandana Asadi, Naser Fathi

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Urmia Lake (UL) has undergone a significant decline in water levels, resulting in severe environmental, socioeconomic, and health-related challenges. This paper examines the restoration process of UL from a water governance perspective. By applying a water governance model, the study evaluates the process based on six selected principles: stakeholder engagement, transparency and accountability, effectiveness, equitable water use, adaptation capacity, and water usage efficiency. The dominance of structural and physicalist approaches to water governance has led to a weak understanding of social and environmental issues, contributing to social crises. Urgent efforts are required to address the water crisis and reform water governance in the country, making water-related issues a top national priority. The UL restoration process has achieved significant milestones, including stakeholder consensus, scientific and participatory planning, environmental vision, intergenerational justice considerations, improved institutional environment for NGOs, investments in water infrastructure, transparency promotion, environmental effectiveness, and local issue resolutions. However, challenges remain, such as power distribution imbalances, bureaucratic administration, weak conflict resolution mechanisms, financial constraints, accountability issues, limited attention to social concerns, overreliance on structural solutions, legislative shortcomings, program inflexibility, and uncertainty management weaknesses. Addressing these weaknesses and challenges is crucial for the successful restoration and sustainable governance of UL.

Keywords: evaluation, restoration process, Urmia Lake, water governance, water resource management

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Authors: Muhammad Awais Kiani, Abdul Basit Kiani, Maryam Kiani

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Synergizing Sales and Marketing for Electronics Engineering with Web Development, explores the dynamic relationship between sales, marketing, and web development within the electronics engineering industry. This study is important for the power of digital platforms to connect with customers. Which increases brand visibility and drives sales. It highlights the need for collaboration between sales and marketing teams, as well as the integration of web development strategies to create seamless user experiences and effective lead generation. Furthermore, It also emphasizes the role of data analytics and customer insights in optimizing sales and marketing efforts in the ever-evolving landscape of electronics engineering. Sales and marketing play a crucial role in driving business growth, and in today's digital landscape, web development has become an integral part of these strategies. Web development enables businesses to create visually appealing and user-friendly websites that effectively showcase their products or services. It allows for the integration of e-commerce functionalities, enabling seamless online transactions. Furthermore, web development helps businesses optimize their online presence through search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, social media integration, and content management systems. This abstract highlights the symbiotic relationship between sales marketing in the electronics industry and web development, emphasizing the importance of a strong online presence in achieving business success.

Keywords: electronics industry, web development, sales, marketing

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Authors: Hanh Thi My Nguyen

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The purpose of this research is to examine the experiences of parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing in supporting their children to access education in Vietnam. Parents play a crucial role in supporting their children to gain full access to education. It was widely reported that parents of those children confronted a range of problems to support their children to access education. To author’s best knowledge, there has been a lack of research exploring the experiences of those parents in literature. This research examines factors affecting those parents in supporting their children to access education. To conduct the study, qualitative approach using a phenomenological research design was chosen to explore the central phenomena. Ten parents of children who were diagnosed as deaf or hard of hearing and aged 6-9 years were recruited through the support of the Association of Parents of Children with Hearing Impairment. Participants were interviewed via telephone with a mix of open and closed questions; interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. The research results show that there are nine main factors that affected the parents in this study in making decisions relating to education for their children including: lack of information resources, perspectives of those parents on communication approaches, the families’ financial capacity, the psychological impact on the participants after their children’ diagnosis, the attitude of family members, attitude of school administrators, lack of local schools and qualified teachers, and current education system for the deaf in Vietnam. Apart from those factors, the lack of knowledge of the participants’ partners about deaf education and the partners’ employment are barriers to educational access and successful communication with their child.

Keywords: access to education, deaf, hard of hearing, parents experience

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Authors: Hanadi Mubarak Al-Mubaraki, Michael Busler

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Innovation is the powerful tools for economic growth and diversification, which lead to smart growth. The objective of this paper is to identify the opportunities and challenges of innovation programs discuss and analyse the implementation of the innovation program in the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK). To achieve the objectives, the research used a mixed methods approach, quantitative (survey), and qualitative (multi-case study) to examine innovation best practices in developed countries. In addition, the selection of 4 interview case studies of innovation organisations based on the best practices and successful implementation worldwide. The research findings indicated the two challenges such as 1) innovation required business ecosystem support to deliver innovation outcomes such as new product and new services, and 2) foster the climate of innovation &entrepreneurship for economic growth and diversification. Although the two opportunities such as 1) sustainability of the innovation events which lead smart growth, and 2) establish the for fostering the artificial intelligence hub entrepreneurship networking at multi-levels. The research adds value to academicians and practitioners such as government, funded organizations, institutions, and policymakers. The authors aim to conduct future research a comparative study of innovation case studies between developed and developing countries for policy implications worldwide. The Originality of This study contributes to current literature about the innovation best practice in developed and developing countries.

Keywords: economic development, technology transfer, entrepreneurship, innovation program

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Authors: Vikrum Malhotra, Manpreet Kaur, Ayesha Ghotto

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Background: Cardiac registries such as ACC Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Registry require high quality data to be abstracted, including data elements such as nuclear cardiology, diagnostic coronary angiography, and PCI. Introduction: The audit tool created is used by data abstractors to provide data audits and assess the accuracy and inter-rater reliability of abstraction performed by the abstractors for a health system. This audit tool solution has been developed across 13 registries, including ACC/NCDR registries, PCI, STS, Get with the Guidelines. Methodology: The data audit tool was used to audit internal registry abstraction for all data elements, including stress test performed, type of stress test, data of stress test, results of stress test, risk/extent of ischemia, diagnostic catheterization detail, and PCI data elements for ACC/NCDR PCI registries. This is being used across 20 hospital systems internally and providing abstraction and audit services for them. Results: The data audit tool had inter-rater reliability and accuracy greater than 95% data accuracy and IRR score for the PCI registry in 50 PCI registry cases in 2021. Conclusion: The tool is being used internally for surgical societies and across hospital systems. The audit tool enables the abstractor to be assessed by an external abstractor and includes all of the data dictionary fields for each registry.

Keywords: abstraction, cardiac registry, cardiovascular registry, registry, data

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Authors: Arowosafe Folusade Catherine, Arowosafe Olubunmi, Aina Samson

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In many countries, tourism has been portrayed as a contributor to small-scale enterprises, contributing to improved standards of living, a catalyst for community development, and poverty alleviation. This study assessed the willingness of the host communities to provide homestay accommodation and also identified the homestay facilities available to host visitors to the community. A random sampling method was used to administer 150 copies of the questionnaire to the residents in Idanre. Data collected were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistical analysis, and results were presented using frequency and percentage tables. Results: Findings revealed that the majority of the residents were above 60 years (47.3%), with 33% of them aware of the concept of homestay accommodation, and 32% had primary education. The majority were self-employed (43.3%), earning less than ₦30,000 per month; it also revealed that 80.7% of the residents owned at least one house and had adequate water supply facility (100%) and electricity (99.3%). Some constraints observed revealed that safety for the host family (mean 4.81) was ranked high as a possible deterrent to providing homestay accommodation to strangers. Results revealed a correlation between the resident’s awareness and willingness to provide homestay accommodation services (r.0.05, p<0.05). This study recommends that sensitization programs to create awareness of the potential benefits of homestay accommodation in the host communities of Idanre Hills should be carried out by the relevant stakeholders.

Keywords: accommodation, benefits, homestay, Idanre Hills

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Authors: Klaudia Gołębiowska

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This article analyzes the actions of Poland's ruling party facing two refugee crises. These crises emerged almost one after the other within a few months. The first concerned irregular migrants from various countries, including the Middle East, seeking to cross the Polish border from the territory of Belarus. The second was caused by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. I aim to show the evolution of the discourse and law towards immigrants and refugees by the party Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS, ang. Law and Justice), which has been in power in Poland since 2015. The authorities, in power since 2015, have radically changed its anti-immigrant discourse towards the exodus of civilians from Ukraine. Research questions are the following: What were the roots of the refugee crises in Poland in 2021 and 2022? What legal or illegal measures were taken in Poland to deal with the refugee crises? The methods of qualitative source analysis and process tracing. From the first days of the war in Ukraine, not only was aid organised for Ukrainians, but they were also given access to public services and education. All refugees were granted temporary international protection. At the same time, the basic physiological needs of those on the Polish-Belarusian border were ignored. Moreover, illegal pushbacks were used against those coming mainly from the Middle East, pushing them into the territory of Belarus, where they were often subjected to torture and inhumane treatment. The Polish government justified such treatment on the grounds that these people were part of a 'hybrid war' waged by Russia and Belarus using migrants. Only Ukrainians were treated as 'real' refugees in the analyzed crises at the Polish borders.

Keywords: refugee, irregular migrants, hybrid war, migrants

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Authors: Elżbieta Antczak

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Cities offer important opportunities for economic development and for expanding access to basic services, including health care and education, for large numbers of people. Moreover, green areas (as an integral part of sustainable urban development) present a major opportunity for improving urban environments, quality of lives and livelihoods. This paper examines, using spatial concentration and spatial taxonomic measures, regional diversification of greenery in the cities of Poland. The analysis includes location quotients, Lorenz curve, Locational Gini Index, and the synthetic index of greenery and spatial statistics tools: (1) To verify the occurrence of strong concentration or dispersion of the phenomenon in time and space depending on the variable category, and, (2) To study if the level of greenery depends on the spatial autocorrelation. The data includes the greatest Polish cities, categories of the urban greenery (parks, lawns, street greenery, and green areas on housing estates, cemeteries, and forests) and the time span 2004-2015. According to the obtained estimations, most of cites in Poland are already taking measures to become greener. However, in the country there are still many barriers to well-balanced urban greenery development (e.g. uncontrolled urban sprawl, poor management as well as lack of spatial urban planning systems).

Keywords: greenery, urban areas, regional spatial diversification and concentration, spatial taxonomic measure

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Authors: Bushra Jamil, Nudrat Baqri, Muhammad Hassan Saeed

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Entrepreneurship is creating or setting up a business not only for the purpose of generating profit but also for providing job opportunities. Entrepreneurs are problem solvers and product developers. They use their financial asset for hiring a professional team and combine the innovation, knowledge, and leadership leads to a successful startup or a business. To be a successful entrepreneur, one should be people-oriented and have perseverance. One must have the ability to take risk, believe in his/her potential, and have the courage to move forward in all circumstances. Most importantly, have the ability to take risk and can assess the risk. For STEM students, entrepreneurship is of specific importance and relevance as it helps them not just to be able to solve real life existing complications but to be able to recognize and identify emerging needs and glitches. It is becoming increasingly apparent that in today’s world, there is a need as well as a desire for STEM and entrepreneurship to work together. In Pakistan, entrepreneurship is slowly emerging, yet we are far behind. It is high time that we should introduce modern teaching methods and inculcate entrepreneurial initiative in students. A course on entrepreneurship can be included in the syllabus, and we must invite businessmen and policy makers to motivate young minds for entrepreneurship. This must be pitching competitions, opportunities to win seed funding, and facilities of incubation centers. In Pakistan, there are many good public sector research institutes, yet there is a void gap in the private sector. Only few research institute are meant for research and development. BJ Micro Lab is one of them. It is SECP registered company and is working in academia to promote and facilitate research in STEM. BJ Micro Lab is a women led initiative, and we are trying to promote research as a passion, not as an arduous burden. For this, we are continuously arranging training workshops and sessions. More than 100 students have been trained in ten different workshops arranged at BJ Micro Lab.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, STEM, challenges, oppurtunties

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Authors: S. Khakurel, R. P. Dhakal, T. Z. Yeow

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Downtime is one of the major sources (alongside damage and injury/death) of financial loss incurred by a structure in an earthquake. The length of downtime associated with a building after an earthquake varies depending on the time taken for the reaction (to the earthquake), decision (on the future course of action) and execution (of the decided course of action) phases. Post-earthquake assessment of buildings is a key step in the decision making process to decide the appropriate safety placarding as well as to decide whether a damaged building is to be repaired or demolished. The aim of the present study is to develop a model to quantify downtime associated with the post-earthquake building-assessment phase in terms of two parameters; i) duration of the different assessment phase; and ii) probability of different colour tagging. Post-earthquake assessment of buildings includes three stages; Level 1 Rapid Assessment including a fast external inspection shortly after the earthquake, Level 2 Rapid Assessment including a visit inside the building and Detailed Engineering Evaluation (if needed). In this study, the durations of all three assessment phases are first estimated from the total number of damaged buildings, total number of available engineers and the average time needed for assessing each building. Then, probability of different tag colours is computed from the 2010-11 Canterbury earthquake Sequence database. Finally, a downtime model for the post-earthquake building inspection phase is proposed based on the estimated phase length and probability of tag colours. This model is expected to be used for rapid estimation of seismic downtime within the Loss Optimisation Seismic Design (LOSD) framework.

Keywords: assessment, downtime, LOSD, Loss Optimisation Seismic Design, phase length, tag color

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