Search results for: Amil Zakat institution
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 897

Search results for: Amil Zakat institution

747 Instructional Resources Development in Open and Distance Learning: Prospects and Challenges of Media Integration in Nigeria

Authors: Felix E. Gbenoba, Opeyemi Dahunsi

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Self-instructional materials are at the heart of instructional delivery in Open and Distance Learning (ODL). The success of any ODL institution depends on the availability of instructional materials in quality and quantity. An ODL study material is expected to fully play the teacher plays in the face-to-face learning environment. In Nigeria, efforts to deliver ODL learning materials have been peculiarly challenging. Although researchers are unrelenting in hewing out ways to make ODL delivery in Africa generally and Nigeria in particular, meet the learners’ needs and acceptable global practices, the prospects of integrating instructional media into distance learning courses are largely unexplored. In the present study, we critically examine the prospects of integration of instructional media into ODL courses for pedagogic and other benefits it portends for delivery via the distance learning mode. Although efforts to integrate media in ODL have been recorded before now, the reality has not matched the expectation so far in Nigeria. This does not mean that the existing instructional materials have not produced any significant positive results in improving the overall learning (and teaching) experience in its institutions; it implies that increased integration as suggested here will further improve the experience as well as bring up the new challenges. Obstacles and problems of instructional materials and media development that could have affected the open educational resource initiatives are well established. The first aspect of this paper recalls the revolutionary strides that ODL brought to delivery of education in Nigeria particularly. The other aspect is on what instructional media are, their role, prospects and challenges for ODL in Nigeria; these are examined vis a vis the challenges of development, production and distribution of print instructional materials as the major format of instructional delivery at Nigeria’s only single mode ODL institution, NOUN. In the third aspect, we justify the need and benefits of integrating instructional media into the courses and make recommendations.

Keywords: instructional delivery, instructional media, ODL, media integration, Nigeria, self-instructional materials

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746 Human Development and Entrepreneurship: Examining the Sources of Freedom and Unfreedom in the Realization of Entrepreneurship in Iran

Authors: Iman Shabanzadeh

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The purpose of this research is to understand the lived experience of private sector entrepreneurs in facing the sources of freedom and unfreedom and benefiting from opportunities and basic capabilities in the process of realizing entrepreneurial ability in order to get closer to the macro situation of the narrative of human development in Iranian society. Therefore, the main question of the present research is to figure out what sources of freedom and social opportunities and unfreedom entrepreneurs in Iran's society benefit from the process of transforming their potential entrepreneurial abilities into entrepreneurial and business enterprises. In terms of methodology, the current research method will be thematic analysis in the form of semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs active in small and medium-sized enterprises in Tehran, whose process of establishing and expanding their entrepreneurial activity has been in the last two decades. By examining the possibilities and refusals of advancing these people in the three stages of 'Idea creation and desire for entrepreneurship’, ‘Starting and creating a business’, and finally, ‘Continuing and expanding the business’, the findings of the research show the impact of five main resources for people to realize their potential talents, from the stage of creating an idea to expanding their business. These sources include' family institution,’ ‘education institution,’ ‘social norms and beliefs,’ ‘government and market,’ and ‘personality components of the entrepreneur.’ Finally, the findings are reported in three levels of basic themes (fifteen items), organizing themes (five items), and comprehensive themes (one item) and in the form of a theme network.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, human development, capability, sources of freedom

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745 Effectiveness of Management Transfer Programs for Managing Irrigation Resources in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Farmer- and Agency-Managed Schemes from Nepal

Authors: Tirtha Raj Dhakal, Brian Davidson, Bob Farquharson

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Irrigation management transfer has been taken as the important policy instrument for effective irrigation resource management in many developing countries. The change in governance of the irrigation schemes for its day-to-day operation and maintenance has been centered in recent Nepalese irrigation policies also. However, both farmer- and agency-managed irrigation schemes in Nepal are performing well below than expected. This study tries to link the present concerns of poor performance of both forms of schemes with the institutions for its operation and management. Two types of surveys, management and farm surveys; were conducted as a case study in the command area of Narayani Lift Irrigation Project (agency-managed) and Khageri Irrigation System (farmer-managed) of Chitwan District. The farm survey from head, middle and tail regions of both schemes revealed that unequal water distribution exists in these regions in both schemes with greater percentage of farmers experiencing this situation in agency managed scheme. In both schemes, the cost recovery rate was very low, even below five percent in Lift System indicating poor operation and maintenance of the schemes. Also, the institution on practice in both schemes is unable to create any incentives for farmers’ willingness to pay as well as for its economical use in the farm. Thus, outcomes from the study showed that only the management transfer programs may not achieve the goal of efficient irrigation resource management. This may suggest water professionals to rethink about the irrigation policies for refining institutional framework irrespective of the governance of schemes for improved cost recovery and better water distribution throughout the irrigation schemes.

Keywords: cost recovery, governance, institution, irrigation management transfer, willingness to pay

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744 The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility Perception on Organizational Commitment: The Case of Cabin Crew in a Civil Aviation Company

Authors: Şeyda Kaya

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The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility perception and organizational commitment among Turkish cabin crew. At the same time, the social responsibility perception and organizational commitment scores of the participants were compared according to their gender, age, education level, title, and work experience. In the globalizing world, businesses have developed some innovative marketing methods in order to survive and strengthen their place in the market. Nowadays, consumers who are connected to the brand with an emotional bond rather than being just consumers. Corporate Social Responsibility Projects, on the one hand, provide social benefit, on the other hand, increase the brand awareness of businesses by providing credibility in the eyes of consumers. The rapid increase of competition, requires businesses to use their human resources, which is the most important resource to sustain their existence, in the most effective and efficient way. For this reason, the concept of ‘Organizational Commitment’ has become an important research topic for business and academics. Although there are studies in the literature to determine the effect of the perception of corporate social Responsibility on Organizational Commitment in Banking and Finance and Tourism sectors, there are no studies conducted specifically for the Turkish aviation sector to our best knowledge. Personal information form, CSR scale, Importance of CSR scale, Organizational commitment scale were used as data collection tools in the research. CSR Scale created by Türker (2006). was used to find out how employees felt about CSR. Importance of CSR Scale through a subscale of the Perceived Role of Ethics and Social Responsibility (PRESOR) that Etheredge (1999) converted into a two-factor framework, the significance of social responsibility for employees was assessed. Organizational Commitment Scale, Mowday, Steers, and Porter (1979) created the OCQ, which uses 15 measures to evaluate global commitment to the organization. As a result of the study, there is a significant positive relationship between the participants' CSR scale sub-dimensions, CSR to Employees, CSR to Customers, CSR to Society, CSR to Government, CSR to Natural Environment, CSR to Next Generation, CSR to Governmental Organizations, Importance of CSR, and Organizational Commitment scores. As a result; as the participants' Corporate Social Responsibility scores increase, their organizational commitment increases. To summarize the findings of our study, the scores obtained from the CSR scale and the scores obtained from the Organizational Commitment scale were found to have a positive and significant relationship. In other words, if the participants value the corporate social responsibility projects of the institution they work for and think that they spare time and effort, the importance they attach to the corporate social responsibility projects and their organizational commitment to the institution they work for, increase. Similarly, the scores obtained from the Importance of CSR and the scores obtained from the Organizational Commitment scale also have a positive and significant relationship. As the importance given to corporate social responsibility projects by the participants increases, their organizational commitment to the institution they work for also increases.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, organizational commitment, Turkish cabin crew, aviation

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743 An Investigation of the Science Process Skills of 48-66 Months Old Children

Authors: Nilüfer Kuru, Berrin Akman

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In this study, science process skills of children with ages varying between 48-months and 66-months are analyzed. Science process skills of children are investigated in terms of factors including gender of children, attendance of children to the previous educational institution and duration of their attendance, educational background of their parents, ages of children and teachers, professional experience of teachers, educational background, and department of graduation of teachers, type of pre-school education institution of teachers and children. Sample of research consists of 250 children aged between 48-months and 66-months who attend state and private kindergartens under the Ministry of National Education, nursery classes of elementary schools and kindergartens of establishments in central districts of Ankara and 50 teachers who serve in these children’s classes. Science Observation Form, reached from the website of Alaska Department of Education & Early, are analyzed in terms of language, content, construct validity, and reliability by the researchers. Additionally, Personal Information Form is also developed by the researchers. Data obtained in the study are analyzed with SPSS 16.0 package program to obtain percentage and frequency, Kruskal Wallis H-test, and Mann- Whitney U test, which are one of the non-parametric tests, are used. Within the context of this study it has been seen that independent variables of age, type of school attending and status of attendance to pre-school education, educational background of children’s father are meaningful expositive in gaining science process skills for children. It has been seen that period of service of teachers, duration of attendance to pre-school education for children, gender of children and educational background of children’s mother are not meaningful expositive in gaining science process skills for children.

Keywords: preschool, science process skills, early childhood education, science

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742 Brazilian-Italian Comparative Study on EFL Teacher Training

Authors: Tatiana Belmonte dos Santos Rodrigues

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This is a comparative study between the training process of teachers of English as a foreign language in a Brazilian institution and an Italian institution, analyzing the academic curriculum, which includes courses mandatory internship activities, among other curricular aspects, and investigating the motivations that lead pre-service teachers to pursue a teaching career. The two institutions involved in this research are considered the oldest in Brazil, the Federal University of Amazonas, created in 1909, and the oldest in Italy, the University of Bologna, created in 1088. The general problem, or guiding question of this research, therefore, is: What is the role of the academic curriculum in motivating and consolidating the teaching of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) as a professional career? The hypothesis be investigated is that the degree courses of the two institutions apply in their curricula the pedagogical contours described in Shulman (2005), essential for the consolidation of the specificities of professional teacher training, which would lead to the strengthening of motivation pre-service professors to remain in this professional career plan, both for those who have already entered the course with pre-established external or internal motivations and for those who entered without apparent motivation. This is qualitative research (CRESWELL, 2007), with the application of field research, where documental analysis of the academic curriculum was carried out together with interviews with preservice teachers of the two institutions and analysis through interpretivism (MERTENS, 2010). The curriculum was analyzed in the light of Shulman (2005) and the interviewees' motivational discourse were analyzed from the perspective of Lovely (2012)'s discoveries. At the end, the data was crossed to answer the guiding question of the research, generating the proposed comparative study.

Keywords: preservice teachers, academic curriculum, motivation, english as a foreign language

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741 Enhancing Higher Education Teaching and Learning Processes: Examining How Lecturer Evaluation Make a Difference

Authors: Daniel Asiamah Ameyaw

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This research attempts to investigate how lecturer evaluation makes a difference in enhancing higher education teaching and learning processes. The research questions to guide this research work states first as, “What are the perspectives on the difference made by evaluating academic teachers in order to enhance higher education teaching and learning processes?” and second, “What are the implications of the findings for Policy and Practice?” Data for this research was collected mainly through interviewing and partly documents review. Data analysis was conducted under the framework of grounded theory. The findings showed that for individual lecturer level, lecturer evaluation provides a continuous improvement of teaching strategies, and serves as source of data for research on teaching. At the individual student level, it enhances students learning process; serving as source of information for course selection by students; and by making students feel recognised in the educational process. At the institutional level, it noted that lecturer evaluation is useful in personnel and management decision making; it assures stakeholders of quality teaching and learning by setting up standards for lecturers; and it enables institutions to identify skill requirement and needs as a basis for organising workshops. Lecturer evaluation is useful at national level in terms of guaranteeing the competencies of graduates who then provide the needed manpower requirement of the nation. Besides, it mentioned that resource allocation to higher educational institution is based largely on quality of the programmes being run by the institution. The researcher concluded, that the findings have implications for policy and practice, therefore, higher education managers are expected to ensure that policy is implemented as planned by policy-makers so that the objectives can successfully be achieved.

Keywords: academic quality, higher education, lecturer evaluation, teaching and learning processes

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740 Punishment on top of Punishment - Impact of Inmate Misconduct

Authors: Nazirah Hassan, Andrew Kendrick

Abstract:

Punishment inside the penal institution has always been practiced in order to maintain discipline and keep order. Nonetheless, criminologists have long debated that the enforcement of discipline by punishing inmates is often ineffective and has a detrimental impact on inmates’ conduct. This paper uses data from a sample of 289 incarcerated young offenders to investigate the prevalence of institutional misconduct. It explores punitive cultural practices inside institutions and how this culture affects the inmates’ conduct during confinement. The project focused on male and female young offenders aged 12 to 21 years old, in eight juvenile justice institutions. The research collected quantitative and qualitative data using a mixed-method approach. All participants completed the Direct and Indirect Prisoner behavior Checklist-Scaled Version Revised (DIPC-SCALED-R). In addition, exploratory interviews were carried out with sixteen inmates and eight institutional staff. Results of the questionnaire survey show that almost half of the inmates reported a higher level of involvement in perpetration. It demonstrates a remarkable convergence of direct, rather than indirect, perpetration. Also, inmates reported a higher level of tobacco used and behavior associated with negative attitudes towards staff and institutional rules. In addition to this, the qualitative data suggests that the punitive culture encourages the onset of misconduct by increasing the stressful and oppressive conditions within the institution. In general, physical exercise and locking up inmates are two forms of punishment that were ubiquitous throughout the institutions. Interestingly, physical exercise is not only enforced by institutional staff but also inmates. These findings are discussed in terms of existing literature and their practical implications are considered.

Keywords: institutional punishment, incarcerated young offenders, punitive culture, institutional misconduct

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739 Balanced Score Card a Tool to Improve Naac Accreditation – a Case Study in Indian Higher Education

Authors: CA Kishore S. Peshori

Abstract:

Introduction: India, a country with vast diversity and huge population is going to have largest young population by 2020. Higher education has and will always be the basic requirement for making a developing nation to a developed nation. To improve any system it needs to be bench-marked. There have been various tools for bench-marking the systems. Education is delivered in India by universities which are mainly funded by government. This universities for delivering the education sets up colleges which are again funded mainly by government. Recently however there has also been autonomy given to universities and colleges. Moreover foreign universities are waiting to enter Indian boundaries. With a large number of universities and colleges it has become more and more necessary to measure this institutes for bench-marking. There have been various tools for measuring the institute. In India college assessments have been made compulsory by UGC. Naac has been offically recognised as the accrediation criteria. The Naac criteria has been based on seven criterias namely: 1. Curricular assessments, 2. Teaching learning and evaluation, 3. Research Consultancy and Extension, 4. Infrastructure and learning resources, 5. Student support and progression, 6. Governance leadership and management, 7. Innovation and best practices. The Naac tries to bench mark the institution for identification, sustainability, dissemination and adaption of best practices. It grades the institution according to this seven criteria and the funding of institution is based on these grades. Many of the colleges are struggling to get best of grades but they have not come across a systematic tool to achieve the results. Balanced Scorecard developed by Kaplan has been a successful tool for corporates to develop best of practices so as to increase their financial performance and also retain and increase their customers so as to grow the organization to next level.It is time to test this tool for an educational institute. Methodology: The paper tries to develop a prototype for college based on the secondary data. Once a prototype is developed the researcher based on questionnaire will try to test this tool for successful implementation. The success of this research will depend on its implementation of BSC on an institute and its grading improved due to this successful implementation. Limitation of time is a major constraint in this research as Naac cycle takes minimum 4 years for accreditation and reaccreditation the methodology will limit itself to secondary data and questionnaire to be circulated to colleges along with the prototype model of BSC. Conclusion: BSC is a successful tool for enhancing growth of an organization. Educational institutes are no exception to these. BSC will only have to be realigned to suit the Naac criteria. Once this prototype is developed the success will be tested only on its implementation but this research paper will be the first step towards developing this tool and will also initiate the success by developing a questionnaire and getting and evaluating the responses for moving to the next level of actual implementation

Keywords: balanced scorecard, bench marking, Naac, UGC

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738 Evolution of Relations among Multiple Institutional Logics: A Case Study from a Higher Education Institution

Authors: Ye Jiang

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To examine how the relationships among multiple institutional logics vary over time and the factors that may impact this process, we conducted a 15-year in-depth longitudinal case study of a Higher Education Institution to examine its exploration in college student management. By employing constructive grounded theory, we developed a four-stage process model comprising separation, formalization, selective bridging, and embeddedness that showed how two contradictory logics become complementary, and finally become a new hybridized logic. We argue that selective bridging is an important step in changing inter-logic relations. We also found that ambidextrous leadership and situational sensemaking are two key factors that drive this process. Our contribution to the literature is threefold. First, we enhance the literature on the changing relationships among multiple institutional logics and our findings advance the understanding of relationships between multiple logics through a dynamic view. While most studies have tended to assume that the relationship among logics is static and persistently in a contentious state, we contend that the relationships among multiple institutional logics can change over time. Competitive logics can become complementary, and a new hybridized logic can emerge therefrom. The four-stage logic hybridization process model offers insights on the logic hybridization process, which is underexplored in the literature. Second, our research reveals that selective bridging is important in making conflicting logics compatible, and thus constitutes a key step in creating new hybridized logic dynamics. Our findings suggest that the relations between multiple logics are manageable and can thus be manipulated for organizational innovation. Finally, the factors influencing the variations in inter-logic relations enrich the understanding of the antecedents of these dynamics.

Keywords: institutional theory, institutional logics, ambidextrous leadership, situational sensemaking

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737 Management and Leadership Development at Higher Educational Institutions: A Case Study of a South African Management Development Program

Authors: Michael Naidoo

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The purpose and functions of higher education institutions in the 21st century are evolving because of rapid changes in the global landscape. To remain germane, higher education institutions are in a period of swift and radical change. The success of these changes is highly dependent on the effective leadership of the institution. Consequently, many higher education institutions have invested time and finances into the management and leadership development of their staff. The development has taken many different forms and focus areas, depending on the societal and institutional needs, as well as available financial resources and infrastructural practices. South Africa has many public and private higher education institutions which are also undergoing significant changes to meet the contextual needs of the country. Many of these institutions have provided management and leadership development programs for their staff. This research aims at exploring the common, critical content, structure and practices of effective management and leadership development programs at higher educational institutions. This research will also examine a specific management development program (MDP) at a South African private higher educational institution. Finally, the research will review how organizational leadership is utilized in management and leadership development programs. The research is underpinned by the paradigm of interpretivism. This is because the aims of the research will be achieved by the collection of qualitative data. The qualitative data will be gathered through individual semi-structured interviews with the facilitators of the MDP program and some of the MDP candidates. The validity of the findings will be increased by the triangulation of data from both sets of interviews. An embedded, single case study design will be used. All ethical protocols will be followed throughout the research. The findings of the research should reveal more information about the key elements that should be incorporated into management and leadership development programs. These include crucial content, structure and practices. The research should also reveal how organizational leadership can be successfully incorporated into the programs. This research can then be used by higher educational institutions to strengthen their management and leadership development programs.

Keywords: managment, leadership, development, organizational leadership

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736 Clinical and Epidemiological Profile in Patients with Preeclampsia in a Private Institution in Medellin, Colombia 2015

Authors: Camilo Andrés Agudelo Vélez, Lina María Martínez Sánchez, Isabel Cristina Ortiz Trujillo, Evert Armando Jiménez Cotes, Natalia Perilla Hernández, María de los Ángeles Rodríguez Gázquez, Daniel Duque Restrepo, Felipe Hernández Restrepo, Dayana Andrea Quintero Moreno, Juan José Builes Gómez, Camilo Ruiz Mejía, Ana Lucia Arango Gómez

Abstract:

Preeclampsia is a clinical complication during pregnancy with high incidence in Colombia; therefore, it is important to evaluate the influence of external conditions and medical interventions, in order to promote measures that encourage improvements in the quality of life. Objective: Determine clinical and sociodemographic variables in women with preeclampsia. Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 50 patients with the diagnosis of preeclampsia, from a private institution in Medellin, during 2015. We used the software SPSS ver.20 for statistical analysis. For the qualitative variables, we calculated the mean and standard deviation, while, for ordinal and nominal levels of quantitative variables, ratios were estimated. Results: The average age was 26.8±5.9 years. The predominant characteristics were socioeconomic stratum 2 (48%), students (55%), mixed race (46%) and middle school as level of education (38%). As for clinical features, 72% of the cases were mild preeclampsia, and 22% were severe forms. The most common clinical manifestations were edema (46%), headache (62%), and proteinuria (55%). As for the Gyneco-obstetric history, 8% reported previous episodes of this disease and it was the first pregnancy for 60% of the patients. Conclusions: Preeclampsia is a frequent condition in young women; on the other hand, headache and edema were the most common reasons for consultation, therefore, doctors need to be aware of these symptoms in pregnant women.

Keywords: pre-eclampsia, hypertension, pregnancy complications, pregnancy, abdominal, edema

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735 In Response to Worldwide Disaster: Academic Libraries’ Functioning During COVID-19 Pandemic Without a Policy

Authors: Dalal Albudaiwi, Mike Allen, Talal Alhaji, Shahnaz Khadimehzadah

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As a pandemic, COVID-19 has impacted the whole world since November 2019. In other words, every organization, industry, and institution has been negatively affected by the Coronavirus. The uncertainty of how long the pandemic will last caused chaos at all levels. As with any other institution, public libraries were affected and transmitted into online services and resources. As internationally, have been witnessed that some public libraries were well-prepared for such disasters as the pandemic, and therefore, collections, users, services, technologies, staff, and budgets were all influenced. Public libraries’ policies did not mention any plan regarding such a pandemic. Instead, there are several rules in the guidelines about disasters in general, such as natural disasters. In this pandemic situation, libraries have been involved in different uneasy circumstances. However, it has always been apparent to public libraries the role they play in serving their communities in excellent and critical times. It dwells into the traditional role public libraries play in providing information services and sources to satisfy their information-based community needs. Remarkably increasing people’s awareness of the importance of informational enrichment and enhancing society’s skills in dealing with information and information sources. Under critical circumstances, libraries play a different role. It goes beyond the traditional part of information providers to the untraditional role of being a social institution that serves the community with whatever capabilities they have. This study takes two significant directions. The first focuses on investigating how libraries have responded to COVID-19 and how they manage disasters within their organization. The second direction focuses on how libraries help their communities to act during disasters and how to recover from the consequences. The current study examines how libraries prepare for disasters and the role of public libraries during disasters. We will also propose “measures” to be a model that libraries can use to evaluate the effectiveness of their response to disasters. We intend to focus on how libraries responded to this new disaster. Therefore, this study aims to develop a comprehensive policy that includes responding to a crisis such as Covid-19. An analytical lens inside the libraries as an organization and outside the organization walls will be documented based on analyzing disaster-related literature published in the LIS publication. The study employs content analysis (CA) methodology. CA is widely used in the library and information science. The critical contribution of this work is to propose solutions it provides to libraries and planers to prepare crisis management plans/ policies, specifically to face a new global disaster such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the study will help library directors to evaluate their strategies and to improve them properly. The significance of this study lies in guiding libraries’ directors to enhance the goals of the libraries to guarantee crucial issues such as: saving time, avoiding loss, saving budget, acting quickly during a crisis, maintaining libraries’ role during pandemics, finding out the best response to disasters, and creating plan/policy as a sample for all libraries.

Keywords: Covid-19, policy, preparedness, public libraries

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734 Use of Alternative and Complementary Therapies in Patients with Chronic Pain in a Medical Institution in Medellin, Colombia, 2014

Authors: Lina María Martínez Sánchez, Juliana Molina Valencia, Esteban Vallejo Agudelo, Daniel Gallego González, María Isabel Pérez Palacio, Juan Ricardo Gaviria García, María De Los Ángeles Rodríguez Gázquez, Gloria Inés Martínez Domínguez

Abstract:

Alternative and complementary therapies constitute a vast and complex combination of interventions, philosophies, approaches, and therapies that acquire a holistic healthcare point of view, becoming an alternative for the treatment of patients with chronic pain. Objective: determine the characteristics of the use of alternative and complementary therapies in patients with chronic pain who consulted in a medical institution. Methodology: cross-sectional and descriptive study, with a population of patients that assisted to the outpatient consultation and met the eligibility criteria. Sampling was not conducted. A form was used for the collection of demographic and clinical variables and the Holistic Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire (HCAMQ) was validated. The analysis and processing of information was carried out using the SPSS program vr.19. Results: 220 people with chronic pain were included. The average age was 54.7±16.2 years, 78.2% were women, and 75.5% belonged to the socioeconomic strata 1 to 3. Musculoskeletal pain (77.7%), migraine (15%) and neuralgia (9.1%) were the most frequently types of chronic pain. 33.6% of participants have used some kind of alternative and complementary therapy; the most frequent were: homeopathy (14.5%), phytotherapy (12.7%), and acupuncture (11.4%). The total average HCAMQ score for the study group was 30.2±7.0 points, which shows a moderate attitude toward the use of complementary and alternative medicine. The highest scores according to the type of pain were: neuralgia (32.4±5.8), musculoskeletal pain (30.5±6.7), fibromyalgia (29.6±7.3) and migraine (28.5±8.8). The reliability of the HCAMQ was acceptable (Cronbach's α: 0.6). Conclusion: it was noted that the types of chronic pain and the clinical or therapeutic management of patients correspond to the data available in current literature. Despite the moderate attitude toward the use of these alternative and complementary therapies, one of every three patients uses them.

Keywords: chronic pain, complementary therapies, homeopathy, acupuncture analgesia

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733 Collaboration-Based Islamic Financial Services: Case Study of Islamic Fintech in Indonesia

Authors: Erika Takidah, Salina Kassim

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Digital transformation has accelerated in the new millennium. It is reshaping the financial services industry from a traditional system to financial technology. Moreover, the number of financial inclusion rates in Indonesia is less than 60%. An innovative model needed to elucidate this national problem. On the other hand, the Islamic financial service industry and financial technology grow fast as a new aspire in economic development. An Islamic bank, takaful, Islamic microfinance, Islamic financial technology and Islamic social finance institution could collaborate to intensify the financial inclusion number in Indonesia. The primary motive of this paper is to examine the strategy of collaboration-based Islamic financial services to enhance financial inclusion in Indonesia, particularly facing the digital era. The fundamental findings for the main problems are the foundations and key ecosystems aspect involved in the development of collaboration-based Islamic financial services. By using the Interpretive Structural Model (ISM) approach, the core problems faced in the development of the models have lacked policy instruments guarding the collaboration-based Islamic financial services with fintech work process and availability of human resources for fintech. The core strategies or foundations that are needed in the framework of collaboration-based Islamic financial services are the ability to manage and analyze data in the big data era. For the aspects of the Ecosystem or actors involved in the development of this model, the important actor is government or regulator, educational institutions, and also existing industries (Islamic financial services). The outcome of the study designates that strategy collaboration of Islamic financial services institution supported by robust technology, a legal and regulatory commitment of the regulators and policymakers of the Islamic financial institutions, extensive public awareness of financial inclusion in Indonesia. The study limited itself to realize financial inclusion, particularly in Islamic finance development in Indonesia. The study will have an inference for the concerned professional bodies, regulators, policymakers, stakeholders, and practitioners of Islamic financial service institutions.

Keywords: collaboration, financial inclusion, Islamic financial services, Islamic fintech

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732 Pedagogical Tools In The 21st Century

Authors: M. Aherrahrou

Abstract:

Moroccan education is currently facing many difficulties and problems due to traditional methods of teaching. Neuro -Linguistic Programming (NLP) appears to hold much potential for education at all levels. In this paper, the major aim is to explore the effect of certain Neuro -Linguistic Programming techniques in one educational institution in Morocco. Quantitative and Qualitative methods are used. The findings prove the effectiveness of this new approach regarding Moroccan education, and it is a promising tool to improve the quality of learning.

Keywords: learning and teaching environment, Neuro- Linguistic Programming, education, quality of learning

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731 Student Participation in Higher Education Quality Assurance Processes

Authors: Tomasz Zarebski

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A very important element of the education system is its evaluation procedure. Each education system should be systematically evaluated and improved. Among the criteria subject to evaluation, attention should be paid to the following: structure of the study programme, implementation of the study programme, admission to studies, verification of learning outcomes achievement by students, giving credit for individual semesters and years, and awarding diplomas, competence, experience, qualifications and the number of staff providing education, staff development, and in-service training, education infrastructure, cooperation with social and economic stakeholders on the development, conditions for and methods of improving the internationalisation of education provided as part of the degree programme, supporting learning, social, academic or professional development of students and their entry on the labour market, public access to information about the study programme and quality assurance policy. Concerning the assessment process and the individual assessment indicators, the participation of students in these processes is essential. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the rules of student participation in accreditation processes on the example of individual countries in Europe. The rules of students' participation in the work of accreditation committees and their influence on the final grade of the committee were analysed. Most of the higher education institutions follow similar rules for accreditation. The general model gives the individual institution freedom to organize its own quality assurance, as long as the system lives up to the criteria for quality and relevance laid down in the particular provisions. This point also applies to students. The regulations of the following countries were examined in the legal-comparative aspect: Poland (Polish Accreditation Committee), Denmark (The Danish Accreditation Institution), France (High Council for the Evaluation of Research and Higher Education), Germany (Agency for Quality Assurance through Accreditation of Study Programmes) and Italy (National Agency for the Evaluation of Universities and Research Institutes).

Keywords: accreditation, student, study programme, quality assurance in higher education

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730 Role of Consultancy in Engineering Education

Authors: V. Nalina, P. Jayarekha

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Consultancy by an engineering faculty member of an institution undertakes consulting assignments to provide professional or technical solutions to specific fields. Consulting is providing an opportunity for the engineering faculty to share their insights for the real world problems. It is a dynamic learning process with respect to students and faculty as it increases the teaching and research activities. In this paper, we discuss the need for consultancy in engineering education with faculty contribution towards consultancy and advantages of consultancy to institutions. Balance the workload of the faculty consulting with the responsibilities of academics defined by the universities.

Keywords: consultancy, academic consulting, engineering consultancy, faculty consulting

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729 Green Human Resource Management: Delivering High Performance Human Resource Systems at Divine Word University Papua New Guinea

Authors: Zainab Olabisi Tairu

Abstract:

The human species is facing some of the most challenging issues encountered as civilization and development occurs. The most salient factors threatening all species globally are habitats loss and degradation, overexploitation, competition with unwanted invasive species, pollution, global climate and various individual lifestyles of indigenous species. In order to avoid or minimize the effect of our actions on the environment and to balance employee work life with their private life, Green Human Resource is important and must be practiced in every organization including Higher Learning Institutions. This study addressed Green HRM from an institutional perspective, University systems are involved in numerous and complex social, educational and extra-curricular activities. The University community must be challenged to rethink and re-construct their environmental policies and practices in order to contribute to sustainable development. Many institutions only look at sustainability from the technology improvement aspect and waste management. People are the principal actors for sustainability development at the institutional level. The aim of the study is to explore the concept of Green Human Resource Management at a case site. Divine Word University (DWU) an Institution of Higher Education that embraced the ‘Printing & Paper use Policy’, also commonly referred to as the ‘paperless policy’, the use of solar as an alternative source of energy, water conservation and improvement in internet technology (IT) with the aim of becoming a green institution in effort to help save the environment. This study used Participatory Action Research as the Overarching methodological framework and Egg of sustainability and Wellbeing as the theoretical perspective in analyzing the data, engaging Case study strategy and a mixed method design at DWU. Focus group interview were conducted with three departments at the University, semi-structure interviews with the senior managers, survey questionnaire administered to students and staff with a sample size of 176 participants, in addition, policy documents were also exploited as extra source of data. Waste management including e-waste appeared to be one of the main concerns at DWU. A vast majority of DWU staff and students expressed the need for their institution to do more on sustainability education. The findings revealed that members of the community are not fully integrated like the Egg of sustainability and wellbeing in order to achieve sustainable development goal. The concept of Green Human Resource Management in Universities lies with the idea that Universities must bear profound responsibilities to manage its stakeholders in an environmental friendly way. Human resource management can help local institutions to recognize the need for changes of lifestyle, production, consumption as well as the end product in order to combat or at least reduce human Induced which produce or aggravate it.

Keywords: sustainability, environmental management, higher education institutions, green human resource management

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728 An Evaluation of a Student Peer Mentoring Program

Authors: Nazeema Ahmed

Abstract:

This paper reports on the development of a student peer mentoring programme at a higher education institution. The programme is dependent on volunteering senior undergraduate students who are trained to mentor first-year students studying towards an engineering degree. The evaluation of the programme took the form of first-year students completing a self-report paper questionnaire at the onset of a lecture and mentors completing their questionnaire electronically. The evaluation yielded mixed findings. Peer mentoring clearly benefited some students in their adjustment to the institution. Specific mentors’ personal attributes enabled the establishment of successful mentoring relationships, where encouragement, advice and academic assistance was provided. Gains were reciprocal with mentors reporting that the programme contributed towards their personal development. Confidence in the programme was expressed in mentors feeling that it was an initiative worth continuing and first-year students agreeing that it be recommended to future first-year students. This was despite many unfavourable experiences of mentors where their professionalism and commitment to the programme was suspect. It is evident that while mentors began with noble intentions they appear either to lose interest or become overwhelmed with their own workload as the academic year progresses. On the other hand, some mentors reported feeling challenged by the apathy of first-year students who failed to maximise the opportunity available to them. The different attitudes towards mentoring that manifested as a mentoring culture in some departments were particularly pertinent to its successful implementation. The findings point to the key role of academic staff in the mentoring programme who model the mentoring relationship in their interaction with student mentors. While their involvement in the programme may be perceived as a drain on resources in an already demanding academic teaching environment, it is imperative that structural changes be put in place for the programme to be both efficient and sustainable. A pervasive finding concerns the evolving institutional culture of student development in the faculty. Mentors and first-year students alike alluded to the potential of the mentoring programme provided it is seriously endorsed at both the departmental and faculty level. The findings provide a foundation from which to develop the programme further and to begin improving its capacity for maximizing student retention in South African higher education.

Keywords: engineering students, first-year students, peer mentoring

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727 Rethinking Entrepreneurship Education as a Remedy for Graduates Unemployment in Nigeria

Authors: Chinwe Susan Oguejiofor, Daniel Osamwonyi Iyioha

Abstract:

Over the last two decades, Nigeria has witnessed an upsurge in graduate unemployment occasioned by the lack of industries and proliferation of tertiary institutions churning out thousands of graduates every year to compete for the few available job space. The astronomical rise in the unemployment rate amongst Nigerian graduates however, is principally assumed to be the defective curricula of the universities and other tertiary institutions whose focus is on training for white-collar jobs. Although graduate unemployment has become a global scourge, its adverse economic impact is believed to be more in developing economies like Nigeria with a huge young population within the working age who cannot seem to find gainful employment to make out a respectable livelihood. Thus, higher institutions especially Universities found itself under pressure and intense competition to produce graduates who can think outside the box and create jobs; hence there was the need to focus on instilling hands-on practical job skills into their students that will make them job creators rather than job seekers on graduation. In the same vein stakeholders in education have continued to lend their voices to the philosophy that the undergraduate curricula should be completely overhauled to accomodate the development of hand-on practical skills and innovative capacity relevant to creating solutions to societal problems. In a bid to correct this anomaly, the Federal Government of Nigeria in conjunction with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment inaugurated a programme tagged “University Entrepreneurship Development Programme” (UNEDEP) whose objective was basically to promote self-employment among the youth right from the institutions of higher learning. But the question is whether the objectives of the programme have actually been achieved. Despite the inclusion in Nigerian educational curriculum close to two decades now,, one wonder if the essence has been aborted. Thus, the paper focused on the concept of entrepreneurship education, objectives of entrepreneurship education, Graduates unemployment, rethinking entrepreneurship education programme in tertiary institution for employment generation , role of entrepreneurship in job creation, challenges of entrepreneurship education in tertiary institution in Nigeria, conclusion and recommendations were drawn accordingly.

Keywords: rethinking, entrepreneurship education, remedy, unemployment, job creation

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726 Developing a Framework for Open Source Software Adoption in a Higher Education Institution in Uganda. A case of Kyambogo University

Authors: Kafeero Frank

Abstract:

This study aimed at developing a frame work for open source software adoption in an institution of higher learning in Uganda, with the case of KIU as a study area. There were mainly four research questions based on; individual staff interaction with open source software forum, perceived FOSS characteristics, organizational characteristics and external characteristics as factors that affect open source software adoption. The researcher used causal-correlation research design to study effects of these variables on open source software adoption. A quantitative approach was used in this study with self-administered questionnaire on a purposively and randomly sampled sample of university ICT staff. Resultant data was analyzed using means, correlation coefficients and multivariate multiple regression analysis as statistical tools. The study reveals that individual staff interaction with open source software forum and perceived FOSS characteristics were the primary factors that significantly affect FOSS adoption while organizational and external factors were secondary with no significant effect but significant correlation to open source software adoption. It was concluded that for effective open source software adoption to occur there must be more effort on primary factors with subsequent reinforcement of secondary factors to fulfill the primary factors and adoption of open source software. Lastly recommendations were made in line with conclusions for coming up with Kyambogo University frame work for open source software adoption in institutions of higher learning. Areas of further research recommended include; Stakeholders’ analysis of open source software adoption in Uganda; Challenges and way forward. Evaluation of Kyambogo University frame work for open source software adoption in institutions of higher learning. Framework development for cloud computing adoption in Ugandan universities. Framework for FOSS development in Uganda IT industry

Keywords: open source software., organisational characteristics, external characteristics, cloud computing adoption

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725 Karachi Electric Power Technical and Financial Performance Evaluation after Privatization

Authors: Fawad Azeem

Abstract:

This paper deals with the comparative analysis of Karachi Electric before and after privatization. Technical as well as financial analysis has been done based on the available KE’s stats for last decade. Karachi Electric has evolved as a better entity in terms of its financial and technical achievements. On the other hand, human resources have been seriously affected due to mass firing of employees from the organizations. Study and analysis show that transparent and unbiased privatization practices on institutions like KE that were in serious trouble can upsurge the standards of the institution. Further, for the betterment of the social circle privatization must not affect the employment opportunities.

Keywords: Karachi Electric, power, energy, privatization

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724 Information Asymmetry and Governing Boards in Higher Education: The Heat Map of Information Asymmetry Across Competencies and the Role of Training in Mitigating Information Asymmetry

Authors: Ana Karaman, Dmitriy Gaevoy

Abstract:

Successful and effective governing boards play an essential role in higher education by providing essential oversight and helping to steer the direction of an institution while creating and maintaining a thriving culture of stewardship. A well-functioning board can also help mitigate conflicts of interest, ensure responsible use of an organization's assets, and maintain institutional transparency. However, boards’ functions in higher education are inhibited by the presence of information asymmetry between the board and management. Board members typically have little specific knowledge about the business side of the higher education, in general, and an institution under their oversight in particular. As a result, boards often must rely on the discretion of the institutional upper administration as to what type of pertinent information being disclosed to the board. The phenomenon of information asymmetry is not unique to the higher education and has been studied previously in the context of both corporate and non-for-profit boards. Various board characteristics have been analyzed with respect to mitigating the information asymmetry between an organizational board and management. For example, it has been argued that such board characteristics as its greater size, independence, and a higher proportion of female members tend to reduce information asymmetry by raising levels of information disclosure and organizational transparency. This paper explores the phenomenon of information asymmetry between boards and management in the context of higher education. In our analysis, we propose a heat map of information asymmetry based on the categories of board competencies in higher education. The proposed heat map is based on the assessment of potential risks to both the boards and its institutions. It employs an assumption that a potential risk created by the presence of information asymmetry varies in its magnitude across various areas of boards’ competencies. Then, we explore the role of board members’ training in mitigating information asymmetry between the boards and the management by increasing the level of information disclosure and enhancing transparency in management communication with the boards. The paper seeks to demonstrate how appropriate training can provide board members with an adequate preparation to request a sufficient level of information disclose and transparency by arming them with knowledge of what questions to ask of the management.

Keywords: higher education, governing boards information asymmetry, board competencies, board training

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723 Management Trainee Program

Authors: Ambreen Amir Ali

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In todays’ dynamic environment, it has become very crucial to have comprehensive management trainee program to hire future leaders of organization. It is being proved that fresh graduates mostly join organizations because of its institution but later on they leave organization because of their immediate manager or supervisor. The concept of coaching and mentoring in talent management systems are very important, because mentors are those who can advise, facilitate, help and support new entrants to advance in their career. When it comes to going for talent hunt, one point needs to be highlighted that MTs are the raw talent for your organization, now it’s the responsibility of employers to nourish them, polish and developed them so that they can enthusiastically take care of senior leadership roles.

Keywords: management trainee, retention, leadership roles, coaching

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722 MY ATBU: A Rebranding Campaign Using Promotional Products

Authors: Azeez Ayodele

Abstract:

Promotional products take symbolic roles, they can become an emblem, and they can become part of a rebrand and even be a brand itself. Promotional products express both an institution’s inspirations and its aspirations; it can reflect a continuum. This stimulates the interest of the study, which is to examine the impact of rebranding Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi-Nigeria, using promotional products. It examines the concept of rebranding with the aim to discuss the effectiveness of the promotional products in branding higher educational sector that needs to be assessed and measured. Therefore, some measures of branding activities are proposed. Conclusion suggests that university rebranding is effective and the use of a commercial approach can be easier.

Keywords: branding, higher education, promotional products, rebranding

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721 Measuring E-Learning Effectiveness Using a Three-Way Comparison

Authors: Matthew Montebello

Abstract:

The way e-learning effectiveness has been notoriously measured within an academic setting is by comparing the e-learning medium to the traditional face-to-face teaching methodology. In this paper, a simple yet innovative comparison methodology is introduced, whereby the effectiveness of next generation e-learning systems are assessed in contrast not only to the face-to-face mode, but also to the classical e-learning modality. Ethical and logistical issues are also discussed, as this three-way approach to compare teaching methodologies was applied and documented in a real empirical study within a higher education institution.

Keywords: e-learning effectiveness, higher education, teaching modality comparison

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720 Quality Assurance in Higher Education: Doha Institute for Graduate Studies as a Case Study

Authors: Ahmed Makhoukh

Abstract:

Quality assurance (QA) has recently become a common practice, which is endorsed by most Higher Education (HE) institutions worldwide, due to the pressure of internal and external forces. One of the aims of this quality movement is to make the contribution of university education to socio-economic development highly significant. This entails that graduates are currently required have a high-quality profile, i.e., to be competent and master the 21st-century skills needed in the labor market. This wave of change, mostly imposed by globalization, has the effect that university education should be learner-centered in order to satisfy the different needs of students and meet the expectations of other stakeholders. Such a shift of focus on the student learning outcomes has led HE institutions to reconsider their strategic planning, their mission, the curriculum, the pedagogical competence of the academic staff, among other elements. To ensure that the overall institutional performance is on the right way, a QA system should be established to assume this task of checking regularly the extent to which the set of standards of evaluation are strictly respected as expected. This operation of QA has the advantage of proving the accountability of the institution, gaining the trust of the public with transparency and enjoying an international recognition. This is the case of Doha Institute (DI) for Graduate Studies, in Qatar, the object of the present study. The significance of this contribution is to show that the conception of quality has changed in this digital age, and the need to integrate a department responsible for QA in every HE institution to ensure educational quality, enhance learners and achieve academic leadership. Thus, to undertake the issue of QA in DI for Graduate Studies, an elite university (in the academic sense) that focuses on a small and selected number of students, a qualitative method will be adopted in the description and analysis of the data (document analysis). In an attempt to investigate the extent to which QA is achieved in Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, three broad indicators will be evaluated (input, process and learning outcomes). This investigation will be carried out in line with the UK Quality Code for Higher Education represented by Quality Assurance Agency (QAA).

Keywords: accreditation, higher education, quality, quality assurance, standards

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719 The Importance of Intellectual Property for Universities of Technology in South Africa: Challenges Faced and Proposed Way Forward

Authors: Martha E. Ikome, John M. Ikome

Abstract:

Intellectual property should be a day-to-day business decision due to its value, but increasingly, a number of institution are still not aware of the importance. Intellectual Property (IP) and its value are often not adequately appreciated. In the increasingly knowledge-driven economy, IP is a key consideration in day-to-day business decisions because new ideas and products appear almost daily in the market, which results in continuous innovation and research. Therefore, this paper will focus on the importance of IP for universities of technology and also further demonstrates how IP can become an economic tool and the challenges faced by these universities in implementing an IP system.

Keywords: intellectual property, institutions, challenges, protection

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718 Analyzing Students’ Preferences for Academic Advising: Cases of Two Institutions in Greater Tokyo in Japan

Authors: Megumi Yamasaki, Eiko Shimizu

Abstract:

The term academic advisor system first appeared in 2012 in Japan. After ten years, it is not yet functioning. One of Japanese college students’ characteristics is that they choose an institution but may not be interested in a major and want to earn a degree for a career. When the university encourages students to develop competencies as well as students to set personal goals during college life, it is critical to support students develop self-directed attitudes and advocacy skills. This paper will analyze the students’ current stage and how academic advising supports their development.

Keywords: academic advising, student development, self-directed, self-advocacy

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