Search results for: foreign policy of China
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1154

Search results for: foreign policy of China

974 Eurasian Economic Integration: Eurasian Economic Community and Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Authors: Azhar E. Serikkaliyeva, Nurzhamal A. Aldabek

Abstract:

The purpose of this article is to analyze economic and political tendencies of development of integration processes with different developing level and speed on the Eurasian space, by considering two organizations at the region – Eurasian Economic Community and Shanghai Cooperation Organization, by considering the interests of participations in organizations of Russia and China as a global powers and Kazakhstan as a leader among the Central Asian countries. This article investigates what certain goals Eurasian countries (especially Russia, Kazakhstan and China) are waiting from integration within the SCO and the EurAsEC, linking the process with the theories of regional integration. After European debt crisis it is more topically to research the integration within the specific region's conditions.

Keywords: Eurasian Economic Community, China, Kazakhstan, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Regional integration, Russia.

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973 Member Investment Willingness in Agricultural Cooperatives in Shaanxi (China)

Authors: Lijia Wang, Xuexi Huo

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This study analyzes characteristics determining member’s willingness to invest in cooperatives using ordered logit model. The data were collected in a field survey among 122 cooperative members in north-central China. The descriptive analysis of survey evidence suggests that cooperatives in China generally having poor ability to deliver the processing services related to product package, grading, and storage, performing worse in profitability, inability of providing returns to capital and obtaining agricultural loan. The regression results demonstrate that members’ farm size, their satisfaction with cooperative price preferential services, attitudes toward cooperative operational scale and development potential have statistically significant impact on willingness to invest.

Keywords: Cooperatives, investment willingness, member, ordered logit.

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972 The Study and Practice of the Thermal Energy and Power Engineering Characteristic Specialty in China

Authors: Junjie Chen

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According to the demand of the power and refrigeration industry, the theoretical and practical teachings of the Thermal Energy and Power Engineering characteristic specialty in china are studied. The teaching reform and practice of the Thermal Energy and Power Engineering specialty have been carried out, including construction and reform measures, teaching reform and practice, features, and achievements. Proved by practices, the theoretical and practical teaching effects are obvious. The study results can provides certain reference experience for theoretical and practical teachings of the related specialties in china.

Keywords: Theoretical teaching, practical teaching, Thermal Energy and Power Engineering, characteristic specialty, teaching reform.

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971 Director Compensation, CEO Duality, State Ownership, and Firm Performance in China: Proof from Panel Data of Publicly Listed Enterprises from 1999 to 2020

Authors: Wanda Luen-Wun Siu, Xiaowen Zhang

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This paper offered the primary methodical proof on how director remuneration related to enterprise earnings in listed firms in China in light of most evidence focusing on cross-sectional data or data in a short span of time. Using full economic and business panel data on China’s publicly listed enterprise from 1999 to 2020 over two decades in the China Stock Market & Accounting Research database, we found statistically significant positive associations between director pay and firm performance in privately owned firms over this period, supporting the agency theory. In contrast, among the state-owned enterprises, there was a reverse relation between director compensation and firm financial performance, contributing to the existing literature. But the results also revealed that state-owned enterprises financially performed as well as private enterprises. Such findings suggested that state ownership might line up officials’ career incentives with party prime concern rather than pecuniary incentives. Also, CEO duality enhanced firm performance. As such, allegiance to the party and possible advancement to an upper-level political position would motivate company directors in state-owned enterprises. On the other hand, directors in privately owned enterprises might be motivated by monetary incentives. In addition, a statistical regression model was proposed and tested to get the results of the performance of state-owned enterprises. Finally, some suggestions were made about how to improve the institutional management of government-owned corporations in China.

Keywords: China’s listed Firm, director compensation, CEO duality, firm performance, panel analysis.

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970 Characteristics of E-waste Recycling Systems in Japan and China

Authors: Bi Bo, Kayoko Yamamoto

Abstract:

This study aims to identify processes, current situations, and issues of recycling systems for four home appliances, namely, air conditioners, television receivers, refrigerators, and washing machines, among e-wastes in China and Japan for understanding and comparison of their characteristics. In accordance with results of a literature search, review of information disclosed online, and questionnaire survey conducted, conclusions of the study boil down to: (1)The results show that in Japan most of the home appliances mentioned above have been collected through home appliance recycling tickets, resulting in an issue of “requiring some effort" in treatment and recycling stages, and most plants have contracted out their e-waste recycling. (2)It is found out that advantages of the recycling system in Japan include easiness to monitor concrete data and thorough environmental friendliness ensured while its disadvantages include illegal dumping and export. It becomes apparent that advantages of the recycling system in China include a high reuse rate, low treatment cost, and fewer illegal dumping while its disadvantages include less safe reused products, environmental pollution caused by e-waste treatment, illegal import, and difficulty in obtaining data.

Keywords: E-waste, Recycling Systems, Home Appliances, Japan and China.

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969 Teaching Speaking Skills to Adult English Language Learners through ALM

Authors: Wichuda Kunnu, Aungkana Sukwises

Abstract:

Audio-lingual Method (ALM) is a teaching approach that is claimed that ineffective for teaching second/foreign languages. Because some linguists and second/foreign language teachers believe that ALM is a rote learning style. However, this study is done on a belief that ALM will be able to solve Thais’ English speaking problem. This paper aims to report the findings on teaching English speaking to adult learners with an “adapted ALM”, one distinction of which is to use Thai as the medium language of instruction. The participants are consisted of 9 adult learners. They were allowed to speak English more freely using both the materials presented in the class and their background knowledge of English. At the end of the course, they spoke English more fluently, more confidently, to the extent that they applied what they learnt both in and outside the class.

Keywords: Teaching English, Audio Lingual Method.

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968 The Impact of the Type of Diversification of Listed Construction Enterprises in China on Corporation Performance

Authors: Yi-Hsin Lin, Ying-Ying Li

Abstract:

The construction industry is the pillar industry in China, accounting for about 6% of the gross domestic product. Along with changes in the external environment of the construction industry in China, the construction firm faces fierce competition. The paper aims to investigate the relationship between diversified types of construction firm and its performance in China. Based on generalist and specialist strategy in organizational ecology, we think a generalist organization can be applied to an enterprise with diversified developments, while specialist groups are extended to professional enterprises .This study takes advantage of annual financial data of listed construction firm to empirically verify the relationship between diversification and corporation performance establishing a regression equation to econometric analysis. We find that: 1) Specialization can significantly improve the level of profitability of listed construction firms, and there is a significant positive relationship with corporate performance; 2) The level of operating performance of listed construction enterprises which engage in unrelated diversification is higher than those with related diversification; 3) The relationship between state-owned construction firms and corporate performance is negative. The more the year of foundation is, the higher performance will be; however, the more the year of being listed, the lower performance will be.

Keywords: Diversification, Specialization, Construction Firm, Performance.

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967 Factors Influencing the Continuance Usage of Online Mobile Payment Apps: A Case Study of WECHAT Users in China

Authors: Isaac Kofi Mensah, Jianing Mi, Feng Cheng

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This research paper seeks to investigate the factors determining the continuance usage of online mobile payment applications among WECHAT users in China. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory would both be applied as the theoretical foundation for this study. A developed instrument would be administered to the targeted sample of 1000 WECHAT Users in the City of Harbin, China, through an online questionnaire administration platform. Factors such as perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived service quality, social influence, trust in the internet, internet self-efficacy, relative advantage, compatibility, and complexity would be explored to determine its significant impact on the continuance intention to use mobile payment apps. This study is at the development and implementation stage. The successful completion of this research article would not only provide an insightful understanding of the factors influencing the decision of WECHAT users in China to use mobile payment applications but also enrich the e-commerce adoption literature.

Keywords: Diffusion of innovation (DOI), e-commerce, mobile payment, technology acceptance model (TAM), WECHAT.

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966 The Fiscal and Macroeconomic Impacts of Reforming Energy Subsidy Policy in Malaysia

Authors: Nora Yusma Bte Mohamed Yusoff, Hussain Ali Bekhet

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The rationalization of a gradual subsidies reforms plan has been set out by the Malaysian government to achieve the high-income nation target. This paper attempts to analyze the impacts of energy subsidy reform policy on fiscal deficit and macroeconomics variables in Malaysia. The Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Model is employed. Three simulations based on different groups of scenarios have been developed. Importantly, the overall results indicate that removal of fuel subsidy has significantly improved the real GDP and reduced the government fiscal deficit. On the other hand, the removal of the fuel subsidy has increased most of the local commodity prices, especially energy commodities. The findings of the study could provide some imperative inputs for policy makers, especially to identify the right policy mechanism. This is especially ensures the subsidy savings from subsidy removal could be transferred back into the domestic economy in the form of infrastructure development, compensation and increases in others sector output contributions towards a sustainable economic growth.

Keywords: CGE, deficit, energy, reform, subsidy.

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965 Family-size Biogas Plant Using Manure and Urine Mixture at Ambient Temperature in Semi-arid Regions of Northwestern China

Authors: Wenguang Ding, Yang Wu, Xia Wang, Yayu Gao

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Biogas, a clean renewable energy, is attracting a growing concern of researchers and professionals in many fields. Based on the natural and climatic conditions in semi-arid regions of northwestern China, the present study introduces a specifically-designed family-size biogas plant (with a digester of 10m3) with manure and urine of animals and humanity as raw materials. The biogas plant is applicable to areas with altitudes of more than 2000 meters in northwestern China. In addition to the installation cost, a little operational expenditure, structure, characteristics, benefits of this small-scale biogas plant, this article introduces a wide range of specific popularization methods such as training, financial support, guided tour to the biogas plant, community-based group study and delivery of operational manuals. The feasibility of the biogas plant is explored on the basis of the availability of the raw materials. Simple operations contained in the current work increase the possibility of the wide use of this small-scale biogas plant in similar regions of the world.

Keywords: biogas, family-size biogas plant, northwestern China, popularization

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964 Policies that Enhance Learning and Teaching

Authors: Shannon M. Chance, Pamela L. Eddy, Gavin Duffy, Brian Bowe, Jen Harvey

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Educational institutions often implement policies with the intention of influencing how learning and teaching occur. Generally, such policies are not as effective as their makers would like; changing the behavior of third-level teachers proves difficult. Nevertheless, a policy instituted in 2006 at the Dublin Institute of Technology has met with success: each newly hired faculty member must have a post-graduate qualification in “Learning and Teaching" or successfully complete one within the first two years of employment. The intention is to build teachers- knowledge about student-centered pedagogies and their capacity to implement them. As a result of this policy (and associated programs that support it), positive outcomes are readily apparent. Individual teachers who have completed the programs have implemented significant change at the course and program levels. This paper introduces the policy, identifies outcomes in relation to existing theory, describes research underway, and pinpoints areas where organizational learning has occurred.

Keywords: Faculty Development, Institutional Policy, Learning and Teaching, Postgraduate Qualification, Professional Development.

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963 A Quantitative Study on Japanese Internet User's Awareness to Information Security: Necessity and Importance of Education and Policy

Authors: Toshihiko Takemura, Atsushi Umino

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In this paper, the authors examine whether or not there Institute for Information and Communications Policy shows are differences of Japanese Internet users awareness to information security based on individual attributes by using analysis of variance based on non-parametric method. As a result, generally speaking, it is found that Japanese Internet users' awareness to information security is different by individual attributes. Especially, the authors verify that the users who received the information security education would have rather higher recognition concerning countermeasures than other users including self-educated users. It is suggested that the information security education should be enhanced so that the users may appropriately take the information security countermeasures. In addition, the information security policy such as carrying out "e- net caravan" and "information security seminars" are effective in improving the users' awareness on the information security in Japan.

Keywords: Information security education, variance of analysis, Internet users, information security policy, Web-based survey.

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962 Study on Rural Landscape Design Method under the Background of the Population Diversification

Authors: Z. Zhou, Q. Chen, S. Wu

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Population diversification phenomena becomes quite common in villages located in China’s developed coastal area. Based on the analysis of the traditional rural society and its landscape characteristics, and in consideration of diversified landscape requirements due to the population diversification, with dual ideas of heritage and innovation, methods for rural landscape design were explored by taking Duxuao Village in Zhejiang Province of China as an example.

Keywords: Rural landscape, Population diversification, Landscape design.

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961 A Balanced Scorecard for Identifying Factors of Strategic Fit of National R&D Program on the Creative Economy Policy

Authors: Jieun Kim, Haejin Cho, Yongtae Park, Yoonjo Kim, Jeonghwan Jeon

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As creative economy is important theme for national policy, many countries have been raising investments through national R&D programs. Since not all of programs are aligned with the ultimate vision and R&D investment is one of the most decisive elements, the strategic fit of national R&D programs should be evaluated for effective resource allocation. This study aims at identifying the factors of strategic fit of national R&D program on the creative economy policy. For this purpose, the balanced scorecard (BSC) model for R&D is utilized to translate national strategic objectives into a set of coherent performance factors.

Keywords: Balanced scorecard, Creative economy, National R&D program, Strategic fit.

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960 UEFA Super Cup: Economic Effects on Georgian Economy

Authors: Giorgi Bregadze

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Tourism is the most viable and sustainable economic development option for Georgia and one of the main sources of foreign exchange earnings. Events are considered as one of the most effective ways to attract foreign visitors to the country, and, recently, the government of Georgia has begun investing in this sector very actively. This article stresses the necessity of research based economic policy in the tourism sector. In this regard, it is of paramount importance to measure the economic effects of the events which are subsidized by taxpayers’ money. The economic effect of events can be analyzed from two perspectives; financial perspective of the government and perspective of economic effects of the tourism administration. The article emphasizes more realistic and all-inclusive focus of the economic effect analysis of the tourism administration as it concentrates on the income of residents and local businesses, part of which generate tax revenues for the government. The public would like to know what the economic returns to investment are. In this article, the methodology used to describe the economic effects of UEFA Super Cup held in Tbilisi, will help to answer this question. Methodology is based on three main principles and covers three stages. Using the suggested methodology article estimates the direct economic effect of UEFA Super cup on Georgian economy. Although the attempt to make an economic effect analysis of the event was successful in Georgia, some obstacles and insufficiencies were identified during the survey. The article offers several recommendations that will help to refine methodology and improve the accuracy of the data. Furthermore, it is very important to receive the correct standard of measurement of events in Georgia. In this caseü non-ethical acts of measurement which are widely utilized by different research companies will not trigger others to show overestimated effects. It is worth mentioning that to author’s best knowledge, this is the first attempt to measure the economic effect of an event held in Georgia.

Keywords: Biased economic effect analysis, expenditure of local citizens, time switchers and casuals, UEFA super cup.

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959 Between Policy Options and Technology Applications: Measuring the Sustainable Impacts on Distance Learning

Authors: Subramaniam Chandran

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This paper examines the interplay of policy options and cost-effective technology in providing sustainable distance education. A case study has been conducted among the learners and teachers. The emergence of learning technologies through CD, internet, and mobile is increasingly adopted by distance institutes for quick delivery and cost-effective factors. Their sustainability is conditioned by the structure of learners and well as the teaching community. The structure of learners in terms of rural and urban background revealed similarity in adoption and utilization of mobile learning. In other words, the technology transcended the rural-urban dichotomy. The teaching community was divided into two groups on policy issues. This study revealed both cost-effective as well as sustainability impacts on different learners groups divided by rural and urban location.

Keywords: Distance Education, Mobile Learning, Policy, Technology

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958 Tender Systems and Processes within the Mauritian Construction Industry: Investigating the Predominance of International Firms and the Lack of Absorptive Capacity in Local Firms

Authors: K. Appasamy, P. Paul

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Mauritius, a developing small-island-state, is facing a recession which is having a considerable economic impact particularly on its construction sector. Further, the presence of foreign entities, both as companies and workers, within this sector is creating a very competitive environment for local firms. This study investigates the key drivers that allow foreign firms to participate in this sector, in particular looking at the international and local tender processes, and the capacity of local industry to participate. This study also looks at how the current set up may hinder the latter’s involvement. The methodology used included qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted with established foreign companies, local companies, and public bodies. Study findings indicate: there is an adequate availability of professional skills and expertise within the Mauritian construction industry but a lack of skilled labour especially at the operative level; projects awarded to foreign firms are either due to their uniqueness and hence lack of local knowledge, or due to foreign firms having lower tender bids; tendering systems and processes are weak, including monitoring and enforcement, which encourages corruption and favouritism; a high lev el of ignorance of this sector’s characteristics and opportunities exists amongst the local population; local entities are very profit oriented and have short term strategies that discourage long term investment in workforce training and development; but most importantly, stakeholders do not grasp the importance of encouraging youngsters to join this sector, they have no long term vision, and there is a lack of mutual involvement and collaboration between them. Although local industry is highly competent, qualified and experienced, the tendering and procurement systems in Mauritius are not conducive enough to allow for effective strategic planning and an equitable allocation of projects during an economic downturn so that the broadest spread of stakeholders’ benefit. It is of utmost importance that all sector and government entities collaborate to formulate strategies and reforms on tender processes and capacity building to ensure fairness and continuous growth of this sector in Mauritius.

Keywords: Construction industry, tender process, international firms, local capacity, Mauritius.

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957 Key Issues in Transfer Stage of BOT Project: Experience from China

Authors: Wang Liguang, Zhang Xueqing

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The build-operate-transfer (BOT) project delivery system has provided effective routes to mobilize private sector funds, innovative technologies, management skills and operational efficiencies for public infrastructure development and have been widely used in China during the last 20 years. Many BOT projects in China will be smoothly transferred to the government soon and the transfer stage, which is considered as the last stage, must be studied carefully and handled well to achieve the overall success of BOT projects. There will be many issues faced by both the public sector and private sector in the transfer stage of BOT projects, including project post-assessment, technology and documents transfer, personal training and staff transition, etc. and sometimes additional legislation is needed for future operation and management of facilities. However, most previous studies focused on the bidding, financing, and building and operation stages instead of transfer stage. This research identifies nine key issues in the transfer stage of BOT projects through a comprehensive study on three cases in China, and the expert interview and expert discussion meetings are held to validate the key issues and give detail analysis. A proposed framework of transfer management is prepared based on the experiences derived and lessons drawn from the case studies and expert interview and discussions, which is expected to improve the transfer management of BOT projects in practice.

Keywords: BOT project, key issues, transfer management transfer stage.

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956 Mapping the Digital Landscape: An Analysis of Party Differences between Conventional and Digital Policy Positions

Authors: Daniel Schwarz, Jan Fivaz, Alessia Neuroni

Abstract:

Although digitization is a buzzword in almost every election campaign, the political parties leave voters largely in the dark about their specific positions on digital issues. In the run-up to the 2019 elections in Switzerland, the ‘Digitization Monitor’ project (DMP) was launched in order to change this situation. Within the framework of the DMP, all 4,736 candidates were surveyed about their digital policy positions and values. The DMP is designed as a digital policy supplement to the existing ‘smartvote’ voting advice application. This enabled a direct comparison of the digital policy attitudes according to the DMP with the topics of the ‘smartvote’ questionnaire which are comprehensive in content but mainly related to conventional policy areas. This paper’s main research goal is to analyze and visualize possible differences between conventional and digital policy areas in terms of response patterns between and within political parties. The analysis is based on dimensionality reduction methods (multidimensional scaling and principal component analysis) for the visualization of inter-party differences, and on standard deviation as a measure of variation for the evaluation of intra-party unity. The results reveal that digital issues show a lower degree of inter-party polarization compared to conventional policy areas. Thus, the parties have more common ground in issues on digitization than in conventional policy areas. In contrast, the study reveals a mixed picture regarding intra-party unity. Homogeneous parties show a lower degree of unity in digitization issues whereas parties with heterogeneous positions in conventional areas have more united positions in digital areas. All things considered, the findings are encouraging as less polarized conditions apply to the debate on digital development compared to conventional politics. For the future, it would be desirable if in further countries similar projects to the DMP could emerge to broaden the basis for conclusions.

Keywords: Comparison of political issue dimensions, digital awareness of candidates, digital policy space, party positions on digital issues.

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955 Economics of Open and Distance Education in the University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Authors: Babatunde Kasim Oladele

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One of the major objectives of the Nigeria national policy on education is the provision of equal educational opportunities to all citizens at different levels of education. With regards to higher education, an aspect of the policy encourages distance learning to be organized and delivered by tertiary institutions in Nigeria. This study therefore, determines how much of the Government resources are committed, how the resources are utilized and what alternative sources of funding are available for this system of education. This study investigated the trends in recurrent costs between 2004/2005 and 2013/2014 at University of Ibadan Distance Learning Centre (DLC). A descriptive survey research design was employed for the study. Questionnaire was the research instrument used for the collection of data. The population of the study was 280 current distance learning education students, 70 academic staff and 50 administrative staff. Only 354 questionnaires were correctly filled and returned. Data collected were analyzed and coded using the frequencies, ratio, average and percentages were used to answer all the research questions. The study revealed that staff salaries and allowances of academic and non-academic staff represent the most important variable that influences the cost of education. About 55% of resources were allocated to this sector alone. The study also indicates that costs rise every year with increase in enrolment representing a situation of diseconomies of scale. This study recommends that Universities who operates distance learning program should strive to explore other internally generated revenue option to boost their revenue. University of Ibadan, being the premier university in Nigeria, should be given foreign aid and home support, both financially and materially, to enable the institute to run a formidable distance education program that would measure up in planning and implementation with those of developed nation.

Keywords: Open education, distance education, University of Ibadan, cost of education, Nigeria.

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954 A Worst Case Estimation of the Inspection Rate by a Berthing Policy in a Container Terminal

Authors: K.H. Yang

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After the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 in U.S., the container security issue got high attention, especially by U.S. government, which deployed a lot of measures to promote or improve security systems. U.S. government not only enhances its national security system, but allies with other countries against the potential terrorist attacks in the future. For example CSI (Container Security Initiative), it encourages foreign ports outside U.S. to become CSI ports as a part of U.S. anti-terrorism network. Although promotion of the security could partly reach the goal of anti-terrorism, that will influence the efficiency of container supply chain, which is the main concern when implementing the inspection measurements. This paper proposes a quick estimation methodology for an inspection service rate by a berth allocation heuristic such that the inspection activities will not affect the original container supply chain. Theoretical and simulation results show this approach is effective.

Keywords: Berth allocation, Container, Heuristic, Inspection.

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953 Georgia Case: Tourism Expenses of International Visitors on the Basis of Growing Attractiveness

Authors: Nino Abesadze, Marine Mindorashvili, Nino Paresashvili

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At present actual tourism indicators cannot be calculated in Georgia, making it impossible to perform their quantitative analysis. Therefore, the study conducted by us is highly important from a theoretical as well as practical standpoint. The main purpose of the article is to make complex statistical analysis of tourist expenses of foreign visitors and to calculate statistical attractiveness indices of the tourism potential of Georgia. During the research, the method involving random and proportional selection has been applied. Computer software SPSS was used to compute statistical data for corresponding analysis. Corresponding methodology of tourism statistics was implemented according to international standards. Important information was collected and grouped from major Georgian airports, and a representative population of foreign visitors and a rule of selection of respondents were determined. The results show a trend of growth in tourist numbers and the share of tourists from post-soviet countries are constantly increasing. The level of satisfaction with tourist facilities and quality of service has improved, but still we have a problem of disparity between the service quality and the prices. The design of tourist expenses of foreign visitors is diverse; competitiveness of tourist products of Georgian tourist companies is higher. Attractiveness of popular cities of Georgia has increased by 43%.

Keywords: Tourist, expenses, indexes, statistics, analysis.

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952 Expelling Policy Based Buffer Control during Congestion in Differentiated Service Routers

Authors: Kumar Padmanabh, Rajarshi Roy

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In this paper a special kind of buffer management policy is studied where the packet are preempted even when sufficient space is available in the buffer for incoming packets. This is done to congestion for future incoming packets to improve QoS for certain type of packets. This type of study has been done in past for ATM type of scenario. We extend the same for heterogeneous traffic where data rate and size of the packets are very versatile in nature. Typical example of this scenario is the buffer management in Differentiated Service Router. There are two aspects that are of interest. First is the packet size: whether all packets have same or different sizes. Second aspect is the value or space priority of the packets, do all packets have the same space priority or different packets have different space priorities. We present two types of policies to achieve QoS goals for packets with different priorities: the push out scheme and the expelling scheme. For this work the scenario of packets of variable length is considered with two space priorities and main goal is to minimize the total weighted packet loss. Simulation and analytical studies show that, expelling policies can outperform the push out policies when it comes to offering variable QoS for packets of two different priorities and expelling policies also help improve the amount of admissible load. Some other comparisons of push out and expelling policies are also presented using simulations.

Keywords: Buffer Management Policy, Diffserv, ATM, Pushout Policy, Expeling Policy.

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951 Technology Based Learning Environment and Student Achievement in English as a Foreign Language in Pakistan

Authors: M. Athar Hussain, M. Zafar Iqbal., M. Saeed Akhtar

Abstract:

The fast growing accessibility and capability of emerging technologies have fashioned enormous possibilities of designing, developing and implementing innovative teaching methods in the classroom. The global technological scenario has paved the way to new pedagogies in teaching-learning process focusing on technology based learning environment and its impact on student achievement. The present experimental study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of technology based learning environment on student achievement in English as a foreign language. The sample of the study was 90 students of 10th grade of a public school located in Islamabad. A pretest- posttest equivalent group design was used to compare the achievement of the two groups. A Pretest and A posttest containing 50 items each from English textbook were developed and administered. The collected data were statistically analyzed. The results showed that there was a significant difference between the mean scores of Experimental group and the Control group. The performance of Experimental group was better on posttest scores that indicted that teaching through technology based learning environment enhanced the achievement level of the students. On the basis of the results, it was recommended that teaching and learning through information and communication technologies may be adopted to enhance the language learning capability of the students.

Keywords: English as a Foreign Language, Student Achievement, Technology Based Learning

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950 Landowners' Willingness to Participate in the Green Forestation Plan in Taiwan

Authors: Wan-Yu Liu, Jiunn-Cheng Lin, Chun-Cheng Lin

Abstract:

Green Forestation Plan (GFP) was expected to promote the reforestation of plains totaling 60,000 has within the first 8 years. Annual subsidies were budgeted at $120,000 per ha, and $2.4 million for 20 years. In this research we have surveyed landlords- opinions toward the GFP in an attempt to understand landlords- incentives for participating in the GFP and their levels of concern and agreement toward the policy design. Based our analysis of landlords- opinions on the policy design, we expect to derive appropriate complementary measures, establish effective promotional schemes, and raise the policy effectiveness of the GFP. According to the results of this research, there was still a relatively high proportion of population who were not aware of GFP; more than 50% of landlords were neutral or willing to participate given high reforestation subsidies; approximately 30% of landlords were unwilling to participate. In terms of the designs of GFP, more than 50% of respondents were concerned and agreed with the policy design. In terms of the period of this policy, 52.7% of respondents indicated that it should be shortened to 15 years or lower. In terms of the amount of the subsidy, 41.7% of respondents showed that it should be raised to approximately $250,000/ha. In terms of land area restrictions, 88.0% of respondents believed that the minimum should be lowered to 0.4 ha. More than 70% of respondents owned less than 0.4 has of land, and since they do not own enough land to be eligible for the program, more than 80% of landlords wished to lower the minimum requirements of land area. In addition, 59.3% of respondents were reluctant to participate in reforestation because their lands were too small to be eligible; 15.0% of respondents were reluctant because the duration was too long. Responses to the question about “how the policy can be adjusted to provide incentives for landlords- participation" revealed that almost 40% of respondents desired higher subsidies. Some policy suggestions are provided as follows: (1) many landlords are still unaware of the GFP so the government should enhance the promotion of the policy; (2) many landlords are unwilling to participate in GFP mainly because they do not own enough lands to be eligible, hence the government should consider adjusting its requirements for minimum agricultural land area; (3) for subsequent promotions on GFP, the government may consider targeting on the landlords with high income and high level of education; (4) because the subsidy of this policy alone provides limited help to landlords, the government should help the landlords to explore other revenue possibilities from afforestation in addition to the existing subsidies and raise the participation incentives.

Keywords: Green Forestation Plan (GFP), Landlord, Willingness to Participate.

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949 The Current Status of Middle Class Internet Use in China: An Analysis Based on the Chinese General Social Survey 2015 Data and Semi-Structured Investigation

Authors: Abigail Qian Zhou

Abstract:

In today's China, the well-educated middle class, with stable jobs and above-average income, are the driving force behind its Internet society. Through the analysis of data from the 2015 Chinese General Social Survey and 50 interviewees, this study investigates the current situation of this group’s specific internet usage. The findings of this study demonstrate that daily life among the members of this socioeconomic group is closely tied to the Internet. For Chinese middle class, the Internet is used to socialize and entertain self and others. It is also used to search for and share information as well as to build their identities. The empirical results of this study will provide a reference, supported by factual data, for enterprises seeking to target the Chinese middle class through online marketing efforts.

Keywords: China, internet use, middle class, network behavior, online marketing.

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948 Using Partnerships to Achieve National Goals

Authors: Pamela L. Eddy

Abstract:

Ireland developed a National Strategy 2030 that argued for the creation of a new form of higher education institution, a Technological University. The research reported here reviews the first stage of this partnership development. The study found that national policy can create system capacity and change, but that individual partners may have more to gain or lose in collaborating. When presented as a zero-sum activity, fear among partners is high. The level of knowledge and networking within the higher education system possessed by each partner contributed to decisions to participate or not in a joint proposal for collaboration. Greater success resulted when there were gains for all partners. This research concludes that policy mandates can provide motivation to collaborate, but that the partnership needs to be built more on shared values versus coercion by mandates.

Keywords: Leadership, Partnerships, Policy, Strategic Planning.

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947 Principles of Sustainable and Affordable Housing Policy for Afghan Refugees Returning to Afghanistan

Authors: Mohammad Saraj Sharifzai, Keisuke Kitagawa, Mohammad Kamil Halimee, Javid Habib, Daishi Sakaguchi

Abstract:

The overall goal of this paper is to examine the suitability and potential of the policies addressing the sustainability and affordability of housing for returnees, and to determine the impact of this policy on housing delivery for Afghan refugees. Housing is a central component of the settlement experience of refugees. A positive housing situation can facilitate many aspects of integration. Unaffordable, and unsafe housing, however, can cause disruptions in the entire settlement process. This paper aims to identify a suite of built forms for housing that is both affordable and environmentally sustainable for Afghan refugees. The result was the development of a framework that enables the assessment of the overall performance of various types of housing development in all zones of the country. There is very little evidence that the present approach of housing provision to the vagaries of market forces has provided affordable housing, especially for Afghan refugees. There is a need to incorporate social housing into the policy to assist people who cannot afford to have their own houses.

Keywords: Afghan refugees, housing policy, affordability, social housing, housing provision, environmental sustainability principles, resettlement.

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946 Ads on Social Issues: A Tool for Improving Critical Thinking Skills in a Foreign Language Classroom

Authors: Fonseca Jully, Chia Maribel, Rodríguez Ilba

Abstract:

This paper is a qualitative research report. A group of students form a public university in a small town in Colombia participated in this study which aimed at describing to what extend the use of social ads, published on the internet, helped to develop their critical thinking skills. Students’ productions, field notes, video recordings and direct observation were the instruments and techniques used by the researches in order to gather the data which was analyzed under the principles of grounded theory and triangulation. The implementation of social ads into the classroom evidenced a noticeable improvement in students’ ability to interpret and argue social issues, as well as, their self-improvement in oral and written production in English, as a foreign language.

Keywords: Ads, critical argumentation, critical thinking, social issues.

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945 Evaluating per-user Fairness of Goal-Oriented Parallel Computer Job Scheduling Policies

Authors: Sangsuree Vasupongayya

Abstract:

Fair share objective has been included into the goaloriented parallel computer job scheduling policy recently. However, the previous work only presented the overall scheduling performance. Thus, the per-user performance of the policy is still lacking. In this work, the details of per-user fair share performance under the Tradeoff-fs(Tx:avgX) policy will be further evaluated. A basic fair share priority backfill policy namely RelShare(1d) is also studied. The performance of all policies is collected using an event-driven simulator with three real job traces as input. The experimental results show that the high demand users are usually benefited under most policies because their jobs are large or they have a lot of jobs. In the large job case, one job executed may result in over-share during that period. In the other case, the jobs may be backfilled for performances. However, the users with a mixture of jobs may suffer because if the smaller jobs are executing the priority of the remaining jobs from the same user will be lower. Further analysis does not show any significant impact of users with a lot of jobs or users with a large runtime approximation error.

Keywords: deviation, fair share, discrepancy search, priority scheduling.

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