Self Help Groups in Cross River State, Nigeria
Uwem Essia, Peter N. Mba, Margaret Ebokpo, Nsa Ekpo and Awuken Obajiaj
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| A Criteria for Evaluating Textbooks used for Teaching Arabic to Non Arabic Speakers: Language Teaching Methodology | 453-469 |
| Hussein A. Rababah and Ibrahim H. Al-Rababah | |
| Abstract: The purpose of this study is to set a standardized criteria, in a form of checklist, for evaluating the textbooks used for teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language (AFL)/ or Arabic as a Second Language(ASL). The checklist suggested and developed by the researchers, they called it (Criteria1) checklist; it is distinguished from other checklists for several reasons; first, it has been developed by two researchers who have a long experience in teaching Arabic to non-Arabic speakers at different institutes in the world. Second, they have developed it after reviewing previous evaluation tools, different refereed journals, periodicals, published books and previous pieces of research. Third, they have consulted and surveyed the opinions of different language scholars and experts, who are specialized and interested in the field of teaching Arabic as a foreign language. The targeted lecturers and experts(subjects) have been asked to classify and range each criterion in a scale from 'not important', 'important', to 'very important'. Criteria 1 Checklist is composed of two main groups; the first group includes the general characteristics of the good textbook. The second group is composed of two subgroups; the first one is related to the form of the textbook, the second subgroup is related to the content of it. Keywords: Evaluation Criteria 1, Textbook, Non Arabic speakers, Teaching Methodology | |
| The Effects of Budget Policies in Europe between New Classical Economics and New Keynesian Economics | 470-477 |
| Alessandro Morselli | |
| Abstract: The work in question investigates the existence of a stabilising budget policy, passing through the analyses of supported of New Classical Economics (NCE) and the supporters of New Keynesian Economics (NKE). The analysis starts from the experience of three countries in the Eighties, these are Denmark, Ireland and Sweden. In all three cases the adoption of restrictive budget policies has provoked a strong, rapid and enduring resizing of public debt, and growth did not weaken, moreover it accelerated. In all three cases the logic behind the policy-mix actions allowed the individualisation of the respective roles of fiscal and monetary policies. Fiscal policies were joining with fiscal instruments and reduction in public spending and furthermore monetary policy was accomodated in respect of the budget contraction. At the end, notwithstanding all the forces of analysis it is not possible to explain a method capable of guaranteeing the success of the fiscal manouvre. Therefore, a general theory of keynesian, non-keynesian or anti-keynesian effects of fiscal policy, is likely to still need formulation. Keywords: Budget Policy, Stabilization, Europe, Policy-mix JEL Classification Codes:E61; E62; E63 | |
| EFL English-Major Undergraduates' Ability in Error Detection and Error Correction in Academic Writing | 478-491 |
| Sahail M. Asassfeh, Yousef M. Al-Shaboul, Sabri S. Al Shboul, and Hamzah A. Omari | |
| Abstract: One important phase that receives EFL students’ least attention in the writing process approach is revising and editing the first draft. The researchers in this study systematically developed and administered a grammatical error detection and correction test to 139 Jordanian English-major undergraduates to assess their ability to detect and correct some purposefully selected “common” errors in students’ academic writing. The test incorporated 33 errors that covered: articles, prepositions, spelling, subject-verb agreement, and logical connectors. Descriptive (percentage, mean, and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (ANOVA and Pearson Correlation) were used for data analysis using SPSS 20. The results revealed that the easiest error type to identify was article substitution while the most difficult was article omission. In terms of correction, the easiest was subject-verb agreement whereas the most difficult was article omission. The results also showed significant differences associated with students' proficiency levels. There was a positive, significant correlation between students' ability in error detection and error correction. Keywords: Error Detection, Error Correction, Grammaticality, Arab EFL Learners. | |
| The Effect of Demographic and Social Variables in the Challenges Facing Social Worker in the Medical Sector | 492-500 |
| Lubna Gudeh Akroush | |
| Abstract: The purpose of this study is to determine the Effect of Demographic and Social variables in the challenges facing Social Specialist in the Medical Sector. The sample of the study consisted of (75) social workers working the medical centers in both public and private sectors in the capital Amman, (59) of them are females responded to a questionnaire developed by the researcher. The findings of the study showed that the highest challenges are faced by those with experience Less than five to 10years with a mean of (18.800) followed by Less than 10 to 15 with a mean of (16.800) and finally Bsc degree holders face the highest challenges among all social medical workers. Moreover, workers in the public sector face the highest percentage of challenges according to doctors with a mean of (5.91) followed by the military sector and finally the private sector. Female workers face challenges higher than males in the public and medical sectors as well as diploma holder with least experience. Finally, the results showed that the least experience workers face challenges according to patients especially in the public sector. The most challenges are faced by graduate medical workers. Based on the findings of the study the researcher presented several recommendations. | |
| A Comparison between the Ideas Behind Developing City Garden in Iran and European Countries | 501-516 |
| Shahab Alidoost, Mojtaba Ansari and Mohammad Reza Bemanian | |
| Abstract: From the time the signs of garden construction were appeared, that is the time of the construction of Pasargadae, the structure of the gardens has gone under sweeping changes, influenced by different social, cultural, and social of different eras. The point is that Iranians, in their great artistic vision, did not suffice to create separated gardens and used the idea of garden construction to develop the cities. That is, by featuring the city as a master garden taken from Islamic and Iranian structure, they attempted to spread the Iranian garden into the structure of Iranian and Islamic city. This very idea was behind the development of Shiraz and Esfahan cities, which are more fantastic than their counterparts in Europe in accordance to some of the travelers’ notes. From another perspective, designing green space, especially after industrial revolution, because of social and environmental needs of that era, became largely significant. The main tide of this idea was firstly introduced by Ebenzer Howard in 1989. The current study, firstly, presents a brief introduction of Iran and Europe city development and then proceeds to compare some of the current Iranian cities with European ones in order to reveal the extent to which the idea of garden construction in European countries was taken from the Iranian gardens and Iranian development of sustainable cities. Next, how green spaces were spread throughout Iranian and European countries is described. With a greater focus on designing Iranian gardens in those cities, the principles of city garden designing are discovered and offered. Results indicates that there are valuable points in the process of reacting to the organizing elements of traditional city garden development, including geometry, usage restrictions, development, use relations, rhythm, quality, visual reflection, integrity and consistency, nature orientation, and in studying the traditional context of Iran’s traditional cities both in past and present. The present study sheds light on these valuable points, which seems to be more precious than the counterpart issues in European countries city garden development. Keywords: Iranian garden, city garden, Iran, Europe. | |
| Life Satisfaction Determinants of the Elderly: Case of Istanbul | 517-531 |
| Lale Berkoz and Funda Yirmibesoglu | |
| Abstract: Today, the falling rate of fertility and longer life expectancy have resulted in an increase in the rate of the elderly population within the society, which has required that old age be handled as a social issue. The phenomenon of old age and life satisfaction of the elderly should be handled with interdisciplinary approaches. The elderly are faced with difficulties not only because of the problems that occur as a result of the process of getting old but also because the urban space is not designed for them. It is of great importance for the elderly that they live in places where they feel secure. Various studies underline the significance of environmental conditions among the factors that influence life quality and life satisfaction of the elderly population. This study is aimed at investigating the relationships between the living conditions and life satisfaction of the elderly in Istanbul. In the scope of this study 410 questionnaires have been carried out through face to face interviews with elderly people in residential areas. While selecting these samples, questionnaire quota has been applied proportional to the population of each district and the elderly population. Keywords: Life Satisfaction, Elderly, Determinants, Life Quality, Istanbul. | |
| Teachers’ Technology Leadership Assessment: A Comparative Case Study of Thailand and the U.S.A | 532-540 |
| Supit Karnjanapun | |
| Abstract: Technology leadership becomes the essential part of school administration to integrate technology in the schools for the benefit of students and academics roles in the future. The purposes of this research were to investigate and compare the self-assessment reports on proficiency and perceived important roles of technology leaderships of Thailand and the United States educators. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were applied in this research. This research conducted on a set of data samplings which was collected from 30 doctorate students (hereinafter refer as “the US Group”) who participated in the Educational leadership course at Seton hall University, New Jersey U.S.A., collectively with other data samplings from 31 doctorate students (hereinafter refer as “the Thai Group”) in Educational Administration course at Vongchavalitkul University, Nakhonratchasima, Thailand. Assessment items are based on the International Society for Technology in Education’s (ISTE) National Educational technology Standards for Administrators (NETS-A). Based on the preliminary analysis on the collected data samplings, the US group yielded higher overall results in every category; with an exception in the Learning and Teaching roles of technology leadership category, in which results of both US and Thai groups are not significantly different. | |
| Agricultural Production and Infrastructure: Empirical Evidence from Household Panel Data | 541-552 |
| PungpondRukumnuaykit | |
| Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to better understand the process by which agricultural growth is generated by using the Panel Data set of the Nong Rong District in Thailand to investigate the effects of the available infrastructure in the District’s individual households and in the community at large on agricultural production and land use. The availability of various types of infrastructure is used as a proxy for the developmental status in the areas. The results show that the availability of electricity is positively related to the cultivation of rice while piped water is positively related to cassava. The results from first-difference estimations, taking into account time-constant factors such as managerial skills, land location, and weather patterns, confirm the positive effects of electricity on rice planting while those of piped water on planting cassava disappear. Results from the cross-section analyses show that the availability of electricity, piped water, and the amount of land used had statistically significant effects on the yield of rice while the availability of electricity and land had statistically significant effects on the yield of cassava. However, when the first difference technique was applied to the estimation, the effects of both electricity and piped water disappeared, leaving only the positive effect of the amount of land used on the yield. This finding suggests that unobserved factors may bias the estimates of the effects of electricity and piped water when considering only the cross-sectional analyses. An important implication of this paper is that for farmers producing rice and cassava, improving infrastructure may not be as important as improving the mechanisms to increase cultivated areas. Keywords: Land Use, Infrastructure, Crop Yield, Thailand | |
| The Effect of Money Supply on Macroeconomic Variables in European Countries | 553-558 |
| Suna Korkmaz and Metehan Yilgör | |
| Abstract: Certain economic indicators are important for many countries. Inflation and growth are among priority policies. It is known that changes in money supply have effect on certain economic variables. Whether or not money supply had effect on economically important variables such as general level of prices, interest rate and GDP was tested by using panel data for 9 European countries. The annual data of 2000-2010 was used. As a result of the test, it was seen that a change in the money supply of 9 European countries had effect on inflation and interest rates. Keywords: Money Supply, Interest Rate, Inflation, GDP JEL Classification Codes: E41, E43, E51, E60 | |
| The Role and Challenges of the Albanian Youth in European Integration | 559-567 |
| Diana Shehu, Salih Ozcan and Albana Shehu | |
| Abstract: Integration into Europe is one of the main challenges of the Balkan countries including Albania. An important role in this process is played by the young people, who constitute the most vital part of the society. This study seeks to answer the key question: How do Albanian youth view Albania’s European integration? To answer this question, the study uses surveys organized by the Agricultural University of Tirana and Epoka University, along with statistical data from the Institute of Statistics—Albania (INSTAT). The study will explore several sub-questions to better answer the main question: What is the role of youth in the overthrow of the communist dictatorship and in establishing democracy? How has emigration affected Albanian culture in terms of attitudes toward EU integration?” Why has Albania’s integration process into EU been slower than most of the Balkans and Eastern European countries? We conclude this paper with recommendations on how to increase the role of youth for the country's integration in the European family. Keywords: EU integration, democratic transition, Albanian youth. | |
| “Right Issue”- Its Impact on Wealth Maximisation | 568-580 |
| K. Govindarajan, P. Sakthivel, V. Vijay Anand, S. Balachandran and S. Sruthi | |
| Abstract: Corporate enterprises adopt different sources of raising finance. Cost of capital is the main criteria to determine a proper source of finance. companies prefer right issue to reward the shareholders and at the same time control of the company is also kept intact. Right issue prices are fixed in such a manner so that it is beneficial to the company and at the same time investors are also ready to subscribe to such right issue. Sometime when right issues are made investors are confused as to whether to subscribe such issues or to renounce the rights. Similarly they may explore the option of selling shares during Ex- right periods or cum rights periods so that their wealth is maximised. Return on investment in right issue is analysed from short term and long term perspective. For the purpose of analysis (1) premium on right issue is related with return (2) abnormal return is calculated by comparing with index return and (3) impact of right issue on turnover of securities are considered. Keywords: Right issue, Ex- Right, premium on right issue, abnormal return. | |
| Application of Queuing Theory in Van Schaike Bookstore: A Case of Mafikeng Campus | 581-590 |
| D. Xaba, N. Maruma, M. Banda, D. Metsileng and T. Tsoku | |
| Abstract: This paper analyses the contributions and applications of queuing theory in the Van Schaik bookstore. The aim and objective of this paper is to determine which queuing model is the best between M/M/1 and M/M/2. The paper summarizes a range of queuing theory results in the following areas: waiting time and utilization analysis, system design, and appointment systems. The paper also considers results for systems at different scales, bookstore facilities, and bookstore systems. The goal is to provide sufficient information to analysts who are interested in using queuing theory to model a bookstore process and want to locate the details of relevant models. Keywords: Queuing theory, waiting times, service facility, bookstore. JEL Classifications Codes: C02, C44, M19. | |
| Testing the Convergence Hypothesis: Shanghai Co-operation Organization Member Countries | 591-600 |
| Gulcin Tapsin and Cihat Koksal | |
| Abstract: The issue of whether poor countries will catch up the richer ones in the long run has been extensively dealt by growth theories. According to Neoclassical theory, while countries with a lower capital stock are adjusting themselves to a steady-state, they will grow faster than the countries having higher capital stocks. This assumption is defined as the convergence hypothesis which is considered an important indicator of a country’s welfare. For this reason, this paper analyzes the differences in per-capita income among the countries of Shanghai Cooperation Organization within the framework of the convergence hypothesis. This study aiming to test the convergence hypothesis among the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization between 1996-2011 in terms of GDP per capita uses the data that have been obtained from the World Bank data base. The convergence has been analyzed in terms of GDP per capita of the countries and tested through the panel data method. While applying the panel data unit root test developed by Levin, Lin & Chu, it has been discovered that the series have a unit root. As a result of this, it is not possible to speak of the existence of a convergence across countries within this specific time period. Keywords: Economic Integration, Convergence, GDP per capita, Panel Unit Root. JEL Classifications Codes: C23, E01, E13, F13, F43, O47. | |
| Econometric Analysis of the Long-Run Relationship between the effective Exchange Rate (Currency) and Trade Balance: A Case Study of South Africa | 601-618 |
| D. Metsileng, G. Mokhai, T. Tsoku and D. Xaba | |
| Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of long-run relationship between the trade balance and real effective exchange rate using Engle Granger, Johansen’s test and Vector Auto-Regression (VAR). Further, the generalised impulse response function is employed in this study is to investigate if the effect of J-curve exists on trade ratio. The cointegration method suggests the existence of a long-run relationship among the variables of interest. There is a positive relationship between the trade balance and the real effective exchange rate illustrating that a real devaluation will improve the trade balance in the long-run. The study finds evidence of the J-curve on the South Africa trade on the South Africa trade balance, which is following a real devaluation indicating that South Africa trade balance will initially deteriorate but improve in the long-run. Keywords: Trade balance, real effective exchange rate, j-curve, cointegration, Vector Auto-Regression JEL Classifications Codes: C01, C22, F31, F32 | |
| Creative Mathematical Skills used by Six Grade Students in Jordan and its Relationship with their Attitudes Toward Mathematics | 619-633 |
| Sumailah Ahmed Sabbagh | |
| Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate the creative mathematical skills used by six grade students and to examine the relationships between students' attitudes toward math and creativity. It focuses on four open assignments to investigate creativity skills. The assignments were given to sixty sixth-grade students during interviews .Also Mathematical Attitude Survey (MSA) was given to each student before and after he finished all the assignment to identify their attitudes towards math. The study adopted the descriptive design using frequency and percentages for the analysis of various creativity skills. The results were analyzed qualitatively. The results of the (MAS) showed positive attitudes were associated after creativity assignments.As results showed no differences between students with high attainment and achievement of results except the average student only succeeded in all creative thinking skills. In general, it is evident from the analysis that fluency and flexibility were somewhat very low for all the participants except one student, while elaboration and originality is not detected in students’ answers to the assignments. Based on the results, the study recommends the need to adopt programs to teach mathematics in creative mode to develop students’ mathematical creativity and their attitudes toward mathematics. Keywords: Mathematical Creativity skills, Mathematical attitudes, Six grade student. |