In this paper we analyze the diverse relationship between childhood, as a fundamental stage of human development, and literature, which presumably requires knowledge of language in a way that exceeds the original infants’ capacities. Yet, there is a sort of childhood inside the field of literary expression, Again, the moment when an author or artist begins, mostly in the adolescence, the artistic expression by means of words. Childhood exists as a theme in a variety of literary works. So, at the end we have a metaphoric unity of the origin of human life and the first steps in literature, both as topical in the writing process.
This research explores the critical determinants of employee performance in the post-pandemic retail sector, focusing on empowering leadership, perceived organizational support, and employee psychological well-being. The study presents a comprehensive framework that clarifies the interaction between these constructs and their impact on employee performance. The results, obtained from a quantitative analysis using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), reveal that while empowering leadership does not directly impact employee performance, it significantly influences employee psychological well-being, thereby indirectly affecting employee performance. In addition, perceived organizational support not only indirectly influences employee performance through its positive effect on employee psychological well-being but also has a direct positive impact on employee performance. Thus, both empowering leadership and strong perceived organizational support, are found to enhance employee performance, with employee psychological well-being playing a significant mediating role in these relationships. These findings offer valuable insights for the retail sector to navigate the evolving challenges in a postpandemic world, providing a solid theoretical framework and practical strategies to enhance employee performance.
This study explores the connection between YouTube channel content and average view duration (AVD) in higher education marketing by examining the top five videos from the UhamkaTV YouTube channel in 2022. A quantitative analysis of AVD data with qualitative content analysis of the selected videos is employed to investigate the relationship between content characteristics and AVD. The findings from this research aim to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the effectiveness of YouTube as a marketing channel for higher education institutions. By identifying the specific content characteristics that lead to higher AVD, this study offers valuable insights for higher education institutions seeking to optimize their YouTube marketing strategies and maximize viewer engagement. Ultimately, this research has the potential to inform the development of more effective marketing approaches, leading to increased brand awareness, student engagement, and enrolment rates in higher education institutions.
The Dubai Digital Government launched its recent guidelines, which call for artificial intelligence systems to be subject to legal accountability. This study discusses the extent to which autonomous robots can be granted legal personality in UAE law and the consistency of this approach with the provisions of Islamic jurisprudence. This research paper answered two main questions: First, the extent to which these guidelines are considered the beginning of work on granting legal personality to AI systems in the UAE. Second, what form of legal personality can be given to autonomous robots in UAE law to be consistent with the provisions of Islamic jurisprudence as a primary source of legislation in the country? The research concluded the impossibility of considering autonomous robots as a "thing" and classifying them within the concept of "persons." It also concluded that it is possible to give them legal personality according to two legislative solutions: granting them partial or incomplete performance eligibility like minors.
This paper aims to explore a new phenomenon sweeping across the Arab World of female sibling social media influencers. Social media influencers are well known for having started as informed bloggers and social networkers. They built for themselves an aura of authority in certain areas thus attracting people to follow them; some of their followers become fans. This paper will give an overview of the phenomenon of female sibling social media influencers, drawing upon the case study of a number of examples of female sibling social media influencers from the Arab World. It will look at why this is an important phenomenon, how female social media influencers behave online and the common characteristics they have. This paper is of exploratory nature and draws the attention to a growing phenomenon worth exploring and researching further. The paper identifies a number of potential areas and opportunities for future research.
The researcher investigated how African culture and additional factors contributes to job embeddedness in the higher learning institution. 12 participants, including academics and nonacademics, formed part of the study at a higher learning institution. In-depth interviews were carried out, and the data collected were analysed utilising thematic content analysis. The main results of the participants' perception are that they are embedded in their current job influenced by the African culture (Ubuntu). Additional influences of job embeddedness discovered in the current study are spiritual wellbeing, African culture and spiritual wellbeing, embedded to the community through Ubuntu, emotional and psychological attachments. The conceptual framework with the lenses of industrial and organisational psychology is then formulated as part of the practical implications. Future research recommendations are also provided in the current paper.
In Malaysia's food and beverage (F&B) industry, online food delivery (OFD) services are a growing trend. With various food distribution firms providing OFD services in Malaysia, online food ordering has become the new eating out. With the recent pandemic outbreak of COVID-19, consumers’ are demanding to have food delivered in accordance with the government directives. Despite the importance of OFD services in Malaysia, research on the purchase intention is limited. Hence, this research study aims to examine the relationship between perceived factors related to consumers’ purchase intention towards OFD services in the context of COVID-19 Pandemic in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Data collection was conducted by using quantitative, non-probability of purposive sampling with screening questions. A total of 428 of samples were collected from the Klang Valley areas through online questionnaires. From this research study, four major factors that lead to consumers’ purchase intention which include perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived value, and perceived safety. The findings are targeted to redound to the benefit of society considering that OFD services are in greater demand especially during the COVID-19 pandemic which justifies the need for more reliable and life-changing approaches in order to better understand the purchase intention among consumers.
The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the impact of corporate governance mechanisms, among other variables, on audit report lag (ARL) for a sample of 97 companies listed on the Kuwait Stock Market (KSE) in 2020. Audit report lag is measured as the number of days between the date of the financial year end and the date of the audit report. The descriptive statistics indicate that there is considerable variation in the ARL between the sample companies, ranging from 13 to 121 days, with an average of 69 days. A multivariate regression model was employed to examine the association between ARL and corporate governance proxies, namely: board size, board meetings, board financial expertise, non-executive directors, and institutional ownership. The results indicate that companies whose boards have considerable financial expertise are associated with lower audit delay. For other (control) variables, the results indicate that profitability, company size, type of audit opinion, and industry type are found to have a significant impact on the timeliness of financial reporting. More profitable and larger companies were found to issue their audited financial reports faster. Moreover, financial institutions show a shorter lag in releasing their annual report than other sectors, and companies which seek qualified opinions have longer ARLs. Finally, in order to improve the timeliness of annual reports of companies listed on the market, the study suggests the adoption of eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). There is convincing evidence to suggest that the use of XBRL results in timelier stock market filing and shorter ARL.
Every writer knows putting words on paper is a difficult task. Sometimes the difficulties become insurmountable. He got himself into a state of frustration in writing when the flow of ideas stopped. A writer got stuck and banged his head against the wall for long hours instead of writing. His struggle becomes futile without getting the desired result. Despite being armed with knowledge and language ability, he cannot execute his task. The objective is primarily to understand the cognitive processes in writing employing different approaches: mechanistic writing and developmental organic writing models. This understanding is derived and inferred from some learning theories such as the behaviourist and mechanical models coupled with issues related to the functions of brains and ‘mind’ in writing as expounded by some known linguists and writers. It is hoped that by understanding the cognitive processes at work in writing, anyone who intends to write can benefit in terms of enhancing his writing skill and making writing a challenging and enjoyable task. The study is on a qualitative analysis of a book written by Peter Elbow on `Writing Without Teachers` and `Writing with Power.` Compared to the researchers, the data collected from his experiences will embark on the meaning of `organic writing.`
This study sought to explore the opportunities in forming effective partnerships between the public sector and the private space technology sector to address border security challenges in South Africa using space technology. The study focused on border security authorities and the space technology sector in South Africa. To achieve the above objective, a qualitative research methodology was used to ascertain the possibilities and opportunities of adopting Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to enhance border security in South Africa through the adoption of space technology. Findings indicate that there is a need for effective PPPs for the purpose of enhancing border security through the application of space technology in South Africa. The findings further highlighted the massive benefits of partnership but also highlighted the possible challenges of engaging in PPPs. This study revealed that it is reasonably expected for the South African border security authorities to collaborate with the private space technology sector for the purpose of developing and providing effective space technology for border security.
This study aims to determine the effect of labor, capital, and government policies on coal output and the scale of coal business results of PT Indo Tambangraya Megah Tbk. The new thing from this research is the Cobb-Douglas production function which usually uses labor and capital variables, but in this study, it has been expanded by adding policy variable in the form of Law No. 4 of 2009 regarding Mineral and Coal Mining, which is not yet present in other studies. The research method is linear regression using the Cobb-Douglas model function. The results showed that labor did not significantly influence coal production. Capital has a significant effect on model 2 and policy has a significant effect on model 3. The coal mining business of PT Indo Tambangraya Megah Tbk is in decreasing return to scale because if the three variables are combined, it will be worth -0.24. This condition occurs because the additional output produced is smaller than the additional input (δ% output <δ% input).
Heterogeneous firm trade theory holds that firms' productivity is closely related to firms' export mode and Corporate Environmental Performance (CEP). CEP as one of the important elements associated with firms' productivity, has a significant impact on firms' export mode. The objective of the paper is to assess the enterprises with import and export business in Maoming City. Primary data was used to obtain data, while binary logistic regression analysis was used to analyse the data to determine the influence of CEP on export mode. The results show that the CEP has a positive impact on the export mode. Furthermore, results show that enterprises with better CEP are more inclined to choose the direct export mode, and vice versa. This result is consistent with the theory of heterogeneous firm trade. The study recommends that the Chinese government should give full consideration to the export mode of enterprises when making export policies and make full use of CEP's positive influence on the export mode to promote the internationalisation strategy of enterprises and realise the maximisation of enterprise value.
The purpose of this paper is to address key elements of designing a course that aims at developing core competencies in teaching and learning for faculty members. The paper includes discussion of the initial preparation, objectives and learning outcomes, syllabus construction, assignments, assessments, grading, and teaching strategies. The paper is divided into sections, one for each theme or key topic in relation to course design. Finally, a brief reflection concludes the paper. The process of course design did not only allow to learn about the principles of course design, but also expanded one’s understanding of oneself as a faculty developer.
The increase in the numbers of elderly globally and nationally has led to more attention to the rights of this most vulnerable group and the necessity to provide an effective legal protection against elder abuse. The significance of this research lies in the fact that it is necessary to protect elder people against abuse, as they are a vulnerable and susceptible group. Hence, this research revolves centrally around the extent to which the legal protection Jordanian laws provide to elder persons against abuse compared to the international standards. The research followed the analytical and comparative method, by conducting a comprehensive review of the Jordanian legal texts, analysing them and comparing them to the international standard. This research concludes that the protection provided by the Jordanian legislations and international conventions against elder abuse is not sufficient. The research provides several recommendations including criminalising all types of elder abuse, imposing deterrent sanctions and explicit provision for mandatory reporting of abuse cases.
A case report on enhancing self-regulation skills through QEEGguided neurofeedback was conducted for a subject who has been diagnosed with Wilson Disease (WD). The trauma-informed neurofeedback training protocols were developed to improve the client’s self-regulation skills in order to address his psychological symptoms and cognitive impairment. The protocols were developed based on the findings of the prior empirical research as well as the QEEG brain mapping assessment of the client. In this case report, the utilisation of expressive art therapy application was highlighted in facilitating the therapeutic process for the clients having difficulty in verbal communication. The QEEG brain mapping assessment result pre-and-post intervention were compared to determine the progress of the client’s brainwave activity pattern. Meanwhile, the self-report diary of the client’s parent was used to follow up his conditions. The outcome indicated that the developed protocols of trauma-informed neurofeedback training and expressive art application were helpful in improving the self-regulation skills of the client.
The multifactorial risks that accompany IDD (Iodine Deficiency Disorders) aggravate cognitive development deficits in children. The most important factors are poor cognitive stimulation and parenting. This study aimed to analyse the impact of parenting training on maternal skills to mediate cognitive development in children. The study was quasi-experimental pre-post with a control group design. A total of 78 mothers and their children, aged four to five years, from Purworejo participated in the research. Palpation to assess maternal goiter status and Mother-Child Picture-Talk Task (MCPTT) assessed the ability to perform cognitive mediation in children. The Smart Mother Class, a parenting skill intervention, was given for six months (16 meetings), each lasting 60-90 minutes. The risk of low family resources, both economic and caring resources, is indicated by the work and education of the fathers and mothers. Most mothers and fathers have elementary school education and below (60.3). The result show that three months after the intervention there was a significant effect at the positive level, and at six months, the intervention group showed a significant improvement (p< 0.001). Parenting training in low parenting resource settings could improve maternal skills for mediating cognitive development in pre-school age children.
The current study aimed at identifying the impact of the addictive use of smartphones by students with learning disabilities on the social, psychological and academic domains. The sample of the study consisted of 210 male and female students enrolled in classes of resource rooms of grades five to nine in public and private schools at the Ministry of Education in Amman governorate. The researcher developed two measures to achieve the goals of the study; the first is “a scale to measure the addiction of smartphones use”, which contains 32 items, and another scale to measure the “impact of smartphones excessive use on social, emotional and academic domains”, which contains (30) items. This process was preceded by a review of previous similar pedagogic studies. Validity and reliability significance were extracted. Results revealed that the estimation of the addictive use of smartphones by students of learning disabilities aged 11-15 was rated as average. Results also revealed that impact of smartphone use dominated the social and emotional aspects over the academic. Results call for the need to develop and practise some precocious interventions and early detection of the excessive use of smartphones in general, but above all by students with learning disabilities.
The research objectives were to verify the structural equation model of Ecological Footprint (EF) and Public Mind Inspiration (PMI) affecting the Pro-environmental Behaviour (PB) of undergraduate students. The samples were 400 undergraduates of Rajabhat Mahasarakham University, collected by The MultiStage sampling technique. The research tool was a five-rating scaled questionnaire. The data was analysed by employing descriptive statistics and the factor analysis with LISREL Mplus. The results revealed that EF and PMI were able to explain the variation of PB with 72.00 percent. EF had the most direct effect on PB with an effect of 0.45, subsequently was PMI with an effect of 0.42. Moreover, EF had an effect on PMI with an effect of 0.31 and was able to predict the variation of PMI with 75.00 percent. The structural equation model of EF affecting PB through PMI verified the proposed model. It fitted with all observed variables in line with the criteria of a ChiSquare/df value less or equal to 1.929 and it was less than or equal to 5.00 ( χ /df 5.00 2 ). RMSEA (Root Mean Square Error Approximation) equalled 0.045 (RMSEA < 0.05) and RMR (Root Mean Square Residual) equalled 0.024 (RMR < 0.05) and included the index level of model congruent value of Goodness of Fit Index (GFI) equal to 0.95, and Adjust Goodness of Fit Index (AGFI) equal to 0.93, which are between 0.90-1.00.
The study aimed to determine the relationship between nutritional status based on Body Mass Index (BMI) and Tuberculosis (TB) in the age group >18 years. This study further analyzes the 2018 Basic Health Research (Riskesdas 2018), a cross-sectional study conducted in all city districts in 34 provinces of Indonesia. Unit samples of this study are population-based in the age group >18 years. The determination of having had TB is if the respondent answered yes to the question: "Has a doctor ever been diagnosed with TB by a period of ≤1 year". Nutritional status based on BMI value by calculating height per body weight. Nutritional status was classified as: underweight: BMI <18.5; normal: BMI ≥18.5 - <25.0; Overweight: BMI ≥25.0 - <27.0; obesity: BMI ≥27.0. The total sample was 624,562. The number of TB sufferers 3,220 (0.5%). The number of underweight respondents 62,456 (9.4%), normal respondents 344,941 (55.2%), overweight and obese respondents 221,021 (35.4%). There is a relationship between nutritional status and TB after controlling for confounding variables such as gender, education, type of work, residence, DM risk factors, and smoking behavior. Underweight has a risk of 7.67 (CI 6.40-9.20) of getting TB compared to overweight/obesity, while normal weight has a risk of 2.55 (CI 2.18-2.98) of getting TB compared to overweight/ obesity after controlled confounding variables. Underweight people have 7.67 times the risk of getting TB, and normal weight has 2.55 times have the prevalence ratio getting TB than obese people. The Additional food program for TB patients whose weight is thin in the age group >18 years.
Developing the teaching competencies of pre-service Spanish Language and Literature teachers is one of the current demands in higher education. A teaching-learning experience has been developed through the ECO method (Explore, Create, Offer), which is an innovative methodology inspired by Human Centred Design, Design Thinking, and challenge-based learning. The aim of the study was twofold: a) to check whether pre-service teachers perceive that their teaching competencies have improved after this experience; b) to find out the relationships between their perception of the different competencies and certain socio-demographic characteristics. A Likert-type questionnaire on teaching competencies before and after the experience was conducted. 92 participants took part in the pre-test and 66 in the post-test. The results show an improvement in the perception of their competencies at the end of the experience and high levels of motivation throughout the course. These improvements occurred regardless of socio-demographic characteristics such as age or educational background. It is concluded that the ECO method favours the acquisition of competencies, fosters motivation, and offers equal learning opportunities, thus fulfilling the democratising function of the university.
