Digital Commons Network^™

Students’ Crisis In Nigerian Tertiary Educational Institutions: A Review Of The Causes And Management Style, Ajibade David

Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Students’ crisis is one of the challenges confronting Nigerian educational system in the recent past. The level of disruption and closures that has bedeviled Nigerian tertiary institutions is unprecedented in the History/ Archaeology of higher education in Nigeria. However, realizing the importance of tertiary education in national development, this paper is conceived to identify the factors responsible for the occurrence of students’ crisis and the management style adopted by the individuals and groups involved in tertiary education system. Secondary source of data collection was used in the study. Data were generated from textbooks, published and unpublished materials, including the internet. …

A Community In Turmoil: The Iranians Of The Caucasus And The Russian Revolutions (1900-1920), Solmaz Rustamova Tohidi

Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The History/ Archaeology of the formation of the Iranian Community in Azerbaijan traces back to the South Caucasian region’s inclusion as part of the Russian Empire in the beginning of the XIX century under the Gulistan (1813) and Turkmenchay (1828) treaties after the IranRussia Wars. The Iranian community in the Caucasus region was shaped by a long History/ Archaeology of political influences and resulting migrations to the Caucasus, twenty years of which are analyzed in this article. The 1880-1920 migrations promoted the development of IranianRussian relations, economies, trade, etc. On the other hand, an impetuous socio-political life in the Caucasus …

Investment Policies And Competitiveness Of Azerbaijani Economy, Fikrat M.Pashayev

Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Azerbaijan has made remarkable achievements in economic growth due to rational investment policies and attraction of foreign investment in oil and gas sector that became engine for development. Country’s current economic policies and strategies aimed at lessening of dependence on mineral sector through diversification, growth of business and employment in non-oil sector. Sustainability of Azerbaijani economy will require shift towards technologically advanced and innovation friendly production with balanced approach to manufacturing, services and agriculture. It is advisable to pursue policy of attraction of FDI into these sectors in combination with various non-equity forms of cooperation, such as subcontracting, licensing and …

Valuers’ Liability In Mortgage Valuation, Gabriel K. Babawale

Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Valuation is a profession; valuers’ clients are therefore justified in expecting valuations that meet the standards prescribed by relevant professional body(s).Failure to meet these standards constitute a source of breach of the duty that valuers owe their clients. The courts too have always looked up to the published standards of professional bodies for judgment guidelines in liability cases of contract, fraud and negligence. Drawing inferences from standards prescribed by valuers’ professional bodies and ensuing mortgage valuation case laws, this study sought to establish, among others, the nature and extent of the duty of care that valuers owe their clients; the …

Attar And The West: The Role Of Translation, Ailar Moghaddam Jahangiri, Amin Karimnia

Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The present study investigated the influence of Attar Neishabouri, the 6th and the early 7th century Persian poet and the theoretician of Sufism, through translations done in the West. Here, the main works of Attar have been introduced and the available translations done of his work have been reviewed. "The Conference of the Birds", "The Ocean of the Soul", "The Muslim Saints and Mystics" and "The Birds’ Parliament"are among the translations done of his works. Although, French translators are among the first who introduced Attar to the Western society, the most important work in this field was done by the …

Exploring The Relevance Of Feminist Leadership In Theological Education Of Nigeria, Adesanya İbiyinka Olusola

Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Feminist leadership is very important in theological education as it would seek to deconstruct stereotypical assumptions about women and gender in Christian theological traditions. Unfortunately, most of the theological schools in Nigeria do not have feminist as leaders. Five reasons why feminist leadership are needed in theological schools have been identified as, the bible teaching that women brought sin and death to the world, servant hood notion of women, scandal of particularity, male domination of ministries and theological methods and process that are full of stereotypes. All this does not provide women a unique opportunity to discover and develop their …

Measuring The Impact Of Church Externalities On House Prices, Gabriel K. Babawale

Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This study extends literature that empirically investigates the impact of the externalities generated by churches on prices of nearby residential properties with particular reference to selected areas in Lagos, Nigeria; but with some implications for economic studies in other parts of the world The study hypothesized that the proximity of a church has nosignificant effect (positive or negative) on house prices. The hypothesis is tested with a standard hedonic pricing model using the net rents of 450 apartments (flats) across the study area. The results confirmed the more common belief that neighborhood churches, particularly the larger ones, impact on the …

Literature, Global Terrorism, Politics And Media Literacy In Africa, Azeez Akinwumi Sesan

Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Three factors, specifically, slavery, Proselytization and Colonialism have influenced the History/ Archaeology and politics of Africa. The tripartite relationship established among the three factors influences the historical development of African politics. Difference in worldview between the West and third world countries has increased the phenomenon of global terrorism. The paper examines how literary texts in Africa and by Africans have recorded and responded to the political History/ Archaeology of the continent in relation with global democratic governance. African writers are therefore expected to project post colonial realities of global terrorism within the gamut of literature. On global terrorism, the paper …

Contextual Factors, Bilingualism And English Language Learning Among A Group Of Primary School Pupils In Nigeria, Nkechi M.Christopher

Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Contextual factors impinge directly and indirectly on second language learning through its influence on attitudes towards, and motivation to learn, a language among learners of a target language. This paper describes language learning situation, bilingual behaviour and academic performance of some primary school pupils. It suggests that learners’ independent use of digital and literacy activities could be harnessed for multimodal teaching where digital learning facilities have not been provided by the school. The researcher believes that such inclusion would encourage autonomous and collaborative learning among students; empowering learners to take responsibility for their own language learning – an attitude toward …

Reinforced Concrete Deterioration Of A 100 Year Old Structure In A Marine Environment, Ross O'Donovan

Theses

The current study investigates the deterioration of a 100 year old bridge located in a harsh marine environment. Constructed in 1908 - 1909 the Mizen Head Footbridge was one of the oldest reinforced concrete bridges in Ireland. The demolition of the bridge in 2009 provided a unique opportunity to examine its service life and to extract samples for analysis and investigation. A review of the construction of the bridge, and its maintenance history are presented, with a view to analysing their influence on the behaviour of the concrete.

Reinforcement corrosion due to chloride attack was identified. A focused study indicates …

How Has Social Media Impacted The Relationship Between Public Relations And Marketing Functions In Small Businesses., Lorraine Sheehan

Theses

This study is concerned with investigating the impact of social media on the relationship between public relations and marketing functions in small businesses in Ireland. The relationship between public relations and marketing has been debated in the literature and in organisations for many decades. Social media has an influence on the channels of communication which in turn influences public relations and marketing functions.

Both primary and secondary research methods on gathering findings of social media, public relations and marketing functions were carried out. Areas of conflict and tension between public relations and marketing were highlighted. The impact of social media …

Mothering Values : An Exploration Of Generational Differences In Values, Beliefs And Attitudes, Marguerita Walsh

Theses

Maternal employment has led to an increase in the need for childcare (Horgan, 2001). In 2005, the most valuable source of childcare for children of primary school age was unpaid relatives (Share & Kerrins, 2009). 33% of grandparents are involved in childcare on a weekly basis (Jones, 2011). Therefore, childrearing tasks are shared, and children may be exposed to a variety of childrearing values.

Given the key-role grandparents, and in particular grandmothers play in childcare, this research focuses on exploring the parenting values, beliefs and roles of maternal grandmothers and mothers of children under the age of ten and how …

How The Use Of Social Media As A Public Relations Tactic Has Aided Animal Rescue Organisations In Raising Awareness Of Their Cause, Carole Hennessy

Theses

This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the non-profit sector, in particular animal welfare organisations and how social media can be used as a Public Relations tactic which in turn enables them to raise awareness of their cause.

A qualitative research design was deemed the most suitable by the researcher. Semi-structured interviews and a content analysis in the form of a netnographic analysis of the chosen non-profit organisations Facebook pages were used to collect the primary data. Interviewees were chosen on the basis they had knowledge, experience and exposure in their area.

Research findings indicate that social media …

How Social Media Networking Is Supporting Customer Engagement And Brand Awareness: A Pr Perspective In An Irish Context., Miriam O'Regan

Theses

The primary purpose of this thesis is to investigate the phenomenon of social media networking in the Irish organisational context. The study examines how Irish organisations are utilising social media networking as a communication platform. The research assesses the aspects of phenomenon that provide organisational advantages in Public Relations. Therefore, aim of the study is to identify how social media networking is influencing customer engagement and brand awareness.

The first research phase comprises of an extensive literature review of key academic sources of secondary research including reports, articles and publications. This review cultivates a range of sources with insight into …

The Use Of Online And Offline Communication In Public Information Campaigns: A Case Study Of The Health Service Executive “Quit” Campaign, Rachel O'Sullivan

Theses

To understand the role of offline and online communication in public information campaigns, research of the Health Service Executive (HSE) “Quit” Campaign was conducted. Through document analysis of campaign materials and interviews, an in-depth examination of the campaign communication platform is presented. Discussion of these elements reveals the strengths of both communication tools in current public messaging. The research concludes with a set of recommendations for future public information campaigns and describes how this modem day campaign is an excellent model that other organisations can emulate.

English Language Teachers' Perceptions Of Strategies Used To Teach And Assess Efl Vocabulary In Elementary Schools In Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, Warqa Salem Ai Ameri

Theses

The purpose of the study was to investigate vocabulary teaching strategies used by English language teachers in AI Ain public schools in the United Arab Emirates. The research focuses on three areas: investigating the strategies that teachers use to teach vocabulary, strategies teachers use to consolidate newly learned vocabulary and strategies teachers use to assess vocabulary learning. Such a study is important to evaluate and categorize the most frequent and effective strategies in the context of vocabulary instruction in AI Ain.

The research used quantitative and qualitative approaches exemplified in a questionnaire and an interview. A questionnaire was used to …

Principals' Behaviors In Government Secondary Schools In Ai-Ain City: A Descriptive Study., Firas Adnan Qatouni

Theses

This study aimed to describe the principals' behaviors in government secondary schools in Al Ain City which is in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi - the United Arab Emirates. In addition, it aimed to study the effect of the principals' gender and years of experience on their leadership behaviors. In order to do that, the principals' behaviors were categorized into five domains: behaviors in human relations, trust and decision making, instructional leadership, control, and finally conflict resolution. The study used quantitative and qualitative research methods. Data were collected through a questionnaire divided into two main sections. The first section included …

The Degree To Which School’S Principal Practices Behaviors That Build Or Destroy Teachers’ Trust In Her In Cycle One Abu-Dhabi City Schools: Teachers’ Perspective., Fatema Saeed Ali Hassan Al-Menhali

Theses

This study aimed to investigate the degree of which cycle-one school principals practice behaviors that build or destroy teachers trust in them from teachers’ perspective in light of some demographic variables in public schools in Abu Dhabi City through answering the following research questions:

1. To what degree cycle one school principals in Abu Dhabi city practice behaviors that build or destroy teachers’ trust in them from the teachers’ perspectives?

2. Are there significant mean differences in teachers perceptions at the significant level (ἁ = 0.05) about the degree to which principals practice behaviors that build or destroy teachers’ trust …

Modeling Speech Imitation And Ecological Learning Of Auditory-Motor Maps, C Canevari, L Badino, A D'Ausilio, L Fadiga, G Metta

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Classical models of speech consider an antero-posterior distinction between perceptive and productive functions. However, the selective alteration of neural activity in speech motor centers, via transcranial magnetic stimulation, was shown to affect speech discrimination. On the automatic speech recognition (ASR) side, the recognition systems have classically relied solely on acoustic data, achieving rather good performance in optimal listening conditions. The main limitations of current ASR are mainly evident in the realistic use of such systems. These limitations can be partly reduced by using normalization strategies that minimize inter-speaker variability by either explicitly removing speakers' peculiarities or adapting different speakers to …

Exceptional Connections : A Cross-Cultural Exploration Of The Actual Teacher Behaviours That Contribute To Positive Relationships With Gifted Secondary Students And Secondary Students With Emotional/Behavioural Disorders, Trevor Capern

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This cross-cultural study examined the teacher behaviours that contributed to positive student-teacher relationships with gifted secondary students and secondary students with Emotional/Behavioural Disorders (EBD) in Western Australia and Canada. The study also examined which categories of social support (emotional, instrumental, informational, appraisal) were considered most important in developing positive relationships according to the exceptional students and their teachers. Behaviours were identified through a mixedmethods approach that included surveys, teacher interviews, and student focus groups. Participants included gifted secondary students (N = 133) and their teachers (N= 49), and secondary students with EBD (N = 89) and their teachers (N=23) in …

Creating Business Value Through E-Marketplace Trading, Susan Standing

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Electronic marketplaces (e-marketplaces) have been researched over many years from the study of electronic data interchange (EDI) systems to the current internet based trading platforms. Early e-marketplaces connected a buyer and supplier using proprietary systems that established a market hierarchy. The buyer was responsible for the system, established the terms of trade and the electronically enabled supplier could connect to the system. These systems were costly to build, which limited their use, and only organisations with an integrated system could use them. The web based e-marketplaces opened up the possibility of connecting many buyers and suppliers and enabling electronic transactions. …

Impacts Of The Changing Nature Of The Vocational Education And Training (Vet) System On Educators Within The Vet System In Australia, Mairead Dempsey

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Australia has experienced an unprecedented rate of change in recent times dominated by economic discourses that point to the need for the VET system to contribute to economic development. This discourse includes increasing the competence of the present and future workforce to meet the emerging needs of the economy so Australia can compete in the global market. The VET sector in Australia operates within a National Training Framework that has been constantly changing over the past decade.

This study considered the impact of the changing nature VET policy on trainers of VET. The study …

The Governance Schema Of Regional And Rural Public Hospital Nurses: How Relevant Are The Dimensions Of Stewardship Governance And Trust In Management?, Kim Clark

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study broadly pertained to the issue of public health sector governance. The field of healthcare governance had been characterised as having challenges of greater intricacy and sensitivity than those found in any other sector (Philippon & Braithwaite, 2008). While increasingly regarded as important to health system performance, governance had, however, been evaluated as poorly understood in conceptual and practical terms and subject to competing ideas regarding its role and challenges (Brinkerhoff & Bossert, 2013). Specifically, the thesis elucidated frontline regional and rural hospital nurses’ cognitive schema of strategic aspects of governance practice of managers in the Western Australian Country …

Metapopulation Theory Explains Black-Stripe Minnow (Pisces: Galaxiidae, Galaxiella Nigrostriata) Distribution In Seasonal Wetlands In South-West Western Australia, David M. Galeotti

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The objective of this project was to determine if Galaxiella nigrostriata populations could belong to a metapopulation. Metapopulation theory describes how multiple populations with occasional connectivity are a ‘population of populations’. Some populations’ habitats have optimal conditions (source habitats), others experience regular extinctions (sink habitats). Connectivity allows repopulation of extinct or uninhabited habitats. Galaxiella nigrostriata occurred randomly in 11 seasonal wetlands in the Kemerton wetland complex in south-west Western Australia over a 16 year period. The wetlands did not appear to be connected.

Around 70% of wetlands on the Swan Coastal Plain in south-west WA have been filled or degraded …

Implementing A Reggio Emilia Inspired Approach In A Mainstream Western Australian Context: The Impact On Early Childhood Teachers' Professional Role, Claire Hall

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Reggio Emilia, an approach to early childhood that was developed in a Northern Italian city of the same name, is highly regarded as acknowledged by educators and researchers world-wide (Gandini, 1993). The Reggio Emilia philosophy is distinguished by the presentation of an image of children as being strong, rich and powerful learners (Hendricks, 2004; Millikan, 2003). This approach is marked as being adopted and adapted to suit particular cultural and educational settings. These situation sensitive approaches are noted as being Reggio Emilia inspired.

This qualitative case study investigated how the professional role of four early childhood teachers was impacted by …

Evaluating The Strategic Impact Of Medical Revalidation. Building An Evaluation Framework., Julian Archer, Samantha Regan De Bere, Nick Lynn, Nicola Brennan

Peninsula Medical School

Executive Summary.1. BackgroundOn 3rd December 2012, the regulation of medical doctors in the UK by the GMC underwent its most radical reform in 150 years with the introduction of revalidation. This initiative presents a unique and exciting opportunity to evaluate the design features of an innovative regulatory system; in order to assure and potentially further develop revalidation as a robust regulatory process.Aims & objectives The aim of this research was to develop a framework for evaluation for consideration by the GMC encompassing suggestions/recommendations which could capture information about the key design features of revalidation over which the GMC has jurisdiction. …

The Influence Of Business Incubation In Developing New Enterprises In Australia, Phillip Kemp

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Australia was an early adopter of business incubation, and made substantial investments in it in the early 2000s, however local interest has declined with the closure of big government-funded projects, at a time when international interest in business incubation is increasing. This study revisits the question of business incubators and their usefulness in economic development, describing a case study conducted on a university-linked business incubator in Australia. It investigates the impact of its operations on developing start-up businesses operating from within the facility; the motivations, perceptions and priorities of small businesses tenants and former tenants; and the role of the …

Stakeholders Perspective On Sustainable Technology Selection To Achieve Zero Carbon Retail Buildings, Syeda Zainab, Wei Pan, Steve Goodhew, Alba Fuertes

School of Art, Design and Architecture

In the design and construction of sustainable retail buildings, there are various stakeholders involved with the overall aim of selecting appropriate sustainable technologies to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. Previous studies and literature review indicate there is no comprehensive selection process to assist stakeholders. This can be classified as a complex multi-criteria decision problem due to the high number of alternatives, potential solutions and variety of stakeholders (e.g. clients, professional advisors, end-users) with multiple, often conflicting, objectives leading in turn to the slow take-up of sustainable technologies. There is a demand for a systematic and effective evaluation tool for …

Online And Local Television Networks: A New Pedagogy For A Changing Media., Phil Ellis, John Fitzsimons, David Hilton, Allister Gall

School of Art, Design and Architecture

To investigate campus-based and local TV focused on innovative opportunities for students, employers and community groups to contribute to the design of learning pedagogies and course structures.To utilize the strong element of collaboration within and across creative courses in the UPC Partnership encouraging students to explore the medium of TV and establish new learning cultures that broaden the context of the student experience, encouraging creative work-based/related collaboration with local communities and employers.Research outcomes will enhance understanding of a fluid and dynamic growth area for a new media, new educational and employment possibilities and arts practice, which in turn will inform …

Language And Cultural Meaning: Establishing Dialogical Learning In A Internationalised Teaching And Learning Environment, Robert Brown, Mia Papaefthimiou

School of Art, Design and Architecture

We live in an increasingly interconnected world, in which not only goods but also ideas and people are exchanged ever more extensively and rapidly. That this condition extends into educational settings is no surprise. (As two notable examples, both the student body and the teaching staff in architecture at Plymouth are now approximately 40% international; within Accounting and Finance the Year 3 student cohort is approximately 70% international.) Owing to this enhanced interconnection, we are now able to acquire instantly knowledge and skills locally (including via virtual networks) that were once previously all but unobtainable. There is however a danger …