Small and Medium Enterprises Growth and Competitiveness: The Importance of Marketing Strategies Role

The growing competition among businesses of small medium or large is an area of concern to business growth and competitiveness. Strategies have been used to differentiate the undertakings of various enterprises irrespective of industrial affiliation, specifically marketing strategies are used to reach the customers and tackle competition. The adoption and implementation of unsuitable marketing strategy exposes the weaknesses of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the challenges to capture sizable market share. This paper is aimed at examining the types of marketing strategies suitable for SMEs and how they affect their growth and competitiveness in developing countries. A review survey approach was employed in this work and related literature from journal articles, professional reports, term papers and dissertations were reviewed. It has been discovered that marketing strategies like relationship management, branding, product and pricing differentiation, market segmentation and channel cultivation are crucial for the sustainable growth and competitiveness of SMEs in developing countries. Some propositions were made on some unpopular marketing strategies that could be explored by SMEs for competitiveness and international markets.

Designing a secure fail-safe cloud repository of paperworks of students and employees of educational institutions

The article discusses the main approaches to the design and development of an automated information system for a secure cloud repository of paperworks of students and employees of educational and research organisations (abstracts, essays, term papers and theses, master’s theses, deposited articles), providing secure storage and secure mobile access to stored data. The research and development of architectural solutions to ensure reliable and secure data storage using cloud technologies are described. The main problems of designing a secure repository and ways to solve them are considered. The cloud repository of written works is built on the basis of the Ceph distributed file system, which uses the NextCloud system and the virtual computing resources of the virtual network infrastructure of the Belarusian State University as a platform for building a cloud interface.

The ABCs of Teaching Family Counseling: Putting “Fun” into the Fundamentals of the Profession

Becoming a family counselor requires knowledge of the history, theories, techniques, and trends within the profession. These tasks are not easy to accomplish and require a dedication of learning where the field has been as well as where it appears to be going. Multiple-choice tests, essay questions, term papers, case histories, internships, special projects, and class presentations are some of the means used to teach and evaluate student’s mastery of the field. However, another way that is fun and effective is class exercises and games. One such game titled “The ABCs of Family Counseling” is explained here. This article examines the rationale for using this teaching tool and how the pedagogy tied to this exercise can help students become more aware of what they have learned, as well as help students develop a readiness to begin working with couples and families.

Writing in academic Slovene: state and origins of students’ knowledge and skills

By using a survey and semi-structured interviewing our study showed that the majority of Slovene PhD students are satisfied with their Slovene academic writing skills, but admitted they could improve, for example, with regard to their use of typical academic vocabulary in its usual context; writing concisely and accurately; and producing characteristic sentences and phrases in accordance with specific sections of text. As for the origins of the skills in question, in students’ opinion the most important way of learning how to write academic Slovene is by reading academic text during the entire course of study, as well as by writing term papers and similar assignments. Here – in PhD students’ and supervisors’ opinion – the role of teachers is very important, i.e. all teachers, not just linguists, should contribute to the excellence of students’ knowledge of academic Slovene.

The ways of the realization of gender-based education in the learning process in higher educational establishments

The article reveals the problem of gender-oriented education in higher education. The author notes that it is important not only to change the forms, methods and means of learning in modern conditions but also the concept of forming a modern specialist who has to train, in addition to professional knowledge, skills and abilities - interpersonal and soft skills because society is gradually moving away from the individualistic type and focuses on teamwork and cooperation at all levels. Among the gender problems in Ukraine such as gender inequality at different levels of education, the presence of elements of gender discrimination in the content of academic disciplines and its reflection in the educational and methodological literature; gender relations in the teaching staff, teaching style and pedagogical communication; speech/language sexism, etc. are identified. The survey proved the need to use a gender-sensitive approach in the educational process, showed some differences in learning between boys and girls and confirmed the importance of taking into account the psychological and physiological differences between girls and boys in the educational process. The author presents ways to implement this approach in higher education, which will contribute to the comprehensive coverage of all areas of work - teaching, methodological and educational - which will contribute to the creation of a gender-sensitive educational environment. Various directions of the introduction of gender education as a component of national, moral, family, legal, mental, labour are offered; emphasis is placed on the necessity to include gender topics in lectures, practical classes, term papers and master's theses; cooperation of educators and public organizations; formation of gender culture of the teacher, propaganda of gender education. The results of an experimental study are presented, the statistical data of which indicate the need to implement this type of education for more effective organization of the educational process in higher education, humanization and democratization of education.

Students’ Attitudes Towards the Use of Wikipedia: A Teaching Tool and a Way to Modernize Teaching

This paper presents a research on students’ attitudes towards the use of Wikipedia in teaching. The sample was comprised of students from the Pedagogical Faculty in Vranje, a higher education institution affiliated with the University of Niš, Serbia. Students were assigned to write articles on Wikipedia as an alternative to writing their standard term papers. That way the Wikipedia content became significantly enriched. They positively evaluated Wikipedia as a teaching tool. The results confirmed that students preferred creating articles on Wikipedia to writing standard term papers. Those results may contribute significantly to further improvement and modernization of university teaching.

Error analysis of undergraduate students’ writing performances: IELTS-based activities

As English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students, it is expected that they should have good ability in four skills of English, including writing skill. However, errors are still found in students’ written works. This paper examines the different types of writing errors made by 10 Indonesian undergraduate students who were enrolled in an IELTS preparation class. Descriptive qualitative research was employed in this study. The errors in the term papers were identified and classified accordingly. The students’ works were assessed based on four aspects: task achievement, cohesion and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range, and accuracy. The result of this study showed that the highest percentage of students’ errors was in terms of lexical resource and grammatical range (accuracy), followed by three other common errors: singular or plural, word choice, and punctuation. Regarding to the task achievement, in Task 1, most of the students addressed the task but they didn't cover all the information needed. While in Task 2, some students presented clear opinions but with limited and inadequately developed ideas and gave no conclusion. Furthermore, for the results of cohesion and coherence in Task 1, most students showed good logical sequence and overall progression but with faulty cohesion devices. However in Task 2, some students presented either incoherent or illogical ideas or information. These results contribute as fruitful insights for language learners who want to enhance the IELTS comprehension, particularly writing performance.

An Analysis of the English Language Needs of Customer Contact and Secretarial Operation Coordination Trainees: Some Selected Technical and Vocational Colleges in Ethiopia

This study is mainly conducted to find out the English language needs of Customer Contact and Secretarial Operation Coordination Level IV trainees. To achieve this objective, purposive sampling technique was used to select content area teachers while comprehensive sampling technique was used to include trainees and English language teachers. A survey research was the design of this study. To this end, questionnaire and interview were employed to collect data. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of data analysis were used in the study. The findings of the study showed that writing, speaking, reading and listening skills are prioritized by trainees according to their order. In the area of micro skills, listening to lectures to take notes and listening to class discussions were showed as highly needed micro-skills. With regard to speaking activities, asking and answering questions and participating in whole class discussion were highly needed speaking micro-skills. Reading reference books and reading lecture notes, writing different project works like term papers, assignments and sample personal and business letters were identified as the most important speaking and writing micro-skills. Vocabulary was found more important than grammar. Most trainees reported that they find asking and answering questions and writing different project works like term papers and assignments, sample personal and business letters difficult. The reason for this might be because the courses offered are inefficient to help them develop these skills. Disparity was also found between their language problems and the courses they take. Finally, based on these findings, recommendations were also forwarded.

Soren Kierkegaard’s Philosophy and its Influence on French Existentialist Novels

В статье выявляются предпосылки, обусловившие модификацию формы французского философского (экзистенциалистского) романа в середине XX века. На примере творчества Сёрена Кьеркегора показана связь поэтики экзистенциалистского произведения с философией. Определено существенное влияние на творчество французских экзистенциалистов не только идей датского мыслителя, но и соответствующей этим идеям найденной им формы философского поиска. Выявлены особенности этой формы: философское исследование параллельно в художественной и трактатной (или эссеистской) формах, их вступление в диалог, в ходе которого обе части поясняют и дополняют друг друга. Такой способ развития философской идеи и сама специфика экзистенциалистской философии определяют характер философского романа. Исчезает присущая «классическому» философскому роману необходимость прямого изложения идей. С помощью различных средств развивается выражение философии, а не ее высказывание. Отсюда — исчезновение в романе героя-резонёра, отсутствие исходной философемы (заданности философской проблемы) и другие особенности поэтики, которые еще предстоит изучить. Материалы исследования могут быть использованы при создании учебников и различных пособий по французской и зарубежной литературе, при разработке курсов лекций и практических занятий по литературе в высших учебных заведениях, при написании курсовых и дипломных работ. The article treats the prerequisites for the transformation of French existentialist novels in the middle of the 20th century. Soren Kierkegaard’s philosophy is used to show the connection between philosophy and existentialist poetics. The author of the article maintains that French existentialist writers were influenced not only by the Danish philosopher, but also by the latter’s method of philosophical inquiry. The author singles out some characteristics of the method: philosophical inquiry develops parallel with literary development, literary and philosophical patterns intertwine and complement each other. The method of philosophical inquiry and the peculiarities of existential philosophy determine the peculiarities of philosophical novels. The direct presentation of ideas typical of classical philosophical novels is no longer required, philosophical expressiveness prevails over philosophical description. The characters of existentialist novels no longer need to philosophize, philosophical problems don’t have to be set. The materials of the research can be used to create textbooks and manuals on French and foreign literature, to create lectures and seminars in literature in higher education institutions, to write term papers and graduation papers.

Designing an instructional unit on “argumentative essay” for prep year students: An action research in a state university in Turkey

Writing is one of the productive skills for language learners. This study was conducted to design a unit for language students who were enrolled in the School of Foreign Languages in one of the most prestigious Turkish state universities located in Istanbul. These learners had been taught different academic essay types in this educational institution for which the researcher designed an instructional unit on “Argumentative Essay Writing”, which was highly needed for the learners taking English-medium-instruction to pursue their academic studies. For the purpose of this study, one prep class was chosen to implement the designed unit so that the efficiency could be evaluated in the end. As for the data collection tools, interviews were arranged with three students in the class where the design was implemented. Three junior students in different departments who had previously had a prep school experience before they took their departmental courses in their faculties were also interviewed as well as the instructors who gave the “academic writing” course by teaching the essay types for several years in this research context. Additionally, the writing tasks given to the students of the class where the research was conducted as well as their mid-term papers were also included in the data. All through these stages, observation protocols were also used by the “on-site” researcher. Results showed that an efficient and applicable unit for an “Argumentative Essay” is possible considering the students’ needs, entry characteristics, goals and objectives, instructional strategy, assessment, implementation and evaluation of the whole process.