Primary competencies for secondary school: psychological features of successful learning at transition grades

As the transition period from primary to secondary education is difficult for many students, our strive is to study the psychological features, which may scaffold student’s promotion and provide for future successful learning. We consider the educational media to be a complex system of psychological features, which depend on the content of education and the way, in which the educational process is organized. The “activity-and-content oriented” educational media devised after theoretical principles of the Developmental Instruction (Davydov), according to our hypothesis, provides sound bases for primary competencies formation, which are vital for secondary education. To test this assumption, we have diagnosed the quality of reflection, analysis, planning, model-acquisition and model-application, achieved by 204 students from two different educational media (“activity-and-content oriented” and “knowledge oriented”). For assessment purposes two diagnostic tools were used: “Transpositions” and “Moon” test. Both tests exploited contexts, which were unfamiliar to both groups of students. The results show, that students from the “activity-and-content” oriented educational media performed significantly better in most cognitive primary concepts. We consider these findings to support our major hypothesis, that educational media is a powerful source to scaffold students’ primary competencies’ formation, which in its turn provides for successful learning in secondary school.

Motivation and retention of teachers in private secondary schools in Kenya

Employee retention has become a key focus of the human resource professional agenda. Organizations and schools have come to the conclusion that money could be saved by reducing employee turnover. However, studies have been inconclusive on motivating factors that lower employee retention. The main objective of this study was to determine the influence of motivation on the retention of employees in secondary schools in Kenya. Based on an exhaustive review of literature, three constructs of motivation were taken into consideration namely management. The major hypothesis of the study was that motivation significantly influences the retention of teachers in private secondary schools. To test the hypothesis, three sub-hypotheses were developed; compensation significantly influences employee retention; supervision significantly influences employee retention and psychological contract significantly influences employee retention. A mixed methodology approach was adopted and data was collected using a structured questionnaire and a structured interview guide. Descriptive statistics including frequencies, correlation analysis, and linear regression were applied to test the research hypotheses. The regression results indicate that motivation is causing a 7.0 percent variation in retention, implying a weak relationship. The weak relationship can be explained by poor salaries, authoritarian supervision, and breach of the psychological contract.

The Psychological and Demographic Factors of Quality of Life in Older Adults

This research aims to determine the relationship between psychological and demographic factors, which are dispositional optimism, and self-efficacy are the psychological factors, meanwhile home, sex and ethnicity as the demographic factors of quality of life in the older adults. The major hypothesis of this research proposed that there are positive relationship from both psychological factors and demographic factors to the quality of life in older adults. This study involved 53 older adult peoples. The result of multiple regression analysis shows that there is a positive relationship from all five variables to the quality of life in older adults as big as 76,5% (Adjusted R2= 0,765). This result means that both the psychological and demographic factors do have effective contributions to the quality of life in older adult people. The results of t-tests are also discussed.

Kepribadian Big Five untuk Melihat Perilaku Prososial Mahasiswa

This study aims to find out the relationship between the Big Five personality and Prosocial Behavior. Major hypothesis proposed in this study is that there is a relationship between the Big Five personality and Prosocial Behavior; while the minor hypothesis is that there is a positive relationship between extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness with prosocial behavior and there is a negative relationship between neuroticism and prosocial behavior. The subjects of this study are 127 Collegers Faculty of Economics Majoring in Accounting at Prima Indonesia University Medan and chosen by purposive sampling method. Data obtained from a scale to measure interest in the Big Five personality and Prosocial behavior. The results show the value of Anareg with F=2.901 and p=0.016 (p<0.05). Results of data analysis of minor hypothesis on the agreeableness (r=0.076, p=0.466), conscientiousness (r=0.082, p=0.420) and openness (r=0.036, p=0.735) show that there is a positive relationship between agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness with the prosocial behavior but that no significan. Results of data analysis of minor hypothesis on the neuroticism (r=0.163, p=0.099) shows that there is no negative relationship between neuroticism and the prosocial behavior. Results of data analysis of minor hypothesis on the extraversion (r =0.101, p=0.369) shows that there is no relationship between extraversion and the prosocial behavior.

Individual Needs Terhadap Subjective Well-Being

This study aims to examine the effect of individual needs on subjective well-being employees in the PPKGBK office (Center for Management of the Bung Karno Complex). This research uses a quantitative approach involving 161 PPKGB employees. Sampling was carried out using probability sampling with accidental sampling technique. The author uses a measuring instrument namely The Modified BBC Subjective Well-Being Scale (BBC-SWB) developed by Kinderman, Schwannauer, Pontin & Tai (2011). The data analysis technique used to answer the research question is multiple regression analysis. Based on the results of the major hypothesis test, the first conclusion obtained from this study is that there is a significant influence between individual needs on subjective well-being of employees at the headquarters of the Bung Karno complex management. Then, based on the results of the minor hypothesis test there are two variables whose regression coefficient values are significant namely: abasement dan achievement, while 14 other variables were not significant.AbstrakPenelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji pengaruh individual need terhadap subjective well-being pegawai di kantor PPKGBK (Pusat Pengelolaan Kompleks Gelora Bung Karno). Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif dengan melibatkan 161 pegawai PPKGB. Pengambilan sampel yang dilakukan menggunakan menggunakan probability sampling dengan teknik accidental sampling. Penulis menggunakan alat ukur yaitu The Modified BBC Subjective Well-Being Scale (BBC-SWB) yang dikembangkan oleh Kinderman, Schwannauer, Pontin & Tai (2011). Teknik analisis data yang digunakan untuk menjawab pertanyaan penelitian adalah analisis regresi berganda. Berdasarkan hasil uji hipotesis mayor, kesimpulan pertama yang diperoleh dari penelitian ini adalah terdapat pengaruh yang signifikan antara individual needs terhadap subjective well-being pada pegawai di kantor pusat pengelolaan komplek Gelora Bung Karno. Kemudian, berdasarkan hasil uji hipotesis minor terdapat dua variabel yang nilai koefisien regresinya signifikan yaitu: abasement dan achievement, sementara 14 variabel lain tidak signifikan.

Pengaruh Individual Needs terhadap Subjective Well-Being pada Pegawai

This study intented to inspect the effect of individual need on subjective well-being employees in the PPKGBK (Pusat Pengelolaan Kompleks Gelora Bung Karno) office (The office of Management Center for Bung Karno Sports Block). This study used a quantitative approach involving 161 PPKGBK employees. The sampling was taken by probability sampling technique. The author used a measuring device that is the Modified BBC Subjective Well-being Scale (BBC-SWB) developed by Kinderman, Schwannauer, Pontin & Tai (2011). The data analysis technique used to answer the research question is multiple regression analysis. Based on the results of the major hypothesis test, the first conclusion obtained from this study is that there is a significant effect between individual needs on subjective well-being on employees at the office of Management Center for Bung Karno Sports Block. Then, based on the results of the minor hypothesis test there are two variables whose significant regression coefficient value, namely; (1) abasement; (2) achievement.

The Dumping-Based Unfair Trade in World Trade Organization WTO

As one of the unfair procedures, dumping acts as a tool for illegal competition used by some of enterprises in foreign market and it can destruct domestic production sectors of importer countries. Whereas general regulations of World Trade Organization (WTO) have emphasized on accepting of free trade system and thus reducing of tariff barriers and required member states to coordinate their economic and legal structures with regulations of this organization so the risk has been increased for occurrence of dumping. The antidumping WTO agreement includes some measures e.g. enforcement and imposing of additional levies to fight against this anti-competitive activity that is taken usually with the request from domestic producers by the governments. The unfair trade procedures are some measures based on unfair method in which the goal and result are creation of disorder in the market and injury to benefits of commercial partners. In these procedures, the competitive potential is noticeably increased for the goods that enjoyed unfair measures. The government may not play role in dumping while the commercial enterprises import their products at price lower than usual value to capture market from their rivals. Thus, this main research question is proposed: What are the foremost strategies in WTO to tackle with dumping problem? In response to the major hypothesis, it has been emphasized on this point that presentation of countervailing duties, subsidies and civil liability are the foremost solution to fight against dumping in WTO.

Disintermediation of banks in a developing economy

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how Pakistani banks manage their portfolios (lending vs investment) when the economic indicators are not supportive. This study investigates three aspects of the banking system in Pakistan – prevalence of disintermediation, post-crisis profitability orientation and depositor protection by financial system in unfavorable conditions. Design/methodology/approach This study is limited to identifying the key economic and financial drivers behind disintermediation and its subsequent impact on banks’ profitability and depositors’ protection. GLS panel regressions and Engle–Granger causality test as specified by the error correction model have been used to test the major hypothesis of this study. Findings This study shows that small banks have been shifting major part of their portfolios toward risk-free investments to be able to maintain their profitability more efficiently and effectively, like large banks. The study also observes that significant pairing causality exists between gross credit loans and investments confirming disintermediation hypothesis for all types of banks except Islamic or Sharia compliant banks, whereas for significant pairing causality, the results are mixed for remaining variables among gross credit loans as a proportion of assets and economic variables that include GDP growth, unemployment, KSE-100 and SBP policy rate. It is also confirmed by the results that disintermediation improves banks profitability and depositor protection, thus providing a good rationale and justification to banks for opting it. Originality/value The study focuses on the impact of structural changes in portfolios only of commercial banks’ revenue-generating assets not including other financial institutions as a part of banking system. Furthermore, data are extracted from balance sheets and is the sole property of corresponding author.

Biological Homochirality on the Earth, or in the Universe? A Selective Review

The discovery of meteoritic alpha-amino acids with significant enantiomeric excesses of the L-form has suggested that some cosmic factors could serve as the initial source for chiral imbalance of organic compounds delivered to the early Earth. The paper reviews major hypothesis considering the influence of chiral irradiation and chiral combinations of physical fields on the possible ways asymmetric synthesis and transformations of organics could take place within the solar system. They could result in a small enantiomeric imbalance of some groups of compounds. More attention is paid to the hypothesis on parity violation of weak interaction that was supposed to cause homochirality of all primary particles and a more significant homochirality of compounds directly synthesized from the latter in a plasma reactor. The first experiment with material synthesized in a plasma torch resulting from a super-high-velocity impact showed formation of alanine with the excess of L-form between 7 and 25%. The supposed conclusion is that L-amino acids could serve as a starting homochiral biomolecular pool for life to emerge all over the Universe.

The Effect of Inter-personal Trust on Opportunism and Business Performance of Gem Dealers in Sri Lanka

This study attempts to explore the effect of interpersonal-trust on opportunism and business performance of gem dealers in Sri Lanka. Therefore, the study suggests three major hypothesis which was tested on primary data gathered from 100 registered gem dealers in the Ratnapura district in Sri Lanka, using structured questionnaires. The results demonstrate that inter-personal trust i.e. credibility, benevolence, ability among gem dealers have a significant negative impact on opportunism and positive significant impact on business improvements. Whereas highlighting the inverse relationship between business opportunism and performance. Furthermore, this study concludes that inter-personal trust has greater impacts on the well-being of this industry highlighting it as the main relational attribute among gem dealers interactions. Thus, inter-personal trust lowers their transaction costs in exchanges and increase the profit levels of gem dealers in Sri Lanka.