Eurokd | European Knowledge Development Institute
Not a member yet
985 research outputs found
Sort by
Fostering Environmental Autonomy Support in an English Course for Middle School Learners in Western México
Get PDFThe scope of this study is to observe features of environmental autonomy support and to identify aspects of autonomy. To this end, a case study was designed and implemented in a state school in the western region of Mexico, with the participation of twelve secondary school pupils, ages 12 to 14, who attended a non-required 40-hour course using the autonomous learning approach. A research journal was kept tracking the whole process, gaining knowledge of autonomous learning and examining the phenomenon in a real-life context. The journals were analyzed with the help of Atlas.ti software, and the researcher made inferences from the resulting data, including environmental autonomy support as well as the reactions of the pupils to the autonomous learning process. The analysis of data reveals the language-learning context and its tendency to foster an autonomy-supportive atmosphere. Data seems to cast light on two major issues: the importance of fostering an environment that encourages autonomous learning-related behavior, and the necessity of providing appropriate scaffolding strategies to assist students in their development of autonomous learning. The study provides valuable insights into autonomy support and autonomous learning in education, but its limitations include a small sample size and potential challenges in generalizing findings to broader contexts
The Effects of Using MALL Applications to Teach Vocabulary to EFL Learners in UTAS, Oman
Get PDFThis study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of incorporating different types of smartphone applications i.e., game-based, flashcards and self-paced applications in vocabulary teaching and learning at a public university in Oman. Past research indicated that Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) applications facilitated second language learning (Stockwell, 2010). As a result, many teachers have opted to use smartphone-based applications such as Kahoot, Quizlet, and Memrise to engage their learners in the classroom and motivate them to learn lexical items. This paper investigates how deep is the influence and effectiveness of teachers’ use of mobile applications on the students' learning of Academic vocabulary and how these applications should be utilized to be as effective as possible. The study uses semi-structured interviews with 8 interviewees who are lecturers at UTAS, Oman. The interviews focused on frequency of usage, efficiency, personal experiences and ideas for effective implementation of such applications in the future. Results indicate that smartphone applications used for vocabulary learning have a positive impact on vocabulary teaching and learning, enhancement of academic learning skills and advancement of academic vocabulary retention levels. The study also provides recommendations for effective use of mobile applications in vocabulary learning and teaching
The Impact of Transformational Leadership on the Development of Human Resources: Mediating Role of Entrepreneurship Orientation
Get PDFA large part of leadership research has been conducted to have a greater impact on the development of human resources. This research aims to investigate the mediating role of entrepreneurial orientation on the relationship between transformational leadership and human resource development. For this purpose, 259 completed questionnaires from government employees in the Agricultural Jihad Organization (Ministry of Agriculture in Iran) were collected and analyzed using the maximum likelihood method and based on Baron and Kenny’s four-step analysis; the adequacy of the model and its indicators were confirmed (RMSEA=0.073). Structural equation modeling with Baron and Kenny’s four-step method showed that transformational leadership has a positive and significant impact on human resource development and entrepreneurial orientation, and entrepreneurial orientation significantly mediates the effect of transformational leadership on human resource development. The results of this research can help managers to consider the entrepreneurial orientation in organizational management even in government and public institutions; furthermore, they can benefit from it as a variable in facilitating the development of human resources. It can also be considered as one of the predictor variables of individual growth in the organization with regard to other organizational and individual variables
An AI Generated Test of Pragmatic Competence and Connected Speech
Get PDFLanguage testing is witnessing increasing interest in the potential for AI to support test development and validation. To date, published research involving AI in language testing has typically been conducted in the context of high-stakes proficiency tests and the potential for this technology to support local language testing is under-researched. The current study seeks to address this gap by reporting on the piloting of an AI generated language test in the context of a university in the UK. The focus of the paper was selected to explore two key areas in the work of J.D. Brown, namely pragmatics and connected speech. In the study, international students with English as a second language completed an AI generated test of pragmatics created from a transcript of spontaneous interaction, and a test-taking strategy questionnaire. Results demonstrated that the test did not provide a sufficiently reliable measurement of test takers’ pragmatic competence, although reliability estimates did improve with the removal of problematic items. Implications for language test development involving AI are discussed
Individual Differences in Language Education -- Why a new journal now?
Get PDFWe are pleased to announce the launch of Individual Differences in Language Education: An International Journal (hereafter referred to as IDLE). This multidisciplinary journal aims to advance research and understanding of the role of individual differences (IDs) in language learning and teaching and to serve as a platform for researchers, educators, and practitioners to share their insights and perspectives on the complex and dynamic interplay between IDs, language learning, and language teaching
Managing Product Features and Customer Satisfaction via Product Development, Product Branding, and Product Packaging: Evidence from CWAY Table Water
Get PDFCustomer satisfaction has become a source of worry to most organizations, including the table water business. The table water industry is one of the most competitive markets in Nigeria today and due to its portability and affordability, it is seen as a lucrative trade to venture into. However, this has also led to the proliferation of mushroom table water companies and has made it difficult for some companies to maintain their customer base. Therefore, this study examines the effect of product features on customer satisfaction of veritas table water. The population of this study comprised of 3037 customers of CWAY Table Water Abuja, Nigeria. The sample size of 353 was derived through Taro Yamane’s sample size formula. Data for this study was collected using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were used for data analysis. The findings from the study revealed that product development and features have positive and significant effect on customer satisfaction of CWAY Table Water. It was generally concluded that product features have significant effect on the customer satisfaction of CWAY Table Water. This study recommends there should be very strong emphasis on the development of new and innovative products, the management of CWAY Table Water to embrace all the indicators of product branding to be able optimally maximize its benefits and embrace innovative ideas, monitoring and responding to the changes in the needs of the customers
E-Marketing and its Impact on the Modern Economy
Get PDFThe main focus of the study is to investigate the impact of e-marketing on the modern economy. The objective of this scientific research is to study the current state of development of e-marketing in Ukraine and Estonia, and its impact on the economies of these countries. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks: to consider the essence of the concepts of "e-commerce" and “e-marketing”; to analyse the impact of e-marketing on the modern economy of Ukraine; to analyse the impact of e-marketing on the modern economy of Estonia. It is noted that at the end of 2020, 10.6 million people in Ukraine regularly made purchases online, which is one third of the population. This includes a stable audience of regular customers of online stores and trading platforms. Approximately 33% of adults regularly shop online, and this audience is gradually growing. It is important to note that we are talking about regular online shopping, and almost all Internet users have some experience of online shopping. It is also noted that in the same year 2020, every fifth company in Estonia offered the opportunity to buy their goods through a website or other electronic channels. The share of online sales was 5% of the total revenue of enterprises, of which 2% was generated by sales to individuals, and the remaining 3% was generated by sales to other firms and public sector institutions. However, the share of sales through websites was only 0.3% of the total revenue of enterprises. The conclusions emphasise the role of e-marketing as a strategic tool in stimulating economic growth in both countries. By encouraging innovation, e-marketing acts as a catalyst for digital transformation in retail, ensuring sustainable business development and competitiveness. Ukraine and Estonia have proved to be ready to adapt to the challenges of the digital future, and e-commerce, supported by effective e-marketing, plays an important role in building a sustainable infrastructure for online trade development
Troublesome Knowledge and Liminality in ELT Threshold Concepts: A Mirror Reflecting How Knowledge is Processed on the Minds of Students
Get PDFTroublesome knowledge, being an essential characteristic of threshold concepts, emerges when university students find it too difficult to understand concepts. According to Perkins (2006), the causes of concepts becoming troublesome are when they are perceived ritual, inert, conceptually difficult, alien and/or tacit. As a result, students crossing a threshold concept go through the liminality of four modes of variation, which are preliminal, liminal, postliminal and subliminal (Land & Meyer, 2010; Meyer & Land, 2003, 2006a). Interestingly, investigating troublesome knowledge in tertiary disciplines reveals how students cognitively interact with concepts within the subject matter of a discipline. The aim of this paper, based on a mixed method EdD research study, is to focus on what concepts ELT Omani student teachers perceived as troublesome knowledge, how they processed troublesome knowledge and what types of strategies they used to overcome troublesome knowledge. The findings revealed a huge variety of different concepts that were perceived as troublesome knowledge. They also showed that the strategies of asking others to help, asking my teachers to help and reading more about the concepts were the three top strategies ELT Omani student teachers used
Employer Branding in Iranian Organizations
Get PDFToday, an organization's ability to attract, recruit, and retain skilled and talented human resources from labor markets has become a strategic component of its success. To attract such employees, businesses began implementing branding practices and principles in the field of human resource management, and the concept of 'Employer Branding' has grown in popularity among businesses. As a result, the purpose of this paper is to survey the position and accomplishments of Employer brands in Iranian organizations. This study's data was gathered from three organizations in the oil industry: excavation, oil, and gas. Two samples were used, and questionnaires were distributed to each of them (consisting of 107 managers and 264 employees). According to the findings of this survey, the constructs of employee attraction, organizational identity, and organizational culture have been identified as components of employer branding and have a significantly high mean in those organizations. Furthermore, EB is linked to talent retention, corporate citizenship, HRD climate, and talent attraction, with the most significant impact on talent attraction and retention. Then it has the most significant influence on corporate citizenship and the HRD climate
Reconcile the Paradox: Stability & Volatility Inclusive
Get PDFThe paper answers the questions: How is it possible for mature and complex organizations to break out from their evolutionary trajectories? How do these changes take place on the micro level? The paper argues, that stability and volatility can be mutually inclusive. Stability is found to provide the structures, processes, and agentic templates for the organization to perceive change stimuli, to act on these and to roll out changes. The integration of social and formal structures and processes is found essential to effect changes. To conceptualize, path dependence theory is synthetized from a process perspective. The exploratory study is conducted by the author in the shipping industry of Japan, that brings the closed, complex, and hyper-stable Japanese business groups to focus, the core headquarters operation of which has been out of reach of scholars till now due to organizational-cultural boundaries. The findings are relevant to all organizations undergoing change in general, to complex and mature organizations locked in a state of pathological inertia in particular, and, most specifically, to Japanese business groups