11 Articles Published

1. THE EFFECT OF CASH AND STOCK DIVIDENDS ON THE BANKS TOBINA

Authors: SANA'A MASWADEH

Abstract: This study aimed at investigating the effect of cash and stock dividends taking into consideration the control variables on Tobin’s Q in Jordanian commercial banks listed on Amman Stock Exchange. To achieve this objective, the study depended on financial reports published in stock exchange market for (16) Jordanian commercial banks during the period from 2009 to 2015, and used multiple and stepwise regression to test study hypotheses. The results of the study indicate that there is a significant and positive effect of cash and stock dividends on Tobin’s Q, and this effect in the favor of cash dividends over stock dividends on Tobin’s Q in Jordanian commercial banks.

Keywords: dividends, stock dividends, Tobin’s Q, Jordanian commercial banks

Pages: 1 - 5 | DOI: 10.15224/978-1-63248-141-2-44

2. NATURE WATCHING AS WELTANSCHAU

Authors: SERBAN PROCHES

Abstract: Nature alienation is widely perceived as one of the symptoms of the modernity syndrome. The return to nature watching in the form of a hobby has been associated with a variety of benefits in the sphere of both physical and mental health. This practice is more common in advanced economies, and has developed into a substantial economic activity in its own right. Here I focus on the practice of ‘twitching’ – or recording one’s own life list of species as a way of perceiving and understanding world’s diversity. I discuss the geographic levels at which species lists can be placed, the reality of the species concept, and the degrees of certainty one can realistically attach to a given sighting, discussing them both from a positivist perspective, and as individual constructs. I conclude that nature watching can both represent an important component of sensemaking exercises, and contribute useful data to scientific projects.

Keywords: citizen science, ecotourism, nature watching, personal geographies, species distribution databases

Pages: 6 - 6 | DOI: 10.15224/978-1-63248-141-2-45

3. THE IMPACT OF STAKEHOLDERS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF WATER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS AT UMGENI WATER

Authors: CECILE GERWEL PROCHES , LUNGI MAKHAYE

Abstract: The engagement of stakeholders has become a key strategic area for Umgeni Water. Key statutory stakeholders, contracted or non-contracted, hold immense influence over, and have a great impact on, Umgeni Water’s policy development and nature of work. Planning for stakeholder engagement can pose a challenge, particularly for the construction of water infrastructure projects, because relations between stakeholders are not static, but are rather dynamic and in a state of flux. In light of the project delays and financial setbacks that have been experienced while implementing infrastructure projects at Umgeni Water, it has become apparent that there are risks posed by the involvement and influence of key stakeholders. Umgeni Water thus needs to be proactive and put measures in place to ensure the successful implementation of projects. The purpose of this study was to provide a framework to assist management and teams working in the water infrastructure projects to better understand how to

Keywords: stakeholder management, stakeholder engagement, water infrastructure projects, complexity, qualitative research

Pages: 7 - 7 | DOI: 10.15224/978-1-63248-141-2-46

4. A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF ADDRESSING HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS SOCIO-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN THE ETHIOPIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS AND THE PROSPECT OF MULTICULTURAL APPROACH

Authors: HAILEMARIAM KEKEBA GOBENA

Abstract: The main purpose of this study was to examine trends of treating within-country higher education students‘ socio-cultural differences in the Ethiopian education systems retrospectively and find evidence based explanation with regard to the level of effectiveness of the current multicultural approach for managing student diversity. The study used qualitative data collected from ranges of policystrategy documents and documented higher education student intergroup scenarios in the country today. The findings showed that during the Imperial regime assimilation was practiced where as during the Dergue era integration strategy was employed to bring about social cohesion in the institutions. These approaches did not bring about the envisaged peace in the country that the present EPRDF government which had seized government power and which had emerged from the student struggle itself installed a multicultural policy. Nevertheless, ethnic, linguistic and religious based mistrust and hostiliti

Keywords: retrospective, analysis, addressing, higher education, students’ socio-cultural

Pages: 8 - 15 | DOI: 10.15224/978-1-63248-141-2-47

5. IMPACT OF SOLAR ENERGY DEMONSTRATION PROJECT ON PUBLIC RESPONSES OF SOME FINNISH CITIZENS LIVING IN EKO-VIIKKI RESIDENTIAL AREA IN HELSINKI

Authors: MD. ABDUL HAI

Abstract: Although many studies conducted hitherto concentrated mostly on how demonstration projects affect technological proofs, there is a lacuna to address their effects on innovation diffusion in terms of public acceptance who observe and/or initially experience those. Taking Eko-Viikki residential area with some solar integrated buildings in Helsinki as a case study this paper addresses whether demonstrations can have any impact among people to adopt clean energy technologies such as solar energy. What the people living in some of those solar integrated buildings feel about the technology; and how such demonstrations and initial adoption by the residents of those buildings formed the emulation tendency among people are matters of concentration in this study. Due to unfavourable weather condition solar energy has long been considered nonfeasible by the common Finnish citizens. To meet the huge demand of energy for space heating and electricity, traditional power supply has been playing the m

Keywords: Solar energy, demonstration effects, social acceptance, emulation, diffusion of innovation.

Pages: 16 - 16 | DOI: 10.15224/978-1-63248-141-2-48

6. THE SOCIALIST LABOR MARKET: EQUAL TREATMENT FOR EVERYBODY?

Authors: LIBOR ZIDEK , LUCIE COUFALOVA

Abstract: The Czechoslovak socialist regime declared equal treatment of people on the labour market. This position reflected Marxist-Leninist ideology. The goal of this paper is to find out how this formal equal treatment was implemented in everyday practice. The answers are based on our unique research among managers of socialist companies from the 1970s and 1980s. We found out that in practice the regime discriminated some subgroups on the labor market positively as well as negatively even though the wages were formally set in a remarkably equal way.

Keywords: labor market, socialism, wage leveling, discrimination

Pages: 17 - 21 | DOI: 10.15224/978-1-63248-141-2-49

7. MAPPING PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THE INFLUENCE OF CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS IN BPM INITIATIVES

Authors: HELDER GOMES COSTA , TAIS FERNANDES COSTA , TATIANE RIBEIRO PAIXAO , VALDECY PEREIRA

Abstract: This article reports a research that has colletected and analyzed perceptions about the influence of CSF in Business Processes (BPM) initiatives. A systematic literature review was performed in papers published in indexed journals. In a second step, a survey was applied to a short sample composed by experts in BPM, with a single question: what area the CSF that most influence in the implementation of process management? After it, a full questionnaire was build and applied to an extended sample composed by Brazilian BPM experts. As a result, the top 10 CSF perceived as most critical to the success in BPM initiatives were identified. The main contributions of this paper are the original way the CSF were elicited and how their importance was found out, both in a systematized and robust way that can be followed by other researches and practioneers.

Keywords: Business Process Management, BPM, Critical Factors, CFS, survey

Pages: 22 - 25 | DOI: 10.15224/978-1-63248-141-2-50

8. TAXATION, CORRUPTION AND PUNISHMENT: A GAME EQUILIBRIUM MODEL

Authors: OLIVIERO A. CARBONI , PAOLO RUSSU

Abstract: This work examines the issue of tax evasion through underreporting activity. We assume that the decisions are described by an evolutionary dynamic process. The game considers that both citizens and officers can either ask for a bribe or be asked for it. The structure of the evasion-corruption game explicitly distinguishes between the probability to detect and punish a dishonest citizen ( ) and a dishonest officer ( ). These two parameters strongly characterize the game and be can considered as proxy of the efficacy of the institutional system and supply an interesting indication about the corruption and evasion behaviour in a certain country. We analyse the relationship between tax enasione and efficacy of the istitutional contry through the basins of attraction of the game strategies.

Keywords: evolutionary game, replicator dynamic, corruption model, bribery.

Pages: 26 - 29 | DOI: 10.15224/978-1-63248-141-2-51

9. RATIO ANALYSIS INDICATORS OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE IN THE NAIROBI SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE MARKET. CASE OF LISTED COMPANIES IN THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR

Authors: DANIEL OIGO , ZEMAN ZOLTAN

Abstract: the current development of the securities and exchange market in Kenya recently has risen with the development of the financial market for derivatives which include swaps, options and futures market. This has seen an upward trend in the quest for investments in the stock markets. The listed companies in the Nairobi Securities and exchange market come broadly from the following sectors; Agricultural sector, Automobiles and Accessories, Commercial and Services, Construction and Allied, Energy and Petroleum, Investment, Telecommunication and Technology, Real Estate Investment Trust, Banking, Insurance, Manufacturing and Allied, Investment Services and the Exchange Traded Fund. Shares are traded from various companies categorized under the following industries. One of the main objectives of the firm is to maximize the shareholders wealth because they are the sole owners of the business. They have entrusted the firm with funds that need to generate a reward. Most of the time the shareholder

Keywords: derivatives Market, Securities market, Listed Companies and Ratio Analysis

Pages: 30 - 34 | DOI: 10.15224/978-1-63248-141-2-52

10. AGENT-BASED SIMULATION MODELING TO MEASURE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF UGV WITH COMMUNICATION REPEATER

Authors: CHONGMAN KIM , JAEYEONG LEE , SUNWOO SHIN

Abstract: Since the future warfare is getting more network centric rather than platform centric, its environment is getting more difficult and complex to estimate future system’s operational effectiveness. Therefore it is challenging task to develop a methodology or approach to show the efficiency during a ground battle of the network centric warfare. In order to describe the reality of network environment, we are considering communication error effects depending upon terrain condition near each platform. The terrain condition is defined based on a small cell and its altitude in each cell. In this paper, we propose a simulation framework for how to measure the operational effectiveness of unmanned ground vehicle with considering communication repeater to compensate whenever communication error occurs in a ground battle scenario. The framework is processed with following three phases. At first, we consider all relational factors for input and output variables in communication network environmen

Keywords: Operational effectiveness, Modeling & Simulation, Communication error, Communication repeater

Pages: 35 - 38 | DOI: 10.15224/978-1-63248-141-2-53

11. INVESTIGATING THE ROLE OF SUPPLY CHAIN PRACTICES ON SUPPLY CHAIN PERFORMANCE THROUGH THE MEDIATING EFFECT OF TRUST AND ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN PAPER AND BOARD INDUSTRY OF PAKISTAN

Authors: IJAZ SULTAN , IMRAN AHMAD RANA , KASHIF MAHMOOD , MUHAMMAD ALI YAB

Abstract: Paper and board industry has long supply chain. Material comes from different steps for production and delivers to end customers. Process starts from forest where trees cut down and sent for further processing. Lead time is long from first step to end. In the entire process, many parties involve like suppliers, organization management and at the customers. A lot of collaboration and information’s sharing is done for the availability of raw material for production. Objective of this study is to measure the effect of supply chain practices (customer relationship management, strategic supplier relationship, supply chain collaboration,) on supply chain performance considering trust and organizational culture as mediating variables. This study purpose that companies should investment in supply chain development instead of considering it as cost. If supply chain practices improve then trust and organizational culture will help in continuous improvement of supply chain performance. Companie

Keywords: Strategic Supplier Relationship, Supply Chain Collaboration, Customer Relationship Management, supply chain performance, trust, organizational culture.

Pages: 39 - 43 | DOI: 10.15224/978-1-63248-141-54