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Marriage is one of the most important social institutions, as it greatly influences the stability of families, population, and socio-economic well-being. The changing trends of marriages and divorces in South Africa confirm the importance of predictive analysis on the stability of marriages. Marriage duration prediction is a challenging task, as it is affected by a number of factors. Recent developments in machine learning techniques provide new opportunities to model this problem. This experiment used the following seven different classifications: Random Forest, Gradient Boosting, XGBoost, Logistic Regression, Support Vector Machine, K Nearest Neighbours, and Decision Tree, which aimed to forecast the categories of marriage length (short, medium, and long). The models used the following metrics: accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score, macro ROC-AUC, and the ROC curve. The results showed that ensemble-based approaches performed better than conventional classifiers. Gradient Boosting had the best performance in macro ROC AUC and was best at discriminating classes, especially for long and medium-length marriages. Random Forest had the best overall accuracy and was best at balancing classes. XGBoost had a similar performance to that of Random Forest in predicting. SVM had a high precision value but a lower recall value. Decision Trees and KNN had poor performance. Gradient Boosting was found to be the best-performing method for multi-class prediction of duration of marriage and achieved a balance between sensitivity and specificity. The results obtained from these studies prove that ensemble learning methods can be effectively utilized for modelling complex societal events.

This study systematically reviews literature to explore the Moderated Mediation Model of Customer Intention in Omnichannel Technology, particularly under the transformative influence of technologies like AI, AR, and big data analytics. Amidst evolving consumer expectations and the drastic shifts induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the retail industry's shift from multichannel to omnichannel strategies has become crucial. This review analyzes 59 studies published between 2018 and April 2023 to discern the dynamics influencing customer intention within the omnichannel framework. Our research highlights the sparse but critical discourse on the mediating roles of perceived value and trust and the moderating effects of factors like age and product involvement. Although extensive, the literature reveals gaps, particularly in unified frameworks integrating these diverse insights. We propose a novel conceptual framework centered on these mediators and moderators to better understand and harness customer intentions toward omnichannel technology adoption. Key findings indicate that seamless integration across online and offline channels, responsive to the nuanced needs and behaviors of consumers, significantly enhances customer engagement and loyalty. This synthesis not only offers a consolidated view of the omnichannel retail landscape but also provides strategic pathways for retailers aiming to optimize customer interactions and satisfaction in a digitally dominated era. Our review contributes to the omnichannel retail literature by offering a structured overview of the factors driving customer intentions and suggesting directions for future research to bridge identified gaps, particularly through longitudinal studies and expanded demographic analyses.

Entrepreneurial orientation (ENO), social network ties (SOT) and market intelligence generation (MIT) are independently modeled as distinct antecedents of entrepreneurial intention (EIN). However, the intervening variables for such models are typically under-explored in their applicability to university students in sub-Saharan Africa. Accordingly, drawing on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the present study argues that ENO impacts EIN, primarily explained by SOT and MIT. Using cross-sectional data gathered from university students in Ghana, a sub-Saharan African country, our findings reveal that ENO has both direct and indirect relationships with EIN. Thus, this relationship is mainly mediated when students build and develop social network ties (SOT) instead of gathering marketing intelligence (MIT).

The increase of scandals involving non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has provoked concerns from the public for their accountability. In the case of Yemen, the NGOs receive financial support from both local and international donors. These organisations, however, are not obliged to disclose how they manage the donation funds, although the donors usually outline specific requirements on how the funds should be utilised. At the same time, the success of projects undertaken by the NGOs funded by the donors can help to enhance the organisation’s reputation and legitimize its activities to secure more funds. This study investigated the level of accountability practices in the Yemeni local NGOs. A questionnaire survey was sent to 75 active local NGOs. The findings show that the level of accountability practices among local NGOs is moderate. Most of these organisations evaluated the impact of their projects at their completion. However, they tend to avoid an independent assessment of any third party. They also restricted the local communities’ involvement in determining where and how the money of the project should be spent. This suggests that the local NGOs are more likely to be “seen” as being accountable rather than being accountable. A further improvement perhaps through policymaking is thus necessary to ensure effective accountability practices in funds management of the NGOs.

Despite official crime figures showing a continuous decline in the rate of crime, the perception of the high level of crime by many Malaysians suggests other factors are affecting their perception of safety from crime. The objective of this study is to identify and understand these factors through a qualitative study that employs online focus group discussions. This study argues that the perception of safety from crime is the result of interactions of a number of factors such as the experience of victimisation, crime information, neighbourhood conditions as well as the perception of law enforcement and government crime reduction policy. The sense of safety from crime is also contextual as it may fluctuate according to time, place, activities and situations. Analysis of the data from the focus group discussions found that participants generally have a high perception of safety from crime. However, participants felt less safe when they were in public places and when interacting with online services. In most circumstances, participants' sense of safety is affected by the pressure to be vigilant and to avoid criminal victimisation. This pressure is exacerbated by low-quality information on crime that is often received through social media. Crime information on social media has a significant impact on participants’ perceptions of crime. The overall analysis of the findings suggests that the most important factor which affects the perception of safety from crime among these selected Malaysians is their sense of safety in their homes and their neighbourhood.  Hence, efforts to increase the sense of safety among Malaysians should focus on this context.

The aspect of relevance becomes an indicator of the success of vocational education. In order for vocational school graduates to be able to compete in the era of technological disruption, Vocational Schools are required to be able to produce graduates who have the alignment of competencies possessed by each graduate with the competencies needed in the world of work. To achieve the relevance of vocational education, the development of an integrated solution model for the preparation of vocational education graduates needs to be based on the need for ICT-assisted career services. In this study, survey design was used to examine the mapping of student/graduate needs, career service managers, and graduate users and development design to design an integrated solution model for the preparation of vocational education graduates. The results of mapping the needs of students/graduates, career service managers, and users are used as the basis for developing an integrated solution model for preparing vocational education graduates. It is hoped that this model can be used to optimize career services for students and vocational school graduates in Indonesia in the era of technological disruption.

This study aims to find out which factors, between the word of mouth (WoM) or marketing promotion programs (MPP), drive motivation (push and pull); to explore the influence of travel motivation toward satisfaction, and to investigate the satisfaction effect of medical tourists with loyalty. This study used a survey method by distributing questionnaires to medical tourists from Indonesia (N = 152) who have visited hospitals in Malaysia for medical care at least once. Data analysis was carried out using several statistical procedures. Firstly, a multivariate test was conducted to find out whether there is a statistically significant difference in the push and pull motives based on the influencers. Second, multiple linear regression is performed to find out the influence of push and pull variables on satisfaction. Finally, a simple linear regression is calculated to find out the influence of satisfaction on loyalty. The findings show that there is a statistically significant difference in the push and pull motives based on the influencers (WoM or MPP). The effect size of both push and pull is almost equal. The relationship between push or pull and satisfaction is also statistically significant as 41.3% of the variance in the satisfaction is explained by the push and 51.8% by pull factors. Finally, satisfaction is a significant predictor for loyalty while 90.2% of the variance in loyalty is explained by satisfaction.

The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the correlation of perceived security, benefits, and usefulness that has been associate with the cashless transaction attitude. The chosen mode for this research is a quantitative approach. This method is favored because of its simplicity and systematic approach, The primary data were collected by distributing the respondents' questionnaires, A self-administered survey is a questionnaire that was developed exclusively for a respondent. This questionnaire is the most suitable approach for this research because respondents respond comfortably and don't need to make appointments with respondents. However, This study involves 120 participants from several locations in Selangor University, DarulHikmah Library at IIUM in the Gombak area, and Shah Alam area. In the part of the analysis, there is two measurementss that would be tasted in the context of demographic component and assess the relations between the structures and how independent variables affect the dependent variable. On the other hand, the mode of analysis is descriptive statistics and multiple regressions. Also, Both the results are presented by using the statistical tools which are IBM Social Science Statistical Package (SPSS) version 25.0. The findings indicate that the benefits perceived and the adoption of cashless transactions are linked positively and are of perceived importance and acceptance. From the study, this paper discovered that perceived protection correlates negatively. For future research of this subject, a greater variety of independent factors and more detailed models may have been used and further analyses required for the factor analysis. This can lead to further findings that will give the next generation a wider range of knowledge.

This paper attempts to explore and improve the success of Facebook technology in undergraduate Sociology classes to enhance students’ engagement. Teaching Sociology in Bangladeshi colleges faces several challenges particularly in using Facebook which has been critically presented in this paper where student engagement has been defined from different aspects i.e. systematically and conceptually. It is found that Facebook is effectively used in various settings for strengthening academic achievements but is not used equally in developing countries like Bangladesh. Nevertheless, the scope of applying ICT technology like Facebook is widening as the use of devices becomes popular gradually. But for achieving the target a suitable plan and sincere efforts is essential which may ensure quality education and the output will be a valuable outcome in the ICT based globalized world

SME restaurants have reported declined earnings and faced challenges to remain open during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period imposed by the Malaysian government due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. SME decision-makers were observed to be making changes regarding their day-to-day operations and management strategies to mitigate MCO restrictions. This paper aims to review the significant adaptations made by SME restaurants in Malaysia throughout the MCO period. Three (3) prominent areas of adaptations made by decision-makers have been identified based upon ceaseless news reports and media contents. The adaptations made commonly depict actions to (i) Nurture Creativity, (ii) Sustain Reputation, and (iii) Maintain Profitability. The outcomes of this paper provide essential survival guides for SME restauranteurs to embrace the COVID-19 outbreak. These can be helpful to related policy and decision-makers to implement the crucial traits of SME restaurants to reduce the impact on SME restaurants for the foreseeable future.

This paper attempts to explore the issue of enhancing pedagogical skills among the college teachers of Bangladesh through CPD. This is a literature review paper that divided the topic into different themes and sub-themes in order to analyze the issue properly. After analyzing 60 studies including journal articles, conference proceedings, and research reports of different authors and organizations this study found several positive impacts of CPD on the teachers regarding uplifting their professional skills. It has also found some challenges of implementing CPD for college teachers identifying the scarcity of resources at the heart of all the challenges. Finally, the paper ends up with some recommendations to enhance the teachers’ professional skills through CPD in Bangladeshi colleges

This study attempts to explore a major issue of higher education in Bangladesh that is, problems related to large size classes. The objectives of the study are to identify the problems faced by the students and the teachers; and to find out the ways of teaching effectively in large Sociology classes. This is a literature review article which has investigated the current teaching practices in the Sociology Classes at the affiliated colleges of the National University of Bangladesh. This paper also discussed the issue from the global perspective. It identified that large classes create a lot of problems for the students and the teachers resulting in the lower quality of higher education. Finally the paper concluded that teachers’ training, appointing supporting stuffs and ensuring necessary logistic support can be the possible solution of this great problem.

Employee turnover is a classic problem that is often faced by entrepreneurs. The behavior of employees who move from one company to another can be an indication of employee dissatisfaction with the company and the lack of good relations between employees and the company. Social support can increase the likelihood that employees will be tied to work as social support can help individuals overcome work problems. The sample of this research was 274 retail company sales employees in Purwokerto. Data were collected using the work satisfaction scale, psychological contract scale, and turnover intention questionnaire. The results showed that there was no effect on job satisfaction and Psychological contracts on Turnover Intention by using social support as a mediating variable,  VAF was less than 20%. While the relationship between psychological contracts and turnover intention is significant.

The purpose of this study is to develop a model to investigate the impact of brand image and religious beliefs on Muslim consumers switching intention. Moreover, it also intends to examine, how switching intention affect the customer equity of international branded products. This study seeks to expand the body of knowledge in consumer behaviour research with emphasis on religious beliefs (Islamic beliefs). The benefits that will be yielded from this study will not only provide guidelines to business researchers, but will also enhance the current understanding of Muslim consumers. It studies how the Muslim consumer’s brand switching behaviour is influenced by religious beliefs of Muslim consumers and image of a brand, yet previous studies have only attempted to understand brand switching without considering the religion specifically Islam.

In the corporate world, humans are treated as ‘manpower’ or ‘resources that utilize other resources, however, this cannot be the only identity of humans or employees of the company. Rather, it must be considered that these employees are humans and humans have got certain rights those are to be fulfilled irrespective of every situation. Humans are beings not just mere resources. This is the time to understand this truth. Technological change has triggered and increased the standard of living but at the same time has deteriorated the humane values and inspired a profligate life style; therefore, the Standardized Human Rights policies like Universal Declaration of Human rights (UDHR) & International Labour Organization (ILO) need to be implemented in the organization culture by understanding the attitudes, attributes of human resources. The purpose of this Study is to investigate the HRM policies of the Technology Companies of Malaysia & of Bangladesh and to identify all the components and integrate all those components with the standardized Human Rights platforms, which are UDHR, ILO etc. To look for the behavior, attitude and analytical option of humans working inside the company due to technological advancements, changes and implemented HRM policies in the organization.

The study aims to examine the effects of oil price and exchange rate on unemployment in Malaysia. The empirical analysis commence by analyzing the time series property of data. The Johansen VAR-based co-integration technique was applied to examine the long run relationship between exchange rate, oil price and unemployment and found the long run relationship does exist. The vector error correction model was performed to check the short run dynamics and found that the short run dynamics are influenced by the estimated long run equilibrium. Granger causality was done and found that oil price does not affect unemployment but exchange rate has an influence on unemployment. Therefore, putting the exchange rate under control should be implemented to control unemployment.