Explore publications.


 
 
 Academic engagement used to refer to the extent to which students identify with and value schooling outcomes, and participate in academic and non-academic school activities. This study aims to investigate the academic engagement and satisfaction from the school among the university students. The data is taken from the undergraduate students in School of Transportation & Logistics in Istanbul University. We used a questionnaire that consisted of two parts. First part of the questionnaire is about to measure the students’ academic engagement that is improved by Schaufeli et al. Second part of the questionnaire is about to measure the students’ satisfaction from the school. K-means cluster analysis is used to determine two groups of students, group the students in to two clusters based on their school satisfaction scores. We named these two groups as “satisfied” and “unsatisfied” students. Secondly we investigate the relationships between the satisfaction scores and the academic engagement. By means of T Test we investigate whether the academic engagement differs between the clusters that are determined according to the students’ satisfaction scores. Finally we found that academic engagement differs according to the identified clusters.
 
 

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.


 
 
 The last several years have seen an increase in the number of direct to consumer advertisements by pharmaceutical companies. Direct to Consumer advertisements (DTC) means targeting the end consumer through advertisements on television, radio, in newspapers, magazines, and the Internet. The qualitative study presents data and supports the need for a future quantitative study to ask physicians and consumers their opinions on whether pharmaceutical companies should be allowed to advertise directly to the end consumer. This article reviews the literature on this controversial topic, supporting the need to explore the reserach questions in greater detail. A review of the literature suggests there is financial motivation on the part of the pharmaceutical companies to increase their sales by advertsing directly to the end consumer as opposed to performing an educational service to the consumer.
 
 


 
 
 This study aims to investigate the impact of determinants of shift work on job satisfaction in service sector organizations of Pakistan. History reveals that the invention of Thomas Edison brought the change in working environment and industrial revolution results in the birth of shift works. A great number of theories in Management are there to define Job satisfaction. All of them show the relationship between ability to perform and the productivity. In order to investigate their impact descriptive study is taken in to account in which survey research method is used to collect data. On the basis of quantitative analysis this study reveals that determinants of shift work has positive impact on job satisfaction. Finally recommendations are made to increase shift work in service sector organizations of Pakistan so that people may upraise their standards of living.
 
 


 
 
 The purpose of this article is that discuss the reasons of European debt crisis. Every European country adopts austerity policy, which cannot solve government debt problems and further lead to economic exacerbation and continuous recession, based on the neoclassical economic theory. In order to realize the root of European debt crisis, this article adopts the reaseach method of fiscal sociology. In this study, we think that the government debt problem is the result of economic profits conflict based on the Fiscal Sociology. The economic profits conflict of investment, consumption, international business and labor market will have influence on the government’s revenue and expenditure. Furthermore, the root of the European debt crisis is the uneven income distribution by financialization and neoliberalism.
 
 

Although Turkey has historically concentrated its trade with the European Union (EU) it has diversified its trade markets with the neighbouring regions and different group of countries during the last decade. Among them, Arab countries have come into prominence. Especially, following the “zero problems with neighbours” policy (ZPN), pursued by Turkey since 2002, the trade volume with the Middle Eastern neighbours has increased faster than that with its traditional partners. Nevertheless so called “Arab Spring” has started to manifest its effects on this trend. It deteriorates not only the economies of the concerned countries but also Turkey’s trade expansion. This paper aims: (i) to test through a gravity model the positive impacts of the ZPN policy and the negative impact of the Arab Spring on the trade expansion with the Spring Countries; and (ii) to reveal the positive impact of the policy change and the negative impact of the uprising movements on the realization of trade potential by Turkey in the Spring Countries.

he aims of the study at using AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) are two-fold. First, the study aims to determine the relative importance or weight of multiple criteria and its attributes in the decision problem of location selection. The second aim of the study is to identify a location with the highest potential among alternatives for retailers by using a series of criteria and attributes determined. By the means of the AHP method, decision makers put weighted values to the evaluation criteria with respect to the related goal and the attributes with respect to the corresponding criteria. In addition, the priority weight for every location alternative on each criterion and attribute is estimated. The AHP process involves hierarchically structuring decision problem, setting priority weights, establishing a judgment matrix and weight vector, and then ranking the order of location alternatives. To substantiate the feasibility of this standard approach, a case study is conducted with location selection for a clothing store in this study.

In order to meet increased demand for services, municipalities are compelled to use their resources in a most efficient manner. The regular collection of revenues in municipalities, while making expenditures in  most efficient ways depend on the healthy functioning of the budget and accounting and the financial control system correspondingly. In is necessary for municipalities to continuously control the balance of incomes and expenses, determining and eliminating the negativities in this balance. For this purpose, financial analyses and management ratios are needed. With the financial analyses made, a financial control system may be established in a municipality and used for management purposes. Municipalities which continuously produce information by means of financial control, will be able to take corrective measures in line with these information, take expenditure decreasing measures by determining which items cause the increases and decreases in incomes and expenditures and undertake income increasing procedures. For this purpose, financial analysis varieties were mentioned in the study and a practice made by the Beylikdüzü Municipality  for the analysis of financial statements, obtained as a result of the accrual based accounting system, in public institutions included herein.

The study aims to examine brand management model in Iran's professional Football League (2011-2012) with emphasis on brand image. The study was descriptive-survey one. A sample of Iranian professional football league fans (N=911) responded 4 items questionnaire. A structural equation  model  (SEM)  test  with  maximum  likelihood estimation  was  performed  to  test  the relationships among the research variables. The analyses of data showed three dimensions of brand image influenced on fan’s brand loyalty of which the attitude was the most important. Benefits and attributes were placed in the second and third rank respectively. According to Results, brand image play a pivotal role between Iranian fans brand loyalty. Create an attractive and desirable brand image in the fans mind increases brand loyalty. And due to, revenue and profits increase through ticket sales and products of club and also attract more sponsors.

The manufacturing and service sectors in Bangladesh have been growing rapidly since the beginning of twenty first century. From the beginning of the industrial development in Bangladesh, some sectors including pharmaceutical are demonstrating  extraordinary performance in manufacturing process. The study has been conducted on four large scale pharmaceutical companies based on their employees’ response. Various statistical tools were used including mean, z-test, proportion analysis etc. to analyze the satisfaction level of employees upon the critical aspects of human resource management practices. In this study, it has been aimed to assess the employee satisfaction on human resource management practices of pharmaceutical companies in Bangladesh. The human resource management practices are directly linked with the human resources of any organization. The findings of this study illustrate that the recruitment & selection, and training & development are in state of employee satisfaction level except all other aspects of human resource management practices are poor. For the success of the pharmaceutical companies it is crucial time to make the workforce more effective and efficient by practicing the human resource management aspects in their every level of work life.

In this research paper we investigated the determinants likely to influence the adoption of mobile banking services, with a special focus on under banked/unbanked low-income population of Pakistan. The adoption of mobile banking services has been a strategic goal, both for banks and telcos. For this purpose, Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used, with additional determinants of perceived risk and social influence. Data was collected by surveying 372 respondents from the two largest cities (Karachi and Hyderabad) of the province Sindh, in Pakistan using judgement sampling method. This study empirically concluded that consumers’ intention to adopt mobile banking services was significantly influenced by social influence, perceived risk, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use. The most significant positive impact was of social influence on consumers’ intention to adopt mobile banking services. The paper concluded with discussion on results, and several business implications for the banking industry of Pakistan.

This study examines the impact of corporate governance structures on the levels of compliance with mandatory IFRSs disclosure requirements by companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) as a leading Arab stock exchange. Using a disclosure index derived from mandatory IFRSs disclosure requirements for the fiscal year 2007, this study measures the levels of compliance by a sample of 75 non-financial companies listed on the ASE. This study extends the financial reporting literature and the emerging markets disclosure literature by being one of the first to investigate the influence of corporate governance requirements for best practices on the levels of compliance with mandatory IFRSs disclosure requirements by companies listed on the ASE. Results provide evidence of the lack of influence of corporate governance best practices on the levels of compliance with mandatory IFRSs disclosure requirements as it is not yet part of the cultural values within the Jordanian context. These findings are consistent with the notions of the theoretical foundation employed in this study.

In today’s world most of the countries are following the market rule to determine their economic determinants with some to follow the mixed role of the government. There are a very few countries or states that are following the socialistic nature of development. One such country is Venezuela which has a long history of socialism and the degree of socialism got magnified under the regime of Hugo Chavez. The last election result in favour of Chavez has put some questions before the economists and politicians regarding its grounds. The present study has been framed in line with examining whether the role of economic factors have done the trick for Chavez to regain the presidential power. The study for the period of 1998-2010 has observed that the country has suffered in major economic factors compared to two Latin heroes Brazil and Argentina, albeit he has won the election. The study further observed that there are certain political grounds that played role for the favourable verdict.

The purpose of this study is to explore the factors which affect the family functions. Participants of this study consisted of married employees with children at the Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey. The sample size is determined using a random sampling method (n = 551). In this research, family functioning style scale, support functions scale, and family needs scale developed by Dunst, Trivette and Deal (1988) used as well as the socio-economic data such as age, gender, level of education, number of children, and the income level. The majority (64.6%) of the sample was men, 35.4% were women. The ages of the participants ranged from 23-65 years (M = 39.76 years, SD =6.98). More than half of were college or more degree (57.0%) and 43.0% had high school or less graduates. Results of means comparisons showed significant differences on the family functioning style by working hours and working status. Regression analysis results suggested significant relationships exist among emotional support and agency support and family functioning style when controlling for socioeconomic variables.

The relationship between leader and followers plays a vital role, particularly in educational institutions where a keen understanding of human character and high level of social interaction ought to be facilitated. For this reason, in stark contrast to contemporary leaders who see people only as units of production or expendable resources in a profit and loss statement, servant leadership focuses on meeting the needs of followers, making them reach their maximum potential and so perform optimally in order to achieve organizational goals and objectives. This study examines the effects of servant leadership behaviors of private college principals on teachers’ organizational citizenship behavior and job performance. Using 300 respondents from the private education institutes in Turkey, servant leadership behavior is examined for its indirect effects on organizational citizenship behavior and job performance by its impact on organizational justice. Organizational justice acts as a mediator between the variables in question. All the results are in support of the studied mediation effects. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.


 
 
 The study aims to examine winning brands influence on fans’ brand loyalty in Iranian professional football league. A ten-minute pen and paper questionnaire was distributed to fans of five superior teams of Iranian professional football league in 2009-2010 seasons. Team’s association questionnaire developed by Gladden and Funk (2001) was used for data collection. Reliability of the questionnaire was estimated by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. A structural equation model (SEM) test with maximum likelihood estimation was performed to test the relationships among the research variables using 912 participants. The findings showed three dimensions of brand associations influenced on fan’s brand loyalty of which the attitude was the most important. Benefits and attributes were placed in the second and third rank respectively. In addition, the obtained model of this research highlighted strong interactional effects between the three mentioned dimensions of brand associations.
 
 


 
 
 Today, the importance of innovation for enterprises, increase each passing day. As a result of globalization, enterprises are under intense competitive pressure. They have to make innovation for increasing to market share or for protecting to it at least. Non- innovative firms lose their customers and their existence is face to threat from other innovative actors in the market. Therefore firms have to design their organization structure that encourage to innovation. Mintzberg’s adhocratic organization structure was investigated in this article. Thus, its aim of this study leads to resemblance and diversity between theory and practice via of the theoretical knowledge. As a result of study; high degree of similarity between the application and Mintzberg’s theory, which is related to adhocratic organization structure, has been identified.
 
 


 
 
 This article was a result of an investigation measuring the ‘Correlation between Borrower Education and Non-payment Behaviour in Low Income Homeowners in South Africa as the premise of the study and poor relationship between lenders and borrowers as the secondary proposition. The study was motivated by the high level of foreclosures for non-payment of mortgages in the Protea Glen area in Johannesburg, Gauteng, as reported by the Human Rights Commission Inquiry in 2008. In investigating this non- payment behaviour the researcher employed largely quantitative instruments supplemented by qualitative methods. The study revealed interesting empirical findings that largely invalidated the founding hypotheses, despite existing theoretical frameworks - underpinned by various scholars - that sought to corroborate the hypotheses. The findings have however supported the premise that households reporting poor relationships with lenders were susceptible to non-payment behaviour. The rest of the secondary hypotheses were rejected by the empirical findings, viz. that there was no correlation between the level of formal education and non-payment behaviour; the link between propensity to default and the age of homeowners were also invalidated. From these findings, it can be demonstrated that there is a critical need for mitigating measures to remedy the identified shortcomings in this sector.
 
 


 
 
 This study is elected to explore the connection between religiosity and new product adoption amongst Pakistani consumers. This paper sheds some light on measured effects of religiosity and the perceived ideologies of Pakistani’s about proffered pharmaceutical products in the country. Total 500 respondents were involved in the study from (fourth largest city) Faisalabad through judgmental sampling to envisage the adoption pattern of Pakistani Muslim consumers. Here religiosity is taken as an independent variable and was analyzed in five dimensions: sacramental, rational, ideological, consequential, and Practical. Moreover new product development is signified as a dependent variable.Islamic tenets influence the adoption of new pharmaceutical products among Pakistani consumers as their attitude persuades adoption patterns that rely on religiosity. All possible substitutes within different dimensions were assessed to find out the most appropriate combination of dimensions which provided the output. Religion is an element of culture that permeates every aspect of a society and saturates the life of individuals whether one is a believer or a non-believer and cultural dimensions are very vibrant in a society, as religious doctrines shape a secure and stagnant pillar in the society. This paper will assist to highlight its significance and implications in product development related decisions of pharmaceutical industry with reference to the use (prescription/recommendation) of pharmaceutical products by Muslim patients (doctors).
 
 


 
 
 Lean production is a production model which comes about the pursuit of companies to be able to meet competition and make effective production. The main purpose of lean production is to get control about the wastage. This study includes the requirements for the success of the lean production and how the lean production system can be established. In this paper, lean production techniques were applied to the electric water heater line. Measurements using lean initiatives were made, operation cycle times were determined, and Kaizen improvement methods and line balancing methods were applied according to the results. And the last section of study showed conclusion of lean implementation.