A perception of motorcycle insurance in Nigeria

The purpose of this paper is to find out people＇s perception of motorcycle insurance while comparing the perceptions of insurance companies＇ staff with that of their customers （the motorcyclists）, and also find out the major causes of motorcycle accidents in Nigeria. A total of 140 respondents were sampled using the questionnaire. The kolmogorov smirnov test was used to test the hypothesis. Findings show a general negative perception of insurance services by the motorcyclist and a large disparity in the responses of the motorcyclists and the insurance companies＇ staff. The major causes of motorcycle accidents are also found to be over speeding, carelessness and poor driving skills.     

Parliamentary Elections Egypt 2011： A Multi-Stakeholder Groups Assessment

This study aimed at conducting a multi-stakeholder assessment of the recent Egyptian parliamentary elections that took place after the Egyptian January 25, 2011 revolution. Using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, it outlines the directions of different stakeholder groups＇ perceptions toward the elections. The qualitative analysis, based on a review of the literature and an examination of published and online media, emphasized the divergent opinions of the groups studied. The quantitative analysis focused on the results of an online survey distributed to a sample of 299 resident Egyptians representing the different demographic features of the eligible voting community. A valid and reliable scale was used to assess the perception of respondents to six different aspects of elections governance. The empirical study pointed to an overall negative perception of elections. The direction of respondents＇ perception was negative toward elections administration, information access, manipulation, and fairness. On the other hand, the respondents＇ perception tended to be neutral toward freedom and reference the new parliament＇s empowerment and tendency to complete its term. The study concluded with a number of proposed strategies for improving efficiency and enhancing fairness and freedom. Soon Egypt shall witness a new parliamentary election by 2014, and there will be an opportunity to learn from past mistakes.     

Business Angel and risk capital： The impact on innovation

The aim of the analysis is to understand if the risk capital carried by Business Angels （B.A.） could affect firms with high innovation propensity in creating more innovations than receiving risk capital from other financial operators. Innovation is a critical factor for the competitiveness of national system especially when the economy of the latter has come to maturity. For realizing ＂the successful exploitation of ideas, into new products, processes, services or business practices, and the critical process for achieving two complementary business goals of performance and growth, which in turn will help to close the productivity gap＂ （DTI＇s Innovation Report, 2003, p. 8）, firms have to understand which are the right competences to increase. In this context, the authors have developed a framework that measures the propensity to innovate in the firms. The model considers the firm＇s competences （grouped into four macro areas as management, organization, ITC and marketing） to improve the creation, development and diffusion of the innovation. The work is structured as an empirical analysis as follows： （1） The authors analyzed a sample of 12 business plans （choices for high level of innovation in their business） that received risk capital from B.A. and other financial operators; （2） For each firm, their innovation propensity is measured through the author＇s model during their start-up period （the data analyzed are business plan＇s data）; （3） After a period of time （3 years）, the authors checked if the firms with high innovation propensity have created real innovation and if a correlation exists between risk capital origin （from Business Angels or not） and innovation propensity. The conclusion of the work is the finns with B.A.＇s risk capital have a high innovation propensity and create after a medium term period more innovation compared with the others.     

Influence of public administration and environmental management performance of cement manufacturing in Malaysia

Environmental issues have become critical concerns of businesses worldwide where environmental obligations have grown substantially and companies have to be environmentally responsible. Malaysia has enacted the Environmental Quality Act 1974 and subsidiary Environmental Quality （Clean Air） Regulations 1978, Environmental Quality （Sewage and Industrial Effluent） Regulations 1979, Environmental Quality （Prescribed Activities） Order 1987 and Environmental Quality （Scheduled Waste） Regulation 2005. ISO 14001 environmental management system （EMS） standard designed to introduce environmental improvement into every aspect of a company＇s operations. ISO 14001 assists companies in creation of structured mechanisms for continuous improvement in environmental performance. There is a complex and dynamic relation between profitability and environmental concerns. The paper evaluates how ISO 14001 aids cement companies in operating continuous environment protection programs to minimize significant environmental impacts. This study analyzes the relationship between adoption of ISO 14001 to business performance and competitive advantage of Malaysian companies that provides insights into motivations and results. ISO 14001 has a positive impact on companies＇ performance, specifically on perceived environmental impacts. The companies recognized the need for ISO 14001 as an internal tool to maintain operations and management competitiveness. To adopt the ISO 14001 environment elements, it is necessary to have corporate culture that support complex operational activities in line with the top management commitment of the ISO 14001 policy and regulatory-compliant. ISO 14001 implementation was crucial in bringing about reduction of damage to the environment at operational level, and effective environmental management at management level, as well as improvement of the company＇s image and competitiveness at strategic level. Companies that export their products are expected to implement the ISO 14001 in order to maintain their competitive edge in the global market place.     

IAS/IFRS and insurance： A gradual shifting from insurance to finance

Financial year 2005 marks the gradual introduction of the international accounting standard （IAS） as part of a broad project promoted by the EU to achieve consistency and comparability and, consequently, greater transparency in corporate accounts, with benefits for the users and institutions who make use of, or exercise control over them. The present paper will not address all the related complex profiles （e.g., actuarial methodologies, financial evaluation models, cash-flows scenarios generation techniques）. Actual aim is to bring evidence for the gradual shifting of perspective promoted by the financial community as far as the insurance companies are concerned： Once considered as unknown ＂black-boxes＂ because of their peculiarities, western countries＇ most authoritative agencies and largest private investors felt for a long time uneasy to manage insurance companies＇ disclosures. More recently, since the industry has been absorbed in the world-wide trend toward global conglomerate encompassing banking, finance and insurance, western regulators have undertaken a sound effort to move insurance disclosures from a technical to a financial view, boosting a dramatic homologation to other financial institutions （Cesarini ＆ Varaldo, 1992; Forestieri ＆ Moro, 1993; Locatelli, et al., 1999）. The trade-off, the authors intend to show, is now between more transparent outlook and an insider＇s knowledge of an industry whose peculiarities are inescapable.     

The Impact of Corporate Governance in the Financial Performance of Islamic Banks： Evidence From the GCC Region

Through this paper, the author seeks to determine the and financial performance of Islamic banks, where we relationship between the variables of corporate governance dealt the corporate governance in the banking sector, where increasing the importance of corporate governance, due to their special nature, as the bankruptcy of banks not only affects the relevant parties from customers, depositors, and lenders, but also affects financial stability and then the economy as a whole. We dealt with the specificity of governance in Islamic banks, which face double governance： Anglo-Saxon Governance System and Islamic Governance System. The author measures the impact of corporate governance variables on financial performance through an empirical study on a sample of Islamic banks during the period of 2005-2012 in the GCC （Gulf Cooperation Council） region. The study has found that there is a very strong relationship between the variables of governance and financial performance of Islamic banks, where there is a positive relationship between return on assets （ROA） and the composition of the board of directors, the size of the board of directors, the number of committees in the council, as well as the number of members of the Shariah Supervisory Board （SSB）, while it is clear that there is a negative relationship between ROA and concentration ownership variable.     

Ethnicity and education policy in Malaysia： Managing and mediating the ethnic diversity

This paper discusses the issues of ethnicity and how they have been involved in the production of Malaysian education policy in achieving the aim of uniting the multiethnic society of the nation. The central focus in this paper was a discussion of the educational policies in Malaysia that had been produced to mediate the multiple demands, varying interests and ideological differences within Malaysian pluralistic society and amongst its various ethnic groups. This article also considered issues of policy implementation. The focus was on education policy, the politics of ethnicity in education, and the issue of language in education policy production in relation to produce a Malaysian outlook education system.     

The Effect of Corporate Governance on Corporate Performance in the Financial Industry in Nigeria

The business environment in which the financial industry operates is full of uncertainty and limitations. The inability of some firms in this sector to produce capable management that can guide the interests of shareholders in the light of ethics and values has generated frequent cases of business downturn. This has compelled the industry to adopt the strategy of corporate governance which hinges on the intellectual honesty of directors and management to promote transparency, equity, and accountability, and provide leadership that will guide the industry in the right direction. The major objective of this paper is to ascertain whether corporate governance is a strategy for corporate performance. The study made use of both primary and secondary sources of data. The survey research method and the data analysis techniques comprised of simple percentages and chi-square derived from Kendal coefficient. It discovered that corporate governance is a strategy for corporate performance and the financial sector has failed to improve their performance using this strategy. It was recommended that the regulatory agencies should constantly review the acts that ensure good corporate governance and embark on constant monitoring in order to sanction any defaulting bank.     

The Average Treatment and Its Cost,Age, and Gender of Patients With Ischemic Heart Diseases

Ensuring efficient treatment of patients in hospital care, with precise management of resources and cost planning. Goals： Dividing the patients with ischemic heart diseases into five groups with the highest cost of treatment, and determining the link among the cost of treatment and the average length of hospital stay, age, and gender of these patients. Materials and methods： Standardized reports of 10,040 patients from three hospitals in Macedonia from 2010 to 2012 were used. The databases were processed in SPSS 17, and the ANOVA and the Chi-square test were applied. Results and discussion： There is a statistically significant difference between the groups which have different cost of treatment and the average length of their treatment （F = 183.63 and p = 0.000） and a statistically significant difference between the five most expensive groups of patients in terms of their gender （Chi-square = 370.262, df = 4, and p = 0.000）. Furthermore, there are statistically significant differences between patients with different cost of treatment in terms of their age （F = 24.25 and p = 0.000）. Conclusion： The ＂most expensive＂ patients have the longest average hospital stay.     

Mangroves, crabs, clams and communities in Airai State, the Republic of Palau

A collaborative 18 month study was conducted within 4 protected mangroves areas in Airai State, Southeast Babeldaob and the Republic of Palau with traditional men and women groups. Water quality, forest structure, and the size distribution and relative abundance of the mud crab, Scylla serrata and the clam Anodontia edulenta were studied. Water quality parameters differed significantly between sites as follows： pH （F=16.8; df=3,138; p〈0.000）, turbidity （KW-H=22.07; df=3,162; p〈0.0006）, salinity （F=19.8; df=3,366; p〈0.000）, dissolved oxygen （KW-H=13.4; dr=3, 169; p〈0.0012） and temperature （F=4.33; df=3,157; p〈0.006）. The total mean density of all trees was 2,077±225 stems ha^-1 and differed significantly between sites （KW-H=9.3; df=3; p〈0.02）. The total mean basal area was 18.9±2.76 m^2ha^-1 and differed significantly between sites （KW-H=36.2; df=3; p〈0.000）. The total mean volume of all trees was 679 m^3ha^-1 ± 201 m^3ha^-1. The total mean density of saplings was 1,234 ± 297 saplings ha^-1. The mean percent tree canopy cover significantly differed between sites （F=3.3; df=3, 32; p〈0.02）. Mean soil elevation decreased at sites 1 and 4 and increased at sites 2 and 3. The mean soil accretion was greater at sites 1 and 3 than sites 2 and 4. The mean weight for all crabs was significantly different between sites （F=3.2; df=3, 178; p〈0.02）. The mean weight for 55 females was 0.62 g ± 0.04 kg （SE） and differed significantly between sites （F=4.2; dr=3, 51; p〈0.01）. The mean weight for 157 males was 0.75 ± 0.04kg （SE）. The mean carapace width （CW） for all crabs was 14.30 ± 0.20 cm （SE）. The mean carapace width （CW） for 56 females was 14.4 ± 0.35cm （SE） and significantly differed between sites （F=4.6; df=3, 52; p〈0.006）. The mean carapace width （CW） for 157 males was 14.3 ± 0.21 cm. The mean CPUE for all sites was 0.48 ± 0.04 crabs trapl night^-1 （SE） and significantly differed between sites （F=2.9; df=3, 77; p=0.04）. A total of 21 tagged crabs were recaptured in the same area they were initially tagged, of which 3 male crabs had molted. A male was recaptured in the same trap 180 days after capture at Site 1 ; the carapace width increased by 3.6 cm and a weight increase of 0.75kg. A single A. edulenta was found in the protected areas. Clams harvested in Airai State outside the protected areas were significantly smaller than clams harvested in northwest Babeldaob （F=14.8; df=1, 198;p〈0.0002）. Crab fishers and the community recommended a harvest ban on female crabs, enforcement of existing 6inch CW harvest size limit, further investigation of point sources of coliform bacteria and sediment pollution and a harvest limit on mangrove trees.     

The mediating effect of good governance on the relationship between managerial roles and personal development： A structural equation modeling （SEM） approach

One of the challenges faced by public sector managers particularly is the problem of identifying and determining their roles, their personal development and how to effectively implement the concept of good governance in their organizations. Given a dynamic changing and continuing insight into public organizational effectiveness, public sector managers are rethinking how best they could accomplish their roles in order to attain their organization roles and objectives. This study examines the mediating roles of good governance in the relationship between managerial roles, development roles, strategic roles and personal development. In determining this relationship, a hypothetical model of the relationship among roles of public sector managers, good governance and personal development is developed. The results suggest that the managerial roles has more positive and significant influence on personal development than the development roles and strategic roles. Empirical study supports the institutional theory （Scott, 2001） in the hypothesized model. The empirical findings confirm that good governance has a significant and positive impact on the relationship between managerial roles and development roles to the personal development of public sector managers. This proves that the management system theory （Katz ＆ Kahn, 1966） is supported whereby public sector manager roles served as an input, while good governance as a process and personal development as an output. Based on empirical findings, it is suggested that personal development should be referred as an ideal social behavior of public sector managers. Overall, the study supports the hypotheses that good governance plays a mediating role in the relationship between public sector manager roles and personal development. This is consistent with governance theory （Lynn, 2001）. One particular contribution of this study is the development of structural equation model to determine the relationships between managerial roles, good governance and the personal dev     

Do FDI patterns differ between manufacturing and service sector in CEE countries

In the paper, we presented results of the research, realized with the goal to test main determinants influencing on FDI stock in manufacturing and services in transitional countries, precisely CEE countries. Some of the conceptual issues identified under possible differences of FDI determinants in manufacturing and services we started with were： （1） What are the most important determinants of FDI in manufacturing and services？ （2） Are there significant differences between the main influencing determinants/factors between manufacturing and services？ （3） Are there significant differences between FDI determinants for developing countries/transitional countries and industrial countries？ （4） What are the implications for policies and strategies to attract FDI in different industries for developing countries？ Dependent variable used in this paper is the FDI stock p/c （NACE 1-digit） into manufacturing and service sector for each observed CEE country, in the period 1999-2006. In case of our sample countries, a set of possible FDI determinants was selected from the pool of traditional and institutional-related determinants in the literature, and relevant indicators available. Empirical analysis was conducted by the regression assessment of panel data, using the set of data for CEE countries, studied over eight years. We estimated fixed effects model and OLS with panel-corrected standard errors （PCSEs） using Prais-Winsten to take into account the AR（1） process. Two out of four traditional variables showed differences between the manufacturing and service sector： （a） Inflation, as the indicator of macroeconomic instability, was not statistically significant for manufacturing sector but it was significant for service sector; （b） wages had statistically significant influences on the FDI in manufacturing sector, but had no influence on service sector. Looking at the results of testing indicators we had found significant differences between all indicators： （a） Privatization influenced on FDI attractions in manufacturing sector and it was significant for service sector, with negative influence; （b） wages had statistically significant influences on the FDI in manufacturing sector, but had no influence on service sector; and finally （c） other two traditional variables-market size indicated through GDP p/c and openness of economy had the same results for both, manufacturing and service sector.     

The impact of online negative word-of-mouth on customer purchase decision for the travel websites

The major purpose of this study is to explore the impact of online negative word-of-mouth （WOM） on customer purchase decision for the travel websites in Taiwan. Online questionnaire surveys were adopted, total of 374 responses were received and 249 of them were valid. Factor analysis was applied to extract key factors, and then multiple regression analysis was used to measure the relationship amongst variables. The major findings of this study include： （1） The three features of negative WOM, including the strength of information, sender＇s expertise and the strength of relationship between sender and receiver, have significant impacts on customer purchase decision; （2） trust plays a mediator role between negative WOM and customer purchase decision; （3） involvement has partial mediator effect amongst negative WOM, trust and customer purchase decision.     

Permissibility of Istibdal in Islamic Law and the Practice in Malaysia

lstibdal is a topic in the field of Islamic endowment （waqf） which means exchanging something with something else. The issue of istibdal and its administrative cases raised as an attractive discussion among Muslim scholars since the permission for exchanging （istibdal） is against the principle of Islamic endowment itself, which functions under the concept of perpetuity and everlasting. The action of altering or exchanging of the waqf property is contrary to the concept of waqf, which should exist forever, perpetual and cannot be changed or amended. In fact, a waqfproperty was no longer owned by man as the owner, but the ownership was transferred to the God. However, most of the Muslim scholars permit istibdal for a specific reason so as to ensure that the waqf property is functioning as intended, to maintain the intention of the waqif （donor） in a new form of asset and to ensure its benefit for the interest of all Muslims. In the Malaysian context, the issue in administrating istibdal arose as the country was dominated by the Shafi＇i sect which was more to not allow the istibdal. Therefore, this study aimed to examine this issue in the context of administrative law ofwaqfin Malaysia under the topic of istibdal. The data will be collected from the results of fatwa committee （Islamic ruling decision） from States and the Federal, also will look into some cases ofistibdal and the provisions in the Enactment of Waqfin certain states in Malaysia.     

From economic statism to free-market regime： Re-considering Nigeria＇s private-sector-led economy drive

The Nigeria＇s economy since its induction into the global capitalist mode of production has been an appendage and a satellite outpost of metropolitan capitalism. Incidentally, unlike their western counterparts, who owned the means of production of the economies of their respective countr/es, the Nigerian national bourgeoisies who took over the control of state productive resources at the country＇s independence however were weaned unto the national stage from weak material base. They, therefore, depended on the state for their reproduction and also owe their bourgeoisie status simply by seizing the apparatus of the state and appropriating state resources. As a result of their weak material base, they have at every point in time to devise economic frameworks that could always afford them unfettered access to state resources. Each of the economic models devised has always, however been dictated by the metropolitan capitalism and the imperative of shoring up the weak material base; so that while these national bourgeoisies mouth the slogan of indigenous origin, they merely attempt to cover their comprador status. Incidentally, however, these national bourgeoisies have no choice other than to accede to the dictates of foreign capitalism, even as the relationship between the two is mutually beneficial, albeit to the detriment of the majority of the citizens. At first, it was through heavy state presence in the economy and later the free market system. In each case, the Nigerian bourgeoisies however have had to justify their actions as informed by true nationalistic motive, to wit for the overall good and benefit of all. But evidence points to the contrary that whether with state-run economy or free market mechanism, the Nigerian economy remains a victim of primitive accumulation by the country＇s elites and its so-called national bourgeoisie.     

Influence of Khat （Miraa） on Primary School Dropout Among Boys in Meru County,Kenya

Despite introduction of Kenya＇s Free Primary Education in 2003 to achieve Universal Primary Education （MDG2）, primary school boys＇ enrolment in Kangeta is declining while dropout rates are increasing. This study investigated the influence of Khat （Catha edulis） on the boys＇ dropout rates. A cross-sectional design was used to collect data from 210 randomly selected dropouts and 10 primary school head teachers. Content validity of the teachers＇ questionnaire and boys＇ interview guide was ascertained by education experts, while reliability coefficients determined through a pilot test was 0.83a and 0.72a respectively. Peer pressure, Khat chewing, and easy money from Khat trade forced boys to leave school. Khat was highly regarded, socially accepted, and promoted the local people＇s economy and culture but was partly responsible for the boys＇ dropout. About 62% of the dropouts regretted leaving school and would re-enroll if given a chance. About 89% of the money from Khat was spent on food rather than investment. Parents and education stakeholders should help pupils complete education by discouraging them from engaging in Khat. Those involved in Khat should be encouraged to invest part of their income.     

Foreign ownership of land in Phuket,Thailand

Thai Land Law does not allow outright ownership of land by foreign nationals. Phuket, a well-known Thailand tourist destination, is facing a problem of acquiring land by foreigners. The objective of this study was to compile data on ownership of land by foreigners in Phuket areas and explore the types of ownership through which the land had been acquired. The purpose of this study was also to assess the nature of the problems of foreigners owning immovable properties in Phuket, and the impacts could further make appropriate recommendations. There were two types of foreign ownership of land in Phuket. The first type was legal ownership of immovable properties by foreigners, and the second were the cases that foreigners took advantage of the loopholes of the law to acquire but in fact owned and utilized land mostly in scenic beaches by using Thais as nominees. These nominees could either be their spouse, or employees of corporate bodies or legal entities. In some cases, nominees were actually employees of law firms which assisted foreigners to register as a Thai corporate body. However, the impact of foreigners owning immobile properties in Phuket can be both positive and negative. On the positive side, the local economies actually benefited foreigners owning immobile properties as this led to increasing economic growth and land utilization. The negative impacts on the other hand were mainly the loss of revenue of local governments from local taxes and duties, including land price distortion. Another negative dimension was the difficulties of the public sector to control the negative environmental impacts. From the economic perspective, the feasibility of declaring areas where there is a high concentration of foreigners owning immobile properties as special area should be explored. Finally, the establishment of a ＂governing council＂ to control and develop conditions to protect the environment and reduce the impact to communities as part of the package of investment promotion should also be considered.     

Human Resources in Public Administration in the Czech Republic

This paper informs about results of a research taking place within an internal grant of College of Polytechnics Jihlava, which is aimed at examining the efficiency in public administration from the point of view of the office workers. The research is divided into three stages which were proceeding gradually in large organisations of public administration carrying out self-government as well as state government in figurative effect. The research took place in the form of questionnaires, which were given to randomly chosen workers of the offices, and these anonymously answered 60 questions were divided into six topics： human resources, organizational capital, information capital, customer capital, performance measuring, and innovation capital. The respondents assessed the situation in the office using their own judgement. The aim of this paper is to inform about the results of this research especially from the point of view of human capital, organizational capital, and social capital in organisations of public administration.     

Comparative Analysis of Unemployment in Austria,Greece and Serbia During the Crisis

The aim of the paper is to understand the impact of world financial crisis on unemployment rate. In spite of that, Austria＇s and Greece＇s unemployment trends have been analyzed and compared in periods before and during the present world financial crisis and their relation has been used in order to understand ways of employment improvement in Serbia. In the period of 1998-2006, unemployment rate in Greece was 2.5 times higher than in Austria. The highest range difference was in 1999--8.01%, while the lowest was in 2006--4.15%. During the period of the crisis, unemployment rate in Greece has been nearly six times higher than in Austria. The gap between these countries is getting wider over the years. At the beginning of the financial crisis, the difference between percentage of unemployed citizens in Austria and Greece was at the lowest level--3.86%. Then from 2008, unemployment rate in Greece has been increasing rapidly and finally exploded during the observed year. It has rapid growth that peaked 26% in September 2012, which is more than 2.5 times higher than the average unemployment rate in the EU. Youth unemployment also increased markedly in Greece, where 56.4% young adults looking for a job cannot find one. On the other side, Austria＇s labour market performs very well, which is reflected in one of the lowest unemployment rates in the EU. In Serbia, situation is much worse than the mentioned countries above and it could not be concluded that it is just caused by the crisis. Unemployment in Serbia has deeper roots. Periods of wars, economic sanctions, and hyperinflation, as well as the transition process from the centrally planned to the market economy caused great number of jobs to be lost. Even though GDP （Gross Domestic Product） growth is expected in years to come, employment rate will not follow that trend and unemployment will remain serious problems for many countries in future.