Searching for sustainable competitive advantage --From tangibles to intangibles

The purpose of this paper is to emphasize on the growing importance of the intangible assets for a firm＇s sustainable competitive advantage--by considering both the features that a strategic asset must meet and the high potential of the intangible assets to fulfill those features. First, we outline the changing environment finns are operating in--at global and industry＇s level as well; second, we emphasize on the evolving theory of the resource-based view of the firm--as the main framework integrating all the assets of a firm and its relationships with the environment; third, we underline the need for organizational and managerial change and development by making the shift from tangibles to intangibles. We find that the theory in the field evolved within last years, but the conceptual framework is far from being exhaustive and unitary. The paper may be continued with the developing of a conceptual framework which is able to identify the specific intangible assets that may become strategic, their determinants, the interconnections between them, and their integration into successful competitive strategies. The practical implications of the paper consist in offering some guidelines for firms in the search of global competitiveness through the valorization of there intangible assets. The paper emphasizes that, in order to achieve sustainable competitive advantage, strategic management must develop a comprehensive, dynamic and innovative resource-based model--unique for each firm.     

The effects of global crisis on the Albanian economy

East European countries, including Albania aren＇t totally immune from the troubles of the international financial trade, although they will not have direct influence on their finances system. These effects of the global economy crisis have begun to be felt even in Albania. The poor classes will be much more and faster effected from this crisis. This article will treat the effects of the crisis into these classes, and the risks that this crisis brings to their finances. Important factors for this will be the decrease of the monetary incomes in the country, the emigrant remittance and foreign investments decrease and as a result they will influence in a decrease of the income for person in the country, which will have much influence at this level. The intention of the article is to treat the policies that should be taken by the government to protect them. The government of these countries should be concentrated in the social protection of the poor classes and in the ways of overcoming the crisis for them.     

The Role of Latvian Student Clubs and Associations in Citizenship Education

At the beginning of the 21st century, a new situation has developed in Latvia as a result of social and economic transformations. Along with the formation of civil society, issues concerning the social, legal, and spiritual life of student population have come to the foreground. There can be observed new features of behavioural culture and standards of thinking, readiness to live in a democratic environment. The young generation perceives freedom and equality as necessary preconditions for varied activities, as an opportunity for individual＇s self-actualization. The institutions of higher education play an important role in the formation of social consciousness and serve as the environment for the development of citizenship. One of the most important subjects of educational environment is the aggregate of various student interest groups and clubs, the main purpose of which is to promote students＇ readiness to live in civil society by developing students＇ creative potential and public administration skills. The aim of the article is to study, analyse, and evaluate the experience of various student clubs and associations in the institutions of higher education in Latvia aimed at the development of citizenship.     

Information technology and education： Partnership vs. competition

Information technology is coming strong to have influential impact upon what is going on in the formal education sector. During the past ten years, information technology almost became the first job choice among all the new faces finding their jobs. Job opportunity also has its great impact upon what is going on in the k-12 education. Ideally, information technology is to enhance a teacher＇s teaching. However, on-site classroom observations as revealed here, identified several things that we might want to work more to provide better learning environment for the young generation on an individual basis. We have to admit that although memorization of the old day＇s factual knowledge and skill is important, but is going to provide little help for the generation to come. Information technology brings brand new era to human beings, and new format of schooling can take different forms from the ones most of us had been experiencing during our school lives.     

Fair play and empathy： A research study with student teachers

Empathy for difficulties that students have in learning and for their emotional well-being is an essential but difficult skill that teachers must develop. Shields and Bredemier （1994） have emphasized the necessity of empathic skills in physical education classes given the wide range of abilities that students bring to those classes. One of the emphases in the current training of physical education teachers is on sports ethics generally and fair play specifically. The relationship between moral development and the ability to empathize has been suggested （Grief ＆ Hogan, 1973）. Therefore, it may be argued that fair play education heavily focusing on moral behaviors in sports can contribute to the development of empathic skills of student teachers. This study outlines findings from a study of the impact in a class on the importance of fair play in sports on the development of empathy among 50 Turkish student teachers enrolled in the Physical Education and Sports Teaching Department at Gazi University in Ankara, Turkey. The Interpersonal Reactivity Index （IRI） developed by Davis （1983） was administered during the first week of class and again after during the final week of class in order to examine the impact of a class on fair play on empathic skills. A comparison between the before class and after class scores indicate that student teachers reported significantly more empathic skills at the end of the class as compared to what they had at the beginning.     

Current Security Situation in the Near East Palestinian State： Yes or No？

The article analyses the political situation in the Near East in trial to find the formula of peace. It would guarantee a peaceful coexistence for Palestinians and Israelites. The conflict of Israel and Palestine lasts for already over 100 years and becomes a global conflict among Islam believers and Jewish-Christians. Trying to have peace Israel left the occupied Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and made considerable concessions for Palestinians as well： It agreed on Palestine self-governing rights or autonomy in 1994. The problem is that Arabs cannot accept the fact of Israel state in their psychology. Nobody can guarantee their national security when Jews retracted to the borders which existed till 1967, the Sixth Day War. What does the total retraction from Gaza Strip from where the rockets are constantly sent to the territory of Israel on the heads of civil people？ Would the most real and secure way of all the solutions be a Federation of Palestinian Territories or Confederation with the Kingdom of Jordan （or with the state of Egypt）？ The peace problem of Near East is global and even connected with the intentions of Iran to make an atomic bomb. International community should be more sensitive not only to the tired nation of Palestine but also the Kurds who try to establish their state in Kurdistan. People of Azerbaijan should be helped in uniting into one state in the frames of Azerbaijan. The author tried to prove the article by the facts and the regulations of international law as much as possible.     

The role of educational strategies in human development： An example of using key word method in teaching Arabic as a second language in Malaysia

This paper is an attempt to discover and recognize the important role of educational strategies in developing human capital in which they become positive agents of human society, such as academic achievement, intellectual abilities, interpersonal skills and also self-esteem. These will be measured using a survey instrument that classifies learning performance via test scores, to test the hypothesis that learning a language will lead to comparable positive self-development, but indirected language learning will affect academic achievement negatively. Therefore, key word methods in learning Arabic language will be used as directed Arabic language learning to measure the significant correlation to both academic and non-academic development of the learners in which the effectiveness of mnemonic strategy in vocabulary memorization is associated with the self-consciousness and personal psyches of the learners. Consequently, they appreciate the knowledge and values they gained from their learning activities, which help them to perform better than students who did not use this type of learning strategy in learning Arabic language. Teachers, on the other hand, would also able to observe the important impact of Arabic language learning on learners＇ academic performance and personality development. Therefore, education is simply a process of acquiring a new knowledge in creating an environment in which students and teachers learn something for themselves.     

System Analysis of the Banking Systems of the USA and the EU

The article compares the banking systems of the USA and the EU employing the system analysis. The functions of the Executive Board and the Board of Directors are considered, there is also a comparison of the bank authorities, responsible for the decision-making： the features and interrelation of the parts of the system and their alternative within another bank system. The special attention is paid to the efficiency of the system construction on the basis of bank authorities and the degree of the power decentralisation. The article considers in details the efficiency of bank systems exposure to the countries＇ monetary policy. In particular, the tools of the monetary policy implementation are considered. The article also presents comparison of the methods of influencing the monetary policy, the frequency of their employment, the degree of their impact, and the way of implementation. In the process of analysing the banking systems of the USA and the EU, there is the conclusion on the high efficiency of the system with higher level of decentralisation since this system is accomplished formation.     

Integration period of e-learning in universities： A survey in Turkey

E-learning is an important subject for successful university education. It is known that during the integration period of e-learning, universities face difficulties and trade-offs that will discourage their adoption. This study concentrates on e-learning with benefits and problems faced throughout the integration period by stakeholders and finally the university as a new education program method. The study aims to look at the factors which affect the integration period of e-learning programs and measure the drivers that affect the adoption process The research method is based on quantitative analysis which generally searches information about the factors＇ effectiveness related to the integration level of e-learning. During the empirical analysis, factors are categorized and measured according to their effectiveness, and then questionnaire study has examined the factors＇ effectiveness related to the adoption success of e-learning by using statistical analysis methods. The information about the factors that is effective for e-learning integration provides considerable educational framework for universities, instructors, students and also for information technology experts and other decision makers that manage the electronic environment for e-learning.     

Main operational issues of medium term budget plan： The case of Albanian Ministry of Defence

This article is mainly concerned with some technical issues of preparing the medium term budget plan （MTBP） in Republic of Albania. This is a period of three years into the future. A period of three years is the right period for some realistic planning. Planning for one year only is not realistic planning, because decisions taken in one year will have consequences for later years. In Albania, there are a number of policy development processes, for example those related to the government programme, the sector and national strategy process and European integration process. The medium term budget programme seeks to complement other policy processes by drawing on their results and linking the associated policy objectives explicitly to expenditure programmes in a formal management process. Albanian Government is adopting an international sample of composing a good MTBP, so we found a very interesting research on this topic. The article is composed of three lines： The first part, named as ＂introduction＂, treats the work done by Albanian Government in preparing MTBP document; second part deals with main components of MTBP document prepared by an Albanian Ministry （14 in total）; while the third part refers to an MTBP for a programme taken as an example at the Albanian Ministry of Defence.     

Language Disparity Cost,Human Capital,and Earnings Differences for Immigrants

This research reports the degree to which English-language proficiency （EP） determines earnings among immigrants to the United States using a more nuanced measure of EP than employed in previous studies. It obtains direct and indirect （through human-capital transfer） estimates of the impact of EP on earnings using nonlinear least squares （NLS） to estimate an earnings function with separate arguments for schooling and experience obtained before and after immigration to the United States. It found that immigrants with the highest level of EP earn on average over 16.3% more than those with the lowest proficiency level. The increment in earnings associated with an additional pre-education degree for higher education level when the English proficiency is improved. So destination language proficiency will improve higher level of human capital transferable to destination labor market. In contrast, associated with additional one post degree of education, the relation between post human capital and English proficiency is still ambiguous even though there is complement in generating earnings for post working experience.     

Sustainable Design and Social Entrepreneurship A Common Path Toward Social Innovation？

The purpose of this article is to introduce the connection of social entrepreneurship （SE） and sustainable design （SD） as a successful strategy for social innovation. Design is increasingly recognized by different stakeholders as an important contribution to social innovation. However, research linking SD and SE as a tool to sustain these social ventures is limited. This article takes an international approach to viewing SE. It presents concepts and main characteristics of both SE and SD, and discusses its similarities and differences of these concepts, based on a literature review and the analysis of two case studies addressing SE. The case studies presented in Norway and the United States are evaluated based on the role that SD strategies played in their establishment and implementation phase. Finally, this article seeks to contribute to the discussion of SE challenges and benefits, in addition to furthering research on the connection of SE and SD. Analyzing this connection means exploring uncharted paths toward sustainability and socially responsible growth.     

China＇s Higher Education System＂ A Case for Cautious Optimism

Although China＇s unemployment rate for university graduates is quite high and overall satisfaction among students is lower than desired, there are some universities experiencing atypical results. The authors build on previous surveys conducted in 2008 and 2010 by conducting the third survey of students in a university in eastern China. The results are atypical. Student satisfaction is much higher in certain categories than anticipated. Follow-up surveys of faculty members find that they prioritized teaching more than research and this accounts for the difference between the results observed here and those found previously. In short, the faculty at this university disregarded the incentive system and prioritized teaching above what the system was designed for. In turn, students experienced higher levels of satisfaction than the norm for Chinese universities. Faculty acknowledged that they were rewarded for research but prioritized teaching. While it is possible that some might disregard economic incentives for other priorities, it is highly unlikely a majority would. A more compelling explanation is the well-thought-out and highly developed two-fold incentive system this university uses, which can be exported to other Chinese universities seeking similar results.     

Adoption model to assess the user acceptance of smart card technology

Smart card technology is one of the most recent computer revolutions, making its way world-wide into the hands and wallets of everyone. Today smart cards are used all over the world as personal identification cards for corporate building security systems and personal computer equipment access control. Governments, financial services, transportation, telecommunications, healthcare, education, retail and many other industries are planning to or already using smart cards as a means of providing better security and improved services to its customers and users. Understanding the factors that influence user acceptance of information technology is of interest both to researchers in a variety of fields as well as procurers of technology for large organizations. The purpose of this study is to develop an acceptance model and evaluate the user acceptance of smart card in Iran. A pilot study is conducted and a total of 46 questionnaires were distributed among the master students in field of computer science （information security and software engineering） at University Technology Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. The measurement items in the questionnaire asked about their awareness and acceptance of smart cards, and the initial findings are presented and discussed.     

Followership： The Forgotten Kingmaker for Effective Leadership

Extensive studies have been carried out and theories expounded on leadership, yet no agreement has been reached on both definition and standards of leadership. The researcher takes the view that all the effort put on the study of leadership should have been directed toward the study of＂followership＂. The characteristics and types of followers are central to the success of any leadership in the particular environment. In this study, followership is classified as voluntary and not coerced. The leadership would therefore depend on the nature of the followers and their expectations, meaning that followers predetermine the nature of leadership. Critical to this is the nature of the power used by the leader in relation to the power of the followers. A continuum of followership is constructed along the extremes of transactional and transformational leadership styles. The continuum is a useful tool and model for effective leadership, effective leadership is therefore dependent on the level of the maturity of the followers and the agreeableness and congruency between the leader and the followers. The article concludes that effectiveness of leadership is a direct result of the willingness of the followers to be led in that particular fashion. Broadly speaking, effective leadership styles are customised to meet the followers＇ demands and expectations.     

Preferred learning style： Gender influence on preferred learning style among business students

Past studies indicate that there was a correlation between gender and students＇ preferred styles of learning. Thus, the purpose of this study is to determine the influence of gender on the learning style preferences of business students based on the VARK （Fleming, 2002b） learning style survey, consisting of the V（isual）, A（ural）, R（ead-Write） and K（inesthefic） learning styles. The sampling design used for this study was non-probability sampling and the sampling technique conducted was convenient sampling on 207 male students and 199 female students from the business school. The study found that gender only influences the V（isual） and A（ural） learning styles of business students. In addition to that, even though both male and female students exhibited a similar response towards both these learning styles, female students were found to demonstrate slightly higher preference for the V（isual） and A（ural） learning styles as compared to the male students. The findings draw attention to facets of learning that may exist in pre-university and tertiary classrooms with a combination of female and male students, which could have an impact on teaching and managing these students.     

Multicultural Pedagogy Development in Modern Education

Although there is a growing interest in the influence of multicultural issues in education, there is still a lack of theoretically well-grounded comparative analyses of educational systems. Topics such as problems and prospects involved in the development of multicultural pedagogy are broadly discussed, but often suffer from an insufficient number of empirical and comparative studies. The lack of systemic or unified research in the field of multicultural education has reduced multicultural pedagogy within education to the simple implementation of individual training courses. As a result, multicultural pedagogy is generally oriented only toward the needs of a single country, rather than toward a system of multicultural interests that takes into account the interests of multiple countries. As a result, we must develop methods that will enable the realization of true multicultural pedagogy. The leading objective should be, firstly, the consideration of the individual as a subject of culture in a multicultural environment with a goal to determine the significance of the formation of an individual＇s multicultural qualities; secondly, the development of an integrative approach. Comparative studies are taking the lead in addressing this goal and recommending specific steps to incorporate multicultural pedagogy more systematically into an existing education system in every country. This paper addresses these problems by discussing theoretical questions behind the development of the ideological basis of multicultural pedagogy.     

Africanization： The dilemma to Africanize or to globalize a curriculum

Africanization is generally seen as a renewed focus on Africa-reclaiming what has been taken from Africa--and the emergence of a new sense of pride. With regard to the local curriculum, there is a renewed focus on indigenous knowledge and an African community competing in a global society. In this article the author will reflect on a literature search on Africanization by firstly attempting to create an awareness of the topic by local problems, for example an Africanized curriculum and study material specifically designed for the higher education student in South Africa （who might be in rural or urban） or in the rest of Africa, or even a local student who has migrated to another part of the globe; secondly, looking at relevancy problems that arise when designing local study material on a global platform; thirdly, suggesting ways to design an Africanized environment that not only reflects the underpinning of an African philosophy, but also takes cognizance of the global curriculum. Therefore, an attempt to create an awareness in all communities worldwide of the need is involved in their own curricula by not only looking at problems such as language, culture and values, but also starting at the very beginning, namely with the philosophy behind the design of such a curriculum.     

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.