Productivity Improvement and Public Personnel Management： An Analysis of Presidents Reagan and Obama Administration

Considering the financial crises, all the recent presidents have emphasized the importance of productivity improvement in government, especially in public personnel management. Though there is a general agreement on the concept of productivity, the means to achieve productivity vary with president＇s ideology. President Reagan championed the cause of conservatism. On one hand, despite Obama＇s attempt to diffuse ideological question, his actions can be regarded as liberal. This study seeks to make a comparison between Presidents Reagan and Obama on their efforts in productivity improvement in public personnel management, based on their ideological preferences. President Reagan campaigned on an anti-Washington agenda. He promoted the idea that the government is the problem rather than the solution. He popularized the idea that the people are burdened with heavy taxation as a result of the big government. Therefore, the solution to heavy taxation was to cut big government, which can be accomplished by reducing unnecessary and expensive regulations. On the other hand, when President Obama came to office, the country was faced not only with a deep recession, but two difficult wars, the collapse of the banking and the auto industries, the housing crisis, and overall capacity crisis in the government. Obama resisted ideological level in his campaign speeches to diffuse the criticisms of the conservatives.     

Can Demographic Characteristics Influence Perception on Internal Control System？

The purpose of this study is to develop a reliable and valid construct for internal control system and to assess the association between respondents＇ demographic factors and their perception on internal control system. The fraud triangle theory underpins the development of the survey instrument. Survey questionnaires were administered to 553 respondents out of which 334 were usable responses in the Malaysian financial sector, using face to face data collection procedure. Cochran＇s method was adopted for sample size determination. The confirmatory factor analysis （chi square = 3.09; AGFI = 0.81; NFI = 0.89; TLI = 0.91; CFI = 0.92; RMSEA = 0.08）, normality （skewness 〈 1.50） and reliability （composite reliability = 0.95; average variance extracted = 0.46） results were convincing. It was found that respondents＇ age （p = 0.02） and working experience （p = 0.01） had significant bearings toward their perception on internal control system within the Malaysian financial sector.     

Y-chromosomal STR haplotypes in Berber and Arabic-speaking populations from Morocco

Twelve Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats (STRs), DYS19, DYS385, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS388, DYS426 and DYS439 were typed in Berber-speaking (n=49) and Arabic-speaking (n=60) population samples from Morocco.     

Role of blogging in perceived learning and satisfaction of students

The contemporary smart concepts of education signify a heavy role of blogging tools in digital learning environments that have a substantial effect on students' learning and satisfaction. This study aims to analyze the influence of students' four perceptions about blogging that is, perception of digital technology (PDT), perceptions of teaching and learning (PTL), perceptions of previous blogging experience (PBE), and perceived usefulness of blogging (PUB) on the frequency of blogging and then assesses the impact of the frequency of blogging on perceived satisfaction as well as perceived learning of students. For this purpose, the researchers conducted a quantitative study with a positivist approach in which the data were collected from 350 students in Anhui Province, China to conduct analysis of the proposed relationships. The results of the current study suggest that there is a positive impact of PDT, PTL, PBE and PUB on the frequency of blogging. It means that the positive perceptions of students towards digital technology, teaching and learning, previous bogging experience and usefulness of blogging result in higher frequency and use of blogging activity. It further indicates that the high frequency of blogging has ultimately a positive impact on perceived satisfaction and perceived learning. The discussion and findings of the current study have useful implications for theory and practice because they provide empirical evidence and theoretical guidelines about the role of blogging in perceived learning and satisfaction.