Virtual Communities and Pandemic Management: Lessons from Covid 19 Management Strategies of the Delta State Government

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The study examines the various COVID 19 management strategies of the Delta State Government to reveal its extent of usage of virtual communities as a platform for fighting COVID 19 pandemic, and assess the effectiveness. The study relied on the agenda setting theory and adopted a survey from an indeterminate population of virtual communities in Delta State. Emanating data was analysed with mean scores. Findings show that the Delta State Government made use of various virtual communities in her bid to mitigate the spread of the COVID 19 pandemic. These virtual communities proved themselves effective in the management of the COVID 19 pandemic. It is recommended that the government should encourage the establishment of media centres by health institutions, and individuals are actively encouraged to engage in the usage of virtual communities for development.

Re-Engineering the Teaching and Learning of Geography in Six Selected Secondary Schools of Livingstone District, Southern Province, Zambia

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The teaching and learning of Geography in Zambian senior secondary schools should be re – engineered if high academic performance should be attained. Academic performance in Geography at School Certificate level, consistently for some time now is neither impressive nor competitive with other subjects at all. The question is how should geography be taught to make it a must do subject by many senior secondary school learners? There is a need therefore, to remodel or restructure how geography content should be taught and learned. The main objective of this study was to explore how best geography could be taught and learned in selected Schools of Livingstone District. This study is anchored on descriptive design, of the qualitative approach. Operant conditioning by Skinner (1971), who believed that ‘changes in behaviour are a result of an individual’s response to events (stimuli) that occur in the environment’. The study used heterogeneous purposive sampling technique to select schools and participants respectively. A total of six heterogeneous schools, 30 learners and 18 teachers of Geography were sampled bringing the total number to 48 participants. The selection criteria included schools with diverse range of pupil populations and geography teachers with varying levels of experience. Data was collected using Focus Group Discussion (FGD) administered to learners of Geography, and semi – structured interview schedule administered to selected learners and teachers. The qualitative data collected from both learners and teachers of geography were analysed thematically by identifying patterns and themes in the data. Teachers and learners experienced challenges/problems, such as inadequate or lack of teaching and learning resources, absenteeism from both teachers and learners, and inadequate or lack of teachers. The main findings were that teachers and learners of geography needed well organised field work excursions; learners wished to be in a driving seat of learning through presentations, discussions, hands – on experiences, continuous assessment, and ‘equal opportunity’ provision from their teachers. The study recommends that learners need to experience ‘equal opportunity provision from their teachers in the way they are taught. The study also recommends removing sub – regional geography from the curriculum and intensify well organised and sponsored field work excursions. Also, that the Ministry of Education should provide adequate teaching and learning resources such as textbooks, models, and Maps.

Education of Business Ethics Standards for Vietnamese Economics Students in Current International Integration Context

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In the current international integration context, Vietnam is deeply and widely participating in the globalization process, which is an invitation that cannot be denied the grim “rules of the game” of domestic and international markets: competition and elimination. That requires Vietnamese business people to quickly improve their personality, intelligence, solidarity and consensus, build a strong business community, with a solid “Vietnamese business culture” baggage, proactive, ready to face new challenges (T. K. H. Do, 2009; T. P. H. Do, 2009). Currently, there are still a lot of students, including the biomass of economics, who are not aware that a strong economy is an economy that not only has clear and honest political institutions, economic development. bring social benefits, no corruption, but also an economy in which businesses must have business ethics… creating confidence for domestic and foreign investors. Therefore, it is necessary to educate Vietnamese students of economic disciplines who will directly participate in the business process ethical standards in business (Nguyen, 2015; Nguyen, 2012; Nguyen, 2013).

Factors Affecting English Majored Freshmen’s Speaking Performance in a University in the Mekong Delta – Viet Nam

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Speaking is one of the most crucial and challenging skills to master in learning English. As a consequence, learners regularly encounter difficulties that restrict their ability to speak English. For this reason, this study was carried out to find out factors that affected the English-speaking performance of English majored freshmen at a university in Can Tho City. The participants were recruited from 80 English majored freshmen at a university in the Mekong Delta, Viet Nam. Three instruments including the questionnaire, the paper-based interview, and the observation were used to collect the data. The found factors accounted for vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, background knowledge, psychological issues (lack of motivation, fear of making mistakes, and lack of confidence), learning environment, and lack of practice time. Based on these results, further recommendations were made for both EFL students and teachers.

Da’wah, Negotiation and Social Piety: The Role of Kyai Ahmad Masduki Al-Jabalani in Building the Character of a Multicultural Society in Gorontalo, Indonesia

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The principle of Ojo rumongso iso, but iso rumongso (don’t feel you can, but you can feel) is the value of the laughter of a young kyai from Blitar who oversees the Sirojuth Thalibiin Islamic boarding school, Sidomukti village, Gorontalo. The value of the local wisdom of the Javanese people has become a foundation in their life. In his preaching he made the community as teachers not as people who do not know anything. He studied the heterogeneous character of the Gorontalo people as initial knowledge before carrying out da’wah. The pattern of preaching is different from other preaching methods of ustadz. Masduki in his preaching he followed the behavior and entered into community activities. For example drinking coffee and playing playing cards with people in several places. He preached while drinking coffee including playing playing cards together. These two moments became media in the preaching negotiations carried out by kyai Ahmad Masduki Al-Jabalni. Gradually people became interested and began to come and study at their Islamic boarding school. This shows that social piety is more important than individual piety. This research uses qualitative research using a narrative ethnographic approach and focuses on how the da’wah carried out by Kyai Masduki in the formation of the character of the multicultural Gorontalo community. Data collection techniques were carried out by means of participant observation, in-depth interviews and documentation.

Sustainability Reporting and Economic Value Added: Empirical Evidence from Listed Manufacturing Entities in Nigeria

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The essence of this study is to evaluate the effect of three aspects of Sustainability reporting on economic value addition of Nigerian listed manufacturing companies from 2013 to 2020. Ex-post facto research design was adopted while secondary data were sourced from annual reports and accounts of 37 sampled companies out of 73 listed manufacturing companies in Nigeria as at 30th September 2019. The panel data gathered for the study were subjected to empirical tests using panel regression techniques (random effect) at 5% level of significance. Evidence generated revealed among others that economic, social and environmental reporting aspects of sustainability reporting all had positive effect on economic value added over the period. However, the effects were found to be significant for economic and social reporting while the effect of environmental reporting was not statistically significant. Consequently, it was concluded that sustainability reporting has significant positive effect on economic value addition by listed manufacturing companies in Nigeria. This study therefore recommends amongst others that business organizations should incorporate sustainability reporting in their reporting system to reap the associated benefit of economic value added which should also be measured and reported annually. By policy implication, government across countries should put in place, annual awards and recognition programmes for companies with highest disclosure scores for all indices of sustainability reporting to encourage a more sustainability-driven economy, this will indirectly promote economic value added by corporations.

An Investigation on the Implementation of Early Childhood Education: A Case Study of Selected Schools in Petauke District

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This study investigated the implementation of early childhood education among schools in Petauke District.  Despite a high enrolment rate, the children entering primary school have low levels of reading and writing skills. The study considered the benefits of ECE; the associated challenges and alternative approaches for effective implementation. Using the mixed research design, the study drew a sample of 90 respondents from 10 schools which included teachers, school administrators and parents. Data was collected by means of semi-structured questionnaires, an interview guide and focus group discussions. A combination of statistical descriptive analysis and thematic analysis was adequate for data analysis. The study found that ECE was beneficial for development of reading and writing skills; acquisition of knowledge and continuity of education to higher levels. The major challenges in ECE implementation were poor teachers’ understanding of ECE curriculum; negative attitude of parents towards ECE; poor water and sanitation; lack of ECE trained staff; poor infrastructure for ECE centres; and lack of teaching and learning materials. The alternative measures put in place included: parental sensitization and school feeding program. The overall conclusion is that the challenges and inadequacies faced by primary schools to implement ECE arise from the gaps in policy implementation and extend to institutional and domestic factors. The study contributes to the understanding that the rolling out of ECE in rural areas lags behind and that much can be done by involving the local communities and utilising available materials.

Teaching and Learning Safely: Pupils and Teachers’ Perspectives on Classroom Safety Management in Selected Schools of Southern Province of Zambia

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The management of safety in schools is essential for creating safe and healthy learning environments for pupils and staff. Using descriptive research design, which involved qualitative data collection and analysis, this study explored pupils and teachers’ perspectives on classroom safety management in selected schools of Southern province of Zambia. The study used homogenous purposive sampling to select schools and participants for the study. A total of 4 schools were sampled. 8 teachers were sampled purposefully. More so, 16 pupils were sampled purposefully. The selection criteria included schools with a diverse range of pupil populations and teachers with varying levels of experience. Data was collected using in-depth interviews (teachers) and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) for pupils. Classroom observations were used to collect data on classroom behavior and interactions between pupils and teachers. A checklist was used to take note of missing items in classrooms. Document analysis was used to review school policies and procedures related to classroom safety management and to identify areas where improvements may be needed. The qualitative data collected from the in-depth interviews and FGD were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify patterns and themes in the data. From research evidence, the benefits of classroom safety management include improved academic performance, reduced absenteeism, and better mental and physical health outcomes for learners. However, managing safety classrooms in schools presented numerous challenges, such as risk assessment, emergency preparedness, and ongoing training and education for pupils, teachers and other stakeholders. To overcome the challenges and realize the benefits of safety management in classrooms, there is need for effective collaboration and communication among all members of the school community, including pupils, staff, parents, and community partners, is essential.

Mental Health and Employment of Vietnam Preschool Teachers in Covid-19: A Research in Hanoi, Vietnam

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The Covid-19 pandemic has been having a very strong impact on the entire education system in Vietnam. In our education system, it can be said that preschool education is completely “frozen”. Unlike other grades where teaching is still carried out online, preschool education with its own characteristics has completely stopped all activities for quite a long time. Therefore, there have not seen any signs of reopening for preschools. This article presents some of the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on preschool teachers – one of the subjects who are suffering the most severely from the consequences of the pandemic, in terms of (1) mental health and (2) jobs.

Development of Indonesian Business Contract Law in The Globalization Era

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In business activities in Indonesia, contracts are the basic framework that is used as a framework for relationships for economic actors. The principle of contract law is regulated in the Civil Code. Contracts can give rise to rights and obligations for the parties making the contract. Thus contracts play an important role in doing business in Indonesia. Contract law has existed since the days of Egyptian and Mesopotamian society around 3-4 centuries before Christ and has always experienced developments until now. The development of contract law in countries that adhere to the Common Law system is based on the doctrine of Promissory Estoppel and consideration, where there is an agreement followed by certain legal actions to fulfill the agreement already able to claim compensation, and there is a reciprocal relationship. This development also occurred in the Netherlands where an agreement that was not final but already had legal actions to fulfill the agreement could also claim compensation based on the principle of good faith. The development of contract law in Indonesia is still based on fulfilling the requirements for the validity of the agreement stipulated in article 1320 of the Civil Code, so that it can be called classic contract law. Legal actions that have not been based on Article 1320 of the Civil Code do not yet have legal consequences, so that losses arising from pre-contracts do not receive compensation. Assessment of current contract law, it is necessary to pay close attention to other developments through the development of contract law in other countries or through statutory regulations, which where the aggrieved party at the time of the agreement can claim compensation.