Social Sciences
and Education
Research ReviewISSN: 2393-1264 · ISSN-L: 2392-9863

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Volume 6, Issue 2, 2019

14 open-access articles, published November 2019. Titles link directly to full-text PDFs.

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  1. Volume 6 · Issue 2 · 2019 · pp. 6-30

    DIFFERENT ATTITUDES TOWARDS MATHEMATICS AMONG ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS STUDENTS AND CHOICE OF BUSINESS COURSE MAJOR IN NORWAY

    • Leiv OPSTAD
    Keywords
    attitudes towards mathematics; quantitative analysis; business course major

    Cite as

    OPSTAD, L. (2019). DIFFERENT ATTITUDES TOWARDS MATHEMATICS AMONG ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS STUDENTS AND CHOICE OF BUSINESS COURSE MAJOR IN NORWAY. Social Sciences and Education Research Review, 6(2), 6-30. https://sserr.ro/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/SSERR_2019_6_2_6_30.pdf

    Abstract. The purpose of this research is to map out any differences regarding attitudes towards mathematics among students at the Faculty of Economics and Management, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Approximately 200 students from three departments, Economics, Business School, and Industrial Economics and Technology Management, answered a survey about their attitudes towards mathematics. Through factor analysis, a measuring instrument for ‘attitude towards mathematics’ was constructed. The chosen methods were an independent samples t-test and binary logistic regression. This study sought to understand the impact of students’ attitudes towards mathematics and how that affects their choices within economics and business courses. Students at the Business School can choose different major courses in third year. There is a substantial difference in attitudes towards mathematics among those students. The findings suggest that students from Industrial Economics and Technology Management have the highest self-confidence in mathematics. Further, students with low self-confidence, value and enjoyment in mathematics tend to choose non-quantitative subjects such as marketing, organisation and management, while students with high scores prefer finance subjects. This research confirms that those students who valued mathematics and view it as useful, choose mathematic related studies. Furthermore, there is a link between students’ attitudes towards mathematics (enjoyment, value and self-confidence) and their choice in further studies. A student’s confidence and interest in a field of study is related to their chosen major. One motivation is earlier experience within the field. If a student achieves good grades and has success in mathematics, it creates a positive attitude towards this subject and will influence the choice of studies.

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  2. Volume 6 · Issue 2 · 2019 · pp. 31-62

    POST-GENOCIDE SOCIETY, SOCIAL CAPITAL, AND PEDAGOGY OF LIFELONG LEARNING: AN ANALYSIS OF THE EMPIRICAL EXAMPLE OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

    • Goran BASIC
    • Zlatan DELIC
    Keywords
    actor; coexistence learning; destruction; education; field; habitus; peace learning; reconciliation learning

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    BASIC, G., & DELIC, Z. (2019). POST-GENOCIDE SOCIETY, SOCIAL CAPITAL, AND PEDAGOGY OF LIFELONG LEARNING: AN ANALYSIS OF THE EMPIRICAL EXAMPLE OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA. Social Sciences and Education Research Review, 6(2), 31-62. https://sserr.ro/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/SSERR_2019_6_2_31_62.pdf

    Abstract. The aim of the paper is to analyse: 1) the negative/dark sides of social capital in the Bosnian–Herzegovinian post-genocide society that emerged because of decades of symbolic and real war and post-war violence against the people in Bosnia and Herzegovina; and 2) the possibility of social development in the direction of a positive/lighter side of social capital, in the sense of legitimising progressive politics of social development based on the following foundations: a) learning peace, coexistence, and reconciliation; b) acknowledgment that genocide was carried out during the war and actively denied after the war; c) condemnation of genocide (both during the war and the post-war period); and d) active work to recognise the status of and obtain compensation for the victims of the genocide (at the social, organisational/institutional, and individual levels).

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  3. Volume 6 · Issue 2 · 2019 · pp. 63-88

    PRESPECTIVE REVIEW OF ISLAMIC STUDY TOWARDS QARYAH MUBARAKAH’S (THE BLESSED VILLAGE) VALUES IN THE TOURISM VILLAGE

    • Hendri Hermawan ADINUGRAHA
    • Ahmad ROFIQ
    • Ahmad Hasan Asy'ari ULAMA'I
    Keywords
    integration; Islamic; qaryah; and tourism village

    Cite as

    ADINUGRAHA, H. H., ROFIQ, A., & ULAMA'I, A. H. A. (2019). PRESPECTIVE REVIEW OF ISLAMIC STUDY TOWARDS QARYAH MUBARAKAH’S (THE BLESSED VILLAGE) VALUES IN THE TOURISM VILLAGE. Social Sciences and Education Research Review, 6(2), 63-88. https://sserr.ro/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/SSERR_2019_6_2_63_88.pdf

    Abstract. The application of Islamic religious values to the tourism sector has now become a trend and a necessity for Muslim and non-Muslim countries. Village tourism is a rapidly expanding market segment not only in Muslim countries but globally. Development of a literature review on the integration of Islamic religious values in tourism villages needs to be done. At present, research that examines the role of religion in the context of tourism is also very limited or not yet very much found. This study is a literature study with a thematic approach, this study aims to explore the words of qaryah and qaryah mubarakah (blessed villages) in the Quran and to describe the study of the integration of blessed village’s values concept in tourism villages. The concept of integration in this study uses the theory of relations between science and religion by Ian G. Barbour or commonly referred to as Barbour’s typology theory. The results of the literature study show that the word "qaryah" is mentioned in the Quran in 29 verses, while the word of qaryah mubarakah (blessed village) is explicitly implied in QS. Saba verse 18. The integration of the values of the "blessed village" in the Quran towards tourism village is a new idea to manage and build a tourist area in the countryside that applies sharia principles derived from the verses of the Quran.

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  4. Volume 6 · Issue 2 · 2019 · pp. 89-103

    THE IMPACT OF ETHNO-LINGUISTIC FEDERALISM ON STATE BUILDING, THE ETHIOPIAN PERSPECTIVE

    • Girma DEFERE
    • Getahun ALEMAYEHU
    Keywords
    Impact Ethno-linguistic; Federalism; State building

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    DEFERE, G., & ALEMAYEHU, G. (2019). THE IMPACT OF ETHNO-LINGUISTIC FEDERALISM ON STATE BUILDING, THE ETHIOPIAN PERSPECTIVE. Social Sciences and Education Research Review, 6(2), 89-103. https://sserr.ro/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/SSERR_2019_6_2_89_103.pdf

    Abstract. Ethno-linguistic federalism in Ethiopia has caused ethno-national diversified groups to be recognized and promoted. The federal formula lacked genuine institutions and practices to promote democratic state unity in diversity. The federal system accelerated diversity which failed to balance ethno-national identity with Ethiopian state citizenship as a result it endangered the state sustenance. Failure to balance national diversity and Ethiopian citizenship brought adverse consequence, such as, ethnic based campus conflict among university students, the displacement of Oromos from Somali regional state, the displacement the Amharas and Oromos from Benishangul Gumuz, the Gedeo people’s displacement from Guji Oromia region…etc are some to mention. Above all, ethno-linguistic national identity is taken as a sole defining identity which has created a stumbling block for state/national building in Ethiopia. This article argues it is a must to foster a democratic federal political system in Ethiopia along with building genuine democratic institutions that are accountable to the people. There should, moreover, be a national consensus on maintaining state unity within diversity so that the voices of national minorities (both titular and non-titular) in different regions are heard and respected by allowing them to have political seats in their respective regions.

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  5. Volume 6 · Issue 2 · 2019 · pp. 104-114

    RURAL AREA STUDENTS’ NEED FOR SCHOOL COUNSELING

    • Teodora tECU
    • Claudiu LANGA
    Keywords
    school counselling; rural area students; needs; attitudes

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    tECU, T., & LANGA, C. (2019). RURAL AREA STUDENTS’ NEED FOR SCHOOL COUNSELING. Social Sciences and Education Research Review, 6(2), 104-114. https://sserr.ro/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/SSERR_2019_6_2_104_114.pdf

    Abstract. The current study investigates students’ in rural areas attitudes towards school counselling before and after participating in an information session. The study was developed as a single-group pre-test post-test experimental design in three phases: (1) administer the F1 Questionnaire for Students, (2) develop an information session and (3) administer the F3 Questionnaire for Students. The participants (N=43, Mage=13.8 years) were enrolled in the 7th and 8th grades in two different rural schools. The results show that there are statistically significant differences between the average of students’ need for school counseling before and after the information session.

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  6. Volume 6 · Issue 2 · 2019 · pp. 115-130

    MANAGERIAL STYLE, DETERMINATIONS AND RISKS

    • Stefan VLADUtESCU
    Keywords
    manager style; manager; leader; efficiency; human resources

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    VLADUtESCU, S. (2019). MANAGERIAL STYLE, DETERMINATIONS AND RISKS. Social Sciences and Education Research Review, 6(2), 115-130. https://sserr.ro/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/SSERR_2019_6_2_115_130.pdf

    Abstract. This study assumes that manager style is a fundamental element of an organization's efficiency; it aims to clarify two of the defining elements of the manager style, determinations and risks. The method used is complex, qualitative-quantitative and meta-analytic. Four determinations of the manager style are highlighted: a) rapid and complete adaptation to the changes in the context in which the team/organization acts, b) correlating tasks with the quality of people, c) the need for work improvement and d) operatively performing work tasks. The six main risks that arise in the management style of the managers are a) the loss of control of the activities of the work team/organization, b) the loss of respect of the people (employees, collaborators, partners), c) lack of creativity and initiative, d) lack of attention to professional development, e) the indifference to the quality of the relationships between the members of the organization, f) the non-contradiction of routine, prejudices, stereotypes, expectation and apathy.

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  7. Volume 6 · Issue 2 · 2019 · pp. 131-148

    SUICIDE IN ROMANIA COMPARED TO THE EU-28 COUNTRIES

    • Magdalena DUMITRU
    • Aurel PAPARI
    • Andra SECELEANU
    • Irina SUNDA
    Keywords
    suicide; European Union; mental health; young people

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    DUMITRU, M., PAPARI, A., SECELEANU, A., & SUNDA, I. (2019). SUICIDE IN ROMANIA COMPARED TO THE EU-28 COUNTRIES. Social Sciences and Education Research Review, 6(2), 131-148. https://sserr.ro/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/SSERR_2019_6_2_131_148.pdf

    Abstract. Both in Europe and Romania the interest for mental health has increased in the context of the recent economic crisis. In the European Union, every 9 minutes a person dies as a result of suicide, with 160 suicides per day, approximately 59,000 suicides per year, the suicide rate varying between wide limits in the different countries of this region. We conducted this study because there are no comparative studies between the situation of suicide in our country and the European Union and because we believe that for a better understanding of the dimension of the phenomenon of suicide, it is necessary to place it in a regional context. The rising suicide rate in young people and the elderly indicates a worsening of the mental health status at national level in these age groups and in the elderly at European level.

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  8. Volume 6 · Issue 2 · 2019 · pp. 149-164

    SCHOOL CLIMATE AND BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT IN ROMANIAN SCHOOLS

    • Maria CONSTANTINESCU
    • Georgeta CHIRLESAN
    • Cristina DUMITRU TABACARU
    Keywords
    discipline; socio-emotional support; positive school climate; SWPBS

    Cite as

    CONSTANTINESCU, M., CHIRLESAN, G., & TABACARU, C. D. (2019). SCHOOL CLIMATE AND BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT IN ROMANIAN SCHOOLS. Social Sciences and Education Research Review, 6(2), 149-164. https://sserr.ro/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/SSERR_2019_6_2_149_164.pdf

    Abstract. A healthy learning environment is most of the time positively correlated with a positive school climate. The present article is aiming to provide an overview on school wide discipline prevention in Romanian educational context and to identify existing practices to support and prevent school indiscipline in order to create a positive school environment which will facilitate learning. Participants included 114 teachers from primary and secondary schools and 5 stakeholders from Arges county, Romania. The main research questions investigated the school climate and addressed the assessment of existing practices in reducing student disruptive behavior and enhancing student competence and teacher classroom management in place in nowadays schools. The main findings of the research indicate a grow of disruptive behaviors and indiscipline in classrooms. The urge of effective classroom management techniques is a major concern for teachers who state that classroom discipline as their biggest problem. The number of classroom disruptive behaviors is increasing and school indiscipline is a real phenomenon that cannot be denied and have to be addressed. Hence the preoccupations at the national level of teachers and school decision-makers to address it efficiently.

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  9. Volume 6 · Issue 2 · 2019 · pp. 165-173

    TRUST AS A SOURCE OF EFFICIENCY IN EDUCATIONAL COMMUNICATION

    • Stefan VLADUtESCU
    Keywords
    trust; communication; education; educational communication

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    VLADUtESCU, S. (2019). TRUST AS A SOURCE OF EFFICIENCY IN EDUCATIONAL COMMUNICATION. Social Sciences and Education Research Review, 6(2), 165-173. https://sserr.ro/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/SSERR_2019_6_2_165_173.pdf

    Abstract. This study is interdisciplinary and is located at the intersection of three fields of knowledge: communication, pedagogy, educational communication. We argue in the direction of imposing the double thesis that a) the main instrument of efficiency of the educational educational communication is the construction, maintenance, consolidation and improvement of the relation of mutual trust between the communicating agents and that b) the method by which the confidence in the two artificial communication processes is initiated is the translation of the confidence from the natural communication plan into the institutional communication plan.

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  10. Volume 6 · Issue 2 · 2019 · pp. 174-197

    "GLOCALIZATION" OF SHAOXING CITY IN CHINA: INDIAN EVIDENCE

    • Ling LI
    Keywords
    Textile; Glocalization; China; Word Association Test; Semi-structured Interview; Cultural Exchanges

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    LI, L. (2019). "GLOCALIZATION" OF SHAOXING CITY IN CHINA: INDIAN EVIDENCE. Social Sciences and Education Research Review, 6(2), 174-197. https://sserr.ro/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/SSERR_2019_6_2_174_197.pdf

    Abstract. As the biggest textile cluster in southeast China, Shaoxing is described as a low-end globalization city with many international businessmen here. Indians play an important role in such markets to transport huge quantities of goods not only to their local bazaars but also to West Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa. This paper aims to explore Indian’s perception and interpretation of the image of Shaoxing city as they live and do business there. Word association testing and semi-structured interview are utilized to triangulate the research results. Based on the weighting statistics and thematic analysis of semi-structured interview, the paper concludes that Indian’s perception of Shaoxing city, largely positive with small negative voices, shows a fail "glocalization" tendency that requires strengthening cultural exchanges between local residents and Indians.

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  11. Volume 6 · Issue 2 · 2019 · pp. 198-215

    EMPOWERING FINANCIAL INCLUSION THROUGH FINTECH

    • Andrei-Dragos POPESCU
    Keywords
    FinTech; Financial Inclusion; Financial Exclusion; Blockchain; Digital Identity; Financial Literacy

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    POPESCU, A.-D. (2019). EMPOWERING FINANCIAL INCLUSION THROUGH FINTECH. Social Sciences and Education Research Review, 6(2), 198-215. https://sserr.ro/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/SSERR_2019_6_2_198_215.pdf

    Abstract. Financial Technology (FinTech) is used to describe new tech that seeks to improve and automate the delivery and use of financial services. At its core, fintech is utilized to help companies, business owners and consumers better manage their financial operations, processes, and lives by utilizing specialized software and algorithms that are used on computers and, increasingly, smartphones and mobile devices. Fintech, the word, is a combination of "financial technology". Over the past few years, FinTech has been embedded in the financial services ecosystem to such an extent that the term has now made its way into a few leading dictionaries. While the general perception of FinTech is ‘products and companies that employ newly developed digital and online technologies in the banking and financial services industries’, we believe that FinTech has evolved to perform a much more strategic and focused role. The wider objective of FinTech is to serve the unmet financial needs of those segments of the population which are not the core target segments of traditional financial services models. Thus, FinTech aims to contribute to the larger goal of financial inclusion (Lele S.,2019). This article will analyses several studies which focus on the characteristics of FinTech, intending to offer a synthesis of the ways in which it impacts financial inclusion.

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  12. Volume 6 · Issue 2 · 2019 · pp. 216-243

    CAUSES OF VIOLATING PRISONERSʼ RIGHT TO A DECENT LIFE. ROMANIA IN THE EUROPEAN CONTEXT

    • Simona MIHAIU
    Keywords
    prisonersʼ rights; decent life; penitentiary; European standards; penal policies

    Cite as

    MIHAIU, S. (2019). CAUSES OF VIOLATING PRISONERSʼ RIGHT TO A DECENT LIFE. ROMANIA IN THE EUROPEAN CONTEXT. Social Sciences and Education Research Review, 6(2), 216-243. https://sserr.ro/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/SSERR_2019_6_2_216_243.pdf

    Abstract. This paper presents a part of the results of a research project named "Prisoners’ Rights. Romania in the European Context", conducted at the Institute of Sociology of the Romanian Academy, between November 2015 and September 2017. Given the novelty of our study for Romania, we have considered an exploratory data analysis as a feasible methodology, able to objectively highlight and model our findings. Based on the perception of the sociological inquiry respondents (N = 557), the main causes of the violation of their right to a decent life in penitentiary were identified to be overcrowding, disinterest on the part of the state and old infrastructure of penitentiaries. From a statistical point of view, the Pearson’s chi square test indicated significant or highly significant associations between most of the causes of the breaching the prisoners’ right to decent living.

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  13. Volume 6 · Issue 2 · 2019 · pp. 244-256

    BLOCKCHAIN FOR JOURNALISM - POTENTIAL USE CASES

    • Dan Valeriu VOINEA
    Keywords
    blockchain; journalism; monetization; distribution; attribution

    Cite as

    VOINEA, D. V. (2019). BLOCKCHAIN FOR JOURNALISM - POTENTIAL USE CASES. Social Sciences and Education Research Review, 6(2), 244-256. https://sserr.ro/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/SSERR_2019_6_2_244_256.pdf

    Abstract. The blockchain is a shared, distributed database with a cryptographic algorithm to insure the security, safety and immutability of the data. In the present paper, we will do an analysis of possible theoretical use cases of distributed ledger technologies for information sharing in journalism and the current practical applications, which is seen by certain journalists as a technology that could revive an industry in crisis (Quinn, 2019), making "creators migrate to platforms that provide greater intellectual property". (Webb, 2019, p. 59)

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  14. Volume 6 · Issue 2 · 2019 · pp. 257-279

    2016 THE BACKGROUND OF FAKE NEWS: THROUGH WHAT THEORY CAN WE UNDERSTAND THE 2016 US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

    • Stefan VLADUtESCU
    • Dan Valeriu VOINEA
    Keywords
    fake news; factoid; 2016 US Presidential election; Donald Trump

    Cite as

    VLADUtESCU, S., & VOINEA, D. V. (2019). 2016 THE BACKGROUND OF FAKE NEWS: THROUGH WHAT THEORY CAN WE UNDERSTAND THE 2016 US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. Social Sciences and Education Research Review, 6(2), 257-279. https://sserr.ro/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/SSERR_2019_6_2_257_279.pdf

    Abstract. The study starts from the finding that starting with 2016 in the journalistic, strategic and academic, state and independent media, there are intense, wide and contradictory debates regarding the fake news phenomenon. The present investigation constitutes a composite research: a) it marks the voluntary and / or involuntary contribution of Donald Trump to putting in the agenda of technical, political and theoretical the concerns of fake news and declaring our age as "the age of fake news", b) it asks questions about the possibility of technical and theoretical control of fake news, c) we find that the big theories regarding public opinion and media influence are inapplicable to this social phenomenon and d) ask questions about a potential, future theory that can describe and explain optimally the fake news phenomenon. The working method is complex, combining meta-analytical, comparative procedures and the history of concepts. From the review of the most significant theories of media effects (one step flow, two steps flow, spiral of silence and agenda-setting with its "forms" - framing and priming) it appears that most of them have been elaborated by following close observation of some electoral campaigns: except for the spiral of silence it was always about the American presidential campaigns. The bottom line is that these theories cannot give a satisfactory explanation of the fake news phenomenon and the success of Donald Trump's US presidential campaign .As such, it appears necessary in the future to configure a comprehensive theory that a) describes and explains the blow given by Donald Trump and b) evaluates and norms the behaviour of generating fake news. Finally, for a future research the idea that the irradiating core of fake news is a factoid and / or a factlet must be taken into account.

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