مطالب

The development of the nation’s economy is supported by the growing diversity and enthusiasm of interest among academics, particularly in the transforming procedures with an entrepreneurial orientation. The study investigates changing entrepreneurial-oriented practices and the performance of SMEs utilizing a cross-sectional survey amongst the four top grocery registered SMEs operating in Ikorodu local government division of Lagos State, Nigeria. The tool for gathering data is a questionnaire with two sections: bio-data and research questions. While 100 respondents formed the sample size proportionally selected from the study focus. Pearson correlation is the statistical tool for data analysis. The study reveals that creativeness and alleviation of business loss have a highly significant impact on SMEs performance; with pro-activeness having a weak, but positive relevance on SMEs performance. In conclusion, to further improve and optimize entrepreneurial orientation practices and adapt to future threatening changes, firms need to strengthen the desire for healthy competition, identifying and targeting the weaknesses of their competitors. It is recommended that more innovativeness should be sought after as guiding principles for capability and adaptability to handle the complexity of the ever-changing business surrounding, while involvement in risk-taking should be adopted with inevitable zeal and willingness to attain organizational growth and improved performance. Pro-activeness should be given adequate consideration to maintain and surpass existing performance as opportunities come but once. Despite study limitations, future researchers may need to enlarge the sample size and create awareness of research conducted on SMEs generally. Keywords: Change, Entrepreneurial orientation, Performance, Practices, SMEs.

Objective: The tourism sector, a significant component of the global service industry, is vital for a nation’s economic development and income generation. Therefore, it is essential to ascertain the factors influencing the demand for this type of service. The main aim of this study is to examine the impact of exchange rates on tourism demand in Iran. Methods: This study examined the long-term and short-term relationships between Iran’s tourism arrivals and variables such as the exchange rate, political risk, and other factors influencing tourism demand, including inflation, foreign investment, oil revenue, GDP, and population, employing time series data from 1995 to 2024 and the Dynamic ARDL simulation method. Results: The results indicate that political risk significantly detrimentally affects Iran’s tourism demand, whereas the exchange rate has a notable positive influence. Since 2010, when the fourth round of sanctions began, political risk has escalated owing to internal and external conflicts, negatively impacting international tourism demand. Conclusions: The interplay between exchange rate variables and political risk was found to positively influence tourism demand. The increase in the exchange rate decreases the costs of tourism services, and also stimulates creative business endeavors in the tourism industry.

In God Help the Child (2015), the overarching argument of this article is that Sweetness is incapable of conveying a meaningful reflection of her “true self”. Her frailty to love and respect herself makes her vulnerable to exchange the same emotions with Bride. The objective of this paper is to scrutinize the impact of colorism and color-blindness on the lives of African-American women. We try to respond to two fundamental questions, namely how can “looking-glass-self” theory be applied on the maternal bond between Sweetness and Bride? and second, what is the impact of intersectionality or matrix of the social domination on the lives of Sweetness and Bride in God Help the Child (2015)? Drawing upon Collins’s Black Feminist and Winnicott’s Psychoanalytic theories, we try to examine multi-faceted aspects of racism, including reverse racism, structural racism, intersectionality, matrix of the social domination, and common stereotypical images attributed to Black women with a holistic approach. Although socio-cultural White ideology is dominant to Bride’s Blackness, Bride rescues herself from the hatred of her own world by furnishing a kind of domination over other women and companies by her physical beauty and success in expanding cosmetics business. She turns her dark skin color into a marvelous asset in the guise of the White clothing.

The current paper pursues two aims: to employ Classical Test Theory (CTT) to develop and refine a test, and to determine the impact of the age factor on L2 grammar among Iranian EFL learners, providing evidence for the claim that CTT best evaluates the consistency of measurements in age-related studies. The study examines the performance of adults or teenagers as pre- and post-puberty learners, in the grammar test devised through CTT, to conclude whether younger learners or older ones perform better on subject-verb agreement. Based on random sampling, twenty-three male participants, including 12 adults and 11 adolescents, upper-intermediate native speakers of Persian, took part in the study. They were tested on a 60-item test of grammar (on subject-verb agreement), which has been developed using the CTT model, as it fits small sample sizes and can be used for understanding complex issues (e.g., age-related issues). Other than devising a test on agreement using CTT as a model, the results revealed that post-puberty learners scored better than their younger counterparts, partly because they are cognitively more mature. However, age is not the one and only factor in second language learning, and other factors like individual differences, contextual factors, and methodological rigor should be taken into account. 

Background: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) impose a heavy burden on individuals, organizations, and governments.Aim: The purpose of this study was to provide information about WMSDs and working posture. This information can be helpful in designing preventive programs.Materials and Methods: The present study is a descriptive-analytical study. 207 subjects participated in this study. For WMSDs investigation and postural assessment during work, Nordic Questionnaire and Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) method were used, respectively. Gathered data from research variables measurement analyzed using Chi-square test and descriptive statistics. A p value of equal or less than 0.05 took into account to be statistically significant.Results: The most prevalent work–related musculoskeletal disorder was found in lower back region, the percentage for large, medium and small ships staff was 58%, 61.7% and 45.1%, respectively. A significant relationship was found between WMSDs in neck (P=0.001), hands and wrists (P=0.02), back (P=0.04) and knees (P=0.001) and used ship by staff. A higher proportion of level four corrective action, was found in small ship staff.Conclusion: WMSDs are prevalent among staff of all ships. WMSDs are more prevalent in lower back. Also, immediate change in posture and investigation is more necessary in small ship staff.

The assemblage of our archaeological data and findings regarding the early Roman-Sasanian interactions is very limited. During the recent survey of the Dehlorān Plain, an accidental coin find (discovered by a passerby, Mr. A. Hosseini) was handed over to the members of the expedition. The highly corroded and perforated coin belongs to the Singara issues of Gordian III (238-244 AD), the young Roman emperor whose reign coincided with the first series of Sasanian incursions led by Ardashir I and his successor, Shapur I. Not only it is one of the few known findings that relate to this tumultuous era, it has been discovered in the vicinity of Roman Mesopotamia, where most of the fighting took place. In this article, in addition to describing the coin, the authors have discussed the historical context of this period and the possible entry scenarios of this coin into the territory of the Sasanian Empire.