B. Ünal İBRET, Ergün RECEPOĞLU,Emine KARASU

The aim of this study is to evaluate social studies teachers' perceptions on project studies in primary schools in terms of some variables (gender, graduated faculty, years in profession, and participation to in-service training). For this purpose, a questionnaire is prepared in order to elicit opinions of 25 social studies teachers from 22 primary schools of Ministry of National Education in the province of Kastamonu about their project studies on social studies lessons. Reliability coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.90. As a result of the survey conducted with teachers of social studies teachers, opinions of the teachers about the project studies being implemented in social studies classes do not show a statistically significant difference in terms of gender, years in profession, and participation to in-service training that they have received, but it was observed that the teachers who graduated from faculty of education have more positive views on the project studies than other social studies teachers.

Social studies, social studies teacher, project, teachers' perceptions

LEVEL OF APPRECIATION, SELF CONCEPT AND POSITIVE THINKING ON MATHEMATICS LEARNING ACHIEVEMENT

Leonard

This study aims to determine the influence of variable levels of appreciation received by students, positive thinking ability, and self-concept, either directly or indirectly on the learning of mathematics. The research method used was survey, with a sample of 135 people, drawn by multistage random sampling technique from junior high school in South Jakarta. Data analysis using path analysis and resulting on: there is directly and indirectly effects from levels of appreciation, positive thinking ability, and self-concept to students' mathematics learning achievement.

appreciation, positive thinking, self-concept, students' mathematics achievement

THE EFFECTS OF AUTONOMY, EXPERIENCE, AND PERSON-ORGANIZATION FIT ON JOB SATISFACTION: THE CASE OF PUBLIC SECTOR

Myung H. Jin, Mi Young Lee

Although the past several decades of research on determinants of job satisfaction have generated a plethora of theoretical considerations among private and public management scholars across the globe, scholars has produced many conflicting findings. Research also shows that most of the studies are limited to the work cultures in developed western nations. Utilizing a subset of data from the International Social Survey Program on Work Orientations III module conducted in 2005, I conduct ordinary least squares multiple regression analyses to explore the relationships between job satisfaction and its key determinants in the public sector across 18 countries. For all countries, findings clearly show that organizational commitment explains the most variance in the respondents’ job satisfaction, followed by work experience and autonomy. On the autonomy, while autonomy regarding the control of hours was found to be negatively associated, the other two dimensions--ease of taking time off during working and organization of daily work–were found to be positively and significantly related to job satisfaction. In terms of work experience, the usage of past work experience and skills for the current job and helpfulness of the current work experience for future employment were both found to be positively and significantly related to job satisfaction. Job training, however, was not a significant predictor of job satisfaction.

Organizational learning, person-organization fit, job autonomy, job satisfaction

The use of the term professionalism in public relations (PR) is normally linked to the expression of a need to improve occupational standing (Pieczka, 2000). However, for decades, scholars and practitioners alike have argued about ways to enhance the professionalism and prestige of PR (Sha, 2011b). In general, this paper will discuss the current competencies practised by PR practitioners in some of the countries in Europe and Asia. Based on a literature review, the best competencies will be identified, in order to provide guidelines for a developing professional competencies model that is consistent with the culture and environment of PR practitioners.

public relations, professionalism competencies, Europe, Asia

This study aims to become acquainted with the university educational objectives, as perceived by the students of Sultan Qaboos University. To do so, a sample of (372) male and female students was chosen from different colleges within Sultan Qaboos University. The researcher constructed a questionnaire which consisted of 36 items. Three factors were found after doing factor analysis. Each of which consisted of 12 items. The face validity of the questionnaire was found by taking the opinions of ten specialists in the psychology department .The reliability of the questionnaire was 0.94 as measured by Crombach Alpha. The results of the study showed   significant differences (ά =.01) between male and female students in their perception of university educational objectives for the favorite of females.  Concerning the type of students (Bachelor and Diploma), the result of the study showed no significant differences between their means and their perception of educational objectives. On the other hand significant differences were found between the means of Education and Art majors (ά=.01) for the favor of education major, but the science major was not significant.  This means that students who are majoring in Education perceive university educational objectives much better than Art and Science students. Concerning students' GPA's, the study showed significant differences   between the means (ά=.05) for the favor of students whose GPA, s were 3.00 and above.

Achievement, University objectives .

Purpose: Mall Management is a new discipline in India where Consumer Motivations and Market Segmentation are concerns of the Marketing strategy that Mall Managers must understand essentially to craft success. This study addresses these concerns with the objectives of identifying the primary reasons/ motivations for Indian customers to visit malls and analysing the influence of demographic variables of Age, Education, Income and Gender on the identified customer motivations to visit malls that could affect mall patronage and segmentation.
Research Design and Methodology: The study is a cross sectional survey executed in the National Capital region (NCR) of New Delhi, India. The data was collected from more than 600 respondents through a “Mall Intercept Survey” from 27 malls.  Factor Analysis was used to identify the Shopping Motivations. Multivariate Analysis of Variance was done to analyse whether the Select Demographic variables create a variation in the Shopping Motivations.
Findings: People in India visit malls in India for Diversion/Browsing, Economic Reasons, Shopping Environment, Refreshments and Snacking, Services and Social Experience. Of the select demographic factors only Age shows a significant effect on shopping motivations in malls in India, individually. However interactions in various combinations are relevant for different shopping motivations. Within each demographic variable different level behave differently with respect to each shopping motivational factor. This finding is important for mall planners and retailers when planning their market segmentation strategy.
Value: The paper will help mall managers/retailers in India design their marketing strategies better with respect to shopper motivations and demographic influences.

India, Retailing, Malls, Shoppers, Demographic Variables, Market Segmentation