FWU Journal of Social Sciences

Sustainable Preservation of Vernacular Architecture for Enhancing Urban Cultural Welfare in Vietnamese Ethnic Minority Communities

2024-07-19T05:22:54+00:00

The architectural heritage of Vietnam’s ethnic minorities, particularly exemplified

by the Hmong people, embodies centuries-old cultural values and traditions

intricately adapted to their natural and social environments. This heritage,

however, faces significant challenges from globalization, urbanization, and the

rapid pace of modernization, which threaten the sustainability of traditional

architectural practices and the cultural identity they support. This study explores

the current state of traditional architectural practices among Vietnam’s ethnic

minorities, assesses the impacts of modernization, and identifies sustainable

preservation strategies. By integrating modern needs with traditional values, this

research aims to enhance urban social and cultural welfare by preserving the

architectural heritage crucial for cultural diversity and socio-economic

development. Through a mixed-methods approach involving qualitative data from

interviews and focus groups, and quantitative data from field observations, this

study provides a comprehensive understanding of these issues. The findings

underscore the necessity of elevating awareness, enhancing state management,

and integrating modern needs with traditional values for the sustainable

preservation of ethnic architectural heritage.

Bridging the Third-Level Digital Divide: Socio-Demographic Determinants of the Digital Outcomes in Thailand

2024-10-21T04:37:52+00:00

The rapid evolution of digital technologies has transformed modern society, yet

significant disparities in digital engagement persist. This study explores the third

level digital divide in Thailand, focusing on how sociodemographic factors shape

digital engagement across economic, social, educational, and institutional

domains. Using logistic regression analyses on a nationwide 2022 survey with

43,465 respondents, this research offers novel insights by identifying how gender,

age, region, income, education, employment status, urban residency, and Internet

confidence specifically affect different types of digital engagement. Key findings

reveal that men are less likely to engage in online activities compared to women,

while younger adults demonstrate higher digital participation. Notably, older

adults rely more on institutional digital services, revealing an age-specific pattern.

The study also highlights regional disparities, with the northeastern region

showing higher engagement and the southern region lower across all domains. A

novel finding is the contrasting role of income, which boosts economic

engagement but reduces participation in institutional activities. Furthermore, this

study underscores the strong role of education and Internet confidence in driving

digital engagement across all areas. These findings offer crucial evidence for

designing targeted interventions to bridge the digital divide, such as gender-

equality-focused digital literacy programs, initiatives for older adults, regional

infrastructure enhancements, financial subsidies, integrating digital literacy into

education, and building digital confidence through practical, hands-on national

campaigns.

Quality Dynamics in Tertiary Education of Pakistan: Investigating the Role of Governance and Financial Resources in Affiliated Colleges

2024-10-15T08:11:26+00:00

This research study aims to assess the impact of governance on the quality

of tertiary education and the moderating role of financial resources. Data

were collected from the principals of public sector affiliated colleges.

Regression analysis was applied for hypothesis testing. Results demonstrate

that governance has a significant and positive impact on the quality of

education. Financial resources have a moderating effect on the relationship

between governance and education quality. This study provides theoretical

implications and practical recommendations to diverse interested parties,

such as educational policymakers, institutional leaders, and administrators,

who should try their best to distinguish the diversity of affiliated colleges

and modify governance structures, management practices and the

mechanisms for quality assurance to address the needs of each institution

accordingly.

How does religious tolerance interact with non-violence attitude among Muslims in Indonesia?

2024-11-21T04:49:32+00:00

This study investigates how local wisdom and nationalism influence the

relationship between religious tolerance and a nonviolent attitude in

Indonesia. Due to Indonesia's diverse religions and cultures, fostering

tolerance and nonviolence is essential for social stability. According to this

study, nationalism and respect for local wisdom are related to tolerance and

nonviolence itself. It is, moreover, testing the effectiveness of these roles in

the relationship of tolerance and religious nonviolence among pluralistic

Indonesians. This study uses a quantitative approach to test the theoretical

mediation model. It investigates whether nationalism and respect for local

wisdom serve as mediators between religious tolerance and religious

nonviolence. The study included 1936 Muslims in Indonesia, with a mean

age of 32.40 (SD=7.754) and a range from 17 to 48 years. The sample

consisted of 1497 (77.3%) men and 439 (22.7%) women. Other

characteristics were that 1040 (53.7%) of the sample had undergraduate

education, 107 (5.5%) postgraduate, and 789 (40.8%) high school. This

study found a significant relationship between religious tolerance and

religious nonviolence; both were mediated by nationalism and respect for

local wisdom as essential mediators. The findings suggest that those who are

religiously tolerant cannot stand alone in their relationship with nonviolence;

instead, they must be accompanied by their own nationalism and respect for

local wisdom.

Analyzing the Performance of Gemini, ChatGPT, and Google Translate in Rendering English Idioms into Arabic

2024-10-09T04:39:00+00:00

This study examines the translation of 155 idioms by different machine and AI translation

systems, namely Google Translate, ChatGPT, and Gemini. Various sources were utilized to

collect the data, including books, magazines, interviews with native English speakers, and

various websites dedicated to English idioms. This data was analyzed based on a framework

built on the taxonomy of Baker (1992). The quantitative part examined the frequency of

translation approaches each program used to render the idioms. The qualitative part focused on

selected examples to highlight the potential issues of each approach in conveying the style and

sense-based features of the idioms. The findings showed that idiom translations were done

through three main approaches: literal, sense-based, and idiom-to-idiom translation. Google

Translate had the highest percentage of literal translation at 76%, followed by ChatGPT at 53%,

while Gemini had the lowest percentage at 21%. For sense-based translations that use

nonfigurative language, Gemini was in the lead at 63%, followed by ChatGPT, with a wide gap

at 35%. Google Translate had the least sense-based renditions at a mere 11%. When it came to

translating idioms using figurative language, Gemini once again was in the lead with 16%,

followed closely by ChatGPT at 13%, with Google Translate right behind at 12%. The study

concludes that although there is vast improvement and advancement in technology, machine

translation has yet to master nonliteral language such as idioms.

Educational Reforms in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Impact on Out-of-School Children in Kolai Pallas, Hazara Division, Pakistan

2024-09-10T07:48:13+00:00

This is a study of the effects of government education reforms in District Kolai

Pallas, Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on the dimensions of social and

cultural, and institutional factors on educational access. Quantitative data was

collected through surveys, then qualitative data was gathered through interviews

using a mixed methods approach. The sample consisted of 40 Ministry of Education

officials, 40 Tehsil school administrators, 40 parents, and 40 students, a total sample

of 40 in each Tehsil. For qualitative data, it was analyzed using thematic analysis and

for the quantitative data descriptive statistics (mean scores, standard deviation) were

used. The findings show that even after the introduction of reforms a large

proportion of children of District Kolai Pallas remain excluded from the school. The

study identifies culturally specific barriers to educational access such as cultural

practices and inefficiencies of institutional and economic systems. The significance

of these findings is greatly enhanced by the reality that local factors play a critical

role in shaping the educational sphere in the Hazara region. Finally, the research

makes a valuable contribution in an additional way by showing the need for

community engagement, better school facilities, and gender sensitive policy making.

The study, therefore, suggests that educational reforms in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa be

shaped to tackle such challenges on a regional basis ensuring effective and inclusive

education to all children.

The Geopolitical and Economic Impact of BRICS on the Middle East

2024-11-06T06:37:02+00:00

The recent expansion of BRICS into Middle Eastern countries signifies an

important shift in global power. The research is aimed at comprehensively

exploring various aspects of such influence concerning the geopolitical and

economic dynamics of the Middle East. The first part of the article focuses on

how BRICS membership brings about a shift in the regional power balance that

could be detrimental to the long-standing dominance of Western powers and

therefore alter the US-Middle East relations. The second part of the paper

highlights the role of BRICS in presenting itself as the mediator both in cases of

stability and conflict resolution in the region and draws attention as well to the

possible limitations and difficulties arising from the existence of different aims

within the group. The case study of Iran, Saudi Arabia, and UAE has been

discussed in this article to investigate the relations between BRICS countries are

explained by their importance in the contemporary global geopolitical and

economic context. All these countries have a significant influence on regional and

international affairs and therefore are valuable to analyzing the external relations

of BRICS. It is concluded that the BRICS membership destabilizes the traditional

balance of power in the Middle East, dethroning the Western powers and

restructuring the US-Middle East relations. BRICS' influence on the Middle East

is geopolitical and economic, with the transformative shift in global power

dynamics, offering both opportunities and challenges for regional stability,

economic growth, and international relations.

Prevalence and Correlates of Mental Health Stigma among Pakistani Adolescents and Young Adults

2024-10-10T07:49:34+00:00

Stigma significantly hinders the effective management of mental illness in

Pakistan, particularly among adolescents and young adults. Given that

stigmatizing beliefs can vary across different socioeconomic and demographic

groups, it is crucial to study these variations within the Pakistani context, as most

existing empirical evidence comes from Western contexts. This paper aims to

investigate the prevalence of stigmatizing attitudes and explore the relationship

between the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of adolescents and

young adults and their personal and perceived public stigmatic attitudes towards

mental illness in Pakistan. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 1328

adolescents aged 15-24 from twelve public colleges in Layyah. The survey

assessed personal and perceived public stigmatic attitudes using instruments that

measure social distancing, stigma beliefs, and services stigma. Descriptive

statistics and Multiple Classification Analysis (MCA) were employed to evaluate

differences in mean scores and determine the statistical significance of the

observed variations in the scales. The findings indicate that nearly half of the

participants perceived a high level of public social distancing, reflecting a

prevalent sense of social avoidance among adolescents in Pakistan. Similarly, a

substantial portion exhibited stereotypical attitudes towards mental illness, both

personally and publicly. Notably, over 40% of the participants displayed

stigmatizing attitudes toward utilizing professional psychiatric services. Factors

such as gender, residential area, and father’s occupation significantly influenced

these attitudes, with females, rural residents, and children of farmers experiencing

heightened stigma. The study underscores the discrepancy between perceived

public and personal stigmatic attitudes, reveals high levels of stigma associated

with using professional psychiatric services, and illustrates variation in attitudes

by socioeconomic and demographic factors.

Strategic Visionary Leadership and Sustainable Governance: Navigating Higher Education Reforms for Optimal Performance in the Age of Disruptive Technologies

2024-10-24T07:18:26+00:00

This study examines the influence of disruptive technologies on higher education

institutions (HEIs) in Pakistan, with a particular emphasis on the importance of

visionary leadership and sustainable governance in driving educational transformations

and enhancing performance. This study employs a quantitative methodology by

conducting surveys among academics and researchers from various universities to

gather data on pertinent parameters. The questionnaires employ a five-point Likert

scale. This study employed Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to assess the impact

of leadership, technology, and governance on student accomplishment. The results

indicate that institutions derive significant advantages from visionary leadership since it

strongly promotes innovation in higher education. These advancements are driven by

sustainable governance to ensure adaptability and strategic alignment with global

educational standards. Educational reforms facilitate the connection between enhanced

institutional performance and the integration of disruptive technologies like AI and

robotics, underscoring the necessity for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to adapt

to technological advancements. The study reveals that in order to thrive in the current

technologically-driven educational landscape, higher education institutions (HEIs) need

to adopt innovative and forward-thinking approaches to governance, considering the

intricate relationship between leadership, governance, and technology in educational

settings.

English Self-Efficacy and Gender Differences Among Saudi EFL Learners: A Focused Study on Confidence Across Language Skills

2024-10-30T06:39:28+00:00

English self-efficacy significantly influences learners’ success, confidence, and

performance in essential language tasks. In Saudi Arabia, where English

proficiency is becoming increasingly crucial, numerous EFL learners encounter

challenges in developing self-confidence, resulting in discrepancies between their

perceived abilities and their actual performance. This study examined Saudi EFL

learners’ self-efficacy levels across four core language skills–listening, speaking,

reading, and writing–while investigating gender differences in their self-

perceptions. A descriptive quantitative research design was employed, involving a

cross-sectional survey of 477 university students selected through stratified

random sampling to ensure broad representation. The participants completed the

‘Questionnaire of English Self-Efficacy,’ which was designed to measure their

confidence in performing various language tasks. Descriptive and inferential

statistical analyses were used to identify the critical patterns and gender-based

differences. The results revealed moderate overall self-efficacy among learners,

with reading identified as the skill with which they demonstrated the highest

confidence, while speaking exhibited the lowest confidence levels. Both listening

and writing skills showed moderate self-efficacy, indicating potential for targeted

improvement. Notably, significant gender differences emerged, with female

learners reporting higher self-efficacy in speaking than their male counterparts.

These findings emphasize the necessity of targeted pedagogical approaches to

enhance verbal communication, particularly for male students, alongside

structured support to strengthen listening and writing skills. Integrating authentic

language tasks and interactive classroom activities is essential to enhance self-

efficacy in all language skills. Future research should investigate self-efficacy

across diverse educational settings, and conduct longitudinal studies to monitor its

progression.

Full ISSUE : Winter 2024, Vol.18. No.4

2025-01-08T05:08:15+00:00

Full ISSUE : Winter 2024, Vol.18. No.4