Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal

The Minority Confederate Induced Errors of the Majority Members in the Role-Inverted Asch Experiment

Kazuo Mori — 2024-04-05

This study aimed to investigate whether errors made by minority group members could influence the behavior of the majority in a role-reversed version of Asch's conformity experiment. Eighty-five undergraduate students, comprising 51 males and 34 females, were organized into groups of four individuals who were already acquainted with each other. From these groups, we randomly selected twelve, and discreetly instructed the third student in each group (a confederate) to provide incorrect responses on six out of the nine line-judgment tasks, similar to Asch's majority's behavior. The findings revealed that groups with the confederate member did lead to an increase in errors from other group members, although this increase did not reach statistical significance. Nevertheless, further analyses indicated that participants were more likely to make errors when other group members had already responded incorrectly. Consequently, we interpreted these errors as a form of social conformity, where participants intentionally made mistakes to alleviate the awkwardness of having only one member of the group providing incorrect answers. In summary, this study provides insights into the dynamics of social conformity and the impact of minority errors on group behavior in a role-reversed Asch experiment.

Assessment of Respondents' Accordance with Entrepreneurial Concepts and Personal Inclinations Towards Entrepreneurship

Mohd Ariff Mustafa — 2024-04-05

The Malaysian government has implemented numerous initiatives to foster entrepreneurial endeavours among university graduates. The objective is to equip students with the essential knowledge, skills, and mindset required to establish prosperous and enduring enterprises. However, even with the implementation of many programmes, the rate of entrepreneurship among graduates remains low. Given the rising unemployment rate in the country, exacerbated by the challenging economic circumstances resulting from the pandemic, it is imperative to encourage entrepreneurial endeavours. The objective of this study is to assess students' comprehension and receptiveness towards subjects related to entrepreneurship, considering the present circumstances. A cohort of 252 undergraduate students participated in the study by completing self-administered questionnaires. The findings demonstrated a notable and favourable correlation between persons' self-evaluated proficiency and their inclination towards being interested in things linked to entrepreneurship. The purpose of this analysis is to offer valuable insights to universities to construct entrepreneurship programmes. The ultimate objective is to improve entrepreneurial education and establish a conducive atmosphere for students to discover and pursue entrepreneurial ideas.

The Influence of Golf Caddies’ Service Justice on the Word-of-Mouth and Golf Tourists’ Behavioral Intention in China

Zhou Pu — 2024-04-13

Prior studies of service justice’s influence on customer’s behavioral intention and word-of-mouth have been conducted in many fields, such as business and marketing, while the influence in golf tourism marketing needs to be examined. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyze the structural relationship among golf caddies’ service justice, word-of-mouth of golf resorts and behavioral intention of golf tourists in China. 417 data were collected by convenient sampling method and analyzed with SPSS and Amos, using correlation analysis, structural equation model analysis and meditation test. The findings supported (a) the positive influence of golf caddies’ service justice on golf resort’s word-of-mouth and golf tourists’ behavioral intention, (b) the positive influence of word-of-moth on behavioral intention and (c) the partial mediating effect of word-of-mouth between service justice and behavioral intention. Hence, the structural relationship above was explored and empirically proved.

Integrity and Child Maltreatment at Child Care Centers : A Conceptual Paper

Nur Rifhan A. Rahim — 2024-04-13

The Department of Social Welfare (JKM) reported 5572 child maltreatment cases until November 2022. According to the Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister, Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff, the welfare department recorded a total of 336 child maltreatment cases in various categories involving day care centers, register and unregistered nurseries and kindergartens were reported in year 2021 to 2022. Child maltreatment or child abuse is defined as “all forms of physical, emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child's health, survival, development, or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power” (World Health Organization, 1999). With alarming statistics nationwide for several years consecutively, child abuse cases have sparks outrage to many; police, media, politicians, authorities, UNICEF representative and Tunku Mahkota of Johor. Taking the concept of IHSAN (care and compassion) under Malaysia MADANI, this study is timely and appropriate. Therefore, this conceptual paper analyzes the concept of integrity and child maltreatment at child care centers in Malaysia

Breaking the Chains: Child Labour’s Effect on Educational Achievement among Basic School Students in The Tamale Metropolis

Mohammed Siibaway — 2024-04-21

Child labour remains one of the key issues hindering the efforts of governments and international organisations to ensure that children across the world achieve quality education. This paper examines the effects of child labour on the educational achievement of basic school students in the Tamale metropolis and how some victims have achieved educational success despite the potential threats of child labour. The research was anchored on human capital theory and social cognitive theory. The design used for this research was a case study. The approach used in gathering the data from forty-two (42) respondents was a qualitative approach. A semi-structured interview guide and a focus group discussion guide were the instruments used to gather the data. The data was analysed using a thematic approach. The research found that poverty, peer influence, cultural and social norms, gender roles and norms, and the culture of fostering are the factors influencing the activities of child labour in the Tamale metropolis. The research also found that reduced learning time, poor academic performance, and school dropout are the effects of child labour has on the educational achievement of victims. The paper also revealed that individual determination and support from families, communities, teachers, NGOs, and state institutions are necessary in facilitating the efforts of victims in overcoming the woes of child labour and achieving educational success. The paper believes that economic interventions alone are insufficient in dealing with child labour and advocates for a holistic approach that challenges gender roles, addresses societal norms, and creates a supportive environment for the education of every child in Ghana.

Disputed Lands and the Seeds of Utopia: Rethinking Development in the Context of Climate Change

Chantal Aspe — 2024-04-21

Since the end of the 2010s, there have erupted throughout France and elsewhere in Europe local conflicts based on a common cause, the defense of farmlands. Local populations, farmers, citizen collectives and associations of activists have mobilized against projects involving urban development, infrastructure and trading or business areas, and taken issue with the political choices regarding the redevelopment of the territory in the name of the preservation of biodiversity and adaptation to climate change. In this article, we present the results of a qualitative sociological survey focused on the conflicts over the defense of farmlands in the southeast of France. We show how are constructed, at local scale and following a militant territory-based dynamic, citizen collectives and environmentalist associations which are vectors of social transformation. This mobilization is not only related to the defense of farming but embodies alternative development projects that involve the occupation of lands, such as the Zones à Défendre (ZAD) movement. Through the current defense of farmlands, one of the key components of the renewal of environmental protests is at issue and is expressed, by which the deployment of alternative local experimentation is a vector of a transformative utopia.

Effect of Low-Intensity Interval Training on Physical Performance and Blood Parameters Among Junior Handball Players

Rasmi Marai — 2024-04-21

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of low-intensity interval training program (LIIT) on physical fitness and blood parameters among junior handball players. Thirty young players participated in this study and were divided into two groups: an experimental group (n=15) which underwent a low-intensity interval training program, and a control group (n=15) which underwent a traditional training program. Blood parameters (hemoglobin (g/dl), mean corpuscular hemoglobin MCH (pg), and hematocrit (%)) and physical capacities (flexibility, speed, endurance, agility, upper body muscle strength, and power) were evaluated before and after eight weeks of training in the two groups. At the beginning and end of the eight-week program, significant differences between the groups were observed. The experimental group exhibited better development compared to the control group in the following parameters: endurance (2.77%, p=0.03), speed (6.8%, p=0.001), power (17.09%, p=0.02), agility (4.22%, p=0.01), flexibility (29.25%, p=0.01), and upper body strength capacity (8.82%, p=0.02). The MCH was significantly higher in the experimental group (p=0.01). However, no significant differences were observed for hemoglobin and hematocrit (p>0.05). Our findings demonstrate that the low-intensity interval training intervention was more effective than the traditional program in improving physical parameters and mean corpuscular hemoglobin. The suggested low-intensity interval training program could serve as a viable fitness strategy for aerobic sports.

Deny Sanctioned Officials Access to Government: The Best Strategy for Minimizing Public Corruption Until Appropriate Legislation is Enacted by the Liberian Government

Stephen Gobewole — 2024-04-21

This study examines corrupt behaviors in the Liberian government due to the inability of Liberia’s anti-corruption commission and its judicial system inability to hold public officials accountable. Moreover, since the nation’s inception government officials have used bribery, rent-seeking, and public resources embezzlement to accumulate personal wealth. This study analyzes survey, empirical, and sanctions data collected by Transparency International, The United States Department of the Treasury, United States Foreign Assistance by Country from The United States government, The United Nations Development Programme, and drawing on Liberia’s Political Economy by S. Gobewole, 2016. It then correlates associations between the numbers measuring government corruption, sanctioned official behaviors, and incidence of foreign assistance to Liberia to demonstrate an increase in public corruption due to officials’ behavior. This has resulted from Liberia’s judicial institutions incapacity to regulate bribery, rent seeking, and resource embezzlement, which have perpetuated and increased public corruption in the Liberian government, a situation that demands legislative action to punish United States Department of the Treasury sanctioned public officials.